Domestic Goddess in the house...

So here we are again!
Another Monday... I hope you are well and had the weekend you hoped for. Mine was busy with cleaning, creating and also a wedding thrown in for fun. Maybe that explains my "Anything Goes" for Simon Says Stamp & Show. For a long time I have wanted to play with a Donna Downey inspired altered apron so this was my chance! There have been a lot of tough headlines in the news this week and I really felt some colour and inspirational words might do us all good.

I suffer with IICMIMIW syndrome... If I Can Make It Myself I Will...so I started by making an apron from artists canvas fabric which was incredibly cheap and an ideal material to work on. I drew my own simple pattern, it's only four pieces of fabric. The front, frill, waistband and pocket and I really enjoyed a good old whirring session on the machine. You could of course just use a square of fabric and glue it to a chunky canvas if you don't fancy sewing...

I primed the whole apron with a wash of Claudine Hellmuth Gesso as a base for the coloured paints. When dry, I used a wash of Claudine's Classic Teal, followed by Yellow Pastel. I used a big brush and kept blending to achieve a smoother variation in colour. Then the fun started with creating all the flowers. The round flowers, also canvas, some painted in Modern Red are stamped with spots or stripes by Wendy Vecchi.

I love this Persian poem by Hafiz. It says so much in just a few lines. I'm a firm believer in the power of just one person. Wherever and however... simply making the most of a moment can change everyone's day. A little bit of love can go a long way. I printed the poem onto sticky- back canvas, as are the larger words. I stamped the butterflies onto the reverse of painted fabric, adding some zig-zag stitching.

 The larger flowers are made from thinner muslin stamped with script in Saffron Archival ink. I also used a brayer to apply paint to my stamp so I could continue in the same Classic Teal colours. I chose a selection of buttons for the centres and also added lace, stamped cotton tape and ric rac along the top and frill. Everything was stuck to the apron using Matt Medium which is wonder-stuff. Then back to a good old needle to embroider chain stitched stems and back-stitched leaves which really makes the flowers come to life.

Here a close-up of one of the flutter-bys... I know it's all incredibly girly and colourful but I really did enjoy myself and I love the combination of the zingy florals and the poignant words...  I really hope you like it and can enjoy a boost of colour and inspiration. Fancy some more ideas? Then jump over to the blog. Very sadly we say goodbye to Nancy C. Lori and Kim so do make the most of their creations today! I will miss both them and their wonderful art very much...

This great prize is on offer along with the highly sought after Top Three title. Could it be you this week? With that, I must love you and leave you. Do let me know what you think and I'll be round to see a lot of your work soon too... Thank you for being here today!

Sarah.