Mad Hatters Tea Party!

Hello lovelies....hope you are all well!? We have had the most glorious few weeks of sunshine here in Cornwall...such a rare treat! It's been super baking hot but I've been hiding out in the shade and trying to do as little as possible! (not so easy with two little kids!!)

I had a stall with two fellow crafters at the Cowslip Studio Mad Hatters Tea Party Craft fair yesterday. I met so many fabulous artists and crafters and hopefully there will be some interesting collaborations to follow! This was the somewhat unusual hat I made!

Needless to say it drew quite a bit of attention.

The latest venture is a stall sharing crafty cooperative with two friends of mine, artist Chloe from Woolly Soup and  Ceramicist Sue Newell. We are collectively called 'Fox & Finch' and we are hoping to run a few stalls together. Unfortunately the sales yesterday were really poor, I'm not entirely sure why, but we had a fab day anyway!
Here are some snaps of our stall...

brooches by me..vases by Sue Newell

Our vintage case display

Pinch vases by Sue Newell

Bird Folk Dolls by Woolly Soup

I was also lucky enough to meet up with the lovely Kirsty Elson, Teresa of Willapark Designs, Emma Stead, Sian of Lancaster & Cornish to name but a few...so many wonderful stalls!
I was coveting this beautiful little cottage by Kirsty Elson...her little creations are just dreamy..

and I just LOVE the work of mixed media artist Teresa Dunne

 and finally I must mention the lovely folk at The Flower Mill, they kindly let me snap a few shots of my butterfly brooch in their gorgeous flowers! He looked so at home amongst them!

Phew...sorry for the photograph overload! There was just so much to see and I wanted to share it with you all! :)

Well, I'd better be off...got more nests to build! and butterfly wings to sew! (and tea to drink ...and rubbish tv to watch...ahem...and biscuit tins to raid)

Take care my lovelies xxxx

Love Dotty

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

Doodles and dancing

I've been making an effort lately to try out some new techniques and play around a bit more with stitching, painting, applique and embroidery. There is so much inspiration out there it's hard to know where to start!! I shall be consulting the Stitchin fingers for help!

I had a play about yesterday with some fabric paints. I haven't touched them since I bought them of my course tutor about 5 years ago. This was the resulting sketchy doodle..

Freehand machine embroidery over fabric paints

It's still a work in progress, I'm going to finish stitching with the machine and then adds some handstitched details and texture. Sketchy but fun.

Also, some further adventures of the magpie!. This is the little chap I sewed for M a few months ago. There are more pictures on this post.

 

Our kitten (soon to be my mums) was rather interested in Mr Magpie..or Sparkle as Miss M calls him!

and finally, a few pictures for my Raindrops and Daisys Greenday Link up. To take part you just need to share a few pictures on the green theme and you can check out lots of other inspiring pictures from around the globe too.

Beautiful Tribal Bellydancers

 I took these picture a few weeks ago at a Hafla (Bellydance Party) that I went to. The Tribal Dancers always have the most beautiful costumes. Here's another..

Their dances are really Earthy and powerful and I always feel quite moved when watching them. They are gorgeous ladies! What I love about Bellydance is that it celebrates the beauty and power of women and its just REALLY good fun to do!

yet another lovely rainbow! We've had a lot lately!

 Sorry this has been such ecclectic and long post, my brain is a bit all over the place at the moment!

Hope you are well and happy!

Love Dotty

xxx 

Butterflies, flowers and cows!

I've had a little flurry of sewing activity over the past few weeks as I've been asked to make a few pieces for friends. There was this little beauty I made for a friend as a gift for her mum. I really loved making it and I think I'll have to make me one too!

 

 

 I got quite carried away with the butterflies which I'd originally planned to put just on the ends of the scarf. The front was linen and the back was lined with some gorgeous blue polka dotty fabric from the Moda range. I made a matching card too.

 The other piece was a cushion cover based on this photo I took a month or so ago. I was pleased with  how it came out beacuse freehand sewing can be quite unforgiving if you make a wrong move! I think I captured some of their expressions quite well!

and I made this as a birthday present for the lovely lady. It's made from the most amazing fabric from Villa Nova. I need to get hold of some more of it...I LOVE it!  

 

and another flowery shot from the Eden Centre..

 What a flowery girly post indeed! It's been good to have a hobby that involves being indoors because the weather has been pretty awful this Summer..wind, rain, wind and more rain! We managed one night camping, a barbeque and two trips to the beach but I've been happily tinkering away in the house most of the holidays. I am such a home bird!

Well my lovelies, take care and do let me know if you have any ideas of something you would like to have made..I'm more than happy to take on commissions! 

Dotty

xxx

oh and a final note...this is my 94th post and I'm planning a little giveaway for my 100th post so keep an eye out!! 

Of Cabbages and Kings...

Here is my finished entry for the Port Eliot flower show. The theme was Cabbages and Kings so myself and Mr Dotty made a somewhat sketchy version of the Walrus and the Carpenter (Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass).

Guess who!!

 It took me quite a while to make the Man Walrus and I helped Mr Dotty build the carpenter. He made the Carpenters head by nailing a couple of buttons into a cabbage and putting it on a stick...and guess which scarecrow got awarded a "highly commended"....MR CABBAGE HEAD!! No prizes for Walrus...boo hoo calloo callay!! Ah well, he was fun to make and he put a smile on many a face! :)

 

 Here are the other fabulous scarecrows on the block...

Dappa indeed!

Scrumpy anyone??

Fabulous dancing elf folk

Elvis (The King) had definately seen better days

 There were a lot of inspiring artsy things going on around the festival grounds. I particularly liked this amazing knitted tree trunk warmer! I love the little birds (of course!!)

 The flower show is a pretty arty crazy kind of affair. Here are some of the entries...

 and one post festival man walrus! He must have been partying pretty hard on Saturday night!

Here is the fox tail and ears I made modelled by little Miss M. She wore it to the festival on Sunday and looked pretty fantastic!

 

I'm linking up with Fiona over at Raindrops and daisys for another greenday link up! Hop over and check out green theme pics from around the globe. I'm also linking up with Lakota over at Faith, hope and charity shopping for Ta Dah! Tuesday where folk show of their wares! It can be something you've made, bought or found!

Bye for now

Dotty 

xxx