Sirena Queen of the Mer-People

Meet Sirena.
She is my first fabric Art Doll.
She was made for a swap on AlterNative UK

I used to make rag dolls that children could play with and I have made paper art dolls, but this was so different to do.

I knew I wanted to do a mermaid as I am certain I will see one on the beach one day but how to go about it?

I had a couple of drawings of mermaids that I have been working on for a while - I'm not fast with a pencil ;0) - and wanted to use those ideas.
I didn't want her tail to point straight down I wanted her to look like she could swim off at any moment.

Well now I know why most mermaid doll's tails point down!
Roger is usually the best champion of my work but every day he would whisper very quietly "sorry love but this bit isn't right" and another draft pattern would hit the bin.
Then one evening in he came ready to whisper his fateful words and...... complete silence.
"You've done it!" he said giving me a big hug - yippee!

I played with the idea of making a "proper" doll and sewing right sides together and turning her but told myself she is an art doll and decided to sew round the edge on the right side - phew, no resizing of the draft pattern!
Next I drew the outline onto heavy cotton and painted her.
I used some felt behind the tail pieces and quilted the tail, I put the two sides together and stitched round the edge. I made a little cut in her belt and stuffed her.

This is where I think I made a mistake as I lost definition of course.
Her face and neck run into one another and she has a flat chest! Next time I would use layers of felt and quilting to get the look I want and probably not stuff the doll.

I enjoyed beading her and adding her wild hair.
It was quite hard to leave the raw edge and not do the finishing I have done in the past but I am really pleased with her and I am happy to report so was Jo my partner.

Mettallica

These are my pages for the September Chunky Book swap on AlterNative UK.

The theme was metal.
The backgrounds are book pages on watercolour paper. They are ripped and distressed and then I used ink and embossing powders to create colour and texture.

The silver paper is scrapbook paper.
The gorgeous shiny coppery paper with purple and pink wax was obtained in a background swap on ANUK sometime ago.

I can't remember who I got it from but I wish I could as I love it and really enjoyed putting it on these pages.

We are back.

Well, we are home from our holiday.

Am I glad to be back?
Well there is nothing quite like your own bed is there? And I did miss my sewing machine, desk and paints.
But, we had the most wonderful time and yes, I am glad to be home.
Not happy that The Man is off to work again but, hey you can't have everything.



This was where we stayed. It was idyllic.
Massive inglenook fireplace in the lounge, antiques everywhere you looked and apart from buying food and your own clothes there was nothing else you needed. Luxury everywhere.

The garden was so very beautiful, enclosed by a fabulous stone wall and safe for the babies.

Through the gate was path that lead to the other cottages in the row (3 including the owners), croquet lawn, country walks and the most gorgeous rose garden.

We visited lots of wonderful places and just chilled out in the garden.


Our batteries are recharged and I am looking forward to playing with my toys in the studio.

Off to get the sewing machine out of bed now ;0)

Circus

I have joined the Vintage Circus Quilt Swap on Art-e-Zine Cafe.


Here is my quilt. It measures 5" x 7"

I used some of my crazy piece from the Artists Muse Challenge as the background.
The image and letters are printed on cotton and attached with beading.
I'm not sure now where I got the buttons but they seemed just the right colour for this piece.

I will be sending it to the hostess tomorrow and hope when my partner gets it she will like it.

The Cool Cats are Here!

It's official, we are the new kids on the Etsy block.


The Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team is born today.
We have been working really hard to get this team going and are very proud of our baby boomer.



We are a vibrant group of Etsians over 40 years of age who are dedicated to Etsy. Our team provides a place converse, create, assist and support other Etsians. We promote our shops; assist each other with business and marketing solutions; collaborate; support Etsy and make friends along the way. We are from all walks of life and all parts of the globe.
BBEST has a blog, website and message board providing avenues of contact.

Requirements for membership: If you are at least 40 years old, have a great personality and are willing to support others, come join our team! You must either sell or buy on etsy. The first step for membership is to join our message board here. Please provide your etsy username and an email address. Then activate your message board account (an email will be sent to you to activate the membership). You will be then be added to our web and blog.

We also have a great new Google page gallery.

So many places to check us out so what is stopping you? Come and meet us.