Market Harborough Vintage Fair

I am oh so excited that tomorrow I will be doing the Vintage Fair in Market Harborough. I've done lots of little fairs in the past but this really feels like a 'proper' event. It has been carefully and well advertised and will feature the right sort of sellers for my items to mingle in with. If you are in the area do pop in! (Ill be the one downing coffee looking rather scared)

Latest Work - Blue Tit Embroidery

I think I was subconsciously inspired by our lack of heating for the last three weeks in creating this wintry scene. Its fixed of a fashion but we have a very poorly boiler.

I originally printed the blue tit using a lino block and then stitched in the detailing. There is also a little appliqué on the birds breast. Its a skill I have not fully mastered yet.

I will be taking this piece to the Market Harborough Vintage and Handmade Fair next week. I'm so excited it will be my first 'serious' craft event. I'm hoping this time I will be able to come away feeling satisfied with my days work.

Christmas Star Wreath

An old post was resurrected over on crafter_oo yesterday that caught my interest. It linked to a lovely tutorial by annekata. It was a simple 3d paper star and below is my interpretation.

I have loads of vintage sheet music and decided to use that. The ring is made of polystyrene and covered in paper strips. I think i'm going to make another larger star burst as a feature in my living room for Christmas.

Two Turtle Doves

After doing my partridge wrapping paper I decided to continue the theme and make some greetings cards. Below is my Two Turtle Doves greeting card. Ive pictured the process I went through to get to the end result. Printing can be so frustrating sometimes - for instance my paint decided not to fix properly so I had to experiment with differnt types to find one that worked well. Anyway it is available to buy through my folksy or Etsy store if its takes your fancy.

As you can see I sketch with whatever I can find and managed to sneak this in when the children were drawing too.

 

I like to paint on my design before cutting. I'm not sure if this technique adds anything to the process but I like doing it.

The finished print.

Interview With Hannah Robinson

I was lucky enough to be interviewed on Hannah Robinsons blog today. Her day job is creating fabulous illustrations which can be found here. She also has a cute little Folksy shop too.

Please if you get a chance pop over and have a read. If anything it gives a better insight into what I do and what drives and interests me.

Partridge Gift Wrap

This is the next piece from my 2011 Christmas range. It is my my own design work which has been printed using lino printing techniques. It took quite a few attempts to get the plumage right using a new flexible lino which I was not impressed with. I found it too hard to cut and it took longer and it also was too flimsy so I easily messed up when applying block to paper - maybe I need more practise. :S

Anyway I have listed this in my Folksy shop as made to order. I'd rather print to order than run the risk of little fingers finding it! It's also been featured on Cuteable as part of their Flickr Friday feature *yay*.

Botanical Upcycled Pendant

Botanical Upcycled Pendant, a photo by Handmade and Heritage on Flickr.

I was at the flea market on Tuesday and stumbled across a box of broken time piece materials. I bagged a good handful for £2 and some of it has been used to make this pendant.

Firstly I prized open the case and lined it with a page from a botanical illustrations book then glued some pressed flowers on top. I then attached the watch face and hung it from a piece of ribbon. Its also has had a good polish and its come up lovely.

I'm not sure whether this will make it to my Folksy shop as its the type of jewellery I love to wear... we will see.