Saturday 31 December 2011

bonny scotland




Happly New Year everyone, here's hoping that 2012 will be peaceful and happy!
Have just spent a week up in beautiful Scotland, and the magical Findhorn Bay where the sky is big and the light inspires! My delightful God daughter Lola helped us all remember why Christmas is so special.xxxx

Thursday 8 December 2011

russian dolls for Christmas





HHave managed to bash out a few russian lavender (!) dolls using the spoonflower printed fabric. I have backed them with red ginghams, stuffed them with lavender and embellished them with the myriad of haberdashery that I have stashed away in various draws, I really enjoyed doing the faces...next project will be just faces ......hopefully they will get to the post office in time for christmas pressies......frantic times...

Sunday 20 November 2011

India...



Just had to post these 2 amazing images from my folks recent whirlwind trip to India.....I have gone past the jealous stage and am now writing to Father Christmas for a one way ticket to Delhi!

Wednesday 16 November 2011

so many russian dolls I don't know what to do with them!



Spoonflower have now delivered me 2 sets of my russian doll fabric, I made a mistake on the dpi sizing when I uploaded the designs and now I have a huge version of the dolls.....seemed like such a good idea at the time, now I have 4 metres of the fabric, no ideas and no time to actually sew them up into anything vaguely interesting!! any ideas?

Sunday 6 November 2011

character illustrations




F
Feeling bad about neglecting my blog...so much work at the moment that I have nt had time to scratch my nose...even my pinterest addiction has taken a back seat...here are some illustrations that I have been working on for a future project! I drew the characters on paper , scanned them in and them collaged them together in Illustrator using scanned in bits of fabric and vintage textures of old paper...

Wednesday 26 October 2011

autumn acorns





Very very busy at the moment, and despite bashing out some more acorns and bracelets and crochet, I have not had time to even put them into my etsy shop...but here they are.....look like all the others.....ho hum!

Tuesday 18 October 2011

more miserable moths




Cutting up pretty bits of printed paper and old french books is a pastime I throughly recommend, especially if you are as stressed with the day job as I am at the moment...and probably cheaper than a stay in the Priory as well....but it does create a mountain of torn paper and very little else...but here are the fruits of my labour last night.......fluttering moths, with plenty of glue smeared everywhere for good measure!

Monday 17 October 2011

beautiful wallpapers






Exquisite wallpaper samples from a very well known english paint company....this clever company has looked at old paintings and has copied textile designs meticulously painted on all the saints to produce designs for their new range of wallpapers.....Nick brought home these beautiful postcards from a colour talk at the National Gallery, all bound in a moleskin wallet for me to copy onto tissue paper for my collages! these patterns will make really beautiful moths...can see them fluttering around the burnt at both ends candle already!

Tuesday 11 October 2011

the little gardening book



Just feast your eyes on this object of beauty that Margaret Harvey has created over in her wonderful studio in Cobham...made from found treasures, and deftly put together, this vintage gardening book has exploded with life! I fell in love with the lttle metal moth made from bits of broken jewelery ( I think) and the way she has produced such dainty flowering growth from bits and pieces that have been discarded over the years...

Tuesday 4 October 2011

russian dolls for Christmas


Thinking of Christmas already ( well I saw mince pies stacked neatly in Tescos today!) the russian dolls will be printed onto the lovely canvas cloth at Spoonflower and hopefully be made into bags...make up bags, tote bags, purses....all I need is to give up the day job and dust down my trusty sewing machine!

Monday 3 October 2011

vintage chinese opera






saw some beautiful vinatge images taken from Chinese Opera on the back of some playing cards during my trip...here they are....they would make beautiful collages, or embroideries, no?

Monday 26 September 2011

Hong Kong






Wow Hong Kong was everything that I had been told about and more.....I traipsed the streets for hours with my trusty street map and my octopus card seeing the most amazing sights, smelling the most amazing aromas and tasting the most delicous if undistinguishable foods! Alot of dried fish and medicinal herbs...not sure what fate the poor toads were awaiting..The shopping is awesome, I am sure there is nothing in Hong Kong that one cannot buy....a shopping mall every 100 yards and street markts around every corner.

Thursday 8 September 2011

miserable moths




Miserable colours are what inspire me ....and moths....while I will never be a neat embroiderer, I am pleased with the way the colours turned out..I dyed lots of squares of linen by dipping them in various pans of dye and overdying to get lovely muddy mothy colors!