Changing faces.

I've been working on a canvas recently with the face of a young woman, and incorporating an image of my grandmother when she was a young woman too. I was thinking about courage, and hope and strength innate in every woman, when I painted this.

This is the finished painting.

The painting went through many transitions, some hilarious, and I wanted to share the process. At times I became so indecisive and kept changing my mind about what the painting was to be. But I learned by the end, that it's worth sticking with something and allowing yourself to go through the many changes, because something beautiful will materialise eventually.

Anyway here goes...

After I sketched the face, I collaged some flowers and a bird, plus of a photo of my grandma in a love heart, and then wierdly decided to paint all over with a lurid green and blue!

So then I tried to fix it with lots of white paint and then ended up with scary lady! The kids kept saying my painting was freaking them out.

I managed to get the face eventually to start to look a bit better I think.

I then couldn't make up my mind about what race the lady was to be, so did this!...

...and this..

..and then this...

 

I should say that I was starting to despair at this point, and really really wanted to give up altogether, but I'd already invested so much time (and paint!) in this painting, I had to finish it, so I pressed on.

So this is where the painting was at this morning.  I just needed to collage some flowers in her hair and tidy up a few other details.

This is the finished painting. Hooray!!

 I think it turned out beautiful in the end, and I am pleased with it. My grandmother's image looks particularly wonderful, as part of the picture.

So dear friends, hope you've enjoyed my hilarious process pictures. They certainly illustrate the value of perseverance. 

Much love.

 xxxx

More fun with denim.

I've been having more fun with my sewing machine and a couple of my old pairs of jeans.

I twinned some lovely fabric with the recycled denim to make these bread bags. I am thrilled with them, and it means that my loaves are all safe and snug in pretty bags and not plastic! The bags are lined with calico. I like the rustic feel of them.

I made another bag as a present for a friend of the girls, again using denim from the jeans.
In the bag, were wooden letters which spelled her name and other stuff to decorate them with.

We have been learning how to make this bag in my sewing class, and my lovely friend Minh came over and showed me step by step what to do. It's so lovely to spend creative time with a friend.

And then lastly, I was curious to try stitching on paper, so I made a couple of cards. They kinda highlight the fact that I still struggle to sew a straight line with the sewing machine, but I still like them. Can you spot the denim? :)

Everything on this card is recycled, the brown paper, the fabric and even the twine for the crochet flower which I got from my weekly veggie box delivery.

xxx

Thursday gifts.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave my daughter, Kezia, a surprise present, because I thought it would be nice and also she needed cheering up at the time.  It just happened to be on a Thursday.  I made her a little bag, (I'm getting a bit braver with my sewing machine), and in the bag was a crochet needle and some yarn. She was really thrilled with her present, especially as she had expressed an interest in learning to crochet.

But my older daughter Daniella, immediately asked "but where's my Thursday present??"
...and so, the idea of a Thursday present was born in our household.
For Daniella's Thursday present today, I have made her a bag using a section from an old pair of jeans and inside there is a large wooden letter D which she can decorate however she likes. I'll put some buttons and beads and crochet flowers in the bag too. (I can't seem to stop making crochet flowers!).

I hope she likes it, it will be waiting for her when she gets in from school. I think I'll sew some handles for it too, though it'll have to be after she gets it, because I've run out of time for now.

The front of the bag.

The back of the bag.  I love the that it still has the original pocket!