Claire & Michael

claire & Michael
Originally uploaded by Rona Gregory

Claire emailed me a photo of her wedding day which I changed to Black & White in Photoshop and then printed onto Habotai Silk. This was done by using some pre- treated silk sheets on peel off paper and my own ink-jet printer. I then made another ribbon-craft heart with an aperture to show the photo through. This was then mounted onto a canvas painted with pale gold acrylic and then varnished. The 6" square canvas is displayed on a mini easel .

ring bearers cushion

ring bearers cushion
Originally uploaded by Rona Gregory

Someone asked the other day how I found time to make all these things when I'm preparing to move my home and my whole life across the world. Simple. If I sit still and do nothing my mind gallops around the house worrying about everything that has too be done. As a lot of what is left to do cannot be done just yet it helps to focus on something else. In other words it helps me relax! This week's offering is a ring bearer's cushion I have made for a friend who is getting married very soon. I got the idea for ribbon weaving from Susan Niner Janes' book New Ideas in Ribboncraft and then chose different fabrics to make it my own. As is fashionable I up-cycled a blouse that had a wee hole in!

With the remainder of the blouse I am going to make a beautiful evening purse.  Watch this space!

Blue-green purse

Blue-green purse
Originally uploaded by Rona Gregory

I recently came across a book by Clare Youngs on making the perfect handbag. Two days later my mum gave me this piece of fabric which I love. I bought another piece of fabric from a charity shop, which was the perfect color match and weight for the lining, along with an old bag sporting the perfect handles! What else could I do but get started? It proved to be a learning curve however, as I started on one style but then half way through adapted it slightly because I wasn't 100% happy. This is the result. I'm going to give it to mum to say thank you.

Indian Summer

Indian Summer
Originally uploaded by Rona Gregory

Recently I purchased a small inexpensive note book from a well known supermarket because I was drawn to colours which reminded me of my holiday in Goa. This, together with a half price offer on felt in my local craft shop, spurred me into making the paisley motif on the right. Then I just got a bit carried away resulting in a set of three. Luckily I had three spare canvas who's sizes lent themselves to the project and this is the result.

mosaic

mosaic
Originally uploaded by Rona Gregory

First time mosaic! Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. We needed to block off a window in the front porch but, with the best will in the world, we were never going to match either the render or the colour of the outside wall. So I had to think of a way to do it and this was the result! A rather large house number plaque! Still, if we get a short sighted postman it may come in handy!

Work in progress!

This is my Russian Doll doorstop prototype 2!  The first was the perfect shape but I filled it from the top and wasn't happy with the finish.  This one I thought was going to be great.  Fill it from the bottom, I thought,  and the top will be better.  That worked ok.  But  I made the face a bit smaller as I felt the first was too big.  Am I happy?  No!  This one I feel is too small!  I can feel a third prototype is needed!  Oh well Rome wasn't built in a day... and neither will my doorstops be.

Welcome to my new Blog!

Life’s simple pleasures is a blog that is focussed on just that. I get a great deal of enjoyment just exploring and experiencing everything life has to offer. From a few minutes at sunrise when the light is so perfect to a whole hour of soothing piano music playing softly whilst I’m baking. My second source of pleasure is recording and sharing those moments with others.

I created this blog, with the help of a dear friend, in an attempt to share these pleasures with a wider audience in the hope of spreading a little joy. I hope that you find something here that you will enjoy. If you find something that helps lighten your load, solves a problem or simply makes you laugh out loud then it has all been worthwhile.

My thanks to Lorrie, who got this blog up and running for me.