Sunday Sketchblog #165

Read Full Post »

Sunday Sketchblog #163

It’s been a while since my last sketchblog post, because I’ve done that thing where I’ve mislaid my drawing mojo.  I know I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: I’m not someone to whom drawing comes naturally.  I have to really work at it.  Which isn’t a bad thing, I mean I can draw well, but when I go too long between drawings I lose confidence and then I sort of tense up.  When I’m tense my work is absolutely shite, it really is.  My drawings are at their best when they’re loose and feel alive, but when I’m lacking in confidence I tense up and overwork things: I try to get things too precise, and that’s when it all goes tits up.

I did a bit of practice work a couple of weeks ago to try and get to grips with perspective, for a very specific project that I have had in mind for a while, but I’m not sharing those yet.  Today I’ll share what I did last night.  Nothing thrilling, but I was reading a magazine on my Kindle and decided I’d just draw bits of it as I went along (and also making some notes).  Just an exercise in loosening up again, a bit like stretching to warm up before going for a run (as if I’d ever do anything as crazy as running, ha! But you get the idea).  Oh, yes, and I’ve abandoned my usual sketchbook for the time being and am using a cheap crappy notebook, just to take away another aspect that I have issues with (namely not wanting to muck up a decent book).

 

Read Full Post »

Project 365 – Day 223

10th August 2012 – “Magazine freebies”

Read Full Post »

Needle felting: doglets

The latest issue of Mollie Makes turned up on my doorstep last weekend and my first thought when I saw the cute doglets on the front cover was “I have got to make those”…

I bought a needle felting kit (this one) a couple of years ago and, apart from one experiment, it’s been languishing in a cupboard ever since.  Towards the end of last year I despaired of ever using it for needle felting and started using the roving for wet felting instead (and made some very pretty baubles).

How cute are the doglets?!  Too cute for words, and they made me finally get my backside in gear and have another go at needle felting.

The instructions were straightforward and easy to follow, so I just dived straight in.  Miraculously I managed not to poke myself in the fingers with the incredibly sharp needle, and after a while my first doglet emerged.

I was pretty impressed with myself, I can tell you that for nothing!  It took ages to make this little fella (mainly because I was scared of pricking myself with the needle) but I enjoyed the process and loved the finished article so much that I had another go… and then another go… and then another…

…so by the end of the weekend there was a small army of doglets littering my sitting room floor.  Ok, the pink one looks more like a Clanger than a dog but it was a little experiment (and one I’m not sure I’ll be repeating in that colour!).

I’m getting faster at it now (and still haven’t had any accidents with the needle – yay!) and suspect there will be more needle felting in my future.

Read Full Post »

When crafting meets gardening…

This month’s issue of Mollie Makes turned up on my doormat this weekend, and I decided to save it for a rainy day.  Turns out it’s not raining today, but it is still freezing and as I still hadn’t sorted out the timer in my studio (for the heater) it was just too damn cold to go and work downstairs.

So I settled down and wondered if there was anything in the magazine to inspire me.  Yup, turns out there was.

How cute are those?!  And they looked really easy to make so I thought I’d have a go.  It seemed like fate as I’ve got a little trough of mini pots in the garden which has remained pretty much empty since I got it, the pots are so small that they dry out incredibly quickly and nothing survives for long.

Luckily I have lots of green felt.  There used to be an events company just round the corner and they were forever chucking out bags and bags of the stuff after using it to cover things like tables once, so I rescued a load of it on the grounds that I was bound to use it eventually (and I was right!).

The cutting and sewing went very well, and it was a nice way to pass the morning.  I can report that although the pattern says it’s suitable for making cacti that fit into 6cm pots, the round one is much too big.  My first attempt could have eaten the pot, so I trimmed the pattern down somewhat and tried again.

They’re fabulous and I love them.  I know that they won’t last forever outside (I give it maybe three months before they’re overrun with mould) but I can always make some more, and in the meantime those pots finally have plants in them – and as an added bonus they need no watering, pruning or spraying.  Result!

Read Full Post »

Project 365 – Day 17

Aaaah, it’s Mollie Makes day!  The weather continues to be positively Baltic here in London, so I thought a close up shot of the hot cuppa would be appropriate.

17th January 2012 – “Mollie Makes”

Read Full Post »

Making memories

Something in January’s issue of Mollie Makes caught my eye…

 

I loved this idea: it’s so simple, but has a lot of charm about it.  So I had a think and then decided to make my own today.  I hunted out an old biscuit tin, and then cut index cards and other card to fit.

For the dividers I used bits of old postcards and notecards I’ve received from people in the past.  Prior to this they’d been tacked onto a wall in my studio, but this seemed like a better use for them.

I also added little ribbon bits to help make it easier to flick from section to section.

I haven’t stamped dates onto any of the cards yet, but I’ve got a brand new SMASH stamp (from Craft Obsessions) which will do the job perfectly.

I’ve been a bit rubbish at keeping a diary as an adult – there always seems to be so much space to fill, and inevitably you miss days, or make a right mess of a page and want to rip it out.  This seems a good alternative because individual cards can be replaced, or added, and because it’s almost a perpetual diary I’ll be trying to keep things short and sweet to save on room.  I’m looking forward to 1st January so I can start using it!

Read Full Post »