Metal Embellishments

This is the kind of weather Ziggy likes- when it is so bright and sunny outside that he is just a glowing white shape in the camera lens. We have had a brief reprieve from the dullness, although more rain is forecast and our local river remains on the brink of floodwatch- one minute it's on alert and the next it's been downgraded.

I planted out my Cyclamen on Boxing Day as I thought they would be happier outdoors. They look so sparkly in the sunshine. I have great hopes for this particular patch of the garden as the Cyclamen are surrounded with a couple of varieties of Allium bulb. It should look really pretty when they flower.

The rest of the garden is looking a bit brown and bedraggled. It has been so wet we can't cut the grass so the jungle view is creeping in. The Pampass Grass is definitely rocking the windswept look lately as it gets blown around by the wind and battered by the rain.

Ziggy doesn't care though, as long as he can sit on his garden chair and watch the birds in the sunshine then he's happy.

I am on holiday this week and am loving it!! I can't actually remember when my last proper break from work was and am enjoying doing nothing- well nothing but cat cuddling and creative things that is. I have been working on my latest two ATC group swaps, both with the same theme but on an ATC and postcard scale. The theme is Metal Embellishments but you can have any theme within that so it's quite broad.

For the ATCs I went with a butterfly theme and made my own with two strands of thin metal wire woven and twisted together to make lacy effect wings. The background is made of a layer of hand stitched fabrics with a cut out leaf fabric on top. Originally the leaves were filled with a woven material but I carefully cut this out to give a lacy appearance. On top we have my butterfly and a couple of others with a metallic feel to them from my stash box.

For the postcards I went for a completely different look and theme, quilting together a background of blue fabrics, then making reverse applique circles through which crushed silver foil can be seen. I played with different stitches and embellishments here, turning the polka dot fabric into little squares, back stitching lines along printed lines and adding beads, sequins and a star trim.

Although these photos are quite dark, the colours are still relatively dark themselves to give a greater contrast with the silver of the foil and embellishments.

Can't wait to see what I get back from this swap!