Mad as a March Hare

As it is March, I've been thinking of the saying "Mad as a March hare", so I decided on the " Hares and Rabbits" theme for my turn to design for Tag Tuesday this fortnight. Ever wondered how the saying came about?

Hares have long been thought to behave excitedly in March, which is their mating season. Lewis Carroll is among many who have used this idea in stories - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
"The March Hare ... as this is May, it won't be raving mad - at least not so mad as it was in March."
More recently this behaviour has been questioned and it is now thought that hares behave oddly - boxing, jumping etc. - throughout their breeding season, which extends over several months.
Be that as it may, hares, especially March hares, have that reputation, which will surely stay with them. from https://www.phrases.org.uk

I prepared three tags and had lots of fun making these tags. The first (photograph above) is a fabric collage made by using iron -on double sided adhesive webbing on the fabric and then overstitching the appliqued pieces. The print is one from Loralie Designs fabrics and I added the rabbit ears, nose and whiskers. I thought the "dotty" fabric just added to the madness!
The second has a more classic feel to it, a tribute to Lewis Carroll. The feature is a cut out white rabbit from Graphics 45 "Halloween in Wonderland" paper. The background is a page of text, with a cut out photocopy of Alice from my own childhood volume of the Illustrated Alice in Wonderland, now about 60 years old. This has been layered with a photo of grass I took and printed onto vellum.

The third tag is a very simple layered one, but I think it is rather sweet. A paper napkin/serviette layered over the top of text with gel medium, and then a clip art image pasted over the top, with a leaf cut from the same napkin/serviette over the top, and then the stamped message.

I hope you enjoy creating your own 'hare and rabbit" inspired tags perhaps in preparation for Easter and join in the fun at Tag Tuesday... Best wishes, Wilma"

Too Precious to Waste

Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons More than a year ago, a decision was made. The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2] A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog