Altered Sardine Tin

I decided that it's been a while.

Since I "altered" anything.

So UKStampers had a sardine tin swap and as I eat sardines for my lunch quite a bit I thought it might be fun! This really evolved; I covered and painted the tin and sat it on the BBQ for a few days to dry.....and it rained! All was ok though, so I brought it in and fiddled with beach treasures I have collected at various times! I added the dictionary definitions first and then stacked all my finds at the front and attached with Glossy Accents. There is coral, shells, seawashed glass and then some glitter to look like sand! Finally I added some finres to the left to look a bit sea-weedy. Oh yes and there were some shiva mirrors too (which are nothing to do with the seaside but looked nice!!)
I posted it off to my swap partner so I hope she likes it! Now I wonder what I will receive.....

Baby Quilt

I decided to risk it and show you what I made last weekend! My friend is expecting her second baby next week, 12 years after her first. Well I am very excited for her and thought I would make her a baby quilt for her cot. Don't know if she wants one mind you! This is a close up of the fabric..

...and the frame around the centre panel. It was made by joining lots and lots of 2 1/2" strips together for miles and miles and then cutting them into 12" lengths to make the centre piece.

The outer border was made in the same way but this time laying the strips around the frame and cutting them to fit I decided not to use the blue or green fabric in the border.

Then I quilted it in the ditch, backed it with plain yellow and bound it with the green. I was rather chuffed with it as I remembered all the tips I got from Burn and Linda about sewing slower, how to turn the corners and how to stitch the binding invisibly. Now we just need to wait and see what baby is! I think it's a girl but Mum thinks (hopes!) it's a boy! Either way I hope she like the colours I have chosen.

Art Journal Weeks 20 and 21

Got a bit behind as I was rather uninspired paperwise and I have been making a quilt. I can't show that yet as it is a present, although I don't think the person who it is for knows about my blog! Anyway I digress....Week 20 was "Food-favourites, hates, include a recipe". I knew exactly what to write but had a bit of a background problem. In the end I just resorted to good old painting and stencilling through sequin waste. I cut a recipe for boiled sprouts (!) from my Mrs Beeton (that I still use!) and added that too.

I did this page twice; Prompt was "Hobbies; what are they, do you have many? What are your earliest recollections of your hobbies? Include a handmade embellishment" This started off pink with lots of writing and I didn't like it so I started again with cream, most unusual for me! I made some ribbon flowery things, dipped into my beloved button stash and used my best, saved embellies!

Now we are nearly halfway through I can see that all my pages are similiar; is that because I lack imagination or do we just call it personal style?

A Card...don't faint!

As you know I am not all that keen on making cards but only because I can never think of anything to do! This is just a quick card I made for a work colleague who did the Moonwalk on Saturday. That's 26 miles in your bra through central London, overnight, in aid of breast cancer charities. I have wanted to do this same walk for a number of years but never been able to find out how or to have a training buddy so I really admire her achievement. Maybe I can do it next year!

Art Journal Week 19

Wasn't inspired this week. Nothing to do with the prompt, just not feeling very creative paperwise! I have been doing these quilts so I am in fabric mode I think. Anyway the prompt was "Lists, do you make them? Use a list on the page and include arrows". My BG is last weeks computer printed shopping list. We print it out and highlight what we need each week and then scribble extras on the bottom! I just added distressed inks and found a stamp that said "Remember" to add to it. Lastly I found some Post-it notes in the shape of arrows that I scribbled on in my "very messy scribbling down quickly" handwriting! So I have done it but I think it could have been better. Mind you I think that the whole idea of this journal is to do it and move on, so that is exactly what I shall do!

Winter Mini Quilt

...and after Autumn comes Winter. Now I know the process I was able to mount up my Winter piece too. This time I used a deep purple velvet; a charity shop find for 50p for a long strip.

Again I added fibres and ribbon and this time I used a stitch on my sewing machine that looks a bit like snowflakes.

In the interests of spontaneity I did what Burn kept telling me and didn't measure anything, just tried to get it the same size as the last panel by eye. Hmmm well, it's about an inch smaller so I am going to have to live with that if they are going to hang together on the wall. I might measure the next one!

Autumn Mini Quilt Panel

Do you remember last month when I went to Burnice's cabin, we made a panel where lots of different scraps were trapped under black netting? Well on Monday I went there again and we mounted up and embellished the edges. I then came home and added the beads, some Burn gave me and some I had already. Finally I backed it and sewed it all together to get the finished Autumn panel.(The picture is actually sideways, the threads should be up the right and along the bottom!)

Detail of some of the beading, these came from the £1 shop!

This shows the machine embroidered leaf I had a bash at and some more of the threads and fibres.

I have the Winter one to do now and then next month we are going to make some more centre panels for Spring and Summer. They are just great fun to do!

Art Journal Week 18

This is a bit different for me isn't it? Challenge; "Are you a Domestic Goddess? If not what are you? Use some wings and an image of a person". Well at least that's what I think it was...I read it a few days ago and haven't checked back! I had great fun with this one and for once LOADS of stamping; bubble wrap on the BG, and then the lady, wings and baked "stuff". Colours are subtle for me too aren't they?
Now the words....I asked my children if I was a Domestic Goddess. They said no but when I asked WHAT I was one said "a knackered old bag". Hmmm don't love her any more! We went through the whole Yummy Mummy/ Earth Mother etc and then I asked my husband. He said "Well you do so much multi-tasking I think you should be a Swiss Army Wife." Oooo now I know just why I married him!

Europe Inchies

Wahey! For once I am early with my Inchies! They are due in at the end of May but I have sent them off already. This will end my patriotic streak I think. There has been quite enough red white and blue for a while. These were handpainted and then I printed the thin red lines and the white lines with the edge of a piece of mountboard. Finally I overstamped the Union Flag with an Eiffel Tower stamp, (that you can only just see).
Oh and by the way.......they are MEANT to be splodgy; it's art!

Art Journal week 17

I am still keeping up. This week the challenge was "Celebrations; talk about one specific one, include the letters RSVP and some sparkle". Well how could I ignore THE Royal Wedding. Very considerate of William and Catherine to get married the day after our 28th wedding anniversary. Meant we could go out for a meal on a school night! BG here is one of those Union Flag paper napkins....

Australasia Inchies.

You know when you have what you think is a really good idea? Well this was my good idea....for my Australasia Inchies I could replicate a piece of Aboriginal art using dots. So I started by drawing some pencil lines as a guide and used cocktail sticks in acrylic paints....

I had downloaded a pic from the internet as a guide to get the right sorts of colours....
...and after about 2 hours I had finished.

Then I chopped it all up into Inchies!!!!

I have to say it was fun!