I see the Bridge!

OK so now what do I do?

Sad but true this little blog has been neglected in the last week or so whilst Lilly Cottage went through it's 'rebirth'.  I think that is the best way to look at it, change is good and now I only have to please myself ( not that it was hard to go on the way we always did at LC but that ship has sailed).  I have a feeling this will be a metaphor laden post.

My ? problem now is what to do with this blog.  I started this blog so that I wasn't filling the 'shop' blog up with my tales of everyday. When there was two of us at Lilly Cottage I would always worry that I wasn't portraying the right message about the sort of business we had if I talked about home things, or showed half finished projects and let my guard down a little.  I didn't want to 'speak' for Laura if I wanted to add a link to the sidebar unless I had checked it with her first.  I did call myself the blog hog as I wrote the majority of the 200 plus posts on the LIlly Cottage blog but in truth I don't know whether Laura could actually find something to rabbit on about the way I can.

Laura does a lot of blog reading and favours the home/ designer decorater blogs with few words and lots of lovely pictures, so I think for a while there I was trying to do the same sort of thing ( even though we are not that sort of shop/blog). Recently I added in some 'fun' posts like Wordless Wednesday and Find it Friday.

My question now is, do I keep this blog or do I merge the two back together now that I am the sole LIlly Cottager.  What do you think I should do....do you think I should just keep to a few OK well a lot of pretty pictures on Lilly C. or should I allow myself to wander around in my comfy PJ's over there every so often?

I think I probably know the answer but would like the few people who read this blog to let me know their solution.

Meanwhile here are two paintings I am working on, the smaller is all bar finished and the peacock has quite a bit more work to do yet but I thought I would give you a sneak peek.

 

 

 

 

 

Speak to you soon,ttfn kiss noises LInda

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Happy St Patricks day!!

Happy St Patricks Day. 

I hope you found a little luck today and perhaps a few gold coins at the end of a rainbow! Now wouldn't that be nice.

ttfn Kiss Noises Linda

Mary Monday

 

I know it is still Monday somewhere in the world.  This week I thought I would see what you think of Mary Monday and here resemblance to the artwork of one of my favourite artists Diane Duda.  Now this isn't a wonderful picture, Mary was pulling a face ( as she is want to do), but it is a really good one to compare with this gorgeous picture of Dianes.

 

How sweet is this picture it is available as a print from her etsy shop here.  There are lots more that look a bit like Mary and lots of other ones as well.  Go and have a look you will love it.  

Her lovely blog is  here.  

So what do you think? Do you see the resemblance?

TTFN Kiss Noises Linda 

Shabby sailing ships and Extraordinary Owls.

Ok so I am probably repeating myself, if you have been over to Lilly Cottage you might have already seen some of these pictures.  These are some of  my new creations that are going to The Handmade Expo and The Grand doll and Bear show on the weekend. 

None the less, here are some of them again...I really really like them whichI know I should do since I made them but sometimes you make things and they are just awful....that is when you have EITTTS which I have mentioned before.  

 

A shabby sailing ship heading right.  These are an adaption of my wall hangings that are in my Lollishop ( click on the button at the side) and on Etsy.  I will be making more of these ( after I make a set for my eldest daughter) as I love the way the colours blend together...not really shabby but very sweet.

 

One sailing ship going the other way...hopefully they are mirror images.

 

Miss Mermaid with face!

 

Mr Owl and Miss Lavinia.

 

A quick snap of two of my new bags before they were thrown, I mean placed into the suitcase to go to Ipswich.

 

Off to sew some more Shamrocks for Tuesday ( St. Patricks day) will show you how to do it later!!

Kiss Noises Linda

Wordless Wednesday

 

Mermaids and Mademoiselles.

Now I am not sure about that spelling but I just pressed spell check and it didn't correct it...so i must of spelt it right...go figure.

Well in an attempt to have something different and bright and colourful for our new displays and for THE HANDMADE EXPO  on Saturday at Ipswich showgrounds from 8am to 2pm, just in case you were wondering, I have been fiddleing around with some new doll designs.  The first one Miss Mermaid I have been thinking about for a while and whilst she is Ok she is not quite how I envisioned...it is her face I am not sure about. 

 

Of course now looking at that picture I think it looks OK.  I usually do my dolls faces last, much to the consternation of my children....I can make a beautiful doll, painting, embroidery whatever and if I haven't added the eyes that is all the children can focus on. I think it was the fact I was so pleased about the way her body and hair had worked out, I had made some changes to her face and her sparkly bra bit and was worried I had mucked it up.

 

See I love this photo I took before we left Lilly Cottage on Sunday...before I added her face...I might have to go back and take some photos now she has a finished face...such a nice spot!

 

 

Her tail is made from some hand dyed and handprinted fabric from Trishalan Designs ...guess how she made this print?  I'm not telling, you will have to guess.  As soon as I saw this fabric I knew it was a Mermaids tail, i told everyone who would listen and they just smiled and nodded.

I beaded the tail with the sequins after she was made up and I love the way her tail flicks out and sparkles. The lovely green 'seaweed' in her hair is also hand dyed threads from Trishalan Designs (this is the blog link) ...Trish said that my comment about it being perfect for seaweed was the nicest comment any one had made about her threads.  I am thinking she wasn't telling the truth!

I think I do like her after all, the mermaid not Trish, I mean I do like Trish but I wasn't talking about her.  Hot on the tail of my Mermaid hahaha I was trying to create a french style doll....or something a little Louise Brooks ish and this time I did the hair and the face first!! She is waiting to be dressed at present but I love her face....

 

Wow that really is close up isn't it....

 

I shall show you the rest when she is dressed.  Both dolls will be part of a whole range...cushions and bunting to follow...wait until you see my black and white bunting....love it!!!

Notice my Lollishop button?? Click on there and it will take you straight to my Lollishop and all the other treasures on the Lollishop website.....don't forget your cup  of tea first.....you could be there a while!

ttfn Kiss Noises Linda

 

 

Mary Monday .....

This week Mary Monday was joined by her brother and sister as they felt the groove at the school disco.  Mary thought she looked particularly cool and was upset that I wouldn't let her have a glittery sticker for her tummy!

 

 

It was of course 'Disco' theme.....they wouldn't normally be allowed out dressed like this...that's my job!

 

I think her big sister looks gorgeous but unfortunately some little cow told her she looked ugly and that is the only comment that stuck with her the entire night...she was so Disco....what a talented hair and makeup artist she must have!!

 

Have a merry Monday

Kiss Noises man,  Linda

 

 

This is what inspires me.....

Well it is supposed to inspire me....I think it does.  This is my view when I look up from the computer...inspiring...

 

 

 

 

 

Yep that's what inspires me...lots and lots of stuff!!! What is around your desk that inspires you?

Kiss Noises Linda

How to make a cute but ugly cupboard look pretty.

I fell in love with this little cupboard in one of my favourite antique shops and put it on layby without having too good a look at it.  I loved the top bit with all the little draws but that was all I could really see.  When we got it home it was an interesting colour, not white, not cream, not blue....sort of an old bluey white and parts of the top of the cupboard where lifting off and there was newspaper print and dirty marks on it that would not come off with scrubbing.

I wanted to take the cupboard out to Lilly Cottage straight away as part of the new display but it was just toooo shabby.  It would take an age to sand it all back and paint it, if it didn't lift off when we were sanding.  The answer? Inspired by the newspaper print stuck on the cupboard i went for a mini decoupage look.  Not as many messy steps and it isn't perfect but it really does have character!

 

This is the bottom part of the cupboard, it is like a little hutch, DH removed the top so I could have clear access.  it looks pretty revolting right now. I used some wonderful scrapbooking pages I had and ripped them into pieces of different sizes and then popped them in a basket.  That bit is very relaxing, pulling paper apart.

 

I used a impasto gel medium here, I use it on all my mixed media pieces, you can mix paint with it for texture and it makes a wonderful glue and glaze...

This little red glue spreader is the best ever invention!!  i love it you can get a nice thin even coat of gel, so much better than a paintbrush and no loose hairs to deal with.  Would you believe it came from the art shop in a pack of six or so for kids.  Now that I have so many I can feel a class coming on...so much easier using the spreader.  I spread the gel on the top of the cupboard and a little on the piece of paper, I wanted to use so that it would stick where it overlaps.

I then smoothed it out and placed a little gel over the top ( there is usually enough on the spreader to do this).  I kept laying pieces over each other and if I liked the colour combination, stuck them down.

 

 

 

Continue until you have covered the whole area or at least the area that will be seen.

Now move on to the other half of the cupboard, a bit trickier for the top because of the angles. Here is the cupboard without the cute little drawers.

 

 

But I did it....a woman possessed i tell you....a woman on a mission....and it is addictive...I could have covered the entire cupboard if only I had the time and the energy, so I stuck with the original plan.

 

Now to put it back together and give the paper a coat of gloss finish. Of course this fix may not last long and it can not get wet but I think it will suit it's purpose quite well.

 

Next step lug it out to Lilly Cottage where I envisage it being filled with all our art and sewing pieces...pity the Lavender won out on the day but it does look good in place, what do you think?

 

 

Yes I know most of my work is covered up but that's OK, I am liking it just the way it is.

Wonder what I can attack next?

Kiss Noises Linda.