Fallen from heaven

 I bought this Kewpie doll at a car boot sale....well I say bought, it was actually free because the man selling it  had no change so he gave it to me (he only wanted 50p for it anyway). I have been trying to decide what to do with it..........

 it ended up like this after much thinking and debate with myself.......debate because several friends on Facebook tell me I a cruel to cute dolls by making them look scary and so I have been thinking what else I could do.....................I mean do you stick to what you like and usually do or do you always try and do something different??

 well, as you can see I went down my usual "scary" route! 

These days I make stuff to make ME happy and  this makes

 ME HAPPY!!

 This piece was also inspired by something I saw on a friends blog EFEMERA INK where no colour was used, just a lot of gesso! I think I don't use a vast amount of colour but using just white is quite hard! It was a fun exercise.

Half a book

 The trouble when you have a sort out is that you come across things you forgot you had! This half a book is one such thing..

 Another thing I found was this plaster face that is part covered with old book pages.....I made it years ago and it was used on something or other and then pulled off, it has been lurking around since then and so it was time to use it again.

The other thing I have discovered is that when you use up stuff that you saved to use you don't actually get rid of them.......they just go from being  bits lying around to a made thing that you then have to find a home for:)

Paint and flowers

 A journal page just for fun today.................

.painted and stamped background and then hand drawn circle flowers which are completely inspired by

these stamps by Jo Firth-Young for Paperartsy

 flowers are coloured with Inktense pencils

 bit of stencilling with gesso along the bottom

Holly Holy Day

Today was Holly Holy Day in Nantwich, Cheshire. Every year the Sealed Knot Society re-enact the Civil War siege and Battle of Nantwich that took place in 1644.

I was born and brought up in this area and have lived back here for many years but I am ashamed to confess I have never been to Holly Holy Day.......that was put right today and despite it being pretty cold and not being able to feel my feet after standing in the snow for a couple of hours I have to say it was an amazing event......much better than I thought it was going to be!

There was entertainment in the town square including the Domesday Morris dancers.......loved his hat:)

 The actual battle took place on Mill Island.......a few pics to give you the idea......

lots of cannon and gunfire makes lots of smoke and LOUD noises...

 drumming and shouting added to the atmosphere.

 

Steampunk book

Yesterday I had a bit of a sort out in my studio......it was in a bit of a mess and was getting on my nerves

while I was sorting out I came across some unfinished pieces, one of them was this book that I started ages ago, have added bits to it every now2 and then  but today decided I was going to finish it........that mainly consisted of fastening the pages into the cover......

 .....the other thing I added was this chain mail effect set of washers that I recycled from an old project

 the page edges have zips, bobble braid, die cut cogs, old camera film, bits of sari fabric, all sewn in place

 some of the pages

 the buttons on this page edge are echoed by more on the other side......the double rows hide the stitching

the rings are on the reverse side of the press studs

So, a question to end with..............

what do you do with your finished pieces?

 I always say that the enjoyment in making the piece is its purpose but you do end up with lots of "stuff" :)

Oriental?

 A while ago I bought these rather cute plastic faces, decided to have a play with one yesterday.

 First problem was that they are quite flimsy and squishy so I glued some bits of paper on the underside (thanks for the idea Nigel if you are reading this), it worked quite well and it's now a lot firmer.

  After much debate about what I was going to do with it it eventually became this............so not like I thought it was going to be!!!

First step was how to attach it....did think staples but that didn't work.....ended up stitching it in place which was easier than it sounds!!

It's on an old book cover......not sure what I will do with it yet.

 

I wanted to not do my usual white face with black eyes thing......not that I don't like that, I do, but wanted to do something a bit different, it's very easy do the same thing all the time!

 So, was looking to add some texture of some sort, found a tube of Crackle Accents in a drawer and smeared it across parts of the face................some of it crackled, some of it didn't.......where it didn't crackle across the dome of the forehead it went smooth and shiny and I think it looks a bit like old bone or ivory and I LOVE the way it looks!

 Has a slight peaceful Oriental feel don't you think?? And not scary!

 

Something you maybe didn't know

about me is that I am an embroiderer and have a City and Guilds qualification in Creative Embroidery......well I probably should say "used to be an embroiderer" as I haven't done any for ages!! 

I do belong to my local Embroiderers Guild branch and today was our monthly meeting......we were shown some lovely goldwork embroidery and it reminded me that I have some I could show you!

So......here you are .......beetles

 and frogs