Secrets of a Butterfly

1st birthday gifts for little fairies

Two friends of mine have little girls who turned 1 in March.

I made these miniature collages for them with their names on.

Mia's is in pink, and here's some close ups of the details which included a fairy wand and butterfly, a cupcake with one sparkly candle and flowers.

A vintage photo to represent Mia, with a sparkling gingham crown. And a photo Keri- Anne shared of it on instagram...(smiles)

 

The flower print doilly was actualy sent to me by Keri-anne and i recycled it, using it on the top left corners of both pictures.

Alice's is below and i chose lilac and lemon colour way to match in with her room, adding similar details, just in differnt ways.

They measure 5x5 inches, and as the canvas is quite deep, they can free stand on a shelf or be hung on a wall.

 

It was lovely to be able to make something (smiles) especially for such important an occasion as a 1st birthday

kathryn xxx

A japanese matchbox, featuring Kayo Tamaishi

This is my matchbox for the japanese theme, as part of jeska's matchbox challenge over at her blog Lobster and swan.

For this one, i cut down a postcard from my friend the japanese artist Kayo Tamaishi, and i apllied it to the front with japanese masking tape. the sides are recycled tissue paper from jeska's gift to me last year. And the rosette is a vintage find from ebay.

I have filled it with japanese stamps. I have quite a few from parcels of fabric that i have received from Etsy sellers over the years. Japan have the best stamps! Beatrix potter, hello Kitty and fairies are among the ones here.

 

 

 

I have really enjoyed decorating this box, you can go see what other people have been making here

And if you are looking for a unique way to donate to Oxfam, you could browse Jeska's matchbox creations at her shop here Lobster and swan at etsy. she has some beautiful ones still avaliable and some special trinkets are tucked inside.

love and wishes, kat x

Bonne Fete, a matchbox to celebrate

This is my matchbox for the birthday theme, 
tucked inside is a little handmade heart garland,
saying celebrate in sparkling letters 

See Jeska's post if you want to know more about the

 Lobster and Swan's match box challenge

A bientot!

 

She brings me peace

A Butterfly dances by,
soft and gentle on the summer's breeze.
She brings me peace, she helps me know
that life has purpose, beauty and magic to it

 

I changed the layout of my tumblr,
i really like the way the images are all closer together now.

I saw Tamar of NestPrettyThings had this theme, so that's what gave me the idea to use it too. I really like her tumblr, it is one of my favourites.

 If you want a certain theme at tumblr... you scroll to the bottom the person's tumblr layout you like, and there will be a little credit line to say who created it, you cick that and it will take you to the owners page and they will have a link on their sidebar for their created themes, and within that will be the one that you liked. You can then click and preview what it, and then set it for your own page.

here's the link to see my tumblr and all the credits for the images in this post...
Secrets of a butterfly

love

A little dove upon a matchbox

Hello lovelies,
i have been feeling a little low in spirits of late.
So if i am not as online, or chatting with you, you know why.
I'm sure it will pass, i just need to be gentle with my little heart.

Some afternoons, i have been doing a little craft.
The first for quite some time. And it feels nice.

You may remember just last post, i mentioned the Matchbox challenge.
And i made a few. This is "The Bird One" from Jeska's theme list.

I am not doing them on the set days, as there's too many.
But its been fun to pick and choose, and take a look at my supplies.
Pull out bits of fabric and lace and bring together a decorated box.
More pictures?.....
they're are some below for you...

 

See the matchboxes others are creating for the challenge here

with peacefilled wishes

 

A gift for Tash

I am just so happy that i was feeling well enough to do some crafting, and i made this collage for my brother's girlfriend. Tash is 30 today! Mam, Dad and i gave her some Lola Rose jewellery in the gemstone Blue sandstone. But its always nice to do something personal as well, if you can.

This is Tash with my brother Neill, on a trip to Scotland earlier in the year.

I have hopes to make some more of these collages for a few other occasions. But this being my first in quite a while, has made me really happy to complete.
Love and wishes

Liberty love

Fabrics in the new Liberty Rocks range - these 4 are my favourites - from top left - pablo pepper, dora, laura & alfie, emma & georgianna.

Pablo pepper is a combination of two well known liberty prints - Pepper from 1974 and Glenjade which dates back to the 1930s.
The prints have been specially reworked for this new season collection, layering the ornate Glenjade foliage over the dotted Pepper flowers.

Emma&Georgianna is a combination of Emmy from 1970 and Georgina from 2001 -
Again the liberty design team have combined some of our favourite florals with miniature blooms for a splendid new season look.

I just love these prints so much, especially in the pinks and greys

Find the whole collection here at Liberty

Stardusted rose

I joined instagram a little while ago, but didnt quite get it and didnt think i would use it that much.
Then i saw my friend Paula's post with her photos and that's what made me realise, i wanted to have a go as well. Its an iphone application, where you share everyday iphone pictures. (my username being that of my blog) a bit like status updates on facebook or twitter but with images instead.

You take a snap and put it through a chosen filter and change the affects. I'm following a few of my favourite bloggers there.

If you havent got an iphone but would still like to see what i'm taking, I'll be sharing some of my pics on twitter and at flickr. There's also an online site called web.stagram where you can see them, mine are here

This was a rose i picked in the front garden and put on the windowsill in a small glass vase. On the Instagram app, I put it through a filter called Apollo which gave it a space, or stardusted appearance - quite fairy like, which i love.

let me know if youre on instagram too....

Pinterest passion

Ever since i first discovered Pinterest last year through the lovely Ez of Creature Comforts, i have been pinning and enjoying the inspiration that comes through grouping images that you love together. I have developed quite a lot of boards. Through them i am able to keep track of where i want to store the different types of things that i find inspiring.

Sometimes i gather by colours, sometimes by words, sometimes by craft, and sometimes by the style of the image. I also gather for future projects, interior design and creative ideas i want to pursue.

I have varied interests but much of what i am drawn to stays within certain colour palettes. What's been helpful about pinning is it allows you to see what your drawn to the most and through that you can discover things about yourself. Or at least have things you already knew become more clear.

All the collections in this post are taken from my boards. You can find them here: Secrets of a Butterfly

These are the titles of my pinboards

INSPIRATIONS:
Favourites -I LOVE
Hope & inspiration
Meaningful words
Woodlands, fairies, nature
A walk through a magical meadow
Dreams to come true

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Dreamy photography
Touch of black and white
cute as can be

HOME & INTERIORS:
Interiors i adore
Simplicity
Interior touches i love
A touch of shabby chic
Vintage naturals
wallpaper love
candle light wishes
floral displays

GIRLIE & FASHION:
Gorgeous & feminine
Once upon a hanger
Peaches & cream
English style
Looks i love
My style pinboard
Liberty love
Jewels and trinkets

BY COLOUR:
Delicate pink
Sofest blue
Multicoloured dreamer

CRAFT INSPIRATIONS:
Paper passion
Favourite prints
Craft corner
Little handmade lovelies
Inspirations in fabric
Bookshelf
Lace to love
Crochet club
Wrapped and tagged
Wonderful weddings
Stunning christmas

JUST BECAUSE:
Gorgeous guys
Blogs i love
New blogs
Boutiques online

I always aim to pin only those things that i think wow, thats gorgeous, or that is SO inspiring. I don't want to gather too much. I think it would be best to end up with boards that have less content but are full of what i adore, rather than just things that i quite like. I guess the inspiration i feel when i look at the boards as a whole, comes through the gradual process of collating. Its as much about what you leave out of boards, as what you include.

So just what can you use collecting in this type of way for?

Well i think you'll have gathered from my titles and descriptions above, that there are many uses that your boards can take. Inspiration is what it's all about. So the boards are as varied as the people that keep them. You can begin with simply photos that make you feel good, or give you ideas for photography of your own.

Then there are boards that you can collect ideas for creating and crafting, be it in lace, crochet, knitting, paper, painting, wrapping, meals, baking, table settings, soft furnishings...the list is endless.

Then there are fashion boards, including hair and accessories.. lookbook images, magazine features, models and actresses, street style looks, bloggers pictures, and individual pieces of clothing from online shops.

Then there can be boards for occasions & celebrations you're planning, showers, weddings, birthdays, and seasonal events like halloween and christmas. You can gather ideas for diy projects within any of these.

Then there are nature boards, that cover the seasons indoors and out, winter, spring, summer and autumn. This may include photos of the countryside or floral displays specific to that time of year. Along with craft and decorating projects that come up on blogs or magazine's online.

Speaking of decorating, thats the other way boards can help...in planning new interiors. You can gather images of room settings, or specific ideas for small areas. Arrangements of frames upon a wall for example, or new wallpaper designs, fresh soft furnishing styles and ideas for renovating furniture. All the while its possible to gain confidence in your choices and colour combining. So that when you come to put those ideas into your own home you have more experience to draw on, and the results can better meet your new found tastes and style.

Pinterest is used by so many bloggers you will recognise, so its another great way to connect with those you know, or who you find inspiring in the creative design fields. We can quickly and easily share what has caught our eye in the online marketplace and tell each other what we are "loving".
There is a new Pinterest App coming any day now! Making it even easier to pin things you love. I have enjoyed sharing my passion for pinterest with you today, and hope you have enjoyed it too,

Love

x x x

Art upon my wall

 

Remember The Legend of Now, that i found on Etsy, and blogged about here, well my painting arrived and it is just so pretty!! Angela has done a wonderful job combining the colours and texture and i have placed it on the wall in my bedroom.

Along side it are two of my 5x5" collages. The angel one i made a couple of years ago, and a new style one with hearts, similar to that which i made my Mam. Here are some closer up views...(a few of the hearts can be found on Georgianna's pdf file here)

 

 

I love having handmade art around my home, and hope to collect and also create more, over time.

My favourite books for help with creating mixed media art are:
Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts
and Art of Personal Imagery by Corey Moortgat,
i also like Layered Tattered and stitched by Ruth Rae
and Mixed media explorations by Beryl Taylor

 
 

 

Love and creative wishes