My apologies

My apologies....I was hoping to have finished backing the stars and have them all sent off by now, but the school holidays and craft fairs are getting the better of me. I am still on the case, and getting things sorted slowly...and I *will* get them in the post soon!

This isn't the best photo of all the stars together, but it gives you a good idea of what they'll look like altogether. (Excuse the desk!)

Of course, if anyone has any more stars they'd like to send me in the meantime, you're more than welcome!

Linda Kirkbride is also making a collaborative project for Estella and is collecting small handmade stars for an art bra....do contact her if you would like to join in :) She is also selling handmade brooches to raise money for SMA research....take a look here!

A bit behind

Firstly, some wonderful news! Estella's Mummy and Daddy are expecting a little girl :) She does not have SMA and I'm sure that she'll bring much joy to all that meet her and she will grow up being incredably proud of all that her big sister Estella, and her parents, have done to raise awareness of SMA.

As with last week, I'm a bit behind at the moment. I need to back some of the stars I've received and add the fixings so they can be easily attached to the wall in Bluebell Wood Hospice but I haven't done that yet...of course it does mean that if you have a star, there's still plenty of time to get it in the post! And talking of post, these beautiful patchwork stars arrived from Laura who sells her gorgeous floral jewellery here.

And of course, I can't make something without making a star at the same time, so here's a mono-print starfish :)



Nearing the end?

Sorry it has taken so long to write this post...can I blame it on the Summer Holidays? :)

Well, it is nearly at the deadline of 31st July. I need to back some of the stars to make them stronger and of course they need sticky pads on the back, but otherwise I'm nearly ready to send them up to Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice I would have like to have been able to travel to Sheffield myself, but unfortunately I won't be able to....this time. I have been talking to Sarah from the hospice, whom is very impressed with your stars by the way, and it is possible that I may do another project in the future.

So....if you have any more stars to send, now's the time to let me know and I can send them all up together. I can send others on after the main parcel if necessary.

I was hoping to reach out to people and spread the story of Estella. I think I have acheived this, and Linda, whom has connected to Estella's story through me has started her own collaberative project to raise awareness of SMA. So if you fancy making a tiny star, do contact Linda!

So....here are the stars I have received this week. I have these beautiful sepia photographs from Mark who has the whole alphabet at Alphabet Art. Before I saw them, I had the idea (with Mark's permission) that I would cut them into star shapes, but I feel this would make them difficult to read, and take away some of their beauty. So I will back these with board and send them as a separate piece to be displayed aside from the main star wall.

 Also I have these fabulously fun woven paper stars from Jo who has a blog here and has been blogging ablout Estella and this project :)

And these are the pieces I have been working on....I have finished the sticker pattern on the box lid. I still need to paint the box, add some rice for a rattle before gluing the lid on.

I also have some smaller porcelain stars with the impression of dasies and daisy centres.

This piece will be left unglazed to show the delicate texture.

Check back soon...I may even manage a picture of all the stars together!

Deadlines

When writing an article for Popular Crafts Magazine I had to choose a deadline to finish this project, so I chose 31st July....although this deadline may stretch a little, it is useful for me to aim for around this time to deliver the stars to Bluebell Wood Hospice. So...if you've been making a star, now's the time to send it to me :) You can leave your email in the comments, or email me at lisa at bs40.org and I'll send you my address. Of course there is no reason why stars cannot be sent individually after the majority are sent, but the more the merrier....and personally I always work better with a short deadline ;)

And, very nicely connected....these stars arrived in the post from Katharine, the editor of Popular Crafts who has been so helpful with not only the article, but also promoting the project on twitter. Katharine also sells patchwork supplies through MyHobbycraft.

And of course I've been working on some more stars....there are a couple that have nearly finished firing, I'll be able to unload the kiln tomorrow morning. Also I found some fun glittery stickers, so I've been making a patchwork on the box I bought previously.

Originally I was going to use the box in two halves, but I have decided to fill the box with rice and glue it together instead to make a noisy star. I've done the easy bit.....now to finish down the sides! ;)

Do get in contact if you're thinking of making a star, but need some advice....I'm full of ideas! :)

Lots of Stars!

The post has been busy lately! :) The first star is from June, the photo doesn't show how glittery and shiny the star is....bound to be a hit with small children :) June has a blog here.

 Also in the post were three more stars from Nicola. These pieces are really a labour of love as Nicola finds it difficult to grip a needle, although you can't tell from these stars!

 And last but not least, these cheerful stars arrived from Jodie today :) Jodie has a SMA Awareness blog here.

And as always, I'm working on some more stars :) These ones are a little smaller with the impressions of daisy centres....

Things are starting to get busy!

Lots of people showing me stars they've made on twitter at the moment! Really looking forward to showing them to you. I need to take a photo of all the stars I already have, so you can see how the wall is shaping up. Will see if I can manage that in daylight!

In the post this week form Nicola a really beautifully cross-stitched star....and she's made another two!

And out of the kiln this week...the three stars you've seen in progress.

I went for a simple transparent green glaze for the leaves, and I'm very pleased with the results.

I'll hopefully have some more stars to show you soon. I'm still thinking of more to put in the kiln, I think I might do some smaller ones and glaze them different colours.

Let me know if you're working on any stars, and feel free to blog about the project. The more the merrier!

More in the post :)

Another cute, soft star arrived in the post from iheartrosie This will be another great star that can be attatched with velcro :) Rosie also has an Etsy shop here Thank you Rosie!

I have been working on some new stars too, on the same principal as the leaves...this one with shells, a bit like limestone....

And this one with toy dinosaurs pressed into it :)