Shopping List Saturday

Gloriously girly fairytale fancies have formed my Shopping List this weekend - I adore them all. Hope you do too!

1)handmade RETRO STORY BOOK sundress from LOVER DOVERS green and white polka dots with cherry print and red ric rac trim great birthday party dress or special occasion custom boutique for baby infant toddler or girls/ loverdoversclothing - will you look at this!! How cute?? Just gorgeous...and take a peek in the store for the sweetest little doll dresses with matching accessories too.
2)Follow Me There/ artandghosts - a girl guide in the most beautiful leg attire stands with her curious companion, a print from the Fairytale Silhouette series. Fabulous, just like everything in the store.
3)Put On Your Dancing Shoes - Signed Fine Art Photograph/ starrybluesky - from a dream, aren't they? Yes, I dream of owning gorgeous shoes just like these. So why not have them on my wall?!
4)Alice In Wonderland - Big-version two(light)/ Champignons - stripey legs, ruffled underskirt to die for...terrific image.

For more Shopping Lists packed full of covetable handmade items, do click on the links in the sidebar. Would you like to join in? Let me know - the more the merrier!

Shopping List Saturday

I know, I'm late again this weekend.

I'll be Shopping later today, but I just wanted to use this post to welcome a new blogger to our team of Shopping Listers. Welcome to Ivy, from EderaFairie and the gorgeous Etsy store EderaJewelry. Ivy has posted her first Shopping List this weekend, so do pop over and take a peek at her coveted items!

See you later...

Merry-Go-Round

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

Our question this month is: What is your favourite publication(s)? Is there a book, magazine or website that has become the bible of your art/craft?

Inspiration for me comes from absolutely anywhere and everywhere - nature, magazines, my children and their inventive imaginations, historical properties, gardens, holidays, that ball of string that has tangled itself up into the most beautiful of patterns...everything! My eyes always seem to be open, everywhere I go. I love colour, detail and sumptuous texture.

It is no surprise to learn I'm sure, that I could while away many an hour grazing on the amazing talent and beauty that can be found on flickr and in numerous Etsy stores. That goes without saying! I devour every issue of Country Living magazine, too...oh, to live those 'perfect' lives! Stampington magazines are a fabulous way of looking in on other artists' lives and works - ever inspirational.

However, there are two tomes that never ever fail to inspire me - or at the very least leave me breathless with want and aspirations. Take a look at Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail (Lucy Johnston) and The Art of Embroidery - inspirational stitches, textures and surfaces (Francoise Tellier-Loumagne) and you'll see what I mean. When I open these publications, I feel the need to reach out and touch...to feel for myself the ruffles of fabric, the nubbles of thick thread, the delicacies of the stitches beneath my fingertips. Such beauty and intricacy to marvel at!

If I could climb into these books and never get out again, I would. Taking with me my monthly copy of Country Living, of course! That, my friends, is happiness indeed.

What publications inspire my fellow international merry-go-rounders? Do click on the links in the sidebar to find out!

Changes...

new shoes, new shoes, red and white and..., originally uploaded by fancypicnic.

Don't you just love polka dots? And on the insides of your shoes...?!! Lucky daughter...

Things seem to be a-changing here...slowly, but changing nonetheless. Sounds exciting? I think it could be - but for now, whilst we tinker and play about a bit and find our way, things continue to mosey along the same as always, so I'm here - sanding and stitching and completing custom orders just as before.

Hope you're all having a good week. Where's the sunshine today? x

Shopping List Saturday

Just trying to squeeze this weeks' Shopping List in before the stroke of midnight...I seem to flit in and out these days!

These fabulous items have won me over this week...take a peek and see what you think.

1)Summer - Collaged Brooch/ zoeest-coming from the wonderful Zoe Woods, this layered plywood collage brooch is sold in her new etsy shop. Do take a look - everything's so pretty.
2)Poetry art doll - Bramble/ The7thMagpie - I'm a fan of this magpie's work...lovely embroidered textiles, decorated with beads and stitches. Her latest doll series is quite charming.
3)THE BUNNY n ITS TREASURE (Bracelet) Limited Edition/ OpusMuse - I just adore this, not merely because of the cute little vintage bunny charm; the deep cherry red lampwork glass is good enough to eat!
4)Orange/ TimothyAdamDesigns - I'm going to quote the item description now: ' are you looking for a little modern for your jewelry collection? Here is a great orange pendant hand cut, painted and drilled from recycled steel.' Yes, please!! I love it!

Hope these little beauties have made your day x

For more Shopping Lists handmade style, do check out the blogs listed in the sidebar...if you would like to join us with your own weekly list, just let me know!

So, I'm sanding log upon log upon log....

images from my flora flickr set; mosaic created via picnik.

...and I have a slight tendency to get a little...bored.

I've found a solution. Have my camera to hand, take a few minutes' break with some fresh air that isn't filled with sawdust, wander about a bit, snap snap - ready to start sanding again. Works every time. Logs, anyone???

Not much stitching going on in these parts.....

Shopping List Saturday

I'm a bit late again this weekend with my Shopping List. Oh dear. Let's hope no-one noticed...

This week, a small list again, but it contains my most recent Etsy favourites. Little gems indeed. Here they are - see what you think (and you must check out their stores...packed full of loveliness, all of them):

1)To the skyline pendant/ flightpathdesigns

2)Bathtub - 5x7 Fine Art Print/ janeheller

3)Underwater revelry.../ barefootweaver

4)The Romance -- original illustration --/ fricdementol

I just love all of these...hope you do too.


For many more Shopping Lists from fellow Etsy sellers, do click on the links in the sidebar. If you would like to join us, just let me know! Hope you all have a happy week ahead xx

A Lovely Blog Award

It seems to me that a lot can go on whilst you're away!

Two kind ladies have given me a Lovely Blog Award - the lovely lady from Bags and Buds, and Theresia from Minori Design . How sweet - thank you both.

Now, I need to pass this on to 5 blogs that I have recently discovered and enjoyed. (Girls, please feel free to accept this award and pass it on to 5 more blogs). Here goes...

blossom - a feast for the eyes, every visit

vadjutka - I love her fabric jewellery...!

fleurfatale - again, lovely jewellery!

Lobster and Swan - beautiful, beautiful blog.

Dropes de Mentol - art I love.


Do pop in on them ... with a cup of tea and a spare few minutes ... and enjoy xx

onmydeskwednesday

onmydeskwednesday, originally uploaded by fancypicnic.

Can you believe it? I'm posting about my desk, on the correct day for a change!!

On my desk today - a couple of w.i.p's, as I begin to make sense of the dollmaking process. They're lurking in my head (dolls), as they have been for quite some time now; I'm wondering if maybe now's the time to see them come to fruition...?


For more desk activity, pop over to kootoyoo - why not join in??

Little treasures...

flickr image, 'mine' by fancypicnic; enhanced via picnik

Such treasures.
I love this time of year, when I can feel the summer holidays are just around the corner...the clue? Eldest joyously seeking out these little beauties from my mother's garden. Joy indeed.

My garden (unlike my mother's) is desperately in need of some TLC to prevent the weeds from choking everything in sight - guess what I'm up to for a few days?! At least there's a silver lining...the ideal opportunity to go mad with the macro function!

Have a lovely day, weeding or otherwise x

Shopping List Saturday

Ready to shop? Off we go...

1)Eco Toes. Sunshine Linen. Size 7-8 / infusion - aren't these gorgeous? Treat your toes and look super-cute at the same time!
2)Soft Rocks Paper Chain Party Streamer Crocheted Scarf/ Toggle - such a lot of fun, don't you think? I'm thinking I'd like to festoon my house with some too. Gorgeous.
3)Outsider art textile sculpted dolls - freestanding figures - The Masked Pair / The7thMagpie - I love these, in fact all of the embroidered pieces available in the store - do check them out. Lovely use of colour and stitch.
4)Bow - textile doll / novembermoon - if you read my blog regularly, I think you'll already know how much I love Cathy Cullis' work...if, like me, you've fallen for this little beauty, snap her up now. Cathy sells out very quickly!

This week, I'm pleased to welcome not one, but several new players to our fold...Catania from etsy store chococatania; Claire from etsy store sewsewcrafty; Karen from etsy store blossomnbird; Gemma from etsy store gemmipop designs...and finally Stephanie from etsy store Stephanie Levy. I wonder, have I missed anyone??

Wonderful to have you join us, ladies. I know some of you have played along for a little while already. Thank you - I hope you're having fun!

Have a great weekend - it's raining here, so take it easy...put your feet up and shop handmade!

Feels good to be back...

...and sewing again.

This is another yoke for a salwar kameez which is on its way to America right now. It's heavily decorated and reminds me of a walk through a wildflower meadow. Ever the romantic...

Thank you so, so much for all of your kind words - left for me here, some via flickr and many via email. Families are so important, aren't they? Things are slowly getting back to normal...and I have a lot of catching up to do!!