I have a friend (in fact, several) who is big into Pokémon. So much so that when we’re away with friends, we’ll often pause on walks for some sort of game interaction. There have also been trips abroad for various Pokémon events. So when it came time to wrap a birthday present, I raided my ‘to be altered’ stash, selected a papier-mâché suitcase and customised it:
At the end of April I accepted a last minute commission for a retirement gift. The brief was to make a piece featuring the recipient’s favourite Bible verse, Joshua 1:9. The time frame was tight, complicated by a long weekend working in London, but I got it done. I wanted to try out a technique I’d seen on various reels. I had ordered some solid wood pieces and they were perfect for this design:
With the start of a more frequent posting schedule on this ‘ere blog, I’m kicking off with a workshop project that I led just before Easter. The brief was to have a craft project a group of retired men (70s-90s)would be able to complete in just over an hour. They are used to me bringing projects they are eventually proud to display, but are always nervous they aren’t artists and worried that they won’t get results I reassure them they will. In view of it being Easter, a cross was a suitable starting point and I decided on a bit of string art:
It turns out that commissions seem to come like stereotypical buses – none for ages and then two at once. I had the pleasure of accepting two very different commissions last week. The only thing was – they were both last minute with a very short time constraint. I did some juggling and evening work but fit them in and delivered both on time. Here’re pics of the projects:
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been working in the garden for the last few weeks. The main effort has been to address 20 years of neglect and get the rest of the garden to match the clean lines of a new patio. As a result, several things had to go to the tip along with oodles of green waste and clippings. Three rusted IKEA tea light metal framed lanterns were consigned for metal recycling, but I took the opportunity to deglaze them before that happened. A bit of designing later and the upcycled glass lantern was born. Available in both beech and walnut veneer finishes.
Just a quick post to show you an exploding gift box that I made using the First Edition ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ 12×12″ paper pad available from craftlabel.com (at the time of writing, it appears to be half price!). The box is die-cut using Simply Made Crafts Die Set Medium Exploding Gift Box | Set of 11 available from craftstash.co.uk. It features four boxes that fall sideways when the lid of the main box is opened. The fifth box in the centre isn’t included in the die set but is relatively simple to measure up and make.
It’s always lovely to be asked to make something, and even better when given relatively free rein! The brief was to make boxes that were suitable for holding board game tokens, roughly 3-4″ by 1″ deep in size. The rest was up to me… Here’s what I came up with:
I’ve just taken delivery of my latest goodies from Craft Label (Trimcraft). First up is a set of acrylic paint pens from Nova. These are water-based, non-toxic and suitable for just about every surface. They are also water-proof on glass and ceramic when baked (though not dishwasher or food safe). The pens have a 0.7mm extra-fine tip and there are 15 colours in a pack, including metallic gold and silver.
Over a year ago, I was given a bag of cobbles/pebbles by a friend who was hoping I would use them for stone art. I’ve finally got round to using some to decorate with the paint pens…
Another relatively quick project with Craft Label goodies – North Star Stars. Using the First Edition North Star 6×6″ paper pad, I have cut out six/five spikes (three per sheet) and through folding and fiddly sticking have constructed these hanging stars. I’ve used two of the pearlescent designs (hard to see the shiny finish in the pic) and then two different pages for the alternating patterned star:
A quick and simple decoupage project, these upcycled powdered drinks containers could be used to hold candy canes, breadsticks or even Christmas potpourri. Paint over the drinks containers with black paint/gesso or be prepared to do a couple of layers of the decoupage paper to cover the text/pattern on the containers. Glue on the strips of decoupage paper with the decoupage adhesive and varnish and allow to dry.
Line the pots with paper from the North Star paper pad.
I decorated the blue with the foiled stars from the North Star paper pad in two strips edged with silver peel-off borders. Embellish with a mini gift bow and silver Merry Christmas sentiment. I’ve added a few glittered half-pearls in two sizes as a finishing touch.
I created a wreath effect on the red pot with alternating felt poinsettias and gold mini gift bows before glueing down one of the wooden Merry Christmas sentiments. Quick extra embellishments to finish: gold peel-off borders top and bottom and some gold ‘nail heads’ (sequins would also work here).
As it’s Black Friday, there’s a 3 for 2 promotion over on the Craft Label webshop, so pop over and get hold of the following to do this project!
