Wanderlust 2026 - weeks fourteen to twenty-six - Paper Alchemy (part two)

Here are the other pages I particularly enjoyed making from the Paper Alchemy theme of the art journaling course.  Above is a collage of printed vellum, magazine transfers onto sticky tape, material, and photos. It was all about our past. 

We made 'paper leather' for this lesson, using packaging paper and coating it with a mixture of acrylic paint and glue. For some pieces, we added oil and scrunched it up and flattened it out many times which gave it a very 'leathery' feeling.  We also encased thread and sequins in tissue paper, which was rather messy, but fun!

As I make cards, making these cards was right up my street.  Abstract painting, painting an animal (our much missed cat, Scruffy) and then painting the background for one and finally using packaging to make a collage card.  

I used a matcha chocolate wrapper.

Watercolour flowers with added tissue paper foliage and gold accents worked really well.  Painting in the background made the flowers pop.

I did another version in watered down acrylics which worked well, but seems to have lost a bit of expression/spontaneity along the way.  I still like it though!

Making bunting using paper and material was a really enjoyable week.  I chose to make a single piece so that it could go in my journal. Alcohol inks on the gel plate made some lovely papers.

Finally for this theme was looking at the Japanese art of Kintsugi - taking something (usually a ceramic) which has got broken and then mending it, highlighting the cracks with gold.  Crackle paste came out to play here.  The photo in the centre is of Tupholme Abbey.

The crackle paste worked really well.  Our next theme is 'Stories Unfolded' - I think this may be another good one for me!

Christmas Cracker Swap 2016

I took part in Mad About Bags Christmas Cracker swap again this year and was partnered with the lovely Glenda from New Zealand (she doesn't have a blog, so this post is for both of us.)  I have taken part in this swap for a few years now and it is always fun to see what you can fit inside a kitchen roll inner!
Glenda and I chatted via email and found out a bit about each others' likes and dislikes and then got going.  Our swaps arrived safely and we decided to wait until Christmas Day before opening them.

Glenda's parcel was wrapped in cheery red and white stripes, with some gorgeous ribbon bunting holding it all together.  

There was so much inside - it was really exciting!

 She had filled a pocket folder with all kinds of goodies - nail files, a bookmark, tags, Christmas sayings, sequins and a tape measure.  As well as all that, there were some sweets and chocolates from New Zealand and a hand knitted dishcloth, a snow globe bottle stopper, a tissue paper flower decoration and a kiwi bird keyring!  Wow!  A BIG thank you to Glenda for her kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity in putting these lovely gifts together.

 Here are my parcels ready to go into their brown paper wrapping.  I had bought some things that wouldn't fit into the cracker, so wrapped them separately.

I sent a ball of Shetland wool from a Lincolnshire flock, some stationery, some UK sweets, washi tape, a polymer clay decoration (made using a Blockwallah stamp), a felt heart, some pearl earrings, a bracelet and some embroidery thread.

Thanks to Tracy for organising the swap and to Glenda for being such a great swap partner.

Seasons swap - Wow!

 I do enjoy a good blog swap, as my lovely followers will know, so when I saw the Seasons Swap, organised by Kimberley of Creative Chaos, I signed up.  It was a great idea - find out your swap partner's favourite season and then buy and make things to send them.  I was partnered up with Maria, from Dotty's Daughter .  We emailed and found out that we are scarily similar, even down to our ages!  Maria told me that she didn't have a favourite season and I responded that early Summer was my favourite.  So, armed with some information, we started shopping and making.  Our parcels were swapped and I received the parcels above.

 I opened them to find a plethora of gorgeous gifts.  Maria had been so generous!  Flowery bunting, tulips, felt squares, felt flower pegs, a heart decoration, buttons, a gardening themed scissor fob and a personalised patchwork pincushion with sewing charms,

 The patchwork pincushion deserved its own photo.

 Bunting, buttons, hearts and flowers...

...and the gardening scissor fob, complete with welly!  I emailed to thank her and received a lovely reply, but she also said that she had forgotten to add in another part of the parcel so that would be sent too. Lucky me - two parcels!

 Here's what was in parcel two.  Lots of sewing goodies including needles, pins, ribbon and some patchwork for me to start.  There were also seeds and a dragonfly bracelet, some cat clips and some angel decorations made by her daughter.

 Here are the angels - aren't they lovely?

 Here's my patchwork project for the autumn evenings...  A HUGE thank you to Maria for her amazing generosity, thoughtfulness and kindness and for being such a lovely swap partner.  As I was opening my parcels, it did strike me how we had sent similar types of things.

Here's what I sent: Spring (magnets, seeds, a scissor fob/keyring/bag charm and bird material), Summer (a mug, magnet pegs, some sewing machine material and a piece of the London material, (which I used to make a doorstop for my friend in Canada) as she used to live in London), Autumn (hot chocolate, a spiced candle, a notebook and some pens) and Winter (a felt heart, monochrome bracelet and earrings).
It was a marvellous swap to be involved with and I really enjoyed it.  Thanks to Kimberley for organising it and of course, to Maria.

Vintage Fairs

 

Yesterday, a friend and I headed off to sample the delights of two vintage fairs being held in Lincoln.  As she said, 'vintage fairs here are like buses, nothing for ages and then two turn up together!'  Above is a photos of the cathedral, just because I like it!

The first fair was held at the University of Lincoln, at The Engine Shed, a venue which used to be, yes, you've guessed it, an engine shed!  There were quite a few people there and we were there when it started.  It was a real trip down memory lane and the 1980s fashions with ruching, bows and dropped waists were very familiar. In fact, I owned several of those types of dresses!  There was also a plethora of crimplene but also some very nice 1950s and 1960s dresses too, though, sadly, not in my size.  The music was quite random though and didn't really fit so well with the vintage theme. I bought some material and hope that there is enough for me to make a tunic dress.

The next fair was organised by Britain does Vintage and was at the Drill Hall, a lovely theatre/music/comedy venue which used to be, yes, a Drill Hall!

 I must admit, of the two fairs, this was our favourite.  The music was suitably vintage too, ranging from the 1940s to the 1960s.  There were some beautiful 1950s dresses here too, and one in particular caught my eye.  It had red roses on it and a high collar at the front, then at the back, the collar dipped down and had a lovely bow with long tails which covered the zip. It had a full skirt and I could just imagine myself in it. Sadly, it wasn't my size though.

 The other thing we really liked about this fair was the tea room above the main hall.  It was decorated with patriotic and floral bunting and had proper china.  The ladies serving the refreshments were dressed in vintage clothes and the music was mainly from the 1940s - Glenn Miller featuring quite a bit.  In the photo above, you can see the cake I chose (and delicious it was too) and a little lemon pot which my friend bought as a Christmas present for a member of her family as she collects them.  I bought more material!

Here are the two rather different patterns I bought.  I'm not sure how vintage they are, but they were very good value. The Liberty-type pattern was from the first fair and the fabulous floral number was from the second. (I showed them to Chris, who said the one on the right was 'a bit loud').  He's probably right, but I like it!  The plan, as I mentioned, is to make them into tunic dresses, to be worn with leggings and ankle boots at this time of year.  However, I am seriously contemplating a few sewing lessons because I am not at all confident about making clothes and I think a bit of tuition from someone who knows what they are doing would help.  I really want to make some clothes, so watch this space...

Stitching Sundays 12

 As you know, I finished the snowflake embroidery on my bunting...on the turquoise piece...

 ...and the shiny silvery-grey piece.  I managed to get the bunting made even though I had to sew the bias binding on twice, because I hadn't sewn it close enough to the edge (you would think that I would have got the hang of that by now, having made at least five bunting projects over the last year).  I am not sure that the snowflake embroidery will be that obvious once the bunting is hung up, but I'll know it's there.

 So, here's the finished product.

 Even though it isn't quite winter yet, I hung it on the mirror, just to take a photo.

I am pleased with the combination of colours and patterns and I shall be putting it up properly on December 1st.  Now, what is my next project?

Stitching Sundays 11

 I am a bit late with my Stitching Sundays post this week, as you may have noticed that it's Monday.  Time just ran away with me yesterday!  I have embroidered snowflakes on the plain silver/grey and turquoise blue material.

 I used simple stitches in grey and white - split stitch, backstitch and french knots.

I'm pleased with how they turned out.  I have sewn the triangles for the bunting and hope to be able to show the finished bunting next week.

Stitching Sundays 10

Although Chrissie isn't writing a specific post for Stitching Sundays, I am continuing, as I am finding it a great way to actually start and finish projects.

 I took the majority advice over whether to add stitching to the leaves on the felt piece so here are a few close ups.  I like the way that the line of stitching has made the leaves look 'puffier'.

 I chose colours which would show up against the leaves, without being too dominant.

 I think it looks good.

 So here is the finished piece.  I am still undecided about what to do with it.  If it is going to be the centre panel of a cushion, I need to find a wool blanket I can cut up, or make some large pieces of felt.  I shall check our blanket situation first...
Although I haven't totally finished this project, I have got the next one ready.

I'm going to make winter bunting using the materials above, which I really like (particularly the two seed head patterns).  The two plain fabrics on the right are going to have a snowflake embroidered on them and then they will all be made into bunting with dark grey bias binding.  Once it is finished, I will then have seasonal bunting for the whole year.

Finished project and learning new skills

 This is a post of celebration because I have actually finished my Spring bunting!  I know, I have actually finished a project!  Just to prove it, here it is, draped rather unsuccessfully on the door.  I am really pleased with it and am looking forward to decorating the mirror with it.

I couldn't resist putting it on the mirror, just to see what it looked like. Even though it is not Spring-like at all outside, but we are so thankful to have missed the awful blizzards in the North, the Easter weekend will see the bunting going up, even if it is still in the only-just-plus temperatures outside.
I am also quite excited because I have signed up for a beginners' crochet workshop in May and also a spinning taster session (spinning wool using a spinning wheel).  I have a sister and a mum who have both got spinning wheels and we also have plenty of wool, so I thought it would be sensible to have a go and see how I get on.  If it is something I get the hang of, I can spin wool to use in my felt making or crochet (see, it is all linked in, really).  Chris is hopefully signing up to a two day stained glass making course, so that will give him a creative weekend to look forward to. Here's to learning new skills!

Thoughts of Spring (in the depths of Winter...still!) and a meditation on Works in Progress

 I know that people in the UK are famed for their obsession with the weather.  This is a fact and one which I am not going to dispute.  I am going to conform to this stereotype and talk about the weather (briefly).  As I write, there is a covering of snow outside with a freezing wind coming from Siberia and winter has definitely decided to show it is not over yet.  So, to cheer myself up, I shall allow my thoughts to stray to lovely Spring-like patterns of material.

 As you know, I am someone who likes to have lots of hobbies and projects on the go.  This is all very well, but having so many things that I enjoy means that I have to spread my time between them and consequently, there are many, many works in progress.  I do occasionally finish some of them, but there are many more in my head as well as started and not finished.  You may remember that I did make some Christmas bunting which I actually finished and was pleased with, despite some slight problems with measuring.  I had a brainwave the other day and rashly suggested to Chris how nice it would be to have seasonal bunting to add some colour to our rather neutral sitting room.  He agreed and off I went to order some material to add to the rather interesting stash I already have (much of which is not suitable for this project).  These photos show the results of my internet shopping.

They are chintzy and floral and gorgeous! I am particularly fond of the paisley inspired one in the photo above.  Now all I have to do is to get on with the bunting making.  Oh, I also need to make some things for the Spring/Easter swap which needs to be posted this week, oh, and make some jewellery, oh, and then I would really like to learn to crochet so that I can make some flowers and then there is the Kumihimo braiding I need to do and the wirework...*Sigh*...rolls eyes heavenwards...

Treats

I have been guilty of buying treats for myself over the last week or so.  Here is one of the latest - some material (V&A Benedictus) that I have been coveting since last Autumn when I first saw it.  It is based on designs made by Benedictus in the 1930s (I need to do a bit of research on him, I think).

 The patterns range from loud, floral and overblown, to geometric and totally Art Deco, but I love them!  I think there was another pattern when I originally saw the material, with a navy blue background and pale blue blossom shapes, but that didn't seem to be there when I ordered.

This is my favourite out of the ones I bought and just makes my heart sing (to use a cliche, but a very apt one).  We all need things like that, don't we?  So, what (you may be asking) am I planning to use this for?  Well, I want to see it, so am planning more bunting - but probably with a plain back - and perhaps I may attempt a panel cushion or even a patchwork one.  I haven't bought very much of each one, as I was attempting to be relatively economical, so no huge projects can be attempted.
Incidentally, just a mention for the company I bought the material from, called Eclectic Maker.  I ordered on Monday afternoon and received an email saying it had been shipped later that afternoon. It arrived on Tuesday - I was so impressed by the service.  They have a wonderful range of fabrics to look at and drool over too.  I shall be keeping my eyes open for the navy blue material as well, to add to the collection.