Black Friday/Cyber Monday discount.

Are you feeling Christmassy yet? I've just started my shopping and decided to offer a discount in my etsy shop. If you use the code BFCM2015 at the checkout you will receive 10% discount. There is no minimum order. This is valid until the 1 st of December. Happy shopping. 

Christmas gift time again

It's here again time to rack our brains for Christmas gifts. This year I've introduced some matted felts to my shop which make ideal gifts for those hard to shop for women.
They come in two sizes and even you mother in law will like them! The smaller ones start at £20.00 so they are affordable and as the frame is not included they are inexpensive to post.

Here are some samples but there are quite a few in my shop.

More thread painting

I've been experimenting with my thread painting and really enjoying it. One of the problems I had was how to display the completed work.  After trawling through google images and trying various things out I decided that the finished pieces look best bonded on white mount board and put in to a box frame. I am going to supply them already on the mount board but not with the frame because the extra cost of shipping would be considerable and some people might prefer a wooden frame anyway.

This is the first piece which I have up for sale. It is called a sister is forever and if you want to see how it looks in a frame pop along to my etsy shop where there are more photos.

Textile pendants

Today I thought I would tell you about the lovely mini frames I have discovered for making textile pendants.
They are like little wooden picture frames but especially made for textiles as they have ready made holes in the frame to sew you textile in to place. I have made one with felt and stitch but you could use any type of textile .Needlework, knit, crochet a tiny applique or even a scrap of vintage fabric. Here is a photo of the one I made.

As you can see I picked an embroidery thread to match the felt for the stitching which is just a simple back stitch. I think that the stitching adds to the charm. A ring is also provided to slide a chain through. These would make a beautiful and very personal gift.

The frames were designed and are made by a husband and wife team called Shelby and Emad Allaho. Shelby is a textile artist and Emad works with wood so between them they had the knowledge and skills to make these special little frames for textile artists.

If you would like one of these frames to make a pendant for yourself or perhaps start making Christmas gifts for special friends they are available in Shelby and Emads etsy shop www.ewoodstory.etsy.com 

 you can also follow them on instagram @ewoodstory. 

Thread painting

In between felting I have been playing with my sewing machine. I really want to add thread paintings or stitch paintings to my repotoire and have been practising. The pictures are made by stitching with the machine over plain calico. The first picture is based on our dogs, a lurcher and a terrier and the second is from a drawing in my art journal. Girl dancing with the Stars. They are on a small scale of about four inches so I kept things simple. I left some calico showing so that the movement of the stitches would show. I quite like the whimsical feel of them but need to practise more.

faces in felt

Recently I have done a couple of felts featuring faces. One was of foxes faces and the other my first attempt at a human. Both were quite complex to do because in order to achieve depth and detail I had to  add very fine layers to create shading. I had a lot of fun with the girls hair though.

The foxes have sold already but the 'girl with the wind in her hair' is still available.

Because I like a challenge I am now attempting a womans face in embroidery done by hand. That is purely a challenge for myself and I do not expect it to be for sale. When it is eventually finished I will show you but it will take some time.

poppies and buttercups

I am surrounded with flowers at this time of year and the latest blooms in my garden are poppies. Some stray buttercups popped up uninvited alongside them but the colours look so good together I've left them. Here is a mini felt inspired by my garden. Poppies and buttercups with their faces all turned towards the sun.