Blog Header Part Two

Hello friends,

In my previous post, I started to describe my process for making my new blog header (version 2 is below), but I wandered off the track a bit to tell you the story of the background - a texture from the wall of the Yarralumla Shearing Shed stands in Canberra, Australia.

My new blog header is a celebration of things I make and love... collages, fairies, old books, vintage laces, luggage, cabinet cards and ephemera. 

The second version here was too large, so I had to cut down its depth while trying to simplify the clutter a little. (I get inspired and want to include everything!)

Below is one of my collages made for a friend's wedding anniversary.

Some velvet forget-me-nots...

Some old letters I have collected and tied with seam binding ribbon...

Embroidered flowers from an old linen table cloth...

A metal heart which I covered with scrapbooking paper...

A gorgeous vintage bridal or bridesmaid's headdress from Lakeside Vintage in Burrill Lake...

A vintage hat or head piece...

My vintage  Fairy book with a vintage card tucked inside...

Vintage buttons...

A birdcage with a real nest inside...

My nest fairy...

A vintage suitcase with a faux leather pattern...

My lace and fabric book started with Suzy of SuziQsthreadworks...

A vintage box of old laces with fabric flowers on top...

What fun I have had fiddling with items to make different versions! I tried out some Photoshop brushes...

Here's the final version, cleaned up with spot healing brush... I'm very happy with it, and look forward to doing another in the future.

I am joining Wen on AppleApricot for Simply Neutrals Tuesday #44, where you can see beauty explored in a neutral theme.

Thanks for dropping in. Feel free to subscribe or follow me, as I will be posting regularly at least weekly in between Simply Neutrals Tuesdays.

Have a creative and happy week!

Jesse

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.

My Finished Lace Book

Greetings At last I've finished the Lace book I began with Suzy of http://suziqusthreadworks.blogspot.com.au/.

Here's the cover as I left Suzy's place....

Well, I knew it wasn't finished and I kept playing and experimenting with different ideas. I like both, ideas, but this is the finished front cover:

I experimented with different lighting when I photographed it. Here it is in the afternoon filtered sun:

A couple of close-ups...

The embellishment is a piece of lace from a wedding dress, with some metal mesh from an old soap holder I found. It was malleable and scruffy. The bottom piece of lace was from a baby's dress that had been made into a bag. It was pale pink, but I dyed it in parisian essence and it became this mushroomy shade, and the ribbon kept its pale blue tinge.

The colour looks different in various light. I love its old-world charm. The flower at the top left is one I made using a candle to melt the fabric petals to make them curl, with a tatted doiley, some yarn fibres and found florist berries which i spray-painted gold.

Here's the first pages - a lace doiley pocket with a vintage postcard featuring roses in a salmon tone, and the right-hand page which was done with Suzy - I later added the word and the last open weave white lace doiley because i wanted the niddle spread to be a similar length, but forgot it would also show longer on the preceding page (this one)!

Here is the middle spread...

And on another day, in different light...

A close-up - I cut roses from a strip of curtain material that I rescued from an op-shop. It was attached to a pelmet. These pages had more pinkish tones because the old photos were slightly pink in tone. I love the white leaf, which was cut from a vintage doiley. A while ago I had a day where I dyed fabrics and doileys using boiled avocado skin and seeds. It made a beautiful dusky pink, and I used some in these pages. (I will do a post on the avocado dyeing soon, too.)

 Close -ups, in a different light - afternoon sun indoors.

Here's the last page spread, including another pocket page I made with Suzy.

I had made this 'fairy' from paper and she just seemed to belong in the pocket...

Thanks to Suzy, I have now overcome my paralysing fears of cutting into a gorgeous vintage doiley, not knowing where to start, or making a mistake! 

I realise it's all a learning experience, and you just have to dive in and have a go, and look at what you might have done differently and try that next time... 

So, thank you Suzy for sharing your talent as an artist. I am absolutely in awe of how much beautiful work you produce!!! But it's lovely that even busy mums can achieve something in small sessions of stolen time, once you get started.

Here's a picture I took on the way home from Suzy's place near Bega, Australia. The trip was full of beautiful views; I had to make myself concentrate on driving!

Since this book I've also made some extra pages which I'll put in my next book, and a couple of wall hangings. I'll post those soon, too.

Now, I'm off to polish some silver flute keys for my partner, Terry McGee to complete his next order. He's at http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/ if you like flutes...

A Lace Book Workshop

What a privilege it was to spend a day making a lace book with Suzy from http://suziqusthreadworks.blogspot.com.au/

Here is my cover almost finished. I chose a theme of vintage toddlers and subtle colours.

 And here is my page spread - we took all day to get this far.

 Here are Vivienne, Virginia and myself, holding our books proudly.

A close up of Vivienne's cover...

And a close-up of Virginia's cover with her lovely hand felted piece...

What a delightful day we had together. Suzy was a wonderful and patient teacher, and her suggestions and help in colour and fabric selections was eye-opening. We learned a lot from watching how each other's pages evolved. 

We delighted in Suzy's quilts, lace books and her amazing studio filled with beauty in every nook and cranny, but amazingly set out so things were in reach and in view with such decorator's flare and style.

Our lace books waiting to be lovingly completed... Hugs to you, Suzy! I can't wait to see them all finished!