The Crafting Bug

It's been a while since I posted anything because, well, it's been a while since I painted anything. It's that time of year again when I catch the crafting bug. It happens every year, a bit like the flu but far more pleaseant and colorful. The shops start to fill up with shiney, sparkly things and I get distracted by them all, glittering away on their shelves and shop displays. I must've been a magpie in a former life. It didn't help that Kirsty is back on the telly doing her vintage craft thing, nor did a trip to the MADE Cafe in Whitley Bay and the local sewing shop, both full of lovely crafts and supplies. So, out come the fabrics and the beads and the ribbon. I rediscover treasures I'd forgotten I bought, stashed away for safe keeping, waiting for the right project.

If I'm completely truthful, I have to admit that I bought a lot of the stuff over the years because it looked so pretty. I can't resist all those lovely colors - did I mention I used to be a magpie? But my workroom is full to bursting and I made a solemn promise to myself a couple of years ago that I would not, under any circumstances, buy any more fabrics, beads, ribbons, buttons or fancy threads until I had made use of what I already have (unless it was an emergency, you understand. I had to buy some Christmasy fabric this year to make Christmas stockings for my cats).

This year I had to delve into my scrap box for most of my Christmas fabrics because last year I made geese:

and birds:

and cats:

and hearts:

oh, and bunting. I thought that lot would've finished off my Christmas fabrics for good but I can't bring myself to throw out even small pieces, hence the scrap box. After a good old rummage, I found enough pieces to make some baubles and I really did throw away the scraps that were left this time...well, most of them.

The baubles are basically fabric beach balls - six leaf shaped pieces cut from different fabrics, sewn together to form a ball, with a loop of gold thread secured at the top.

Pattern pieces in three sizes

Six pieces sewn together
 



Ta'dah! A bauble!

I think they need jazzing up a bit with some beads and ribbons, but with two boisterous young cats meeting a Christmas tree for the first time next month, I think I'll be replacing my glass ornaments with some of these this year.

I also found a few half finished bits and pieces, so with a craft fair at my local community centre looming in a couple of weeks I've finished some fabric brooches:

and some more cats:

Cat egg cosies



Phew, I think that should be all for now. The anti-crafting drugs should be kicking in soon and I can return to normality. I've got one very large painting that I hope to be starting work on soon and may well end up being part of a series of tree-spirit pictures, if the sketching goes well.

Oh, and just a final reminder for anyone who has book-marked pages on my old website - only five days until it disappears and this site takes over as the-wild-wood.com. After I've swaped URLs I'll be adding a links page to this site, so any artists or crafters out there who want to exchange links, please get in touch.