Post Craft Fair High

 The craft fair on Saturday went very well.  I met a lot of lovely people, had some great feedback and sold a lot more than I'd thought.  So all in all, a very successful day after a lot of hard work.  I can't wait to do it again!

 Some of my journals remain unsold so I'm going to try to set up an internet shop sometime soon but in the meantime I'll sell direct from my Facebook page via Paypal.  (If you 'like' my page you'll get my facebook updates appearing on your home page).

 I had two great helpers on Saturday, friends who went above and beyond the call of duty so I decided to make them a couple of brooches to say thank you.

I discovered Bojangle Beads in Loughborough last week, a very friendly and totally inspiring bead shop that also do mail order.  One of my friends had asked me to make her a kilt pin brooch for Christmas, as she spotted on there, and well, I couldn't wait to make one! 

Craft Fair Here I Come

 Out of creative chaos has come forth....

 fabric hearts, made from old embroidered napkins and salvaged materials, together with a dash of vintage images, lace and buttons....

little fabric collages, mounted on recycled cards....

here they are before mounting, and

a stack of decorated fabric journals.

With many thanks to PG tips for the copious amounts of tea I've drunk, the support of my cats, friends and family who put up with my creative antics and for the Co-op for supplying that cheap, but ultimately, very drinkable, Soave at the end of an exhausting creative day.  I couldn't have done it without you!

Seriously though, whilst it has been long hours this week (I've taken the week off from my paid employment) I've really enjoyed it.  Nearly done, just got some business cards to make, paper bags to decorate, a lampshade to make (don't ask, just had another idea and think it might look good), get all packed up and might get to sit down at some point this evening.  Wish me luck!

Making Journals

 Long time no blogging, but I've been busy, honest, making journals and here is just a little peak at the front cover of one of them.

And here is Billy 'helping' me with a special journal, hush, don't tell anyone, it's a secret for now :)

Scrappy Journal

 I've finally got around to binding my Scrappy Journal, made using scraps of fabric and scraps of coloured watercolour paper left over from my larger journals.

The paper on it's own would have made tiny signatures so I used lengths of scrap fabric sewn on as kind of hinges.  I like how when you turn the pages you get flashes of these fabric scraps as well as them being visible on the outside.

 I used a combination of binding techniques from Mary Ann Moss on the Full Tilt Boogie class and the very helpful instructions supplied by Lynn Holland, photoing pages from a book for me, so kind.

 Whilst I love this little book I feel it is somehow naked and in need of either a little sac bag, so I can carry it with me easily, or maybe a wrap so it can be carried with some art supplies.  I feel another project coming on.....

I picked the first roses from my garden yesterday - St Swithun and Zephirine Drouhin, both beautifully perfumed, ahhhhhh.

Been Doing My Homework

 

But first I had to make a journal to put my homework in.  Whilst I love making journals I think it's probably more of a reaction to when I was at university and we were told what size sketchbook to use and we weren't allowed to decorate them which was crazy beings as we were doing a creative degree.  Enough said, rant over.

The theme for this term's embroidery class is Summer so I immediately thought of gardens (and daytrips to cemeteries) so I used pages from old gardening books and some of my stash of floral wallpapers.

 

I began playing around with fabric transfer paints.  When I was in class a stray thread had got in the way of the transfer but I liked the happy accident so decided to explore that further, using threads, lace and gauze as masks.

 I also painted a clematis design and transferred that to cream poly-cotton fabric, ready to embroider. 

Journals in Progress

I'm working on a little journal in which there are five sections, one for each of my cats. So when someone says 'Do you have any photos?' I'll be able to whip out my little decorated journal, well, that's the theory, my handbag is already full to bursting most of the time. It is based on my recollections of a tag book I saw online a while ago but I forgot to note the link. So if you recognise it let me know and I'll link it.

I was then looking at the small scraps of watercolour paper I had left over from a making another journal. If I folded them I would have a very tiny signature indeed so I decided to make fabric spines for them.

I just have to figure out a way of binding them and attaching a cover that doesn't cover up the fabric as I rather like it showing.