B B B Birds and Bellydancing!

Hello there, it's been so long ... :(

I've been absent from the blogging world and facebook for a while as we have been dealing with the illness after illness in this house. I was the last one to come down with the dreaded death cold...or ultimate man flu as I called it when Mr Dotty had it, only to realise now that it is very horrid indeed. I now feel a bit like a half dead cat that should be put out of its misery..I'm deaf in one ear, have sinitus and am generally pretty run down.

Anyways..so sorry for that grotty update..I have however been working away finishing off the odd project and tinkering with new ones. I just saw that it was the Faith Hope and Charity Shopping Tah Dah Tuesday link up and it prompted me to get posting again. So here is my little offering...

It's a blackbird which I am swapping with crafty and talented paper cut artist Kirsty M for one of her fabulous papercuts. I'm also making a foxy brooch for her but its not quite finished yet! The bird is adapted from a pattern by Abigail Glassenberg's book The Artful Bird. I do not sell them as they are not my original patterns but I have made quite a few a presents. 

My other Tah Dah moment was a bellydancing performance with my little group at the Vital Spark Big Celebration, an local event celebrating creativity  through dance, music and the spoken word. I do love the belldancing bling! My alter ego definately comes out to play when I'm shimmying!

I do seem to pull the same stupid face every time a camera appears...what a chump!

Well, there you go..I'm off to cosy up and watch a trashy dvd....and sniff a little, complain of how cold it is and fish for sympathy!

Take care my lovelies

Love Dotty 

xxx

 

New Tricks!

I was shown by a very kind and most talented friend how to make a lampshade! I've wanted to learn how to do it for a while now as Id love to make one with fabric that I've embellished and embroidered. I'm thinking owls and trees and birds birds birds of course!

A lampshade....I made a lampshade! It is really quite sad how excited I am to have made something so "proper"...a real grown up thingamajig!!

Here is my first little offering...I am so very pleased with it (despite its many flaws...which are well hidden!). the fabric is quite a cheap one from Ikea but looks brilliant in its new role. I'm eager to get practicing and practicing some more until I get the hang of it. I need to make a few more for my house and my mama has asked me to make some for her house too..my first customer hoorah!

  I'm going to have a bash at making one with sunflowers like the one I embroidered on my Mum's curtain.

 and here is the "before" pic...poor dull lamp ..now so bright and fresh!

BEFORE

AFTER

Do any of you crafty bloggy folk make lamps...can anyone recommend a good (and cheap) place to place the fixings online? They seem quite pricey to make unless you buy in bulk.

Thanks for reading..I'm sure no one else is really that bothered about a lampshade but.. ha ha!.. I felt the overwhelming need to share my new tricks! 

Love Dotty

xxxx

and what on earth is going on with the weather...we are on a weather warning for snow again now??. 

It's dropped from 15 degrees to -1 in a couple of days... bbbrrrrrrr I'm so glad I've been slack with the gardening..I've no seedlings to worry about! :) 

Sunflowers

Happy weekend everyone..such a relief to have no where to go...and nothing much to do! I'm just planning on pottering around the house and garden midst feeding and tending to little ones!

I made this cheery window panel/curtain for my mama on Monday (Full moon meaning that I was super hyper and couldn't sleep!). She wanted a sunflower to brighten up the little window. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I'm keen to make a matching lampshade and some cushion covers too...hopefully this will actually happen or it will be added my infinite to do list!

Well..am off to make some spinach & cheese pancakes...and a nice strong coffee!

Love Dotty 

xxx