Two Potato....

And this is the second picture in acrylics.....which do you prefer?

One Potato......

Yesterday afternoon's work.....one potato in watercolour. Now I have to see if it will look better in acrylics. There is a reason for this, it may lead to a rather interesting illustration job...wish me luck!

Toucan Treasure Chest

So here he is, finished at last! This started life as a plain wooden box from the cheapy shop up the road. So I have painted a toucan in the rainforest on the lid, which.....

...overlaps down the front ....

...side......
.....and back of the box. It's been painted in acrylic paints and I have done it as I would paint a 'proper' painting. I then varnished it with several layers of acrylic varnish to get the depth of colours and a nice shine.

I have also lined it completely with this amazing fabric that I picked up on line from Fabric Shack which has been waiting to be used to it's full advantage.

This box will be on my Etsy shop shortly.

Talking of Etsy, had my first sale today - the wedding corsage is officially sold. Very exciting!

Bits & Pieces

It feels like a long time since I posted any artwork on here - I've not been idle, but there are no paintings on the go at the moment. What with the end of term being manic and struggling along on my broken foot, I've not felt very creative. The above are a couple of watercolour sketches I did in the garden at the weekend - turned out well considering!

I am, however, painting the toucan treasure chest - I guess that can be considered art. It is taking a very long time as I have chosen to incorporate ferns in my rainforest....tedious and time consuming, good job they are pretty!

These are some little flower brooches I gave to colleagues at work as 'thank you' presents - I'm moving up a year together with the class, so will have a different teacher & assistant to work with. These flowers were basically experiments which I decided to use in this way rather than have them kicking around doing nothing. I'm currently knitting rather a lot of the red roses - I have an idea germinating in my head but not quite formulated yet, involving roses, grey mohair & a shrug. It may just deteriorate into a giant woolly bouquet!

Wedding Corsage - Complete!

This is what I have been working on for the past couple of weeks - could you guess from the bits in yesterday's post? It's a commission through Etsy for a wrist-band corsage in the style of my 'Country Garden' handbag.
The search for more of this yarn was entertaining - nowhere in Britain seemed to have any of it, neither could I find it on the internet. I thought I was going to have to use a replacement yarn which wouldn't have had the same effect at all. Finally I e-mailed Adriafil in Italy and asked if they could possibly sell me some directly and within 5 days I had a lovely big parcel of it in my hands.
So I have knitted a wristband in green, sewn it on to canvas for strength and then lined it with cotton fabric. It is fastened with 4 tiny hooks & eyes.


I've crocheted the flowers in pink, orange and white, and this time even crocheted a life-like green back to each flower, stuffed with a little kapok to make it as real in shape as possible, with a crochet stalk. I've knitted leaves and given them stalks too. I then used fabric stiffener to shape the flowers and leaves (see the mess they looked in my previous post!!) After 24 hours waiting for the stiffener to dry, today I could finally sew it all together which was actually a lot easier than I thought - now the flowers retain their shape the construction was simple. I also added a couple of curly crocheted tendrils and a ladybird nestling in one of the daisies.


Finally, I tied some orange organza and some thin green satin ribbons in a bow around the stalks which hang down prettily. I am so pleased with how it has turned out - fresh and funky and a little bit different. Now I have to wait and see if the bride in question approves!!

Doesn't Look Like Much Yet......

This is one of those 'can you guess what it is yet?' moments....can you? I've completed all the components, now they need to be pressed, arranged and sewn together...watch this space!

Silk & Steel Scarf

I have been having fun with this yarn the past week or so - it's from Japan and is called Silk & Steel because that it exactly what it is. The yarn is incredibly fine, about the thickness of sturdy sewing thread, which makes for interesting knitting. I started off trying to be too clever and making a complicated lace pattern.......gave up after two days of impending blindness...tried a simpler lace pattern.....couldn't make out what I'd done wrong but it wasn't right.....so then decided to have a quick look at a short tutorial on Knitty.com and realised the yarn didn't need any embellishment other than plain garter stitch. So I knitted a narrow scarf, very simple with a random scattering of AB black charcoal seed beads. It looks very pretty and quite classy. But then if you.............
.....pull and stretch it diagonally, it looks like this! Then pull and stretch it down one side only...........
......and it looks like this! Amazing, worth it just for the sheer entertainment value! And I still have half a cone left....having got a feel for this yarn, I might attempt something a little more challenging with more confidence now. This scarf will be for sale on my Etsy shop shortly (unless you want to grab it first!)

The toucan box is on it's way to being finished - the lid could be framed as a painting in it's own right, I'm not one to do things by halves! And the Etsy commission is also well on it's way - I have to knit a multitude of leaves and then begin construction...piqued your interest yet?

Been a Boring Blogger!

I seem to be leaving very long gaps between posting on here - how very boring! It's been a tough old week though, hobbling around with my broken toe and back at work, very very tiring. I have been crafting but it's been hindered by falling asleep in the middle most evenings!

However, I have made a mobile phone holder....

...started painting a wooden box with a toucan on the top....

..I have done more to this today. The sides and base are black and the rest of the leaves and flowers have been blocked in with their base colours.

I've been on the hunt for a certain yarn - remember the white handbag with coloured flowers? I have a commission for something else in the same style and of course, not enough yarn and no way of getting it as I bought it at a car boot. After searching all local stores, internet stockists and even E-Bay to no avail, in desperation I sent an e-mail to the Italian company, Adriafil, asking for help. They kindly agreed to send me the right yarn and I got it within 5 days - how's that for service!

So now I am working on something special...you'll see it when it's finished, I would hate to spoil the surprise for the lady I am making it for (my first Etsy commission!)

And here's a picture of some lilies in my garden - aren't they lovely? That was before the torrential downpour of five minutes ago - they are probably lying in a crushed heap on the ground now...

My Dream Car...

No, really, this is what I dream of owning one day - you can keep your brand new gadget-filled cars, I would love an old battered American pick-up truck.

This is a watercolour painting I did using a photo of a truck we saw at a car show earlier this year and then putting it in an imaginary meadow. It's the first time I have successfully painted any kind of motor vehicle - it even passed muster with my other half who restores classic cars for a living. I think it's the closest I'll ever get to my dream..

Daisy Bagel Bangle

It seems a long time since I posted anything I've made on here - it's not that I've not been crafting, but the fact that I'm in the middle of about three larger projects. However, after receiving some lovely cotton yarn in the post yesterday, I got to making the above.

It's a bangle, crocheted in a tube using green yarn and then stuffed to help it keep it's shape before being sewn into a circle. I then crocheted seven white daisies with yellow centres and seven leaves and sewed them around the outside. Very fresh and summery - it will be appearing on my Etsy shop later on.

Calling it a bagel was a typo but I quite liked the fact that without the flowers it is bagel shaped, so I think the name should stick!

Projects still in progress: a full length crochet curtain, a watercolour painting and a painted treasure box. Also a jewellery commission to complete and my first commission through Etsy - at least this week I have plenty of spare time in which to get on with them all! (Toe now a lovely shade of purple which is spreading to the surrounding toes....mmmm, nice!)