Craft with the Daughter

Well for today anyway as the daughter and I have been hashing together some fairy cakes. Ok I soooo cheated and brought the fairy cakes but we did make the icing heehee.

I wanted to show you my daughters creative side, they say artists are always looking to go back to that almost child like state when creating art. I think the picture is self explanitory (im biased) but I was amazed when she started talking and said the 'foreground' - I have no idea where she got that from lol She had a fab day down by the river yesterday with grandad and artist Eric Warburton with her sketchbook and 'artists chair'. Four years going on 40 lol

Once again i've gone off on another tangent craft wise. I wish I had the ability to stick to one thing and develop my skills rather than being average at a few things.

I'm working on some artwork maybe to exhibit. After my trip to Tate Modern im feeling inspired to paint. I wish I had done an Art and Design course at college instead of Fashion. Hey ho, we live and learn.

Fathers Day

Well as it was Fathers Day today I decided to take the family out for a picnic at Irchester Country Park. We had a lovely time topped off by a scrummy BBQ at my parents house.

As you can see they had a laugh exploring the 'scary forest' as described by smelly. I'm not one for clambering around tripping over tree roots so I pushed the buggy and took photos of things that interested me - whether it be colour, shape or texture.

I'm having fun with the camera at the moment i'm kinda wishing I knew how to use one lol

London Town

Yesterday me and my Dad went to London. We were attending the exhibition opening of Christine Allison . We also visted Tate Modern for some much needed inspiration.

We decided that as we had been before we would visit the bits we were most interested in. My fav pieces of the day were Palm Sunday by Anselm Kiefer, Los Marcos by Mark Bradford and everything Pop Art :D

I had a fanstastic time and got to see some sights not seen before such as the Golden Hinde. We also walked through some intersting streets with fab architecture (you wouldnt want to venture down these alleys in the 1800's lol).

So even though I was totally shattered and my feet were sore I had a great day. :)

This made me chuckle :)

The Night of the Knitting Needles

I've already blogged about my knitting needles but last night I got to do it. :)...

A mini craze has been started on crafter_oo - a fab online craft community that I recently joined. It was started by the lovely vInTaGe VioLET and a couple members have or may have a bash themselves. You can find a tutorial to make your own on the web or you can have a look at meridianariels blog for clear and easy instructions.

Here are two that I made last night. I have shaped the rest ready for a project I am working on (another one to add to the to-do list) They are no where near as good as the others, but I gave it a good go. :)

Crafty Finds and Bracelets

These are my finds from my recent charity shop trip. My fav is the 'Book of Embroidery' with some very retro and funky designs. All the books photographed cost between 2op - 90p i'd dread to think what they would cost if I was buying the modern equivalant. :)




I also found these vintage knitting needles on my travels, I have a plan for these but all will be revealed!






I also spotted this lickle tutorial in Sew Hip Magazine. I've had a go myself and added my own personal touch. I think they are OK but I defo need better fabric and a re-think on the detailing... so basically they are pants lol

Fab Blog Giveaway

Whilst twittering I saw the link to this giveaway courtesy of Jolicious. Check out this fab crafty blog if you would like to take part.

I'm glad I found her as she creates some gorgeous items!

Meet Vince the Felt Softie

My oh is picking up his new car tomorrow - to say he is car mad is a slight understatement! He loves modifiying cars; and although i'd never say it to his face he has a real eye for what looks good. I guess its another form of craft/design I just dont see it, a car is a car to me lol

Anyway he wanted something to put in his new car to hang from his mirror, his brief was weird and orange and this is what I came up with.

Meet Vince....

This is yet another new media and I rarely do things like this, but I had so much fun and the possibilties are endless design wise. My daughter has asked for one too so Vince may have some company soon. :)

Whimsy Headbands

I've had to put my materials challenge on the back burner for a while and my Electric Lines collection will have to wait; typical of me really, got my finger in too many pies (before eating them lol)

I'm still working on lots of ideas and projects the latest being my whimsy head bands. I used vintage ribbon to create the band and attached a button and piece of elastic at each end. They were made to fit my head but got my daughter to act as model... they have their uses lol

I'm also involved in my first craft swap which I am so excited about, details to follow when I have time to write about it.

I also went on my weekly nose around the charity shops, crikes you knew Mary Queen of Shops was on last night, they were heaving lol All good news for the charities I guess, as long as I can still grab a bargain i'm happy. :) Anyway I didnt get much just a nice top (to cover the jelly belly) and a needlecraft book to help me fight my way through the trauma that is embroidery. I dont think I have the patience for it but we will see.

Tutorial - Comic Caper

Well here goes folks here is the tutorial as promised. Please bear with me as this is my first attempt and feel free to post comments or questions if I miss something.

You will need:

Piece of A4 thin card

Piece of scrap fabric ideally fleece approx 7" x 7"

Piece of felt (ordinary craft felt will suffice) approz 7" x 7"

Cellophane

Bright coloured netting
Decorative paper (comics/newspaper/magazine/old books)

Glue gun or Super Glue

Invisible thread

Plastic comb

Cellotape

Compass

Scissors
Prit Stick

1) Take your piece of card, measure and cut a circle 14cms in diameter . You could cheat and find a bowl to draw around as the sizes are only a guide and do not have to be exact.

2) Make an inscision as illustrated with your scissors and overlap the edges by 5mm. Tape the overlap down to start creating a cone shape with your card. Do this at quarterly intervals as illustrated below.

3) Take your cut-outs and glue them to your card base, i've used comic books but you could use almost anything you like. I have then covered the base in a piece of celophane, this is optional but you may want to seal the paper. Varnish is another alternative but test it first to make sure the paper does not get damaged.

4) Cut your piece of fleece or thick fabric smaller than the base as illustrated below. It doesnt have to be exact but you want it approx 2-3cms in diamenter smaller than the base. Glue this in with your glue gun or super glue.

5) Cut your lining material (I have used craft felt) to a size in between the fleece and base sizes so approx 1-2cms in diameter smaller than the base, glue it with the glue gun. If you are using a fabric with a raw edge add a 1cm seam allowance and fold it under (you may want to pin it before glueing).

6) Attach your comb using invisible thread to the base.

7) Cut two pieces of netting and one piece of cellophane to the same dimensions as your fascinator base. Then cut a piece of net approx 3" x 1.5". Place the circles on top of each other with the celophane inbetween and sew a running/gathering stitch down the middle to create a bow shape - stitch to secure. Then take the rectangular piece and fold into a thin strip and wrap around the centre of the bow to hide the stitches - stitch to secure to bow.

8) Attach the finished bow using either invisible thread or glue and secure to the fascinator base.

Hey presto you have a Comic Caper fascinator. Please note that I quickly made up the head piece so its not perfect, obviously yours will look far better!!!

If anyone does attempt this please, please, please send me photos, so I can feature (with your permission) your work in my blog.

Happy hat making!

I <3 My Mum's Faeries

I'm so impressed with my mum's faeires I decided to blog about them (soz mum). The detailing and colours are so lovely and I love the idea of using colourful feathers as wings.

I personally think she should sell these, they would look fab in any girls bedroom.

As for me well i'm still working on my tutorial for the Comic Capers fascinator. I'm hoping to have it finished tomorrow - if the children play nicely. :)

Kitschy Fruit Bowl

I just love this fruit bowl that I purchased from Ebay, some would say its naff but to me its the height of kitsch.

Material Challenge

Well here is the first creation made using the materials challenge although I confess I should have used more. In this piece I featured only the netting and celophane. I promise next time to include more materials.

This funky fascinator was made using a card based covered in a collage of retro comic book images and celophane.

I then created a simple celophane and yellow net decoration with button detailing,
The base has been lined in fleece then black net with a comb.

Im hoping to add another blog post with a tutorial for this, its so simple to make anyone could have a bash.

Material Challenge

Here is my next challenge to add to my Electric Lines collection. I'm hoping to start work on these tonight, the sketches are complete, the plan of action is forming.

Somwhere on my next piece I will use some of the materials listed below.

Materials Photographed:

Shoulder Pads
Netting
Celophane Wrapping
Millinery Combs
Cotton Thread
Darice Mesh
Black Felt

Electric Lines - Part 2

Here is the latest addition to my millinery lines collection. I've used green stretch jersey to make a fascinator base and attached stimmer line and yellow button detailing.

I really need to work on my finishing technique, and im not 100% sure whether this piece works. I'm always interested to hear any comments - good or bad.