A photo, a rabbit and perspective

Do you have a favourite photo? I do ... it happens to be a photo of my dog that was taken quite a few years ago. Here it is ...

I love how he is looking up at me with his expressive face. He seems to have a look of 'demand' - I want you to play with me, I want you to take me for a walk, I want a treat ... the list continues.

The opportunity arose to design a fabric and paint art work for a dear, little girl that had experienced a tough time of late. The result is similar to the above photo ... take a look ...

The little girl loves rabbits, so once again I made the motif a rabbit. I thought I would change the perspective of the rabbit, compared to the earlier rabbit design, this one looks as though it is looking up you. I ended up creating two of the same design. The first one I made had white highlights around the ears and on the feet and it was the design that I ended up giving to the little girl I had in mind (photos are available for viewing on my Instagram feed. Click here.) This one has dark brown highlights and this one is currently in the Etsy store (Click here to view).

Which one do you like the best?

Thank you for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Sunny, Daisy Flower Mixed Media Canvas

We all need some motivation and encouragement, right? This sunny, daisy flower mixed media canvas was created with this in mind.

I love flowers. I love the range of vibrant colours that they burst forth with. I love how a group of them can't help but look cheery and happy. Combine these happy flowers with tones of yellow and green and a tone of happiness is set!

I also believe that we are all created by God for a purpose and that there is a need to stop life from clouding or diminishing this at times. The words that I wrote on the canvas are meant to remind us of our value, to be strong and to proudly do what is required.

Paint is a wonderful medium to work with. I enjoy working with it so much as it offers such freedom in creativity. I love blending colours together and adding textures. I have been inspired by other mixed media artists, of late, and have experimented with new techniques. I have even started an art journal to make the most of trying out these new ideas. In this canvas, I have used bunches of thread as a way to create some extra dimension. I have also used torn magazine pieces as the centre of the flowers.

This canvas is currently available, although I am having a bit of a hiccup listing it in the new shop that I hope to open soon online. 

(Feel free to contact me for more details about this canvas, if you have any questions though).

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Winter gardening and a fabric pendant design

Winter is knocking on the door...

 It is not just the cooler weather, the extra showers of rain, the gusty winds and the muddier boys’ clothes that give it away. It is the greenness and lushness that seems to grow in boldness and be more evident.

We are blessed with room for a garden that we enjoy growing flowers, fruit trees and vegetables in. On the weekend (usually Sunday afternoon) hubby, myself and the boys, all get out into the garden and weed, plant, pick or prune. It is very rewarding to receive delicious, home grown produce for our efforts, whilst the boys are learning a lot about plants and how they grow.

The only drawback, at this time of year, are … the nettles. We know that it is getting cooler and wetter when the nettles seem to pop up and thrive. It also sees us with trousers, jumpers and gloves, making sure that we don’t have any skin exposure so that we don’t get stung by the nasty weeds. All part of gardening, I suppose …

My latest creation uses greens, but more of a spearmint green, rather than leaf green, teamed with bursts of purple. Here is the result …

I had the idea to use my hand painted creations, but rather than use canvas or paper to paint on, instead use fabric. I have managed to turn my paint into fabric paint, by adding a special textile medium to the colours. This makes it more waterproof (but not recommended to swim or bathe in). I like the idea of using reclaimed materials in what I create, hence a lot of the beads and the fabric are reclaimed. I am not totally happy with the top part of this prototype pendant, as it bunches rather a lot. I am making alterations to the design which will hopefully fix this problem. I loved creating this design and will definitely make more.

Thank you for stopping by!

~ Jen. 

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Wonderful Wednesday - What caught my eye...

Patchwork Pillow Case by '20 Four Acres'

This week, when browsing through madeit.com, I discovered this bright and cheery pillow case. I love how this design is made up of sets of sqaures. I also love the bright green fabrics that are used. This cover reminds me of summery, grassy fields with flowers. A practical, handmade item for the house or for someone special.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wonderful Wednesday - Eggsciting times!

I am thinking of turning 'Wonderful Wednesday' into a post that shows a picture of something gorgeous, inspirational, creative...

Today's item is...

 Fabric Easter Eggs by 'Prancing Piggies'

... a set of gorgeous and colourful fabric eggs by 'Prancing Piggies'. I just love the mix of bright colours and pretty patterned fabrics. Just in time for Easter...

Friday thoughts - Colour - choice, balance and association

When you see a colour, does it remind you of anything in particular? Do you naturally decorate anything for a girl with pink and anything for a boy in blue? It is funny how this association with colour and gender has occurred.

Then there are cool and warm colours. Warm (yellow, orange, red) colours are generally more bold and dazzling, whereas cool colours (blue, green, purple) are more calm and settling. I must say, I do prefer the cooler colours. I seem to choose them over the warmer colours concerning clothes, furnishings and even in craft/fabric patterns. Whereas, there are other people that I know that warmer colours look awesome on.

You could even argue that there is even a pecking order with the brightness of hues. When decorating or making items for children, I tend to use bright and bold colours, rather than pastel colours. To me, bright and bold colours remind me of the energy and bounce that children have. In my latest project, I am using bold and bright colours for the main picture/decoration which is placed upon a pastel blue background. The aim of this item will be a decoration for a girl's (yes...I am using pink) bedroom/nursery.

What colours work well? I often look for great colour combinations in fabric patterns, but only choose three colours! If the fabric that inspires me has a lot of different colours or hues I only pick three, any more and it can look too 'busy'. I often choose one main colour, and the other two colours are used to add some contrast or highlight. This adds more balance.

 An example of this is with 'Rosie'. I chose the flowery patterned fabric. I then used pink from the fabric as the main colour and used purple and green (in the same hues as the fabric) to add some highlights to the ears, face, tummy and paws.This principle can be used in a lot of ways - in making craft items, card making/scrapbooking and even in decorating rooms.

Have a colourful weekend! I hope to finish the 'project' soon to show you all.

Friday thoughts - Fabric and fun

I have had to divide my stash...

My box that contained all my fabrics could not keep its lid on any longer, therefore I have had to divide and conquer my 'mountain' and reduce it to two little 'hills'. I now have one box that contains all my woollen felts and another container that holds all my fabrics for my headbands.

In one of my last trips to the craft shop, I opted for some fleece/polar fleece. I love making my felt toys and I will continue to do so, however I have been thinking that polar fleece/fleece would be a soft, cuddly fabric for little toys, especially for littlies. It took a bit of courage to splurge and try another fabric.

Which begs the question, do you stick with a particular type of fabric or do you use the same? Are there advantages/disadvantages about using the same type of fabric or a variety? I would be interested to hear your views.

Whatever fabric you choose this weekend, I hope that you have a wonderful weekend with your craft.

Weekend Wonders - I love colour

Earlier this month I mentioned that I picked up my latest 'stash' - my latest 'block' of colour to work with. I enjoy going to a craft store, finding a beautiful fabric and then spend time matching felt, threads and yarn to the fabric. This 'stash' is quite bright with candy pink, lime green and a lilac colour. Over the weekend I had the chance to visit my local craft shop (yet again) and purchased some plain fabric to match the pink, green and purple so that I can soon begin some headbands.

I also spent time over the weekend keeping my fingers busy with a range of projects and managed to finish a card set using an aqua blue and white patterned paper.

I not only love the colour of the blue, but I also like the simplicity of the pattern. To create the card design I simply cut a rectangle of the patterned paper and mounted it on two rectangles of different shades of aqua. I was going to place a silver sticker outline around the block, but it looked elegant without it. Instead I added a silver 'Happy Birthday' sticker. This set will be added to my MadeIt shop over the weekend.

Whatever your project was over the weekend, I hope you enjoyed that creative time!