Monthly Archives: June 2013

New Butterflies.

I`ve been working on some new butterflies this week.

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I wanted to make a freestanding butterfly brooch that would give the impression that a butterfly had just landed on you for a moment. I looked closely at illustrations in my butterfly book and tried to make the brooches as realistic as possible, painstakingly snipping out tiny pieces of fabric before stitching the into place.

These are based on Large White, Clouded Yellow, and Large Blue butterflies (with a little bit of artistic license…).

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Large White.

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Clouded Yellow.

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Large Blue.

The wings are covered with layers of machine stitching and the butterfly is slightly padded and backed with felt.  The antennae are made from strong button thread.

These butterflies can be worn as a brooch but I think they would also look lovely pinned into a little box frame.

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These three will be listed on my Etsy shop, although one has been reserved already. I`m definately going to make more, I`ve been thinking of some larger pieces and perhaps some 3D butterflies incorporated into mixed media embroideries.

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June Colours.

We`re now well into June, but because of the cold Spring, the garden is way behind. There are even still a few bluebells in bloom! I`ve planted out lots of seedlings among the perennial plants but the are still tiny. However everything is filling out now and there are a few flowers about. A wander with my camera yesterday proved that there is plenty of colour too…

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Ten More Bumble Bees.

Just finished ten more bumble bee brooches. I like to make them in small batches because there are so many layers and stages to complete in each brooch, it`s so satisfying when I finish the last one!

I used discarded furnishing fabric samples for the backgrounds of these bees. I like the earthy tones and chunky weaves. I only had a tiny piece of each fabric, just enough for one brooch, which makes each one unique.

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I used this black and white print for the backs of this batch. I don`t use a badge maker, but carefully finish each brooch by hand and I like to choose pretty coordinating fabrics for the backs.

Five more bee brooches have been added to my Etsy shop!

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Mollie Makes Mention!

My bumble bee brooches have been featured in this month`s Mollie Makes, my first magazine mention! I`m a big fan of Mollie Makes, so it`s very exciting. Got started on another batch of bumble bees this morning!

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