Silver Clay and the New Kiln!

    I was incredibly lucky to be given a small jewellery kiln for Christmas by the Hubs.  What a wonderful man - and he let me use it in the couple of weeks before Christmas so I didn't have to wait for it - he knows me so well!!

This little pendant is a Christmas gift I made for my sister, using silver clay and the new kiln - it's based on a beachcombing theme, using a cuttlefish bone impression for the 'waves' and silver frit for the sand, I topped it off with a piece of pale amethyst 'treasure'.  It's quite small, about 2.5cm across, as my sister does delicate - if it was for me it would be at least twice that size!!

Also pre-Christmas I made little boxes for my nephews for money and gift cards (which they seem to prefer!), and that's the sum total of my Christmas crafting...

... however, shoulder and elbow seem to be improving and I've felt enthused enough to start a page in my sketch book - I don't know where it's going but hopefully it will have changed by next week!  I'm thinking winter garden - a recurring and well loved theme!

 

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week. 

 

Merry Christmas!

I'm still neglecting my craft room and my blog due to the ongoing tennis elbow and frozen shoulder problems - it's been very challenging and although there has been some improvement, it can easily be setback again if I try and push my luck!

So no desk this week but I thought a wintery scene was the next best thing!

I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and creative festive season and  say thank you for the kind, supportive comments and friendship throughout the  past year.

 

 
I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW 

A Messy Desk!

 A bit of a messy desk this week - I haven't managed to finish anything and horror of horrors I actually have pushback!  The shells at the back have been pushed out of the way while they wait for me to varnish them, and some gentle collage making has been going on.  I say gentle because the tennis elbow in my right arm has now be joined by a frozen shoulder - they certainly make crafting challenging!

And on that note, can anyone please recommend an accurate guillotine - I always use a steel rule and a Stanley knife but that is just out of the question at the moment and it seems 90% of my crafting requires cutting straight lines!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

UPSIDE DOWN COLLAGES!

 Just to keep the creativity flowing I decided to dip into the Collage Workbook by Randel Plowman.  I've had quite a break from it but enjoyed doing these two little collages - the requirement was to use two images and flip one upside down.  

The most exciting part of my week has been obtaining a new storage box for my sewing threads!   The 4 Gutermann boxes that I previously had were fiddly, the lids fell off frequently and I had an extra tray of loose reels that wouldn't fit in the boxes.  This one is great, and has freed up a lot of drawer space.  It's also got me doing some long awaited mending!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

A Small Burst of Creative Energy

 Goodness, in the blink of an eye we are half way through September and I don't quite know how I managed to take a 2 month break from blogging and creativity.  The tennis elbow hasn't helped and although it's a fair bit better again, it's still frustratingly hanging around. 

However I've had a few 'word of mouth' commissions for some jewellery, and that has got me busy again.  It became a two man job, with help from the Hubs because of the elbow problems - he's been a star!

These are on my desk at the moment, waiting for the lids to be decorated - as you can see I've built up a bit of a stock!  All are made from old china that has been damaged and unable to be used for purpose.  I love old china and I've been collecting it for years with the vague and unrealistic idea of making a large mosaic garden table!   

 

Such sad news this week with the death of our beloved Queen, very strange and unsettling times - I have been far more affected by it than I expected to be.  It's been so very emotional and my heart goes out to the Royal family.

I am linking up with Julia over at WOYWW.

Buddleia Card and Book Collage

 

I've achieved quite a lot since I last posted considering we had my step-son and his family visiting from the USA last week.  

I've completed another collage using the prompts in The Collage Workbook - it was all about using bits of old books - which was lucky, as I have loads!  

 I also had to make a sympathy card and I found this Buddleia stamp set in my stash that I'm sure I've never used ...

 ...and I've been gold leafing some prints too!  

Housework is next on the agenda! 

But before that I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW for the weekly desk hop.

Blue Mono Printing and the Midnight Garden

A bit of a printing fest going on this week, and it's all a bit blue!  I've continued with the mono printing from last week but changed the colours to suit my midnight garden theme - I seem to come round to that each summer as I really do love the muted colours and beautiful shapes of my garden as it goes from dusk into night.    

The bright sunshine we've been having has meant I can get some more cyanotype printing done - topping up my stash for card making and collages - always a favourite activity!

 

  I've also been running low on notecards so I have printed off another run of them using some of these photos of old and new cyanotype prints. I need to trim them all up - about 30 in total - a job I don't enjoy so we'll see if it gets done by next week - I'm betting it doesn't!!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Stamped Collage and Mono Printing

 A busy desk this week! 

A collage from the Collage Workbook challenges - this week incorporating stamping - I used some little seedling stamps that I hand carved a long time ago and gold leafed a few -I meant to gold leaf just one as a 'statement seedling' but I find it hard to stop leafing whenever I start so it reached 7 before I found my self-restraint!!

I also did some mono printing - here are a few that are still on my desk, out of what felt like hundreds I had printed!

And I received the last of the happy mail from the ATC swap - Jan very kindly sent me a replacement ATC as it looks like the original got lost in the post - I'm so thrilled to receive it and what a gorgeous card too - an absolute treasure, thank you so much Jan.

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.