365 Journal and stuff

It's that time again - time to show our journals.  Pop over to Kate's to see more, or if you're new to this, find out more :-D  I only noticed when cropping May's that I'd missed the bottom portion of the page :-/

A friend asked me to make another Wood Nymph and a doll's chair for her granddaughter.  The second picture shows the doll better I think.

 

My grandson was allowed to look after these 2 cuties for a couple of weeks - they've gone back to the farm (mostly hens) where he helps out now.   They're Indian Runner Ducks.




He's only 11 but when he went with his dad to buy some chicks some months ago he said he'd like to work there so his mum got him to ring up himself to ask :-)  This is him at the farm; looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth - don't be fooled haha.  And then him winning bronze at a National Karate Championship in February.

EDITED 365 Journal and Happy New Year ;-D

Happy New Year to all.  Hope 2013 is good to you.
Something's amiss with Blogger since I was last here :-/ the font is really tiny and I can't figure out how to upload photos from my computer!  It only gives the options to upload from:
This blog; Picasa Web Albums; Phone; Webcam or URL.  HELP!
EDITED 6th Dec
I've installed Google Chrome now and hey presto when I want to upload pics from my computer I get the option to 'Choose Files' which wasn't there before.  Previously it gave the option to 'Browse' but this had disappeared since 'they' have made changes to Blogger.  I know it's an ongoing thing; when changes are made they work ok for some but not others - the changes will be compatible with some browsers and not others and also may be battling against other 'stuff' on your computer.  I'm just glad I didn't have to resort to downloading Picasa as I'd used it briefly once before but wasn't really happy with it.  The other alternative was to upload pictures from my phone but though I could crop pictures before uploading I may want to edit them in some other way which I wouldn't be able to do. Kate is still hosting the '365 Journal' so pop over if you haven't already done so :-D

I made my sister a bracelet for Christmas but remembered she can't wear metal next to her skin (the fastener) so had to make a quick bracelet using stretch cord; I didn't photograph that but here's the original.

I used Chinese crystals - not as good as Swarovski - the bicones are Swarovski however.  I realise now I should have made sure all the crystals were facing the same way as they are coated on one side so don't gleam so much on that side. (I may yet redo it)  It is quite simple to do and if you'd like to have a go check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFbOyFaD9wk&playnext=1&list=PLC29345357827E2E2&feature=results_main [:-/ having another look at this it's so much neater than mine, still it is a first attempt ;-)]

I need to change the fastening as this one is difficult to fasten on your own.

I also made my son a paracord bracelet if you fancy having a go you'll find lots of tutorials on YouTube.



At the doll group I belong to our last project was based on 'I know an old lady who swallowed a fly' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tojKdGW7TBA those taking part had to make a head for the character they chose (mine was a 'cute troll') this was then passed on to another person to make the body, the next person made the fly and spider, the next the bird and cat, then dog and goat; after that when it was passed on we just made one animal.  We never got our 'head' back at all so had no idea what our finished project ' would look like.  There was a stipulation that we had to follow whatever theme the first creatures, for example if they were knitted we had to knit the next creature etc. Some didn't have a specific or obvious  theme (for example after the spider and fly in one collection the next person took colour as the theme) (At the same time there was another project on the go which was to make a house and embellish internally and externally and also make a figure to live in the house.  Unfortunately there aren't any photos of those on the blog).  Pop over to have a look http://craftydollybirds.blogspot.co.uk/

366 Journal

Still in it and up-to-date!  If  you want to know more about this challenge pop over to Kate's blog.  Not much to say.  After colouring Oct pages; I can't remember what with as I did them some time ago; I added white paint through 2 stencils and used up an old sheet of 12x12 paper for the daily squares.

I was asked to make another of the Woodland Nymph dolls with a pink/cream colour scheme.  I've promised my youngest granddaughter one for her birthday, which is this month, too and I think I'll have had enough of making them!!

NOT DUE TO FLOODS read below

I went to see '42nd Street' at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford with a couple of other ladies from the tap dance class, it was a fantastic production - lots of tap dancing; if you don't know the show.  It was the Curry Festival that weekend so I took a pic.  The fountains were on (are they fountains if they are spurts of water coming out of holes in the ground)?  There's a dip in the ground to contain the water but no wall round.  There were quite a few kids having great fun getting wet.  You can see some of the stalls in the background where you could buy curry dishes.  Bradford was crowned the Curry Capital of Great Britain in 2011.

366 Journal, doll and cakes

Firstly my completed pages for August.  If you're new to the 365 Journal (366 for this leap year) challenge pop over to Kate's to see more.

Next up my prepared pages for September - a little blurred.  I had to take all these pics with my Nokia phone as my camera isn't working.  For some reason the Sept pages have turned out blurred, I did take the picture twice and both times it was blurred so I'm leaving it as is.



It was my birthday in July and I went for lunch with a couple of friends, this is the huge meringue I had for dessert - it measured approx 6" high; now that's what I call a dessert :-D

Then we have some cupcakes I made for my granddaughter's birthday, the butter icing's a bit wonky on some but they all go down the same hehe.  Some have glittery pink sugar on which doesn't show up very well.

It was another of my granddaughter's birthday in August and I made her this Wood Nymph - pattern by Julie McCullough.  Her face isn't brilliant but is actually better IRL than it looks here.
In case you're wondering why the writing on my table cover is back to front it's because the colours are reversed on this side and I like to have a change.   My son bought this for me when he lived in California for some years.  Not sure what it's purpose actually is but I like to see it so use it on my table.  The design; of cats; is by Laurel Burch for those who may be interested.

A Splendid Little Chap

At the doll group (or rather Craftydollybirds group) last Sunday some of us started to make a bird out of a lightbulb!  This was a project by Christine Lehto in 'Cloth Paper Scissors' - March/April 2012.  Who would look at a lightbulb and think 'that would make a fabulous body for a bird'? - well obviously Christine did and I'm so glad she did as I love my little chap.  Christine used paperclay to cover the lightbulb after attaching wings and tail; I've used an airdrying clay called DAS as  you can see in one pic.  I bought mine at 'The Works' (but I seem to remember from reading comments somewhere in Blogland that this isn't a countrywide company).  The project suggests using acrylic paints for the bird but I decided to decoupage mine - the papers are from Decopatch.  I keep thinking you could use paper napkins as Decopatch papers are a little expensive but I've never seen some of the lovely designs they do in napkins plus the printed side of the papers is coated which I think gives a little bit of strength when wet.  He's 53/4"

I asked for and received a lovely 'dumfling' from Jo so thought I'd make her one of my birds as a thank you.

I belong to a small but select craft group, hehe, that meets once a month in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.  We sometimes have challenges and for this month it was to make something 'red, white and blue' because of the queen's Jubilee.  I made a little felt bird.

366 Journal oh yes and Happy New Year

Hi, I'm still in the real world but bought a new laptop just before Christmas and have only just got round to uploading pics from my camera.  Was going to install the camera software but thought I'd see how I got on without it.  But also for one reason or another I've just spent sooooo much time online and none of it for crafty reasons.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year.  The main thing I got was a Kindle :-) I'm very pleased with it.  I've read 2 books already and have started War And Peace.  I know! but it's my Everest hahaha.
On to the main reason for this post the 366 Journal.  Not totally happy with January's but faffed about enough with it, and it looks better than it did.  As I didn't keep up to date in December I couldn't remember what I'd done on many of the days as you can see.  Pop over to Kate's if you want to see more or find out more about this challenge.

Have also made a Kindle cover for my youngest sis and am going to make one for myself.

My niece asked me to make a doll for her daughter for Christmas, both dellighted with it.

NB Am having problems trying to leave comments on some blogs.  Can only think it's 'cos my new laptop runs on Windows 7 and the old PC was Windows XP.  I will Google it to see if I can fix it but if anyone knows of a fix please let me know.  (My browser is IE9)

365 Journal, Prague and a doll

Really my time management skills seem to be even worse than ever; or maybe I'm just being lazy not making the time to blog.  At the moment I'm just intending to blog occasionally.

Have been to Prague with my friend Pat for a few days since I last blogged and have included a few mementos on my Oct page.  The colours for Nov are better IRL.  For more about the 365 Journal pop over to Kate's. 

Just showing a few pics from Prague and hopefully may get round to uploading more soon!  Really enjoyed Prague but it was very cold the first full day and had some rain the next 2 days.  The first picture shows the River Vltava and the 2nd is the Dancing House.  On the 3rd you can see Pat just off the first 'step'.

I've just completed a doll; haven't done one for a while.  The idea for the hair wasn't my own.  I've made her some shoes since taking this pic

Doll Making Playday

I've previously mentioned several of us like-minded crafters get together once a month to play.  Ann really wanted to have a go at making a cloth doll and I found one in my collection that I thought would be suitable for beginners.  Why is that things that look simple very rarely are!  Her arms and hands are incorporated into the body and as Margaret said, she looks as though she needs the loo LOL.  The hands are supposed to be painted but we decided not to bother.  Everyone did splendidly and Jill, our hostess for the day; Friday; had almost completed hers before we left.  I completed mine over the weekend.  Pat's is done now and is fabulous and funky.  As Pat has mentioned on her blog that this is a Tsunami Butterfly Doll, I thought I'd explain.  The designer; Patti Lavalley; designed it a few years ago so people could sell it with the proviso they gave some of the money in aid of the Tsunami in Asia a few years ago.

This fabric paper box is one we started at the last playday.  It originally had 5 sides and closed at the top, but I decided to change the shape and leave it open.  I've gone for 'less is more' with this just adding some machine stitching and beads.  The fabric paper was made with muslin, PVA and tissue paper, then painted when dry.  The box is approx 53/4"x21/2".  The skeletonised hydrangea head is off my hydrangea; I found it in the garden some weeks ago, I think it's lovely.



Margie's Doll

I usually make something for my 2 sisters for Christmas but I couldn't decide what to make last Christmas and then ran out of time.  Eventually I decided on a doll for my younger sister.  I usually use other people's patterns for making dolls but want to be able to do my own.  The limbs were no problem 'cos they can just be a kind of sausage shape, but I had great difficulty sorting out the head.  It took about 6 goes to get a reasonable one (and even now I think she needs a thinner jawline)  I'm rubbish at doing eyelashes, she looks like she's used cheap mascara which has made the eyelashes clumpy.  Is that an enigmatic smile? LOL Not happy with the mouth but am not going to make a new head!  Just realised she needs some blusher :-)

Altered Artist Mannequin

I've had this mannequin for ages.  I bought it with the intention of 'altering' it.  I did paint it a few weeks ago and had an idea what I wanted to do and made the skirt, but have had various ideas for the body since. After seeing one this week on WOYWW (sorry can't remember where) it inspired me to finish mine.  I decoupaged book pages onto it using Mod Podge Gloss but then hit on the idea of wrapping her with linen thread, which I started yesterday evening but decided to go back to the paper.  I had to draw the eyes and mouth on a separate piece of paper then cut them out to stick on as the surface was too slippery to draw on.  Initially I was going to make her black boots and then shoes - perhaps out of felt - but decided to paint some shoes on :-)

WOYWW 29th September or What's on Your Workbench?

In the Aug/Sept/Oct issue of Art Doll Quarterly there's an article titled 'What's On Your Workbench'!?  I haven't read the article and wonder whether the author was inspired by Lady Julia's inspired blogfest as it has become for many of us on Wednesdays.  I visited very few last week as I was at DS's for a few days but did a scheduled post and was kindly linked up by Kate and since getting back have been trying to catch up on some things.  I've been working on the 'Elemental' doll that was on my desk last week.  Luckily you can't see here the split fingers :-/ but as I'd decided to paint the fabric which covers up the glued splits a bit I thought I'd get away without having to make new hands (though the hands weren't sewn separately I could've chopped her hands off :-0 and sewed new ones)  She's almost complete but as she's meant to represent water I want to stand her in a large shell and may add some diaphanous fabric to drape from her head.  My WOYWW easel is centre stage as I've given it a coat of acrylic wax.

Am off out shortly so will pop round to yours later ;-)

A few pics from my hols in previous post if you're interested and have the time ;-)

WOYWW 22nd September - Here in spirit

Hello fellow WOYWWers, Happy Wednesday.  If you've no idea what I'm on about pop over to Julia's and find out more, then do please join us.  It's all good fun ;-)
Well I've tidied my desk at last - still not as tidy as some 'cos there are quite a few things that live on my desk.  On mine this weeks is a pile of scrap paper which I use when inking and stamping.  There's also a doll I'm making for the doll group I'm a member of.  One of our members sadly died last year and this is the doll she was working on.  Chris, who organises the group, thought it would be nice for us all to have a go at making one.  I decided I'd paint the fabric once completed rather than use  coloured fabric for this.

I thought I'd show the finished tutu I started before going on holiday.  It could do with lining really but will be ok if my youngest granddaughter wears leggings with it.  The colour is much more vibrant and more turquoise than it looks here but as it was raining I couldn't take a pic outside which would've resulted in a truer colour.
NB as I'm going to DS's for a couple of days and won't get chance to post on Wed, would some kind person please link me up at Julia's - thank you.  I'll be round to visit you from Thursday onwards ;-)

Blog Award Day - mine that is! And Bird

Firstly just want to show a piccy of the bird I made for Julia to celebrate WOYWW's 1st anniversary.  Julia's showing it on her blog, but just in case I get some visitors that don't pop over there ;-)

Just to say, the muck on the verandah is due to DD's dog digging up and eating my one and only cauliflower (I had it in a large plant pot) that I'd been nurturing for weeks :-(  I do have some others that still need planting out but one of the reasons I didn't put some in a patch of the garden was so he wouldn't dig them up!

I've received several blog awards recently so decided to post them altogether

The first one I received twice - here are the rules:-

1 Express gratitude to the blogger who bestowed the award unto you... Copious,grovelling …I am not worthy… gratitudes - ok, here goes I 'm not worthy to lick the boots of Lyn and Kay (thankfully I'm not that worthy!)

2 Display the picture on your blog proudly.

3 Be nice and provide a link to the person/s who gave it to you.

a) Lyn - http://spyder-spyderscorner.blogspot.com/ Who is a wonderfully talented artist and also kindly gives freebies of some of her art, also friendly and very funny ;-)

b) Kay http://makingthingsfromstuff.blogspot.com/   Another blogger with a great sense of humour, very friendly and makes wonderful art stuff - just read her porfile to see how she named her blog, always makes me smile when I think about it :-)

4 Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth, or switch it around and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie.

5 Nominate seven creative writers who might be into doing this

1/ While on holiday in Cuba a few years ago I whiled away one evening drinking Mohitos and swapping funny stories with Fidel Castro; what a blast!

2/ I once dug up a dead donkey

3/ I'm a natural blonde but like to dye my roots a mix of brown and grey just to keep people guessing.

4/ I went jet-skiing and quad-biking on holiday in Tunisia

5/ I won a knobbly knees contest at Butlin's many years ago

6/ I can do up to 4 back-flips in a row

I'm passing this award on to:

Pat - http://patacake-patcrafts.blogspot.com/
Heidi - http://thecraftygoatgirl.blogspot.com/
Maddy - http://patacake-patcrafts.blogspot.com/
Linda - http://acraftingjourney.blogspot.com/
Wilma - http://craftygran.blogspot.com/

Helen - http://stampingbyh.blogspot.com/

Bee - http://nannabeeshive.blogspot.com/

This Award I received from Bee 

The rules are that I have to tell you 10 facts about myself

1 I have 4 beautiful grandchildren and 2 beautiful children

2 I love crafting and all it entails

3 I love books but when it comes to reading I can't resist a bargain and love to find books for £2 or less :-)

4 I love dancing and currently go to linedancing and tap dancing 

5 I'm a bit of a slut when it comes to housework! (I do do some of course but as little as possible)

6 Not sure if this counts as fact, but if I win the lottery I'm going to buy myself a canal boat ;-)

7 I've got a pair of quad roller skates which I had every intention of using when I bought them but don't know how to stop :-/ (I wish there was somewhere to go that wasn't full of kids so I could practice without feeling self-concious - and never mind knee and elbow pads, how about something to protect the hips LOL)

8 One of my best holidays was to Cuba about 4 years ago

9 I love cake

10 I will be 64 next month (argh! I dont mind saying it but seeing it written it sounds old and I'm not)

I'm passing this award on to:

Ann - http://flutterbycrafter.blogspot.com/

Cardarian - http://cardarianshappyplace.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth - http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/

I was going to do all the awards here but need to get off the PC for a bit so will do the other one over the weekend.

My latest creation

This little birdie is my latest creation. After making one a few months ago I decided to do another 'cos the basic bird is very easy to construct and is something I can do from scratch - no using other peeps patterns ;) I do want to try to create my own cloth doll, but as I'm no artist even doing the basic pattern is going to be a challenge! I've used a little glass pot which I've weighted and covered with felt and embellished. This is to enable him to stand. I've attached a piece of wire across his foot and through the lid, plus a bit of glue under his foot. The eyes are paper flowers with a sequin and bead. I've used rolled up felt for his beak and metal charms and wire for his headdress.

Thanks for looking :)