Mixed media with silk beads

Just a quick one today. How are you all going? I'm off to do the shopping and attend"book club" with the girls. (coffee actually. We tell out hubby's it's book club) 

Anyway, I thought I would show a little mixed media piece I am playing with. It utilizes my silk beads, stamped, dyed and embellished muslin. And some of my silk paper.

I'm not sure if the two parts will go together (the heart and the frame), I am thinking the heart is too busy and possibly needs to just sit by itself with a plain border of some description? And then make another simpler item for the frame (maybe a little fabric book with a verse?)

What do you think, any ideas?

Another day in paradise

Another beautiful Autumn morning. Not a cloud in the sky, birds singing, gentle temperature. As my father would say "wouldn't be dead for quids"! My son has come down from Perth with his brother-in-law to help with our business for a few days. It's lovely having him stay. It's a funny thing, with your children. Even when they have grown up, left home, married. And you love having your own space. I always feel that my world is a little more complete when they are around. It's as if they come under your wing of protection again. (am I being weird?)

Free Blog giveaway/treasury

Hi all. I had 10 replies to my giveaway with some great ideas for my beads. Awesome! Well I put those 10 special numbers in a hat and my hubby got to choose. Lucky Carapace has won the beads. I have asked her to send me a pic of her finished project (using the beads) which I will show you. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

(Carapace, the link you have given in the comments is'nt working :( . Please contact me before Friday with your details, otherwise I will draw again.)

In the meantime, I have been busy making more beads with my silk paper.  I am just loving the colours. For some reason they all remind me of ice cream flavours, Mulberries and Ice cream and Strawberry Wave.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/45570403/silk-fabric-beads-for-textile-and-mixed
mmm good enough o eat! So thank you to all those who entered.

And guess what? One of my tarot readings has been included in this gorgeous treasury. Here are a few of the items, but go and have a little peek yourself.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bd48da6eeb78eef2b978836?show_panel=true

GIVEAWAY!!!

I nearly forgot about the giveaway I was going to organize! Life just seems to get very busy sometimes with lots to do (in a good way)  :)

But here goes. I have been making these beautiful little beads out of my silk paper and would like to give a pack of 11 beads valued at $10.00 to someone (I will pick a random number out of a hat) at the end of the week. All you have to do is comment and tell me what creative things you would make using these beads. I will notify the lucky winner next Wednesday 28th April.

RED EARTH

These beads are actually a combination of merino wool fleece and silk tops that have been dyed in rustic blend of reds and deep ochres. Sprinkled through are rose gold angelina fibres that twinkle in the light.

You can find more of my beads in my etsy store if your are interested. http://sesenarts.etsy.com

Good luck and have a great day.

Sunrise over Busselton

 SUNRISE OVER BUSSELTON

I am blessed... Each morning I wake up to a sensational view. Today is Monday, and for those who "know"  I follow a blog called Much Love Monday.

Today, Anna  speaks of complements, and she invites others to comment and to add a link to their own 'love' link. 
http://muchlove-anna.blogspot.com/2010/04/much-love-monday-random-compliments.html

I love Autumn, the colours change, become cooler and 'bluer', there is a hint of rain in the air and the paddocks surrounding me become tinged in a beautiful iridescent green. And the sunrises. Oh the colours! How do you describe a sunrise? You try not to, I think..They are beyond description. Spirit is so clever!

Have a beautiful day, wherever you are in the world.

Hand Made Silk Paper

I did have fun in my studio the other day, making up some more silk paper. I love the soft feel of the silk, the sound of the rain on the roof and some funky music going in the background (theme music to Twilight). I decided on some beautiful strawberry coloured silk, blended with cream and a sprinkling of opalescent Angelina fibres for one and a muted goldy/bronzy colour with a silvery silk, sparkling with bronze and silver angelina fibres. [ for my American readers, Aussy English is  the same as British, so please excuse some words like colour and fibre  :) ]

What music do you craft to? Let me know and I'll make a list! My fav at the moment is Newton Faulkner and Twilight with a smattering of the theme music to Avatar, tracks 3 and 4 ( I just keep repeating them!)

Strawberries and Cream

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44680150

Silver and Gold

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44679220

 I'm actually thinking about doing a silk paper give away soon, maybe next week. Something along the lines of the 'most creative use of silk paper' type thing. I'll let you know soon.

Have an excellent day.  :)

Pieces of Me Crazy Quilt

Life just gets busy sometimes, doesn't it? I sold some of my silk paper from my etsy shop yesterday to the USA  and then woke up to more sold to the UK this morning. Well, there went my morning! Making more paper for sesenarts. Never mind, I love playing with all that colour! I'll show you tomorrow what I made.

But for now, I'll show you where I am at with my quilt. Ive decided to go analogous, so have done some 'purple patches'. hmmm as I type that I feel it is actually quite symbolic of where I am at just at this point! It's all very good and busy. Lots of art (some even selling -BONUS), have just finalised our trip to Italy in June (very excited) nieces falling pregnant [ yep thats Diem if you are looking Jesse ;) ]  Lots of good things.

Anyway, with Pieces of Me, Ive decided to use  the dark blue velvet on the blue patches as borders around each square, then maybe the purple velvet as the edging around the entire quilt. How does that sound?

Organic tomatoes and Chicken Pie

Hi everyone. It's Monday. I had a great weekend, how about you? I have to admit to being in a bit of a bind... I've got a few things to chat about, but know that I should really concentrate on one topic per post [ so Ive been told :) ]. Do I talk quilts? Or carry on from my Friday chat about the exhibition and children cooking my birthday dinner?

After having a quick perusal through blogs I follow. Actually I only got as far as one, Much Love Monday. http://muchlove-anna.blogspot.com/2010/04/much-love-monday-florals.html      

So decided to talk about a few of the things I love.

My children -of course and good fresh food. Actually I'll combine them! 

After I posted on Friday I went out to my garden and picked a bowl of beautiful, fresh, juicy organic cherry tomatoes. They looked so lovely I took a photo.

 These were lovingly fried up, added an egg and presented to the love of my life for brekky. Yum!

But dinner that night... the pice de resistance (hmm spelling?). Our two daughters and their partners came over and cooked us dinner for our birthday. Home made chicken and vege pie with salad, followed by ice-cream cake! My eldest,  cooked up the contents of the pie, and the youngest decorated the top. A marvel in imagination! Check this out, I just had to bring out the camera!

UNICORN IN THE SKY WITH STARS

Isn't it great? If you look carefully, you'll find little birds flying above the unicorns head as well.

Vasse Primary School Art Award

Got a busy day ahead (again!). Really, all I want to do is quilt, I found some nice little scraps of fabric to add to my 'pieces of me' but 'life' has a way of getting in the way of playing. :(  

Actually, it's not all bad, really. It's hubby's birthday today. Yes we are only 3 days apart, very handy for combined presents! We tend to take each other out for lunch these days. I think he got sick of buying me art related items. Now how can anyone have enough art stuff, I ask you?

Grevillia -mixed media 1m x 1.3m (acrylic,pencil,ink, machine embroidery)

Anyway, moving right along! It's bookwork now (boring), followed by shopping for food (boring), then maybe time for a 'little' bit of quilting  .  BUT THEN ... it gets relatively exciting! I have placed my Grevillia (a type of flower) mixed media canvas in the Vasse Primary School Art Award exhibition. This is becoming quite a prestigious exhibition, with some really great works being represented.

I (and hubby, can't forget him) are invited to the 'Artists drinkies, check out the competition party', for a few hours this afternoon. Actually it should be fun, but best of all...our eldest daughter will be at home cooking us up a fabulous dinner for our birthday! Now that is what I am excited about!

Pieces of Me Crazy Quilt

Well, I have been inspired by Suziequ's quilts and have decided to have a go at my first 'proper quilt.'  I have only ever done patchwork on a very minor scale when making other textile art pieces, so this is new. I attempted a traditional patchwork quilt years ago, got as far as cutting out 30 little triangles and decided I did not have the patience to complete it. I need to 'slash and burn' when it comes to textile and art. If it doesn't happen quickly I have a hissy fit and throw it away! But I do love fabric, particularly shiny, velvety tactile fabrics in rich luxurious colours. WHAT DID I DISCOVER??? Crazy Quilts, yes these are made for the impatient quilter hidden within me!

I have been collecting fabrics for years and went through my stash. There they were, velvet and silk from a tie dyed waistcoat,  sari fabric found in Malaysia 8 years ago, bits of hand dyed cotton, some shiny fabric -no idea what it is :) all in beautiful blues and greens. Okay, there is my start. Ive cut out 9 twelve inch squares for my backing bits and have run amok with little bits of fabric. This quilt will be called 'Pieces of Me', I have a memory attached to each piece of fabric so it seemed right.

Now is the tricky bit and I need your help here. Ive completed 4 squares of these colours , where do I go from here? What border colors do you suggest and what colours for the other squares? Do I go tertiary, triadic, complementary.? Any imput will be graciously received.

Cambodian Children's Trust

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me happy birthday dear Julie etc etc... Yes, today is my 51st birthday. I have managed to make it through that biggy (50th) virtually unscathed. Having said that, I watched a program on tele last night,  Australian Story http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2007/s2864533.htm based on a 22 year old Aussie girl Tara Winkler who is the patron of an orphanage in Cambodia. She found this place whilst travelling as an 18 year old and has spent the last 3 years fund-raising and working nearly single handedly to keep this orphanage going. The strength of character found in this girl is a rarity, and I have to admit feeling quite a 'lesser soul' compared. She is making a mark in this world, she will leave this life having made it better place. I wish to 'make my mark' in some way. I'm not sure what is is yet. But I like to think we can all 'be something to someone out there'. Maybe we can't all be Tara Winkler's, and it may be something as small as 'giving a smile to someone who doesn't have one of their own', but we are all capable of improving someones else's life in some way.

 Have a look at her story, it is truly inspiring.  Or you may like to make a donation to the Cambodian Children's Trust.

http://www.cambodianchildrenstrust.org/

Have a great day every one :)

Beautiful quilts

 These are some of the most beautiful quilts I have seen for a while. You just want to cuddle up and get lost in a fantasy of colour. I have spoken of Suziequ before, a fellow Aussi etsian. Well I was having a browse through her blog 
http://suziqusthreadworks.blogspot.com/  WOW!!! You should check these out! Her choices of colours, fabrics, shapes blow me away.

White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

I wanted to  bake a White Chocolate Cheesecake for Sunday lunch tomorrow and have lost my favorite recipe! OMG, so had to go internet hopping, (as you do). I found this recipe and it is very close to what I bake. My only addition is Ginger-nut biscuits to the base and I omit the raspberries. Doesn't this one look delicious 

www.exclusivelyfood.com.au

Above: Baked white chocolate cheesecake with strawberry coulis, vanilla ice cream and mint leaves.

This white chocolate cheesecake has a soft, smooth and creamy consistency. Because it is rich, we like to serve it with a fruit coulis (or fresh fruit) and ice cream.

To make a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, pour half of the filling over the base, sprinkle with 150g of raspberries, then pour the remaining filling over the raspberries and bake.

Serves at least 10.

Base
250g Nice biscuits (we use Arnott's brand)
120g butter, melted (the amount you need may vary, depending on the type of biscuits you use)

Filling
375g cream cheese, softened
82g (1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon) caster sugar
3 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
185g white chocolate, melted
225g (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced). If you have a fan-forced oven and are unable to turn the fan off, preheat your oven to 145 degrees Celsius.

Line the base of a 20cm or 21cm diameter springform cake pan with baking paper. Grease or line the side. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Finely crush biscuits in a blender or food processor. Combine crushed biscuits with melted butter and firmly press mixture over the base and side of the prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

Using a food processor or electric mixer, beat cream cheese with sugar. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times. When mixture is smooth, beat in eggs one at a time.

Quickly stir sour cream into melted white chocolate, stirring until smooth. Add to cream cheese mixture along with the vanilla. Beat until ingredients are combined.

Pour filling over biscuit base and bake for about one hour. Leave cheesecake at room temperature for one hour then cover and refrigerate for several hours, or until cold and set.

When ready to serve, cut with a hot, dry knife. Store any leftover cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au

Etsy treasury

 I have been included in  a beautiful treasury called Temptation, created by an fellow Australian etsian Gift Designs

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5048784. It features a tempting array of gentle pinks and blues. Stop by a have a look. :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=123372

Good Friday

Happy Easter All.

 Its quiet this morning. Hubby and I got up, greeted the morning with thanks, had a cup of tea and a hot cross buns. Gave the horses a cuddle (as you do) and will go for a walk on the beach in a while. Tonight my son and his wife are coming down from Perth for a sleep-over.  So the rest of Easter will be busy.  What do you do at Easter? Traditionally we are supposed to go fishing to win the Big Fish Award. This is a little plaque that I made years ago, and is awarded to the family (extended) member who catch the largest edible fish off the beach. The salmon are running this time of year, so that is what everyone is after.  The photo is of my son , a few years back with his winning fish. We cheated that year as the whole family went out on a charter boat, and it was decided that the biggest fish would be caught that day.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday and I will catch up later. Oh yes, I did manage to incorporate those silk beads into a painting. I throw up a pic later. :-) Do let me know how you spend your holiday.

Aunt Karen's Critiques

I have been honored to have my Tulip Art Quilt posted on Aunt Karen's blogspot for critiquing. This is a regular blogspot she does for etsy shops. I would love you to drop on over there to add your comments.http://auntkarenscreations.blogspot.com/2010/03/double-feature-critiques.html