Painting, Crafts and Pressies

 

What a spectacular start to 2010!!! Who would have thought that, only weeks after we were stranded with floods, we once again would be unable to leave the house as the country is in the middle of a deep freeze??? We have spent the past week stoking fires and keeping warm… half of our boys have been suffering from a really rotten tummy-bug, so we have stayed put, watched Ferris Bueller for the umpteenth time (boy, do I love the film!!) and it’s been great…. I’ve been so…….

busy!!

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When my fingers are suffering from crochet-cramp, I’ve been painting….


Little Lucy was one last week and we haven’t been able to get over to her yet: I made this card painting and a lovely girlie hat as well!

 

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 My lovely midwife, Aisling, who was to deliver Grace (only Grace decided she wasn’t coming!) had a baby, Elsie, this week, last year… and yes, it has taken me this long to complete this painting for her…..

 

I’m adding a whole new section to our shop- commissioned paintings, personalised baby journals, wedding journals… exciting times ahead!

 

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I have been working on a few “altered art” pieces; I’m thinking… sewing boxes for these cute wooden altered cigar boxes, and sewing pouches from the patchwork bags… I’ve been looking at a few great websites- Viola has some great ideas, and Audrey, on FaerieWings is an Irish artist who also makes really lovely things- I especially like these tiles! I’ve two more paintings I’m sewing, glueing and collage-ing, Audrey Walker (thank you Ness for the introduction!!) has been the initial inspiration, and the internet has been such a fantastic resource for mixed media artists and ideas.

 

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I received this delicious box of vintage delights from Paperhill Fabrics on Etsy some time ago, and have ordered a few trims and things from MaryNotMartha, also on Etsy, check them out (I was going through the items in the shop all the while shrieking and eeek-ing, and Fergal was giving me some very strange looks)

 

And lastly, I have meant to post these pictures for the past 2 weeks… Let me start by saying that this Christmas I received such beautiful, thoughtful pressies- all colour co-ordinated, many handmade and utterly aesthetically pleasing, I might add!!! The saliva-inducing weighing scales in my previous post was one such delight (Thank you dear Tara!!), the boxes of gorgeous bits’n’bobs from Joyce still leave me tingling!! (my lips have never been shinier!!)  and this:

 

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from Bernadette has to be an artwork in itself…. The Queen of Thrift and Eco-Living gave me this gorgeous (complements my kitchen perfectly!!) box full of natural cleaning products (I have been looking at it for the past couple of weeks, and before I need to use just about everything in there I decided I had better photograph it) Note the beautiful, beautiful handmade apron-

 

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no more the baking-splattered clothes I usually don daily!! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… haven’t I chosen my friends wisely??!!