I would've cleaned the house but ...

I was going to do some cleaning. No, really! I was. But the vacuum cleaner's decided to give up on life. I've tried resuscitation. Switching it off and on again. Also swearing at it. But it won't work, and I've yet to buy a replacement. I'm debating whether to buy a cheap 'n' cheerful model for about £60 or so, or splurge on a Henry at a more substantial £140. The Henry looks like it'll last longer and be robust, so I suppose I'll end up getting that. Anyway, being cleaner-less gave me an excuse to spend time on craftiness. First up was this bag. I'd decided that it needed an inside pocket.

So I dug out this denim pocket harvested from an old pair of jeans. A simple task to sew it to the bag's lining. A nifty bit of upcycling, I hope you'll agree.

Also completed is another zokin. I went off-piste with the sashiko stitching and for some reason added circles.

It'll be interesting to see if the zokin's noticeably less hard-wearing than the other two I've made. They were covered completely in stitching, whereas this has areas left unsewn.

I was messing about with making another doll as well, and finished sewing her by adding a pair of fairy wings. The doll's made of painted fabric, then embroidered and beads added. The face is white felt, as are the backs of the cotton material wings.

I'm still trying to find the ideal shape for these dolls. Haven't cracked it yet.

I had the gell plate and paints out today. Painting more fabric, but also making prints on paper. As well as my hand!

What a mucky puppy! It does look like I've got some horrible disease like a character off a sci-fi or fantasy film, doesn't it? But it was all good fun, and I've ended up with a stack of A4 sized prints. If you're wondering what I do with them all -

I finished these two art journals today. They only needed their covers glued on. The one of the left's full of gell prints made on standard copier paper.

The other book has pages made from sketchbook paper, and they are less densely coloured.

Well, that's all for now. I need to do more online comparisons for vacuum cleaners - oh the glamour of my rock 'n' roll lifestyle - and it must be at least half an hour since I had a cuppa so I'm gasping ... thanks for stopping by my blog, and maybe wander back again sometime? Though I'm not promising the place will be any tidier ...

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HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're more the minimal Scandi

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out. The glue's su

Paper flowers, leaves, feathers ...

I had a few requests after posting this photo on Facebook, people asking if I could explain how I made these paper flowers. Your wish is my command, and here's the info. It's all very simple and you don't need any advanced drawing skills. So grab a stack of gell prints, a pair of scissors and off we go! The type of print that seems to work best is one where there's a fair amount of detail, rather than a block of solid plain colour. Prints where you've maybe channelled your inner Elizabeth St. Hilaire and 'layered layered layered' as she's always urging us to do. POPPIES If we start with simple poppy seed heads and stalks, they're cut freehand from paper that's mainly shades of orange and brown. I glued those on to a sheet of white copier paper, then cut them out, leaving a narrow border around each. Backing the gell print with the white paper adds that contrasting border, but also strengthens the piece, especially the thin stalks. I

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