The most wonderful time of the year !

Things that crash land in the night!

These two ladies took off on a flight never to be seen again !

Summer in the UK

The loveliness of my summer watching the birds nesting in the ivy above my window was brought to a sudden, silent halt! The birds abandoned their nests and could no longer been seen retiring to bed amidst the ivy leaves, why? because of these horrors!

They have taken up residence in my ivy much to the horror of both myself and the birds! So, armed with pruning shears and a lot of soul searching, I decided the only way to reconcile this problem was to chop down the ivy and kill off the invaders.        

In  a strange twist of fate these unwelcome visitors also solved a problem for me. We are forced to move house soon and take a smaller dwelling and the problem of the birds which have become so reliant upon me feeding them and in turn them making their home in the ivy has been one which has caused me a lot of heartache. I felt guilty at providing them with a home and food that a new tenant in my house may well take away from them by tearing down the ivy and not feeding them and here is where the yellow invaders came in. I had noticed the lack of birds flying to their nests and whilst sitting in the garden recently just staring up at the ivy I saw the yellow perils flying back and forth to the same spot amongst the leaves, I knew then the reason for the absence of birds!

And this brings me back to the pruning shears, I spent several days carefully snipping back a little growth at a time and trying to avoid too much noise and movement so as not to anger the little stingers. I don't like killing anything if I'm honest, not even bugs but I'm afraid they left me little choice and I purchased a can of wasp nest killer.

My next trick was to wait until early evening and then hang like a novice stuntman from the bedroom window armed with my can of toxic foam!

I sprayed and they got mad, that's too be expected from a wasp and they didn't disappoint lol  they searched for the attacker whilst I snapped the window quickly shut and stood back feeling safe behind the glass but at the same time feeling riddled with guilt! There are still some angry hangers on flying around and I am very watchful of them because I am convinced that wasps carry a grudge ( well they do in my world anyway) lol

In a strange way I suppose I should be grateful to them for forcing my hand and making a hard decision so yes, I can claim some positivity from the invasion and subsequent murder of my pointed assed friends!

 

great giveaway

Don't miss a great giveaway over at charmed confections for a chance to own a unique piece of handmade art work!
http://www.charmedconfections.blogspot.co.uk/

Snowman

Okay I know its not Christmas but even snowmen enjoy the sun before they melt lol

 

 

He was made using a pattern from Country Friends. I have made him a very realistic polymer clay carrot nose which doesn't show up well at this angle so take my word for it lol He is freestanding due to his weighted boots and I made a slight adaption to the head to make it larger.

Another new doll

Another doll from a Fruitfull Hands pattern and I love anything chicken lol

This is my latest doll make, it is from a pattern by Fruitfull Hands.

A toadstool by any other name ..........

Sad post alert. i have been to the charity/thrift shop and found these rather nice ceramic toadstools. What i shall do with them i have no idea but i love them and they are mine all mine lol I feel a fairy garden coming on may be lol

This lovely Spring Bunny was created from a pattern by the talented Maureen Mills over at Sweet Meadows Farm. She is wearing a lovely humespun dress with a felt daisy attached and colour co ordinated tea dyed muslin bloomers. What a little cutie she is!

Another Witch but this time sporting a raunchy red dress with a black lace over skirt.

This lovely froggy lady is made from hand dyed muslin and careful painting to create her facial features and various skin tones. She is wearing a homespun dress ( fabric bought in USA ) with a cute felt sunflower pin upon which rests a tiny fimo ladybird friend and a pair of tea dyed muslin bloomers. She has on cute black hand painted shoes with a tiny button on the side. The original pattern and distinctive style of this primitive is from Threadbare Primitives.

To grunge or not to grunge?

Most of my dolls are "primitive" style, this means they are based upon creations from a time when simplicity and basic supplies were all that was to hand. Modern day primitives are generally "grunged" which means they are dirtied using different recipes of stains like tea coffee, cinnamon and so on.
I tend to leave my creations in a "clean" state and ungrunged because i feel that a lot of people in the UK wouldn't really get the dirtied up look and what it was trying to achieve. Personally i like both but the grunged dolls possess a time worn charm of all their own.
I try wherever possible to locate and use "homespun" fabrics but again i find them hard to come by in the UK. The fabrics available in the USA are outstanding and obtainable but often the postage costs and import duty out prices them which is a great shame.
We have a lot of catching up to do in this country but i expect that limited demand means that very few outlets are willing to spend money on importing these wonderful fabrics. :(

Another Christmas bunny but this time made from tea dyed muslin and wearing a snowman pattern dress.

This little bunny is all decked out in Christmas fabrics and colours. Her body is made from tea stained quilters muslin.

Every things coming up daisies!

This dolly was created using a pattern from Sweet Meadows Farm. There are other flowers in the range on the pattern which i am hoping to get around to making soon.

Spooky goings on !

My Latest Bunny make

Made from hand dyed muslin

Creative Flow

The process of creating something with the hands is an externalisation of the inner self. If we are tense or tired then it can reflect in our work. Stitches will echo that sensation, brush strokes will seem jagged and clumsy and so on.
If the mood is gentle and relaxed then the artistic ability seems to stream through your work creating a sense of visual joy in the physical creation and the very fibre of the finished piece radiates a sense of love and well being.
Create with joy and your work shall be a testimony to the spirit of the artist.