ACP Week 7 part 3: What no paper!?!

No not a single scrap - today's project is completely made of fabric (well it is fabric week!) making up for the minimal amount of fabric on yesterdays piece.. lol

I love to sew projects! There is something so traditional about it... I wanted to add more layers to this piece but couldn't find any more red fabric in the box under the desk... so I stopped.  Then I started another project and while looking for ribbon in a set of drawers I found red fabric - lots of it -spots, checked, plain!! how frustrating is that! lol
Nevermind, I'll save those fabrics for another day... another project...

I completely forgot to add this picture at the start of the week - flowers from my 'valentine' and love how they fit with my red black colour scheme.. gorgeous colour.

and the other good thing about these flowers is that they are 'cat proof'! Bertie chewed the end off a leaf and promptly spat it out (classy cat) and wandered off... yay...
shame can't be said about my beautiful Hibiscus which he chews on a daily basis... naughty puss

ACP Week 7: Red + F = Fabric

I don't know what happened to last week and the ACP - everything else seemed to take over! but I'm going to try and get back on track this week - apart from going to London today its going to get my full undivided attention until I go back to SW on Friday (SW=shop work, I only work 2 days so back to crafting 'work' soon :o) )

Red is the main colour this month - I like how it can used in so many way - to portray love, anger and patriotism.
And if you're going to have a dress - there's nothing more show stopping than a red dress! OK, Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell (here in a picture from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) also have show stopping figures which help! lol  (but they are not the only ones - how about Jessica Rabbit, Betty Boop, & Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman - all have striking red dresses!)

 

Red & Black - always a striking combination:

F = Fabric

Today's project is some cute embellishments I made out of die cut felt - and I think I've covered how much I love felt! - its right up there with buttons, calico & Kraft card stock on the 'favourite items to work with' list.  I used to make and sell these on Etsy but I made these especially for the ACP - they'll turn up on something over the next few days I'm sure....

OK, got to love and leave you - off to London... (oh yes... going to London... by myself... it'll all be fine... I've packed the Epi-pen... no unexpected trips in an ambulance for me this time!)

Have a great day

Jessica's card

Birth card for a friend's new arrival - I can blog it now she's recieved it.  It has a lot going on and I love how it turned out! (am patting myself on the back.. lol) Its sooo girly and pink, with sparkles (obviously!). I always like to make baby cards special but I wanted this to be extra special because this little lady arrived 8 weeks early and weighed just 3lbs 10oz!!  She's at home and doing well, and I'll be popping round for a cuddle very soon! Big congrats to V&T!

been 'busy'....

.. I was having a quick look back through my recent blog posts and its been a while since I posted pictures of my actual work - it all seems to have been pictures of my desk (which is fine), or things I've found inspiring or just generally pretty pictures ... but none of my work.  Sometimes this is because I can't show it for one reason or another ie magazine work, dt pieces, samples for teaching or I'm working on pieces that will go for sale ... etc etc etc

aaaanyhoo enough is enough - lets put this right:  here are some pic's of a couple of things I made earlier today:

playing with my new favourite punch - the bird/branch from Stampin up.. they've got a great new stye of punch- nice and flat and stackable and much kinder on the hands.

and another card made using quite a few of my favourite things - sewing, punchouts, sewing, and the gorgeous 'brook' paper from Crate Paper.

Thanks to the everyone who left a comment about Bertie and his debut on WOYWW but before you all get too taken in by those 'butter wouldn't melt' cute looks of his check this out.. this is what I have to contend with - the little furball has no manners! lol I spend a lot of time picking him up off the desk and putting him back down on the floor... he's like a jack-in -the-box... gotta love him though- its all part of his charm... apparently!

June Craft Stamper..

... is a bumper issue as the magazine is TEN YEARS OLD - how fantastic is that!

Its a great issue, and I have an article in there too- my butterfly mobile which must have have been a nightmare for the team to photograph with all its dangles (which rotate in even the slightest breeze!) so well done to them for doing such a great job with it - I'll try not to create something so 'unstable' in the future.. lol

I loved creating the project... it brought together lots of my favourite items to create with....

Go check it out...   and I'm looking forward to another 10 years!

out of my head..

An idea, or chore, can sit naggingly in the back of your mind and so sometimes you  just have to do it - regardless of other pressing matters that should really take priority - to get it out of your head..

I had a little plastic tool roll which was free with a magazine aaaages ago and had definitely seen better days so I wanted to make a bigger/longer nicer one... felt was my fabric of choice and the roll had to have flap that came over the top of the tools to stop them sliding out....  and this is the result of such a 'nag/idea':

Its really simple - grey felt on the outside, pale blue on the inside, sewn with cream thread to coordinate with the cream ribbon which ties everything shut.  Am v please with myself (patting myself on the back! lol)... OK its not rocket science but I like it - and more importantly - it works!

Look at all the lovely tools I can get in there! Even room for a glue stick and a mini mister!  OK the only essential that's missing is a paire of scissors - they have to be just tucked in without being in a pocket - 'cos when they were in a pocket the tool roll didn't 'roll' up as nicely!  :o(   (though look carefully - there's a pair of tiny decopage scissors.... )  (oooh and my small metal will go in there - when I've found it)
please note the label sewn into the side - also coordinating nicely  :o)

I went, I learned, I looked and got inspired..

.. at Stitches.  The show was smaller than previous ones... but still lots of eye candy:

Couldn't help but stroke and touch these on the Button Company stand:

Look at the lovely colours of felt!  I couldn't help but stroke those - charcoal grey is hard to get and its soooo lovely!  And thats not just rik-rak its HUGE rik-rak - measures about 2.5cm on the band - would make such a cool embellishment - LOVE IT - but it would be hard to choose a colour wouldn't it! lol

Buttons and button display - love this vintage mix! things that make you go mmmmmmmm.

Now for my next pictures we must speak in hushed tones so not to upset my Cuttlebug, who I am very fond of as we know, but look at this:

This is the Big Shot Pro... a brute of a machine! Its a BigShot on steroids! lol. the paper laying to the side is a sheet of 12x12!!!!!! I can almost hear my little Cuttlebug shaking on its little suckered feet! lol

The Sizzix stands are always dressed well with great use of their dies and products and if my camera wasn't playing silly whatsits I'd show you pictures of nice things! So I'll show you Tim Holtz's new line of Sizziz dies and embossing folders and projects made from them instead! loving the birdcage and birdie (reminding me of my Tweets from way back - see here and here)

and while we're speaking Mr Holtz check this out: this is my friend Rachael, Tim and Me at the end of the Ranger-on-the-road workshop on saturday - I'll post a picture of the project we made when I've stuck all the pieces down....

The workshop was good - I've never seen Suze Weinberg and Claudine Hellmuth demo/teach and I really enjoyed it.  It was comfortably fast paced and enjoyable - lots of tasters of techniques - made me want to go and get busy with all the products - but thats the point isn't it! lol

All in all its been a busy and knackering weekend - but well worth it!!