Wednesday Stamper (Flowers) & Artwords (Dwelling) & A General Progress Report!

I have been busy and have just realised that I haven't posted here for days! On Friday (day off work) I spent the morning catching up on washing and playing with my blue fabric inchies. These, of course, are not the things that needed doing first but as usual, the thing I felt like doing was not the thing that needed doing! Inchies are surprising addictive although I think I would find the paper ones too fiddly - especially the sticking down bit (I can get glue everywhere really really easily!). I have included a scan of one set that I have decided are finished. I am doing nine different "designs". These ones are based on the felt/blue fabric/angelina sandwich that I posted about last week and have little gold sequins and pink seed beads sewn on them.

Around lunch time, Mum and I decided to head down to the one and only craft shop to get some more yarns for the No-Knit scarf that Mum is making while she is up here. I bought a new Kai Wheel Cutter so I could have a wavy blade for cutting my fabric without having to change blades all the time. I also bought some pretty silver charms. While we were in the shop we heard that the only Bead Shop in town was closing down and that they had 30% off everything. Needless to say the two of us are bower birds who just love pretty beads so of course the next 90 minutes was spent (along with some serious $) at the bead shop. I now have enough seed beads for a lifetime of fabric inchies I think. Mum bought some lovely beads including some shell based ones and she has since designed and made a lovely necklace. She just has to sort out what sort of clasp she will use and it will be finished. After the bead shop we went to the fabric shop to get Soluweb (for the No-Knit scarf) and to the library to get some beading books so it was nearly 3pm before we had lunch. Headache territory!

On Friday evening, I picked Joseph up from the airport (he had been in Perth last week for work) and then Mum and I went to the opening of an exhibition at the Mining Hall of Fame. The exhibition was of artworks by Paul Trinidad (lino cuts, prints and dirt paintings) and photos of the Australian outback by Jane Poynter. None of the artwork was really appealing to me personally but it is always interesting to look at the way artists interpret their environment. The photos were interesting, especially the series where she had blown up tiny portions of photos that were on display and added poetry type text. We had fun trying to find the photo from which each of the detailed shots were taken. The Mining Hall of Fame also has a stunning mineral display which is always lovely to look at, so we did that while finishing off our wine!

Yesterday, in amongst normal domestic Saturday stuff I worked on some cards I am doing for a magazine and also did some more inchies (I would have been happy making them all day actually!). I pulled out lots of copper tissue mesh and wire and spent some time tarnishing it using Lime Suphur (as a substitute for the normal stuff which I haven't been able to get locally). Dreadful smell of rotten eggs of course which made for some predictable comments from my 16 year old son. I need to make my mix less concentrated I think as it was an instant reaction on the copper. I put some in a spray bottle and just sprayed it on one piece and that was a more subdued and controlled effect.

Last night I made a yummy Tuna & Spinach Risotto for dinner and watched an Andre Rieu DVD with Mum. Today I am finishing my cards before I make any more inchies!

This week's Wednesday Stamper theme is flowers and I am just not going to get a chance to make something specially for it so I have included a scan of a piece I did a while back in a Purple Deco. I really do love incorporating stamped flowers in my work but in this piece the stamping is text and postmarks. The lace has been hand painted with lace dyes which I love using.

The Artwords theme this week is "Dwelling" and again I am not going to have the time to make something so for this one I have included a scan of a double page spread I did in a House Shaped Deco for an exchange some time ago. I used the most beautiful shade (Green Gold) of Golden Paint for this page which includes a gel transfer of some Victorian ladies sewing in their parlour.

Next week I am promising myself that I will use the themes to make new pieces!