A break in communications

Living in the bush has it's bad points, snakes, fires and power outs.  This week we had no internet.
So, I had a little break in Blog communications.
I will be back next week as usual, hopefully (telecommunications being intact that is)
But here is a little eye candy for you.
This is a star book I made during the week.  I won't give you a tutorial, since there are plenty on youtube - just type in 'Chinese star book' and you find plenty.

I think you can see why it's called a star book.  Mine only had two layers.  I intended to put three, but the third layer really took away from the design as it was.

You can see here that the first layer was a metallic bronze card.  The second layer was black card which I cut into a lacy pattern with my silhouette cameo.

Here's a close up of the black lacy layer.

And here's the book when closed.  I was very pleased with it and intend to make more for the gallery with different silhouettes.

Happy creating

more fusing fun

Now that I am back on the mend again, I have been doing some more work with my silhouette, which I am getting pretty proficient at I must say.
Yesterday at quilting group (where I was NOT quilting, but crochetting - as you do), I was leafing through a magazine and saw some pansies.  I thought they might make a pretty table runner for our stall, so I sketched up a few of them, then put them into my silhouette (Digital cutter) and cut out lots.

I made three different ones, just for variety.  I had lots of scraps left over....

And I am sure I will find a use for all of these, lol.
I started a little journal quilt from the tiniest scraps.

I will probably just do some hand embroidery over these strips, but they were so colourful, I just had to do it.

Here is how the little flowers go together.  I put some little yellow bead in the centre just to see how it looked.  These are just laid out, not fused yet, because I can't decide what background to use.

What do you think?  I do like the top left, but perhaps it is a little low contrast, perhaps the bottom right?
I have also been working in my journals, mostly just putting background layers down to add to later.

This one is just a bit of paint on gesso, then had glad wrap (Saran) scrunched over whilst still wet.  It makes a nice texture.

This one is just a few greens dry brushed on (a great way to ruin your brushes, too)

This one is just a bit of left over paint brushed on.

And this one was just playing with a few colours in squares.  The copper is a metallic paint.

These samples are from a while ago, I was playing with different textures and coloured gesso.  I used forks, sticks and laying pages together and peeling off on the first one, stencilling, stamping and tape in the second one.  A comb and a pencil on the third one.

And these two are on fabric, with some stitching.

These are fabric paper samples, with sprayed, dripped and blotted inks.

 these are playing with watercolour on wet paper

These are playing with all types of circles collected around the house.
As you can see, I recycle everything.  Some of the samples are on old flashcards from my teaching days, lol

And just for interest, here is another butterfly

This one was a rubbing over a stencil with soft chalk pastels.
I wonder, is a butterfly a new beginning?

I saw this quote in the quote of the day at the top of my blog (wednesday, it changes each day), and had to make a new digi inspiration!

The dreaded lurgy

Ah, well, all things come to those who wait, don't they?  I have been offline for a few weeks with a very bad dose of the 'flu.  We Aussies call it the dreaded lurgy.  I am on the mend now and getting back into my rhythm.  It is Spring here and the gartden is blooming, but with it comes hay fever - Yuck!  But you have to take the good with the bad.

In my last post I told you of my new toy - a silhouette cameo!  Before I got sick, I did a little work in my journal with some stencils I made.

I layered two stencils, the flower one and the butterfly one on top of each other, so the flower pattern filled the butterflies.

Then I went around the outlines with a very sketchy fineliner to define it.  The page needs more work, but has been sitting for a bit.

We had our monthly quilting day a week or two ago and here are some of the regular ladies in our new community house.  On that day I was working on one of the UFOs in my cupboards.

Obviously still not finished, but getting close.
Since then, I have really only been doing bits and pieces, between lots of resting.

I crochetted this  beanie for my hubby, who has also been very sick (and sooky, as they are)

I started this table mat, I used my Silhouette to cut the applique pieces.  It will be for our fund raising stall at christmas.  It is an adaptation of a free pattern from martingale.

I worked on a bobbin lace bookmark, that had been sitting around for a while.

I did a little piecing practice with my huge stash of charms.

And I did a little quilting practice on the longarm.  (no closeups neccesary).  If you have been following me for a while, you will know that my hubby created my machine for me.  He is very good at that sort of thing.  He is a fitter and turner by trade.  I used to have it set up on rails, but find this sit down arrangement much easier.
And since it's spring, I thought I'd finish with some gorgeous gum blossoms I picked the other day.

Thanks for the comments on the last post. I will get back to you, just haven't been well enough.

a cameo appearance

OK, I have been absent for a week or two, but I have been busy playing with a new toy!, oops, I mean tool in my studio.

I am the proud owner of a brand new silhouette cameo digital cutter and have been experimenting with all types of media, to see what it can do!

Above is a page from my notebook.  As you can see at the left, it cuts light lutradur/rainbow spun beautifully, and below it is some acetate sheet (For stencils) which it also cut well.  It did not cut painted baby wipes, which is a disappointment, but I am not finished experimenting with that.  I have tried papers of different weights, plastics and vinyls, and of course fabrics.  It cuts cotton really well and I am looking forward to thinking up a few applique projects to do with it.

I cut these beautiful boxes from card.  I purchased the cutting file from silhouette.com.

and all these wonderful masks and textures and text and....

Here were a few of my first efforts.
And some starts at journal pages, none of which is completed yet.

By the way, the black butterfly is a design I created myself with the software, while the blue butterfly, I only attached on one side so it becomes an extra page.

My collage from the last post is finished and just needs mounting

Here are a few close ups

Also, the fabric pages I finished a few weeks ago have reached their owners, so now I can show you

I have been doing a little crochet

This is from a pattern in piecework magazine last year.

And this is from an old annie's attic pattern.

And I think I'll just finish with this winter leaf I found the other day

It had such beautiful lines, I couldn't resist.

Happy creating.