Inchies - Little Wings (& Beautiful Mail too!)

This week's theme on Linda's Inching Artists Challenge blog is "Little Wings". I just had to use bees for my inchies as Deborah is my "proper" name (it means "bee" in its Hebrew origins) even though I go by shortened versions of my name most of the time. I have always liked the connection with bees for some reason. I can't think of anyone who has called me Deborah much besides my Dad when he was alive and my husband when he is trying extra hard to convince me he is serious about something.

So my inchies this week are made with a honeycomb style (mesh) background stamp by Lucy's Stamps , a small Collections text stamp, a mini alphabet set, black ink, Moon Shadow Mist in Gossamer Gold (I know - EVERYTHING I make lately has MSM on it!), a tiny bee punch and Dimensional Magic.


The highlight of today's mail was this wonderful tissue paper study by Doreen Kinkade from the Surface Design Yahoo Group exchange. I am so disappointed that my mail-delivery person bent the envelope (Tyvek!!) in two and shoved it into my letterbox even though it was obvious there was a cardboard layer in there trying to provide some protection from exactly that fate! Anyway I have had the beautiful delicate leafy piece flattened under heavy books for several hours and it is now much flatter. The Emily Bronte quotation is lovely - Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.

Inchies - Under the Sea

I love the blogs that have been specifically set up as challenges or prompts to encourage us all to do creative stuff on a regular basis. Of course they are optional on a week by week basis but since I have joined in on the fun with some of them I am finding I am doing more mid-week creating.

The newest one I have joined is Linda Baldock's Inching Artists - I mean how hard is it to make a one inch square of art once a week in your choice of media (paper, fabric, clay, mixed, canvas etc etc)??? If you haven't had a look at this new blog challenge - click on the link and have a look! The more the merrier with these challenges and this is the only the second week.

As I haven't had much spare time I have just made the one solitary inchie for the theme "Under the Sea". It is blue fabric fused to felt with some Angelina fibres added to the top, a tiny piece of fringed fibre to imitate sea plants, some gold stitching and a darling little gold mermaid charm. I think I will have to create a little series of them to accompany her when I have time so that I can use some of huge collection of tiny sea shells. I still have heaps that I collected many moons ago when I was a kid as well as all the ones I have picked up since! I know, it is no wonder I feel cluttered sometimes.

The second little inchie picture is actually an inch square clay tile (what would you call it?). My friend Jude saved for me as she knows I love to recycle "stuff". I think it was originally attached to a store-bought card. I am going to try using it as a mould first with Model Magic and see if I can make little embellishments with it.

I have included another photo of my first Circles Journal page because I took the little flower sequins off and swapped them for old pink-red buttons - I think they go better with the vintage woman image. The sequins were really bothering me as they just didn't look right. I have done the background for the back of this page and hopefully will have the page finished later today. I'm also working on completing the set of six "tissue paper studies" that need to be mailed to my partners in the US & Canada by the end of the month so I am really looking forward to a relaxing creative afternoon! It is a bit cold but the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I have the house to myself for a couple of hours - what more could I ask for?