QUOTE

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-things I had no words for." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe


Thursday, December 20, 2007

Wishes for Christmas and New Year

This will be my last post for this year. Gosh when I look back it seems to have rushed by and here we are on the brink of stepping into another New Year. I probably won't be posting for a few weeks as I am away on holiday. If I get a chance then I might drop a note but until then you all take care and I wish each one of you A Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Je vous souhaite Joyeux Noël et une Bonne Année

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Had to work on her

I had to have my fix of doll making for today. So I did some work on her. I had some paperclay left over from the last project and thought I might as well use it before it went hard. So this is what I did. Yep now I have to wait for it to dry which is the hard part as I want to keep working on her as ideas flow into my head LOL!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Eeeks!!

and eeeks it is. Sorry I was trying to write about this when my DH came and rushed me off the computer as we were going for a Carol Concert. I thought I would save it and write about it later but looks like instead I pressed the wrong key. Imagine my surprise when I saw Linda and Kai's comments LOL! Ok what I was going to say was I started this doll she is tiny from an inspiration I got from a Christmas decoration. However looks like great minds think alike and I found Helen has already done a doll similar to the one I was going to make. You can see it in Jan's blog. Anyway I will do her a bit differently but what am I to do with her face. I completely spoilt her face sculpting as you can see my stitches have gone a bit astray to say the least. I think now I am going to paint the whole face with gesso and try and cover the offending stitches.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Sparklers

Suddenly blogger is not letting me into any of the blogs. So while it sorts itself out. I thought I would show what I have been doing. I have been busy as everyone else trying to finish things before I go away for Christmas. I put up my Christmas tree but couldn't get my tree top to sit on top. Oh well she will be a table topper now. Also in between doing other things I have been having fun making these bracelets. Can't see the sparkles in them very well in the picture but they look nice (I think so)when they sparkle. Also finished making the cake and did lots of shopping. It seems never ending though!

Friday, November 30, 2007

All done

Spring has come to the forest and the frost is melting. Spiders are busy spining their web, while the fairies are out sunbathing by the poolside. This class was really enjoyable. Jean is a great teacher. I learnt a lot of techniques. I am showing some of the details here as it doesn't show up well in the overall picture. I used invisible thread for the cobwebs with dew on them. I used the 3D lacquer to make the dew drops as Jean told us but I found that because my lacquer was a bit old it was drying clear with a slight yellow tint so I sprinkled tiny amount of glitter on it. It really pops when you do this as it glistens when light catches it also it disguised the fact that it had a slight yellowish tint to it. I used Bostic general purpose glue for the water feature as I couldn't find the epoxy glue in the local shops. It works but I found that once I opened the tube and closed it and then again opened to use it the glue dries slightly cloudy. Overall I am pleased with it. I think I might add some crystals to the chair oh you know I love bling, I just cannot be without using bling lol!! Also perhaps add a few more cobwebs. Thank you so much Jean for this wonderful class I really enjoyed it very much.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Chair progress more

This is how far I have got with my chair. There is some more to do but I am getting there. The end is in sight provided I get the water feature sorted out.

Swaps and kindness

First of all I must thank all of you for your lovely and supportive comments. Lately I have not posted much as I have been rather busy but I thought it was about time that I showed you the lovely swap ornaments I received from Fran and Jackie. They were wonderful partners for the Christmas ornament swap. They were also very kind and generous in sending some lovely goodies with it. I also got a lovely surprise gift from Jan who sent me an ornament and the beautiful bar of soap which I don't think I will have the heart to use it Jan . These goodies are from Fran and I have taken a close up picture of the little elf face in the stocking which Fran sculpted. Isn't he the cutest! The mermaid soap and the ornament were sent by Jan. These goodies and the beautiful stocking was made by Jackie. I forgot to take a picture of my ornaments but trust me they are not as beautiful as Fran or Jackie's. So you are not missing much. Thank you Fran and Jackie for being a lovely swap partners and thank you Jan for the lovely surprise gift.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Progress on chair

I worked on my fairy chair a bit more today and it is taking shape. Even though I have never worked with clay before I am enjoying this project.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Got started on my chair

At last I have started on a project on which I have been sitting as I had other things intruding and not feeling well amongst other things. This is a Fairy chair class which I am taking with Jean Bernard a wonderful mixed media artist. The chair is sculpted from Apoxy clay. Infact I should have done it with Apoxy sculpt but went and ordered the wrong stuff. Anyway Jean said I could do it with the clay. I bought it from a uk supplier and I have to make a complaint to them as it seems to be rather hard. I believe it should really be very soft. Since they seem to be the only suppliers in this country I can't really go and buy else where. Buying from outside the country is very expensive postage wise. But since I can still use it I decided to make a start on the project. The face was made from a little bit of left over apoxy. The real class face has some lovely bangs but unfortunately since the clay I got is hard I can't really make it look soft. However I have sort of grown to like the look of this one.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Some stuff

I am rather at a loose end at the moment and not feeling that well either so I thought I would just show you some of the felt pieces that I made in my felting class. I enjoyed this class very much and hope to do some more of felting but somehow I think I won't be doing it during the winter. This is a 3D structure I made using a ceramic pot shaped like this.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Angel finished

I finished my angel finally. I have named her Noel. I used silk for her underskirt and the bodice and silk organza with mirror work and embroidary for her over skirt. I then beaded her with pearls. The lace is handmade lace which I got from India and then I beaded that. For the wings I used the super dooper stabilizer that sticks to fabric. No basting or ironing on required for this and then it washes off. It is cool stuff especially for embriodary. I did some machine embroidary on the wings and beaded it with pearls. I didn't put any embellisments on her hair even though I did make provisions to put it there. I thought it might go over the top a bit. However I might see if crystal beads will look ok or not at a later date. Thank you so much Jacque for this wonderful class

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Gypsy Challenge doll

So here is my Gypsy mermaid doll. The judging and the challenge is over so I can show you now. As you can see I went a bit mad with the blings on her. She is not my favourite . I am not pleased with her body at all but since I was pushed for time I didn't bother to change it. I used more beading on her than any other doll LOL!! I named her "Leher" which means wave in Indian language. Sorry the pictures are not great. I will have to take a better one when she gets back.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Her face is done

I managed to finish her face today. It was not easy to paint on clay. I kept over doing her eyes in the end I had to stop myself otherwise I might have spoilt it.

Progress on Angel

This is how far I have got with my Ashley Rose.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Birthday appointment misfire!!

Lol! my hubby had planned a surprise for my birthday today and wanted me to meet up in London when I went there. But unfortunately it all misfired as I did not get the message till I came back home. So since I was back home early this is what I decided to do.

Now I have to wait for the clay to dry... but I have already finished her in my mind LOL!

Last but not least thank you all for your Birthday wishes for my blog and me!!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Blog Birthday

This blog is 1 year old even though I had started blogging much before. I moved my blog when blogger changed over to beta blogger so I will just celebrate the birthday of this blog. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my blogging friends and visitors for their support and encouragement through out. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. You are the best!!

Finishing my homework

I haven't got round to working on my doll today. I had to finish my homework. We were supposed to paint a row of houses. I couldn't think of anything so I looked at a photo I had taken somewhere in Cambridge and improvised. It didn't turn out the way it was supposed to (story of my life)LOL!! I think I overworked on the paint so the transparancy seems to have disappeared a bit. I have to wait and see what my teacher says. This the picture I improvised from.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Fingers in different pies

Since I have my fingers in different pies I thought I might as well have another pie going LOL! So I decided to take Jacque's class. This is a lovely tree top angel called Ashley Rose . Here is mine sitting in a corner drying. I hope she doesn't take too long. I think I will put her in the oven
to speed up the process.

Gifty Day!!

Look what I got in the post today! A pressy from my dear friend Kai! Thank you so much Kai. I never expected it, you are so kind and generous and it is lovely. I will treasure it. It has made my day. Thank you thank you once again.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Tiny fairy done

My tiny fairy is done. I am wondering if I should give her wings. I like her as she is. I made some wings for her but I think they are a bit too big so they keep flopping over. May be I will give her tiny wings. What do you think but I personally think she has enough magic in her to make her mobile LOL! She works her little magic and stands on her own. Her hair is made from wool that is twisted and when she is working her magic they stand out on the sides. She a fun fairy. Hope my partner will have fun with her. Her petals can even be used as pin cushions.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Weekend fun

Chris had a mini challenge in her blog to raise funds for "Breast Cancer". I am no good at scrapping anything let alone my breasts LOL. So I decided I'd make a little paper doll since it is for a good cause
Beach Babe
On Saturday I went to a feltmaking class. It is a 3 week course and I just loved it. It was great fun. The teacher showed us such an easy method. I have read about how to felt in various books and internet article but nothing to beat hands on demo. Here are my first results. Never thought it would be so easy.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Tiny Fairy

My Tiny Fairy has hands and legs. She turned out to be a skinny 10inch fairy LOL

I have been tagged!

Hello ladies, I have been tagged by Michelle, Diane, Chris . Thank you ladies for thinking about me. I have decided that I will just play here and not tag anyone else as most of you have already been tagged. So here are my 7 secretes LOL!
1. It is one year since I left work and thought I would miss it after a while but I don't. I love being at home and doing my own things
2. When I sit down to do my craft work the elves keep coming and hiding my things
3. When I do my craft work my work seems to spread from one room to the next
4. I love to watch Antiques Road Show
5. I try and excersise 3 times a week
6. I love to travel places that has a lot of history and if I had the money I would do just that...
7. My fix for the day is a cup of tea in the morning and a cup of tea in the afternoon.
It is almost time for that fix so I am off the computer now

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Dolls dancing

I have dolls dancing, that is in my head but not yet materialised. After having been to the knitting and stitching show I came away with lots of inspiration. While I have been mulling away in my head, I made this quick pin for Justine whom I am going to meet on Friday. She came across me via the internet and contacted me immediately when she found that I live in England. I am really excited about meeting her. I am also designing a tiny little doll for a swap which is not turning out tiny at all LOL! The swap is for a 6 inch fairy but mine is about 8-9 inches. I will just have to turn her into a 6 inch fairy and I will make a bigger one as well which I want to do.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

swap doll done

Today I went to the knitting and stitching show in Ally Pally( Alexandra Palace). As always I had a great time ooohing and aaahing over so many beautiful textile art exhibits and as usual ended up spending more than I should have. But I console myself saying oh well it is only once a year. I met up with Barbara, Betts , Patti and also met Sarah in their booth. I missed meeting up with Colleen which was a pity. Also in the rush I forgot to take my camera so I have no photos to show you all. I got my mermaid finished and delivered it to Patti. She is a swap doll. At the moment I don't know to whom it will go to but we are doing a swap with Patti's doll club members so I hope whoever gets her will like her. Next year the doll artists will be going to France for the show. So may be I will go there too it gives me an excuse to go there anyway and meet up with my french friends.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Something fishy

Today our teacher brought in some fish (Sardines) for us to paint. I think I am slowly begining to get the hang of water colours. I don't think this is an exact replica of the fish but that was not her intention in giving us to paint a fish. She wanted us to use colours to blend. She also wants us to paint to a large scale hence the fish is big and everything else we will paint will be large. Now don't ask me what that orange blob is and what it is doing there, I won't even go into it LOL! I didn't find anyone moving away from me in the train so I guess I didn't smell of fish either LOL!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Going for a ride!

This is what you show when you have nothing to show LOL! Since I am at a low ebb thought I would show what my dolls are up to. This one seems to be enjoying her ride . This one is taking its time to come together. Will I ever finish her ? I have to send her away next week!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Thank you

First of all let me thank you all for your lovely comments on the bracelet. I saw this pattern sometime ago as a free pattern in the net. I thought it was lovely so it stuck in my mind however I had not bothered to save the link as it is so easy to make. Since Kai has asked me if I sell this bracelet I went searching again for this pattern and found it at last so here is the link for it http://jewelrymaking.about.com/od/pearlbracelets/ss/090906.htm The instructions are there all you need are the beads to make it. I think you could even substitute other beads in place of the ones shown and make it up with your own favourite beads and colours don't you think.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Another quick project

You know me, I love anything that is quick and easy and pretty to make so here is another bracelet I made last night. Have a lovely day all. Clip art courtesy of Aunt Molly's Bead Street

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Something small

This was something small and easy that I made last night before going to bed. This is a lovely illustrated book of small fairies that I received today.