Saturday, October 17, 2015

Craft Groups & a Revamp

Happy Saturday to you dear friends & readers
And Welcome to some new followers



My friend Gail had attempted to start up a small craft group when she closed her Shop earlier this year.
Unfortunately it was not really getting off the ground & she asked me to come along & offer some suggestions.

I suggested they try what Michelle's Kindred Heart Sisters Group do occasionally & that is, all bring along some craft supplies to share & then each one put their own special little stamp on it


This is the mottley odd looking selection we all came home with . . . it was clear this was going to be "an interesting one" !!!

First off, I decided to cut hearts out of the paper pieces & string them from an old mossy tree branch


I stitched the hearts in rows on my machine then tied them to the branch.
I stiffened (with pva) some of the crochet flowers & added these to one end then glued the butterfly to the other end

I printed off the words "flowers"  "butterflies" & "I love Spring" & strung these on coloured papers also
Then for the rest of the supplies, I decided to make a lavendar lady doll ... this idea was mainly to use up the soft sculpture face that was in amongst the bits & bobs.
She is made over an old knitting wool cone which I filled with dried lavender, then used the pipecleaners for arms, a peg for the neck & then I dressed her.  I stitched the beads & the buttons to cards to make her into a Pedlar Doll, then gave her a basket filled with her wares ... also adding the remaining buttons, pegs & frippery

An old piece of crochet lace became her shawl, & the remaining crochet flowers got tucked into her tin of wares beside her.

I thought you might like to see what the other girls came up with . . .
Gail made 3 items, the printed card she framed, then made a mermaid doll using the sculptured face & some silk flowers.   I loved the tray she painted & attached a bunting & the pegs & butterfly ... very shabby chic.

Sharlaine made a gorgeous wallhanging using all of her pieces up.  She dyed the pipecleaners to bend as twigs, made the cardstock into swing tags, used all the crochet/silk flowers & beads as flowers to fill her basket.  It was stunning.  The pegs were used up in the top of the actual hanger part but my photo has missed this out.

Liz painted her paper pieces black & made a canvas picture, then added embellishments to it using flowers, beads, buttons.
She also made a small "toilet roll person" using up the other left-over bits & bobs.

Joyce decorated a shabby chic frame with her bits & added extra butterflies.  She also decorated a hair band & a heart shaped box with crochet flowers, papercraft & other bits of bling.

Fay thought completely "outside the square" & chose to make a terrarium up using all her bits based on the theme of "a day at the beach".  She made characters using the pipecleaners & sculptured heads & added her own unique embellishments.
I thought it was fascinating how each one thought quite differently & came up with such a diverse range of end products.
It was actually a really enjoyable challenge.


This little wooden bowl-on-a-stand was in the $1 bin at the Op Shop.  At first my intention was to paint it & then make a big plump wool felt pincushion in the bowl part of it.
However, it was seeing it on my bench alongside the Fancy Feast Catfood tin that changed my mind about this somewhat.
I decided to add the tin to the centre of it & make a small size pincushion, leaving the outer rim for sewing supplies.
This was how it looked when I had painted both the stand & the tin, screwed the tin to the centre & was ready to line the outer rim with felt.

The tin is painted pale pink & also the lower base of the stand. The rest is painted cream & sanded to distress it.
The circle of baking paper was my "pattern"



This is the completed revamp.  I lined the outer circle with pink wool felt, then trimmed this with a pretty braid.  I made a pincushion in the (catfood) tin, then tied some sewing related embellishments to the stand.  


Really quite "tickled pink" with the finished result   :-)

I have had a large Garden Circle group to my Cottage today - the rain stayed away but the winds whirled around
The ladies had a lovely time in the shelter of my deck area having their morning tea.
The numbers grew from 15 (yesterday morn) to 29 today !!!!  
Bit Frazzled there by any chance Julie ????!!!


I will be off soon to find my jim-jams .... feeling rather tired.

I shall leave you with little Madam-butter-wouldn't-melt-in-your-mouth in the garden yesterday .  .  .
Just click on the photo to enlarge
.  .  .  . when I had just discovered she had dug up my miniature tulip bulbs.
Thanks So Very Much for your visit today dear friends,
Wishing you all a restful weekend doing just whatever makes you happy,
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Fat Black & Madam Pippi 
x0x0x0x0

17 comments:

  1. How exciting the craft group is - wish we had one. interesting to see how different people used the same things and got such varied results - I like your mossy heart hanging, it's lovely. The lady who painted everything black was my favourite although they are all lovely and show you have a talented group that is going to be a lot of fun to work with. You must be moving into the busiest part of your year with garden visitors now, hope you make lots of profits and some friends too along the way, Betty x

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  2. HeHe! One of the signs hanging outside my
    (famous) downstairs looooo....
    'People create happiness in this room,
    some when they enter, some when they leave'. :).

    My! My! What an event..And, so much talent!
    Lots of ideas, what with the festive season, sitting
    in the wings..!
    Oh!Love that pedlar doll...really sweet!

    And, Bless! There's Pippi doing peek~a~Boo! :).
    What fun...I suppose Blackie laying about some
    place....Leg~in~the~air! Big cuddles for both of
    them! Bless!x

    Love the saying..'Tickled Pink'..But then what other
    colour would you be tickled! :>).
    Well...Nearly 8:30 over here...Get myself 'dolled' up
    and out...Look out charity shops...Here l come!
    =(^..^)=

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  3. Wow! You should feel tickled pink - it is fantastic - you are so clever! What a wonderful revamp! How could you possibly think Miss Pippi could have done anything to your bulbs - definitely aliens!!!!! Ha... ha...... And the garden visit - golly 15 to 29 - You did so well to cope with them all - well done you - nearly double! Bet they all have a fantastic time! The deck looks lovely all set out for them. And how super it was to see all the different things the craft group made - how very creative. Everybodies was so different and so clever.

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  4. Oh wow...I have never seen a photo of your Cottage and deck....it's gorgeous. I would imagine people would be flocking to spend a little time there. Your craft group does sound like a lot of fun and so much creativity to be found there. Your wooden bowl and cat tin revamp is amazing. How cool does that look. As for your Miss Pippi, I must say she does sound like a whole lot of fun!!

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  5. gorgeous revamp, was a bit ahhh when i first saw it, (love vintage) but you came through with something most beautiful as always
    dear little miss pippi, isn't she just a gem?
    interesting what you all did with the bits & bobs, very clever!
    looks like the garden group had a wonderful time too
    thanx for sharing

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  6. Loved seeing what your little collection became. Love your new $1 revamp. It looks so lovely on your deck. Naughty Kitty !

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  7. Totally in love with your 'Tickled Pink' pincushion. You're so talented, Julie. I keep saying that to my friends here in Blogland but I really mean it. If you need help with your teas, my friend in NZ is looking for a job! Think she's a bit too far away from you though. Have a lovely, relaxing weekend Julie. x ps How's the baby doing?

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  8. It's always a treat to visit you, wished I could join the party. I find those pin stands really good if you're a messy worker like me, they rise above the mess! Take care. xx

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  9. Hi Julie,wow it is amazing seeing all the different projects made and boy you are amazing,i love seeing how you transform different items and your garden is so pretty,enjoy your day my friend xx

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  10. Love those challenges!!! It can be hard sometimes though!! Love the new pin cushion you made, you always need somewhere to put the other bits and bobs! I bet the garden visitors loved the garden, no matter what the weather!!

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  11. Wow such different ideas from the same 'stuff'! Your new revamp cat food/pincushion creation is worth being tickled pink over......lovely! I hope the garden ladies didn't frighten Miss Pippi too much.

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  12. Wow! No wonder you're tired, what a large gathering you had. Very successful hey? Love all the
    different creations that have been made. Lovely. I do feel for you about your garden. lol Get those
    jim jams on and have a well earned rest.
    Cheers, Anita.

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  13. Amazing the variety of adaptations of your "bits and pieces" you all took home Julie. They are all amazing. It must be a fun group for you all. Dear miss Pippi, forever entertaining. Love your end result of the wooden bowl, a real Julie finish. Gorgeous.

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  14. Good morning from the other hemisphere! I wanted to tell you what a delightful morning I've had. Here in West Virginia, USA, we're having our first frost of the season. I'm home with my first cold and have just spent the last 3 hours reading your blog archives. Thank you for the laughter and the tears and most of all for the inspiration. From the time your blog has been in existence I, too, have lost several furry friends...buried right here in my own backyard, as well as both my parents, 6 days apart. I feel as though I know you....and would so love to see your Threadbear cottage. Thank you for sharing this part of your life with us. Blessings.....have a wonderful day.....kathy

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  15. That wooden bowl-on-stand transformation is really good. It really caught my eye.

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  16. The first time I came to your place I was a stranger but I definitely left as a friend!!! I love that sign. OMG that is a crowd on your deck, lucky it is a good size. Pippi!!!!! Little minx.

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  17. What happy innovation going on in the re-inspired craft group. Very sweet. I can believe the transformation of the drab brown wooden bowl on a stand. Quite, astonishing...even changes the feel of the shape & proportions of it...now delightful! Isn't your deck such a great space for gardening ladies lunching. Golly that was a large augmentation of numbers! I don't think that I'd squeeze them all in to Lucy, somehow. Funny little cat & her hole, at least you won't find an old bone in there later though. Much love Catherine x0x0x

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