Stencil Wood Sign

I've still got the Cameo Silhouette cutting bug, and I picked up this scrappy piece of wood on the beach a while ago that I thought would be great for a stencil cut using the Silhouette. I wanted to use an extract from the poem written by Bessie Anderson Stanley in 1904 called "Success". I worried that it wouldn't quite fit, but it did in the end thankfully! 

I used the tutorial on the Silhouette site to work out how to make stencil letters without the middles falling out of the "e" and "o" s etc. I know it isn't exactly perfect, but I think I like the look. I used Acrylic paint and finished it with lime wax for a soft shine. 

I have lots of ideas to make some more, and sitting in the garden, stencil brush in hand, is the perfect place to be at the moment.  

    

Subway Art and Birthday Banners

Just back after a wonderful month away in South West France, where the roses were perhaps the best ever ( do I say that every year?) and we enjoyed sunshine and rain in equal measure. One nearby village was completely flooded out, thankfully it passed us by.  

Shrub roses in their hundreds growing around the archway.

Beautiful shaded footpath, lined with roses. 

Back home now, here are the projects that I took with me...

Making a point... SUBWAY ART. 

Confession time... I treated my self to a Cameo Silhouette plotter last year, and I am ashamed to say that for the first 6 months it sat its box, reproaching me for not using it. This year, resolute to use it, I came across some great Subway Art tutorials by Debbie over at the Painted Therapy blog, and gave it a go. I followed her instructions, but I couldn't find printed contrast sheet here, so I used a highlighter pen to colour the clear plastic instead. The most difficult bit was getting the levels right, but I am quite happy with the result. 

 
It was made for a friend, a memory board of all her favourite places. 

The Cameo is so flexible it can cut paper and fabric as well, and I am thinking of many more ways to use it   (they didn't pay me to say that!). 

Birthday Banner

Next, my Friend Jo made this Birthday banner for me made from paper and cardboard using her machine.

  
Can't resist including a photo of Maggie the little Cocker and my stash of vintage French linen, oh yes, and more roses in the background.