Teeny Tiny Elves

Its been a busy few weeks and I admit I've been struggling to fit everything in before Christmas. Girlie and the Lad break up from school today and I do like to just enjoy the run up the christmas with them and relax a bit.
Yesterday I had some time to do some creating and I decided to try out some of my planned designs on some very tiny elves. these elves are 4 cm tall and if it works on them it will work on the larger elves.

So first up was three night city scene / silhouette elves. I was worried that the colours would be too dark and they are a bit, but I think it would look better on one of the taller elves.

These Steampunk inspired two were great fun and they will work very well as part of a family set. 

I have a few more ideas to work on but I do also need to order some elf bodies in soon and I'm also wanting to make another doll or two, but that will be in the new year. 

See you soon

Vic xx

More New Dolls

Hello firstly an apology I have been a bit remiss and not blogged for a little bit, home life and getting ready for christmas has got in the way. And most importantly I have been busy making two new dolls, which I have been desperate to get out of my head as the idea for them has been sat in there a while now.
I used white satin, white and a pale blue organza for both of the dolls and then added different ribbons and extra trims. I had a change with the colourings and shadings of the face using blue and violet, with their white merino wool hair they looked very wintery and icy which is the look I was aiming for.

Pearl, is one of my small art dolls and I really wanted to add the dark grey feather wings, and I had some dark grey ribbon and bows that worked well with them. 

The big doll I struggled with a name so I searched for viking / scandinavian names and found a couple but Astrid was the one that suited this Ice Queen Doll the best. 

One thing I knew she would need was a crown / tiara, and it was nice to be using my jewellery making skills again. I must admit I had forgotten how much wirework can  hurt the fingers.  I also got out the hot fix crystals to add a few to her skirt and also I sewed a few glass drop beads to the points.

I think if I was making her again I might have made a painted face similar to Scarlet, Cerridwen and Catalina. It certainly would have given the doll a different look but perhaps thats something to consider for another doll.  

This is my last two dolls for this year as I'm going to have a bit of a break for a few weeks. I'll be back making some new ones in the new year as there are a couple of ideas already rattling around in my head, along with a few new Pixie Elf ideas. 

Until next time

Vic xx

New book ..

We were shopping in Barnstaple and as I like browsing around book shops we popped into Waterstones. I spotted a book called The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher, I was tempted but a bit unsure so a couple of days later I had a quick look on Amazon and read some favourable reviews and downloaded it to my kindle. I am so glad I did as its a very good book, in some ways it reminded me of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern which I loved.

Each chapter tells the story from the viewpoint of one of the main characters which is very similar to The Night Circus.  Its also set in Victorian London, has magic and a circus of sorts, the difference is the darker side to this book. It featured some interesting magical type beings, like and Alp and the Slaugh, they are like the old tales of the fair folk who are dark and mysterious and lead you away. The main characters are interesting especially the smith and the cook, the younger main characters to me seemed younger in age than they were.  

I was sad to finish reading it but at least it's part of a trilogy, so in the meantime until the second book is out I will be counting down the days for the release of Stephanie Hudson's next Afterlife Saga book "The Pentagram Child" which will be out in December. 

Until next time

Vic xx

New Fairy Dolls

Last week I started three dolls, all of them Fairies, and yesterday I finally finished them. Two are from a pattern by Faewyck Studios, they are small and you can display them on a wooden stick / skewer.
I used some peach and green fabric for the bodies and I used a beautiful jade green and orange shot taffeta for the dresses. The pattern instructions were clear and concise and I even made some organza and wire wings. Here are photos of Cinnamon and Fern, they will soon be available in my Etsy shop over the next few days.

The other Fairy doll I made was from my own pattern, and it went reasonably well even though I ended up having to make a second head as the first one wasn't right. I used some of my favourite blue organza, chiffon and taffeta for her. Dressing her was fun as I gave her a really full petticoat / underskirt and an even fuller skirt. I had an offcut of the chiffon so I wrapped it around the body and waist and it formed a decorative bodice and, which you can see on the photo below.

I also wanted to give her some shoes so I used my fabric pens to give the fairy some really fun lace up ankle boots.

I had also been planning from the start to give her some feather wings I had bought last year. 

I really love her and very pleased in how she has turned out and she's in my Etsy shop. I think I'm going to make another one for my christmas tree this year. 

Vic xx

A sort of Throwback Thursday

Todays post is a sort of throwback as I wanted to post about a doll I made last year. It was this doll The Lady of the Sea a mermaid doll, with seaweed all over her including fish and seahorse charms. 

At the time I loved her and she was different and nearly as I wanted her but recently she just really didn't fit in with my other dolls. So I removed the organza and the beaded seaweed and star fish but left her hair and jewellery. I had some iridescent aqua green metallic fabric which I used as a dress for her. Then I covered the dress with and overskirt of a gorgeous blue organza, and gave her a metallic belt and added the seed bead seaweed as fringing. I also added some beads to the top of the bodice and added one of the star fish to the front. 

Next I added another starfish to the skirt of the dress and added some blue hot fix crystals, I als redid her hair as it still didn't look quite right so I took it down to give her a side braid and added a couple of star fish to the back of her head. 

Now she's all finished and I really like her and I changed er name slightly she is now known as Lady Sea and has been listed in my Etsy Shop.

Vic x

 

Craft Fayre and Strictly.

I usually blog about Strictly on Mondays but I think I will stop and to be honest I really didn't watch many of the dances this week. This was due to the fact I was busy getting ready for the craft fayre and busy ironing my tablecloth for the stall. But I will say it was sad to see who was in the dance off.

So yesterday I was in Devon for a craft fayre, it was the annual St Marks PTA fayre at Welcombe. I was very busy last week getting some decorations painted for the fayre and trying to find a small tree to put them on. I took mainly my elves a few dolls and some jewellery, It was fun and I sold one of my dolls which was really nice and also means I need to make another one.

Also last week I was busy with posting Elves to new forever homes as well as a painting a few for commissions. The commissions were for the Snowmen Elves I ran out of the tall alves and then the large elves as they were all painted up and sent to new homes. I did make sure there was one snowman elf spare and he's now in the Etsy shop.

Vic x

Throwback Thursday

Today I've had my jewellery stash out to make some charms and I thought I would find a photo of  a necklace I made a few years ago.

I enjoyed making this necklace and the bit I liked the most was the vampire fangs. I used some recycled copper and cut them out and then I used my files to add the gaps between the teeth. 

Vic x

Strictly Monday Week 6

What a Spooktacular weekend on Strictly, it was horrify and scary and no thats not Craig or Bruno. Sadly Claudia Winkleman was unable to present the show with Tess Daly as one of her children was ill. So Zoe Ball stepped in, she was great fun and worked well with Tess. The costumes, make up and hair were excellent and I think so much better than last year, they deserve an award. The stand out costumes and makeup were Steve and Ola they were unrecognisable, Frankie looked amazing, Pixie's hair was wow and Caroline and Pasha looked great too. 

Now the dancing bit: Steve unfortunately didn't do so well this week he forgot a few steps as he was worrying about some lifts which was a shame as it would've been a good charleston.  Simon's Passo was okay as was also Jake's Passo. Mark did a brilliant Jive and being in the dance off a couple of weeks ago has really fired him up. Scott also did his best dance this week I really enjoyed it as it was a Adams Family theme and it worked really well.

The Girls well Judy went back to being a bit stiff which was a shame though the Dog-ography was funny. Sunetra danced okay as did Pixie though her hair was just huge. Alison I was disappointed with  this week, I wonder if she's hit her peak. Caroline and Pasha danced a fabulous Samba disco zombie style and it was great fun. The best of the night was Frankie who danced an amazing Tango and she got a well deserved 10, she's certainly a potential finalist.

The two couples who ended up in the dance off on Sunday were:

Scott Mills and Joanne Clifton 

Alison Hammond and Aljaž Skorjanec

Both couples danced well again and I really thought Scott danced even better but in the end the judges saved Alison.

It's getting down to mainly the good dancers now, well apart from Judy, so its going to be interesting seeing how they all step up.

Vic x

Happy Halloween

It's the end of October and also the end of Blogtoberfest 2014, I've enjoyed blogging every day. Now it's time for a few days break, so have a Happy Halloween. 

Vic x

Busy getting ready for Halloween

It's been a very busy day as today we went to get all the shopping ready for our Halloween lunch and I needed some extras for the Treat bags I was making. The treat bags look brilliant as we've made a bag full of "ghost poo, bat droppings and pumpkin teeth" or really mini white marshmallows, chocolate covered raisins and candy corn. The candy corn came from a shop in Barnstaple and we had a couple of prices each just to check it was okay of course and it was tasty.

The kids carved the pumpkin we grew, usually I carve one and then they have a pumpkin each but this year I was out of time and let them at the only pumpkin. The Lad made a nice face on one side and was going to do a spider on the other side but got really frustrated. So Girlie took over and finished the spider but that meant abandoning sorting out or Halloween decs so I had to tip toe through them to make a start on the cupcakes.  But fist I had to sit and take a screwdriver to our screaming animated ghoul lady as she would scream but her head wasn't moving. I spent at least twenty minutes sorting her out and she's sort of moving her head now.

I'm not making any pumpkin pie this year, my Mum is most upset as we always take her and Dad  a slice each, I'll have to give her some of the not so red velvet cakes instead. And that was a bit of disappointment I used a different food colouring this time hoping the cupcakes would be more red especially as I was using a bake-stable colouring but no they are a slightly pinky brown.

So tomorrow the plan is to make two lots of frosting and pipe them onto the cakes, clean the house get the kids to help and get hubby sorting out the mess in the porch so we can decorate it. Then get ready for lunch of spiced pumpkin soup, sausages, pizza, crisps, eyeballs (grapes) and cakes. And then later before we go out get the hanging pod decorations made and hung up on the trees by the gate and in the porch. Then while the girlie and the lad are getting in their costumes I will try to sneak the lads Star Trek communicator into my pocket so I can keep it for myself, but he can keep his phaser though.

Vic x

My Old Home - Iford

As I mentioned in my last blog we moved to Iford, Bournemouth, when I was about five. The house we moved into was called Sheepwash. It was an old coach house or stables that was converted into two houses sometime in the late 1930's or early 1940's. I know a lot of the history of this house as we lived there for a long time and my Dad also lived in the area as a child and had a lot of stories plus what his parents had also told him.

The house as I said was a coach house or stables for the local big house which was called Iford House, I believe it may have been called Iford Manor earlier in its history. The house became the property of the council and was eventually demolished to make way for housing and a parade of shops. these are now know and Iford Parade and Bridle Crescent.

Iford House, Bournemouth.

My Gran managed to have a peek through the windows of Iford House and remembered seeing large chandeliers. Behind Iford house, where Bridle crescent is now, some of the houses still have either  the wine cellars or garden buildings as part of their house. We still had the old wall that separated Iford House from the stables as part of our drive and that wall is still there. 

If you look in the picture below you can see on the left behind the four trees the wall and just behind that you can see what was our home.

Iford House, Bournemouth.

The picture below shows more of an aerial view of Iford Parade and Bridal Crescent, Sheepwash is nestled in between the trees in the middle of the picture. I like the picture below as it is interesting to see how much has changed, there aren't many houses along Castle lane East, and obviously no roundabout. 

Iford Parade and Bridle Crescent.

Dad has told me lots about Sheepwash and one was that behind our house where the woods are now there used to be an icehouse, and there were also tunnels that went under the road to the kitchen gardens. The tunnels were blocked up and the gardens were also built on and became known as Iford Gardens. 

We also found out while living there that Sheepwash had been used as a temporary morgue during the second world war. It was used for the Canadian Soldiers that were sadly killed during a bombing raid on Bournemouth Town centre. 

Sheepwash was haunted and I often saw something out of the corner of my eye, or you would hear the front door open but go to check and it was closed. Mum eventually hung a string of bells from the ceiling that the door would hit if you opened it so we would know if was it spooky door or not. 

I hope to blog more about Iford and the surrounding area over time, as it would be a shame to lose these stories. 

Vic x

My Old Home

I recently joined a facebook group call Memories of old Bournemouth and Poole, and it has been nice seeing pictures of where I used to live and it got me thinking of blogging about my memories of Bournemouth and those of my parents especially of the Iford area and the history of our old house there. But first I thought I would share about the house I first remember

Alberta House was a big edwardian / victorian house that I think belonged to the council and had been divided up into three flats and we lived in the ground floor. It was in the Kings Park area and to the right of the picture used to be a large car park, a small play area and behind was the home of AFC Bournemouth, Dean Park.

My sister and me used to play on the sweeping staircase that would've gone to the first floor except for the wall that separated it from our upstairs neighbours. There was no understairs cupboard but the door to the cellar that used to terrify me as it was so dark down there and seemed very huge to my 3 - 4 year old self.  The picture below was taken from the car park beside the house, the ground floor window you can see was my bedroom which I shared with my sister.

 It was while living in this house we got our Jack Russell dog, Shandy, I remember Dad bringing him into the kitchen and him running around. Shandy was a real character lovely to us but would happily take a chunk out of anyone who came to visit unannounced or even the hoover. But my favourite memory is being sat on the floor eating a chinese takeaway and watching Dr Who. It was an episode that featured a giant rat, Chinatown in London and maybe Tom Baker was the Doctor.

We moved to Iford when I was about five and after a few years the council sold Alberta House and the buyer restored it to a single residence. Unfortunately it is no longer there as it was eventually knocked down to build some high end apartments. 

Vic x

Strictly Monday Week 5

It's been an interesting week though I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed again. But next week is Halloween theme week which should be fabulous darling. I must also remark on the costumes this week, I always watch Strictly It Takes Two, during the week especially on Thursdays when Vicky Gill shows a sneaky peek of the costumes. I was very interested to see Iveta's dress as I knew it was all beaded fringing and was fairly heavy, but it looked fab. The other costumes like Suentra's, Caroline's and even Marks were beautiful but the best was the stunning red dress Frankie wore, the skirt was wow. 

This week the boys have improved lots Steve danced a lovely waltz, Simon was also great with the Viennese Waltz. But for me the best male celeb this week was Mark, after being in the dance off last  weekend he came out fighting. His Samba was very good and for me the best Samba I've seen so far in the competition. 

Suentra was again like one of those old movies stars while dancing the Viennese Waltz. I missed Alison's Tango as I was making tea, but my girlie said she was good but agreed with the judges she needed more attack. Frankie again danced a great foxtrot which was great fun. For me the best female celeb was Caroline with her Passo. I'm still trying to work out how Pixie scored more than Caroline and Mark as I thought her Samba wasn't as good as Mark's or even Caroline's Passo. 

So to the Dance Off and again what a shocker two of the middle ranked dancers were in the bottom two. This is happening more and earlier than other years, the public vote for their favourites not who dance the best but its always been like that. The middle of the board will always be in danger mainly as its thought they will be safe so no one votes or maybe the way the judges score the dances needs to change as well. 

The two dancers in the dance off were:

Tom and Iveta, Tom danced better again but I thought he didn't have his heart in it or maybe that was me. 

Simon and Kristina again they danced better and beautifully you can tell Simon really enjoyed this dance. 

The judges were split with who danced best so it was a tie but as Len Goodman has the casting vote so he saved Simon and Kristina. I think it was time that the way the judges vote off a dancer needs to change there either needs to be a fifth judge or in the case of a tie like last night perhaps it should be who has the lower public vote has to leave. 

I wonder what will happen this weekend, and will it be another shocker, well of course its Halloween. 

Vic. x

Just a few days left

Friday will be Halloween and the last day of Blogtoberfest 2014, so just a few days left of me waffling away to the ether. I admit I've surprised myself with posting everyday. I have decided that I will carry on with just blogging about twice a week rather than everyday. I think its too much for me and for you my readers. So after Friday it will be back to the Strictly Monday post and maybe a second post later in the week. 

Vic x

Cute and Fluffy.

After the sadness of losing Chirpy we had some good news this week. My hubby decided to try some Quail eggs in the incubator again. We have tried before but it hasn't been very successful so we weren't expecting anything to happen. Monday night a chick was trying to get out of its egg and by Tuesday morning we had two tiny little quail chicks.

So Wednesday they were moved out of the incubator and put in a warm box. I had orders and phone calls from hubby to check on them occasionally and to make sure they had enough food and water.

Checking on them is awkward as Sapphie, our dog, decides to help and wants to lick them. Also they move fast and want to get out of the box. 

They are really tiny and very very cute and extremely noisy in fact noisier than having baby chicks or ducklings. They have hay in the box and they snuggle up under it so you have to search to find them. 

The Girlie and the Lad adore them were very happy for me to take some photos of them in their hands. I'm waiting for them to give them names but nothing has been decided yet. 

Vic x

New Elves

As I mentioned before I have a craft fayre next month, so this week I was busy making some new Cornish Pixie Elves.

These are the small sized elves and I decided I would paint a star on the front for a change. I used different coloured metallic paint for the stars and I really like the bronze so I used it on my next elves. 

For these I've used a new style body which is a conical shape. They ended up being painted in my favourite colours with the bronze hearts they look cute.

As I enjoyed making the lighthouse elves so much I thought I would make some winter scene elves. They just look great and I think I will need to get some more of these elf bodies as I have a few more ideas for these very special style elves. 

Vic x

Throwback Thursday

For this weeks Throwback Thursday I've gone back in the blog for photos of my first Cloth Art Dolls 

These Green Men were the firstones I made. My Mum has one and I kept the others as Christmas decorations. 

And this was my first big art doll and I called her Tallulah. She also christened my new sewing machine. 

Vic x

Farewell Godzilla aka Chirpy

You may remember a post in the summer about the Lad's chicken, Godzilla or Chirpy as he became know.

Godzilla aka Chirpy

A few days ago we had to separate him from the rest of the chickens as he looked really poorly. My husband thought he was a bit thin, the other chickens always bullied him so we thought maybe he couldn't get enough to eat. 

We put him in our porch for a couple of days to keep an eye on him.  He was happy eating and drinking, he was still was huddled up at times, but he really perked up by the next day. Sadly Chirpy passed away in his sleep overnight, much to my Lad's sadness.

Chirpy was a real character and very friendly.  And my hubby remembered when he was cleaning out the chicken house, Chirpy ran up his back and perched on his shoulder. It was a shame he didn't grow into a big cockerell but I hope that in his afterlife he is happily scratching away and being a happy chook. He will be fondly remembered.

Vic x

Christmas Fayre

I'm going to be at this Christmas Fayre and I'm in a panic as I feel that I haven't got a lot of Christmassy or gifty items this year. 

I do have some new items like the Beach Huts, new cornish pixie elves and of course I will be take a few of my Art dolls. Then I remembered I had recently bought some wood shapes and I thought why not paint them and add a ribbon. 

I decided to go with gold and black as it was more striking, though painting them was fiddly. I think they look nice I just need to add some fine ribbon and then decide on a price.  I also need to get some more wood as I fancy making either a winter beach hut or cottage.  But first I need to make a some special elves. 

Vic x

Strictly Monday Week 4

As I was out on Saturday night I had to record this weeks show and watch it yesterday afternoon, so it was glitter overload.

After the Movie night theme this weeks show felt a bit flat to be honest.  Also the judges are now beginning to get a lot more critical at the better celeb dancers. The middle group of dancers are also getting better and snapping at the heels of the better ones.

Frankie and Kevin danced first with the Cha Cha and to be honest it was a bit meh, it certainly wasn't her best dance and the judges certainly gave her a bit of criticism.
Pixie she's a beautiful dancer but she's not a favourite, but I did like her Rumba with Trent, it was sweet and she cried at the end, she also had some criticism from the judges.
Alison as always the minute she started dancing I smiled, the Samba was better than last weeks.
Caroline and Sunetra both danced well and Suentra's pro partner Brendon Cole split his trousers during the dancing so was a bit amusing with Len Goodman commenting on seeing Brendon's bongo.
I must say that Simon, Jake and Mark are great dancers. Thom is finally showing his personality I think he is beginning to enjoy it all.


So to the dance off who were in the bottom two on Sunday evening:-

The first couple to be in the bottom two was Mark Wright and Karen, they were in the top half of the leaderboard and had danced very well so again it was a surprise to see them in the dance off.

And the second couple in the dance off was Tim Wonnacott with Natalie, it was sad to see him in the dance off. We know he can't dance brilliantly but he is such a character, but he still danced better than Scott and Judy.

Well you may guess the result, Mark was saved and unfortunately Tim had his last dance.

Vic x