Trying out the ad free version of blogger droid

This is the first time I have spent any swedish kroner. The internet makes it so (too?) easy. I have been reading lots of swedish books recently and I do fancy visiting one day. Camilla Lackberg is the latest along with Henning Mankell.

I spent kroner because I bought the ad free version of blogger droid to send blog posts from my phone. It works a treat and I hope that Anders Hedstrom is making a mint.

Swype beta

I have an android phone. I was asked the other day if I liked the slidey way of entering text. I thought I had tried it out before and didn't use it, so I tried to find it again so I could report back. I was unsuccessful. I spent the weekend with an android owner who told me about swype. I find it a much quicker way of entering text. So, if you have an android phone, you might like to give it a try. Search for swype beta.

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Goddess

Here she is - nearly finished. I want to add more white paint to the dress but can't do that for a bit because I am either away or have guests for the next 3 weekends.

Goddess

I'm taking Tammy's Magical Mythical Makings (M3) course. We do three pictures during the course. I am very behind and still only in the middle of the first! It is a Goddess in the style of Klimt. The course is closed now, but Tammy will be making it available on DVD shortly.

The picture is being painted on a 24 inch by 30 inch canvas.

The initial sketch

First layer of paint - the eyes are too small.

I had a problem sorting the eyes out. In the end, I drew one to my satisfaction, traced it and copied it to the other side. Even after all that, they weren't both the same size. Painting them afterwards was tricky as well. I found I could do it more easily if they were on a straight line, hence the position of the canvas.

Here, her dress has been completed in the style of Klimt.

 A gold background has been painted. I use Reeves paint, it is fabulously gold.

This is where she is now. I have to wait for the structure gel to dry before I can progress further. Tammy uses Texture gel. Even though my pot lid was so tight that I had to get DH to open it, it was still dry. I haven't been able to find out how to regenerate it. Luckily I had some structure gel which is much softer but still can be used to create peaks.

The Art of Stitching on Metal

Another book I received for Christmas was The Art of Stitching on Metal by Ann Parr. Another success. I made this pendant. I love the way that it looks as if it is made of molten metal. I tried stitching on different metals, but this one had the best effect. I'm not sure what it is, but it is a very malleable silver like metal. I wish I did know what it was because I want to be able to make more.

Pearl Competition

I am entering an embroidery competition. We were given a pack with three small pieces of silk and 3 pearl beads. This is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our guild. The instructions are to use at least one piece of silk and one bead. I decided to create a dragon using a copyright dover image.

I did a few trial pieces on hessian to check that the design was OK. The first one was done in white but with different stitches. I didn't feel that there was enough contrast in the texture so decided to make a coloured dragon. The one on the top right was not completed because the machine decided that it couldn't cope with stitching through the layers. I think the dark orange stitching was too small.

I stitched a bottom layer of a weave pattern. The machine got jammed up in the middle of the stitching (bottom right) and no matter what I did, it would not start again. I was worried that it was broken. Given that this was still a trial, I started again. The one on the  bottom right is the final sample. The colour in the photo is very orange but in real life it is a bright yellow.

The image below is of the final piece, although it needs pressing and framing, I am hoping that I will be able to get rid of the puckers. The background is stitched in cream embroidery thread and the detail is in gold metallic thread. Unfortunately, metallic thread always looks poor in my photos. It looks very glamorous and shiny when viewed in person. I'll post another entry when it is framed and ready for presentation.

Print and Stamp Lab: 52 Ideas for Handmade, Upcycled Print Tools

One of the books I received for Christmas was Print and Stamp Lab: 52 Ideas for Handmade, Upcycled Print Tools by Traci Bunkers. It is a brilliant book with all sorts of ideas on making stamps. Although I had ten days away from the office, most of those days were too cold for me to want to be in the studio. I did manage one day though and made a few stamps and rollers.

I made these from some furniture wheel protectors, and got two stamps for the price of one. One is the spongy inside and the other is the harsh edged outside. I use tape on the top of my home made stamps to make them easier to pick up.