Lovingly Handmade Novelty Tote Bag Creations!

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Appliquéd duck design tote bag, Applique, Artist, Artist and crafter, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton patchwork bags, Crafty creations, Creative crafty designs, Cute original creations, Dallying ducks day out tote, Designer patchwork bags, Fun imaginative craft creations, Fun quirky creations, Fun with fabric, Handmade and designed items, Handmade tote bags, Imaginative unique designs, Original, Patchwork landscape scene, Quilted by hand, Quirky, Unique, Unique creations, Unique tote designs

…why not?? If they are popular as framed collages…again, why not make them a mobile piece of art too!? Fun, eye catching, colourful creations, bound to bring attention and definitely a talking point…..and, as always, uniquely one of a kind! Taking patchwork to another level of quirkiness 🙂

New Tote designs for 2015!! Quirky, ever so cute and designed to bring a bit of fun to every day 🙂 whether a crafter, a cleric or a chorister if you’ve no inhibitions, this could be for you! Unique and never to be repeated…I just love to recreate my original ideas into a new context! Practical, pretty, and, in this case, pink! A rich, raspberry coloured cotton fabric lovingly hand crafted into a useful tote bag…imagination has no bounds!!! ;-D

A useful multi-pocket inside with the benefit of a zip fastener to secure valuable items

A colour coordinated internal multi-pocket

A simple, but effective hand quilted diamond pattern over the entirety of the raspberry coloured fabric and to finish off, a magnetic clasp topped with a chunky black button!

In these hard times….mine, is to add a little fun to the world!

Happy Easter to each and ALL! 🙂

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Two by two!

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Art, Artist, Artistic moment, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton, Cotton fabrics, Crafty creation, Custom cot quilts, Cute fun nursery gifts, Fabric creations, Handmade creations, Jemima Puddle Duck, Patchwork quilt designs, Peter rabbit

Deja vu on a mega scale!!! I soooooo wanted to finish ALL my little gifts before the happy arrival – and I DID!! 🙂 Exactly 3 & 1/2 weeks saw the creations of two cot quilts, 2 cot tidies, 2 lots of bunting and an extra request from my mum as a special gift! And I have been prompted by Sarah       (the expectant and very happy mother to be – to do a little post!) With literally only a matter of days, at most a couple of weeks to go!!

I’m happy to report that I’ve not been kidnapped by aliens!….. and I’m still on this planet…even though I’ve been missing for a short while…….as you’ll see during the post…I’ve been a little preoccupied of late for a multiple couple of good reasons :-D!

And so the first one was finished!!!…I had to prepare myself, for every time I made one, with love, care and plenty of attention to detail….a second was to be just as well and carefully completed! I drew and separately constructed every little piece of applique on all the items. My mind was always on the attention to detail and safety – every thread was double knotted at the beginning and end and every fabric was painstakingly turned back on the quilts, and, treble stitched into place – leaving no doubt that anything could ever fray, or indeed, ever become loose! With two special little additions on their way, nothing could ever be left to chance!! Absolutely everything on the quilts is made from cotton, including the wadding so that care and cleaning, and of course steam ironing to kill germs is always possible! All fabrics have been  pre-washed (for shrinkage and dye removal) which should mean that nothing, or very little, will effect or change their condition in the future years. Maybe they might even become little heirlooms 😉 What else have I been up to ???…Well……….Sarah had a couple of other ideas for her nursery — but I must point out that she wanted a complete surprise as to all the things I was making — I did ask if she wanted to check out the fabrics before I started……..BUT , ”No!” was her response….” I trust you completely,and I like surprises ;-D!!” OMG… no pressure then????!! Our Nephew, Richard and Sarah, his wife, had a very definite desire to do their nursery in a Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck theme( even though they don’t know the gender of their babies) though whilst popular in the eighties, they couldn’t source new of what they wanted now! – So, I offered to try and create something for them as a gift!

To give you some idea of how many (and how tiny my hand stitches are) I placed a little pin for scale!

A little close up of the cot tidy applique – everything drawn, cut and placed by hand before hand stitching in place….Jemima looks so cute, even though she is only half the size of my hand overall on the little pockets…definitely worth all the effort  🙂

Some of Sarah’s wish list………… Bunting! Cot tidies! (What on earth are they???? – some investigation later and my own take on them – of course produced………….

Cot tidies x 2! With coordinating straps to firmly and safely attach to the end of the cots. You might have guessed by now, that Sarah Has planned an apple green nursery (even though I’ve thrown in a PEA GREEN accent colour!)  I did warn her about my ”strange choice’ ..but I’ll let you know what she really thinks! Oh My! I do hope she like it!!

A surprise gift! A Peter Rabbit doorstop mini Dumpy! I even managed to tailor a fully lined jacket from my own pattern design!

”Yay! my ears are amazing and I have carrots too”………OMG as soon as my fingers recover, I’m ready to start more new wonderful things! 🙂

What I miss most about many moons ago…..!

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A bit of fun, Art, Artist, Artistic licence, Artistic moments, Arty, Being different, Many moons ago, Mosaic, Murals, Painting it large, Wall decoration

I have been known to have he odd moment of madness …..! After doing quite a few murals some years ago, I thought I would have a go at a mosaic…WELL, we did have a pretty boring kitchen wall!!! At first I considered some twee Parisian scene, but that just didn’t have relevance to our family….Golf however, not that I am the least bit a sport fan, but when our children were younger they both took it up after a few lessons. As my Dearest already played and the three of them toddled off each weekend, there was only one thing to do…get a set of clubs myself. Apparently I was a natural and could hit it for miles, well maybe not that far… – that was….. until my Dearest decided to show me how to do it…”keep your back straight, bend your knees slightly hold this thumb round that side other hand twisted that way keep your shoulders parallel…’ and so the instructions kept coming! My first attempt to hit the little ball, in the enforced mannequin position I had been shaped into by my Dearest, meant, not only did I miss the ball, I nearly fell over sideways following my swing…Aaargh! Why couldn’t he have just admired how I wanted to hit that tiny ball???? Dearest never gave up on me ;-/ and added more and more instructions on how to do it….sadly I was never able to get my own little swing back…. EVER!! Nonetheless we did all play golf together for many years – so when I found an old golfing calendar lodged in a drawer, I thought this picture was just the perfect thing for a boring wall!!! Over ten year on, it still makes people smile!

For something a bit different I thought I would do a post on what I used to do, rather than what I’m doing at the present. After mentioning my kitchen mosaic in a comment, Sheila from Sewchet, here on WordPress, expressed that she would like to see it…so here it is…along with a couple of snaps of old murals over the years…what can I say, our house has never been quite…..conventional!  Artistic licence, I think they call it! 🙂

Working on the large scale was always a challenge and great fun too! I do miss doing them, though we seem not to have any spare walls at the moment for some reason…?

‘My Stonehenge,’ with a floor to celling snap and the trompe l’oeil panelling below

My daughter still won’t let us decorate over her mural!!! Sadly the quality of my records leaves more than a bit to be desired, most of the images are separate photos stuck together from an old album I dug out to give an overall impression of the paintings as the room was always too small to get the whole picture in one go! Still it shows you how I decorate with emulsion paint 😉

‘…never a dull moment is there mum?!?…is it nearly finished????

‘….TaDa – finished!!!’ 🙂

George grew up a bit more….like I needed any excuses?!?

‘…I just love match-pot paints!

‘….Doh….who’s that under my Pooh Stick Bridge…?’

‘Boys will be boys…!’

‘…maybe this Harry Potter guy will be famous some day…..?!?’

…’good job I’m not frightened of spiders…isn’t it mum???’

My biggest challenge so far!!!

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Applique, Applique hearts, Art, Art and craft creations, Art and design creations, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Beige and cream fabrics, Broderie anglaise fabric flowers, Capturing a couple's memories onto fabric, Cotton patchwork fabrics, Crafting with buttons, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Designer patchwork quilts, Embroidered Sharpei, Embroidered Shih tzu, Foundation piecing patchwork, Fun with fabric, Glastonbury, Great Hall Mains, Hand quilting, Handmade Patchwork and applique, Lap quilt, Matrimonial quilt gift, Memory quit, Original, Patchwork, Rome, Subtle coordinating colours, Trevi Fountain, Unique, Wedding gift

AND…HERE IT IS!!!! The GRAND unveiling of the commissioned designer handmade and hand quilted totally unique… Matrimonial/Memory patchwork large lap quilt made for two!!! 

Having been granted permission to do a post from A Lady who commissioned me, I can now, after the Happy Event of their marriage, of Nathan and Kim that is, show their designed and handmade gift as well as Wishing them a Long and Happy Life Together! 🙂

I was very recently approached by A Lady, who had heard of me, by word of mouth (always the best recommendation I feel !!!) to see if I could create something extra special as a Wedding Gift for her Son and future Daughter-in-law, Something,which they could treasure as well as being totally unique and relate only to them ?!? WOW – A challenge and a half…My sleeves were already rolled up! 🙂

During our  consultation session together, and having shown many examples of what My Lady thought she might like to have handmade for the excited couple, she finally did a ‘flip’ on her first thoughts, especially after seeing pictures of the two commissioned lap quilts I made for my friend Jackie, another WordPress Blogger with outstanding photography images, find Jackie at   http://iamlostinthot.wordpress.com/about/

”LOSTINTHOT” Personalised Designer Handmade and Hand Quilted Custom Order 36” x 48” ART Lap Quit.

Commissioned Elephant Lap Quilt. Handmade and hand-quilted with custom design applique elephants hearts and flowers.

So My Lady finally opted for a large lap quilt – big enough for two! YAY! What an opportunity for another creative moment  🙂 !

After My Lady’s decision was made, we talked through what the requirements for the quilt panels would be……..Here is my brief;

*A fabric panel of the Trevi Fountain, Rome (The spot of the proposal)….Gosh, thought processes are in motion! Then, some simple embroidery naming the  the venue and date of Engagement alongside…

*A fabric depiction of the Happy Couple enjoying Glastonbury 2014 in ‘Wellies’ and sun glasses!…A testy challenge!! Also, embroider  venue and date…

*An embroidered depiction of their two ‘babies’ a Shih tzu and a Sharpei with their names too….OMG I was getting a little worried…..;-/!!!

* A small vine of 3D fabric flowers running around the Wedding venue panel, Oh! And a couple of random 3D padded hearts…

*A fabric constructed panel of the ‘Great Hall at Mains’ a slightly wonky wooden beamed Tudor barn which was to be the Wedding venue….Plus ”Mr & Mrs…and the date… ””””’fainted!!!!!!!!!!””””’

After picking myself up….and a few good deep breaths. I felt I could attack this challenge!  I agreed it would be perfect as their totally unique Memory Quilt, all we had to do now was discuss a colour scheme ;-/…

to which, the conclusion was to be;

*Creams, whites (for the bride’s gown (no clues as to which the Bride would be wearing ,so let’s use both..)

*beige/ deeper creams (to match their living spaces and their décor)

*A pink flowery headband (as Kim wore at Glastonbury …Oh, and wellies and sunglasses too!)

*Grey (for the Groom and party’s suits)

now came the ultimate challenge……!

*was it, Pistachio, or mint, or jade green, or light sage, or… or…My Lady gave it so many descriptive terms ??? My lady wanted a colour match as close as possible to the ribbons on the invitations, which in turn matched the waistcoats of the Gentlemen party, to be the main accent colour in the quilt…

All nice choices! But, I was running on a very tight time scale, five weeks to a completion date and still awaiting a colour swatch before I could start, or, even buy any fabric… OMG… the perspiration was stating to bead as I awaited a colour sample, Could I get it done in the time frame? Would My Lady be happy ???  Now, I was really worried!  Had I taken on, for the first time, something I thought was more than I could chew….. ;-/ ?

At last, I got to see the colour of ‘green’ which was to symbolise the waistcoats and be the accent of the whole quilt, as fast as I could I was off to the fabric store, all I needed to do now was to find ”that green” beige/creams and greys that would go together….only a small extra challenge then. 😉

I picked my fabrics VERY carefully and used a perfect piece of fabric for the hearts which just by chance and good luck, was a deep grey with just a flecks of brown and cream on it but which also went extremely well with the ”green”, I hope you agree, the overall colour effect is quite subtle and coordinated ?!? I set about designing, and came up with a simple eight panel design surrounded by border strips of different sizes, in order to bring all the fabric colours together. My Lady had a specific order to which the panel pictures should be on the quilt, though with a gentle suggestion I sent out my first draft for the design and her approval, meaning her original choice of wanting four large panels had been developed and divided up into eight . A picture panel and smaller appliquéd heart panel alongside to include all the requirements and requests which My Lady wanted on the quilt 🙂

My suggestion was approved!!!YAY!!!  So, my  cogs of creativity were set in motion…

All the fabric applique shapes are turned back double fabric pieces, thought the Great Hall has been foundation pieced starting in the centre and working outward, incorporating some of the beams into the foundation and appliquéing the larger final ones. The hearts, dogs and Trevi Fountain have simple embroidery done in a ‘sketch style’ with little stitches here and there, apart from the Glastonbury panel, which has pieces so tiny, so I used a type of double sided adhesive before hand stitching the applique pieces in place! A simple cream cotton backing and unbleached soft 100% cotton wadding was used to give a traditional feel. Once sandwiched together, I hand quilted the whole panel.I added the stem stitched vine around the Great Hall panel and made some Broderie anglaise fabric flowers attaching them with a coordinating button to the quilt  Finally I added a binding of the same fabric as the inner panel borders and hand stitched it down.

What had I been worried about ?!? I still had two weeks until the deadline and it was finished 🙂 !!! But My Lady was still to see it…..

Having taken a couple of photos, just to show My Lady her commission was complete, I contacted her, with full intentions of taking more and clearer shots of the quilt hanging from the washing line. But, as it turned out the weather wasn’t allowing for this, after the glorious weather, it had decided to rain…a lot! Then, My Lady couldn’t contain herself, she didn’t want a preview over the internet she NEEDED to come and see it straight away !!!!!

My Lady arrived early the very next day!  I presented my designer quilt for her inspection…and stopped breathing simultaneously….

Her face was a picture, she was totally ”thrilled to bits”’  🙂 🙂 🙂 YAY! Then she told me, ‘…..it is so much nicer than anything I could have ever wished for! The colour combination Is perfect, (bear in mind, she hadn’t seen the fabrics I had chosen) I love the overall design….the quality is superb and in such a short time too…In fact I am speechless, it’s just wonderful…PERFECT!!!’ 

 As well as all My Lady’s lovely comments, I did get quite a few hugs too 🙂 So I think she liked it 😉

 

I breathed a huge sigh of relief, It was simply the best feeling in the World, to know I had accomplished all My Lady’s thoughts and dreams onto a fabric panel and made her so, very happy too!!! 🙂 Just hope the Happy Couple like it now!

 

A couple more pictures of the panels…

 

The Trevi Fountain

 

Lexi and Marley

 

Glastonbury 2014

The Great hall at Mains, Lancashire UK

3D  fabric flower vine

Broderie anglaise fabric flowers attached with a coordinating button to the quilt panel and a stem stitched curly vine

 

Appliqué fabric heart

Appliqué heart

Appliqué Heart

 

Meet the new additions – Super soft flannel dormouse and Pink check pig Doorstop Dumpies!

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Art, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Buttons, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Character creations, Character doorstops, Colourful hand-crafted characters, Cottons, Crafter, Crafty creations, Crazy cute creations, Creative crafting, Cute fabric mouse, Dare to be different, Designer, Doorstop Dumpies, Doorstop Dumpy dormouse, Fabric handmade and designed doorstops, Fabric handmade doorstops, FREE SHIPPING FOR A LIMITED TIME, Fun novelty hand crafted fabric creations, Fun with fabric, Handmade, Handmade original unique gifts, Made with love, Original crafting ideas, Patchwork, Quirky designer doorstops, Super soft fabrics, Unique 'Doorstop Dumpy', Unique craft ideas, Unique handmade novelty items, Wonderful ONE-OFF creations, Wonderful unique creations

Dormouse…”Well, it’s nice meeting you here!”                                                               Pig…”Are you new too?”                                                                                             Dormouse… ‘ Yeah! I seem to have arrived here from nowhere!!!”                                   Pig…”I know what you mean, Me too!”                                                                   Dormouse…”Nice sofa though”                                                                               Pig… ”And, Tidy!”                                                                                                 Dormouse…”Yeah! I bet she never points the camera over there though!” And definitely not over there!!”                                                                                               Pig…”Or there and there either!!!”                                                                 Dormouse…”Wonder if there will be even more of us on here soon?”                         Pig…”Who knows?!? Suppose, we’ll have to wait and see!”                                     Dormouse…”Did you see that great site on the computer screen before? There are a couple others like us too?!?”                                                                             Pig…”You mean, https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/carenscanvasandcraft     Dormouse…”’That’s the one!”                                                                                       Pig…” looks like a colourful place to hang out for a while!”                                         Dormouse…”I reckon, its a starting point to a new……… future!!!”

After spending last week making lots of little things and a lot of mess, I thought I would change it around – make big things and, well,  less mess (Well, in theory, perhaps!)

These two new characters are made from my own pattern creations using some fabulous new fabrics I found at my favourite store, and, after tidying my ribbons I managed to find just the right ones to coordinate with both new little characters. The pink pig wool mix fabric has a tiny green line running through, (which doesn’t show up very well here) but the little neck ribbon bow matches it perfectly. Likewise, for the dormouse, made from such super soft cotton flannels, I also managed to find the perfect match of ribbons to pick up on the floral inner ears. As ever The trim at the base gave me the perfect excuse to add some decorative coordinating buttons! How could I be happier?!?

As, with all my new range of Doorstop Dumpies, they are now shippable,Worldwide! You might be able to see their little fancy zips at their bases, just sticking out? When they arrive at their new homes, the new owner simply has to unzip, pull out the stuffed cotton bag, remove the temporary ‘stuffing fluff’ and replace with some weighting element, grit/stone/sand or the like, place it into the little cotton bag, zip up, replace in the Doorstop Dumpy and refasten the base zip, A perfect ‘ONE OF A KIND’ character Doorstop Dumpy ready to hold open your door! YAY!

Creative Patchwork and Appliqué – Knitting Piggies – Framed fabric collage

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Applique, Art, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Crafter, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Cute art pictures, Cute collages, Decorative fabric art, Fabric art, Fabric scraps ideas, Felt sheep, Framed art, Fun art, Fun imagination, Fun with fabrics, Handmade, Knitting on toothpicks, Knitting pigs, Original, Original craft ideas, Patchwork, Piggies knitting, Pink felt pigs, Quirky, Quirky art, Tiny knitting, Unique pictures

PIGGIES KNITTING COLLAGE A variety of framed collages are now available on My Etsy Shop

Another hectic week has resulted in more fabric art pieces this is just one of them! Each and everyone I create are from my own imagination, I never recreate exactly the same again! Colour combinations and little twists of my own patterns make them all one offs!

After drawing a simple design for my piggy picture, I created a ‘countryside’ background panel, from a selection of patchwork cottons,to which I could hand applique the little shapes I had cut to form the two piggies and the little lamb. Using felt for the trees, face, trotters and sheep I arranged everything in place before stitching to the panel Then added some simple embroidered grasses and flowers to give a bit more depth to the picture.

Getting really good now at knitting on toothpicks!!!

I knit them both a little pieces from some embroidery thread and secured the tiny ‘needles’ in place with a few more stitches. I thought it would be fun to have them both knitting from the same fleece, its just that one of the piggies has a more forceful approach to her knitting as she seems to be pulling the lamb towards her!

Cute colourful creations from Caren’s canvas and craft! Art for all in many shapes and forms!!

”Doorstop Dumpy” – Bunny Rabbit – Another of my creative ”Dumpy Doorstops”

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Art, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Base zip, Bunny doorstop dumpy, Buttons, Caren's canvas and craft, Check fabric, Crafty creations, Crazy creations, Creative crafter, Designer bunny doorstop, Doorstop Dumpies, Doorstop Dumpy, Free shipping item, Heart button, Housewares, Internal bag for weighting element, Lace trim, My Etsy Shop, Original, Pink cotton canvas gingham fabric, Pink poly cotton, Pink rabbit doorstop dumpy, Ribbon, Ribbon roses

Pink cotton canvas gingham bunny ”Doorstop Dumpy”

Ok, I know I said no more bunnies for a while, but that was last week, and this little (or rather large in fact) bunny creation was eating away at my brain cells, desperate to be created. So, as I had just enough of this pretty gingham fabric left, I thought it perfect to give over to a bunny doorstop. I had to be so careful as to mark out my pattern precisely as I had literally no room for error, in fact the tiny pieces left wouldn’t have made bunting for a mouse, they were minuscule!

For a contrast to the ears and arms I used some white satin fabric, making it really silky and soft. With the help of covered pipe cleaners inserted in each ear, the new owner can change the position from alert bunny to floppy bunny, while it holds its arms open to great you at the foot of a door (So cute you might just have to pick it up every now and again for a cuddle!) With some pieces of lace trim and some matching poly-cotton pink check material I created a little shawl and a padded little bonnet, tied on with some matching ribbon. A few little ribbon roses were stitched on to decorate and finally a few buttons for the eyes and a perfect pink heart button for its nose.

As I have made this as one of my shippable ”Doorstop Dumpies” it is ready and waiting to ‘hop’ anywhere in the world. The reason it is shippable is that at the moment it has no weighting element inside, to keep shipping costs to as little as possible. The provision of making a zipped base with a removable cotton zipped bag inside means the new owner can simply unzip, remove the bag, and fill with approximately 5/6 lbs     (2/3 k) of grit stone/sand or similar weighting quite easily and they have a perfectly unique doorstop dumpy. This is a one off opportunity as I never make two things the same and as they are from my very own pattern which I created they are a one time wonder so hop to it as for a limited time it comes with free worldwide shipping, perfect to surprise someone in time for Easter, then practical for many years to come!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/carenscanvasandcraft

below are a couple more images from different angles. Sizes and other info can be found on the above link. Enjoy the bunny twirl!

Showing off my knitting yarn pompom tail! (That tiny white thing under me, is a discrete showing of my zip, just to show there is one!)

Showing off my knitting yarn pompom tail full on!

Showing off my knitting yarn pompom tail! Wow I look good all ways round 🙂 !

That’s it – I am over the bunny thing — Really I mean it! Coming soon – Framed fabric art pictures

Handmade and designed bags – Bunnies on a bag/tote

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Appliqué rabbits, Appliquéd and quilted, Art, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Caren's canvas and craft, Crafter, Crafty creations, Creative crafter, Creative crafting, Easter, Easter bunnies, Easter gift ideas, Fashion accessories handmade, Hand quilting, Handmade designed totes, Handmade fabric bags, Multi pocket feature, My Etsy Shop, Original, Original craft ideas, Original crafting ideas, Pink bunnies, Pink cotton gingham, Unique Handmade items

Small pink gingham bunny tote/bag

Having got full swing into bunnies, my next thought was how about that lovely piece of pink gingham I bought recently it would be perfect for a little tote/bag. So, rather than patchwork I decided on appliquéing some lovely bright pink bunnies I cut from felt with a little heart above them. After I had stitched them in place I hand quilted over the whole piece and then routed around in my buttons until I found enough matching ones to stitch around the heart. That really set it off nicely. Not content with just one lot of bunnies I decided the back of the tote/bag deserved a little design too. So again I drew out a sketch of a bunny cut it out of some white felt this time and stitched it in place. Surely if the front could have buttons, why not the back?! So… back to the button tins! This time I hand stitched a little grass border and added some ‘button flowers’, then to finish off gave the bunny a giant felt flower and a pink pompom tail

Most would think okay, enough bunnies…! but as I was making one of my special multi-pockets for the inside of the tote/bag I though ”Oh, Why not!” so I added a final little pink and white bunny in there too. Adding little beads for eyes and stitching little cute noses on them all. I finished the quilting on the reverse of the bag, made the little handles and finished with a magnetic clasp.

Yay! One perfect pink bunny bag. And guess what? Its already ‘hopping’ its way to its new owner! 🙂

Below are some more views of the pink bunny tote/bag

Bleach painting – Following up on a promise!

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A3 painting, Art, Art and craft, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Black card, Bleach painting, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Crafter, Creative Art, Creative crafting, Dark forest, Depth and perspective in art, Eyes of the forest, Forest scene, Gnome, Imagination, Imaginative art, Lady of the night, light and shade, Night art scene, Original art, Original painting, Painting in reverse, Perspective illusion, Removing with bleach, Smoke trails, Something different, Toadstools, Tree art, Weird and wacky art, Wondrous artwork

 

Ronnie’s forest bleach painting

After showing an experimental imaginary bleach painting on WordPress.com last year I was asked by our family friend, Ronnie, if I would do a larger version for him. As everything art and craft wise became quite hectic in the run up to the holidays, I said it would be in the new year – and here it is as promised.

This painting was done on standard A3 black card, (double the size of the first one) using nothing more than a little brush, domestic bleach and water with a touch of imagination!

After having a preview of the larger version, Ronnie was ”Really pleased with it!” my Mum informed me and now it is in a glazed frame on its way to be hung in his apartment.

Thanks for your continuing support Ronnie! 🙂 (I know he reads my blog!!!)

 

 

Colourful Christmas Creations

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2014, Artist, Artistic commissions, Artistic design, Arty, Atistic, Caren's canvas and craft, Christmas, Christmas creations, Christmas customised, Christmas gift ideas, Cotton creations, Created from my own ideas, Creative crafting, Cushion covers, Custom creations, Design your own, Father Christmas, Hand crafted, Happy New Year, Heirloom, Merry Christmas, My Etsy Shop, New friends, Original, Original creative crafting, Original gifts, Patchwork, Patchwork pillows, Pillow covers, Quilted, Something unique, Traditional Christmas, Unique, Wordpress

 

Joshua’s giant stocking/sleeping bag!

Over the last few weeks I think I have almost worn my fingers away creating very individual custom ordered creations. (Though I am more than pleased to be able to do so – if any one should have a request in 2014 please feel free to email me about it and I can arrange to create something special for you or a loved one)

The clients who asked me to make the gifts gave little more brief than the names and ages of the recipients, allowing me to go into an enjoyable surge of creativity – which is completely fine with me, though I always wonder while I am making things ‘will it be what they perceive, will they like it or will they be disappointed?’ The children were aged between two weeks and six years so I tried to cast my mind back to when my children were of similar ages and what they were interested in and build a theme around it. The patchwork, appliquéd and quilted feature handmade cushion covers are all hand cut and each separate piece has been stitched into place to form the overall picture.  The youngest was Elliott (with 2 T’s- I didn’t do it wrong) and for him I felt the little bear was most appropriate and the oldest was Oliver for whom I guessed a space theme was more grown up (probably because of my daughter at that age, everything was awesome to her about space back then….in fact some things never change… as she is now in her final year of her PhD of planetary seismology, studying ‘Mars Quakes’! And, indeed, when she came home for the holidays yesterday, I showed her pictures of the order, which had already been picked up, she admitted her favourite cover was the space one after confessing to loving them all. More to the point though, the client absolutely loved them, and, without knowing, I had apparently got each name matched with what they most liked, which I was thrilled about 🙂

The last minute order was for a giant stocking (the first picture) ”As big as you can make it with Joshua on it, Please” was the request.  For the rest of the day after the order was taken, was spent designing and conjuring ideas to create a stocking for a little boy which would be used year on year. I wanted to make something more than just your bog standard red stocking with a fluffy white top which is what most people would have expected on a last minute order. I wanted to create a potential heirloom stocking with a timeless quality, inserting all my self taught sewing skills from the past year or so and something which would bring a’whoop’ of delight that first viewing from Joshua… SO, a giant penguin, in my own style, it would be!!! In the rush to get it ready I have worked for twelve hours per day for the last five days sketching, cutting and sewing each piece, adding tiny beads to the trees and then hand quilting over the entire front and back of the stocking. When I handed it over this evening to Joshua’s father, he was so pleased with it and totally unexpected from the ””Red stocking with a fluffy top he had imagined”’ he said, ”He couldn’t wait to go home and show Joshua’s mother”. Literally as he must have gotten home and shown her, I got a text to say how over the moon they were with it and they couldn’t wait to show it on face book. That means so much to me as a creative crafter and artist, to be able to share a mini creation, or in this case, a very large one. The stocking had a final size of 40.5 inches long by 23 inches wide at both top and toe. just perfect for a three year old to camp out in! 

These handmade and designed pieces will be winging their way via ‘Father Christmas’ to several little people as part of their exciting presents to be opened on Christmas morning. After finishing the last one today I think it an appropriate time to hang up my needle, threads and paint brushes and spend the last week preparing for our own family holiday as I have much shopping to do.

I wish each and everyone a Merry Christmas and a VERY Happy and Healthy 2014.

It has been quite a journey being on WordPress this last year for me, I have loved discovering exciting sites, following people’s journeys of creativity, expressions, expertise, or day to day living. One which I am very please I ventured into, after coming across many lovely people. I look forward to a better year next year and hope the same for you too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Below are the custom handmade cushion covers…

Harry’s dinosaurs

George’s pirates

Elsie’s bunnies and hearts

Elliott’s teddy

Joshua’s jungle

Oliver’s space theme

A very special Jenny bunny cover for a very special girl