French Street Cards

Some time ago I made a postcard for our EG French Street exhibition and got the size wrong.... So I've made another two, I just couldn't be bothered to redo the first one.  They have to be in for next Saturday so at last I got my finger out and finished them.

 The background of this card doesn't show up very well at all but its a mosaic of tiny scraps of fabric in colour bands.  I covered the whole piece in organza in co-co-ordinating colours after I bonded the Eiffel tower to the background.  I wanted to achieve a sort of Monet affect and it works, except in the photo.  I took the idea from a photo taken when Keith and I were last in Paris.  There is an area, forget where it is, that you get a great view of the whole of the tower.  In the photo were other people viewing the same scene and I used the back view of one couple.  It's not strictly an authentic view as I've added trees and some quilted buildings to the background.

 This one is a again from a photo taken somewhere in Southern France, forget the name of the village.  I have wanted to try out fmq on a patchwork background for some time and thought this would make another card.  Not really pleased with the doorways.

This last one was the first one I made and it is 5" x 7" but the other two are the correct size of A5

A bit of this and that

May hasn't been a month of activity, sewing wise that is but I have managed to do the odd bit of crafting.  I finally got round to making a mat for my Janome sewing machine to sit on when I take it to workshops.

I used a piece of batik fabric that I'd been 'saving for something special'.  I really need to use up some of the stash I've collected, I can't 'save' it all.

Last Saturday Nicky Dillerstone was giving a talk to our embroiderers guild and in the morning she had agreed to hold a mini workshop, called "Textured Frames".  I hadn't a clue what to expect but signed up for it on the basis that it would be fun just to do things with friends.  We were all given a pack of bits and pieces, mainly papers, string, thread, bandage and scraps of fabric.  Along with six four in square pieces of card with a 2" hole in the centre and a book cover.  We were given permission to play, to create frames that could be made into a small book.  We all finished six pages but had to take them home to complete and bring back to the guild next month.

Well I managed to get mine finished, I had to create a couple more pages to fill the book cover out but here it is.  My theme, after much deliberation, was based on walking by the sea and along the coastal path near home.

I covered the book cover in crumpled brown paper, edge it with a piece of lace and later spray dyed it and finally gave it a coating of acrylic wax to make it shine like leather.

First spread is a view from the coastal path and sand dunes.  I haven't a clue why Blogger has decided to turn the rest of the photos on their side but try as I might I can't get them to print in the correct orientation.  Sorry you will get a crick in your neck looking at these.

 Looking through the grass at the sea and the harbour side.

 Rockpools and the sea and the lighthouse from the dunes.

The lighthouse again with a rock pool and a view of the moors from the dunes at sunset.