Lampshade re-do…

I don’t know about you but I get tired of things staying the same and recently I looked at the time and the lampshade above the clock and decided the shade could do with a little do up.

Marianne North’s work is on show in her own gallery at Kew Gardens, London. Closed at the moment of course, but once re-opened you have to go and visit! It’s an amazing building and not a scrap of wall is wasted! Let’s hope it’s open very soon.

Marianne North’s art work is slightly – actually not so slightly, taking over my home. I bought a box of 100 postcards and it was these that I decided to use to recover my lampshade.

This shade was originally made from a kit and the kit comprised of the backing material and the two lampshade rings, one is a plain ring and the other has the fitting for the lightbulb holder which was also included in the kit.

When I worked in an Arts & Crafts shop we used to instruct folk to wrap bias binding around the lampshade frames and then to stitch the lampshade fabric onto the wire frame. Today we have strong double sided tape and it’s a whole lot easier and quicker!

So I stripped my lampshade and then as I was reusing the backing I soaked away the previous paper covering.

I then peeled away the backing on a few postcards and then chopped up the cards to make a patchwork of the paintings.

Once I covered the backing sheet I stuck it all together, it’s useful to have some clothes pegs as these are great for holding everything in place. I found I quite quickly ran out of hands!.

Pegs are your friends in this project!

Well it’s done and yes I then re-did the clock – I’ll show you what I did with that next time!

on

off

Thanks for reading,
back next week,
love Rosie

Indian carving…

I have had this lovely wooden box for a great many years. The other day I noticed it was looking a bit dusty and whilst cleaning it I decided that I might paint it.

Once it was dust free I painted white acrylic paint all over the area I had decided to paint.

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I decided to paint the flowers purple, when I bought the box I was very much in my ‘purple phase’.

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Painting with white acrylic before adding the colour – especially when painting on a dark base really helps the colours ‘pop’.

Once I had the painting finished I added some gold from a Pentel Gold Marker – I pooled the marker fluid and brushed it into the crevasses in the carving. I also added the gold to the small carved areas on the sides of the box.

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Finally I gave the whole box a polish with a good quality wood polish and voila – it’s had a new lease of life. It looks at home on my Marianne North covered drawers.

Thanks for reading,
back soon, love Rosie.

In the land of Topsy-Turvy …

One of my very favourite stories is/was Enid Blyton’s ‘The Faraway Tree’ and today I feel that I visited one of the strange lands at the top of tree….

As part of a learning at work week I was asked if I would do a craft demonstration…bit tricky when I can’t provide the materials and we will all be in our own homes, not everyone has a crafty store cupboard.  But I found this lovely easy plant hanger and thought it would be perfect, incredibly simple and easy to make more complex if anyone wanted to.

I made up a few samples and got myself ready.  Switched on the start the meeting and found that I had no camera and no microphone for some unknown reason… I was in front of said camera and was wearing the mic, everything appeared to be plugged into what it should be…gahh

No problems I could use my home laptop – as quick as I could I did all the procedures required and voila I was in… I could hear them, they could see and hear me, we could have a lovely little catch up and make a pot hanger or two in the short time allocated.

But…. I had forgotten I was up that tree in the Land of Topsy-Turvy…. yes I was around the wrong way.  How silly!  I could not turn myself around on that blessed screen. So I had to physically turn my laptop upside down and oh joy… I heard a chorus of  “Oh that’s better!”

Well, I figured it was better for them to see me even if I was the other way around so I did that very quick tutorial, with my laptop balancing precariously, unable to see myself… and then when it was all over… another meeting started and people were asking where I was?
It seems the latecomers to the invite had been told – by me – that the class was 45minutes after the actual time.

It was both ridiculous, annoying, unprofessional in the extreme, hilarious, frustrating and just downright daft.

So, in case you fancy a go here’s my instructions to the simplest macramé style plant hanger in the world….
First of all choose what you’re going to use, garden twine, ribbon, cord or yarn.
Cut 4 lengths twice the length you want your plant holder to be.
Fold the lengths in half and tie a knot – this will be how you hang the planter.

Hook over a stool leg or door knob

tie your first knots

the second knots

The first picture shows me looping that hook over a leg of the stool – you need to be able to pull it taught.
Now organise your 8 strands into pairs and tie a knot roughly half way down the yarn (or whatever you’re using).
Now another row of knots a bit further down but, this time alternate the groups so, one length of yarn from your first pair is knotted with one length from the next pair .

This can be it, just do a big knot with all the lengths and that will be the base of your hanger.

In the case of the jam jar photo you will see I went around again, as the jar is long and I want it to be secure!

Plaited pink yarn, this is the one with the extra row of knots to go further up the jar

You can add beads if you have any and decorate, use different colours of yarn or ribbon for each length? I plaited the pink wool used in the jam jar hanger.

Thanks for reading, keep crafting – it’s good for you! But if you fancy reading, The Faraway Tree is pure escapism.
Love Rosie.

 

 

Dollhouse Furniture…

The furniture in the dollhouse was very lovely but my family are now living in the 1920s and they don’t want to have their home filled with dark Victorian furniture. They are modern thinking, artistic and creative folk.  Their grown up daughter is thoroughly ‘with it’ and is influencing her family.

So, I painted their furniture with a good quality white acrylic paint.
Then when dry I went over with a mix of brown and white acrylic paint, for the sitting room furniture. A few detail lines added with a fine white marker.
I recovered the seat cushions and then set the table for tea.

tea-time

Looks like a pretty tasty tea don’t you think?
The beds are a pale turquoise with detail added with white marker, the maid likes them and is smoothing the new bed linen with care. Young Edith Littleton is impressed with her new desk area for studying at, she hopes to go on to further education at college and needs to work very hard.

If you’re interested in seeing how these dolls live their lives – their story is told here https://www.instagram.com/the_littleton_family_story/

Thanks for reading,
Back soon
Love Rosie

A cover for my Kindle…

I fought purchasing a Kindle for a long time as I love, love, love reading books.  But I have to admit they have their place, so handy to take on travels and with so many great classics free to download, well I felt it would be churlish to refuse.

I must admit I don’t read on it very much but recently Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers was shown on TV, a new adaptation of this much loved childhood read, my daughter advised that the story was only 99p on Kindle. As I do not have my Enid Blyton books anymore, I had to have it. So I found out my Kindle; charged it up and went back in time!

During this read I celebrated my birthday and one gift was a tea-cloth, it was given as fabric to use however, as it was of the wonderful Marianne North. I have used quite a lot of her work as I love it.  The tea-cloth would make a rather nice Kindle cover I thought and started straight away..

I rather did it in a haphazard way – if you fancy making one there are plenty of online tutorials (link to just one of many).

So here’s a little slide show of what I did… I didn’t bother with a pocket on my case.. I can’t think why I would need one. The only thing I need when reading is a nice cuppa or glass of something naughty.

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Do let me know if you make one!
Back soon,
love Rosie

Everlasting wisteria…

On my morning walks I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the gorgeous front gardens around. The lovely sunny daffodils stood out; then the gorgeous magnolia and Spring blossoms; next for me to notice was the wisteria and now that seems to be fading and the fabulous lilac trees are all in bloom.

I was particularly taken with the wisteria, I’ve always loved it, but this year – maybe with the extra time to look around during my walks which are being taken for exercise and not just a mad dash to the office, I’ve found it more spectacular than ever.

On a recent renovation to the family dollshouse I asked my daughter if we should have something around the door?  We decided on wisteria and a front door in a deep green to show off the blooms.

Now, I have to confess that this house renovation is not up to the standard I see on the various dollhouse sites I visit. The house is generally only viewed through a willow filter on Instagram under the title The Littleton Family Story.
But I took time to paint the whole house, gave the window frames a lick of gloss

I used a tester pot in a colour very similar to the original

and then started on the wisteria.
I painted the areas in white acrylic paint initially.

I find it helps to make the colours ‘pop’ when they’re added on top of the dried white acrylic.

This is the handyman – credited with all the work

Thanks for reading,
keep safe!
love Rosie

 

Boho Bunting…

In a lovely book Mindful Crochet by Emma Leith there is a pattern for some mindful crocheted bunting.

In her words ‘Lift the spirits with this gloriously happy bunting…’
As I’ve been sorting cupboards and drawers recently (who hasn’t!) I’ve found that I have accumulated lots of bits of yarn so I thought this would be perfect little project for evenings.

The flags completed in one colour are not in Emma’s book but my husband was threatening to self-combust at all my little bits of yarn left all over the house so I decided to keep going on a few and lessen the amount of bits!

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The pattern is very nice to follow and as Emma says
‘Each triangle can be completed in a half hour sitting and there’s no rush.  This project requires a little bit of counting on each round, so practise making the counting slow and rhythmical. Slowing the stitches slows the mind and the breath’

I really like her instructions for the making up and finishing, much better than my usual single chain. I will give them a little squash under weights but thought I’d just show you how they are straight after finishing.

Stay safe, thanks for reading.
Love Rosie

Painting flowers…

I love painting flowers and in this weird time we are all in at the moment I have been taking walks every morning and getting to study some gorgeous flowers in the gardens nearby.

I had bought myself a quantity of wooden boxes and have been slowly decorating them.
They will be on sale in my Etsy shop eventually but due to isolating; I am not going to the post office at the moment.

So here’s a little slide show of some of my boxes. (The backing paper is from my collection of Marianne North)

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Thanks for reading, hope you’re all keeping well.
Love Rosie

 

 

 

 

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Luggage (12th scale)

In March we took a little trip to York. We’ve been before but a long time ago and, rightly as it turned out, we thought we’d visit again. We stayed in a central hotel which was lovely and near everything.
I had done some research, looking for shops I might like to visit as I had one day to myself, the National Railway Museum being my husband’s destination for the day.
I had discovered that there was a dollhouse stall in the Shambles market! What joy!

I bought a few bits and pieces including this kit, of a set of luggage.
Once home I started to make this little kit and it’s come in useful already for in the Littleton Family Story it’s still 1920ish so they have been able to travel!

The instructions were very clear and the parts of the kit all nicely prepared.  I did get rather sticky but it was a satisfying make and looks pretty smart I think!

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Poor Mr Littleton, his wife has filled all the cases to the very brim!

Thanks for reading,
back next week,
Rosie

Keeping it together….

As a self-isolating person I have had a bit of time this week, luckily I have loads of things to keep me busy and hopefully my place of work will soon have us all up and running in our homes.  But for this week I have been keeping myself amused.

My old trusty sewing machine has been suffering from hic-cups for some time now and I had decided to upgrade and get a new one sometime.  With the recent events I decided that while we can still order items I would do so.  A delivery man dropped off a giant box the very next day and my husband gave it a good clean before unwrapping it for me… such joy!

In an effort to get used to the new machine and with no further bunting required ( I have miles made!) I decided to make a cloth bag. I found a Japanese Knot bag tutorial on YouTube and set to make one after watching. (There are loads of these tutorials and some I found easier than others – I’ll leave you to find one that suits – if you decide to make any).

It took me three before I managed to do one without having to unpick and redo at least one part, but finally did some.
I’m going to try some more mixing up of the material next, using more sections but I’m pretty pleased with my first efforts.

The first one I made has become my  bag to hold the minimum of requirements for my little walk around the blog, no longer need money as I can’t go in shops!

So, as we are all saying to each other now, please stay safe and well,

thanks for reading,
love Rosie

Felting….

Last year my daughter and I spent an amazing day at a The Knitting & Stitching Show in London’s Ally Pally.

We had a great time and met some amazingly talented people.
We watched a demonstration of wet felting and as we have both found felting the most hilarious activity ever, Lily decided to treat herself to a kit, always cheaper at these events and of course you get to meet the maker.

She bought a Lily Picture kit – link here if you fancy a go!

Well my daughter finished her picture and then passed the box to me – it’s a generous kit and there was plenty of wool left.

So I had a go, I want it for my bathroom frame so I have mine portrait.
So here’s mine.
I didn’t take pictures of the method, I’m not confident in this and I don’t think it’s the craft for me, but I will try some more and it really is great fun to do, for expert tuition please see Andrea Coleman, she has plenty of online tutorials for you!

 

Thanks for reading,
Back soon,
love Rosie

 

(No Sponsorship)

Daffodil time…(part 1)

I haven’t been painting so many boxes lately, but I decided to have a trip to The Works the other day and saw this money box. It’s so plain I couldn’t bare not to decorate it.
So, once home I painted it with a matt acrylic black and left it alone to dry over night.

Then I wondered how to decorate it and whilst gazing out of the window thinking…          I noticed the simply darling little narcissi and decided on a daffodil.

So I sketched out my flower with a white colouring pencil.

Then I went over with a white acrylic paint. Not too thick a layer and I took time to use the brush in the direction of the lines on the flowers, stems and leaves.

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And that’s where I’ve got up to, I will share the next stage soon!
Thanks for reading,

Love Rosie

 

Drawing….

This week I had a go at drawing a mandala, I watched a mesmerising video and decided to have a go. I drew around bowls and plates in ever decreasing circles until my compass would do and then used that to continue the circles until  I reached the  middle.

There are loads of patterns to either print out or copy on the internet but I decided to just let my pencil go.

I then coloured it in using a restricted palette of 3 pinks and 2 greens, I used brush felt pens. These are water-soluble so I did a bit of watercolour smudging of the colours.

I let it dry and then went over with a black marker to bring out the pattern, not sure if that was a good idea or not.

I have drawn out another couple of circles ready so may have another go when I need to calm a racing brain down.

Mandalas do have meanings but I am not really interested in the religious meaning, I just like them and the idea that just sitting quietly and drawing can be used as therapy.

Wikipedia has this:- A mandala is a geometric configuration of symbols with a very different application. In modern, typically American and European use, “mandala” has become a generic term for any circle ornament which can be used as a relaxing tool, for diagnostic or in art therapy.

 

Well, thanks for reading, I’ll be back next week
love Rosie

Woodworking…

This week I’ve been having a go at a little woodwork. I have built a desk! In 12th scale naturally…

I have a storyline in my Instagram account at the moment where the man of the house is looking for refuge, he’s had his eye on the attic room.

So this week the handyman has been in and has re-laid a wooden floor and hung some bold wallpaper. Mr Eugene Carter has been scouring the furniture salesrooms for a desk and furniture for his new room and found this! It’s in the style of Chinese Black Lacquer work.

I made the desk with some wood and my junior hacksaw, a bit of sandpaper and glue. I realise this will not be winning any prizes but it will (apart from you few readers) only ever be seen on the Instagram feed in a Willow filter so I hope the slight wonkiness will go unnoticed! The drawers are just for show – there is a limit to my carpentry skills.

Once I’d made it I returned to my comfort zone and painted it in black acrylic paint.

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Then I sourced some patterns and picked a bit from here and a bit from there and started to decorate with these lovely gel pens (my new weakness) and once well and truly dry,  I varnished the whole thing.
Here he is buying the table – he’s got quite a bit of cash with him but I didn’t like to ask how much!

I then decorated a readymade little side table.

I must stop now – you can have too much of a good thing!

Thanks for reading,
back soon, Love Rosie

 

The gift of drawing…

Another week of not much crafting I’m afraid, I’ve been reading some good books instead of listening to others reading to me whilst I draw or sew or crochet and working fuller days, then taking a trip to the south coast.

The reason for the trip was to visit my mother for her birthday, my daughter and I got her a joint birthday gift of some watercolour colouring pencils, brushes, a pencil sharpener and a most amazing book entitled “365 days of drawing” by Lorna Scobie. (Do click on the words in colour for a link to this book)
My daughter had this book last year and found it so enjoyable she suggested her Gran may enjoy it too!

I love drawing and doodling, “do you mind if I put you on hold…?” are words to gladden my heart, ooh a few minutes doodling time, thank you very much, and with mindfulness so prominent at the moment I can’t recommend it too highly.
You may have tried colouring in (One of the appeals of adult colouring books is that they help users relax and de-stress) but why not move on to drawing your own pictures?

This book is a great idea for those who already draw and are seeking inspiration, and those, I hope, like my mum who are perfectly capable (though poetry writing is her strength, proper poems which rhyme!) though maybe lack confidence in their artistic skill.

Well, I will try and do something creative myself this week!

Thanks for reading (no sponsorship on this or any of my blogs)
back soon,
love Rosie

 

Painting flowers…

Last week I decided to upcycle some boxes which I had previously decorated and had tried to sell – sadly to no avail but I won’t give up!

These boxes are so handy, they are big enough  for pens and pencils or jewellery or just ‘stuff’ which accumulates everywhere…odd coins and buttons etc., etc.,

Anyway they are nice to decorate, and so I gave them a little rub down and then set about covering them in a black acrylic paint.
I let this properly dry, then decided on a stylised magnolia type flower – no prizes for botanical art would be won, but I liked the shape.

One box had some wooden butterflies which I had included in the black acrylic. I asked my Instagram followers what colour I should do the butterflies,

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The second box I just did one big flower. You may spot this one has textured paper fixed to the top – adds a nice texture when painting I found.

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Once dry, I varnished the boxes and have put them up in my Etsy shop.
Thanks for reading, back soon

love Rosie

happy bunting…

I’ve been reading some good books lately – the most recent is a wonderful book by Lucy Mangan called Bookworm – a memoir of childhood reading.  I was slow to learn to read as a sickly child but once I got it, there was no stopping me and I really loved Enid Blyton.
There’s lots of bad press for Enid nowadays but I will always be grateful for her introducing me to the complete delight of losing oneself in a book.

All very lovely but it has cramped my crocheting on the bus! So now I’m back to listening to someone reading to me thanks to Audible and crocheting lots of flowers to make silly bunting.

There are loads of patterns for this type of thing, I started following a pattern and then started changing it to suit my preference for bigger or smaller petals… The wobbly eyes are stuck on with UHU and I use a gel by Dovecraft for drawing on the grins.

All for sale in my Etsy shop.
Thanks for reading,

back next week
love Rosie

 

 

Little splodges of colour…

I recently went to London’s National Gallery for an exhibition on Leonardo de Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks. It was really good – over now though so I won’t go on and tell you what you missed!

Whilst walking through the gallery to find the exhibition we spotted quite a few favourites, we commented on how lucky we are to live so near London and get to visit this free venue as often as we please.

Anyway, I had purchased a little wooden chest of drawers from The Works (link to shop though I can’t find the actual drawers online they were £4) not long ago and decided that instead of decoupage (sticking papers) or painting flowers or patterns to decorate it, I would take inspiration from Théo van Rysselberghe’s work – simply named ‘Coastal Scene’.

Rysselberghe is said to have been influenced by the French Impressionists and Whistler. I stood and looked at this painting for a long time, it’s so simple in one way and so complicated in another – the colours are subtle and I love it.

So could I use this to decorate a small chest of drawers?

I decided to have a go…nothing ventured etc, and if I hate it I can sand it down and start over with something else.

First of all I painted the whole thing with gold acrylic paint and left it to dry completely.

Then I mixed myself a palette of white, green, yellow and blue and started to add the paint in small blobs.
I kept going until it was all covered… ( I checked the drawers would still open and close!)

When it was dry I went back with some more blobs to blend the different colours a little more.

I think I like it … but will have a good study before I varnish. Do let me know what you think of it.

Back next week,
love Rosie

 

 

 

 

Those roarin’ twenties…

This week has been lovely, I’ve been out and about but this means I haven’t spent as much time making and doing as I like to… still there’s only so many hours in the day.

The one thing I have been doing though is a bit of millinery.  In 12th scale naturally!
First of all I did some more crocheting, I had made loads of hats for my Edwardian dolls

in crochet but now I’ve moved to 1920 something; I need something like a cloche…

I made some more with crochet (see above) and then moved onto felt. I think I need to use wet felting. But for now I have been dampening ordinary felt and moulding around a wooden ball (approximately the size of a 12th scale dolls head!)

I like these little hats and will be using them in my story on Instagram 

and selling them in my online shop.

Well, that’s it for this week, thanks for reading.
Love Rosie

Lettering….

I love lettering, writing, calligraphy and I have for a long time.
Wait long enough and everything becomes trendy and it’s definitely been a nice time for lettering for the past few years.

I have made a few cushion cover designs of an exploded heart… using applique I affixed these parts of the hearts on the cushion covers and had them in my shop on Etsy. When the listing finished I thought I would try something else.

Whilst looking for Christmas gifts I found some nice mugs with letters on and somehow that lead me to giving ‘lettering’ themed pressies.

I decided on this one for a friend who has had a tough year. As the vintage fabrics are in these nice colours I decided to get scrabble letters in colour.  I loved them but it took an age to sort them out and space out the different colours!
I then spent a morning trying to best fit the letters together …

This is it all done… The wooden frame I got to give it in was in a similar colour wood as the letters and I think it looked pretty attractive in the end.

 

Christmas Cards…

I’ve pretty much always made my own cards, Christmas cards are especially nice to make I think, but I do like to send quite a few so the design needs to be reasonably simple.

In 2018 I found a simple design on Pinterest and decided it would do for me… I did the cards in stages so this was the first step on each card…(in the original they used card shapes to build up the shape so if you do that you need to do this in reverse!)

a carrot

Then the following steps…

three circles and a scarf

colour the scarf

add arms!

draw the border

write the greeting

add some snow

fill the box with snow and add glitter if you wish

and that was that! I made quite a few …. that’s why they have to be simple!

Thanks for reading, sorry for the Christmasness in January..
back next week,
Love Rosie

The roaring 20’s…

Happy New Year everyone!
I spend a chunk of my life in the miniature world of the dollshouse family – The Littletons.
When a friend gave me another dolls house I decided it would become the home to Victoria, the little girl in my story The Littletons.

My daughter came up with idea of waiting until 2020 and so the plan started to hatch, I would do the great reveal on New Years Eve.

A family bereavement, a trip which badly hurt my knee and then a chest infection all happened in the last weeks of 2019 so my plans were a little less spectacular than originally planned.

However,  my daughter and I filmed, on my very old wind up gramophone a 20 second clip which announced to my Instagram followers that we were now in the roaring twenties, both the 2020’s and the 1920’s!

So, of course, I’m now researching the 1920’s, the fashion and hairstyles are so good. With it being so popular still there is plenty to find!

Happy 2020 folks,

I’ll be back next week
Love Rosie

 

 

Last blog of the decade….

Well… it’s the end of a decade and I’ve been looking over my blogs, which I first started in 2016 and I’ve posted 210 so far!
I’ve taken a little look back and see that I have posted a lot of blogs about drawing, it is my first love and as my husband is fond of saying, he needs lots of expensive kit to keep himself amused – but I can pick up a pencil and a scrap of paper, start to doodle and immediately get a contented grin appearing on my face.

Also popular has been decorating little boxes – mostly from The Works, I love these and have a set for earrings which are the best storage I have ever found.  But I just donated a whole load to a charity tombola as I couldn’t sell them.

I’ve painted quite a lot of fabric, table clothes, napkins and cushion covers mostly.  I was incredibly inspired by Maud Lewis.

There has been plenty of sewing, my sewing machine is currently playing up so I need to get that sorted as I have piles of fabric.  I love sewing and have friends who are truly accomplished and I endeavour to be as neat!

The world of miniatures has been a big thing for the last few years, and I’ve made plenty of bits and bobs for that! Fimo polymer clay is fun to use and dress making at 1/12th scale is a challenge!

 

Victoria is happy to be home

I’ve crocheted, felted, painted on glass and ceramics, made lace, done calligraphy and furniture upcycling…and plan to continue to do so.

thanks for reading.
Happy New Year!
Love Rosie

 

What I learned this year….

Well, continuing my crochet passion I have got bowls well and truly added to my repertoire.
We have just sat down for a little lunch and my husband burst out laughing…what could cause such hilarity? Veg soup is not that funny….

Well, it seems he has just noticed that I have covered all the bowls in red and white crochet… there are three filled with goodies gracing the coffee table for the festive period.

Lets hope he takes a while to turn around and
notice that I have also covered a plant pot!

nearly done a cover the other pot too sshhh

Well it’s definitely beginning to look a bit like….

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas, hope you have some free time to relax and craft if you fancy!

Back soon
love Rosie

Turning back time….

When a very good friend gave me a dollhouse – (and yes if you know about me and my miniature passion you’ll get just how happy that made me) it included fixtures, fittings, lots of bits & bobs and an old man…
He looked like this though he had ‘real’ hair 

For an upcoming storyline I have a need for a handsome young man so with the help of some marker pens, acrylic paint and glue I set about turning back time…

I removed his white hair. Then coloured in his eyebrows.  I added a rather dashing tash…

To make his new hair I mixed up some acrylic paint and UHU glue, once nice and tacky I started to add it to the perfectly smooth bald pate.
I added it in thin layers and moved it with a cocktail stick to give a bit of texture.

Well, I think he’s looking a bit of a dish actually, do you?

Next time I have some spare time I aim to make him a shirt – look at this clip. Truly inspiring miniature tailoring!

Thanks for reading, back next week,
Love Rosie

 

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Things I’ve done….

Another week has gone by without any major makes, I’m actively trying to get more ‘me-time’ but currently all I really do is crochet, and I’ve told you all about that!
So this morning whilst thinking about what to write I realised that I have been writing this blog for more 3 years and decided to revisit some of my old makes… as it’s December, I’m going to look at my previous Christmas makes…

In October 2016 I wrote a blog entitled ‘Christmas with the Fairies’
It was about decorating wooden fairy doors, I remember that day so well. I got in such a sticky mess! I had the table opened out and just spent the whole day making and painting and sticking…
My long suffering husband has a great dislike of glitter… amazing we’ve been married so long really.

There was a lot of glittery stuff used on these doors, glitter paint and tiny bits and bobs all over the place! What a happy day.

If you fancy making a fairy door they are still for sale in The Works or other craft suppliers do them. It’s a fun thing to do and I think they would be good to use for Advent – hid a sweet or little gift behind the door. Bit late for that I realise but there’s always next year!

Thanks for reading my trip down my crafty memory lane.
Back next week,
Love Rosie

Another Mandala … I can’t stop…

It’s been a time for reflection and not messing up the whole house with my makes so I’ve been keeping to crochet and have completed another Mandala.
This one is hanging in my bathroom.

Using the pattern set out by Emma Leith but keeping to a sparkly white yarn I quite like the snowflake effect.

I had to add the green as I ran out of the white. But the green is also sparkly.

The metal ring is strong and could take the stretching as I attached my crochet to it.

I added a loop and voila it’s done.

Back to my Christmas baskets which are my current project.
love Rosie

Simply crochet….

 

This week I got to finish my mandala which I started a few weeks ago, it’s from a book called ‘mindful crochet’ by Emma Leith.

I didn’t use the instructions as to the colours, just grabbed what I had.
I used a metal 30cm white ring rather than the inside of an embroidery hoop so, in that great tradition of not quite doing as one is instructed, here’s my interpretation…

I like it and have made a little film of it in the garden.
The idea of this pattern is that it has been specially designed to incorporate elements of mindfulness practice, including concentration, repetition and creativity.

The benefits? well mindfulness can reduce stress and improve wellbeing. Whilst developing your creativity and sharing your creations with others can boost your confidence and self-esteem.

This takes a little thought at the start of each row and then once you’ve ‘got it’ it’s an absorbing task to go around the circle.

Back soon,
love Rosie

 

New dress…

Another busy week so I haven’t done much but the other evening I thought I’d make a little dress 1/1250 scale, in a 1920’s style.

I used a thin felt fabric – no fraying so no need to hem all the edges!
I cut the basic shape using a tutorial by Mary Williams Dollshouse Dolls 

I’ve been so lucky and have been gifted lots of bits and bobs lately. This elasticated blue lace was in one of the bags and I thought would suit this project.

Checking the length

hand stitched down the sides and turned

sewing on a row of lace

adding another row

all done, pearl stick on gems at neckline

I have hand-sewn as it’s so small, I do need to make a whole wardrobe for this doll so may be using a sewing machine sometime.

She seems quite happy!

Thanks for reading,
back next week, love Rosie

 

Bedside cabinet….

Back in 2017 I told you about my bedside cabinet – a charity shop purchase and upcycling project. Well it’s been like that for over two years now so time for a change.
Having plenty of the English Rose Chalk Paint left over I decided to have a go with those transfers again.
So I painted the whole thing and once dry added some of the blossom decal transfers...

I’m quite pleased with it but still have some transfers left. Could I put them on the bedroom wall?
One day maybe,

anyway for now that’s it.
Thanks for reading

back soon
Love Rosie

All change….

The other day I had a late start and began the day with a cuppa …whilst sitting up and sipping my tea in bed, I decided that the IKEA  chest of drawers in that room needed a change.

I decided to paint it with chalk paint, I chose English Rose colour and I painted with a sponge over the transfers

and when I removed the transfers rather liked the effect.
Then I foolishly decided to edge the transfer extent in a gold pen and after doing a couple of drawers decided I hated it.

So then I decided to remove the paint and the marker and re-sponge the paint over. Yes that was a horrid job and yes I was very cross with myself.

I purchased some more transfers, this time in a very pretty blossom pattern…

I think I like it – what do you think?

—————————————————a few days later————————————————–

Nah… It looks silly – I thought I could start it at the edge or paint it in… but no I don’t like it.

So I came home nice and early and sponged over the whole area with a little white acrylic to break it up and then over again with the English Rose and that is it.

I’ve just got to wax it and leave it in this retro 1980s style.

So I still have the transfers to use….mmm
Thanks for reading,
back soon
love Rosie

Eat your greens…

So do we all have sprouts with our Christmas dinner whether we like them or not?
Of course! The plate would just not look right without them…

Following a friend at work’s amazing pompom sprout making I decided to do a crochet version.

I found a simple circle pattern, chain 6 make a circle, then 2 chain, 11 htc and ss. Next row 2 htc in first stitch and 1 in the next – repeat all the way around and the same in the next row.

That seems to make a decent size for Sprout bunting!
Once I’ve made 9 sprouts I chain a string with 20 chains between each sprout.
Then the fun begins….

I got some wobbly eyes from The Works and Poundland (which are from Crayola) and Flying Tiger, all good and easily fixed with some UHU glue. The mouth is a squirt of gel paint from Hobbycraft.
Then to decorate, I made little red Christmas hats from felt and stuck them on with added glitter but you could add a little bunch of holly or whatever you fancied.

I rather think these look like they’ve been on the sherry and I am selling them as ‘Tipsy Sprouts’.

Once everything is dry I parcel them up and they will be heading off to my Etsy shop or being given out as gifts – depending on whether I sell any or not!

Thanks for reading
back soon

Rosie

What I did with some oddments of fabric….

There’s little I like more than a nice big table of oddments of fabric outside a shop and I have purchased quite a collection…
We had a proper treasure chest style trunk in our home – we found it in the attic of our first house and have used it for papers, toys, shoes etc etc over the years, it’s old and a bit bashed but I love it.
However we recently helped to sort out my mother-in-laws belongings and my husband brought her hallway chest home, luckily I have a bit more room in this house so my old chest has been relegated and we are using this one.
It’s great for storing our walking boots.
The cupboard next to it is next for relegation as I’m having a wooden chair there for a while.

I walk past an upholsterers everyday and last week decided to pop in and purchase a piece of foam.
Then I had a fun time of choosing the fabric. I didn’t have enough of anything to cover the whole thing so it’s now double sided!

Love this bloosom fabric

I joined these two fabrics, as they are quite different I added a machine embroidery stitch

The cushion (which will go on the chair) is made up of the left over fabrics so will co-ordinate with either side.

I’ve left one end open with Velcro fastening for easy removal for change or cleaning and I’m going make some more covers sometime, I do like to have a change now and again…My daughter suggested using Christmas fabric – now I do have some of that… just need to find it, looks like the crafty storage cupboard needs another sort out!

I found a button to add to the cushion and then made some simple tassels and voila it’s done.. can’t wait to get that chair in now!

Thanks for reading,
back soon
love Rosie

Hobbies & Pastimes…

Yesterday my husband, daughter and I took the day off work. My husband set off for Sussex and spent a happy day riding Steam Trains

My daughter and I headed off to Alexandra Palace, London. It’s an iconic venue if a little bit of a trek for us! Well worth it though, the views, even on a very wet Friday are amazing,
We didn’t go just to look at the views though, we were there for The Knitting & Stitching Show

It was a brilliant day, we met so many people all happy to show what and how they make their items, tips were shared and there was plenty to spend our cash on!

We bought :-

• a goody bag for £6 which was a real bargain as it included a dress-pattern, two knitting/crochet kits, some yarn, two magazines ‘How to knit & Crochet’  & Lets Knit and some yarn (there was plenty to choose from!);
• a couple of lengths of ribbon which has numbers printed along for cutting and adding to my handmade advent calendar this year (don’t know what I am doing yet but will let you);
• I also bought some transfer paint… can’t wait to try that, will be posting a blog about my efforts very soon I’m sure!
• embroidery silk
• and some Christmas buttons.

We had such a nice time, all around this large venue were smiling faces, indulging in their favourite things, there were loads of classes which we didn’t sign up for, but they looked good.
Plenty of places to collapse and have tea and cake to boost the energy levels to carry on and we stayed there all day.
We also met some incredibly talented people who were showing how to do some wonderfully creative items, from felting,  knitting, pom-pom making,  plus so much more.

I can really recommend this show, it’s great if you know what you want and just want to shop but also really good if you have never done any crafting, you can learn just about anything and there’s no judgement, just interested and interesting people having a lovely time crafting.

There is so much being talked about the health benefits from crafting and it must be true… oh there are moments when it all goes wrong and you want to cry, but generally, adults faces (it seems to me) take on the expressions which you generally only see in young children absorbed in play, the total absorption.
This total absorption in what you are doing means that the worry of life gets put aside, even if just for a little while… that can surely only be a good thing?

thanks for reading,
back next week
Rosie

Elephant bunting for Ivy…

This summer I visited my very good friend for another holiday in beautiful Suffolk. As in previous years we got to spend a day sewing with lovely Gillian.
If you’re ever in the area see if she has a class going, it’s the very best way to spend the day!

I didn’t go to the class with a fully formed plan but I knew I wanted to make some bunting for a new baby, not due until September but with a name already planned.
IVY
So I decided to do some baby bunting,  I knew I didn’t want the usual triangles so I looked through Pinterest for inspiration, I decided on the elephant – can’t remember if it was before or after I saw this gorgeous material – very Elmer-esh don’t you think?
So here’s what I did ,,

First thing was to drawer the elephant…

Once I had the right shape – Gillian advised on a good shape for cutting and sewing and turning etc…

Five elephants were cut out, with a lovely heart patterned fabric for the back and the ears, plus the letters.
I stitched them together and added the letters for IVY on the three middle elephants.

As you can see I used fabric bonding for the letters and then stitched in blanket stitch with embroidery silk around the letters. I plaited together some of this same silk for tails and added a little bead at the end.
Using the same heart fabric I made the strip for the elephants to be stitched to for hanging. These googly eyes are not for young children, this bunting is not a toy.

Here they are – hopefully baby Ivy (or more importantly her mum!) will like them.
So, what did I learn? Well, if you’re using a pattern with hearts all the same way up – check you’re using it the right way – I had to re-attach the elephants to the tape and had to re-cut a couple of ears… luckily I had sufficient material.

Thanks for reading,
back next week
love Rosie

Hair styles in the 1920’s…

Due to my living half of my life in a miniature world I have been doing lots of research about the 1920’s.

I had planned to make some new dolls from scratch, it’s not as easy as I thought and although I may have made an ‘interesting’ male face;

I’ve had to face defeat and admit to myself that I cannot mould or sculpt a pretty face!

So, I’ve treated myself to a lovely new doll. I purchased her from Mary Williams and she should be just right for my new enterprise.
As you can see my new doll needs her hair making! Mary has some great tips on her website and I found plenty of other ideas on YouTube.

I’ve been making skull caps with a glue gun, wrapping the doll’s head in clingfilm first.
Once the glue has been left overnight the clingfilm can be removed and the ‘cap’ trimmed where necessary. Then the hair is fixed to the cap, This way I will be able to change the dolls hair style and maybe give the same doll a different character?  Useful in my story telling enterprise! (More to come later in the year)

Here’s some photos of my attempts so far using Viscose wigging and gel. I have now ordered some other colours in the wigging so will be making some more. I need to learn how to make curls… I know with yarn you can wind around a knitting needle and bake. Lots to learn!

almost finished!

Thanks again,
back next week
love Rosie

 

 

Maud Lewis (part 2)…

So as I previously wrote about, I’m really fond of Maud Lewis’ folk art work and I copied one of her designs on a cushion cover. (Maud Lewis (part 1)

Once it was finished I decided to add a little embroidery.
The fabric paint I used feels a bit odd so I added some texture with the sewing which has made the whole thing feel a lot better.
As you can see I pretty much used the same colours as the paint so the look of the design is not really changed.

I kept things simple and just used my favourite embroidery stitch – chain stitch. It is a nice stitch, quite easy to keep even and it is quick to do once you’ve got the knack.

Here’s some close ups of my stitching…

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So I think it’s complete…

Thanks for reading, back next week,
Love Rosie

 

Yarn bombing…

Some colleagues and I have started a little Knit & Natter session at our place of work. We meet once a week and chat whilst creating in yarn or cross-stitch or making pom-poms or whatever we fancy – there are no rules!
One day though, it was suggested that we Yarn bomb the office over Christmas.
As I like to crochet simple items I have fully embraced the idea and have currently stored 5 lengths of crocheted bunting in our office craft cupboard.
I crochet when the TV is on but not totally capturing my imagination, it stops me falling asleep and more importantly snacking!
I crochet on public transport whilst listening to stories on my phone… though crocheting in public does lead to folk chatting to me – which is lovely obviously.

So yarn bombing... what does it actually mean?
Wikipedia has :- Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. It is also called yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting, or graffiti knitting.
It’s positively insane but I love it!

If you’re interesting in learning find a class nearby or, as I do, make use of those patient folk on YouTube who will allow you to pause and repeat over and over and over again – they never lose their patience!

I’ll show some pics of the bunting when it’s up in December!
Thanks for reading,
back next week
love Rosie

Maud Lewis (part 1)…

I am a fan of Sally Hawkins and when a film popped up on Netflix with her in, I started to watch.
The film was called ‘Maudie‘ and it told the sad tale of the life of Maud Lewis.
She didn’t have the greatest time on earth but whilst she was here she painted…she really painted….she painted on walls, cupboards, stairs, windows etc., all in a charming folk art style.

I was interested in learning more about her and bought a little book about her home and the subsequent museum in her name in Nova Scotia (no I haven’t been yet and yes I hope to one day!)

So after buying a couple of plain cushion covers from IKEA recently I decided to make a copy of one of her designs.

If I ever get my own craft room or She Shed this cushion will be installed there.  (Got to keep dreaming!)

This is how the drawers were found…

This is how they are now in the museum

So here’s what I did to the first cushion… (I used tubes of fabric paint, easy to use and you just press to seal it and make it permanent)

I started with the middle of the design

it’s almost symetrical but not quite…

I kept going with the dark green

the flower is in a dark purple

I added white paint to my purple for the petals

the light green is added

last of the purple and green

the addition of the red and it’s almost done

The designs are deceptively simple, it was interesting to try and copy this, my red flower on the left isn’t really in the right place but I’m keeping these cushions for myself, so apart from you few readers -no one will know!
Here it is all painted, I’ll let you know soon what I did to it then…

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back next week,
Love Rosie

 

Dollhouse Chocolate Box…

The story line in my dollhouse Instagram has recently lead to a trip to Paris, France.
Of course whenever you take a trip it’s traditional to bring a gift back to loved ones and young Victoria has done just that.

I decided to make a little box of chocolates… my husband has been doing some repairs to our bathroom and I noticed these little plastic screw cap cups, I requested a couple and this is how I turned this simple little item into a fancy box of chocs…

First of all I covered the whole thing in gold with a permanent gold marker.

I lined the bottom with a little washi tape 
I then used these little stick on domes, they are sold in craft stores. I used the brown and cream colours only.
I add a drop of UHU glue and then allow to dry.

I then turn to the next little cup and close it before covering the whole thing in the gold marker pen.
Once dry a little piece of wire, teeny bit of green floral tape and a rolled up piece of foam to make a rose are glued on to the top.

Finally I gift wrapped a bit of rolled paper in washi tape with a little ribbon around it and a teeny bit of paper as a gift tag and added more glue again to keep everything in place.

That’s it, all done and here is The Littleton Family together again…

Victoria is happy to be home

yum, they look good enough to eat!

Thanks for reading,

back soon, love Rosie

 

Cushion cover design…

I’m a great fan of IKEA, I appreciate that so many of our homes can look pretty familiar with those bookcases but you can easily put your own stamp on so many of their products.

I’ve blogged about many of my adaptions to their furniture and I’m sure I’ve blogged about the cushion covers, but they are sooo good!
Well made, easy to paint and/or applique onto, I usually buy a few when I visit; to have them ready for personalised gifts.

A friend was going to be celebrating a big birthday so I was keen to start a new project.
This cushion cover is in a very pale pink.
I used fabric pens to draw the shape of blossom petals in a bright pink!

I used Sharpie fabric pens

I used the brush of the nib to flick the pink to give the flowers colour without fully colouring it in.

Then used a brown to draw the branch. A bit of yellow/brown for the little leaves and the inside of the branch and that was it!

Once happy I pressed with a warm iron.

Then I found some embroidery silk and just added a few satin stitches to the petals, this gave the cushion cover a lovely texture. Some brown French knots to the centres and that was it. (I don’t really like doing them, so didn’t do too many!)

I actually added the persons name to the cushion with the fabric pens and chain stitch (which is my favourite embroidery stitch) but I forgot to take any pictures. Sorry.

Thanks for reading,
back soon
love Rosie

Renovated drawers…

As you may have spotted if you saw my blog on Marianne North recently, I felt the need to re-do my pen drawers after the chest of drawers were done.
These drawers were bought in IKEA a long time ago – they are so well made. They still do similar ones but they are not quite so robust as these were.
I have painted and stuck different papers on them over the years, the drawers have been turned around and different drawer pulls affixed so some have holes drilled in them!
I was good this time and completely sanded the drawers and unit.

I had considered using the Marianne North papers but I had this book of butterfly pictures to use. This ‘book’ is stated to be used as pictures and the pages are perforated ready to tear out. No books were harmed in this procedure.

So I sanded away the old covering, and stuck on the new.
I coloured in the edges with a Pentel Gold Paint Marker (almost my most favourite thing in the world) and splashed out on some metal labels.
I used tape behind the label and wrote the type of pen/pencils/ballpoints/drawing pens/watercolour pencils/Sharpies/felt pens etc etc… I have quite a collection!

Well that’s it, they are done.
Back soon,
love Rosie

A plaster plaque…

I recently spent a day at Ironbridge Victorian Town Blists Hill, in Telford Shropshire. My husband loves all things engineering related  and sometimes I struggle with a day looking at engines, but at Blists Hill I found so so much to interest me. If you get the chance to visit it I would heartily recommend it!

Just before we left the museum I popped in a shop selling plaster moulded items and for £2.50 purchased this plaque.
When home I started to paint it and I’m pretty pleased with the results… what do you think?

Got it home in one piece … now to  paint!

I decided to use acrylic paints and squirted out some blue, yellow and white; with a tiny smear of purple.
I love mixing paint – it’s almost magical. The main thing to remember is to make enough, it’s always tricky to make the same colour again if you need to. I didn’t have to worry though, leaves look so much better when you use various greens, so I just started and added more yellow to make a light green and more blue to make it darker and richer…

I added a dark green to the veins of the leaves and then added more water to ensure the fleshy parts of the leaves were lighter

I made sure I covered the edge of the plaque completely

this shows the first coat of paint on

Once all the leaves were done, I let it dry. It doesn’t take long for paint to dry on plaster and I was doing this on the hottest day in England since records began!
Now for the flower, as the leaves were dark I decided to do a light flower… I made a very pale blue – the petals are white really …

So, that’s it.. I gave it a few coats of quick drying varnish and hung it on the front door… it may find a new home but for now that’s where it’s stayed!

You can see where I added the small brush strokes of purple around the centre, just need to varnish now 

and here it is on the door…

Thanks for reading, back next week.
Love Rosie

Stuff…

My name is Rosie and I have too much stuff…

there, that’s my confession.
The thing is I like too many things, I love books and own a great deal. Novels I have loved and can’t bare to lose and non-fiction about all my interests. Every time I find a new interest I obtain a few books on the matter…. recent additions to my shelves concern crochet (plus a whole drawer now dedicated to wool!) and dollhouses and the making of items and dolls, I’ve only got a few books so far but there are so many out there!

The other day I left work early and promised myself a good ‘sort’ out of my dollhouse ‘stuff’ and passed a very happy time sorting and tidying. The best thing about going through your collections means you ‘find’ forgotten items!

I have cupboards full of fabric and craft items, paints and papers, embroidery silks and fabric pens and paint, shall I go on?    I usually find a ‘sort out’  inspires me to make something.

So, unless you’re incredibly tidy, why not go through your cupboards and drawers? You may find things you don’t need, want or use anymore – pass them on!
Give to a charity shop, do a boot sale or sell online and make some money to buy some more…. ?

So here’s a few pictures of my lovely tidy drawers holding all the dollhouse paraphernalia, I need lots of items as I tell a little story on Instagram, but it may be time to sell a few bits and maybe if I get enough; I will be able to buy some more items to use in my story.

meat in the little tray and a good selection of veg! all made with polymer or DAS clay

some handmade bits and some brought, the oysters were a prize!

Again some handmade – the hot cross buns, sandwiches and loaves, alongside some purchased items

cutlery, china and silverware, a mincer and napkins

furniture, paper items and Christmas decorations

Dolls and clothing, a tub of toys and the pins are for temporary fixing for photos

thanks for looking, happy tidying!
I have written about some of my makes for the dollhouse, such as the hot cross buns; the veggies; the policeman and many more articles about their house and clothes…
back soon, love Rosie

 

Jute bags…

Many years ago when I worked in an Arts & Crafts shop I gave my mother -in-law a cross-stitch kit for Christmas and now, whilst helping her sort through her belongings, we have come across a scrapbook full of cross-stitch works, I obviously started her off on an interest for a while.

Her work is neat and as we are endeavouring to raise some funds to aid her care needs I tried to sell them as they were, if you’ve ever tried this craft you’ll appreciate the time it takes, there are hours and hours of careful stitching in each one.
I thought about framing them but then there’s added weight and the worry about glass… and so I thought I would add them to jute shopping bags.
We are all doing our bit to stop the single use of plastic carrier bags aren’t we, well these bags will certainly last and I hope you agree they look pretty good too.

Here’s what I did …

I cut as near to the edge of the design as I could

I fixed it to the bag with strong glue

the writing is completed with a gel

the completed bag

I did the same thing with all the others – they all have different wordings of course…here’s a selection, the ‘Nan’s’ shopper was added with a chained wool – too fiddly to repeat!

I’m selling them in my ETSY shop.
thanks for reading,
back soon

Rosie

Granny Squares….

Once you get to grips with crochet your life changes…. in a good way but it can get quite obsessive, it’s ideal for taking on journeys and if you do take it out & about you need a little bag! (no plastic bags here!)
I recently bought these little balls of yarn from Flying Tiger for only £1 each . Well, obviously I should have bought more because the colours are lovely! (you may notice that the colours I have used are not shown here, afraid I didn’t think to take a pic in my excitement to get started).
I was having a lovely day with my daughter who was also learning crochet and as we were chatting whilst crocheting I felt I needed to do something I could (almost) do without looking or thinking.
So I started granny squares with one row per shade of colour.
(I’ve attached a YouTube link, if you don’t like this tutorial just click on another – there are millions to chose from and some are much easier to follow than others)
I liked the look of my squares but the lovely yarn wasn’t going to make a bedspread, and so I decided to sew four together, create an envelope and use to carry my latest project around.

I lined the ‘bag’ with felt to prevent my hook and mini scissors falling through the gaps.
Here’s how I made this little make…

This is the four squares sewn together and folded in.

I lined with felt and attached a button, the corner loop becomes the buttonhole.

Thanks for reading,
back soon,
love Rosie

Marianne North….

This week I have been making a mess… sanding off layers and layers of paint and papers from an IKEA chest of drawers which has seen many finishes.

Then, when I had a nice blank canvas I got to work with these absolutely gorgeous Marianne North wrapping papers which are sold in a book form at Kew Gardens.
If you don’t know who she is, then get yourself to Kew to see her paintings and or watch the documentary (link on Kew’s web page) I think you too will want to know more about this fascinating woman,

When I saw these papers I just had to have them and this is what I did….
The papers are all gorgeous and it took me a while to choose which I wanted to use, I ironed them with a cool iron to remove the centre creases by the way.

As you can see the paper wasn’t quite wide enough for the drawer fronts and all the papers are portrait but I added a strip of just foliage down both sides and I think it works? I stuck the papers on with a good PVA glue from Hobbycraft and left to dry before trimming. (It really is worth letting it dry before neatening up, it tears and ruches up if still wet)
Next the top – I used two different papers
I cut around the big white flowers and their leaves and overlapped another sheet… not botanically correct I’m sure but I like it  – it actually can’t really be seen as I have more drawers standing on top.
A couple more sheets adorn each side and that is that…

I also finally got to use these fabulous bird handles which I bought simply ages ago at The Ideal Home Show from Sass & Belle
and then didn’t know what to do with when I got home.

Here’s my finished drawers in situ, I love them and they even have got the seal of approval from my husband!
Thanks for reading, (I have swept the floor – sorry I didn’t before taking the pics!)

Love Rosie   

 

 

 

 

A trip to the V&A Museum…

My husband and I recently planned a Saturday out, we both love visiting the wonderful museums and galleries in London and this day we had planned to go to the National Portrait Gallery, a firm favourite. The exhibition was photographer Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things. Unfortunately we had misunderstood the website and publicity in newspapers and were disappointed to discover that this exhibition is not on until next year, we’ll be going then though!
So we headed off to Kensington; to the Victoria & Albert Museum and went to the newly opened Photography Centre. There was plenty to interest us both but one exhibit inspired me for a Littleton’s story line.
The exhibit was a watercolour painting and photograph combination.
Long before 20th century Surrealists adopted collage, aristocratic Victorian women embraced the technique of combining photographs with watercolour drawings for whimsical effect.  Assembled into albums, these photo-collages show Victorians at their most playful.
This one shows a crab grasping a portrait of a young man dressed for a boat race is perhaps a reference to the phrase ‘catching a crab’ which in rowing means getting an oar stuck in the water, it’s by Catherine Mary Wood.

I needed to ‘make’ a few props for my miniature watercolourist
and this is what I did…

I had this little table already and also this little glass bowl,
which I half filled with glue.

Then I selected a little plywood and cut a rectangle. I then pressed a modelling tool into the wood to make the little indents for filling with paint pans (blobs of paint) and coloured the whole thing with a silver marker.

Now, some brushes, I made a few from cocktail sticks – cutting the point off the end for one but the others are nice fine watercolour brushes. As you can see I coloured the brush part with a fine felt pen, added the metal bit with silver and then a darker colour for the rest of the brush handle.

So next was the scrapbook – I used a thick piece of paper, coloured it with a nice rich blue and wrote on the cover and edges with gold marker.
I then cut some thin papers for the inside and stitched them together and into the cover with a needle and cotton.

So, Mrs Littleton is ready to start her new hobby!

Thanks for reading, back next week
love Rosie

 

Monkey Puzzle Tree…

I recently spent an afternoon walking around Kew Gardens all by myself, there’s something about being alone that makes you take more notice of your surroundings I find.
I came by a lovely big Monkey Puzzle tree and stopped to really look at it….

There was quite a bit of new growth and it was such a bright green! I heard on Gardener’s World that humans can see more shades of green than any other colour, well I think I saw as many as there are, that afternoon!

I vowed to sketch a section of the Monkey Puzzle tree – or to give it’s proper name Araucaria araucana some time, and today, a slightly chilly, grey June Sunday morning seemed a good day to do so.

The branch is made up of little leaves which are green, spiky, stiff, leathery, glossy and triangular-shaped. They are thick and broad at the base and sharp at the edges and tips. They are arranged in a spiral around the trunk, which is really quite fascinating if you take a good look.

Looking at something close enough to draw really focuses the eye, this is such a fascinating tree…take a look if you see one!
Thanks for reading
Back soon Rosie

Hanging baskets….

My mum recently gave me this book.. crochet 20 projects for friends to make  

and I have got ‘hooked’ on making hanging baskets – the pattern includes pom-poms hanging from the bottom but as I have been using jute and cotton yarn I thought a tassel would better suit.

Did you ever try Macramé? In my time working in a craft shop I helped instruct so many people with that craft but, I actually could not get it!
I have always struggled with tying and knotting… all credit for my new found crocheting skill goes to the patience of a friend and colleague who got me started and then to the wonders of YouTube.

So, when I saw this pattern I thought I’d have a go and I love it.
So far I have made about 5 of these baskets… here’s some pics of a few of them!

This one was made with a little £1.00 spool of jute string from Flying Tiger

These two were in white cotton – yes they are different sizes – I tried to memorise the pattern and missed out a couple of rows but it fits the little IKEA plant just fine!

Thanks for reading, and do please let me know if you like them or think that Macramé is worth learning for hanging baskets at least!

Back soon
Love Rosie

Never leave things as they are…

For as long as I can remember I have been drawing, painting and sewing. From a very young age I spent hours copying cartoon characters from comics, with my Dad’s praise and his instruction on persective and other techniques keeping me drawing regularly – no newspaper escaped my practising my shadow lettering!

I enjoyed art lessons at school, basic pottery and needlework but did not go into further education to study any in great detail.
My first job however, was in an ironmongers store called L. H. Turtle Ltd in Croydon. I worked in the Arts & Craft department and here I learned about many different crafts,  such as lampshade making, tatting, macramé, leatherwork, beading, soft toy making, cross-stitch, tapestry, modelling, lace making, lino cuts etc etc.,

My first attempts at selling my work were in a village hall where the cost of materials and stall hire meant I did not make any profit but merely funded my hobby (that has continued till today), I sold ear-rings, painted thimbles, decorated wooden boxes and painted leather belts. Moving on to painting small pictures of ‘Cosy Cottages’ & vintage cars, before settling on greetings cards which I sold at craft fairs for a few years.

So, I thought I’d share some of my more recent arty crafty adventures here..

The picture above is IKEA’s Lazy Susan – bought last year for only £5.50. It’s invaluable on the dining table, for the Scrabble board, for cake decorating and well, many uses! I decorated this with a simple drawn design. A quick sanding, just enough to allow the pen to fix and with a Sharpie pen I drew the design. The outline was drawn first and then the ‘dots’ were added. This technique is known as Stippling which is the creation of a pattern simulating shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and these effects are frequently emulated by artists. I use it a great deal, it does take a while but is pretty effective?

Well, I’ll be back soon with more examples of my arty crafty efforts, Rosie

 

 

No more blogs….

Thank you to everyone who has read my blogs over the last few years, my plan has expired and I’ve used up my data allowance with my photos, so I’ve decided to call it a day.

I’ve written a couple of hundred posts and having this has done what I set out to do, got me crafting regularly and enabled me to find so many talented folk who make and paint and create wonderful things. I’ve got my mind back on track and aim to keep it on a level footing – even whilst the world tilts!

So, that’s it for me, I will still be posting what I do on my rosiesartsandcrafts Instagram page and The Littleton Family Story will continue on their Instagram page too,

I’ve got a couple of big projects I want to get on with. My husband had cause to empty his parents shed and brought back some handmade wooden tool chests, ripe for upcycling!
I also have plans to make an applique headboard cover which could be time consuming and would prevent the little quick makes I blog about.

So, farewell everyone.

love Rosie