Open Studios North Fife Saturday 29th, Sunday 30th April & Monday 1st May 2017!

Open Studios North Fife is this weekend and I have been incredibly busy preparing for it. 

New framed originals plus a large range of items printed with my art work as well as lots of textile jewellery and felt accessories will be available.
You can find me at Venue 25
64 Commercial Road, Ladybank, Fife, KY15 7JS
10 - 6pm each day
Full details and map on the website here

I have been excited to see how my felt artwork looks printed onto box canvases and can honestly say I am delighted with the results! The prints retain the textural and tactile look of the felt and it's hard to tell that they are not originals. 

I have four sizes available.

20 x 20 cm at £20

20 x 30 cm at £30

35 x 35 cm at £40

and

50 x 50 cm at £80

20 x 20 cm Box Canvases £20

My wee collie dog picture featured above proved to be very popular earlier this year so I have made another, again on a background of Shetland fibres. I think it looks like the sheep have got themselves over onto the headland and are thumbing their noses at the dog!

'Ba Ba Baa-Baa Baa'

£95

My son was home from Ireland for a week during the Easter break so we hived off to Skye for a few days as a family. It was a wonderful time spent together and we enjoyed incredible views out over the sea from our accommodation and were enthralled by the April showers changing the light every five minutes.

This simple felt seascape came out of my head the day we got home as a result.

'Sound of Sleat - Light on Water'

£125

Another new original is this piece below. I purchased a pile of hand dyed Shetland Fibre from The Wool Shed in Orkney earlier this year. I ordered by phone so had to trust what they sent me and I was not disappointed! The colours are stunning and I put lots of them into the background here.

'Lambing Time'

£345

I'm pleased to say that this design works especially well on a cushion cover. I have my cushions professionally produced. The image is printed onto suede effect fabric which retains the soft feel of the felt but is durable and practical as the cover can be zipped off and washed.

Cushions £38 

(Open Studios Special Price. Normally £40 online)

I also made the original artwork for this wee coo using the Shetland fibre. Now available as a mug, card, canvas print and shopper bag.

Mug and Gift Box £8.95 (Open Studios Special Price. Normally £9.95 online)

Cotton Shopper Bag £6.95

I sold out of nearly all my felt sheep jewellery during Edinburgh Yarn Festival last month so I have been very busy making more. I think I will be burning the midnight oil this week to have as good a range as possible ready.

New to my range of brooches are these mustard and grey Harris Tweed birds with the Celtic heart beads. Quite a different colour way for me to use but I had the tweed in my stash and felt sorry for it always being passed over in favour of my favourite purples and blues.

Harris Tweed Bird Brooches

£12

I have also made lots of lots of my textile and resin jewellery. 

Textile and Resin Pendants

£26

I have 16", 18" and 30" chains in stock.

Earrings, Bracelets and Shawl Pins also available.

I nearly sold out of my textile trinket boxes at EYF as well but have been able to make a new stock of all sizes in time for Open Studios. Probably not as many as usual so it's first come, first served.

I'll leave you with some photos from our recent visit to Skye. 

We found this little stream and pool near Loch Shianta. A most enchanting spot.

Loch Shianta - The Healing Loch with it's incredibly blue water. We just love this place but have never been when it's warm enough to put more than a hand in the water! I'd love to swim in it.

We love the Quiraing and always take a walk here when we visit Skye. 

Mossy wall in The Fairy Glen. Another most enchanting place.

The Fairy Glen with it's grassy tors and hillocks.

Love the colours and textures of this lichen stone.

The view from our accommodation at the Dun Flodigarry Hostel. We love the Staffin area and the Trotternish Ridge and the hostel provides great family accommodation in this area.

And lastly, the view back to the mainland and the Trotternish Ridge and the Old Man of Storr with a dusting of hail stones and snow.

If you are interested in any of my new work but can't make it along to Open Studios, I will be doing an Etsy Shop update next week, probably Wednesday 3rd May.

New Designs for Spring

I'm delighted to share some new products that I have had made using some of my artwork.

This is Bunting Boat and Rainbow. It was inspired by a boat trip we took from Elgol to Loch Coruisk on The Isle of Skye last year. The boat was strung with bunting for a wedding later in the day and we saw rainbows all along the road on our way there.

I've had it printed onto matching Mugs and Coasters.

Mug and Gift Box £9.95

The design goes all the way around the mug with no gap between the front and back and it is split over two coasters so that when you put them together you see the whole picture.

Set of Two Coasters £7.95

The image also fits perfectly onto my Zipped Pouches.

Zipped Pouches £7.95

The pouches are washable and great for all sorts of things including pens and pencils, make up, glasses, paints, crochet hooks...the list goes on!

I also revisited this sheep design and gave the mamma sheep and lambs a more colourful world to live in with the addition of some wee birds. It also makes great mugs and pouches.

New to my range are these cotton bags. They measure 38 x 40 cm and have a nice length of handle. 100% natural coloured cotton.

Cotton Bags £7.95

Also new this week are these four designs as limited edition large printed cards.

The cards measure 15 x 15 cm £3.50 each.

And last but not least, I have two new notebooks in stock.

Dragonfly Cottage and Hughie the Coo

The idea for Dragonfly Cottage came to me when I met an Outlander fan in the village of Falkland. We got talking about my work as she was buying one of my cards in a shop and she said it reminded her of a scene from the book. She suggested I make something Dragonfly themed as the next series of Outlander is called Dragonfly in Amber. This image just floated into my head!

These notebooks have plain pages, perfect for sketching, painting or just keeping notes.

I will have all these and more with me at Falkland Craft Market on Saturday 5th March and at Edinburgh Yarn Festival on March 18th and 19th. You can also find everything in my Etsy shop here

Open Studios North Fife 2015 on 2nd, 3rd and 4th May

I'll start this blog post off with a nice relaxing sunset taken on the Isle of Skye the week before last. 

Yes with just a few weeks to go until Open Studios, we still managed to sneak in a quick trip to Skye as we have done the past few years. It's such a great time to go. No midgies, pleasant Spring sunshine and not too busy either.

We had a great time and even though we've been to Skye a few times now we still found things to do that we hadn't done before.

One thing I'd wanted to do for a long time was take the boat trip over to Loch Coruisk from Elgol.

We took my mugs along for a wee photo shoot on the beach.

As you can see there are now six designs available.

Below is the latest design and will be available from me during Open Studios this year. My Mugs, Coasters and Notebooks are also available from three different gift shops around Scotland.

Little Thistle in Dunfermline

Wild Thistle in Braemar as well as at Braemar Castle Shop and 

Ballachulish Visitors Centre

Also new for Open Studios this year are a range of printed cushions.

Thistle Bothy Cushion

£38

Available to order here 

Other designs will also be available soon.

I also have some new heart shaped Pendants and Earrings that I am working on just now.

Pendants £24

Earrings £18

I have even managed to make some alternatives to purple and turquoise!

All of these will make their debut at Open Studios and be available online from around the 6th of May.

I've made lots of bracelets and rings as well.

Bracelets £20 and Rings £18

This week I am finishing off a batch of these Felt Heart Pendants in Blues and Turquoise. 

I also plan to do something with this hand dyed silk but I'm not sure what yet. It's gorgeous just as it is!

Staying on a purple theme, I have this landscape to finish.

 I finished this little one last week. It's 15 x 15 cm and is also available as a printed cushion.

So it is going to be an incredibly busy two weeks now. Hope to see some of you there.

I am at my usual venue, 64 Commercial Road, Ladybank.

You can download a free brochure from the Open Studios website and find directions to my venue here