Shopping List Saturday

It's the weekend, girls! That's right...we've got licence to shop, shop, shop!

These wonderful handmade items I've chosen this week provide a little insight into what it must be like to live in an imaginary world, or a dreamlike state - trust me, I've listened from behind the bedroom door to my youngest at play enough times to have great knowledge of the world of fairytales!

1)verona ring/cookoorikoo - perfect for every Juliet from her Romeo, or any grown up princess!

2)Japanese Fairy with Peacock Feathers drawstring bag in Thai silk and satin print. Copper version/ babastudioPrague - so delicious...just like every item in the store!

3)a room of ones own - cream archival print/ swallowfield - we just LOVE treehouses in our house. We dream of building one; a room of my own? Yes, please!

4)Miss Fawn Cuttington's Rustic A-Frame / JessRae888 - every little girl would love this...a little magic deep in the forest. Just like my house, don't you know!

5)green fresh felt necklace / Shir4el - this looks to me like the fairies made it. I love it!

6)Secret Lovers, Red and the Wolf 8x12 inch print /meluseena - the inspiration for this weeks choices...how wonderful is this? I love the quirk here, the twist in the tale; so beautifully illustrated, I can't stop looking at it! Mesmerising.

(Apologies for how difficult this is to read - I'll try making the type different colours, see if that helps - there seems to be a glitch that is stopping the line spacing from working properly.)

Hello to dreambird designs! Heather actually joined us a few weeks ago...oops. I'm sorry to say that I omitted to add her blog to the linklist, so there are a few Shopping Lists for us to catch up on. I'd like to wholeheartedly, and shamefacedly welcome Heather to the Shopping List Saturday team of players.

Please take the time to pop in on the other players in this Shopping List meme - the links are on the right, in my sidebar. Would you like to join in, and promote the wonders of Etsy's handmade items? Please just let me know! Enjoy the rest of your weekend....

Merry Go Round

Jump on and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

Our question for this month is:
If you had the time/money, what new craft or art would you like to try this year?

This is actually a good question for me to be answering this month...it might just give me that little push I need to get working properly again - if only I had more time!
On the approach to Christmas, I felt a strong urge to pick up a sketchbook and draw. The woodcutter will keel over backwards when he reads this - I haven't used a sketchbook for years! I know, deep down, how terrible that is...my college years taught me how valuable sketching is for your skills and inspirations.
I feel a slight shift is occuring in my creative hours of the day. My fingers itch to dabble again with monoprinting - I love the intensity of the process; the purposeful markmaking and the imperfections of the result. I can see, too, how the images could be transferred to fabric (thanks, Sara!), and in turn become something new - a pendant, maybe, or detailings of a collar - and reworked with stitchery.

I've been slowly nurturing a need to start making dolls, too. Mysterious, quirky dolls...dolls with few details, save for decorative ones. I'm thinking worn out ruffles; shabby threads; torn silk; dark, Miss Havisham-esque Dickens undertones. I want to experiment again with papier-mache, so I guess that collage elements will make a welcome return. It's funny, but writing this down makes me want to jump up and get on with it!!

One last thing...I really fancy making coronet drapes (you know the sort of thing - the wonderful fabric 'curtains' that fall from decorative mouldings above beautiful beds in historic manor houses), and cushions with details you feel compelled to reach out and touch...

History, theatre and dusty attic rooms - total inspiration for me. How far can I take it, I wonder?


Eight other women are sharing their ideas with us today. Please click on their links in the sidebar and have yourself a jolly good read - we're all in different time zones, so do pop back later if you don't find what you're looking for straight away. Inspiration awaits you!

On My Desk Wednesday

Okay - I hold my hands up! I'm rumbled!!
Yes, this is an old photograph (taken last July; see the original here), so your eyes are not deceiving you (but you can see that I've altered it a bit today, thanks to picnik). A day or two ago I said 'goodbye' to the collar that was the work in progress in the original pic - it is winging its way to Australia as we speak.

I hope she likes it!!!

I could while away many, many happy hours fiddling with my photographs - a tweak here, a blur there. (For more OnMyDeskWednesday larks, or to join in with this meme, pop over to kootoyoo's blog).
If you would like to see some truly GORGEOUS photographs, by a very (loved) old friend of mine, click here. Sit back and enjoy...

Inspirations...

With the forest playing such a large part of my life these days, the Forest Floor Leaf Brooch has returned to my Etsy store this evening. Imagine a little stroll beneath the trees; of the earth beneath your feet and the many treasures and surprises that rest atop the mossy ground...I think you get the picture!

A Snapshot for Sunday

(image enhanced using picnik)

Well, you hear me talk about logs more these days than you do about my textile work! I just thought I'd show you what we're all about. This is a photo taken of our logs being used as part of a 'log wall installation' in Zizzi's restaurant, London. Yum.

That's all for today...hope you're having a lovely, lazy Sunday.

Saturday Shopping List

Hey hey!! It's the weekend!

As you know, we've been super busy with our decorative logs (The Log Basket) this week...so to continue that theme - you can never have too much of a good thing! - I've carefully chosen some groovy loggy items to bring you all a little closer to my world. I love 'em all - they're cool and desirable, and give the humble log the beauty status it deserves.....enjoy!

1)Cross Cut Tree Trunk T- Shirt/ sweetbabu

2)Make Your Own Birch Log Kit/ myimaginaryboyfriend

3)bird log print/ matteart

4)Into The Woods Necklace - No.1/ SmartBird


Okay - have fun shopping handmade this weekend! Do click on the Shopping List Saturday links in my sidebar and discover other gorgeous items from fellow Etsy sellers. If you fancy joining us regularly on Saturdays with your own Etsy Shopping Lists, let me know...we'd love to have you!

On My Desk...

Okay - strictly speaking, this is not on my desk today...but it was just over a month ago! I've been busy sanding logs today, but I need a bit of textile solace, so I thought I'd show you this.
This wrist cuff was a custom order for someone who loves turquoise, orange and textures...so, I piled on the colour, added as many different fabrics as I could possibly squeeze into the space, and sprinkled over some faceted beads, to catch the light. I love the bold colour combination, and the tufts of silk.

I was SO tempted to keep it!! If only it hadn't been made for a wonderfully dainty wrist, I think I would have done!

Pop over now to kootoyoo's blog for real desklife activity!

Shopping List Saturday...Sunday Style

Here at last! I'm not doing very well with posting, lately...anyhow, here's a glimpse through the window of my world of favourites from Etsy this week....

1)Madame de Pompadour/ ImagineStudio - you must check out Lyse's store, looking at her work is like seeing your dreams in print! Gorgeous.
2)Candy Apple Pink (2007) / chimaerashop - I love a good pink and green combo, and I love the textures in this.
3)1950's New Look Party Dress Cocktail Dress Apple Green Taffeta, Lace With Bubble Hem/ StelmaDesigns - Oh, check out that hemline!
4)ON SALE XOXO MiniZ/ florspace - so cute! You can never have too many purses or pouches...am I right, or am I right, girls??
5)A-Line Bag Brushed Bull Denim Textures -3- Black/ aandvdesigns - I need this!! Love the sculptural quality of the detailing on this bag.
6)Felt flower brooch/ calexandra - colour to lift your spirits in our cold and grey wintertime. Lovely!

Please check out the link list in my sidebar for more goodies picked by fellow Etsy sellers this weekend...enjoy!

Shopping List...Coming Soon....Today/Tomorrow...xxx

Oops!
Busy day today - apologies if you've arrived here looking for my Shopping List (well, it is Saturday!)...would you pop back tomorrow?? Should be all done and dusted by then...thanks!!

Have a lovely weekend! xxx

Where Will You Find Yourself?

Etsy success...we'd all like to be successful, wouldn't we? So, naturally, I can't resist reading the many hints and tips that are out there in the forums and the Storque, crossing my fingers that I will stumble upon THE MAGIC FORMULA that will turn me into an overnight triumph!! Of course, I could help myself by sewing a lot more, but we'll just quickly gloss over that...

The article I read in the Storque yesterday was Shop Makeover Series: Are Your Photos Front Pageworthy? Hmm. Then, I read about increasing your chances of a high Google rating. The next step, unsurprisingly, was to Google myself. Slightly strange!! Way back when, I thought quite hard about my name, fancypicnic. I wanted something that would allude to my jewellery, which I thought was a little like a luxurious blanket, laden with delicious tidbits - a fancy picnic - but could also encompass other products if I wandered off the beaten track. It still amused me, though, to find myself lodged between 'Fancy Picnic Baskets, Wholesale' and 'For a really fancy picnic think wine and spritzers'. I mean, what did I expect??

It's incredibly flattering to discover myself here and there, in unexpected places - like this little mention on the blooming lily blog - thank you, Laurie! Have you Googled yourself yet? Bet you have. If not, give it a go! It's quite fun, actually!

Thank you so much for your comments left for me over the past few weeks - they're lovely! I'm still popping in on Shopping Lists and blogposts I've missed...I may not always comment, but I am catching up!

Shopping List Saturday

Shopping time again!! Who needs an excuse?!
No theme this Saturday, just a selection of my favourites for you to peruse at your leisure...enjoy!

1) Artsy pink and green mixed media mosaic pendant with ribbon necklace/ mistflowerstudio – this is delicious, isn’t it? Be sure to pop in to Valerie’s shop for many more artful mosaic beauties.
2) different bits bag/ SCRAPdannymansmith – I love this : unique and groovy.
3) Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve - Vintage Anatomy Image on Linen - Valentine Brooch/ shavingkitsuppplies – Quirky and fun; irresistible!
4)Indian silk Heart brooch / calexandra – of course I’m going to love this...and Indian silk, too...
5) Pocket mirror etching of a spider mum flower drawing/ HelenGotlib – A gorgeous gift, or a treat for your handbag!
6) Clown in deep plum purple/ ninu –Roomy and stylish..I need this!

Welcome to Leslie from 3birdsofafeather joining us this weekend for the first time. Do take a little time to check out the links to fellow Etsy bloggers and their Saturday picks...find them in the sidebar on the right. (We’re worldwide, so our posting times do vary)
Happy handmade shopping this weekend!

Looking Forward...

A belated happy new year to you!

Why this picture? Well, I think the deep shadows really capture my mood - but I love the glow of warmth from the strong highlights and new growth of gorgeous honeysuckle. I always find I feel a bit, well...bleak...at the start of the New Year. For many people, it heralds new beginnings, new ventures and a sensation of casting off the old, and embracing the new. It probably says a lot about my personality that for me, the shrugging off of the old is not really something I enjoy. Why is that, I wonder? Out of my comfort zone? Probably!!

I gave the old sewing machine a complete break this holiday...so now I need to focus on those creative challenges that I've been pondering for a while. I'm completely behind with reading everyone's blogs, so apologies for that...I feel SO out of touch now! The woodcutter needs an extra pair of hands these days, so it is possible that I will be writing a little less over these coming months. A balancing act is in order I think. Here's to productivity, creativity and a reasonable amount of semi-decent organisation!!