I have my work cut out today.....I am designing a flyer to hand out and to post to my eBay customers. I don't think eBay will be very happy if I message them through eBay.....so I have to write and slip a flyer in with each letter.

I have been selling on eBay for over five years so I have picked out my regular customers ....and that is a lot of letters...a lot of stamps!

I nipped around to see my post office ladies ...bought the stamps ...got stuck chatting ..now I am behind as normal.

.................

I have a face book page for my customers...lovely ladies who are now my friends. Caroline, who I call my mermaid lady had sent me a message reminding me that she would like yet another mermaid. She has two gorgeous daughters and has been buying my mermaids for them and herself ever since I began making them. Caroline asked me to make her a mermaid similar to one which is on my old blog...a more grown up design...more of a decoration...

This is one of my little mermaids...the way I make them now....

This is the new design for my big mermaids .....

I made and sold several of these a few years back....I printed them .....

sorry the photo is not very good...

This is the mermaid Caroline would like, I sewed on sequins and embroidered the tail...she has a more realistic bust..a quilted tail and has a string of pearls. You can see the date on the photo... 2007... Sorry the photo is awful...I had a cheap, rubbish camera. I still have the pattern I designed, so I shall make some more, but I really do not like her face.  A few adjustments here and there are needed..... 

 This is another old photo that I found on my old blog. A mermaid clock I made from mdf...I went through a wood working phase. I love to paint wooden things but it takes me to long cutting out the wood.  I nearly sliced off my thumb right through the nail using a band saw. That was enough to put me off....shame....

If I ever come back to this world....I hope I shall be a hunky... fit... carpenter....



Thrifting ... A little house ...

I do so wish I could pick up my little house and turn it around...

My house faces South...the kitchen is at the front and the sun streams in through the window....Charlie's bedroom is the largest and is at the front...both rooms are lovely and warm. The front garden is in the sun most of the day...and although it is tiny, I can plant mostly what I choose.

Because the back garden faces North, the sun starts and the bottom and creeps up during the day, but never reaches the house itself. My living room is cold all year, only on the hottest days can I open the sliding doors which lead into the sun room.

The other problem with this is watering the garden. There is no outside tap and I hope this year to get some water butts and guttering up on the shed and sun room. The back garden is only about 40ft long but I have squeezed a huge amount in and grow my own veg.... I have tried a hose pipe through the house to the kitchen sink...but all I get is a flooded kitchen as no attachment seems to fit on the mixer tap... 

So the long and short of it all is that I have to use a watering can...the back garden needing 15-20 watering cans full every day.....hard work!

I worked from 8am this morning...chilly with a hoody over my tea shirt...fidgety as I felt cold. I could see the lovely sun up the top of the garden and longed to be outside.

I had my tea out there first thing and a couple of coffees....but I just had to get out...

I popped over to the charity shop....I walked slowly to prolong the experience of the warm sun on me.

And I bought this metal house hook, it was only £1....

My blog header ..

It took me a long time to work out how to do my blog header. I knew what I wanted, something that would me me, represent my style of work and look as real as possible. By real, I wanted the stitches to show up and I knew that a photograph would make it look dead.

The only way I could think of doing it was to scan it in.

I cut a piece of very thick interfacing the length of my scanner and half the width. I chose my main fabric and cut it large enough to wrap over the sides. The main problem was how to applique on the letters as they had to be thin in order to fit on.... I knew that if I cut them to size I would have a real problem in that they would move and could fray and even fall apart. Deciding how to go about this went round and round in my head for days.... Thinking through all the options I suddenly hit upon the answer...

I cut some paper the same size as the interfacing and drew on the letters. I wrapped the fabric over the interfacing and stuck it down with masking tape. Next I chose and cut the fabrics for each letter into oblongs and squares a little larger that my design and laid them in place, then I pinned the design over the top. 

I have a new sewing machine and had to look up how to lower the feed teeth and altered the tension to loosen it slightly. The rest was simple...I used free machine sewing to sew over the outline of each letter through all the layers. 

Free machine embroidery is when the machine just stitches and you move the material in the direction you wish...you can go in any direction...it is like drawing with a sewing machine... There are many videos on you tube that explain how to do this.

After outlining each letter I tore away the paper and did more embroidery around each letter with sparkly silver lurex thread... when I had the effect I desired I cut the surplus fabric away from around each letter.

I am very pleased with my header. I did not want to waste all that hard work so I have made it into a picture. I sewed some strips of pretty fabrics around my design and stretched it over a canvas.

The only problem being...every time I look at it ...I am reminded that I should be working !



Hampden Park Eastbourne

Yesterday was such a lovely day, that after working hard all morning I could resist no longer,I had to get out of the house and walk in the sun.

The reason I chose to move out of the town centre to this little village is because of the park. It takes me about eight minutes to get to one of the entrances, I think there are about four.

The whole park is surrounded by woodland with little paths that you can explore. The squirrels are not at all shy and will come right up to you if you feed them. There is a path that go's around the lake and various different gardens. The park has tennis courts, bowling greens, a play park, football pitches and a cafe.

 This was our first walk of the year and everything looks a little bare. They have put temporary fences around to protect the newly built up banks and nesting areas. Last year we saw Herons in their nests. There are ducks, swans, geese and sadly too many Seagulls who fight for the bread thrown in.

Between the trees you can see the cafe.

We bought ice creams and sat on one of the many benches watching children feeding the ducks.

The trees are still fairly bare, but as we looked up we could see nests.

 I found the trees fascinating .



Embroidery ...buttons ... thrifting and my cat ...

What a lovely spring day...I must admit I could easily have spent the day in the garden.

However tempting.....I had to work. First things first... my car had to go in for it's mot.

 Whilst waiting with fingers crossed that nothing was wrong with it, I went on a continued search for some pea green material. I make owls....I make pussycats...and have been planning in my mind to make some pea green boats........ I have hunted every shop that sells fabric with no luck at all....I have green material, but not pea green...I wonder do they make such a colour....

I did buy some new embroidery threads....I wanted pink, black and white, but found it was actually cheaper to buy an assorted pack. I wonder how long they will stay all neat and tidy...how long before they join the tangled mess with my other threads....

I also bought these cute wooden heart buttons .....

And....after a quick look around the charity shop....I found this....

Well I never....another cat...very similar to the one I bought Charlie. So I bought him for Charlie as well, even though he is not keen on the first one...I like him. He was only 45p !

After a wash and brush up...here is my new stripy cat. Charlie thinks the new one is worse than the first.....I think they are fab.

And here is Bloopy having a snooze on what was my bed throw. He likes how squishy it is...you know..when cats do that pawing thing before they lie down...he purrs so loudly whist pawing it for ages that Charlie and I end up in hysterics. ....

Oh...and my car passed its mot..it just needed new wiper blades.....so all is well...

Handmade gift fabric Easter chickens and chicks ....

I sold a lot of these chickens last year, so I have made a few more....They were great fun to make...I thought of speckled red hens and found just the right fabric for their heads. After a sort through my fabric stash I chose the material for their bodies ...curtain weight cotton with a print that looks like feathers.I sewed a pocket on the front and popped a little chick in....All four are just about the same...

Cute little felt chick.....

You can see the chickens are quite large...I made this one for Echo...I put a few tiny eggs in the pocket with the chick...

Handmade fabric bird decorations ....

Today started off with a broken glass...not the thing you need before your morning cuppa.

Having told Charlie many many times ...not...to take water to bed in one of one of the tall ,thin glasses...I was somewhat annoyed that it lay smashed beside his bed.... Accidents happen...I have broken many glasses. I did not care about the glass, but I do care about cut feet...especially as Charlie is allergic to antibiotics.... Luckily he had not cut himself. I cleared it all up and sat in the sun to drink my tea.

I drink my tea in the garden every morning of the year, unless it is actually raining or snowing. When it snowed I put on my wellies...tucked in my pj's and put a coat over my dressing gown. I cleared the snow from my seat and sat on a newspaper....

I like the fresh air and space...because my house is small I feel shut in...

I finished my fabric birds so now I can put them on my shop...

I have tried many ways to do birds eyes but I am happiest with using these little iridescent sequin flowers and tiny black beads....I have to use a very very thin needle as the holes in the beads are really tiny.....

I also did a bit more work on my butterfly wall art thingy....I don't know what to call it !

This is work in progress as I am not quite sure what to do to it....or what to do with it ...

Today has wizzed by......

Handmade fabric bird ....

I was woken this morning by Charlie holding a lovely cup of tea and a mothers day card.......he made a fuss of me today. William, my middle son sent a card and phoned me...Peter my oldest son sent a text...he came to see me yesterday...Along with the sunshine, that was all I needed to make my day  special.

Charlie was doing his own thing...so I made the most of the sun and walked to B&Q in search of a roll of wallpaper to pretty up a cupboard I wish I had never bought... There was nothing I liked but I enjoyed the walk.

My parents moved to France about five years ago...I missed my mum today. I sat in the sun at the top of the garden and phoned her from there....we chatted until my phone battery died...

I hung out the washing and gave my bracket another coat of paint....It took about three coats of quick drying satin paint to cover the black...you can see how it looked before in the previous post.....

This was after the first coat of paint.........

Whist I had the paint out .... I painted this butterfly thingy. I bought this in the sales after Christmas for £1.25...It is metal and I thought it had  potential......By the time I had done this I noticed it was raining and my washing was soaking wet ....

I struggled a bit screwing the bracket to the side of the shelves.....There is never a man around when you need one ! How come men can do this sort of thing in five minutes...where as it look me ages...mind you it is on straight, more than I can say for the last thing a man put up for me.... 

I had intended to finish off all my birds today.... but it was one of those days ...I spent too long chatting on the phone..and too long chatting on line.... never mind...I had a good day and at last my bird cage is hanging up complete with a pretty little bird....

Happy !....

Pretty little metal birdcage ...

I have been working very hard of late...mainly tyring to sort out an on line shop...I have looked into so many. I wanted one with a shopping cart...but...I found them either far too expensive....or...too hard for me to manage as I am not great on a computer.

 So until I find exactly what I want, I have set up a blog shop. It doesn't have a shopping cart, but quite honestly I don't think it makes much difference. If you buy through Pay Pal you have rights that cover you.

 You will find a link above to my shop....

It has been hard for me as I kept loosing the photos or they decided to move where I didn't want them to be....linking things is even harder. It is a good job my 14 year old son knows how to do that sort of thing...he has been a great help... I think I have just about done it...I just need to finish of the things I have been making and put them on.

Anyway...last night the weather forecast was fog in the morning and a sunny afternoon...I decided Charlie and I needed a day off..(Charlie is home tutored)...we needed a break and decided to go into town. Neither of us wanted anything particular, just a browse and something nice to eat. For once the weather man was right and we did not even need coats...  Charlie looked in Game and book shops, I looked in Laura Ashley, and wondered how I ever afforded to buy anything in there. We had fish and chips and ended up in the  pound shop....

The problem with pound shops is that you buy things you don't need ! .....I bought the butterfly decoration for the garden.....

A kitsch pink flower fly swat....which I think is really great and will be housed in the sun room which  attracts little wasps......

And....this metal bracket to hang my bird cage from. Now...my bird cage is white and I have been looking for ages for a white decorative bracket, with no luck for over a year. The birdcage, I bought on my birthday before last. I was sent £10 by my auntie Pat...bless...and that is what I bought. It has been gathering dust ever since. I shall paint the bracket white...simple..and it was only a pound....

This is my bird cage. Now I can hang it, I just need to make myself a little bird to live in it. I have a basket full of birds half made... now I have the incentive to finish them.....

I love this spell check ! x

Paintings of mermaids angels and flowers ......

I love to paint....My mum said she knew I would be an artist when I drew a huge spider on the wall when I was tiny. I remember I used to draw inside books as well...you know the white page at the beginning  and end. My auntie said she would turn the bookcase to face the wall when I visited.... I can't remember that.

I studied art and my tutor said I would have made a good fine artist...he was quite upset when I chose to study textiles.

 I have always been torn between painting and sewing. I love design...I love to print fabric....I enjoy colours...I like to use my imagination.

 It is much the same if I embroider...I make it up as I go along. My mother likes cross stitch and needlepoint, she prefers to follow a chart. I very seldom follow a knitting pattern, on the rare times I have...I will knit it in a fair isle design and make that up as I go along.

 I have never followed a crochet pattern...I was taught how to do a granny square , the basic stitches and from then on somehow just knew how to make what ever I thought of.

I am showing you a few paintings that I have sold.....In fact I did them as simple designs, mostly to sell on eBay. I knew I would not get a lot for them so they are not great works of art, I just enjoyed doing them.

 I have produced many paintings that I am proud of...they have been given away to family and friends. There is far to much competition, too many artists so I have decided to combine what I love to do with what I know I do best.....

The other paintings are on canvas, where as this one was on a large piece of mdf ...I did a few on mdf that I had cut for me...I liked the feel of painting on it. This photo was taken in the shop I had. Actually...I like to paint on walls....huge designs instead of wall paper or hanging pictures.

Embroidery .....

Below is a photo frame I made, with a cute photo of a very young charlie in it....I made the frame from two pieces of very thick card....from the back of an art drawing pad if my mind serves me right.  I used some cotton fabric that I had subtly tie dyed to cover the card. I put a layer of wadding between the card and the fabric, then stuck it down with uhu glue. When the glue was dry I used a blanket stitch to sew together the long sides and the bottom by sewing through both the front and the back at the same time.....I did each side of the top separately thus leaving an opening at the top. I remember hunting everywhere for some perspex to put inside to protect the photo....I cut up some that was packaging but I can't remember what it was now...

I cut stencils from cereal packets in the shape of flowers and stencilled using fabric paints onto frame. I just embellished the flowers with embroidery..some I outlined and some I sewed sequins in the middle.   The hanging cord is crochet with a couple of beads on each side.....The heart is full of lavender from my bush in the garden....

The design on this cushion represent....' Hands to work....hearts to god ' ...I think ..but don't quote me that it is a 'Shaker' belief....   Anyway I did my own design and printed it by doing a mono print from cardboard...then I embroidered it...this I sold on eBay...

My mum did this embroidery...this is just a section. She bought the kit in London in the 70s, I think she said from 'The Needlewoman', I'm not sure.... anyway, she did not make it up until a few years ago...and now it is mine :) .

This is how I work...in a mess !  I shall get told off by my mum now that she can see the tangle of threads that frustrate me every time I embroider.....I would untangle them but it would take up too much of my valuable time.....

And...this is just a little mushroom house that I made because I was in that sort of a fiddly mood....I did the 'Home' in tiny stitches... the door is applique and the flowers are beads....It now hangs on my kitchen dresser....  Oh...and the patchwork is part of a big blanket I made to cover the sofa...