A New Week and New Supplies

I find these colours so uplifting and on rummaging through my stash I realise I have quite a lot of them! So I'm planning to make a background panel today featuring all these lovelies plus  some sari silk snippets for extra texture.

When I go shopping for supplies I am always drawn to the same colours so buying a mixed bag or a mixed skein of something helps me to move out of my comfort zone and work with colours I may not have thought of using.

I was in Perth on Saturday and took the opportunity to visit Elena Costello's most fabulous shop at Bridgend. Elena sells the most beautiful yarns and fibres in a shop/studio that makes you want to move in and never leave!

All my purchases came in this cute little newspaper bag that was handmade in India by street children.

Here's a wee shot of some threads I have at the ready. I try and keep my work table tidy by putting the threads away in a wee drawer but some colours are just permanently in use.

Last week I made up a batch of bookmarks to send over to Oban so I was getting busy with my paints and teabag tissue. Teabag tissue is great for using in mixed media projects. If you iron it onto Vilene it becomes like a paper and a fabric which can be painted and stitched. 

Above is a piece ironed onto Vilene with washes of turquoise and purple in simple sweeping strokes.

Below is the same effect but the teabag tissue has been ironed onto purple commercial felt after it has been painted. The purple felt gives more depth to the colours and shows up the texture of the paper more. 

I used the above piece for my bookmarks and still have this piece below to work into with my sewing machine.

And here is a lovely new bundle of sari silk yarn waiting to be put through the embellisher machine along with other fibres, yarns and fabrics.

So who knows what will come out of all these new supplies! Designing things on paper has it's place but you can't beat a 'play day', just going with the flow and letting the creative process take over.

The Nights Have Fair Drawn In

As we move from darker day to darker day through this odd time of the year when it's too warm to be Winter but too dark and wet to be Autumn, I find keeping busy creatively a real solace.

Most of this week has been spent making stock for a wee shop in Oban called Room 15.

I did manage to make some extra sheep pendants for my Etsy shop as well though.

 Most of my framed pieces go out to stockists but I have made a few available online too.

Sunset Behind The Croft

£40

 Red Poppy Cottage

£46

My tweed supplies are dwindling so the boxes are becoming few and far between.

Harris Tweed and Felt Box

£30

Smaller Tweed and Felt Box 

£25

Moontide Pendant

£20

My Folksy Shop is also full of colourful makes, some of which you can see below. Just click the picture to go to my shop.

And when I am not busy making new things, you will find me here.

Is it a dog? Is it a bear? No it's a big fluffy beanbag! and once my children have stopped fighting over who is sitting on it and gone off to bed, it's mine!

Art Tokens and Other News

The lovely people at ArtTokens.co.uk are working very hard to promote their new site.

Art Tokens are like Book Tokens, but for art!
Go and check out the site and sign up if you are an artist or designer/maker looking for more outlets for your work. (You can also play 'spot the sheep' on the front page!)
ArtTokens.co.uk


Talking of sheep I am working as hard and as fast as I can to produce more pendants for both my online shops as well as some of my outlets here in Scotland.

One of the sites I use to sell online has undergone a massive overhaul and is looking fantastic.
You can visit my shop at Folksy.com here and see how snazzy it is looking. 
Among other new listings are a set of ten printed cards including two new designs.

The cards are selling for £2.50 each or five for £10. When you buy ten, however, you save a bit more by getting them for £19.50. I have had customers telling me they look great framed and others giving the set as a gift.


On a completely different note, I found this map of the world the other day and was showing it to my children. I found myself saying, "Oh, I've sent one of my pieces to that state and that state and that state" so I thought it would be fun to trawl through my Etsy sales and put a dot in each state that I have sent things too. Wow!

It has certainly improved our geography of America. Now we need to find a map of the world!

The Handmade Show

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Craft Fair at Pitcairngreen Village Hall on Saturday. I think it was the busiest one ever! I certainly had a great day and really enjoyed meeting customers old and new.

I was up at 6.30 this morning making lists of everything I need to do this week in order to be ready for The Handmade Show this Sunday.

Sunday 6th November 2011

Perth Concert Hall

Mill Street 

Perth

11-5pm

Free Entry

I absolutely LOVE taking my work out to fairs and shows and because I don't do it every weekend I never get fed up with it and always get really excited about upcoming events.

The Handmade Show looks set to be an extravaganza of talented designer-makers from around Scotland and beyond with a wide range of arts and crafts on display. I have 'met' one of my fellow exhibitors via Facebook and I am really looking forward to meeting her and her work in real life.

Alison Moore hails from Orkney and brings with her a stunning array of individually handmade jewellery pieces made from copper and sterling silver.

I'll be back on here later in the week with photos of new things to tempt you along on Sunday.

Meanwhile if you are on Facebook, why not become a fan of the new Open Studios North Fife Facebook page. This will keep you up to date with local events that our participants are involved in throughout the year as well as updates on the main event as it draws nearer.

October Makes

It's the October school holidays here in Scotland and I cannot believe how quickly they have come around. Seems like no time at all since the children were heading back to school after the summer! It's always difficult to fit crafting time in around holidays so I was delighted when my Mum said she would take my children for a few days to let me get on with some work. They all had a great time and I put all my child free hours to good use.

I've been making some small felt landscapes ready for my upcoming fairs.

(See Upcoming Events on the right hand side of the page for details)

This vibrant piece below is available in my Folksy shop and has been featured on Folksy's front page this week.

These little snowy scenes below have been a delight to make. I had one go off to Alaska last week and had a nice email from the customer to say she loves it and that she hopes to visit Scotland some day and trace some of her ancestry. Coincidently, I happen to have family with the same surname as hers so who knows, we might be distantly related! I love the connections we can make across oceans and continents via the internet.

Snowy Cottage and Sheep £35

In keeping with the season I've spent hours making lots of leaf shaped brooches this week. Here's a sneak peak at the cut felt pieces waiting to be stitched.

These leaves are not just cut from ready made felt. I use the finest hand dyed merino and silk fibres to make the felt then cut and match each piece, making each one different. The hand dyed fibres add to the uniqueness of the finished brooches.

These mauve and green shades are so pleasant together.

You can find these for sale in both my Etsy and Folksy shops as well as at Studio 222 in Newburgh, An Cnoc in Crieff, Zigzags in Dunkeld and Room 15 in Oban.

If there is a colour you would particularly like, just ask and I can list one especially for you

aileenclarkecrafts@yahoo.com

The birds are all made with Harris Tweed that I brought back from our summer holiday in the Outer Hebrides.

The wing pieces are handmade felt to add contrast and texture.

Brooches are all £12

I'm really looking forward to my upcoming fairs. I've got a new card stand for my stall and can't wait to see how it looks.

Right now I have to go and bake cakes. Flap jacks and fairy cakes I think.......and a big apple crumble! 

As The Season Turns

After our unexpected heat wave last week the season has definitely started to turn with the leaves changing colour and the wind whipping them up into swirling dervishes that dance across the grass. With all that sunshine we had though, some of the flowers have come out for a late showing which adds extra colour to the garden. 

We had a lovely weekend here with a few friends round. My son and his friend made us the most delicious Mocktails (non alcoholic cocktails) and we enjoyed some music and song as well.

The weather last week was perfect for drying felt outside....

 ....and for watching cows watching me!

My wee boxes have been flying off all over the world.

I made this one below with Harris Tweed sides and thick green felt for the walls and base. 

It worked really well so I made one more like it.

This one is available here

This middle sized one went off to the USA last week.

I reinforced the sides with ice cream tub plastic to make it more robust and plan to do the same with the bigger version that holds the cards (see the last blog post for photos).

I just need to get the time to make it!

Something I did make time for though was this 'First Snow' landscape. 

Last year during all that snow we had I kept being asked if I had made any snowy landscapes. I thought I'd make this in advance and have it printed up into a card so that it would arrive in plenty time before the snow!

'First Snow' £55 framed

'First Snow' Greetings Card £2.50

The Cards are available in my Etsy shop and the original will be coming with me to The Handmade Show in Perth Concert Hall on Sunday November 6th

If you would like more details about this piece just email me at aileenclarkecrafts@yahoo.com

I made this little pendant today using beautiful Orkney fibres and a soft pinky red for the apples. It is also available in my Etsy shop.

We have enjoyed some glorious sunrises here over the last week. I love the mist hanging above the field in this photo.

Little Boxes

Little boxes on my table,
Little boxes made of textile art
Little boxes on my table,
Little boxes all unique,
There's a blue one and a purple one
And a landscape one and another one
And they're all made out of textile art
But they don't look just the same.

(sing to the tune of Little Boxes!)

So yes I have been making little boxes.

I first started making these last year and took a notion to try a few more this week. 

The original inspiration for the one above comes from the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye on the west coast of Scotland. The clear turquoise water flows straight out of the awe inspiring Cuillin mountains and tumbles downstream through a series of waterfalls and pools. The contrast of the blue water against the rugged shades of the mountain side really caught my eye. I made a wall hanging similar back in April.

This little box below is more a cupboard really. 

It's a totally unique and one off piece. I love to use my embellisher machine to turn a variety of fabrics, yarns and fibres into a sumptuous surface of texture and rich colour. Included in the mix here are voiles, organzas, felting fibres, yarn and devore velvet. I have also included a little angelina fibre here and there for a touch of sparkle.
The box is lined with bright purple felt and closes with voile ribbon ties. 

You know how the creative process takes you from one idea to the next.......

well I wondered how one of my felt landscapes would look turned into a box and filled with a selection of my printed cards.

This is a prototype and not available as yet.

For the lining I have used some of the Harris tweed that I bought from the weaver at Carloway on our trip to the Outer Hebrides in August.

I think I'll make the next one with the landscape horizontal.

Below is one I made last year with a little matching book inside. 

Perfect for keep sakes and secrets.

And on another note, I had these beautiful floating candles made just for me by

Fraoch Highland Inspiration

I chose the colour I wanted and the scent, payed by paypal and they arrived well packaged, within the week and are just exactly what I wanted.

Patchouli Floating Candles by Fraoch Highland Inspiration.

The first and second boxes are now available in my Etsy shop

September Update

As we definitely move into Autumn here in Scotland I am working flat out to keep shops stocked, get felt made and new items thought up.

I bought this brilliant little vintage wash board in The Little Curio Shop in Dunkeld recently. Not only was it irresistibly cute but it helps me with my felt making.

The shop itself is just lovely. Full of vintage and antique finds with lovely scented candles burning. I felt like I'd stepped into the past. 

I have been working on lots of new brooches this month and have some out at a couple of new stockists.

An Cnoc in Crieff 

Room 15 in Oban

and

Studio 222 in Newburgh

My brooches have been popping up all over the internet too in various Etsy Treasuries and Folksy Features. It's great to have your work chosen for these as not only does it give extra exposure but it's heartening that out of the thousands of photos people upload every day to these sites, someone has spotted some of mine and deemed the items suitable for use in their feature.

Photography is something we all have to work on all of the time. Making and selling your work online is easy but getting your work noticed is another matter. Photography is a whole separate skill and not one that everyone finds easy to master. It has taken me about four years of trial and error to be finally taking photos that I am happier with. They are still not all good and there is always room for improvement. I don't have a great camera or a light box or even a day light bulb but I try my best with what I do have.

I entered this photo into the Craft Blog UK August Photo Competition and I'm delighted to say that I won! Along with a beautiful photo taken by Kiki's Umbrella, a wonderful maker of silver jewellery. 

Below are some more of my new textile rings.

I have some available in both my Etsy and Folksy Shops.

These are all truly Hebridean inspired with their shimmering turquoise sea colours.

I haven't forgotten our Hebridean adventure and all the inspiration gathered, I just haven't had time to do much with my ideas. I do plan on making some new seascapes but I have had commission pieces to work on as well as new stock for shops.

I do have lots of landscapes made though. None of them are available online yet but if you would like to know what's available just drop me a line

aileenclarkecrafts@yahoo.com

September Cottage

£35

And as if that's not enough to be getting on with I got my new harp strung! I sold the last one in April and couldn't get the strings on this until I had at least painted the base coat. I do plan to decorate it further but at least I can play it now the strings are on.

The harps are available from my friend Ian for £150 assembled and painted with a plain base coat. 

Regular visitors to my blog will remember Mr Fox that we found and rescued from the woods.

Well, what an adventure he has had over the summer!

He stowed away with us on holiday!

Seems like he fancied a Hebridean adventure as well. Here he is on the ferry from Mallaig with the Isle on Eigg in the background.

I have to say he was very well behaved. He made a few friends in the Tweed Shop in Tarbert.

I did have to stop him from eating all the chocolate though.

He and my little girl did a great job of looking so cute that the shop assistant actually bought them a bag of locally made tablet! Hyper children and foxes on ferries with mummies that feel seasick.....hmmm. Just as well dad has good sea legs!

When we took him back to Muddy Boots Farm Shop and Cafe for the craft fair in August, we were really sad at the thought of giving him back. However Trina and Paddy were more than delighted for my daughter to keep him as they think he has found a nice new home : )

His name is now Foxee, that's how my little girl spells Foxy. Cute.