Mitzi Makes

Little Teddies and Packing

2011-06-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest little make :

He's a little shy as I haven't got round to knitting his clothes yet! Honestly I have a good excuse - I'm moving home and so my last few weeks have been eaten up by endless viewings, phone calls, and at last packing!

He's made from the pattern in the 'Knitted Bears - All Dressed Up!' book by Val Pierce. It's from the 'Twenty to Make' range of books which make nice little presents.
If you know how to knit with increases and decreases, you'll be able to make this cutie. I was surprised to see his head starts life as just a knitted triangle! I'm slightly unsure whether I managed to sew head and arms on correctly as there aren't many instructions for this but he seems to be ok if just a little wobbly!

For now it's back to the packing boxes for me. Tomorrow is the day of the big move and hopefully after that teddy can have the option to stop being a naturist and some of my other projects will see the light of day again!

Oh my, Bunny!

2011-05-28T03:47:00.000-07:00

Things have been somewhat quiet with me and making for the past few weeks. Yep this means my project queue is growing at a rate that means I'm sorted for the next few years! But I'll share those as they come to light over the coming months as I want to share some all together more exciting news!

I'm going back to school!!

Okay, college, diploma whatever you fancy calling it - I am going to study for a year to get my Art Foundation. I haven't shared til now as to be honest I didn't think I'd get there and couldn't bear the embarrassment of having to tell everyone!

For those of you readers that don't know me so well (firstly 'Hello!!'), I thought I'd take a little time to explain why and how this is such a huge and exciting step for me. I've never really been much of an artist. Actually scrap that, I have never been an artist. But gradually I realized that was all a mind set and actually I can give it a go. Five years back I was dreaming of being an art school attendee and wishing I had only had that gift that meant I could have gone. Now, I feel like I've completely turned that thinking on its head. I create to be more creative. I don't expect creativity to appear by magic - It's hard work and I love it. It hasn't been particularly easy or straightforward, but I've had the encouragement (I mean the fact that no one has just looked at me and worried about my health was encouragement enough!) and I had a tiny bit of self-belief (just enough to get me here!).

Okay so now I'm gushing and blubbering is a distinct possibility, all I can say is thank you to all those lovely people who gave me the encouragement I needed and .. I'm so excited!!

Fancy a tea party?

2011-05-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's tea party week over at Wild Olive, which means lots of lovely stuff to read and make and do!
I shared this tea pot card project:

If you want to take part too you can create a tea party post and share with Mollie!

Now I fancy a nice cup of tea...

Giveaway winners!

2011-05-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

The giveaway winners have been announced over on Wild Olive - please take a look to see if you won!
http://wildolive.blogspot.com/2011/04/sponsor-giveaway-winners.html

Giveaway time!

2011-04-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited to announce that I'm doing a giveaway over on the Wild Olive blog. There's two prizes up for grabs:

You must pick your favorite necklace - either the knitted heart or the embroidered heart and leave a comment over on the post at the Wild Olive blog. The winners will be chosen on Saturday April 30th, so good luck!

The Example; William H. Davies

2011-04-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

HERE'S an example from
A Butterfly;
That on a rough, hard rock
Happy can lie;
Friendless and all alone	5
On this unsweetened stone.

Now let my bed be hard,
No care take I;
I'll make my joy like this
Small Butterfly;	10
Whose happy heart has power
To make a stone a flower.

This poem by William H. Davies is an absolute favorite of mine. I read it whenever I feel a little down, and remember that I have already within me the ability to be happy. When Spoonflower announced the theme of one of its weekly competitions as 'Poetry' I just knew I had to give it a go! I came up with this design, and I'm hoping to get it printed to make a little purse or something to carry with me so I can remember these beautiful words all day.

If you like it, you can vote for me in the contest. There are loads of beautiful designs entered so this should come with a fabric shopping warning!

Successful Sewing!

2011-04-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share a project I recently completed:

It's my first pattern based sewing project and it was great fun to do!

It was the perfect level for a beginner as it wasn't too simple (I had made very simple tote bags before) but didn't stretch me too much and scare me away from patterns entirely! Another huge plus was that it didn't take up much room to do the pattern cutting (does anyone else find themselves pattern cutting on the floor?!)

I bought the pattern over on etsy at a shop called 'fromnancy'. I did change the straps slightly as I prefer underarm bags but otherwise I followed those instructions to the letter! On a second visit to the shop, it doesn't appear that she is still selling the patterns (though I may be wrong) but a search of handbag patterns does produce some similar style patterns.

I'm now taking deep breaths and attempting a summer dress using McCall's M6110 pattern:

I'm still working on cutting the pieces out of some cheap n cheerful flowery fabric from my local discount fabric shop as a test run. It's proving a little wobbly so far as I already forgot to cut some notches but I think I've worked out the instructions at least! Wish me luck!

Knitted hearts and New Packaging!

2011-04-08T04:32:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed my blog has undergone a few changes. I haven't quite made up my mind about it! It's not what I expected to design at all - I constantly try to veer away from too much cute and use some subdued tones here and there in attempt to come across as a quality jewellery maker. And yet here in bounds a bright blue blog with a cupcake on it!

It is leaning more towards the illustration style I naturally go for, and so I have decided to go for that look completely!

Over the coming months I want to create a line of jewellery in keeping with this hand drawn style using metal clay and my own illustrations. I'm still in beginning stages at the moment, working out how best to do things, but I'm really excited.

Of course, my jewellery won't be limited to just the illustrated stuff, as I will still be designing and creating other styles too. I am open to all suggestions at the moment as I shape my little corner of the hand made world. I am a little nervous too - concerned that my branding and jewellery will eventually look too childish and I will close the door to making fine art jewellery too. But then just look at Madonna - how many styles has that one lady been through?!

In keeping with the new look, here's the prototype of my new packaging:

And my favorite new creation to live inside - knitted hearts! I love knitting and what better way to pay tribute:

For the next three months I am also sponsoring the blog 'Wild Olive'. If you haven't already been there, you must go - Mollie has so many great tutorials and you will love reading her updates!

Folksy Friday - Hand Printed

2011-04-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

Today I bring you my favourite hand printed items from Folksy:

'Digital Textile Design' by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac

2011-03-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

So with all the excitement surrounding digital fabric printing services like Spoonflower, it seems like a good time for a review of one of my favorite books. It's the most helpful guide to designing fabric I've found so far and it's called 'Digital Textile Design' by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac.

Before I read through it I was concerned it was going to start off too complicated and I'd never get the hang of it but I was pleasantly surprised. There is a lot of information in this book which could be a little overwhelming but the book is neatly organised into tutorials with a specific focus, so it's easy to choose which one you require. Each tutorial is clearly explained and takes you through the processes step by step with plenty of pictures to illustrate the separate steps. You can learn how to make repeats using Photoshop or Illustrator using a variety of starting points such as your paintings, photographs, found materials or drawings. The only tutorial I wished had been in there was a more detailed instruction in how to create a seamless pattern in illustrator - the kind that flows without any joins at all.

Despite the straightforward tutorials, you will need a basic understanding of how Photoshop and Illustrator works (of course you could choose to use one or the other and still get a lot from this book). The book does take you through very thoroughly but it helps considerably to already know your way around the software.

If you're unfamiliar with how digital textile printing works there's a chapter explaining it all. And if you feel you're lacking inspiration there are plenty of beautiful photos within this book. There's even an introduction into fashion illustration.

So all in all, this book is great for novices and those with more experience. There's enough in this book to keep you going for a long while. Of course I will be sharing my creations as they (hopefully) develop - there's lots to learn and it's very exciting!

Secret Message Spool Necklace

2011-03-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! I hope you are well. I am here today with a little tutorial!

I love things with a secret message - it's so sweet and romantic! So I've been making these little spool necklaces complete with real sewing thread. Once the wearer has finished sewing with all their thread they will be able to read their secret message!

Fancy making one? Here's how...You'll need :

1.A sheet of shrinking plastic (I used Shrinkles, but think it comes under different names!)
2.A die cutter and a spool shaped die (I used the QuickCutz spool die in my Cuttlebug)
~OR~
A plastic spool to trace around and a pair of small scissors

3.Marker pen (like a Sharpie)

4.An oven or heat gun to heat the Shrinkles

5.Sewing cotton

6.Necklace chain and a jump ring. Jewellery pliers.

To start with you need to cut your spool shape out of your shrinking plastic. I used a cuttlebug die cutting machine and quickcutz die to punch the shape out as that's the simplest way, but for a cheaper option just draw around a plastic embroidery spool directly onto your shrink plastic using a pencil. Then you can cut it out using scissors and use a hole punch to create the round hole at the top. Remember to make sure that the thread slots at the bottom are split so you have somewhere to fasten your thread when your shrinkles are shrunk!

Now you can decorate your spool! There are so many things you could write or draw, but I went for writing a little compliment inside mine :)

Time to heat your shrinking plastic! Follow the instructions in the shrinkles packet as they may vary, but I popped mine in the oven for a few minutes at about 150 degrees.

Yay you have your mini bobbin! Wind some thread around your bobbin until the message is covered, fastening the ends in the tabs. I used sewing machine thread.

Once you've finished winding your thread, put a jump ring through the top hole to make it ready to attach to the necklace.

Your message won't be received until the recipient has finished their sewing! Cute and practical :)

Hope you like!

Spoonflower Results!

2011-03-12T03:22:00.000-08:00

A little while ago (okay a long while ago!) I posted that I'd sent off some fabric to Spoonflower and I'd let you all know the results. So it came within the delivery time they suggested and I was not disappointed! The print quality is excellent, which is great because there are so many beautiful designs on the website ready to be sold and printed! I also thought this idea from Terri's blog for using them to make labels was excellent - great for anyone who sells fabric goods!

The above photo is of my 'woodland hide and seek' experiment. :)

Why Hello Again!

2011-03-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bloggers! :)

It's been a while, and I hope the last few months have treated you well.

Currently, I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm so excited to announce that my etsy shop has re-opened! It has become more focused and I'll be offering up my silver and copper jewellery over there at the mitzimakes etsy shop. To celebrate would you like free shipping for the rest of March? Well okay then! Just pop this code in at checkout : yayformarch

Now I'd love to say I had become more focused but I wouldn't want to disappoint! I've also set up camp in folksy selling supplies. I buy a lot of supplies so I will be offering up anything available over there. It's a brand new shop.. so that means I'm allowed to buy something for myself from folksy? I mean that's the rule right?

See you soon, blog friends!

Feeling Dotty :)

2010-12-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

My new favorite way to draw has to be dots!

I was browsing through a book about the arts in the thirties and there it was - this lovely little illustration of a piece furniture all in dots! I fell in love! And now I can't stop - everything is being drawn with dots :)

And some for Christmas :

Time for forty winks

2010-11-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

After lots of humming and hahing I've decided to take a break from selling my crafts for a short while. My etsy shop will be shut until I re-open in the new year, and I'm going to focus my energies on craft fairs for next year.

I am hoping it will give me the chance to build up stock, get re-organised and come back with a bit more oomph!

So they said it would be a cinch...

2010-11-15T06:42:00.000-08:00

...and for the most part I agree! Meet my new toy - it's a bookbinding thing called 'The Cinch'. It's bright, clunky and kind of cute. I've got to say it's not for professionals, but then with that shade of pink, you probably guessed it was mainly for fun :)

It took a little while to get the hang of it, but youtube videos have given me all the guidance I needed. And here is my first little book :

It's going to become my 'colour journal' - a suggestion from Alisa Burke on her blog (which if you haven't already visited, do because it's wonderful!).

Nothing in there yet, but blank pages. Now am I mad to get so excited about the prospect of filling it all up with beautiful colours?

Copper Clay update!!

2010-11-08T12:55:00.001-08:00

There are so many updates I could be sharing, but forgive me for constantly getting distracted from one project to another! I decided to start with a copper clay update as I've been using it for a couple of months now and have learnt a little more since my last post.

Some tips I have stumbled across along my journey and have found very useful:

1. Even fresh out of the packet Art Clay Copper could do with a little bit of conditioning. Silver Clay is much nicer to use straight out the packet, but the copper version tends to be a little more dry and flaky. I've found the best way to condition it is to roll it out flat and add a small amount of water all over the copper clay sheet. Then you can roll it up and put it all in some cling film and give it a good squish to mix it up. This results in a much cleaner finish and less cracking.

2. You can minimize the need to pickle after firing and sometimes won't need to do it at all (provided you are going for a antiqued look). The quicker you can get your piece from firing to the quenching the better. If using a blowtorch, you need to be really careful, but it is possible to keep the flame directed at the piece whilst dropping it in the water. I use a ceramic firing block which I can handle even whilst the flame is pointed at it. Please be careful though, you don't want your fingers singed!

3. A brass bristle brush is best for cleaning the piece after firing. These are the most common ones supplied for metal clay, but I have used others without so much success.

It's a lot of fun to play with a less expensive alternative to silver clay - it allows for so much more experimentation. I've been playing with making luggage tag pendants. I have some lovely green ribbon to compliment them, and think they might appear in my shop in various guises soon!

A Folksy Friday - Vintage fabric

2010-10-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been spotting so many things on folksy that I decided I must join in with a Folksy Friday! The theme is lovely things made with vintage fabric,links to the shops are via the numbers below, enjoy :)

Hand printed ribbons

2010-10-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the lovely readers that commented on my drawing post - it is nice to receive some encouragement here and there :)

Today I am thinking loads about ribbons. I've been wanting to handprint some of my own designs on ribbons for ages now but it's taken me a while to source my materials and test out my methods. Progress is just so slow (because I am undeniably a perfectionist!!), my excitement can't quite contain itself! They will hopefully been sold in my etsy shop, and I would love to get listing them before Christmas as I have a cute robin ribbon design that I want to share!! Actually robin ribbon is really fun to say!

Anyway, whilst I can't launch them today, I would like to present you with a ribbon printable. It is one of the designs that will appear in my hand printed collection, but for now you can print it at home for use in your own paper crafts etc.

Hope you like it!

Drawing - a penny for your thoughts

2010-10-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Drawing... Does that word fill anyone else with a slight sense of fear?!

To be honest I should say that I'm not confident at the best of times, but drawing is one of those things that it doesn't take much to make me feel thoroughly discouraged. I never was any good at art in my school days, and that mortified my little self! I wanted to be able to produce the creations I envisioned but I just really didn't understand how to use the tools of the artist effectively and so I was left with sugar paper covered in watery poster paint. We had to repeat our drawing homework if it wasn't good enough. Mine wasn't often up to much. I look back on it now and laugh at the funny lines and weird attempts at shading and I can understand how my teacher must have thought I'd spent all of about 2 minutes on it. But I had spent an age getting the funny little line to go the way I wanted it to. And when I had to repeat it, I spent another age getting a new line to go that same way... because that's just how I translated what I saw to paper. To my more grown up self, it exasperates me how little training we were given in how to draw. There are so many books on the subject with exercises starting right from the beginning.

Do I really need to add that I quit art as soon as possible? I pursued life to undertake a degree in Classics which whilst of interest of me was certainly not what I imagined doing for the rest of my life. I became increasingly unwell with depression and anxiety and the ongoing pressures of the course didn't do much to help. My outlet became my re-discovered creativity. I made jewellery to be precise, I dreamed of owning a sewing machine and I went so far as to entertain thoughts that it might be nice to draw. Yes. That thing I was 2/10 good at. I bought a sketch book and artists' pencils. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it - why would the neat, clean page want my awful smudges?

Nowadays, I try. Sometimes I try pencil drawings that aim to look realistic, sometime I go simple, child-like and colorful. I get out my paints and attempt a canvas and I sit doodling on an old receipt with a biro. I've gradually filled my life with drawing, little by little. There are millions of different drawing styles out there and I guess one of them must come naturally to me.

I used to sit wondering what, how, why, I should draw and feel myself become more tense as I couldn't find ideas or imagination. Now I feel more comfortable to make a mark on paper and see where that leads. I used to think that creativity came only to a few - a random spark of inspiration that showed the answers to the whats, hows and whys. But the funny thing is the more I draw, the less I question and the more creative I become.

What do you think about drawing?

Jewellery Inspirations ; Sherri Haab

2010-09-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

I bought this book from amazon for the only reason that I liked one of the projects on the cover.

But it got me excited from my first flick through. Sherri Haab really is a multi- talented lady, and that's what appeals to me most about this book. She introduces the reader to such a variety of techniques, products and skills, that you almost don't know where to start. If you're looking for a book that teaches you how to master one aspect of jewellery making, then this definitely is not the book for you; but if you're someone who's looking to broaden their ideas and inspiration then grab this book! She uses precious metal clay, polymer clay, weaving, resin, wire, sea glass, beads, buttons, image transfer and this list could go on.

For the reader who is more accustomed to various jewellery techniques, this book provides plenty of pretty pictures to keep you entertained and I'm sure even you will learn a new skill from the book. I loved the styling and layout of the book. Of course, I didn't find all the projects to my taste, but they inspired me none-the-less. In my opinion that's the best kind of jewellery making book to buy as it's impossible to cater everything for everyone!

All in all, a really lovely book by a talented author, and one I would recommend for the shelves of jewellery making fanatics! And if you're wondering which cover project caught my eye - it was the image transfer onto sea glass pendant!

Decorate with Quentin Blake and Zagazoo!

2010-09-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

It's not often that two of my favoritest things come together so I just had to share my excitement! Just look at Quentin Blake's collection of textiles and wallpaper! It's so wonderful, I just want to decorate my whole flat with his wonderful illustrations.

You can find an online book showing some of the designs here: http://www.osborneandlittle.com/news/

Just scroll down to the bottom where it mentions zagazoo and click the link.

I Love Spoonflower!

2010-09-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Have you visited Spoonflower.com yet? If you're a fabric fan (/ hoarder) you may find it a little hard to resist as there are so so many beautiful fabric designs on there!

But the best bit? It's so easy to send in your own designs to have printed! It's also very affordable. Even as a U.K. resident so far I've found it the cheapest option out there even including p&p from the U.S. Also they will provide test swatches so you don't have to fork out a load of money just to realise you wanted a different colour!

I've just ordered my first swatch of fabric. It's a very simple design but it's hand drawn by me so it does feel personal. I created the repeat pattern using the magic of photoshop, and uploading it onto the website was really simple and straightforward.

Of course I'll let you know how I get on when my fabric arrives - hopefully I'll still be full of praise! How exciting!

Time for Inspiration

2010-08-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's good to put the notebooks and craft materials aside and just relax into feeling inspired. Often we can jump from one project to another and feel overwhelmed by ideas, materials and life in general (well I know I do!)! Here's some snaps of what has been inspiring me over the lovely bank holiday weekend:

Some gorgeous books,

and being allowed to play in my mum's button box! gosh I feel like a real grown up now I've been allowed that real privilege!

Copper Clay!

2010-08-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

I've completed my first copper clay pendants! and I'm really pleased with how they turned out.It was a little trial and error as I didn't have specific instructions but with the new version of copper clay it is only a slightly longer process than with silver clay. Here are some photos to take you through the process:I've posted this one before but here are the clay pieces ready for firing. I had left them to air dry naturally.

Then it was on to the blowtorch! It was my first time using a blowtorch and I have to admit I got stuck a few points, mainly because I was too scared to touch anything that might make it suddenly ignite.. but that's all for another day.

See the orangey peachy colour in the above photo. That's the colour and heat you want to keep your metal clay pieces at for a good five minutes. Once fired, I put them in cold water straightaway and here's what the bird pendant looked like straight out of the water:

You see the black bits? That's the firescale you get after firing. At this point it's metal already. You can hear it clink :) To get rid of that I popped the pendants in some safety pickle and left overnight. That removed the firescale and left the pendants ready to be scrubbed, burnished and polished to a bright copper shine.

I like a bit of a rustic, antique look to my jewellery, so I used liver of sulfur to oxidize the metal and then buffed up the raised bits to the shiny finish again. Here's the finished piece:

I'm really pleased with how they all turned out. It never ceases to amaze me how clay can turn into metal!

A new look!

2010-08-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

So I've been playing around with the look of my blog lately and think I'm finally getting settled. I'm a little unsure of the colours as they look pretty of my laptop screen but they might come out too dark on a different screen?

What do you think?

P.s. I've overcome my fear of my blowtorch, now I just have to face the safety pickle before I can share the results of my copper clay experiments! I'll be sharing how I got on and some tips for other first timers!

First play with copper clay!

2010-08-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneaky peek at some jewellery I'm in the process of making. It's all really exciting as this is my first ever go with copper art clay. Here they are after sanding but before firing. I need to get to the shops and buy some fuel for my blow torch then I'll be able to show you the pieces looking all shiny and fresh out of the oven! (well kinda out the oven)

Some mistakes are actually quite cute...

2010-08-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

I bought these little guys from an ebay seller without reading the measurements. It's a little hard to see in my photo but they are actually tiny lockets that even open up. I knew they were going to be 'tiny' but I had no idea they could be this miniscule! Now I've fallen in love with them and I can see myself buying these again to make into jewellery for gifts and for my etsy shop. I'm picturing them with letters on the front for people's names in a nice vintage style font, hanging off a delicate chain... maybe with some pretty glass beads. Ooh and maybe some for cute charm bracelets in a matching style.

Well, these are mistakes it's actually very nice to make!

Thank you and a little owly

2010-08-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Thanks for your kind comments on my last post. It was really lovely to read them.

I thought I'd share a photo of this little guy with you all... He's my latest creation from Silver Clay.

What do you think? I think he's pretty cute, so I hope he's well received!

Always a craftsman's daughter

2010-07-25T05:17:00.001-07:00

Apologies for my sudden vanishing from my online blog. Unfortunate circumstances have required me to take a little break from everything. It fills me with so much sadness to say that I lost my father recently in a battle against cancer. I'm reduced to tears as I think about it all, and so rather than lament the personal loss, I thought I'd share a little bit of celebration about this wonderful dad's life.

My dad worked as a commercial sculptor, creating reproduction lamps and busts, very often in an art deco style. If ever there was a tool I was coveting, I only needed to mention it to my dad and he would have one hiding upstairs! He has been creative in so many ways throughout his life, he even mentioned making his own suede or leather trousers (it was most likely the 60s or 70s!). I would love to try my hand at some of the other leatherwork he did which was to make belts. He used these wonderful buckles that I believe he and my mum sourced from France, though I may be wrong. I have most definitely inherited my desire to make things from both my mum and my dad. They probably never really realise how much they both have introduced me to so much creativeness. Even when my dad was ill, I'd catch him stitching up some hems on his old Singer sewing machine, and earlier this year my parents gave me the wonderful gift of my first sewing machine that I treasure so much! He was pretty impressed by the results of me and my sister's metal clay adventures so I hope he'd be pleased to know that I won't be giving up on them any time soon!

So, I'd love to thank my dad not only for all the love he gave us but also all the inspiration I've inherited. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have been cherished by my lovely father, I only wish we really hadn't had to part so soon. To my dad, hope you didn't mind me writing all this, miss you pops, and love you always. I'll smile always for you :) all my love!

All the best to my fellow crafters, I have so many projects I wish to share with you and in good time I think I'm ready to get back posting and sharing my endeavours.

Where I'd like to holiday..and other stories

2010-06-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

Is 21 years of age too soon to be dreaming of a sport and craft holiday? Sports for my better half, and crafts for me. I've been looking up where I'd like to go and settled on this place in Devon : http://www.manorhousehotel.co.uk/activities-crafts.asp
I'd like to try pottery, enamelling, glass engraving, picture framing, hot press printing etc etc (you can imagine I just want to try everything!!).
Has anyone been to one of these style holidays? I've also noticed there are some available in Spain but I haven't dared to look them up in case I accidentally on purpose book it and spend all my overdraft!

Anyway, to keep me focused on matters in hand (the saving up for my kiln), I thought I'd mention how excited I am by the latest development in the metal clay world - GLASCLAY!! Yes, that's clay that fires to glass. You can see some photos and buy it on this website. I can't wait to see what artists come up with from it. I'm hoping that there will be plenty of room to combine both metal clay and glass clay in the same piece. I will have to wait a little longer before experimenting as the piggy bank is not quite full yet!

Print and Pattern by Bowie Style

2010-06-04T03:32:00.001-07:00

Ooh wow!

That was my reaction on opening this book! I was completely absorbed in it within seconds. I keep going back to it and discovering artists that I must have accidentally skipped over so this book is such a treasure trove! I must admit, it may not to be to everyone's taste, but if you can spend hours in paperchase, then the style in this book will probably be for you! Of course that's horribly generalising, but this book is full of cute and whimsy. I absolutely love it! What an excellent collection. It is endlessly inspiring. I actually had a little go at my own cute and whimsy. Bear in mind this my first attempt at producing any art work on these electronic computer thingy ma jigs so it might be quite silly. I really like drawing birds so I naturally selected birds as the centre point! Actually I should probably clarify that the two greeny coloured things in the centre ARE birds because I think they look a little or a lot like seals...Check out the print and pattern blog too!

dishcloth knitting?

2010-05-09T05:38:00.001-07:00

Well not exactly...This is some cotton yarn I picked up: its super cheap 100% cotton, and is known as 'dishcloth' as it's super absorbant and useful for making.. well dishcloths! But I was hoping to make something a little nicer than that. Here are the first rows of the cardigan pictured. I'm not sure if there's any reason people use it primarily for dishcloths, it seems ok so far,nice and soft, but I am slightly concerned it's going to do something strange? Like attract dishes? Hmm well it's satisfying my knitting urge without being pricey so that can't be a bad thing!

Totoro embroidery

2010-04-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here he is! Again, sorry for the really poor quality photos, I'll be able to update them sometime next week, but I couldn't wait to post him on here!

Cat swap - received!

2010-04-26T08:02:00.001-07:00

I arrived back home yesterday to find my cat swap parcels waiting for me! It was so much fun to open the surprise parcels and I really wasn't disappointed! Look at my lovely new goodies. Unfortunately I left my camera at my parents' house over the weekend, so you must forgive the really bad quality phone photos. At least you get some idea of the lovely new kitty that's grinning at me!

Cat Swap - sent!

2010-04-20T02:19:00.001-07:00

So my goodies for Karine have been posted! No peeking yet, but photos will follow. I'm really quite nervous as I see other photos popping up - hope Karine likes her gifts!

Too excited to sleep!

2010-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get so excited about your plans and ideas that you just can't sleep?! Well I'm excited because I'm excited again! I've had a couple of weeks of being a bit fed up with everything I've made! I quite often end up thinking that it's just a bit rubbish and tucking it all away again. It's a shame when progress seems to be moving very slowly or not at all. Mistakes just seem to start piling up and it can be very discouraging! But today I'm feeling more focused and I think it helps to get away from it all for a little while. I know it's going to take a long old time for me to get started properly and launch my own business, but I'm prepared to work for that because it's something I love! In the mean time, I'm excited about the whole journey, from silly things like my totoro embroidery to less silly things like saving up to buy my first kiln.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of the things I'm excited about at the moment. Hopefully some will get my lovely readers interested too :)

My order for the lovely Katie Green's recipe book 'Bake me a (vegan) cake'. I can't believe I took so long, it really didn't need two helpings of her scrummy bakewell tart to get me interested but it always helps!
My new graphics drawing pad! Well it's going to be a bit of a performance and a longer wait because amazon seemed to have changed the description mid-way through the delivery which means I now realize I ordered the touch pad only.. grumble grumble they said it could be used with a pen but now they don't! boo!
Attempting to read my new 'Complete Book of Sewing' from cover to cover. Don't ask why, but I feel it's entirely necessary to understand EVERY sewing technique in the book, even if I forget it almost instantly. I've started now, so I'll finish!
Saving up for some metal clay fun... I'm currently considering the diploma offered here : http://www.mcsj.co.uk/metal-clay.html

There are a fair few more things I could add, but I'll stop yabbering and go be productive instead.

Have a lovely day!

Rebel without a cause

2010-04-02T08:19:00.001-07:00

Ok, less of a rebel..more of a crafter.

I am craftless for the Easter holidays as I forgot to bring any projects with me on my trip to visit my family. Oh my! What's a crafty gal to do?!

I've been internet 'researching'. This is usually gets forgotton and becomes what is known as 'online shopping'. I do like to pretend I'm doing something useful. :)
Anyhoo, I got tipped off to this site by a fellow etsy seller and it looks altogether extremely interesting. I always like to reserve judgement when it comes to charities as I want to get to know them and see how I feel with a greater understanding of what they do. But this website is definitely worth a look! Even if just for a good bit of shopping!

www.dreamaid.com

Pot belly star cakes

2010-03-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone who loves baking needs to have some novelty shaped cupcake cases!! They are so much fun! The other day I had a go baking some raisin muffins in my lovely star shaped cases from M&S. They went pretty well - they ended up looking like little pot belly stars!

oops..

2010-03-24T09:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm naughty. I broke the pact with myself to buy no new crafting goods for 2 weeks.
Actually it went wrong pretty quickly after I posted it on my blog. I discovered Amy Butler's set of FREE patterns! And promptly paid the library to print them out...oops well that was a only a couple of pounds and they were free really so I let that slide.
Second came Tuesday, when I was too excited about the prospect of selling my polymer clay beads at the craft shop (more about that later hopefully!) that I bought four lovely soft pastel shades of sculpey :)
And then today. Well today I just gave up completely and bought the ingredients for a new purse I hope to make (more about that at a later date too!).

Ah well, I am consoling myself with more of the beautiful free patterns...

2010-03-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. The sun is poking it's nose out here today! Well my fingers are healed up - it went surprisingly quickly despite being super painful, a bit like an injection really!

I spent Saturday with my lovely man and managed to get him to the craft exhibition that's going on around the U.K. at the moment, called 'The Shape of Things'. I got quite into one of the works in particular which was 'The Gift' by Alinah Azadeh. It was really quite interesting to read all the panels people had written about why they had donated their gift. People donated some really personal things, which is quite a shock to such a hoarder like me. I'm prone to giving objects sentimental value when they don't really need or deserve it, so it made me have a good reconsider about that. I think it's time for me to part with some things I've had for a while too long.

Then I took the boyfriend upstairs to see all the stuffed animals. He didn't believe me when I said that they'd once been live animals! It did make me laugh, he wasn't having any of it without some proof! Anyway, the koalas did look cute but I'm such a girl and it really freaks me out!

I also bought this:
I know I'm bad at hoarding but I love finding things I know I'm going to treasure and this is one of them! Although my latest purchase does bring me on to another thought I've been having... I really want to do my flat up a bit so that means I'm not going to allow myself any craft pocket money. It really makes me cringe when I think of how much I love craft shopping. It's awful really. The thought of going craft neutral actually makes me feel quite nervous.. What if a new bead arrives at the shop!! But I've promised myself I'm going to do it for at least two weeks. That means NO shopping at work for two weeks... Yikes I had better brace myself for work tomorrow morning!
I hope everyone has a lovely sunday afternoon. I'm getting ready for a yummy roast. Nom nom nom.

Ouch!

2010-03-19T05:02:00.001-07:00

Can you tell what it is yet? No? Well that's because it's just a ball!
Its photographic evidence of my first attempt at needle felting. I think I was a little over excited to start with and my first go at stabbing the wool ended up in my thumb, Ouch!
I'm attempting to make some beads before moving onto flowers... I might be a little ambitious considering I've also managed to stab my finger once aswell.
Oh well at least blossom the bunny has got the hang of it!

You can follow me on bloglovin too :)

2010-03-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Cat Swapping?

2010-03-13T09:22:00.001-08:00

Don't worry, I'm not swapping any furry friends. I'm taking part in SpoiltPig's excellent new craft swap, featuring CATS! Sign up is by this Monday, so do take a quick look! Her website is full of lovely things!

Did someone say ribbons?

2010-03-04T03:38:00.000-08:00

I have to admit - I am a ribbon hoarder. If I could live off ribbon, I would. It’s always a difficulty to make it away from work (I work in a craft shop!) with my wages still intact, but add to that a session spent in the ribbon room and it becomes virtually impossible to leave without at least a little dent in the earnings! I’ve collected quite a stash which I would love to display. (Actually why on earth we have tv rooms in our homes and not ribbon rooms as a normality is beyond me!). I’ve picked up some pretty good ideas for ribbon displays from Little Birdie Secrets and the blogging world, but as yet the ribbon stash is the jumble you see below…Definitely a work in progress for now!

Rose's Designs Giveaway

2010-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

I love a good giveaway and this one is great!!

Head over to Rose's Designs to enter!

Please forgive my trying to eat yarn balls...

2010-02-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

..But every so often I fall head over heels in love with a ball of wool that I have no idea what to do with. My latest such crush is the sirdar click dk that I pictured and wanted to eat in my previous post. I'm enjoying just putting it carefully on the top of my bag of yarn and looking at it now and then. But doesn't every yarn ball dream of something more? Well I know I'm not dressing myself in any clothes made out of the yarn, as I imagine I'd look like something out of whatnottoknit. But I want to knit with this... Any ideas?

Yum..

2010-02-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

..I want to eat this ball of wool, it looks soo lurverly..

Angel Wings

2010-02-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

I love these angel wings, they're so pretty. I'd like to make some more of this design and turn them into a pendant and matching earring set :) oh for some more silver clay!

Oyumaru moulding :)

2010-02-12T06:37:00.000-08:00

I love testing out crafty goods so Oyumaru with its cute bright packaging didn't escape my greedy mitts! It's used for making moulds, and the best bit is that it's re-usable.
The process is super simple. You get these brightly coloured strips in what looks like a mini lunch box, and you plop them in some warm water. It only takes a few minutes before they're ready and once you've scooped them out of the water they are gooey like fimo or sculpey. You can squidge your object for moulding into the putty and leave it. The stuff will turn back into it's more rigid state and that's all there is to it! I was impressed with the result as the mould of my button (pictured here..although please excuse the bad photos!) picked up all the detail. If you want to use it again, you just need to pop it back in some warm water. It's really useful and I love the fact it comes in a pretty array of colours!

Take the handmade pledge today!

2010-02-12T04:13:00.001-08:00

Love for the Knitted Character

2010-02-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Wow. Every so often something REALLY special comes along...

The Knit Factor has landed on Harry Hill's Tv Burp and I am so excited!!

Check it out in all it's glory here.

You can enter YOUR OWN knitted character, or just VOTE online for your favourite. I'm gonna get my knitting needles out and have a go! Fingers crossed!

Creative Stitches Craft Fair

2010-02-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

I had a great day at the Creative Stitches Craft Fair in Brighton. It was a craft shopper's paradise, with so so many stamps, beads, fabric, yarn.. pretty little craft bits and bobs! Well I didn't go overboard with my shopping (promise!) but I did discover some suppliers that I'll be checking out on the internet :) And lots of inspiration of things I want to try!

Yay!

2010-02-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

Yay! I've finally got some things in my etsy shop! I've been so excited to actually get things off the ground that it feels like quite a moment to put something up for sale.

I've added an etsy widget on here so it's easy to see what I'm making for sale :)

Etsy shop!

2010-01-29T03:10:00.001-08:00

My Etsy shop is almost up and running!

Here are some photos of items that will making an appearance in the shop over the next few days:

Pattern-less dress sewing video tutorial... Yes Please!

2010-01-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

I always love a good video tutorial. This one is about making a dress from one you already own; I am off to my wardrobe to find a suitable garment...
Enjoy!

New Year etsying

2010-01-15T10:01:00.001-08:00

My main New Year's resolution is to get an Etsy shop up and running.

I'd been dithering for a while about whether I wanted to make jewellery to sell and only quite recently decided that I'd like to. I've always been quite a private person, especially about things that I make, so it wasn't an obvious decision to put my stuff out there via this blog and an online shop. I admire those that show off their creativity because it's such a personal thing and it takes a lot of guts!

I'm really excited about launching a shop on etsy. I've been busy coming up with ideas and testing them out, and over the next couple of weeks I'll be taking photos and finishing everything off. Expect to see some photos on the blog soon (hopefully!!).

2010-01-12T02:41:00.000-08:00

I’ve recently bought myself a copy of ‘I Love Beading’ by Juju Vail and it’s brilliant! I don’t usually buy books of beading ideas as I find I get tired of them pretty quickly, but this book was just too cute to pass on! It’s a great source of ideas if like me you have bits and bobs of ribbons and fabric to use up as lots of the ideas incorporate textiles into them. The projects are all bright and colourful, so I think this book is going to be inspiring some eye-catching jewellery for a while to come!

More feltiness

2010-01-12T02:28:00.000-08:00

After posting yesterday about lots of felted lovelies, I also found this talented lady's blog and online shop which I thought I must share! The felt birds are amazing!

http://www.lupinhandmade.com/index.htm
http://bugsandfishes.blogspot.com/

Wire Jewellery

2010-01-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

I never like to say no to something free, so almost free is almost as good. At the moment, Making Jewellery is offering this Wire Jewellery book for £2.95 if you register on their website. I’ve just received my copy and after a quick flick through, I am set on crocheting a tiara..especially to put it on a dog. Now how’s that for inspiration?!

Link to Making Jewellery

Feeling felty!

2010-01-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the awful title, but I've been making up felt bundles most of today at the craft shop and I'm after some felty treats :)

I'm thinking of badges and hair accessories so I've picked a few of my favorites from etsy :)

This flowery one is beautiful! The stitched detail is very inspiring.

Also as a lover of all things cute AND yummy, I can't resist this smiley ice cream.

And finally these owls are so adorable! At the age of 21 am I too old to put them on hairclips to wear out?? While I'm dithering, you can click the photos to be taken to the etsy shops :)

The latest gadget I covet…

2010-01-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

I love rubber stamps, they are wonderfully useful for crafting! My favorite use for them is texturing and stamping in Silver Clay (Art Clay/PMC) as the final results are so pretty!
So that leads me to introduce the imagepac stamp making kit. This isn’t something I own (yet!) so I can’t give a proper review, but I’ve been learning how it works via youtube videos and I can gladly say it looks oh so achievable! I must say I’m really excited about this product and can’t wait to get my crafty mitts on one!

To have a look at the process, click here to be taken to the video!

A blog about what I make...and other things

2010-01-10T04:30:00.000-08:00

A blog about what I make…

I make a lot of things. I think about making things most of my day. Most of my time I just make a mess.

I love making jewellery. I’m an aspiring jewellery designer and I can’t rest until I’ve worked out how to make every single piece of jewellery I come across. Part of it is just that – I love to know how things are put together. Secondly, I just love pretty things, and what girl doesn’t?! My ambition is to learn as much as I can about all things crafty and hopefully turn it into my full time job :) I’ve got it all planned out, a nice studio decked out with all the gadgets. Forget brooding over babies, I’m dreaming of the rolling mill I plan to adopt. :)

At the moment, I work in a craft shop (the best actually) and I feed my addiction by shopping for beads, playing with PMC, resin, and all manner of other crafts. My first love might be creating jewellery but my second love is every other craft under the sun! I have a corner of the living room in my flat, which I like to refer to as my studio. It’s got a cardboard box for knitting, the jewellery bits live in various boxes and everything else lives on the floor. And it’s where I spend a lot of my time!

So here it is. A diary of things I make, things that inspire me and things that I love.