This is the first finished set of paper pottery bowls that I mentioned earlier (below) when I was showing the ‘little red bowl’.  The original inspiration for these bowls is obviously mushrooms, although the notion to create a set or two was borne of an earlier single bowl I made which is available in the shop, here.

I’m rather pleased with the outcome although with the weather being truely evil of late and in the absence of a light box I’ve really struggled to get any pictures.  I only managed to get  these photo’s during a very brief interlude in the weather that only really lasted long enough for me to set up my ‘studio’.

More mushroom bowls coming soon, I’m experimenting a bit with alternative colours, so expect something a wee bit different.

This handmade needle-case is for the ‘Handmade Needlecase’ swap on Swap-bot.

I have been doing quite a bit of swapping at this website to try out new ideas and try to hone my needlework skills.  I’ve found it lends a purpose to my crafting rather than simply making something for the sake of it,. which normally leads to a huge pile of WIPs for me.

some close ups

front

inside front cover and first page

inside back cover and last page

back

front and back

When I started making this I wasn’t at all sure what the design would be.  I had an idea that I wanted to continue with my tree and mushroom obsession but hadn’t got much further than that thought.  I really enjoyed making this up as I went along and will probably make more of these in the future, each one a little or a lot different than the last.  I’d like to see how the idea evolves.

When I’m not running around threatening perfectly good sticks with my whittling and wood carving knives or shredding newspapers and sticking them to unsuspecting moulds I quite often find myself taking pictures of a whole host of random subjects … I’ll maybe upload more in the coming days given that I’ll not be finishing any stuff in the immediate future given a shortage of inspiring lumps of wood, and a lack of motivation to go and chop the logs that would yield said lumps.

I have got a couple of papier mache projects on the go at the moment including a bowl and a small character that I can’t help thinking of as a teeny-tiny-pontipine … it won’t be, but currently that’s where it is in my head … actually, that concerns me a bit!?

Anyway, in keeping with Jolene’s mushroom / toadstool  slant at the moment (yup, there’s more to come on that front), here’s where the fairies really live …

Is it an ornament or is it a pincushion?  Well, it could be either.  In this case it’s an ornament because the intended recipient doesn’t sew.

The pattern for this was from Little House by the Sea, who very kindly shared her pattern.  The embroidery was mostly my own creation, although the general idea was also taken from the one’s made by Little House by the Sea.  The stitches used are back stitch, running stitch, bullion stitch (which was new for me on this piece) and something that I know as lazy daisy, although I’m not at all sure that’s its correct name.