I hadn`t done a new swap

in along while -so when Robin commented

on my bird on a tree stump assemblage , i asked her if she

wanted to trade it for something . It`s always nice to meet

new fellow artists and make new friends along the way .

Robin got this yesterday ...

And i got mine this morning - and had to share it .

Beautifully wrapped ..

Along with this gorgeous tag !!

This is it .... Isn`t it a gorgeous assemblage !! ?

It looks like a small fluted tin , sprayed painted with card

placed on the back - am i right Robin ? ;o)

I love the girl image - and the tassle trim on the bottom !!

This will take pride of place in my studio Robin !

Thanks so much for the trade - and i do

hope that you enjoy yours too !!

I will be taking a bloggy break - for a few days ..

my other half has booked off work , and we have

things around our home to complete , and we may

go off for a day somewhere ..

So see you all soon !!

xxxxx

Owl on a branch keyring

Hand sewn with honey soft leather

lightly stuffed

Tree branch leather scrap piece

fabric owl cut from material -

stuck with fabric modge podge

I decided to wrap my Christmas presents

the other day - yes - i have them all -

well apart from two more possible ones - and i`m done !! ;o)

The mood stayed with me , so i looked at

what stash i had to create with .

Various blank cards / toppers that i`d had for

a while , so i made these 4 cards ..

Then i created some gift tags -

the thin card , is from my roll of wrapping paper-

would you believe it - it was a roll and near the end

was this brown card to keep it in a tube shape -

perfect i thought to recycle into tags ! ;o)

So after folding , cutting gluing and 2

hours later - i had made 40 of them !

All are folded , so you can write your message inside

and has vintage green wool

Just a few examples of them ...

These 3 recycled from last years cards ..

Today is Remembrance Day .

While anyone - and everyone remembers those

who fell and gave the ultimate sacrifce -

and all those who were injured , and who are now serving

and in foreign lands today . I thought that i would do

something a little bit different - and i have an interview

with a mother and her son , who is serving in Iraq

at this present time .

Deborah - of mid life poet kindly said she would like

to take part after i got in touch by email and her

son SPC. Ryan graced us with his presence this way too .

I have not known Deborah , for that long , so asking her

was taking a risk , but they both kindly agreed -

so i would like to say a huge (( Thank-you to both ))

Unless you get the chance to actually talk to a

soldier , even just to say Thank-you . I thought this would

shed a ray of light on and give an idea of what

their lives are like and their thoughts .

So i hope you appreciate their answers - and take away

with you something positive ;o)

Firstly here`s Deborah ...

Can you tell us , what you thought when you heard the news that your son Ryan was being posted to Iraq ?

Ryan enlisted during wartime, so I was expecting him to be deployed, especially since he chose the Infantry. He was always interested in the military growing up and was in ROTC in high school, so it was not a surprise that he enlisted. My father is an army WWII veteran and Ryan spent a lot of time listening to his grandpa's stories about landing on the beach at Normandy.

A mother/son relationship is usually a strong bond - has this helped you in any way to cope with the seperation ?

Ryan and I have always had a very close relationship and yes it certainly does help, and it makes me miss him even more. When he first arrived in Iraq and I heard some of his stories, I was in shock, but the truth is, you do get used to it. Now when they have a black out, I search the web for any news, and I know that after six hours or so, no news is good news. I completely believe in what he is doing there, and knowing that he believes in it too allows me to accept any consequence. The army has given my son the chance to become the man he always wanted to be.

Have you a message to give those out there at all?

Regardless of political stance and opinion of the war, even if you do not support our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, please support the troops serving. They believe with their lives in what they are doing, and in protecting our freedoms at all cost. If you see someone in uniform, stop and say thank you, shake their hand, and offer to buy them a cup of coffee. That means the world to them.

SPC. Ryan is 22 years old , and has been in the Army

for only 19 months . It is his first tour in Iraq - and has been

there for nearly a year .

Here is what he could say ....

Was there any doubt that you would follow in your fathers footsteps as a serving soldier , and can you say , why you joined up ?


My father didn't serve, but my Grandpa did, but I joined simply because it felt like the right thing to do … and they were hiring lol

Can you describe a " typical " day in the life of a soldier ?


The daily life of an infantry soldier varies every day, some days we get up at 0300 and stay out searching houses till 1800, others we get up 0700 and do our hygiene, eat breakfast and go out in the city for a few hours; sometimes we get hit and we fight back, but most days we come back safe and sound, then we hit up the gym - got to stay in shape, but we spend about 70% of our time out in the city and sometimes we are out there for a week or more at a time, in a old building. Sorry I have to be vague.

What things do you miss the most , being so far away from home ?



My family of course, and my fiancée. Believe it or not, the first thing I did notice while I was home on leave was the air; it made me feel like a child at Christmas … it smelt sweet......and a cold beer.

How do you spend your free time ? - As i would imagine that total relaxation is impossible as you`ll always be aware and alert ?


I usually like to catch up on sleep or talk to my mom and my fiancée, and I'm hooked on that show "Supernatural", but we all goof around like brothers (we practically are). We wrestle, play football, basketball, box and a ton of pranks.

Has being out there , taught you anything - if so , what ?


Yes it has; live life to the fullest, don't waste what God gave you! I have learned that I don't need all the fancy things in life, just the people I love.

Can you say , that you / all of the soldiers out there , are making a positive difference out there ? . I only ask this , as reports here in the UK are limited and tell the public only the negative news , that there has been , yet more tragic deaths of soldiers .



Yes, I know we are making a positive difference. The children here cheer us on as we go down the street. We have rebuilt and trained their military and they can stand on their own two feet after we showed them how. They now have structure in this country. Every soldier that has given the ultimate sacrifice here died knowing he was making a difference and truly believed in what we are doing for this country and their families knew that and they are proud of their boys and I am forever grateful for knowing them. They are lost but not forgotten.

You`ve been out there nearly a year now ... What will be one of the first things you do when you get home from this tour ?


The first thing I'm going to do is a secret. You can ask my mom about it afterwards. I'm going to give my girl the biggest kiss in the world. Then I want some good home cooking.

Is there anything else you might like to add , or i may have forgotten to ask ?? Or maybe what you thought when you were asked to do this interview ;o)

I wish I could add more on our daily activities, but I can write a whole book on that … any other person in the military knows what I mean, lol, but this is my job and I love it.


I hope that you will all be safe out there , no doubt all your familes will keep telling you all this - and i can take this personal opportunity to say . that you`re doing a brilliant job in difficult circumstances . We`re all very grateful that there are such people willing to fight , protect and serve in foreign lands . And just a thank you seems such a feeble word to express our gratitude .



Actually, when I'm in the airport and I'm approached by a complete stranger and they tell me thank you, it warms my heart, and usually they are veterans or family of a veteran and we talk forever. Thank you and take care. SPC.Ryan

Edit : i have posted some prescheduled

posts , due to computer problems !!

Canvas tag

3 x 5.5 "

Cut from canvas roll and painted ,

then i sewed a piece of sheer material

and a dyed crochet piece over that .

Punched a hole , added various fibres ,

and a vintage brooch pin , because the crochet

piece has holes and is only attached around the edges ,

you can remove the brooch

and add another for a different look .

Christmas felt robin ornament

size 2.75 x 2.25 "

This chubby fella took 2 hours -

as i made the pattern from scratch , all the pieces

are seperate and hand sewn , same on both sides

and then stuffed .

This is my last post - for a few days .

Not to go into too many personal details -

my partner is off Friday / Monday -

so we`ll be doing other things and we`re trying to

sort out our ISP - whether we can keep our Internet

connection or have to cancel it ;o(

So i hope you`ll come back next week -

as i have something special lined up for

Remembrance Day !!

xxxxxxxxxxx

" Bloom " decorative pillowcover

size 11 x 8 "

I saw something similar on the friskars website ,

so i wanted to make a smaller version.

Made with heavyweight olive cord material

the cut circles are sewn in half - all from vintage

material then placed on and sewn in a petal

flower shape . The center has a vintage button

and doily scrap

I wanted the pillowcover to be very simple -

as i have not made a one before -

so i just did a button flap closure with

2 large- ish vintage green buttons .

I think it turned out pretty good ;o)

Do you need to look at the sky -

To see a rainbow ??

3 day collection of local autumn walks -

I bent down to photograph something else -

and saw this as well - i`m afraid it looked

like it had died there .

I picked some of this - to use in my artwork






And i thought it was too cold outside for these ..

Mushrooms in my garden ...

Dewy clover ..

chippy paint and rusted letterbox -

my favourite photo ;o)




And look who`s keeping warm inside this leaf

I hope you too are enjoying what autumn has to offer !

Happy Halloween everyone !!

Stay safe and enjoy the weekend !!

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Time to show you some more baking

i did last weekend :o)

Homemade - Swiss roll -

or i think in the USA it`s jello roll ?

It had been years since i made one with jam ,

i didn`t have any - so i used lemon curd

instead - I got some help later on - as you`ll see -

my other half videod me rolling it !!

When i was just going to snap pictures for you ;o)

Preheat oven to 200 f

Whisk together 3 eggs and 3oz caster sugar

until it forms peaks , then slowly fold in 3oz flour .

Pour into a tin lined with greased proof paper

my size tin is 12 x 9 " - an inch in depth .

It will only take 10 minutes to cook -

so don`t go doing something else ;o)

While mine was cooking -

i prepared another sheet of paper

sprinkled with sugar - no caster sugar left

it will look better with that though ;o)

I then put 4 Tblsp of lemon curd ( or jam ) and warmed

it in the microwave - to spread better .

10 minutes later ...

You have to be quick with the next stages -

Take it out of the tin and place the cooked side on the sugar -

then quickly peel away the paper .Spread the warm

chosen filling on - Then it`s rolling it up !

Not bad huh ??









Here i am rolling it up - ahem -

excuse the mess - and if i`d have known

i was going to make an appearance on here -

I would have tidied myself up a little !!

I`m not one for being in the limelight , only

on the odd occasion - and my Christmas video message -

i do have an idea for that this year - he he !!

And hey - it was late sunday morning -

that`s my excuse and i`m sticking to it !!

Leave to cool and slice -

and enjoy !!

This only lasted 2 days ..

the day after was better when the

filling had soaked into the sponge slightly .

Looking for some pink this morning out on

my walk - for the final Pink Thoughts

Thursday ..

I came across this ..... Not quite at the pink stage

but ...

A hydrangea bloom - in several stages of decay .

Which made me think of life - and how we have

but a short time here - to grow and bloom ourselves .

Each of us is at a different stage of development

and trying to do what we can everyday while

we are here .

So it goes without saying -

Each day is a gift - use it wisely -

Be happy with yourself - and spread it around -

Love what you do - if not - change it .

Make a difference- however small it is .

Just be - you -

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

And i`ll take this opportunity now -

to thank all who purchased items

from me - to help raise funds for

Breast cancer awareness month !

" Autumn leaf " banner .

Length 72 " - 6 feet .

This is my first banner i created yesterday .

There are so many versions about - and i did not

want to do a paper one . I thought this version

would last and can be used year upon year .

Example of it hung on my fireplace .

2 of each leaf colour - which is a soft velvet

material - sewn onto vintage aubergine

seam binding .

Each leaf has a brown felt backing .

beaded fruits either side - 2 " long

an apple and a pear - which can be

removed and replaced with something else

In the center is an aged tag - 4.5" x 2.5 "

with a vintage owl playing card sewn on -

this is removable also .

" Autumn Acorn " - necklace

We turned our clocks back this weekend -

so autumn is officially here . So to celebrate

it - i created a necklace .

I`ve wanted a large real acorn for months , but

i have not managed to find one - so i decided to

make myself one - out of fimo .

Acorn size 1.5 " - painted and sealed - and the nut

part has gloss on it . The leaf is from a copper brooch -

a hammered effect and to get the pin off - i soaked it in boiled water

- and it just came off ;o) Then i cleaned it and drilled a hole

in the top .

Photo - done with the flash and is clickable ..

The loop on the acorn is from a metal screw

eye that i carefully screwed in before i baked it.

The oven temperature is so low - it didn`t melt the metal ;o)

Then strung them both onto a piece of

faux suede thong .

Leather owl coin purse

Size 5 x 3 "

Carrying on my obsession with owls - i made this ..

Hand sewn from embossed brown leather

Popper enclosure

Red suede beak / wings and suede eyes

Have a hoot of a day !! ;o)

" Bird On A Tree stump "

Assemblage on a wooden coaster-

Diameter size 3.75 "

My fertile mind came up with this a

few days ago . I had a wooden coaster

and i wondered what to do with it -

and this is the result . Green felt and a tiny amount

of stuffing , hand sewn felt tree stump ...

faux moss , real acorn , berries

and a mushroom

And a tiny bird ..

We had a large carrier bag of apples

given by our neighbours from their tree -

- so i`ve been trying to use them and i did some baking

yesterday and made use of the oven while

it was on . I`ve been making scones recently - so i

used that recipe ..

Folded apple scones -

Peel , core 3 small apples and cook with a little water

and sugar in the microwave - i added fresh nutmeg -

but cinnamon goes well with apples too

-while that`s cooking -

Put 8oz S.R flour , pinch salt , tblsp sugar in

a bowl and rub in 3oz butter until like breadcrumbs -

then add milk to bind and knead for a minute .

Cut dough into 4 pieces

Roll out into a rough square

Place cooked apples in center

Fold over corners as shown -

milk dabbed onto corners to stick together .

Onto a greased baking sheet - glaze with milk

oven - 200F for approx 15 mins

Here they are - puffed out and golden -

Serve on their own , dust with icing sugar

cream / ice cream and enjoy !!

Alternatively -

add half a small tub of chopped glace cherries

and cut out - or omit the sugar and add 3oz mature

grated cheese - these are my cheese scones -

Yummy !! ;o)

" Doily Nest" assemblage

Hoop size - 5 " dia .

i`m always trying to come up with ideas

of how to include a nest in my work .

Here is my latest idea .

Using one of my many crochet doilies ,

that fitted inside the hoop , made

a nest from sisal and sewed it onto a

real twig and then onto the doily . Added a

couple of feathers - the 2 side shot photos are clickable

The "egg " was a long almond shaped felted bead

that i squashed down a little .

An alternative background -

when it`s hung - whatever wallpaper

you have up will show through .

I have seen fabrics displayed this way too

using different sized hoops -

and you could even do the same with your

doily collection .

Pink Thoughts Thursday again

for Breast cancer awareness month

And an apt song - by a great artist -

Many thanks to all who have supported me

by purchasing items and i think there are still

copies of Sherry`s zine HERE

if you cannot support this - maybe you

could be a superhero for a day in another way ;o)

I`ve been sewing once again -

and i wanted to make some

lined zipper purses - so i found an

easy tutorial online and away i went .

Green floral purse

Size 5.5" x 3.5 "

using vintage material and a 5 " vintage zipper

Lined with a newer striped material

Then after i got the hang of it - doing it

the first time always takes the longest !

I made a larger one - with this owl material

i had bought ;o)

From Timeless treasures - Tossed owls -

and so very cute !! ;o)

7 x 6 "

The link to make it is HERE

if you want to have a go yourself !

Just a quick saturday project i

did , i always try to do one thing or

start something new on a weekend .

I have recycled a coffee tin

for storage , and seen so many other

versions about , i decided to have a go myself.





Spray painted the lid and vintage wallpaper insert .

And the same paper on the outside with

trim on the edges .






Ready to store many of my scattered notions !

" Butterfly tree "

9" high - pot size 4.5 cm .

A recycled tiny plastic pot from a

cacti plant . I placed a few stones in the

base , florist oasis and sisal fibres -

2 small leaves and lady bird .

Arranged real twigs in the oasis ..

printed out some butterflies and

mounted onto card and cut them out.

To keep them in place on the tree - or

move them about - i stuck a tiny peg on the

back .

And there you have an easy simple display ;o)

You could also just place dried twigs in a vase

with the butterflies on too as a larger version .

Enjoy your weekend everyone !!

And a Happy Thanks giving to my Canadian readers !!

xxxxxxxxxxxx

As a part of October`s Breast Cancer awareness

month Sherry is doing pink thoughts thursday .

I think it`s just where you post a photo - with pink

in - obviously ;o) and say what comes to mind .

This is done every thursday throughout october

So i`ve decided to take part in this weeks .

I sifted through my past photos and haven`t shown these

before - and i did notice that many of them are

nature . I do appreciate it more , since i have aged ,

and like the butterfly below , i seem to gravitate towards

everything of what mother nature has to offer .

There is nothing i love more than walking

around and actually looking at what there is -

even the smallest bud that hasn`t quite opened .

I hope you enjoyed my contribution for this week -

and if you wish to take part -

do let me know and i will visit you - thanks !!