Tuesday 27 November 2012

made = sister style tote bag

my eldest sister loves making crafts and appreciates them as birthday gifts
she loves butterflies too, hence the detail
i simply used a bought plain tote and fabrico fabric pens and drew everything free hand 
you can see the colours i chose were muted, after all, it IS autumn
I am really pleased with how it turned out
and the most important thing - she loved it!
my only tip: don't drag your hand across the wet ink it WILL smudge until its dried

Sunday 25 November 2012

my weekend = wet wool

this is nature's own decoration
beads of water glisten and bring life to something disgarded
it is so pure
who would need gaudy trinkets with this nearby?

Thursday 22 November 2012

paper + card = robin christmas card

robin card
christmas is just over a month away
where did that year go?
my family have now come to expect a handmade card
sounds fine, doesn't it?
but when you have a MASSIVE family like mine, and you work too, it can get down to the wire
i've often posted them knowing that they will arrive after christmas, not good
here how i did it:
i drew a bird template on tracing paper
then just transferred the image to my plain brown card
i went over the pencil with a black ink outline
i used my thumb to apply some red acrylic to give the robin his red-breast
when that was dry i put a tiny amount of glue on the red breast and sprinkled on some red glitter
i had recently bought the embossing label maker
the embossed merry christmas gives it a little extra something
it's light hearted, QUICK and effective
perfect

Wednesday 21 November 2012

appreciate = kamilla marant

there's always a piece of me that's outside in the wild
even when i'm inside at work i feel that my soul is wandering in the mists or in the woods 
fox by kamilla marant captures the cunning slinking nature of the foxes beautifully
with a modern, angular twist

Sunday 18 November 2012

my weekend = the cold sea

the sea is so dark in winter
it is forbidding and mysterious and yet has an imperious beauty
it looks as cold as it must feel
not that i tried

Friday 16 November 2012

inspired = gilded pumkins

happy friday, everyone
i've found a gorgeous decoration inspiration to share
goldgourds-450-mld109268.jpg
i'm always looking out for inventive ways to decorate
and found this great idea on martha stewart online
the americans seem to go in for pumpkins and squash decoration in a big way
especially for halloween and thanksgiving
but i'd like to try gilded pumpkins as my decoration of choice for christmas
do you think it'll work?

i'll update you with my version in december

Tuesday 13 November 2012

appreciate = catrin welz-stein

Summer Dreaming by Catrin Welz-Stein
this picture epitomises how i feel most of the time 
summer dreaming by catrin welz-stein
it is a stunning and beautiful idea
as well as being executed with enviable subtlety and precision

Sunday 11 November 2012

my weekend = newtown

i was back at newtown, again
it doesn't have the bittersweet feeling of a few months ago, luckily
where i needed it as a relief 
now it is pure pleasure even when it's drab and damp with a biting wind

Thursday 8 November 2012

found = shawn lovell metalworks

some people say that we should nuture our inner child
i would say i do that more than most
Portfolio
nevertheless
this bed took my breath away
it just sings 'sweet dreams'
this is a bed which was made for fairy tale reading
it's made by shawn lovell
quite frankly, justing watch the short video of her working is relaxing
by keeping the rest of the room simple,
i think even an adult nature lover (who, me?)would get away with it
or if it's too much, for the not so young at heart
this would definietly beautify a garden
Portfolio

Tuesday 6 November 2012

made = clay mobile

continuing my fling with clay, i've made a mobile
mobiles are meant to be innocent and childish
so i kept mine simple and naive in keeping with that feeling

this was fiddly task
threading the hand made bead stars onto the wire, painting each one...
i could go on but i won't bore you
nevertheless, i think it was worth it

Monday 5 November 2012

appreciate = john william waterhouse

everyone has phases in their taste is art, don't they?
i certainly do
 John William Waterhouse - Circe Invidiosa
when i was in my late teens i adored the pre-raphaelite artists
more than adored, actually
it was almost as if no other artists could compare
at the time, i loved ALL the paintings, bought prints, collected books on the subject, visited galleries...
you get the idea
thankfully, my artistic appreciation has widened since then
however,
i still admire the mastery of my favourite pre-raphaelites: burne-jones, ingres, millais and waterhouse
coming across a waterhouse that i don't remember clearly, reminded me of those days of devotion
i wasn't into bands or pop culture to any great extent
i had a misplaced rather than misspent youth
never really feeling at home with my peers who loved bros, wham and madonna
ophelia, hylas and the lady of shallot were my idols
this picture by waterhouse circe invidiosa (circe poisoning the sea) stands out for me
my liking for this picture is, i think, as superficial as enjoying the intensity of the colours
vibrant yet dark
i don't see malevolence in the pose of the character but perhaps the lack of it has more menance

what's your take?

Sunday 4 November 2012

my weekend = wild woods

this photo would have been made perfect by a tiny red riding hood skipping at the end of the path
even without her this photo conveys the dangerous beauty of the woods
the brothers grimm would have approved, i'm sure
mill copse, yarmouth