Childhood

The chunky book page for May on ANUK is Childhood.

I haven't done any stamping for an age it seems so I had a rummage in my drawers and found this stamp.
I had forgotten I had it. I thought it was just perfect.
It reminds me of the children on Woolacombe Beach on a Sunday morning, straight from Sunday School.

I stamped it in a chocolate brown onto paper painted with Twinkling H2O's. I also stamped a few birds in the sky.
The stamp is coloured in with pastel pencils.

The embellishment is Abalone shells and a little sand dollar charm.


It will be in the post to my partner, Sheilagh, on Monday.

Tassels

Joanna was trading this wonderful tassel.
Well I love tassels so I jumped in fast.
It really is gorgeous and now adorns my PC.


This little angel was the tassel I made for Joanna.
I held my breath - not everyone likes angels - but she liked it.
Yippee!

Thank you Joanna for a great swap.

Thank you!

Just a quick thank you for the comments on my ATC's ( and everything else). I am always honored that you take the time to visit me.

My sketch book is now firmly on my desk. I'm not saying it will be opened but it is a step in the right direction.

Holiday ATC's

These are my ATC's for a "Holiday" swap run by Skippy.
They were great fun to do.

The first has a collaged background using part of a map of America.
The suit case is cut on my xyron cutter that gets great use in my Scrapbook Workshops. I distressed it with "Distress Inks".
I don't often use stickers but love the little ice cream cone.




My friend Jan is always telling me to do more drawing (I think I have mentioned this before) so I had a go on this second one.
Hmm, now I know why I don't do much drawing! LOL








The third is my daughter Laura's idea (she hasn't got a blog, yet!). Summer is always full of carnivals that go on into the night with fireworks and fun. I made the building stencil but used a pre-cut one for the streamers and stars. The word Carnival is stamped.

I've had a real fun day ;0)

Banner

Just got to mention my new banner.
Isn't it pretty? I just love it.
It was designed for me by a great lady called Tracy Joy.
Thank you Tracy

Bookmarks

The swap on Unlimited Textiles this month is bookmarks.

Now try as I might I cannot get a good picture of these. They are layers of velvet and organza and some glittery bits and they just flash back at the camera.
To make matters worse I made the tassels from glitter thread!

I have tried it with the flash on and the flash off.
I have photographed them in the sun and out of the sun.
These photos are the best I can get :0(

They are much better for real - honestly!

North American Indian ATC's

On Creative Journey I am pursuing a theme of North American Indians. These are ATC's I have made using that inspiration.

I chose the colours to represent a desert sunset and painted with watercolours on watercolour paper.
I stamped the backgrounds using the stamps I made for an earlier challenge.

The first shows an Anasazi pot, the second an Indian in all his glory. The third is a little big for an ATC I know but I wanted to include the concho I made for the last challenge.

Grunge! Me?!!

Well I don't do grunge but I signed up to this Grunge Wallet swap on art-e-zine Cafe for the challenge!

So this is my attempt as that grungy wallet.
I have to say I really did enjoy the challenge once I got going.
It is done with layers of papers fabric and images glued using pva glue then ironed to fix. Great fun and wonderfully messy!
The little bug is made from beads and wire - ahh!

Organza Flowers

Here are the organza flowers I started on Jan Tillett's course on Friday.

I really liked this technique and think it has lots of potential for so many things.
It would be a lovely way to make a cuff or bracelet or 3d embellishment.

Hmm, I have a challenge from Jan Holehouse to complete, well, I think I may have just the thing!!

Herbaceous Border

On Friday Mum and I went on a machine embroidery workshop to create a stitched herbaceous border. The tutor was Jan Tillett.

We had such a great day.
I have never "painted" with my sewing machine before and this is my first effort created on the day.
I'm sorry I haven't got a picture of Mums border as it lovely - very dreamy.

We also learnt to make machine embroidered organza flowers - still making mine - and were shown how to stitch in space - again yet to finish my sample.

A truly informative and fun day.

Award!!!

Sue Bleiweiss has given me a "Thinking Blogger Award"

I feel really honored and am just so thrilled with what she wrote about my work - made me blush.
Thank you Sue.

Now the thing is I have to tell you my top 5 bloggers who make me think.
Well this is easier said than done. All the blogs in my side bar are in this category and a few more that have yet to be added.
Sue would have been top of the list, she has been such an inspiration to me this last year. I love her work as it always looks so fresh and she has such wonderful ideas.
So how to narrow it down? Well here we go - and please if you aren't mentioned here it is only that the rules say to mention 5 only.

1. Jan's Patch. Jan is my lifelong friend and mentor. Our friendship has lasted longer than many marriages and has had it's ups and downs along the way. There is no one in this world that knows me better.
Jan is new to blogging but not to textiles. Her work is always beautiful and her colour palette is gorgeous.

2 Inkertinker's Splats. I love Kari's work. Her colours and execution of her chosen subject are always perfect. There is always inspiration on Kari's blog.

3. Spirited Soul. Claire and I have been on the same group for quite sometime but had never met. That changed about 6 months ago and although we haven't met in person I feel I have a good cyber friend - I hope she feels the same. We share similar interests and I love to see her wonderful ideas put into practice.

4. StegArt. I just love Terri's work. The colours she uses are lush and her work is perfection to me. Such a clever artist.

5. Last but certainly not least is The Soap Opera of my Life. I love to read Skippy's blog and find out about her lovely family. Her writing makes you feel a part of her life - thank you Skippy.

Well those are the 5. I could go on of course but I do direct you to the side bar. There you will find some fantastic artists and wonderful blogs.
So get a coffee and a comfy chair and enjoy the read of your life ;0)

Mandala

The Artists Muse is a new group set up to discuss and work on Betsy Dillard Stroud's book The Artist's Muse.

The first challenge is to create a personal mandala.

I started one on watercolour paper and one on calico. The one shown is the paper version as the quilted one isn't finished yet - need to add some hand stitching and charms.
I painted them both using watercolours and Twinkling H2O's. The lines are drawn with Adirondack pens.

My theme is Inspiration.
Colour is very important to me. I used orange/yellow to signify energy and joy. Pink to be playful. Purple is a sacred colour and appears in many of my favourite flowers. It is also a romantic colour. Turquoise represents femininity and water - the sea for me, I love its changeable nature.
I have used strong colours to represent strength of course.

The triple spiral is a symbol of rebirth (a thing I am going through) but also here represents the biggest influences on my creativity.
The beach and sea.
Nature and in particular flowers.
Music - I never do anything with out music playing. All sorts of music, I have very eclectic tastes. Oh, and as my friends and neighbours will tell you, I sing a lot - very loud ;0)

The figure in the centre is my take on "the man in the maze" which represents a persons journey through life. My figure is drawn in turquoise for femininity and therefore represents me.


This was a wonderful exercise that I have thoroughly enjoyed doing.
It has given me quite a lot to think about.
More than that, the group that has come together to do this is so very talented and friendly it is going to be great fun to work with them. The other mandala's are fantastic too, have a look here!

Mitzi

Mitzi thinks the little greenhouse is just fine!

It keeps the wind off her "oh so beautiful coat" and affords some protection from charging puppies - namely her "stupid brother Fred".

India and a question!

On Unlimited Textiles we are swapping 5"x5" mini Quilts for the next few months.

April's theme is India.
I tried so hard to be different and do something really arty but got so stuck in the mud that all I got was rubbish.
But I fell back on my own techniques and came up with these two mini quilts.
I have to say that in the end I enjoyed doing them and am quite pleased with them.


So I have to ask the question - In doing something in a similar vein does that make your work predictable and if so does it make your work recognizable or boring?

Don't be shy, speak up, I will not take it as criticism either way, I'm just interested in what you think.

Chunky Book Pages

OK close your eyes if you are easily embarrassed.
Alright now?
Well I'll carry on then!


The theme for the Chunky Page swap at ANUK
this month is "Passion".

These are my pages. One has to go to my partner June - now I wonder which one I will send?

Pollyanna!

I am in an altered book round robin on ANUK
It's theme is Children's Literature.

Kari's book is Pollyanna.
Pollyanna always tries to find the good in every thing and tries to find something to be glad about in every situation.
Kari asks the question "what makes you glad in bad times?"

Well for me it just has to be the beach and especially the sea. The sights, sounds and smells sooth me every time and lift my spirits. I'm so glad I live near the beach.

In Winter 2006 Quilting Arts, Linda S Schmidt creates a beach using puff paint. Well I just had to have a go at creating a beach of my own. This is the result.
I hope Kari likes it.

Fabric Flowers

The swap didn't go ahead but I just had to show you my fabric flowers.
Lovely Roger is the model holding them up!!

They were not the easiest thing I have ever made and probably won't make them again but they are not too bad.
A bit wilty perhaps but look, the butterfly the background likes them!! ;0)

Garden Bench

Papoose mentioned how comfortable my garden bench looked for a sunny day.
Well Fred agrees! LOL



Thank you all again for your lovely comments on my blog. It thrills me that you visit.
Hugs, Alis

My Garden

I wanted to share my garden with you.

And yes, I know I have pink gardening tools and a pink trug and these things make my friend Cath howl with laughter.
But, they are individual right, not many people will have them.
Oh, and I like pink. I would prefer purple but I couldn't find them in purple!

Anyhooo. The pics go round the garden from the steps up to the house and back again.
I'm showing you warts and all as I have plans for this space.

I hope you will enjoy sharing the progress of my little garden as it comes to life. I expect it to be a long term project but in 3 years I am hoping it will be somewhere to be very proud of.

Finished Mini Quilt Book

Well here is my Quilt Book all finished.

This was such a fun project, Lenna writes a great class. I look forward to making more of these books. I have to as there are so many ways to bind the pages and I need to try them all.

I joined the pages in this book concertina style and made a wrap around cover; sewing the last page to the back inside cover.

I stamped the verse onto calico and sewed it to the cover. I loved the fluffy selvage on this fabric so decided to make a feature of it. I sewed a pattern down the edge to enhance it.
Ribbons and beads bind it all.