More Lace Book Pages

I'm very proud to announce that Suzy of Suziqusthreadworks has her first online class coming up in September, which I videoed and edited for her. It was a huge project for both of us, with a steep learning curve, and I'm so pleased it's turned out so well. It's being offered by Gail on her Creative Workshops blog. Suzy's fabric lace book/journal that she made to teach this class is to die for! You can see it here.

Suzy has really inspired me so much. I have been admiring her artworks on Pinterest and on her blog for a couple of years now, thinking how I'd love to try that kind of artwork but I didn't know how to start. She was so friendly and welcoming.

I'm now getting the hang of making these pages after spending time watching Suzy and doing a workshop with her. What a talent she is. She is a great teacher and has been really supportive. 

Here's my finished book from Suzy 's workshop. What a lovely pattern of cabbage roses I have on my old sofa. I almost feel like  using it for...ooops, put those scissors away! This was one of the backgrounds I used to photograph my lace book against, as the colours just worked together. Half the fun of making something is photographing it! 

I just had to show you the back cover, as I forgot to put it in my last post.

Now I have another couple of pages ready for another lace book - a middle spread. I'm still using the same theme - antique photos of babies - because my printer has died and life's so busy I haven't had time to research the best printer yet. Luckily I had printed quite a few pictures.

I love the old cabinet cards of babies and children - the monotone in muted browns, and the old lace dresses make me sigh. This photo was taken outdoors on a cloudy day. 

The following photo was taken inside on a sunny afternoon. The tones are much more golden, but the top one is more true to colour.

Here's a closeup of the cabinet card which I have printed onto cloth using freezer paper ironed on behind the cloth to keep it straight. It worked better than I expected. I was inspired by the blue-grey lace from an old dress, and used trimmings and lace to complement it.

This bunch of roses is from just two weeks ago - in mid-Winter! The bush is tatty, but still produces a few blooms. The petals last longer in the cool weather. I think this rose is called 'Mother's Love'. It is the palest mushroom colour when it unfurls.

Wouldn't you know it, cats always find the warmest cosiest spot to sleep! Gypsy loves to curl up in my top drawer, right next to me as I work on my computer. She purs whenever I pat her - I keep her engine restarting when she stops. I love that sound, it's so peaceful.

Since it took a while to set up my photo background to photograph my lace book pages, I decided to have a play with some pretty things to make some vignettes. The rose book was my $8 bargain at a garage sale last week.

I've been collecting doileys for years now. They fascinate me - all that hard work put into something to make life more beautiful. I've chosen to spell doiley this way, but I found an article about the various spellings of this word in a blog called The Dreamstress here.

Well, I'm determined to try to make some time each week for making crafty things, for playing.

 “Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good”

                                    Lucia Capocchione

Hope you find some time to play, too.