A Blogging Break and Projects...... "Done & Dusted"

Yes Blogging Friends; my husband and I are loading up our vehicle and taking some time out to catch up with friends who we only see, once a year.

Being early summer; we look forward to four lovely weeks of fresh air, barbeque's, walks on the beach and pleasant company.

No phones; no computers; no deadlines......but....there will be a little bit of stitching to keep me from going rusty.

However; I do have a nice lot of my latest work to show you before I log off.

Remember this pile from my stash?

I got into it and created some mixed media Decorators Pillows.....this one is a pretty blue;

I dragged out my stamps and played with this one....

and...this gorgeous lady has been sitting on my desk looking at me for ages. Now; she has centre stage on this elegant cushion..........

I still had some nice cups left from my last round of pin cushion making, so I dabbled with these;

Then; I got a little bit crazy for making up some hession, (burlap to our USA sisters). These are all lavender pouches....mmmmm they do smell nice!

AND....to-day I received my copy of the latest Handmade magazine 'Christmas Gift-Giving', vol:28, no:7 with two of my designs published inside.....

'Antique Roses' Stitchery

'Garden Dreaming' Stitcheries

This is the one to look out for! The little bag on the left of the front cover is also one of my left over projects.....thankyou Handmade!

Okey; it's "goodbye from me" for four weeks....don't forget me will you.......I'll be back!

Vintage Goodness

Hi There Blogging Friends! Recently; I joined Mary Green's 'Collage Coterie' On-Line Class and was delighted to be introduced to a new friend. Our first lesson was to create a torn paper background then brush "GESSO" over it to create an aged look.

I had seen Gesso being referred to during other instructions but I used to just ignore it and use white folk art paint instead.

However; this time I felt it was time to discover this "new friend" and I am glad I did.

Below is my first attempt at the lesson; I used a paper mache tag then; covered it with my torn papers and brushed them over with Gesso. I love the way the Gesso gave the background a bit of a "spooky" look. The second part of the lesson was to work with appropriate image sizes for the piece of art so; I chose this sweet little girl who is heading off to bed with her favourite toy. I think her daddy is saying "Good Night and God Bless" and she has turned to acknowledge him. Or....maybe a ghostly figure whispered that!!!

My second attempt was also on a paper mache tag. This lesson wasn't so much about using the Gesso; it was about adding charcoal smudged edges to the images to make them stand out more.

I had worked on my tag and all was well.....but then.......I accidentally slopped a blob of Gesso onto my Bride's dress...oh dear.....I tried to remove it but it got worse.....I wiped a hole in the paper image!

So; after a bit of wondering what to do I grabbed a good dose of my new friend "Gesso" in a brush and completely covered the bride's dress then; I swirled a pattern all over with a pin. A few dots of Gesso on the bridal veil and the image was saved. You see; Gesso allows you to sculp a little....why didn't I go buy this fabulous product before ???

I am so looking forward to doing more of Mary's course to discover more new friends.

This love of the mixed media vintage look; which includes paper, fabric, stamping, chalks and inks is running through my veins at the moment....I can't get enough of it!

I love surfing the net to see what everyone is doing and recently I came across a gorgeous blog; Cape Cod Rambling Rose, which is operated by a very nice lady by the name of Louise. I fell instantly in love with a piece of Louise's work; so I purchased it from her Etsy shop. It is just so nice to see other people's work up close and I love Louise's book of fabric, lace and paper.

Louise also sent me these divine antique 'Cabinet Cards' . What a joy it is to see these up close....I haven't seen anything like them here in Australia...have you?

All this vintage inspiration got me very excited this past week, so my dear friend Sue and I went "op" shopping to seek out vintage finds.

This is what we brought home.....

beautiful cut-out work...

delightful cotton hand towels...

and "lotsa" lace and damask cloths...mmmmm they are nice!

All have been washed and ironed and are ready for me to make something special out of them.

Do tell....what is your latest vintage love?