My Muse at Calico Craft Parts

Hello and Welcome to Magpieheaven! Just a sneak peek today of my project over at Calico Craft Parts here. I'm down in the forest in search of my muse!

I do hope you'll be able to hop across and see what I've been up to. Every good wish for a really creative week!

Showing Some Faces!

Hello and Welcome to Magpieheaven! It's been a long time, but I have made the effort and I'm linking to Kim Dellow's great 'Show Your Face on Friday' blog here. I've been really neglecting my blog of late and missing out on commenting on my friends' and followers beautiful work too! This is partly due to a new Work in Progress:

This was once the Magpie bathroom! If you've been a follower for the last 3 years, you might recall that just after I started blogging, our friend Kevin embarked on a kitchen re-fit for us. In case you're wondering why I've never posted pics of that, it's still not finished! We didn't relish the idea of starting the bathroom before the kitchen was done, but in the end it had to be! We've been spending lots of our time organising where we can take showers - thank goodness for kind friends and family! Our bathroom is in the hands of a different plumber so hopefully we won't be without a shower for 3 years - much as we love Kevin that has been quite a long time to wait for a kitchen! We've been dashing out into the garden for a bit of peace and quiet between the showers (the rainy variety, that is) and I've been keeping the faces very miniature indeed -having the tiniest of spaces now to craft in!

I've been quite productive, making earrings and brooches - which I'm planning to put in my Etsy shop - as well as other mini projects, that I'll be showing here soon, I hope. Maybe it's because even if I enjoyed doing it, housework would be a bit pointless amid all the plaster dust and piles of bathroom clutter! You might notice the tea-cup has some Relics and Artifacts wings - another project I'm working on in my imagination. Watch out for flying tea-cups coming this way!

I've been having so much fun collaging my own art work onto earrings, using my new Dremel like tool to drill tiny holes. I've also created this 'art doll' type brooch, painting a face onto Crackle Glaze for a vintage effect and painting a little pair of charms to add as hands.

Although everything is quite higgledy-piggledy, we have so much to be grateful for! Simon, our bathroom fitter is kind and enthusiastic and we know that some day we'll have a beautiful new bathroom we can relax in - although I can imagine our daughter is going to lock herself in and spend days in there, once we do eventually get the dream bathroom we've all been planning together!

As we step over boxes; desperately search for tooth-brushes, soap, towels and medicines and plan for our next shower, I take a few moments to feel grateful. We have a home that we know will be a haven again very soon - and there's still space to create - just about. There are so many people in this world who have lost everything, even precious loved ones to war or senseless acts of violence. In the light of that, what's a little domestic upheaval? Have a lovely, peaceful week with time to create and to be with those who you love.

My Reality - My First Blog as Designer at Calico Craft Parts

Hello and Welcome to Magpieheaven. I'm so excited! Today sees my first blog as part of the Design Team over at Calico Craft Parts. If you would like to see in more detail what I created from these lovely art parts by Calico, please take a look here.

Best Wishes for a lovely Creative Week from Julie Ann x.