'Anguissola' Beaded Necklace

 I recently had the opportunity to celebrate a dear friend (who is now my Apprentice Sister!)

I decided to make a necklace inspired by the girl on the left of this lovely portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola.

Portrait of Three Children with a Dog by Sofonisba Anguissola

Image from: https://www.wikiart.org/en/sofonisba-anguissola/three-children-with-dog-1590

The beads are semi-precious (I can't remember if they are quartz or agate) strung on gold tiger tail wire with gold beads and crimps and a gold heart pendant. The clasp is bar and loop style, as I find that much easier to put on and off.

The necklace I made has more rounded beads. The inspiration piece has oval shaped beads which look a little smaller. The pendant also looks a little different, but it is not a bad match.

'Bunnies' Heraldic Device

I finished another heraldic device for the Baronial device banner a while ago. It has a felt base with applied felt on top.

I had a couple of tries at working the bunnies, with slips being my first idea. It was unsuccessful, and in the end I appliqued a bunny shaped felt base to add a bit of dimension, and then split stitched on top of it.

The central chevron was stitched in place and then gilt thread appliqued over the edges. The pink dots are guidelines for where ermines need to be embroidered.

I did the back legs of the bunny in a very pale grey to look a bit like shadow and add depth. I did a black outline for definition and added shiny black beads for eyes. I used smaller black beads for the centre parts of the ermines. They really catch the light.

The teeny cotton puffs came in a Christmas craft pack and I was just thrilled with them. 

Pinning and sewing another piece of felt on the back for extra stability (the banner gets rolled up).

The completed piece. I like how this one turned out.

Some of the banners from the Baronial Device Banner Project on display last year.