Bramble and Burdock

Hello to all those still checking in on this blog and apologies for the lack of updates. Hopefully I'll have some more to show you in the new year. Anyway, here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2012!

Here are two new crochet rabbits which I made recently. The first one is a vampire rabbit. Even though he's 862 years old, he still looks cute for his age! And this is another variation of my zombie rabbit design. This one has the added extra of a glow-in-the-dark brain! It's made from polymer clay and sewn into his head! The zombie rabbit has now been sold (yay!)

Two posts in one day - I'm getting prolific! Anyway, here's a design I did for a greeting card which fits nicely with this week's Illustration Friday topic of "hibernate" (click for a closer look). It's in the same style as my earlier design for the topic "stargazing". There are lots of hazards for a hibernating hedgehog - not least a curious fox! Hedgehogs of course like to curl up inside piles of wood, so remember to check your bonfire before you light it on November 5th!

 Not many new posts for a while, but I am still here. In fact, I've just returned from a short break in the Netherlands. During my stay I visited Utrecht, Leiden and Amsterdam. I ate lots of pancakes, climbed a very tall tower and of course floated along some canals. I also found this bridge, which had been decorated with muticoloured knitting and crochet!

I like taking photos of incidental details which I come across when I'm on my travels. I think that they are the genuinely interesting photos - the little things in eveyday life which you don't normally notice when you're busy.

My latest crochet rabbit is up for sale in my shop now sold! And here he is: He's made from recycled wool blend yarn (he used to be a sock - but don't worry, he was washed beforehand!) which I have felted to give him that fluffy look. He's a baby so he's a bit smaller than my usual design (I crocheted him with a much smaller hook too), and I used bigger eyes as well to make him look even cuter!

I had a few old, worn-out clothes lying around the place, so I decided to have a go at making a rag rug out of them. After much trial and error I just went with the simplest way of forming it which was to basically do a huge crochet circle! It's really interesting working on a much bigger scale than usual, because you can see the stitches so much more clearly that it really helps with your crochet skills. The blue and beige bits are made from some old sheets and the middle is mainly socks! It's actually very comfy to walk on too!

Here's another random photo of mine.

Today I made two new fabric cards. These have an added twist to them in that they are "upcycled". This is because I made them using fabric samples which I received when I was choosing the colour of my new sofa! So as well as being quite cute, they're thrify and good for the environment as well! I'm not sure what made me go for "woot!" over the more traditional "hoot!" owl call... but it seems cuter somehow!

Carrying on the theme of animals wearing clothes, which seems to have become a mini obsession of mine recently, here's my latest handmade card - a polar bear in dungarees! He's looking very thoughtful, chewing on his pen - maybe he's composing a little poem to write in his notebook. Yet again, it's attracted the attention of the local wildlife... I made his dungarees out of some lovely hand-dyed fabric which I got from the marvellous Etsy shop of therainbowgirl . I also made another version of my dapper fox card today, so all in all quite a productive afternoon! You can see closeups (and of course buy them if you're feeling generous!) in my Etsy shop ! These are now sold - yay!

Here's my newest crochet creation (or rather re-animation...) The vacant stare is classic zombie, but somehow he still manages to be cute! It took me a while to get the expression right - don't want him to look too happy, after all! He's available in my Etsy shop now sold!

Today I was more productive than usual and made a new card for my shop from start to finish! (Normally I start something, leave it for a bit and come back to it when the urge takes me - procrastination is my middle name!) Introducing the dapper young gent about town... He's certainly attracted the attention of one of the toy foxes that (inexplicably) wander about these parts! I made his snazzy waistcoat using a bit of gold/olive fabric which I had left over from a previous project, and I think the effect is quite good. He's now available in my Etsy shop sold!

Not much to blog about at the moment, so here's another random selection from my photos. I like the water droplets in this picture - they give a nice feeling of freshness, and it's quite a pleasing shade of green.

Well, I finally got some of my photos printed up as postcards by the lovely people at Moo . They've turned out rather well, so I've put them up in my Etsy shop as a pack of five, all featuring different European monuments. Some of them aren't really "monuments" as such but I couldn't think of any other word to encompass them, so monuments they will be deemed! They are mostly from Spain and the UK, with a German one thrown in too. My fave is the one of Castle Park gate in Colchester, which is one of the first photos I took with my camera a few years ago!

Searching through the layers of leaves, this little piggy found a new friend! This is a greeting card which I have been making for a work colleague. The card itself is also made up of different layers so that it has a slightly 3D effect, as shown in the photos - so it was perfect for this week's Illustration Friday theme of "layer"! Whilst I was photographing it, another curious piggy came over to investigate...

The grey rabbit is now finished and freshly listed in my shop has now been sold! It truly is the year of the rabbit around here! I finally raided my stash of hoarded fabric and am going to have a go at sewing some cushion covers using this brilliant tutorial by Gone to Earth . I'll have to do them by hand as I don't have a sewing machine, but hopefully they'll turn out ok!

The lovely sj from An Item Each Day of the Year has nominated me for a Stylish Blog Award! I am indeed honoured - thank you! [Edit: Also big thanks to Silver Pebble who also nominated me!] Apparently as a nominee I must now do 4 things: 1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award: ^^see above^^ 2. Share 7 things about yourself: * My favourite artist is Francisco de Goya * When I was little I used to call Neopolitan ice cream "Napoleon ice cream" * I own only 4 pairs of shoes * I am addicted to Angel Delight * I find quantum theory completely fascinating * I have a major phobia about anything touching my eyes, so I have to wear glasses instead of contacts * I am a massive geek (see above!) 3. Award 15 (arg!) recently discovered great bloggers: Some of these are blogs I check regularly, and others are where I've seen really great tutorials. Here we go then, in no particular order - ~ 1 Creating Trouble ~ 2 Gemma Correll and Her Merry...

After many tweaks and unravellings, my latest crochet creation is finally finished! This cute little fella is available in my Etsy shop now sold! Now I'm working on a grey one...

This is the remains of an ancient statue. I always marvel at the way the ancient sculptors made marble and stone look like draped cloth. The lighting on this piece was particularly good for emphasising that, plus it looks rather spooky!

OK so it's a while to go before Valentine's Day, but for those who like to plan ahead I have some new cards in my shop just perfect for sending to a special person. I made three altogether using watercolours and pencil to give them a nice soft, muted feel. I'm particularly happy with this little fella. Check them all out over at Etsy !

New in my Etsy shop (Now sold!) - he's a bat but not the scary kind. Made with acrylic yarn and felt.

Here's a new random photo of the day (click for bigger). It was taken in Santiago in northern Spain. Amazingly I managed to capture a fairly still picture of this small bird which was hopping around!