Today I posted off the felt necklaces to my two One World One Heart give away winners. I have been very lucky on this magic carpet ride. I have had some wins, but most importantly I have discovered some inspirational blogs and made new friends. Too many to list here in one post so I have decided to do a sequence of posts introducing different types of blogs that I have met, such as textiles, fibre art, fine art, art dolls, jewelry, lamp work and more.
The beautiful Lapis Lazuli and Turquoise (my favourite stones) earrings that you can see in the picture above are a gift from Fiona of
Tizduster whom you can see dressed as a pantomime baddie in the form of Beatrix the Sorceress in this stage picture. Click on the image to visit Fiona's blog.
I have also won one of the most desirable necklaces that I have seen in a very long time from Jackie of Silvelodge Gems (click on the picture to visit Jackie's blog).
Isn't it stunning! It is made from pink opal, onyx and a fossil pendant. Jackie's jewelry is so beautiful and she is also having a gigantic sale in her Internet shop right now so if you have any birthdays or anniversary presents to pick up
Silverlodge Gems may be a good place to look.
I have also won a mystery prize that travel writer Carol of
'Where will you Journey to?', will buy for me on her next trip to Cambodia, I am so excited. When I was in Thailand I desperately wanted to cross the borders and visit Anka Wat but just did not have the time.
You can imagine how lucky I am feeling right now! I won some other delightful gifts too so I started to feel a little guilty for having all of this good fortune and not sharing it. I asked some of the blogs how they would feel about donating the items to
Made4Aid? A couple of blogs agreed to this, aren't they wonderful!
Beth of
Three trees Art makes lovely jewelry with words of affirmation and positive sentiments. She has agreed to donate this felt jewelry pouch that she made to made4aid. I am a huge fan of the Silver Birch, and I don't need to tell you my feelings for felt :) This wonderful pouch (or one like it) will be up for auction at
Made4Aid in the next few weeks. I love it! Thank you Beth x
Amanda of
Maygreen Fairies has also agreed to send her give away item to
Made4Aid. It is a gorgeous Vintage Shabby Scented Sachet to line a lingerie draw. Such Luxury! I love the whimsical feel of the Victorian lady on the trapeze swing. This item will also be listed for auction at
Made4Aid in the next couple of weeks.
It has been lovely getting to know Amanda over the past few days. I feel like I have met a kindred spirit. Amanda's art is full of magic that leaves you with a light heart. Amanda volunteers in her local Oxfam shop and organised a craft fair at her Oxfam shop with donated arts and crafts to raise money for Haiti.
One of the blogs that I have discovered on the carpet ride is the very inspiring
Annette of '
The Hare Preservation Trust' in Scotland and
'Dragon House of Yuen'. Annette is very creative and her passion for wildlife and domestic animals shines through her art making it sparkle.
Another new friend that I am so glad to have met is Jules of
'Adventures in Thread'. Jules shares a love for the great outdoors, textiles and TREES. Jule's nature photography is wonderful and her knit work and embroidery is beautiful. Look at her hare below, isn't it stunning!
To finish this post I want to introduce you to a friend that I met before the OWOH carpet ride.
Elizabeth Rimmer has a passion for poetry and the environment. Elizabeth has set up a new project called
'Luchair' where she hopes to bring artists, poets, and photographers together to celebrate nature and discuss how they each tackle environmental issues in their daily lives and in their creativity.
Elizabeth first noticed that the human race was living beyond its ecological means back in the Energy Crisis of the seventies and learned how not to handle the situation. Today, the mission of Luchair is to to find a new way of tackling the environmental issues we face, that won't involve playing off jobs against environment, the human against the wild, the rich against the poor. She hopes to find joy, community, insight as she goes and hopes that others will too.
Please visit Elizabeth at her Luchair Website,
blog or at
Burned Thumb. If you think you have something to contribute, please email Elizabeth. She will be happy to hear from you. You can find a link to
Luchair on my sidebar.
I have been really busy this week making accessories, brooches, hair slides, earrings, scarfs, and experimenting with new ideas and fibres. The necklace you can see to the top left is a nuno felted bohemian shabby vintage style, if that style exists. It fastens with antique mother of pearl buttons dated from the 1930's, glass seed beads and swarovski crystals. The scarfette to the bottom right was nuno felted with linen noil, bamboo, angora, cashmere, vicuna, possum, merino and tussah silk. I wanted to try out all of the new fibres on one piece so that i could test how they work with nuno felting. It is a lovely scarfette. I will take better pictures in the morning and list the items in the Bazaar.
The rest of my One World One Heart prizes arrived. The felted cushion (which is much more beautiful than the photo shows) was made by Gabriella of Threadheads Anonymous. The cushion was Gabriella's first felt project and she has done a wonderful job. The art cards were a gift from Barbara at Barbs Garden, and the mushroom guide, heart brooch and paper doll were a gift from Emily of the Edge Gallery. Thank you all, I will be popping all of my thank you cards in the post tomorrow :)
My daughter really loved the doll and the brooch and has spent all week end making her own (with a little assistance from her grown up helpers).
