A show and a couple of classes

 There are not many craft shows (or indeed craft shops) down here in the West country so last weekend we had a Coven outing to the Shepton Craft fair.

I didn't buy much (in fact most of this actually fitted in the storage box I bought!) but what I did buy were items that I know I will use.

The storage box was only £1, perfect for storing my colouring pencils.

The light weight air drying clay and memento ink are replacements as I have run out of mine.

The Vintaj metal embossing plates were TOO good a bargain at either £2 or £1 each as were the resin blanks at £1 each and the TH mini distress pads are lovely bright colours that I don't have and know I will use.

We were lucky enough to enrol into two make and takes: the first was Powertex 

where we made mini canvasses

The other was glass foiling where we made these sun catchers-and got to play with soldering irons-what's not to like!

I know the internet sometimes makes things seem much closer (skyping my family in NZ, buying from the states etc) but I also remembered how small the crafting world can be as I bumped into a couple of friends  (waves at Kay) and Morti albeit for a short time (as I was doing the class at the time), but great nonetheless.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend

Happy crafting

Kyla

WOYWW

Wednesday again so time to bare all 

(full details are on our lovely Queen of the desks blog here).

My desk this week is my dining room table and I am finishing off a new cross body handbag I am making.  The Coven (our weekly crafting group) have been making them so I thought I would give it a go, it's not that straight forwarded so it has taken a while and I am almost finished.  The ladies have been very patient with me...watching a left handed impatient sewer use right handed scissors and someones beloved machine requires a LOT of restraint (thank you coven!).

This weeks "Man Bites Dog" cards made me think of Britain's Got Talent-'Dog Sues Lawyer'

I case your wondering the cover to my sewing machine has band stickers on it...though I notice my husbands band The Setbacks do not appear to have given me a sticker yet to add to my collection-most remiss!!

Happy crafting

Kyla

Silk cocoons

I must apologise for the photo as it's not the best but this is the birthday present I made for my sister-in-law's 40th Birthday (forgot I hadn't blogged it).

I stuffed a dyed viscose ribbon and created ruching and knots at regular intervals.

I then cut dyed silk cocoons and hand stitched them together adding sequins and beads.

 

I attached these with silk thread and viola-the lightest necklace ever (seriously, I have made a lot of necklaces over the years and there is NO weight to these).

It is hard, fiddly work on the hands and takes several days to make but I do love these and have made about half a dozen (most of which I end up keeping as I love them SO much!!).

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Yellow taxi

Just a quick update on a card I made.  

This one is made from wallpaper (yep, always worth checking out the wallpaper section in the DIY shops) which I overstamped random letters from a Tim Holtz stamp in yellow archival ink (my favourite ink for stamping).

I then added a sentiment which I hand doodled around the letters to make them stand out.

I matted and layered it onto yellow card and edged it with black ink.

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

WOYWW

Hello fellow WOYWWers.  Sorry I haven't been able to return to all those that visited me or indeed blog recently but I am back!

On my desk this week is a card I am making from my scraps box.  You know, that box that a lot of us have...the one that seems to only get bigger.  It reminds me of a classic book from my childhood about the porridge pot that was always full!!

Under the card is a sheet of scrap paper to protect my newly replaced cutting mat from the distress ink (I bought the mat over a year ago but couldn't bring myself to use it until I realised my old one was so warped my cutting was even more wonky!).  The scrap paper is an old poster for one of my husbands gigs-no waste here!

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week-'Nude 340lb Priest Bites Cop'.........well, that is a vision I don't think I can get out of my head very easily!! 

So, it's Wednesday, why not bare your workdesk (just don't pose in the nude...that's a WHOLE different website!!).

Happy WOYWW

Kyla

 

April Showers 365

I managed to finish my 365 Journal pages (run by Kate Crane) for April just in time for the start of the month!

I used an old store card to smear inks and paints over the pages and then used the side of the plastic card to draw through some white acrylic paint to create a random cross hatch design. Then I added some stickle swirls and over stamped the pages with my rain drop stamp.

I added some glossy accents to a few rain drops and used a round die to cut out some blue painted card and added the month-all ready to fill out.

Happy crafting

Kyla

WOYWW

I hope you all had a lovely Easter break? Back to normality (well, sort of-you know what I mean!) and another week of shame on my desk.

I have recently finished off my next fabric architecture page which means I have been using the sewing machine in the dining room which is why 365 journal is still on my actual desk (but I finally finished it with stamping rain drops all over it for April showers!).

Also, I thought it was about time I cleaned my travel art kit.  I took the paint box apart and cleaned it all-and I even cleaned the paint pans as the yellow was contaminated with red, blue, green-basically all the other colours have been dipped in there at one time or another!

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are 'Teen snubs brave nurse' or 'Nurse snubs brave teen'?

So, please join us, we are all over the globe and a friendly bunch. Full details can be found here 

Kyla

 

Beach huts and tumeric

 Over on the collaborART blog we are taking part in a Chinese Whispers circle journal-full details can be found in my previous posts here .

This month I was sent this parcel of goodies to try to incorporate some in the next make. The picture I was sent was of an autumnal quilt made of small rectangles so I used the inspiration of the colours and rectangles to create my next project.

 I used the dyed fabric as the background and added a piece of fabric I dyed with tumeric (from the colour inspiration) and some left over blue dyed fabric that I was practising stencilling and stamping on.

 Folded over the blue fabric just looked blue with a little faded black in parts-but turn it over and you can see my failed experiment!

 I then stapled it all to a frame to keep it taut

 adding stitching with the machine and some metallic thread for the sea. I also cut out some scraps for a beach hut (using the cardboard shapes as a template).  I painted up one of the brads I was sent and use it on the roof of the beach hut.

 I added  a couple more beach huts and some of the felt I was sent as a door.

 I then added lots of layers for the sea.  Everything from wool, string, silk throwers waste and net which I couched down with free machine embroidery.

So that's my 3rd make-half way through.  I have not received this month envelope yet so not sure what to make, but I am sure it will once again test my imagination-which is the purpose of me doing this, to get out of my crafting comfort zone!

Happy crafting

Kyla