Summer Morning Shawl in Neutral Tones

Sometimes, during the summer, I just want to grab a light shawl that I can throw over whatever dress I am wearing. The problem is, all my shawls are quite bold colour schemes, and I really wanted something more neutral.

I was drawn to Rico Design Creative Cotton Degrade in shade Ecru, as it faded from brown to cream, and the Summer Morning shawl pattern for it's simplicity. (Note: I didn't work the final picot edge.) It's a nice easy repetitive pattern, although I never enjoy how long the rows get as shawls progress!

I finished and blocked the shawl, wrapped it round me, and my husband and I agreed - it just wasn't me. It wasn't colourful enough, as insane as that sounds for what was meant to be a neutral shawl! Anyway, I was wandering through Abakhan and found some DMC Coloris thread in shade 4523, Vent du Nord, and the browns in the thread fitted with my shawl so well, whilst the blue and purple in the thread added a touch of colour. I worked this into the shawl as surface crochet in 4 stripes, and I'm pleased with the hint of colour it adds to what is still essentially a neutral shawl!

Pua Sketch [Moana]

We're a bit Moana-mad in our household. No, we don't have any children... But who can resist songs as catchy as "You're Welcome" and characters as adorable as Pua the pig?! Not us, that's for sure. Though personally I'm more of the village crazy lady!

Anyway, when deciding on a Birthday card for my husband I couldn't resist doing a little sketch of Pua for him. I drew it in 2B, which is basically my favourite pencil ever, and added some colour with some very old WHSmith colouring pencils. They still do a good value pack of 36 colouring pencils, but I find my old ones have softer leads.

Review: Faber-Castell Rue de Paris Watercolour Cards

I'm sure everyone has heard of Faber-Castell, I have used their pens in particular on and off for many years. I recently (ish!) received this set by Faber-Castell from a friend, intended for you to paint your own watercolour cards inspired by Paris. The set includes 6 white cards with envelopes, a black pen, 4 watercolour pencils, a paintbrush, and some colourful brads and flower sequins.

The cards are really well done, and I would say suitable for any skill level. The design is printed on to the cards in the palest blue ink (which thankfully isn't water-soluble!) Using these light marks it is possible to colour in the sections as you please before outlining over the top. The design is forgiving and allows some room for manipulation. Whilst the four coloured watercolour pencils included in the set can make a wide range of colours, I chose to use my full range of watercolour pencils to colour this card to achieve more tonal variation.

I personally didn't feel that the brads or sequin flowers suited this particular card design, so I added some extra details with gold Liquid Pearls. The envelopes included in the set are made from a parchment-type paper, and are perfect for tracing elements of the design to. I love decorating envelopes, especially when I can tie the envelope design to the card design!

This is a lovely set from Faber-Castell and there are more in the series I would like to try. I do recommend them if you want to fiddle with some watercolour painting without designing an image from scratch! Saying that, I'm not sure I can find these for sale anywhere...

Stamped Owl Card

I've been waiting for an opportunity to try out this owl stamp, and a young girl's Birthday card seemed the perfect opportunity! I did what I often do when I don't want to fully colour an image, which is a background watercolour wash. Once it has dried, I stamp/emboss the image over the top, and then add in some extra details of colour. It brings life to the image without too much effort. I mounted the stamped image on some beautiful papers I have in my stash and added a flower sequin to bring some sparkle! I'm afraid I don't know the make/name of this owl stamp as I received it second hand. It is one of the clear adhesive ones, which I have mixed feelings about. I like that they are cheaper than their mounted counterparts, but I never seem to have an appropriate sized block to mount them on!

Felt Toy Train

One of my nephews recently turned 2. He loves trains, so I knew I wanted a gift that was very much train themed. 

I had originally hoped to adapt this Sweetbriar Sisters pattern to make a train, as I've used it before to make cars (which I've just realised I haven't blogged!) but the proportions weren't working out, so that was put aside for this train!

Internally, the train is made from upholstery foam cut into the appropriate shapes and a cork for the funnel. I then cut rectangles from a variety of coloured felts, and stitched them up to contain the foam, adding details such as windows and wheels.

I stitched velcro dots to the back of the engine and the fronts and backs of the carriages so they can be attached, detached and rearranged.

The birthday boy was thrilled with it, and enjoyed pushing and pulling it around the picnic table we were sat at!

Crochet Giraffe

I think anyone who has been in the blogging world of crochet over the last 18 months has seen this giraffe pattern... Well, I too fell in love with it, and knew it would be great for my nephew's 1st Birthday :)

I often try to stay away from the pink for girls and blue for boys, and focus on fun, bright colours. I was pulled towards this colour combination, a bit wary of people's opinions... But my husband pointed out that they were actually quite appropriate for a giraffe! I just had my heart set on orange and grey.

I love how the colours worked out in the end. In fact, I just love this little guy! The temptation to keep him for myself has been strong ;) I added some cream stripes randomly into the orange and gry, and I think it breaks it up and adds some character.

I also gave him a plaited tail - I thought he needed it! When referencing this pattern I couldn't find many views of the back of him, or what he looks like stood up, so I've included these shots below:

Grandmother's Buttons

If you follow me on Facebook, you may recognise the colour inspiration for this canvas, which I shared last month!

When going through my Nan's button collection recently, I came across these beautiful magenta, lavender and turquoise buttons tied together by a piece of yellow cotton. I love the combination - the button colours coordinate well, and I like the jarring sensation of the tiny amount of yellow!

You can see here I included a tiny amount of yellow, and I think it worked :)

There is also a sparkly shimmer made with pearl dust going across areas of the canvas - one just has to catch it in the right light!

As always, the print is available here, and do contact me if you are interested in owning the original painting, or for more information.

Because Life Needs More Colour

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook VIII

I adore this background! I created it by brushing acrylic paint onto a plastic bag, then printing that paint onto the paper using my heavy weight roller. I built it up in layers, and some of the white paint was also added with my fingers for extra texture.

I created this background using acrylic paint and a sponge roller from my childhood - a lovely quick way to add loads of texture to a page! [If you're trying to get hold of one, they're often marketed for children, and actually come in various designs and sizes!]

Playing with coloured inks, and dabbing them with tissues on a fairly wet background.

If you follow me on Facebook you will already know how I painted this page. If you don't, then I bet you can't guess!! Hint: I used a vegetable.

Yup.

I had a partial head of cauliflower going off in the fridge, and put it to good use in my sketchbook! It crumbled fairly quickly, but it produced such a unique texture.

A piece of wooden dowling and acrylic paints. What I love about this is that each dot it slightly raised, so running your hand over it is super therapeutic!

I had my sketchbook open whilst painting some canvasses the other day. I was using blue paints, and adding brown for depth. I enjoyed using my sketchbook to wipe excess paint from my sponge, and I also experimented with various oddments I had lying around. The little wooden corner pieces from canvsses are great for printing with and making short chunky lines. I also printed with beads, and even rolled them through paint and along the page, before adding final doodles with a bronze gel pen.

Click here to see previous sketchbook posts, and like me on Facebook for sneak peeks and inspiration as they happen!

Felt Ball Garland

Another idea I mentioned in my Christmas Craft inspiration post was strings of felt balls... And oh, I love the splash of colour they add to the tree!

I considered making my own balls, and may well in the future, but just didn't have time this year!

I threaded a random colour assortment of 1cm and 2cm balls on to clear thread, and I do love how they look on the tree. More are needed :)