Misty Winter Garden and WOYWW

 Over the last few weeks we have had some very misty mornings - I live right by the coast so a lot of sea mist rolls in and one of the things I love is being cosy in bed and listening to the fog horns through the night.

The other thing I love is waking up and seeing the garden through the thick, swirling mists - which is what these little embroidered collages are all about!  I've been playing about with them for the last couple of weeks trying to capture the bare winter plants appearing and disappearing into the fog.  It's been fun, but I'm ready for Spring now!   

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

Collagraph Printing and Winter Seedlings

I have some collagraph prints lying around on my desk this morning - I've been wanting to try this technique for ages and used my XCut machine to print with after finding a Facebook group all about it.  It's a great way of making prints without investing in a proper press and I am quite pleased with the results.  I kept the plates very simple - I didn't want to invest a lot of time and effort in them if it was going to be a disaster!  I also kept to my current theme of the winter garden.

These first prints turned out quite well and I was able to take several copies from each plate.  I found the only print I had real problems with was the minimalist one (bottom of first photo) - it smudged from the very first print and all subsequent ones - just proving that I'm not cut out for clean and simple!!

 

I decided to try a little more detail and scratched this leaf into the surface of some board.  I only had 3 successful prints with this and then the board deteriorated beyond use, but it's all a learning curve!

These are the used plates, some still strong enough for another print run but a couple have had it. 

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW 

The Garden in Winter

 I'm still in a wintery frame of mind, helped along by the freezing conditions we are expecting later today!  I'm holding back on this sketchbook page for a while as I'm liking the simplicity of it at the moment - I'm good at over-egging the cake so I'm trying to stop myself flinging everything at it!

I made a birthday card for my brother-in-law recently - he loves working with wood and is very creative so I tried doing a wood inlay card using some wood effect papers that I've had in my stash for years, and a medallion die.  I was hoping for a Morroccan look to it, but he referred to it as lace so not quite the response I was hoping for.  Still, I had fun making it!!

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

Winter Snowdrop Collage

 This week I finished a sketchbook page in celebration of these pretty little winter flowers that are blooming my garden at the moment.

I have one small group of Snowdrops and I'm hoping they'll spread - they originally came from a friend who has sadly passed on but I have so enjoyed making this page and thinking happy thoughts of her.

I'm also getting stuck in to another wintery page - I'm being drawn to that soft sage colour lately  - not a go to colour for me usually but I'm enjoying it and will be using it until I've worked it out of my system!  

  

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

Frosty Seedlings Collage

 I surprised myself by finishing the page I started last week in my sketchbook.  Still working on the winter garden theme and loving it!

    Some detailed shots... 

   ... the photo on the left shows 'Frosted Crystal' Distress embossing powder - I just love it's matte texture - so frosty!

I've also done some little ink doodles with a view to using them in collages.   These are currently on my desk, along with stencil brushes to be put away and the sketch book that should be back on it's shelf!

Some photo collages with the doodles for my velvet moth photography blog - the MakroTex challenge theme this week is 'collage'.   

I'm joining in with Julia over at WOYWW this week, a great place for seeing what other people have on their desks at the moment.

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. 

 

A Little Winter Garden in a Tin

I'm working my way through some half finished projects and came across this tin with a couple of half made cocoons in it.   I think the idea might have originally been for a midnight garden last summer, but I decided it was perfect to round off the winter and get another 'work in progress' finished!

The backdrop is a piece of old rust printed cloth that is lying on my desk waiting to be used in another project, but I thought they went quite well together!

  I hope you are all staying safe and well in these challenging times.  I have been amazed at the selfless acts of kindness from the folks in my community - it lifts the spirit and renews my faith in mankind when I see such a supportive group of people on our local self-isolation support group pages.  I hope you are all getting the support you need and are coping fairly well with this horrible situation.

Sending virtual hugs to you and linking up via Julia over at WOYWW.   

Winter Pods

I've been slowly working on a collection of little decorative seed pods using silk cocoons. As my collection grew I struggled to find a way of displaying them, and then walking past a bowl filled with pot pourri, I noticed this large seed head - perfect!!

As well as the silk cocoons I used felt, wire, beads, clay pipe stems, cinnamon sticks, eucalyptus bark, wired beads and pleated silk, plus a few touches of glitter for a frosty effect.  

So that's what is sitting on my desk today and I'm linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday to see what other people have on their desks this week.

Snapshots of a Winter Garden

Each month I've been choosing a piece of unused stash to try out with a view to keeping it or moving it on, and for March I've picked the Sizzix Filmstrip Frames die.

This is one of the first dies I purchased and I think I was swept along with all the amazing shapes I could cut out with my new machine!  

I think this is definitely one to move along rather than keep - I've struggled to find a way of fitting it in to my style of working.  However, I've enjoyed making this page and fitting the die into my winter garden theme - this is my farewell to it!

I used cream card for the filmstrip die and inked it with Black Soot and Walnut distress inks to give it a softer, more aged look.

I am linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday.
 Thank you Julia for your dedication and hard work in getting this wonderful group together each week- I know Jan will do a first class job taking over the helm as and when needed over the coming months - sending love and hugs your way.  

February's Forgotten Stash

Each month I'm choosing a piece of forgotten or never used stash to try out - for February I've chosen the Tim Holtz Artful Dwellings die.  I have no idea why I purchased it - the good idea that prompted me to buy it has long gone!

I was a bit stumped with this one, so after cutting several of the shapes out I left them on my desk until an idea struck!  Finally I decided to work on my current theme of the winter garden and this is how they turned out.

I used some copper and gold metallic leaf on some of the stamped images, although it's difficult to see in the photos.  Each little house has been attached to a bar at the back to make it into one piece of work.

Deciding to go for a completely different wintery feel I also did another set using some winter tree stamps.  I used Perfect Pearls, Micro beads and texture paste with glitter, and although it's hard tell the whole thing really twinkles like frost.  

I am linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

More Winter Embroideries!

 I've been finishing off the last of my unfinished work from last winter - these two only needed beads adding and some hand embroidery.
I do love working on that soft, fluffy background - it's actually off cuts of thermal curtain lining that a friend donated to me - very appropriate for winter!

 

I'm linking up with Julia over at What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Winter Embroideries

Goodness, it hardly seems possible a whole year has passed by and I am now back to working on my winter garden embroideries!  
 These two have finally been finished off after being rudely interrupted by the arrival of Spring last year!

  

I am linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.