Two angels, a matchbox and an eye

Some odds and ends for you today. First off, I love the work of an Instagram user by the name of ievate, and I was smitten with this crazy looking Folk Art style angel that she made. Which meant I've collected fabric scraps & had a go at making my own version.

They're still very much W.I.P.s, and they're definitely not going to be your traditionally pretty angels! (Once they're made I'm going to try a reindeer too. After all, Christmas isn't that far off, is it?) I'll remember to show you the angels once they're finished.

When I'm done with scrolling through Instagram with the first cuppa of the day, I like to scoff my morning porridge while watching crafty videos on YouTube. Well, it beats listening to news reports full of doom 'n' disaster on the radio. I'm enjoying Jude Hill's short pieces about her textile work. This little video about weaving had me emptying out a matchbox in order to use it as a make-do-and-mend style mini loom. Just creating this tiny swatch had me thinking about the possibilities of using different yarns, embroidery threads, string, maybe even dried grasses or twiggy bits to weave with. I've dug out an offcut of MDF, a hammer and a tub of panel pins, and I'll see it I can cobble together a larger 'loom' so I can really play around with the process.

Speaking of Jude Hill, something that she'd sewn and that I noticed in another of her videos had me adding to my nearly-complete embroidery. I couldn't resist sewing my very own Jude Hill style embroidered eye.

Is it disconcerting to have a single eye staring out at you? Maybe it is, but the eye is such a powerful symbol in Folk Art. This embroidery is meant to end up as a bag to store my fabric book in, so maybe this eye's a protective symbol. Looking after the book, keeping it safe.

Perhaps, as well as Christmas angels and reindeer, I should make a few decorative eyes to hang from the tree, along with the tinsel and baubles? To protect the spirit of Christmas. Now, there's a thought ...

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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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