Latest creation

I have just finished my latest mobile/ house decoration. It's a combination of hand felted alpaca hair, rust dyed fabric, crochet, hessian, lace, dress pattern paper as well as feathers and gumnuts from my garden. I have made a few of these and find they add a bit of warmth to a room. I currently have one hanging off my fireplace. This one will be for sale on my Etsy shop soon. 

Hanging on my wall

Detail 1

Detail 2

Detail 3

Feathers

Every time I see a feather on the ground I pick it up. I enjoy trying to figure out what bird it came from. As I have a lot of birdlife around my place this can sometimes be a hard task. I use a lot of feathers in my handmade pieces and as I have pet ducks and chooks I have an endless supply. All I have to do is search around the ground in the chicken coup for a nice clean feather and it's added to the collection. Below is a duck feather I picked up and took a photo of. I decided to draw then paint it!

Shop now open!!!

I have just opened an online Etsy shop selling some of my products featured on this blog. Click the etsy shop link on the right to check it out.

Drawstring bag

Yesterday I made a little drawstring bag using fabrics which vary in texture, colour and pattern. Some of the fabric I rust dyed and others I printed onto. I've also used hessian, lace, pieces of an old blanket and dress pattern paper. Below is the layout of the pieces before I stitched them down. 

Front view of finished bag

Back view of bag

Detail of drawstring

Garden

Last weekend I visited my pa and while looking at his veggie garden I noticed an old wheelbarrow sitting under a tree, unused. When I enquired about it pa said take it, I don't really use it anymore. So after a noisy trip home with it rattling around in the back of my car, I put some chicken wire and plastic in the bottom to cover the rusted areas. I planted some pansies in it which I can't wait until spread so the whole wheelbarrow is bursting with white flowers. Thanks  pa!

At work last week the Food Technician Donna asked if I wanted three old flour tins. As soon as I saw them I said definitely, I love them!!! As they are quite large and I already have flour and sugar containers I needed to find another use for them. I decided they would look great as pot plants. Often I see photos in magazines of old saucepans, bottles and colanders being used for pot plants and love that old preloved items can be given a new purpose. I took some cuttings of various succulents from my brother and his wife's garden which I planted into the flour tins.

I put the tins next to a barbed wire sculpture I made so they would complement each other well.

Elephant

My close friend recently turned 30 and I decided to make her a birthday card. As a child she was obsessed with elephants, so that became the source of inspiration for her card. It's drawn on watercolour with waterproof pen and Windsor and Newton watercolour paints. 

Furniture rescue

I love rummaging through second hand shops for hidden treasures. Lately I've been searching for furniture which I can repaint and give a new home to. Below is a chair I found which I thought would be perfect for my desk in the spare room. With a little paint, sanding and recovering the cushion pad it came up a treat!

I was on the search for an outdoor setting and thought this set below would be perfect. I painted the frame white and sanded back the corners for a distressed look. The large cushions I covered with an old doona cover I bought from the Salvation Army. I also made some smaller cushions with an old coffee bean hessian bag and cute fabric I found.

I'm now on the hunt for a piece of furniture I can revamp to sit my TV on in the lounge room. I'm thinking of having a change from white and painting it red. Stay tuned....

I love crochet

Years ago my mum taught me how to crochet. I have always preferred it over knitting as it's quicker and to me, easier. Over the years I've made a few scarves and even a blanket, but recently I've been obsessed with making small crochet flowers. They seem to work really well with my handmade products to add a little detail and texture. I even used a random combination of stitches to make legs for a bird which was quite effective! 

Some crochet flowers

White crochet flower used under alpaca felt on the birds eye

Crochet flower used for the owls eye

Basket weaving

I recently attended a workshop on basket weaving. It was exciting looking around my garden for possible vines, branches etc to use. The style I adopted over the two days was more of a "random" weave. As I'm more of a messy, fast worker this really suited me and I managed to create three baskets and a couple of wall hangings. Lots of fun!

Garlic basket- The most structured basket I made

Random weave basket

One of my least favourite jobs in the garden is trimming the Banksia rose. I swear it doubles in size every week in summer and spring! Trimming it usually consists of me on the ladder straining to reach the highest point with the hedge clippers. Not fun. Last time I trimmed the rose I had a break half way and decided to try and create something with all the trimmings. Below is a photo of the creation! In future I think I will be more eager to attack the bush now I've discovered a new use for the trimmings!