Making magazine.........

I have an interview in the new 'Making' Magazine.....Im so pleased they have written the best stuff.....Im over the moon actually.x

http://www.facebook.com/Makingmagazine

Birds, Birds, Birds.........

I have a mini collection of birds ready for sale....
The birds will go into my Etsy shop at 7.30pm UK time this Friday the 17th May.

Prices £99-£130

A&B..............

The witch simply called them 'A&B' for that was their name.
A two headed spy created to see through the wood in the failing light.
Admittedly they were generally up to no good but when given the chance unexpectedly they sang.......and if only you could have understood the meanings you would have heard songs sung of 'never having to be alone'...

Yellow and Turquoise........

Took this image today of a little yellow bird Ive been working on I think its a new favourite... I love the colours together....

coffins...........

Heres a really early preview of something I'm working on....Ive been teaching myself how to cut glass and make things from it. Instead of soldering I wanted to glue and stitch the pieces together. Here are my first 'glass coffins' which I hope I will be available through one of my stockists soon.
I'm always seeing waste glass in skips and from old windows etc so I just wanted to be able to use it and include it in my work in some way.
I'm still learning lots from it but i really I love it.
The stitching and gluing needs refining but I wanted then glass segments to be joined with fabric in some way and I like how they interact with the birds textures and muted tones.

mirror mirror......

I thought I would share a mini tutorial which is really fast and I think can make a quite a fab gift or unusual way of displaying photographs.
These vintage hand mirrors are everywhere and I see them practically at every car boot or second hand shop I go to.
Check its in this style as all you need to do is twist the barrel/handle and it should turn quite easily. If it does then its should be good to use for this project.
Unscrew the handle from the bottom cap and it should literally fall apart into the pieces like above.You may have to slide down the small cap that is holding the bottom of the frame pieces together this is easily done.
Take the original picture out and using the clear plastic cover piece use it to trace over an image that you like. This can obviously be anything you like from a book page to concert tickets as long as they are thin...here I have used a picture of a bird from an old book.
Insert it and put back together simply..... it can be a little tricky to get everything back in the frame bit at the top but once you have slide on the handle and barrel cap and you are done.
Job done.

Mister Swindlehurst..........

Recently I was very kindly given a pair of scissors large and very heavy but built to last and in their own right are an amazing object.
This pair should easily last me the rest of me and somebody else's life if not longer.
I love the sequence of events of how objects arrive at their destinations and often their refusal at being discarded.
The previous owner acquired them as a donation from a tailors son who then gave them to me.
More often than not we don't own objects we are simply the caretaker of them.....so in the chapter where I have them it only seemed fit to engrave the tailors name onto the blade......
'Mister Swindlehurst'
Maybe one day my name will be added to the blades too or maybe it will always be a mystery of what the name means..who know its all part of the story........

 

Envelopes.........

Well this past week has been one of trial and error and lots of things have really not gone to plan work wise.
But you just have to ride out these times I feel even tho at the time they can prove to be hugely disappointing on a time wasting basis.
Is it time wasted tho?
No, its all down to development and some things work somethings don't. Toady I'm ironing some fabric envelopes for a another project that just didn't work out....but I love them all the same.









 Something about neat stacks of envelopes and what they may contain....

In Case.............

I found this tiny case over the weekend...its meant for jewellery so you can work out how small it would be. I built a cobweb in it from nylon thread. I think its a really pretty result and a tiny pearly spider is all that is needed to finish it all off. Ive done a few very large cobwebs in the past now but they have all been out of clear thick fishing line so using a thin thread was tricky but I think its worth it.

Felinka...........

Here's a large well actually very large mouse Ive been working on I like to make something big in between my other work almost like a project.
Shes been a lot of work and Ive done some very late nights obsessing over her.
Shes done now and I'm going to curl up and get some sleep myself.
x

Thread and silk......

I may have mentioned this on my blog and older posts....I have a little omen that seems to come along quite often.....little spiders hanging from their silk. Ive had them hanging above where I work and even hanging off my work. I take a comfort in seeing them as a good luck thing. Everyone has a thing.....don't they?
Toady I go to my sewing machine and this little guy is hanging of my sewing thread.
Wishing you a day a 'good luck omen' day.

Coach and..........

Its Bank Holiday but some moths they gotta work.......I made this one for my Momma Finch for mothers day, just not had chance to see her recently....Will see her Tues...
The coach is a plastic jewellery box that was given a slight makeover....well a total makeover it was gold and white.

Hoover and a tweak........

Well my large moth 'Oonah' is back from her adventures in Anthropologie in London..and with a quick hoover and tweak shes back on the wall above my sewing machine where she lives. I get asked whats my favourite thing I ever made a lot and and its her ....this moth.
Shes with me for a little while then shes back out for some new travels.......maybe mid April....x

6 for sale............

I will have 6 moths........ 3 x medium and 3 x large for Esty tomorrow night Friday 29th March 7.30pm UK Time.
Med moths will be £149 and are approx 30cm x 24cm
Large moths are £295 and are approx 42cm x 24cm if not slightly bigger. Ive never made and sold moths this large size before....All fur used is artificial.

Large..........

Today I'm working on moths ....some small some big..actually the biggest Ive ever made for sale. The large ones are hard to make, getting the stance of them is tricky when you make larger ones as they become heavier. 
Once they are finished Ill give updates of when they will be for sale.
4-5 days approx .....Med moths will be £149 and the large £295
These are going into my Esty shop...

The large ones are roughly 42cm x 24cm to give you an idea.