Sunday, February 28, 2016

Just painting ....


The Stardust Angels look so serene ...
These angels are off to Marg Low tomorrow for a little tag you will see very soon.
I was laying the buttons on the trays & thought .... 
I wonder how interesting these will look with the pastel patched hearts ...
It is the colours one sits beside & how different they look...

I promised myself I could paint on fabric the  stitchery designs from Sweet Stitchings
3 have been painted ...need details for the Book Club ladies & the one in the red..
Looking quite sweet !
LOL

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Bunnies

Hippity hop...hippity hop....Easter Bunny

I have been enjoying myself today painting the bunnies up & making little stories as I went
They have all gone on the web, maybe a few stray trees etc are not there yet...
I also did some of the latest flower pots in different colours
&
a grey santa

See on the side bar Marg Low's blog has a new santa button in her design

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Thank you Sweden for the Quilt pictures !!!


Thanks you Gudrun for the pictures of your lovely work
Stitching the ladies from Bless Them Stitchers and A Year in the Country
Will this be a wonderful creating stitching & then making up the quilt as Gudrun has done

I am having some difficulties with getting Google Chrome to display on my page so I am using the other one .



******
The words that come with this design

"THE CHARM OF GARDENING..
GIVES ONE TIME TO REFLECT ON LIFE...
CELEBRATE NATURE
AND
SPEND TIME WITH THE CAT"

Friday, February 19, 2016

What a wonderful surprise


Last year I did stitchery designs for Edi- Sxe Quilt Country in France &  Marie-Claude Iperti Picon built the quilt designs around it

I have never ever seen the finished quilt or a picture of it...
So imagine when I saw this as I was scrolling on facebook


Now I also found a small picture of my stitchery designs in a quilt..who sent the picture ?????
If it is you please comment so I can give your credit as it is very beautiful & will I am sure inspire all who have those free designs  now  
It is GUDRUN's quilt From SWEDEN
Gudrun has emailed to offer to resend pics of this quilt & I am going to say YES PLEASE
It is so beautiful
Thanks Gudrun

I am going to ask when people make up these designs..can we see ???? a photo & then we'll share them...... perhaps a little competition & treat ????
Email me via the website  if you want to show & tell


Saturday, February 13, 2016

New Dress for Nicole

Nicole French lady button has a new white dress with red roses on the hem & splashed about a little 

This is the yellow one & I think in the past I had a green dress...
Remind of those paper dolls with different clothes to tab over the body 
I had a book of those when I was young & loved that sort of thing 

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Rabbits & Cats


What is it with sirens ..I was just in the bathroom cleaning my teeth with the window open onto what is  busy road when an ambulance turns it's siren on right as it passed by my window.
I jumped with fright & thought it's happening again ...
smoke detector has a temp alarm on top of old one that has to be installed with an electrician ....  
You know we need a better design for those things....
AND
today both my computers are just really ready to go to retirement same brand one sends out a constant overheat message ( I am using now ) & this old one has the battery encased & I cannot get to it
& the other one has hardly been used what since Oct as it went back to be repaired at start & then I let it sit because it would not behave & finally I had time & patience to try whatever & the time clock had been set wrongly when it went back for repair & once I found that & fixed clock everything worked as it should but it really is a LEMON twice now it has just refused to boot up & I I cannot turn it off & the battery has to run down
So in a minute I will go spend more money on another brand one !!!!!
I have to laugh when every mega business tries to force us with penalities etc to use the computer for accounts to be sent out as well as bills to be paid...or issues we need to speak to company...
  
****

Anyway onto rabbits...
I was pondering the work for today when I saw this in a box nearby...
This is a paper mache small box that I hand painted  & added a running rabbit.
I love the colours...

Just like the rabbits I watched a couple of evenings ago, frolicking about...
The mache box design was easily converted to fabric....
I used a white linen & maybe cotton blend for background & a linen taupe spot..stitched the words Paris Lapins & a couple of crosses & french knots & machined the rest.....
sadly that is as far as I got at that time....

I am happily painting this little lot to fly out of the country in a couple of days
We have some rabbits in the way of the thread winders....

This lot was the end of the weekend's work & all have gone to Corinne in France
The cat in the barrow of flowers is very sweet.... 

Now this cat.... my friend who comes in full of chatter..
His Mum went away on Monday & in the afternoon he called in & quietly disappeared & i thought I wonder where he is.....
There he was parked on my white bed cover on the corner 
as he knew it is out of bounds.
But in his cat mind his Mum had gone on hols & he was going to sleep on my bed
3 times I shuffled him off
last night he tried again.
He has someone at home in his house but....it's different !

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Bunnies


It was again hot here yesterday ...& ..
my day begun at just after midnight when the smoke detector decided it was time to scare the living daylights out of my slumber.   
5 weeks have gone by since it did this alarming trick on me...

Happily to say the man has been & a temp detector is now sitting over the old one as a wait now for the electrician to arrive to wire it all up.

In the early evening as the sun had sunk behind the bushland in the front.... 
I went to water the pots 
& as I do this, I get a lovely nature view
mostly it is the small mob of kangaroos that come into graze each night across the road...
but yesterday 
the 3 bunnies came hopping out of their burrow under the wild blackberry bushes
First there was one.... & then a pair came out & began chasing each other...
their little white tails bobbing about.

I moved to the front garden to hand water & I see the big tabby cat in the clearing 
...and by then the bunnies had gone far from their burrow...
but the kangaroos had moved closer to the action so assumed all would be ok...

Bunnies are here too...
safe in wool felt sampler work ...
so simple to make a little story for Easter or a piece to pop framed in a child's room
I love to overlay stuff, so I often cut small bits of felt or fabric to create a different look... add tiny beads...little stitches & some felt flowers I cut with my favourite scalloped scissors


.
 In the sampler there are several stories.....but one can be plenty  !!!
Including the chooks above in their little story...
oh ..I feel like playing now 
but I have a bit of painting to do and some painted buttons to post ..discipline LOL

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Taking a mini break from this weekend's work

I had a request to paint strawberries other than red....
I quite like them mixed or sitting in a clump of their colours...


In our Canberra house strawberries were planted everywhere there was a gap where the weeds would grow & as I pinched the runners off the first few years plants & I did plant in abundance..
My little neighbour Benjamin would pop in & say as I answered the door
"Barb do you think there are any ripe strawberries"
Often there were & we'd grab a bowl 
& head out into the big back garden 
& meander through the flowers & shrubs to find the ripe strawberries
all the while chattering as only young kids do ...
Then we'd head out the side garden gate & deliver him home with a bowl of strawberries.


Years before our father planted a boxed bordered in strawberry patch again in a big back garden ...in built up rows. 
Next door to the same sized asparagus patch
My brother & I had the boring job of pinching the strawberry runners...but learning a valuable lesson along the way.
The strawberries certainly grew big & sweet & finally after waiting some years the asparagus were ready to pick ..


See what happens when I paint a big batch of something  !!!!


This is the painting that was started on Friday up until I took this break...last painted were the Fleurs Signs in pastels
Those neat little batches are to be packaged tonight ready for posting tomorrow...
I need good TV shows to package like picking the runners from the strawberries it needs to be done LOL

Friday, February 5, 2016

Specially For Easter


SPECIALS
In a different format to last week's special buttons...
These are hand drawing ONE only little story..I thought this would be fun !
They are found in the Buttons specials on the www.theodoracleave.com


Thursday, February 4, 2016

Business Card

My new business card....which is also my packaging button card....
I received these back yesterday


I walked by Marilyn Monroe again this morning....
what a treat it is to stroll in the park under a vast canopy of leaves
&
then get to the top of the park...& see this glamorous lady ....
Today I noted the shoes ....the size and proportion of this statue is wonderful.
I read in the Bendigo art gallery promo on the web this is her first international visit....
from hometowm USA
I did buy my ticket for the exhibition yesterday ...so I eagerly await seeing all that will be on display..in March...

After my walk I met 2 friends for a cafe stop before one embarked on the journey back home...
From then on I fiddled something awful...
But happy to say some painting is done now..

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Marilyn Monroe Statue

www.theodoracleave.com
She is something like 8 metres tall.....
 Rosalind Park Bendigo has become her home until  I guess after the exhibition at the Bendigo art Gallery starting on 5th March 

It is an amazing sight so lovely so full of life ....
I drove in about 3.15ish today to see....& the men were just finishing her assembly & she was being seen by anyone who drove near the fountain & park.
I walked around the block via the tourist centre & into the park & the view is seen there too.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Bee on flower New Button


These new flowers with a bee on the flower are just 4.5cm tall....do I need to say anything else.
They will be very handy for all sorts of places decorative buttons just need to be !!!

I think I missed reordering more of the new cats..& doggy which will mean a gap until Middle to late Feb.....machinist is on holidays...
So any slip ups are me getting too confident in what will sell & not.

Must leave you now & send this cat out the door & to his house !!!