Balloons!

Hello, just a quick update and show and tell.  This was the card I made for a fellow Coven member for her birthday.

 

I used offcuts for the balloons and machine stitched around each one and also around the border and greeting.

I really do admire those who are able to use clean space in their layouts as it is something I really do struggle with.  But this one has white space and for an inky crafter is CLEAN!!!

Happy crafting

Kyla

WOYWW

Yet again we are at hump day or as it's known round here "WOYWW".

Once again I have not been making but I have been to the scrap store and charity shops!!  This time I have some offcuts of fabric (all the blues) and some lovely black leather (3 quite large pieces and they rarely get black in the store) all for £5 and in the charity shop 3 bags of tapestry wool for just under £6 (which is the next craft I would like to try).

At the back of my desk between the glue and the water spray is a bottle of pure acetone (for removing gel nails) from Poundland.  I thought I would try some image transfers but they were not very successful (I used magazine images from a variety of sources) and thought I burnished them well, but not one of them worked!!  Not sure what I did wrong, or what I can do with the bottle of acetone now!

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week were picked by my hubby....'Lady Killer Dumps Last Dead Tourist'.....that's a bit grim was his response!

So, why not show us your desk and join us for a legal snoop (not too many clean desks this week please, it freaks me out!!!).

Happy crafting

Kyla

An oversized tote bag

Just when you thought it was safe to venture back to my blog here comes ANOTHER bag!

This one I made for my sister in law's birthday.  Its quite big so I thought it would be perfect for her to put folders etc in for work (I often keep a small cross body bag for phones, purse and keys for security and  a large tote for "stuff" so thought this may work if I made the tote larger than usual).

Once again it has iron on fusible fleece between the layers to give it some body and the outer fabric is upholstery fabric so it is quite thick and robust, an inner pocket and 2 pockets on the outside, perfect for tissues, travel card or notebook.

I have also been trying to find a good pattern/instructions for a messenger bag so if anyone can recommend one please let me know.

Happy crafting

kyla

 

WOYWW

Sorry that I missed last week's WOYWW and the return visits but I was away for my birthday.  Did I mention that it was my birthday last week?  No?  Are you sure :-)

Full details for my visit to London is in the previous post (lots of street art and a whores graveyard!).

This week all that is on my desk is some fabric.  Not just any old fabric, no sir.  This is some fabulous African fabric.  Bricklane has some great fabric shops, now mainly Indian or African but some beautiful fabrics.  These 2 pieces of cotton are 2 yards each and I bought them as offcuts from a lady in Spittafields market who makes bags from them.  I mentioned the bags I had been making recently and how I love bright linings rather than dark as it makes it easier to see things inside and she mentioned she had some large offcuts she was selling for only £4 each!!!  So I bought these two (I was proud I only bought two..I nearly came away with all 6 pieces)!

I was lucky with all my birthday wishes, cards and gifts but these 2 cards really stood out.  The hand coloured one is from Gashead Zoe (just check out her colouring....always takes my breath away) and the other is from my brother and sister in law (crafting goodies are NOT clutter brother dear!!).

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are 'Actor Mourns Heiress Lover'.......not sure how I feel about this one, a bit of a downer so moving along......

So, why not join us for a legal snoop at desks across the globe?  Some clean, some full of art others on the floor and some just SO inspirational.  Join us at Julia's blog (link on the right)

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

London Street art

 This is a bit of a break from my usual craft posts as I have just returned from a holiday in London for my birthday.  Its a little photo heavy so why not grab a cuppa and have a read.

My hubby and I love all sorts of art and whilst we were there we saw exhibitions in the Institute of Contemporary Arts by Paul Simonon (from The Clash), The Information Age exhibition at the Science Museum, the reading room at the Welcome Institute and of course Brick lane, Spittifields and the Trueman brewery for the street art.

Here are just a few of the photos we took

 There is a lot of Nathan Bowen art around the city, I love his take on the city workers.

 Street art makes a dull wall so much brighter

 and some of them are large and complex

 I have noticed recently more homemade posters and stickers appearing too, I like this option as it represents something that is achievable (so long as you have the ideas)!

 Some however, are just pure art that just needs to be admired for their sheer talent.

 These butterflies and frog were in a water fountain outside a school

 Where we were staying was just up the road from the Cross Bones Graveyard.  We had been here a few years ago as part of the GhostBus tour (if you are ever in London overnight I thoroughly recommend the GhostBus as its hilarious and like nothing I have been on before) but this was the first time we had seen it in daylight.

 

 All these ribbons and handmade skulls, witches, hearts and corsages are tied to the fence to remember the ladies of the night who were buried here so they are never forgotten.

 

 

 Finally as we wandered around the city we came across these two installations.  One was 3 blue full sized men playing instruments hanging off a building and the other was this beautifully painted telephone exchange box, so much prettier than the usual black or green boxes that are dotted around our streets.

 Every time we visit London we find something new.  We also always do somethings every time we visit (Soho and Denmark Street for fabric and haberdasheries, music shops and vinyl) and of course Liberties (just to look and touch the fabric you understand!!  Oh and for hubby to say out loud...£250 for a scarf...you are having a laugh!!!).

A brilliant birthday trip finished off trip to the Bath Thermae Spa (2 hours of thermal waters and just letting the stress fade away) and a meal at Acorn Vegetarian Restaurant complete with a sage and blackberry martini!! Delicious.

Normal service will be resumed soon

Kyla

Valentines snippets

Hello peeps, just a quick update to show you one of the latest cards I have made.

I love this stamp (I borrowed it off one of the Coven members) and thought it would make an ideal Valentines card!

The flower on the bottom right is actually a large paper hydrangea (it was about 8 inches wide!) that I bought at a garden centre in the sales a couple of years ago and cut each set of flowers off.  I ended up with 2 chinese takeaway containers full of blooms - bargain!

The patterned paper is an offcut from my scraps box but I think it all ties in nicely.

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

WOYWW

Wednesday again, the day when a ton of us bare all and show our workdesks in all their glory.

On my desk this week are some more stamps.  At the weekend I drove down to Exeter to a Craft and Fabric show.  My friend Erika won a free ticket but was unable to go so she kindly offered it to me so I jumped at the chance of a day out.

There was some stunning embroideries and dyed goodies and I bought some more space dyed threads for my sewing.  I was also tempted by some stamps.  These (and more just out of shot) were all from the bargain bins-only £3 for all these!

I am slowly getting through mounting them all but I need to buy some more mounting foam.  I know you don't necessarily need it but I like the cushioning it provides as it makes it a little easier to stamp a crisp image.

The "Man Bites Dog" cards this week-'Crazy Beauty Stabs Judge Dead'.......I swear that I randomly picked these, most odd!

So, why not pop over to the lovely Julia's blog (link over on the right) and prepare for a legal snoop at desks across the globe.  Last week there appeared to be a lot of fellow WOYWWers who had been having sorting sessions and had lovely clean and tidy desks-I do hope the infection has not spread (lets be honest, it must be an infection, a bit like the flu, you ignore it and hope it goes away but the inevitable happens and at some point it hits and you too have to clean!!).  Fingers crossed I stay germ free.

Happy crafting

Kyla

February 365

Hello peeps, well this is a first for me-I have actually made my February 365 Calendar Challenge page ready for the start of the month!!

This months is  a little different for me as I played with scraping gesso over the finished pages to mute the colours.

I also used some sequin waste to ink through and bottle tops dipped in paint to add some rings and splattered some paint across the pages too.  Once again the letters are die cut from my good old cereal boxes, Dorset cereal has a smooth white inside to their boxes, perfect for colouring!

So there you have it, a colourful page-because lets face it the weather is blooming awful at the moment so anything a bit more cheerful is a good thing in my book!

Happy crafting

Kyla