Week Forty-Five: Lavender

After this week there are only seven projects until the end of my 52 weeks challenge! I can't believe I it, I hadn't noticed that until today. It's gone so quickly, and I certainly have more than seven projects left on my list of ideas, so don't worry, I'll still be quilling and posting after the challenge is complete, just maybe not as often.

This week we've got some lovely lavender cards.

On the bigger one they're growing wild...

...and on the smaller one we've got a bunch of them on a nice metallic purple background.

These are lovely and simple, yet all those little purple dots end up taking a lot of time! I didn't expect they'd be all that time consuming.

They're very softly feminine. I loved the different shades of purple I used in this card, the purple section of my paper supplier's range is one of my favourites (the blue range is the best though - and I seem to be constantly needing more green!)


Next week we've got another 3D quilling project inspired by a furry friend I made a few weeks ago...

Remember that even if I am nearly done with my year of quilling challenge I am happy to hear any suggestions you have of other quilling project ideas you'd like to see me tackle. I am also happy to do some more 'how to' posts with step by step photos by request, I might do a how to on another 3D project I have planned for around Christmas time.

xnata

Week Thirty-Six: Purple Ombre Mask

Sorry I'm late this week, I'm back at uni and it's been keeping me very busy!

This week I've made my second mask and it's a dramatic purple ombre this time! Trying to get a few of these for the next markets I'll be in, though none are officially scheduled, there is a possibility for Christmas time...

And look, they're on sticks now!

I decided that the stick option worked better than ribbon as what beautiful lady would want a mask that interferes with her hair? The result is very elegant and sophisticated, and looks so natural displayed in a vase don't you think? I just bought a long piece of dowel from Spotlight, measured, marked and had my hubby cut it up, then I got all sandy and painty.

So many ideas for these. And it was easier this time, so hopefully I'll get faster at it each time.

 

I'm glad I have a hobby that 1: produces pretty things 2: pays for itself through selling what I make and 3: gives me something artistic to do when I need to take a break from my studies.

 

Next week we've got another framed piece to enjoy!


xnata 

Week Thirty-Four: Blowin' Bubbles

This week we are getting into my framed pieces, there will be several of those in the next few weeks (apart from next week, which will be a whole other story) we get a reminder to enjoy the simple things in our lives. It keeps you young.

 *Before we continue, I have announced the winner of the mask or frame competition, the winner's name is up on the Facebook page - the winner chose the frame, so the mask is now available for purchase! I'll be mounting it to a stick, and it will be $18 + postage*

This design is fairly simple in terms of the quilling, bubbles don't take much to look good, but what is great about them is the impact of lots and lots of them! I've got them gradually increasing in size on this one.

I think he looks a little like Christopher Robin, don't you? I think it's that scruffy head of hair.

H. Jackson Brown has some fantastic quotes, I'll be doing others with his wisdom involved, all taken from a book I own that he wrote called 'Life's little instruction book'. It was written for his son, so I think it's quite fitting that we've got a boy involved in this piece.

The bubbles are in all the colours you might see in the surface of a real bubble.


We've got lots more framed pieces coming up in the next couple of months, all to end up for sale along with masks and other items on my madeit page (currently under construction, will put up a link when it's up and going again).


Next week though we're not doing something framed or a mask or a card! It's something very special and beautiful, for which I've left a photo clue on the Facebook page...

xnata

Week Twenty-Nine: Imagine...Create!

 I've done something a bit different this week, it's a framed piece that involves an inspiring quote...

The quote is one I've seen many times, though from what I understand it's actually paraphrasing what William Arthur Ward said, because he was quoted saying 'achieve' rather than 'create'. I particularly wanted it to say create, so I've gone with the paraphrased version, but I've still listed his name as the credit for the quote.

The silhouette is drawn by me, as are the words, so it's a bit of a mixed media piece. I decided to give her flowing curly hair and a bit of a wintery outfit as I didn't like her to look scantily clad and I wanted a sense of movement in her and the hair and stance got that working. I threw in the not coloured in headphones on a whim and I really like it.

The idea is that she's walking along and just trailing this amazingly colourful creation behind her, letting it out of her hand. I liked that because it's like she imagined it, planned it, and then let it out into the world on this confident stroll while she listened to music.

 

Here are some shots of it as it was being created...

I've already got ideas for a few others like this, one involving a little girl, the other involving a dancer...I'll see what people think of this one first, but I'm pretty sure I'll make the other ones whether this one catches people's eyes or not. It's my art and I imagine it I can create it ;)

I really like the idea of this being bought by a crafty person or artist who finds it inspirational. There's nothing I love more about quilling than the thought of it inspiring someone else to make more beautiful things. That's why I loved my quilling teaching gig, and I think one of my students was keen enough that she'll have taken it up as her new hobby, which is amazingly excellent and just what I was hoping to achieve.

I think it looks better when it isn't behind glass, but I wouldn't want to have it gathering dust for its owner (whoever that may be) so I thought it needed glass to protect it and keep it easy to dust.

So there you have it, and I might make more like this but different designs in a couple of weeks. I've got less than two weeks of the uni semester to go, so I'll knuckle down through that and then get into this theme again.

Next week we're going for a 3D project again!

nata