Ardingly Quilt Fair

Had an extremely inspiring day at the Ardingly Quilt Fair on Friday.... Although I am not a quilter, it was still very exciting to be attending this wonderful event.  I was invited by my good friend Sarah, who is an extremely talented Quilter herself!  The event was held on two floors, the ground floor was home to vendors selling various products from Sewing Machines, Fabric, Quilting Tools, Patterns and the most amazing Bookstall and the second floor displayed Quilts that would take your breath away.... so much talent!!  I was lucky enough to be allowed to take photos of some and I did try to get close up's of as many as I could to be able to show you the tiny detail that went into creating some of these beauties.....

The Art Nouveau style quilt below, was stunning, such beautiful Art Nouveau shapes and colours, I really liked this one, being a fan myself of the Art Nouveau period, this was a joy to see....

The Quilt below was a favourite of my friend Sarah; As you got up close to it, the stitching detail that went into creating the flower heads was just amazing.....

There were so many quilts on display, all with varying styles, it was a real colour explosion as you wandered through the hall, with lots of Ohhing and Ahhing at every turn.

Not all the Quilts were in the style that I personally liked, but you couldn't help but admire the workmanship that went into creating them... just take a look at the close-up detail on this Seaside Quilt......

 

This too, was not my taste, but the finer detail on this was so very clever, just take a look at the close-up of the net hanging from the boat... just wonderful!

There were some gorgeous traditional "type" Quilts, which I loved, like this children's example, so adorable!  Such cute colours and precious little "International Dolls", loved this one!

But my absolute favourites of the day were these two "Quilt Journals" which were very much done in "my style", there was such emotion in these two pieces, they really told a story.  I loved the different elements used in creating this; the old lace, printed verse, jewel elements and old photos.. just divine.

It was a fabulous day and I came away buzzing with ideas of how to incorporate some of this talent and style into my work..... hhmmmm, where to start!

Exciting Opportunity.....

I have been asked by a good friend of mine to assist her in creating costumes for a Drama Production of A Midsummer Nights Dream.  My friends Brother is the Head of Drama at a local Private Girls College and each year the students put on a lavish production, and this year it is to be the wonderful Shakespearean Fairytale of A Midsummer Nights Dream.  I was thrilled to be asked, there is alot of work involved creating twenty Fairy Costumes plus the costume for Titania.  The Fairy costumes are a base of a basque (shown above), plus a pretty net skirt.  Each has to be decorated with leaves, feathers and a bit of sparkle.   

This morning, with the Twins and Hubby out at Football Practise I had the house to myself, so I set about starting the first Fairy Costume, covering the plain basque in foliage.  I worked with silk leaves in greens and purples, adding sequins here and there, gluing each leaf on with a hot glue gun.  I dotted some pheasant feathers about each leaf to soften certain areas and finished off trailing some silk ivy amongst the leaves.

The finished result is exactly how I envisioned it and with the net skirt to be added and decorated similarly, it will look amazing.  Now onto the rest of the costumes and then comes the headdresses... I'll keep you all posted on my progress and hopefully even have some photos of the actual event and backstage on the day.

New Items in Store Now!

Pop along to Maygreen Fairies Website Shop, new items have now been added to the Cards, Gift Tags and Bookmark Sections as well as the NEW Fairy Jars!

New "Little Bookworms" for 2012

Introducing the new "Little Bookworm" Characters that are decorating my Bookmarks in 2012... These three are just a sneek peek at some of the new cuties available in 2012.

I am busy tucked away at my Studio Desk at the moment creating new designs and updating old ones in preparation for restocking my website shop and stocking up for the Spring Fairs that begin at the end of March.  These Little Bookworms are just the first of many re-vamped designs that will be available very soon.

More new bits coming soon... so please keep popping back if you can!

Own a Fairy....

New for 2012 are my Jar Fairies, each Fairy is suspended inside the Jar and comes with a lable describing how she was caught!  These whimsical cuties have been a long time coming, as I used to sculpt fairies and place them in jars, and for a while now have wanted to create a similar style with paper based fairies, but knowing how to suspend them has always been tricky, as I did not want to stick them to the base, I wanted them to look as if they were fluttering in the jar, and for them to have movement.

 So for the last few weeks I have been toying with different ways of placing them in the jar, before finally deciding on using acetae and clear cotton to suspend them from the lid.

The finished result is really pleasing, especially when you handle the jar and the little fairy inside flitters away, it just adds to the whimsy of the piece.... My kids love them!  They look fab displayed on kitchen or dresser shelves amongst pretty china.

The first few will be availalbe on my website very soon, and they will also been available to view and buy at my first Fair this year on 31st March at the Kitsch and Stitch Event in Cranbrook, more details on this will be available soon.  If you have any queries on my Fairy Jars please drop me a line.

New Year, New Designs....

The twins are now back at School, hubby is back to work so the house is quiet and I'm ready to get stuck in on some new designs for this year.  Firstly I had to get the dull stuff out of the way and finish off paperwork and accounts that had been outstanding, but now with that done I have settled down to complete my first new design of 2012, this pretty button necklace.  This style of necklace will be available alongside my other jewellery items this year and will also compliment my "Button Floozie" earring designs.  I have been a busy girl today as I  have also been working on some bottle labels for a range of Aromatherapy Oils and Facial Waters for a new client of mine, it has been lovely to work on something a little different, and the designs are now with the client for their comments... exciting!!  This is only a short post as I'm now off to do a spot of housework before the twins come home... will be back soon with more new designs from Maygreen Fairies!

Happy 2012!!

Wishing all my lovely Readers and Healthy, Happy & Prosperous New Year!!  I look forward to another year of "Blogging" along with you all. xx