Even more stop/start

Pretty dresses this time :)

LOST

A few birthdays ago my friend gave me a paint-your-own hippy van money box. For ages I couldn't think of how to decorate it until I remembered the Dharma van in Lost. So I printed out some referance pictures and got to work.

What do y'all think?

Bargain time

Norwich always has lots of antique and collectors fairs and the other day I snatched up this bargain. The whole box of jewellery for £5. There's over 25 items in there! A few pieces are broken but I can just use them to make new things.

This piece is a brooch - the two bits either end are pins- which says Parfums Cacharel Paris. I googled it ands it's a French perfume company and the charms are shapes of some of the perfume bottles. Swanky.

There's also a couple of broken watches in the box. I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but I could be inspired by these;

The Quintessential Steampunk Ring by LondonParticulars

Arcane Angel Vintage Watch Collage Necklace by 19 Moons

Steampunk necklace by edmdesigns

Kurt Halsey

Many years ago I made these clay plaques inspired by the above work by Kurt Halsey. They're just flat pieces of air dry clay with a paper clip stuck in the top so I can hang them on my wall.

Kurt Halsey is an artist who produces cute little drawings and paintings of relationships, and some animals. I like his handwriting.

Panda hat!

This isn't quite so relevant now that the sun is shining, but have y'all seen this panda hat from River Island?

Pretty cute right.

So I made my own version. I used a white hat that my mum crocheted a few years ago and asked her to crochet two white half circles for the ears. Then I stitched black and white wool onto the hat for the eyes and nose and sewed on the ears.

Now I'm prepared for when winter comes around again

More stop/start

Cos it's just so fun!

Nom nom nom

Studio progress; the return of the little people

The tiny versions of my friends and family broke out of my dolls house to pose around my actual house.

My sister ties her shoe on the phone.

My friends go exploring in the banister

My Mum balances on the kitchen tap.

And my friend tries to whack a banana.

Daisy, daisy

Feeling a little flowery, I made this necklace and matching ring. I must have also been feeling a little insane as I sewed each of the yellow seed beads individually onto a circle of felt. It was worth it though.

The necklace is now available to buy at the Letchworth Arts Centre so if you're local, go and check it out, along with all the other crafts on sale and artwork on display.

Garden fence greeting card

This project came about when I wanted to find a use for the packets of little bits of wood that come with canvases. Does anyone know what they're actually for? I think it's got something to do with the corners. 

Since I don't use them for their intended purpose, whatever that may be, I've got a lot of these little packets lying around. Then one day I realised they looked like planks of wood on a fence, and thus; the garden fence greetings card. 

Start by gluing the wood pieces onto a plain card. I used blue card so that it looks like the sky.

Conveniently, there are the right number of wood pieces in one packet to make one card.

Put a few heavy books on the card while the glue is drying to keep the wood stuck down.

Gather lots of different flower shapes. I used flower sequins, beads, paper flowers and bits taken off Christmas decorations.

Stick the flowers onto the wood.

Add green paint with a cocktail stick to make the stems of the flowers and added foliage.

Add it's as easy as that. I think they work quite well as Fathers Day cards, cos Dads tend to like garden fences, right? But they could also be birthday cards, or just general best wishes.

This project has been featured on All Free Holiday Crafts. Check it out!

These paintings rock, ahaha

These are some of my painting from my first uni project. I was looking at my new environment since moving to uni and painted some of the views around me on to pieces of rubble that I picked up in my garden and happened to have one flat surface.

This is another of the paintings I completed for the project and it's the same view from the third rubble painting. Fun fact; this painting prevented my friend from getting lost when she came to my house because she recognised the pub in the painting so she knew she was heading in the right direction. I think that's an example of art having an influence on peoples lives.

Shoe attack

Ages ago my friend and I were goofing around with stop/start animation, and her shoe collection when I was getting the photo material for this painting, and here are the results.

Wait for them to load, it'll be worth it

Studio progress; tiny people in my dolls house

After posing my little painting in my dolls house I thought about just using photos of figures. So I printed out a bunch on to card and here are some of the best.

Here's my dad eating an ice cream and wondering why there's a giant teapot on the table.

I like to call this one 'someone's been put on the naughty step'. It uses a photo of my oldest sister from many yers ago.

I like this one because I used three pictures of the same person in one scene.

And finally here is my friend welcoming us to her dolls house crib. Complete with wine bottle as big as her torso.

Ideas for embroidery

Last year I sewed this sort of self portrait. It took along time and a lot of black thread but I like it. Since then it's just been hanging around my room because I don't know what to do with it next, so I searched the web for some ideas.

I could whack it in a frame like this one.

Or I could put it back in the embroidery hoop and create some wall art like chez sucre chez

I could make it into a bag like this one from applehead

Or I could make it into a cushion, like this one by Three Red Apples

Do y'all have any other suggestions?