fabric blocks & icicles....

Well I posted three packages off overseas today. One package containing these three flower block panels for a swap on one of my Yahoo groups and three packages with Icicle dolls for swaps and presents.

The above three flower blocks are 61/2 X 61/2" and had to have a green background. They were fun to make, but took me out of my comfort zone as I thought they were looking a little too traditional. Thus, if you zoom in closer you will note I have added some naive stitchery to try and give them a little bit extra something.
These two lovely ladies are part of the group of Icicles I have made recently for a couple of swaps... one with an online friend, one with a Yahoo group and also I am sending one off for a present to a friends daughter (of course I made more than these two, but dont want everyone to know who's getting what, so cant show them all). Thanks Belinda Schneider for making this pattern available to all in blogland, I am continuing to have lots of fun with it.
Wishing you all a wonderful week and look forward to catching up with a few blogs myself this week.

More fabric art .....

Hi everyone, I hope you had a wonderful Easter !!! I had a quiet one at my house. My son and husband went off to a horse show in South Australia for the weekend so I had lots of time to play around at home. Mind you I didnt get much art done at all.
Caught up with family and friends (and ate way too much.... and I dont just mean chocolate). Got my favourites...dark chocolate coated ginger, turkish delight easter eggs. Now its time to diet and behave! Visited my good friend Dot and saw all of the beautiful Amelia dolls that she has been making. They are GORGEOUS... I picked up my doll (Amelia 2) and she is now happily nestled with her other art doll friends. Must take a picture and share soon.

The above is the back of my page for Jo's fabric book. Lots of different fabics and fibres all intermingled with some embroidery. Was fun to do and I hope it finishes off the page well. On your left you can see the back of a little bejewelled tag I have hidden between the front and back page.

This next shot is of the page in situ in Jo's book.... snuggled into its little pocket. Due to fitting it into the pocket I had to take the tag out of it's little position so it would fit into the pocket (you can see the front of it popping out on the right in the pocket if you zoom in). So much fun and I think she looks very happy in Jo's book.

Looking forward to my next page arriving in the mail next month (I think it is Martha Brown's... now that will be fun too!!!) Check Martha's out on her blog.

Have a couple of Icicle dolls to work on this week for my friend Jill (Plaid Poppy) for a swap we are doing and also finishing off some flower panels for a swap on one of the yahoo groups. Will be a busy weekend of finishing I think.

Take care and enjoy the changing seasons... we are enjoying some much needed rain here!

Fabric Page for Jo....

The fabric page above is one that I have been working on this weekend for our fabric book page swap. This page is for the talented Jo Wholohan. If you want to visit her blog you can see the covers and pages Jo has made before she sent this to me for my additions.
I had a lot of fun with this page. I have done some fabric layering (as Jo loves layers and dimensional work) and fabric painting, needle felting and embroidery. Lots of fun this fabric page.
I have also made a little tag to go with it which will slide into a hidden pocket. The photo didnt turn out too well, so will photograph again and post a picture when I show the back of the page.
Fun, fun, fun.

This is my most recent page in my visual arts journal. My favourite saying by Sark "Love Imperfectly". The colours havent shown up too well, it has come out a little dull. On this page I have tried the Kelly Rae Roberts technique as in Cloth Paper Scissors for the background. Lots of fun and will be using this technique again soon for a collage swap that I am involved in.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Thank you for visiting!

Fabric Pages for book finished....

Finally I have been able to upload these photos.... seems our server has been out of order over the weekend!!! (and I thought it was just the operator as usual).


This is my page for my fabric book. I was inspired by the gorgeous new Tina Givens fabrics that Dot has found just recently. You know how much I love Kaffe Fassett fabrics, well I think these are even rivalling KF at the moment at my house!!! Also thanks to Tina I had my first go at freestyle stitching one of my faces...need a bit more time to play, but the end result wasnt too bad. The little padded heart is actually a pocket that the jewellery can be hidden away into. What fun I had working with these new fabrics. Thanks Dot for introducing me to this new fabric designer (link to her blog in links list). This is the back of the page. I made this little felt pocket and embellished with face, beading and stitchery. Inside is a little tag and message. Of course I couldnt resist a little bit more of my new fabric... cut out the gorgeous flowers and stitched them on for a bit more colour.
This is the inside of the back cover. Made a scrappy pocket to hold some tags so that the other girls who are making pages for my book can leave me a little comment/note.
And, the finished book with it all its bits and bobs hanging out ready to be sent on to Dot for my first page to be added.... will be very exciting to get this book back in 10 months and check out all of the fabric art pages that the talented ladies in this exchange will create.
This little girl is called "Nittin Nancy" (I know, not a very original name). I made this little one after my nephew had visited and we had our knitting session. She's an arty little finger puppet. Love the variegated wools!!! Originally she was to go in my fabric book, but Dot was very taken with her so she is on her way to Dotee with my fabric book.

Hope you have enjoyed this colourful post !

Peaceful weekend .....

Hi everyone, I hope you had a lovely peaceful weekend. I had a fantastic weekend. I was lucky enough to have my 10 year old nephew, Hugh, visit for the weekend. We always have a fun time and he likes to get into some "arty" stuff when he visits.
This weekend we made a birthday card for his Aunty. We had visited a local craft store and found some new pens that colour on acetate. Using some gold stickers we were able to make a card with a stained glass effect... looked wonderful! Sorry, I forgot to take any photos of his card but am sure next time he is out we will make more and I will post a picture then.
He also tried his hand at knitting - the intention being to knit himself a scarf for this winter.
Now to the photo above... These three ATC's were made for a bird ATC swap that I have been participating in over the past months. The middle ATC is made of fabric, the other two are paper. These were the last of the ATC's I had to make for this swap. They are now winging their way to Patti B. in the USA.

The above is a fabric bird I made last year for my dear friend Dot. I just thought I would share this picture with you as I thought that it made a lovely Easter present (far less calories than chocolate !!!!). The pattern was a freebie I received when I attended a quilting gathering last year. The ladies who provided the pattern were "Melly & Me". They have some wonderful patterns on their site if you want to google it (due to the fact that I dont yet know how to link!!! Dont worry, this will be remedied soon as Dot is going to give me some lessons this weekend).
This is a close up of the nest which was crocheted using thin strips of fabric... looked ever so cute (and Dot loved it).

Sorry, but not the best photo. This is a little doll I made on the weekend, for no reason at all except that I wanted to try a doll in this black and white stripe and also do a painted face. Still not sure if she is finished???
Thanks for visiting and enjoy your week ........