Monday 27 June 2011

Purple Cat! And A New Website.

Yes that is her name. OK, so not much of a name but I decided to leave it to her new owner to name her. And here is the lady herself.

I have been working on her since last Thursday and am quite pleased with how she has turned out. Her necklace was a little bit fiddly but being stubborn I decided I wasn't going to use beads and was going to needle felt each individual pearl! She is a melancholy looking soul but hopefully a new home will put a smile on her face.
Now I have to decide on my next project. Maybe a Dog, or another mouse, or a giraffe?
In other news my website has now gone live so those of you who do not have a Folksy account can view and hopefully buy my creations over HERE. Feedback is greatly appreciated, I am not the most skilled web designer so if you spot anything amiss let me know. Bye for now Xxx

Thursday 23 June 2011

Shhhhhhh!

Don't tell anyone but today I have been mostly getting to grips with website design. Following quite a few positive threads on Folksy I decided to take the plunge and opened an account with Weebly.com and also bought a domain name.  Well that was the easy bit!
I'm not a complete dunderhead but nor am I very technically minded. There are lots of lovely templates to choose from and as many ways to adjust, alter, tweak and change them. I'm not good when faced with so many choices but I found one I liked and stumbled my way through all the alterations I needed to make and do you know what? It was fun! The day has whizzed past and I have made a good start with the site, I have a slideshow gallery, a page where you can purchase items and even a contact form! I have even taken the Photoshop plunge and designed a banner!
There are lots of alterations I still want to make before the site goes live but I am very excited at the prospect! I will let you all know when it is up and running! Bye for now! Xxx

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Meet Mrs Mouse!

I would like to introduce you to the newest addition to the Sweet Nothings Menagerie! Mrs Mouse. She is completely needle felted from the tip of her pink nose to the end of her beautiful tail.
Mrs Mouse

She would have been finished yesterday had I not decided that she really needed to be holding something in her left hand, hence the wee bunch of flowers which were a whole lot fiddlier than I had anticipated but, I hope, worth that extra effort. 
 Full Frontal!

I have to say this was a very enjoyable project from the initial sketch to the final stab of the needle and I am very pleased with the result. My only regret is that I didn't record exactly how long she took to make, I only started to keep count part way through and know that it was over 30 hours! 
 From Behind!
If you would like to give Mrs Mouse a home then she is currently available in my Folksy Shop. The link is on the right. So time to plan my next project! And I bid you goodnight from me and Mrs Mouse! Xxx

Saturday 18 June 2011

The Duck King and Friends

I just realise that I have only so far posted work in progress on this blog so her for your delictation are two finished pieces. The first is entitled The Duck King. He was loosely based on a bird I found in a book about patterns but he soon developed a character of his own! If you really like him he is for sale in my Folksy shop, just follow the link in my profile!

The Duck King

Side View!
A Regal looking fellow I am sure you will agree, although feeling a little lonely since his friend Sleepy Mouse went off to his new home.

Sleepy Mouse (sold)
Each of these pieces takes many many hours of stabbing at the felt, making it form the shapes. I have never actually counted how long but perhaps next time I shall. Hope you have enjoyed seeing my little creations! Bye for now! S.

Friday 17 June 2011

Time to Paint!

Thanks to a nasty pain in my left wrist I have taken a wee break from needle-felting. Never one to sit still though I decided to do a little set of wildlife paintings. This is a set of ACEOs. For those of you that don't know ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. The only rule is size. They must measure 3.5 inches x 2.5 inches. People collect them and often store them in albums. I had never heard of them until a friend told me about them and when I joined Folksy I was amazed at the variety and skill level available. Anyway here are my latest efforts!

Mr Hare

Mr Fox

Mr Hedgehog 

And Mr Squirrel

I hope you like them! Not much chance to get on with the needle felting until this evening which should give my wrist a bit more of a rest! Hopefully though I should have something more to show you soon :-)

Monday 13 June 2011

Monday Morning

Well actually it's afternoon now which is good as I dislike monday mornings intently. Today I am working on Mrs Mouse's hat. A large straw number which I may or may not embellish with ribbons and flowers. I got a fair amount done this morning as the boy decided to nap from about half ten until nearly one! He must have exhausted himself by waking us up at 5am bright as a button and raring to go! Anyway here are a few photos to show you the progression of Mrs Mouse. The first shows the 'raw' unspun merino wool.
The second shows the basic shape being formed by repeated stabbing with the small barbed needle.

And the third photo shows a more refined tightened shape,you can see the body and head shape more clearly I hope! 

Excuse the rubbishy photos, I promise to try harder next time.

Sunday 12 June 2011

Good Morning World!


Having got up far too early on a Sunday thanks to an insomniac toddler, I thought I would pop on here and show you the fruits of yesterday's labour! This is Mrs Mouse's shopping basket. As you can see she is feeling peckish and has bought bread and cheese and two crunchy apples. Today I hope to start work on the lady herself just as soon as I decide what colour fur she will have, The last Mouse I created had white fur so this time I think I will go for either grey or a pale brown colour. Currently I am favouring grey but I haven't had my coffee yet and can't commit to such a mammoth choice! Toodle-Pipski!

Saturday 11 June 2011

Stab, stab, stab!

Today I will mostly be stab, stab, stabbing at my fibres until they form a lovely lady mouse with her basket of shopping. I am currently trying to convince a matted lump of fluff that what it really wants to be is a handle for her basket but it is a stubborn so-and-so! During one of my self-imposed mini-breaks I might take some work in progress photos... if I can find my camera...if the battery is charged. Until then toodle-pip! Stab, stab, stab!

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Cats!

I woke up this morning with no plans of what to draw but today has turned into a cat day. I am having to draw from memory though as our lazy cat appears to have taken to our bed and is showing no signs of moving until hunger pangs set in at tea-time. I love cats, they are so aloof and self-assured. They have character and personality. That's not to say I don't like dogs. I do. From a distance. When I was 2 years old I was bitten on the face by a particularly unfriendly Pekinese and ever since I have tried to maintain a healthy distance between myself and any dog. I went on a particularly traumatic french exchange trip aged 15 and stayed with a family that owned the most gargantuan hound I have ever seen! It's head was shoulder height and it slobbered constantly. I was happy to come home. Anyway, when I have finished drawing my cats I plan to tackle my fears and draw some little doggies. I suspect though that I will be sticking to cute little puppies and definitely not monster hounds! I might even have a go at needle-felting one!

Monday 6 June 2011

Sorting Out

Well, after a hectic week finishing my images for the art exhibition I am taking a well earned mini-break and sorting out my craft stores and temporarily taking over the small bedroom as my base. I suspect that I shall still gravitate towards the sofa. It has better views and is nearer the kettle! Speaking of which, time for a cuppa? Xxx

posted from Bloggeroid

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Summer Cold

Well I am busy still, working on my three images for the Open Art Competion organised byTempo Promotes. This year's exhibition promises to be even bigger than last year and hopefully the standard will be just as good.
My images are coming along slowly although I think I have been a little ambitious but we shall see how it pans out. They were originally intended to be fairly loose ink drawing with a simple wash of colours over the top but as usual I have got carried away with the details. I'll post them up on here when they are finished and you will see what I mean!
So, back to the grindstone or they will never be finished. Bye for now!