Gifted clock cases and natural dyeing

Now how lucky am I to have these fabulous clock cases! Our local Freecycle is called Freegle.......why, is beyond me, but its the very same as Freecycle.
A lady had found these in a box she bought at auction and didnt want them, and I was lucky enough to win them........one of them is cast metal, so now my thinking cap is on!
I did once make a Christmas living room scene in a wooden clock case when in a dolls house club, but thats too easy to do that again!

Had fun this weekend, tripped out to forage for leaves and berries to dye some vintage cottons and silk pieces.
Amazing how such fab colours emerge from ordinary leaves.

I used buckthorn and got shades of aquamarine, rosehips gave a muted pink that reminded me of the pink underwear of way back, when my gran was alive.
Hawthorne red berries gave a more peachy pink and a cream shade.
Willow leaves with afew stems in too, gave a rich deep orange, elderberry shades of lilac through to purple. Ive beetroot to use yet and am storing the dye bath in containers to see if the colours still work after a while, or get any paler. OH and those colour catchers worka  treat in the dye bath too!!!

I love the subtlety of these shades, as opposed to the vibrancy of procions etc.
I managed afew pieces in tie dye to add to the effects too. Great fun!

Took pics, but the real gentleness of the colours dont come out of course, such a shame.
I picked up an old net curtain at car boot this morning and it was a salmon colour but has successfully dyed purple and green too so far.

Murky mess to magical colours!

Scrummy shades!

I just want to make things with them now and not go to work!
Now if they'd only pay me to stay at home...........

And lastly, I finally caught up with my Shelagh Folgate Challenge, so here's some roses drying till I can crack on with the next bit!