How many reindeer were there?

Even with my memory being great when I was younger I still cannot recall the reindeer names... I always miss one- or more! Just how many were there really?

Well, I have completed 6 so far... seems like a normal number for a set. How many sets I get made will depend on how quickly I get my other gifts completed.

Here is the fabric version, I have put a tutorial for them in my textile tutorial page. Why not have a go yourself? They don't take too long, but are well worth the effort. I shall be making a few more sets, and probably use a couple of different shapes too... well, it is Yule.

Yule decorations already??

Well, sad to say, Yes! In all the shops already....I am one of these people who, although enjoying the notion of celebration, is totally fed up with the increasing over production/saturation and ongoing ruthlessness of retail xmas. The exploitation of staff at xmas, and the bullying of customers to buy more, for ever longer periods of time really makes me mad. Yes, you guessed it- I worked for a big retail store, one of the many who care only about year on profits... but enough of that... xmas should be about friendship, love, sharing and remembering. So on with the sharing....

So, Yule decorations already? Sadly, if you're actually making them then they need to be finished in good time, so I have started super early this year, and as Palma has started the 2012 Wichtel Swap already I've begun my countdown for crafting.

The swap calls for a hanging decoration and this years theme is "Reindeer". I had a good mooch online to see what was about, but wanted to do something original. I know a cutout isn't particularly original in itself, but I hoped that collaging the paper might go some way to help. 

So I spent yesterday gluing, pressing, cutting and sewing... not so difficult, but sometimes it's simple ideas that work out best... see what you think.

The sewing was pretty hard on the fingers so I actually resorted to digging out my rarely used thimble- unheard of! 

I really like how they've turned out so I'm going to spend tomorrow joining fabrics to make quilted versions... I'll let you know how they go...

Dreamy dreamcatching...

I did want to get some more sewing done this week, but as Xmas is looming and I want to be prepared, and the call of beads was getting too great, I decided to get busy with some of my dreamcatchers... Over the years I've made them in all sizes; for car mirrors, wedding decoration/presents, window decs, anniversary pressies and  decorations... but this year I thought I'd expand my Christmas collection a bit. I've got a fair selection of charms that I've not used yet... so that's what I'm using...

Wiccan; sun with opal, goldstone and beads

General; heart, jade,coral and beads

Wiccan; pentacle, amethyst and beads

Xmas; flake, tourminated quartz

Xmas; deer, amber and beads

I've listed a few on my shop on Etsy, already packaged up, but I also make commissions using requested gemstones, colours and charms, whatever your needs, just email to chat about it- no obligation!

Poetry and art...

I read this on Facebook;

She is a wild one
Who turns her face to the wind.
Her eyes glow in the night...golden..
As if the Sun lived within her.
The aroma of the earth as it receives the falling rain
is her perfume.
She laughs--Oh! How she laughs
in the presence of turmoil and bluster!
For deep in her soul...
There is a summers day. 

It was written by an arting friend Jerene B Dunn and since reading it I've had an image going round in my head... to the point where I had to sit and play quickly in Photoshop to get something down on virtual paper. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but the colours and layout are right... will work on a painted version sometime soon, then I will get the feeling right.

Here she is...

Digital compilation of a number of pieces of my artwork, played with in layers on CS5

Fun with Botany

I've just finished photographing my swaps for Palma's Botanical matchbox swap ... I wasn't sure whether to do some of my botanical painting, or mix it up a bit... but as it is a completely new experience for me I went with the mixing it up a bit!!

I used this template  for the matchbox... and googled matchboxes to get some ideas as to how they are usually decorated...

I wanted to do something really funky as well, and as I'm not really vintage or steampunky I don't have much in the way of suitable embellishments for those styles. I did think a pop-up box would be fun though, and as I'm not allowed to send natural materials to Oz I felt a fake tree was in order!! I know how you love trees Mel!

I cut my boxes, little base inserts, found some pen springs, and dug into my wire and crystal collection.... the results being 3 little landscapes, complete with river, flowers and overhanging tree... wish I could find a small enough fairy to pop in there too...

Blues

Golds

Greens

These are for Mel, Dawna and Susan, but I'm not going to say who's is who's... that'll have to be the suprise! xx

Catching up on ATCs...

Catching up on ATCs, these were made for the ATC Trees swap on Milliande . Two went off to a friend in Australia and arrived safely, thankfully.
They are mini versions of a large mixed media canvas work I did earlier this year called "Metamorphosis"

As I get older I'm really loving the idea of getting closer to nature and refinding all our natural/ spiritual selves. Alot of my artwork is beginning to reflect this now...


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