:: weekend love::

This weekend I'm showing my etsy shop Laura Baillie Designs some love. I have loved photographing on the lovely piece of grey slate I was gifted by a friend, but now with spring in the air I felt that a change was needed. I have decided to go with the vintage, French, ephemera feel and I am so happy with how they have turned out.

I have used some decorated chopped tomatoe cans as props. Have a look tomorrow and see if you can spot them. And I'll give you a little :: day of diy :: on how to make your own later in the week.

I'm also thinking about what creations would be perfect for my Mum for Mother's Day this year. She shares my love of birds, so I'm thinking something sewn and bird like.

Big Thank you!

A big thank you to everyone who came along yesterday and visited the shop for "Fancy Friday". It was a great success and a lot of fun! This afternoon I am trying to make up some new designs, but the sun is streaming in the windows and we have friends coming over for tea, and the house is a tip. My studio for once is very orginised and tidy, but everywhere else ............

So I think I have no choice but to get Daisy (the hoover) and a duster out and get stuck in. Maybe inspiration will strike while I am doing the dishes.

I almost forgot, 3 new little birds came into my life last week, and aren't they sweet? The 2 little blue and white ones came from a dear friend of my Mum's, Christina. And the soft pink one hanging beside my button heart was from my dear friend Holly. (She also made the button heart!)

A mixed media morning

Sunday I had planned to get stuck into this new project but friends from far away lands popped by for a visit so my schemes got put on hold. Yesterday I wanted to get the jewels out and the day sped away from me. But this morning I awoke full of inspiration and drive and have just completed these.

This one is my favourite.

I ironed a copy of a little painting I did a few months ago of two little birds on a branch onto a piece of fabric and then layered paint, paper and a snip of vintage lace ontop.

I still have the iron out (a rare sighting in this house!) so I'll keep working away.

While I'm away

I come back to blogland refreshed and inspired so many things. Last Monday I decided I would try and do a collage a day using cardboard from cereal boxes. And I have been enjoying them so much and getting inspiration from my little feathered friends again.

I spent some time this morning "stumbleing" and have found so many wonder artists, blogs and websites which I look forward to sharing with you. I was late coming to stumbleupon but am sure I'm going to make up for lost time this week!

New Beginnings

Happy New Year to you all!

As most of you know I have a list addiction, and this time of year for me represents new beginnings and another excuse for a list. So having spent a chilled out day with a bestist friend I have been working through some ideas and aims for this year and having such fun. I looked back to last year and all the things I aimed for and then all the wonderful things I achieved, realised how plans and directions change and wonder how things will pan out for 2009.

What does the new year mean to you?

This is a little painting I did just before Christmas of 2 little birdies.

Inspire me Thursday

Notebook

I love my Moleskins, I love them soooooo much! This entry was from 01.09.08 but I just tried my date stamp for the first time and got the digits mixed up, so it says the 10th!

I am always inspired by flowers, their smells, shapes and colours. Most of my doodles are of flowers and I must have near 5000 pics on my computer too. It was only when I completed this page I realised I could be using my own images not ones found in magazines. But it was a great starting point and as always an inspiring page to go back to.

During my mamouth clear out I decided that I was going to get rid of all the threads I have accumulated over the years. I filled a bag and sought out a new home for them. Then the next morning I realised that I wasn't quite ready to pass them on and decided to use them for something fun, and bird related, of course. So here is a very amature piece of embroidery. I have had so much fun with this so far, who knows how long it will take me to finish!

I have been doing a great selection of things today, bits of graphic work, making some jewellery and some photography. Some days I like having a mixture of things to work on, and today was one of those days. I took some new photos of some of my current etsy stock, just to give them a lift. And I worked on some new pieces which I'll be listing in the shop tomorrow, so check by for a peek.

A little snippit

For all of you who were wondering what those little bidie bits were for, here they are. They were part of the order I have been working on and they are now in the GSA shop waiting for their grand opening on the 15th of September. I had such fun making these, I love the different fabric gives each one a unique character.

This is a selection of lovliness too, which I had been too busy to post about last week.

1. Swim it Forward, fishy from laalicia, thank you!

2. Fairy cakes from a friend, a great treat for afternoon tea the other day.

3 & 4 Babbette's portrait and her herself! All the way from "The Whimsical Art of Laura Bray"

I will get her exchange ready for you this week, and she too will be off on her travels.

Other big happenings this week have been that I have reached the point of no return with the caos in the studio. It has just all gotten too much and yesterday I started a big sort out. Neadless too say I am still working on it, but it is taking shape. I will keep you posted on the end result, I am going to sort out some boards this week for pinning my inspirations on, I am wreking the wall with blu tac and tape!

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend x

Work in progress

I haven't been around because I have been really busy lately, surrounded by little birdies making their way to icle birdy cards for an order I am working on.

Drumroll........

The winner of the "Wardrobe" dancer print is Wendy!

Congratulations, if you email me your address I'll send it on it's way to you.

Thanks to all who entered, you have given me lots of great artists to discover. I have booked in a day to play on Saturday so I'll check them out then.

I have lived on my street for 6 years now and have such wonderful neighbours, but recently we have getting to know the folks a lot better. Partly because of the pup and my bo's handiness at changing a tap, either or, we have made some great new friends. But the more I am getting to know them the more I am realising this street is a little artists den.

In the flats on my left as I sit here typing away there is an painter (Lorna), a glass artist, and a furniture restorer, plus a reiki master (which I consider an art too!) And on my right is another artist Jo! She has just opened her online shop and has listed her first art for sale tonight. Amn't I lucky to be surrounded by such talented and inspiring people, and it reaffirms my belief that the people you need to meet come into your life in unexpected ways!

Day 7 - How I got my groove back

My creativity seems to come in waves, some days I can come up with 100's of new ideas and others it is just the same idea over and over again. Over the last few days that has been the Yibbles, but everytime I try the computer shuts down. Now as you have read over the last few posts this has become a pattern. Yesterday, I just sat, and looked at the screen for about an hour and it came to me. I love doing Yibble doodles in my journal, I really love making the fabric ones and I have made quite a few now for family and friends and they are happily in new homes. So, I have decided that their adventures will continue as doodles in my journal and the fabric dolls will be liberated. I am having a Yibble Liberation! So I'm going to set them up in the shop and find them new homes and adventures aroung the world. I have a few to finish today, so later I'll let you see who's who and set a date for a shop update.

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours making up birthday cards and pulled out the beautiful fabric remnants I got from starlitnest and decided to work on my birdie collection, and I had such fun. I am going to work on a little range and I'll let you see them finished. Happy Friday :)

Getting Sorted

The beginning of this week has been filled with non craft/ design things, so the second half of the week I filled with making! I have been making new earrings for my shop and some other outlets.

This week has been a thoughtful one. I have realised that I am spending very little time making for me, not to sell or for a reason, but just for pleasure, and that was a real wake up call. So I have decided to split my week up, blog 3 times a week, flikr twice a week, indirepublic once a week and a maximum of 20 minutes a day on Etsy. And I have penciled in 30mins a day 'artists date' as Julia Cameron calles it in "The Artists Way".

This will be adjusted and more tme added when I have got into the swing of my newtime table. At art school when I was running dry I would just dive back into my sketchbooks, doodle and reaserch and streams of ideas would come. Now I am getting the ideas but not making the time to sit and actually make them and let them develope! So over the next few months I want to explore collage, sewing, drawing, maybe even some painting, more photographing, and really having fun for funs sake! So I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I have also decided to leave the 30 days to a better shop challenge. I am still checkin in at Christina's blog but I don't want to feel I have to keep you all updated with it all the little changes to my shop. I will of cource let you know when I reach my 100th sale!

Here is a little guy I have made for someone special and he has been a large part of my thought shift this week, make time for the good stuff!

Inspire me Thursday entry

Oh what a beatutiful day!

Went for a lovely walk in the park today, it was glorious, the sun was warm and me and bo sat and watched dog walkers and ate ice cream! I know, Ocotber and t-shirts and ice cream!!!

The trees were beautiful, all changing day by day, so of cource I took huners of photos.

Meant to be coming up with Christmas card designs, but lost in making papes to drawon for a new sketch book, I love it, just bits of tissue, brown and gold paper, newsprint and doillies.

So I'll off now and tidy my desk and start afresh tomorrow.