Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

My mother is celebrating her 90th birthday next weekend, and I was given the job of creating something as a party favour for guests coming to the event. We agreed on some criteria - a small item, not too expensive, not chocolates or lollies, preferably handmade, and something reflecting my mother's heritage and her birthday. I thought of  fans with a photo, a small clay plaque, small boxes with customised ribbon, chopsticks... then I saw felt fortune cookies on Pinterest!. Tick all the boxes and  thank you, Martha Stewart   for a step by step description. photo from http://www.marthastewart.com/273591/felt-fortune-cookies I used Martha Stewart's instructions to guide me.... 1. Cut felt circles - the ones I cut are 10cm diameter.  2. Cut pieces of wire and ribbon to fit inside the circles.  3. Clean up, but dilemma - will I keep the scraps of felt for another future project?  4. Embroider....  5. Count ......

We have had such a happy week in the wonderful part of the world we live in -  a day and night at Salamander Bay, about an hour's drive away from home.  One of the best spots to be in Winter! The day was clear, cold and windy, but beautiful - perhaps not the description the owner of this washed up yacht might have used? Our garden at home is looking beautiful too with the bottle brush, dancing like red fairies in the strong winds,and our Robyn Gordon Grevilleas attracting birds, even in such gale force winds. What about creative stuff this week? Inspired by the day at the Bay, I finally named a couple of my   embellished felt pouches " Bayside Blues' and " Nautilus"  ....  And our lovely garden prompted me to play with my new Inktense pencils. I only bought six pencils separately, rather than a set, just so I could experiment with them. I think I'll be buying a few more ... These samples were originally a grey on grey p...

Were you excitedly waiting for a glimpse of THE wedding dress last Friday? Lace has been an old time favourite for brides, and royal ones are obviously no different. However, I was very interested to  find out more about this special lace dress - ... The skilled embroiderers of England’s Royal School of Needlework (RSN) contributed their technical embroidery expertise to create the bespoke lace on Miss Catherine Middleton’s wedding dress, veil and shoes and enable Sarah Burton to achieve her artistic vision for the bride The lace design and process was influenced by traditional Carrickmacross lace which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Carrickmacross lace uses an embroidery technique called appliqué – the lace is worked by applying organdie fabric to a delicate net background and edging each motif with fine cord-like thread. Sarah Burton sourced a series of lace motifs to create a unique design, applied by the RSN and arranged to fit each part of the dress perfectly following ...

Once you  turn the calendar to December it seems that it becomes one eventful week after another - all good things, but very busy. This week, we attended school  awards days, birthday parties  for our grandchildren and tried to do some preparations for Christmas like finish making presents, put up the tree and decorations and even do some shopping!     Awards Presentation at Rutherford Public School can be a serious event for six year olds. Birthday Parties with cousins are ...   lots of FUN. Do grandparents really need help with the Christmas decorations ?  And a special Happy Birthday to our second grandson - five years old !       .... And if you would really like to see some fantastic holiday images - the participants of the Doll Holiday Ball Swap have been revealed at Vagabond Creations ( please go and have a look at the 33 wonderful art dolls) ... Here is mine called " Dreaming of a White Chri...

I am determined this year to be better prepared for Christmas. I decided to give cards as gifts for a few people this year, so this meant having them made and sent, ready for them to use as Christmas greeting cards. This last week was devoted to card making. I went crazy and spent almost every spare moment making cards. I was also very happy that I used only paper and card which I already had. Some are in traditional colours and others are just using leftover bits and pieces. Having sworn that I would not take up yet another creative interest, I started some life drawing classes last month - only of course, to help me improve my doll making. Tonight will be the fourth week of a six week course and I am really enjoying it. Ann, my teacher is great and  has classes for beginners and the more experienced. Look on  Facebook the drawing room . These are some of my drawings from last week's lessons. And, I almost forgot - Happy Halloween to blog friends particularly i...

I recently had my big birthday party - becoming a "senior" is something to celebrate. I think I did get a bit carried away, but wanted to have a special time with family and friends. And it was a special time with my family - my mother, my aunts and uncle, my sister and her family, cousins, nieces, nephews, my own children and grandchildren.... that was only part of the crowd . Old friends and new friends made the day even more special by just coming together and having a good time.     Sisters and daughters Granddaughter wearing my own baby dress (60 years old) with her other grandfather Oldest grandson enjoying the party Friends and family Scene BEFORE the downpour of rain and panic! The sun did shine eventually. FOOD? This was just the dessert, supplied by friends and my daughter-in-law with the fabulous birthday cake made by my aunt. Members of my Rotary Club ( Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland) cooked and prepared the main course - delicious roasted meats with accom...