From Russia with love

Sometimes I get mail that takes my breath away! will you just look at this beautiful matchbox from Julia in Russia.

packed with tiny treasures!

gorgeous cards, and pages in Russian, lace, and a rose wrapped key, oh swoon...

Julia and I also swapped ATC's, this is her Russian fairytale, just divine!

and this has to be my favourite, a set of three inchies decorated with beads and Russian illustrations, they are tiny but have such a wonderful feel and sound to them, like three little tiles, just superb!

as usual I haven't done a very good job of photographing the things I sent Julia! when will I learn?? however, if you pop over to her Blog you can see them! my ATC was inspired by Nathalie using an illustration from Ragamuffin Gal Thank you Julia for this fab swap, you made my day!

Finishing up

I decided to finish my journal even though not all the pages are complete, better to do these things while the instructions are fresh in my mind, such is my apalling memory.

I sewed a contrasting fabric down the spine
I learnt a couple of new transfer techniques, I really like the quality of the print

The journal has quite a few sewn elements, on this page I used some old wrapping yarn to add a bit of texture

The bird has escaped (I know not where) but is set to return when I find it!

I have one set of Chinese stamps but I've got my eye on a couple more which of course I need to finish my project!

My children happily chomped their way through a bag of fortune cookies in the name of art!

Carole did a superb job of teaching this journal class, loads of info and great videos clips of the techniques, well worth joining in and she has a new class beginning soon.

about turn...

If you recall the last time I posted about Carole's journal course I was planning to do a book about marriage, well, the thing is, I've changed my mind! The Mr and Mrs were just sending me to sleep so I've left them in the meantime. My theme is now Asian which is a bit of an out there colour choice for me, being the lover of blues and greens that I am. Patty you'll probably recognize most of the deco as a good half of it has come from your stash! Thank you!

It surprising what I found in the cupboard once I got started, a little kimono and some origami paper which I couldn't resist folding into a pocket!

I also have rather a lot of handmade paper, I think the majority of it probably comes from India, superb textures and subtle colours. I found various pieces of Asian themed fabric in my 'I used to be a quilter' stash. The theory really is true, keep these things long enough and they will come in handy! and no, my mother didn't type that, I did!

I have quite a collection of metal bits and pieces, some lovely coins and a couple of fans that I plan to add in somewhere. I'm having a ball with this journal and already have plans for the next one, although the theme is subject to change!

The winner

CONGRATULATIONS

romantic

you are the winner of the June dress!

Thank you to all of you who played along last month

Dress Up- July

Welcome to Dress Up in July!

with summer sun and fun in mind I'm afraid I've reverted to type this month! I just can't get enough of those blues and greens! I began my dress with a water colour crayon background to which I added paper scraps and acrylics.

I also used the paua shell again, I love the myriad of colours in these tiny pieces

my beach babe was meant to be looking at something but nothing I tried looked quite right (incuding a big fish!) so I'll leave it up to you to decide just what's on her mind...

I finished the whole dress with wax which gives it an added dimension and really brings out the colours. I still haven't quite mastered the technique as well as I'd like and I think it's going to be another one for me and my good friend You Tube!

Once again a super big thank you to all of you still playing along, I love visiting your Blogs every month and apart from the odd blip here and there I hope all my comments are getting through. I'll draw a name from the June entries for the NZ dress tomorrow evening and will post the winner on my Blog. Have fun dressing your best this month!