Last rat of the year ....

I love to work with woollens and had been making cats and hamsters, when I decided in a quiet moment on Christmas Day to make a raggyrat doll ...

This button jointed fellow has already been adopted but I would like to make

More like him. 

A few years back I used to slip out into the cul-de-sac and lie on my belly with my camera and a fresh soft toy .... 

It works doesn't it? The grey road provides a contrast to the colourful stripes of my rat! 

Art Unwrapped ....

Watch this taster, then come and see the art at Weymouth Library - it's a bright, spacious exhibition, open until the 13th December in The Mulberry Gallery upstairs.

 

You can also meet Artwey Artists and buy charity Christmas cards downstairs at the library too!

Raggy Rat Boy!

So exciting because I haven't made a Raggy rat doll for a number of years now. The last were in a Booja Booja movie!

He is made from a soft, textured weave and reminds me of silver grey pet rats that I used to keep ...

Now he has to leave me, go off and make someone else smile. Be good, son ....

Michael steampunk-ed his specs!

Well, his spare glasses to be honest!

Super glue, tweezers, a magnifier and some of those dinky watch parts I got from EBay ... 

Amazing bit of up-cycling Michael. Only three more sleeps!

Steam punk wedding plans steam ahead!

Well just under 2 weeks until the wedding of the year. Haha. So I've been busy making other things as well as goggles! 

This lovely flower is for mike to wear on his coat ... A rather awesome coat I must say! 

Here is a shoulder bag for my bits and bobs. I wanted it to look like a lense or telescope case but pretty of course. Made from card and fabric with buttons and recycled trim. 

Next, a plain wooden box from a Dorchester charity shop was collaged with my usual flair. I need a ring box for children to handle at the wedding, and to hide the two very special rings. Michael asked me to keep his a surprise until I slip it on his finger!

That interesting tissue paper is the one that my special ring came wrapped in, one special day in Shaftesbury! I applied some inside the lid, and hid both rings inside it for this picture!

Pieces of cerial box, covered in lush green velvet line the box to complete it!

Now to make costumes for the three little girls!

Steampunk goggles finished!

These charity-shop biker goggles came up really well. When I saw them I knew they would be perfect for wearing in my hair instead of flowers....

I have added one flower and I had fun with acrylic and glass paint. 

I need these for a special event next month!

A little more drawing ...

One lovely Labrador ...

Two sweet cavies ...

How I love to draw!

Owl together now ....

How about this awesome octogenarian gent, a superb felt and wool owl owned by an 86 year old neighbour of mine!

He wins 'most inspiring owl' this week and I'm honoured to have met him and taken his picture. 

Have you got a very old handmade toy you will never part with? 

Lining a basket ...

I found a small but sturdy basket to help me bring logs from the garage to the house. The only problem was, that the bits of wood and bark, came through the weave and went all over the floor!

So I determined to line it with fabric, on the same day that Topsy determined to stay in it, no matter what I did, because it was really her best bed!

Eventually and only when the lining was fully sewn, I forcefully removed the cat and tied in the pretty fabric. 

Now I'm all ready for when the wind-swept, early autumn feeling shifts towards the nip-in-the oar that has me reaching for a wooly cardy!

Have you caught the loom band bug?

Look at this fantastic rainbow crochet. All made out of those coloured loom bands which I keep hoovering up these days. 

Have you had a go at creating with these marvellous rubbery things? Not only did i not make this piece but I haven't even made a fish tail bracelet. In fact no one else with nimble fingers has made me one either, although a certain 8 year old has promised to make me one soon. 

Here is Louise with her almost complete creation ....

Loom band shorts - did you guess? 

Lousie might have the most colourful bottom in Christchurch right now, but it's also probably the most dimpled, as this rubbery knitting is rather textured too!

Perfect summer wear and also rather good worn over a pair of purple leggings for winter fun. What do you think?

Have you made anything ambitious with loom bands? You are sure to amaze me if you have. Fiddly little rubber rings are beyond me, but Louise is very much a girl after my own heart! 

Food - left over mashed potato!

For a quick and easy, and very cheesy potato rissoles how about these? I always put left over mashed potato in the fridge but this time I only had a small quantity. 

Mixing in a generous amount of grated cheese I forned the mixture into 4 burger shapes and coated them all in polenta before placing them carefully in a dry non stick frying pan. 

Place over the heat and listen. The cheese bubbling comes through the polenta and makes a nice tasty outside. I can only imagine adding oil might stop the crisping, but you could use oil if you prefer!

Turn them over once when a little browned and throw them on the plates praying they stay together as you go! Really tasty :-)

Sweet scrap fish ...

Next month sees my house transformed, and in part, open to the public as part of this years Arwey Art Trail ...

There are lots of new things to see, like a fancy pair of woollen fish that were born today while I sat with a poorly 6 year old ...

And my house of course, which has been very looked after following the winter damage. 

Will you come and see me?

Hooked on collage?

Time to paint the porch which has always been original bricks. But now that the house is painted, demanded a makeover too! 

An inexpensive set of hooks has been used for children's coats, but I couldn't bring myself to put it back on the wall without a makeover of its own, so I covered it in cute paper. 

A wash of gold guache adds a special something and looks aged. 

The edges of the paper have been sanded. Difficult to photograph but looks superb! Try it next time to are altering furnature and so on ...

The plated hooks are gently worn from use but that's fine for my purposes and I screw them all back on with glee!

Finally back on the wall! Hooks that make me happy and suit all the little coats that get hung here ...

Mirror mirror ...

My friend Jenny wanted me to makeover a mirror for her and I found this shabby chique number at the brewers quay ...

I took the shelf off, and neatly covered the mirror in vintage cotton fabric, by soaking it in PVA. 

A sharp blade cut the edges nearly, and also freed the centre to reflect again! I covered the top of the shelf with fabric too. 

After the shelf was screwed on, gold paint was added, giving an ageing effect and helping the fabric sit well, sort of visually embedding it. 

I hope Jenny likes it, do you?

Food - something cheesy!

A lot of people share recipies on their blogs, but I struggle with that, being a sort of bucket chemist in my aproach to family food. 

This amazing cheese mattress looks like a soufflé but I don't believe it is! 

It was made using a whipped up blend of fromage frais and three eggs. But it will also work with plain yoghurt. Before it went into a getting-warm oven, I sprinkled finely grated cheese on top. Then I baked it until it looked beautiful. 

It went down smashing with fried mushrooms and grilled tomatoes!

I like lady birds!

I like lady birds so much I decided to add one to the house using some of the red paint already used ....

I sketched it out and rubbed the painting area with ESP or easy surface preparer which I've used for years on various projects ...

After that had dried and with the sun away from the front of the house I applied black paint that is also in use on our home ....

From below it really looked like Banksy had slapped a quick stencil on my wall!

Then I was brave one last time as I took an old, small brush to colour in the lady bird. 

Yay did it! What do you think? 

The front of the house is nearly complete!

House Work - IKEA Hack

I like those simple magnetic boards from IKEA. I had planned to cover some in cotton fabric and put up in the girls room but instead I covered three in papers and two have ended up here so we can all have some fun!

House work ...

Here is my humble home, who's tired walls and chimney let in a lot of that horizontal rain this past winter ...

Here is mike doing some pointing! We knew that the chimney was badly in need of repointing and we found that it also needed repairs to the flashing. The other chimney had some attention when Mary was a baby. 

Over one or two very soggy says my bedroom wall ran with water and I'm left with some beautiful staining!

The scaffolding provided access to the whole side of the house. More issues were found which may well be the reason of damp in the corner of my room. 

As grey clouds approach again, the ground-out chimney was plastic wrapped to prevent more water damage until drier days again!

Opting to paint after the repointing, the house began to change colour. It's called Birch, and is a gentle shade of grey green , sympathetic to the stone clad buildings that also share our cul-de-sac. No magnolia or cream for me!

The red painted parts have also been reniewed too. 

Now the scaffolding tower is in place for me to create a special something on the front of the house! Any guesses? I'll share that with you soon!