More Postcards/Country Carnival Craft stuff

More postcards!!! What a great month October is!

The first postcard is from Emmy - which was such a lovely surprise. I have made some wonderful friends over cyberspace - and Emmy was one of my first, and still one of my very best cyberspace friends!!!! As with all of Emmy's fibre art, this postcard is just gorgeous. Thanks Emmy!! xx



This postcard is from SuZ! It is adorable!!!! There is a little fairy sitting on the flower - can you see it? SuZ, you are the best. I love it - thankyou.

CRAFT STALL ITEMS
I copied this idea from Doreen (I asked her first if I could!!!)..... Doreen made her gorgeous needle books from an old jumper she had felted, but I used some woollen fabric which I had made a jumper for Dad - ages ago!!!!! Not as good as Doreen's, but good enough for the school craft stall.......

These are stuffed hearts, made from polar fleece. They're very soft and cuddly. I suppose you could hang them or write on the little tag and give them as a small gift.

What a month!!!

October is definitely my month!! Not only is it Spring, but I am receiving some wonderful cards in the mail...... Here are some more birthday postcards from my Fiber Art Friends.



Postcard from Terri.

Postcard from Micki.

Postcard from Elaine.

Postcard from Sue.

Thankyou so much - I love them all!!! They are all so individual and wonderful - and what a way to celebrate my birthday........

It's about time!!!

Well it's about time that I posted on my blog again!!! All I can say is that I have been very slack, and still not very motivated - but I'm trying to remedy the situation. How, is another matter!!?? Any suggestions welcome!!!!!!!!! We have 2 weeks school holidays here, so I've now found another excuse for not creating or posting - excuses are very easy to come by lately.......


Anyway, I've received a couple of lovely posts from Francoise. Firstly a gorgeous fabric page for our FAF Fabric Page Swap. I love the design. It was accompanied by some beautiful hand dyed fabric. Thankyou so much Francoise. Also, a gorgeous postcard for my October birthday. Thanks again Francoise! I admired these postcards on Francoise blog, and lo and behold, one was for me...... I have been waiting for October to come around all year - now it's my turn and I'm very excited!

































This gorgeous woolly sheep ATC, is from Anne in France. I love it -thanks Anne!



















Well I haven't been completely uncreative!! My wonderful friend Connie came over the other day and we spent a lovely afternoon making felted vessels. Mine is the purple/pink one (of course), and Connie's is the green one. We had a blast making these - chatting, rolling, chatting, rolling - took us about 4 hours, inbetween cups of tea, bickies and a quick drive to the bus stop to pick the kids up from school.

Not much of a blogger!!!

Not much of a blogger lately, but haven't really had anything much to blog about. Went to Bendigo to visit my Mum and Dad for 5 days, so that accounts for part of the time. But creatively - zip - until today. I made birthday postcards for the 2 ladies in the FAF group who are having August birthdays. Happy birthday ladies!!!

Here is my fantastic Art Nouveau page from Kim. It is sooooo fantastic - I have been ooohhing and aaahhhing quite a bit since receiving it. Thanks Kim!!

Francoise Fabric Page

How's this - I'm early for a change!! I've just finished Francoise page for our fabric book page swap on FAF. This is the Australian Aboriginal symbol depicting 2 people sitting around a campfire. I love our Australian Aboriginal art and the symbols so often found in their art work......

Kim's Fabric Page

My finger can't stop me!! Actually thankyou for all of your lovely comments - but I have a much better finger today. As long as I kept it out of the way (a bit difficult at times) I managed to get back into my messy workspace and make Kim's fabric page. This month I had Kim's page to do for the FAF page swap. Kim's theme is Celestial Bodies, and this is how I interpreted the galaxies. I have made the large spiral from a foil cover which was on a Milo tin. My kids go through Milo like it's going out of fashion, so I have plenty of these!! The background is hand painted and stamped with some FME. I'm running late this month with the page, but managed to sneak it in with a week to spare.... Phew!!!!!

Sarah"s Fabric Book Page

This is my page for Sarah's Fabric Book - a swap organised by FiberArtFriends Group. Her theme is a "Womans work is never done". I was thinking about the theme and it's so true, we are such a busy bunch of people, and there never seems to be enough time. So, that is what I based my page on "Never Enough Time". The glitter in the hour glass will pass through if you shake the page...........

Birthday Postcards/Atc

Today I made 2 birthday postcards for the June birthday girls on FiberArtFriends group. They are made with foil on felt, embellished with the Xpression and then I sewed some decorative machine stitches on them. The ATC is made from leftover fabric from the Treasure Boxes, and this is going to Fabienne in France. Now my only commitment left for this month is the fabric page swap for the FiberArtFriends group.

Mail Received/Sent - Up a Tree

I received my page from Terri for the FiberArtFriend fabric page swap. It is really beautiful!! Also, with the page I received this wonderful beaded ATC - it's so much better for real - I love it. Thanks so much Terri!!

I made this ATC for a swap with Muriel in France - hope she likes it.

These ATC's were from Nadia in Norway, the wonderful black, white and red one, and from Muriel in France - the beautifully embroidered tree.

Here are my little darlings (little monkeys) - "up a gum tree" at the back of our house.

Terri's Page for FAF

This month's FAF fabric page swap is for Terri, and the theme is Nature. I painted and stamped the background. I used diluted pant for the sky and stamped painted bubble wrap for the grass and flowers. I then did a lot of FME and appliqued the flowers and the butterflies. I know Terri LOVES flowers, so hope this fits into her fabric book okay.......

"Go Girl" Bag/Parcel from Emmy

"Go Girl" Bag
I purchased a "Go Girl" bag from Terri - when she said they were on sale, I just couldn't help myself. It is just adorable, and I have already received a number of compliments when I've worn
it shopping. I love it Terri!!!



Parcel from Emmy
This is my "Art Nouveau" page from Emmy (part of the Fiber Art Friends page swap). It is stunning - as is all Emmy's fibre art. I also received a beeooootiful mobile phone holder from Emmy. I can remember commenting on this a while back, and now IT IS MINE!!! Emmy and I have known one another over cyberspace for quite a while now, and I admire her talent and her
generosity in sharing her skills with others. Thankyou Emmy!!!!!!

Emmy's Page

Today I started and finished (yeah!!) Emmy's page for the Fiber Art Friends fabric page swap. Emmy's theme is blue/green (I hope that's what it is). The middle panel is FME on synthetic felt, which I zapped with the heat gun, then more FME over the top. I then rubbed purple Treasure Gold over the top to emphasise the texture. I sewed the panel onto some needle punched silk fabric. Out of the silk fabric which was left over, I then made 2 flower shapes which I attached together with the Xpression, and added some silk chiffon in the middle. The label was also made from the silk fabric, and I added some yarns and beads/charms to it.

Emmy's Page

More Great Mail!

I received a wonderful parcel from Carol!! The padfolio, which was from the Fiber Art Friends padfolio swap, is absolutely stunning!!! The colours and the texture on this are just fantastic - it is so much better for real than in a photo - thanks so much Carol!!! I also received a postcard on the inside pocket of the padfolio which is also lovely.....


Not only did I receive the padfolio from Carol, but it was our month for the Fiber Art Friends fabric page swap. The page is gorgeous, and I love how Carol has made a matching tag, with a photo of the page on it. Thanks again Carol!


I also received 2 x ATC's. The very pretty Spring Flower ATC is from Annica, and the lovely needle felted and beaded card is from Fabienne in France. Thanks so much ladies!!

Padfolio/ATC's

I revamped the padfolio I had made earlier, and this is going to be sent to Carol for our Fiber Art Friends Padfolio Swap. The texture on it is created by painted vliesofix, and I've then rubbed LOTS of green and red treasure gold over the top. I added a favourite piece of fabric paper to the top of the padfolio and some rectangles down the side. Thought Carol might also like a book mark, so made one from the fabric paper - and added some fabric paper beads to the yarns. It looks so much better than before - and I really hope Carol likes it!!!

Today I made 4 x ATC's for swaps owed - one of them is for the theme "Green".

Postcard for SuZ and TAST (Chevron Stitch)

Okay, SuZ, this is for you!! I sent it on Friday, so hopefully it's winging it's way over there right now. The background is silk paper, and the dancing girl is made from fabric paper. Hope you like your "Dancing Girl"..... For anyone else reading - we are doing a birthday card swap on Fiber Art Friends, and March is SuZ's birthday month.

Very late with this, but here is my Chevron sample for TAST. I've sewn it with DMC thread onto some painted stretch velvet.

March Technique - Tyvek

Experimented with the FAF technique for March today - which is tyvek. I painted some curtain lace and some tyvek with ordinary acrylic paints. I then sewed the lace on to the tyvek with some FME - I mainly just followed the pattern on the lace. Then the fun part - out came the heat gun. The tyvek shrank, gathering the lace in with it, and the texture is really lovely. It really is much more textured than what it looks in the photo. I tried the iron first, but that wasn't doing what I wanted it to do, so went for the heat gun (my favourite tool)......

Painted Tyvek and Lace














Lace sewed to the Tyvek















The Zapped and Finished piece!!!

FAF Fabric Page for Carol

I finished Carol's fabric page for Fiber Art Friends page swap. Carol chose the theme of creamy/white. This was a great page to do, as I used a technique which I had read about in Stitch magazine and really wanted to try! Items are sandwiched between 2 layers of calico and stab stitched into place, which then creates a raised image. I used various buttons for the flowers, some paper string for the stems and stuffed some calico for the rocks. I then embellished the top with hand and machine stitching, and also added some flowers made from chiffon.

January and February Journal Quilts '07

I finally managed to create something in my new art/craft room..... It felt really strange at first, and I just sat there!!!! Sitting, sitting....no inspiration, then I grabbed a piece of wool and sat at the embellisher and just went for it. So my first piece to be made in my "new room" was was my February Journal Quilt (a bit late, I know!!). The middle panel of the Feb journal quilt was made on the embellisher, then free motion embroidered. I hand stitched the panel onto painted muslin and then added some cross stitches around the muslin frame. So, not only have I finished my Feb quilt, but also managed to incorporate TAST cross stitch (also a bit late - I know!!)....

I've also added a pic of my January journal quilt. The middle panel is hand painted fabric, with a stencil added and lots of FME. I've also couched a piece of lovely yarn on the inside of the border. AND - I've started on Carol's fabric page for our Fiber Art Friends page swap - I'm really happy with the progress........

February Journal Quilt '07

January Journal Quilt '07

Strip Felting Workshop

Over the weekend I attended a "Strip Felting" workshop with Polly Stirling. What a great technique this is. It is kind of a nuno felting, but with strips of fabric incorporated with wool roving. What fun!! I made 2 samples - one being a cross hatch of strips, the other one I weaved strips of fabric together. I loved the end results - the textures of the fabric came out as such a surprise, and I learnt so much about what fabrics work well and what don't. A lot of the ladies, who were much more experienced at felting made wraps, vests and skirts. WOW! I know, I should've taken some photos - but they all turned out beautifully and different, with a variety of fabrics used - so the textures were so varied in each and every one. So, if any of you have a chance to do a workshop with Polly, take it - she is a lovely and talented lady!!! Now that I've experimented, I intend to make a wrapped shawl or a vest with the method.

So, because of the gorgeous texture produced by this method - I have incorporated it into Fiber Art Friends February Technique of the month, which is texture.

Received Lynda's Page!!!

Here are the 2 wonderful pages I received from Lynda for our Fiber Art Friends fabric page swap. How lucky am I that Lynda made not 1, but 2 pages - and they are both so wonderful!!! My theme is Art Nouveau, and Lynda has portrayed this beautifully!! The black and gold page is gorgeous! A lovely art nouveau butterfly, with an image inlaid which really looks 3D, it's amazing!! I love it! And the other page - is sooo Lynda, and I'm so pleased to have this too. Lynda has made it with her famous slash technique, and the colours above and below are gorgeous. I LOVE both pages - thankyou so much Lynda!! Oh, and I'm not finished - apart from the extra tissue paper that it was all wrapped in, I received a monkey (which ALL of my boys want), and here he is holding the 2 tags for the pages. The tags were made to match the pages. This post was such a pleasure to open and really made my day.