Candy Land

Best of British

2010-04-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last month I was invited to private exhibition by a family friend of bronze sculptures.

We trained it up to London and partook of the free champagne while taking in the stunning art. The range was dedicated to champion animals. Years in the making, Britain's award winning animals - horses, dogs, pigs, bulls, rams - were sought by Nick Bibby and co and recreated in wax then expertly cast in bronze by the Pangolin foundry.

It was a good time! Nick's sculptures are astonishingly accurate in detail and anatomy and the variety of gorgeous finishes on the bronze made each one extra special. As is all that talent wasn't enough, Nick took the attendees out for pizza after the showing was finished. Here are two of my favourite pieces:

Berkshire Sow: Winner of the Best January Gilt or Boar! This lovely pig is called Lady 22. Nick noted she was a 'delightful, perky little pig" and that's how he sculpted her.

My favourite favourite: this gorgeous bloodhound has the rather awesome name Trailfinder Fortitude. His grand name matches his stature! He's won loads of awards! I can't remember the exact prices for each piece but I think the cheapest was a couple of thousand pounds. Get one of each!

Mad March Christmas

2010-03-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Every year I celebrate Christmas with various groups of friends and family and last weekend it was the final Christmas of 2009 - late for a very important date indeed! I met up with two of my best friends in London for the festivities. We went to Angel (thematic, no?) and found small district of antique shops and market stalls selling vintage jewellery and goods.

Last pic by my good friend the Shoegazer We could have spent hours looking around but we had to scarper to see Alice in Wonderland! Which incidentally, we all loved despite the extortionate ticket price. The design of the Queen of Heart's castle was particularly delicious, as were the costumes, but seeing the hat's the Mad Hatter made rekindled my strange desire to be a milner...

Anyway, after the film we opened presents! I got some lovely gifts...

I'll be making the miniature zoo in a separate post so look out! The brooches on the left were a welcome addition to my Hannah Zakari collection. All in all it was a wonderful time!

In the Middle of Our Street

2010-03-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

I've been hooked on Home Sweet Home of late and it inspired me to finally take pictures of these two houses I must have passed a hundred times on my way to town.

I love all the different lines of this house and the dark roof/bright paint contrast. Not to mention those lovely roof adornments - if there's a proper word for these, let me know!

The blue house on the left has the cutest shutters, no?

Let's Decorate

2010-03-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

In January I started to decorating my bedroom at home for the first time in about ten years. It's not quite finished but here are some of the bits that are.

The paper - I looked everywhere for deep red that I liked but none tickled my fancy so I went with this gorgeous purple and silver number. I can't for the life of me find the name of the designer. Anyway, it was a joy to put up - not like the cream colour that covers the three other walls, grr.

The photo collage. The tree silhouette is a wall sticker from Tiger, as are two of the frames . The rest of the frames are from charity shops and car boot sales. None cost over £2. The contents are photographs, postcards and prints. Below are my shelves. They look cluttered but you should've seen them before!

So that's the complete corner. As the rest is finished I'll post more photos.

Edit: Now seen on one of my favourite blogs, Home Sweet Home! 767 notes, I'm so pleased! Lots of love for Totoro too.

It's For You

2010-02-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

I've always loved pretty wrapping paper, especially the designs from Paperchase but at £1 - £2 a pop for one sheet it was an expensive habit. That's why I was very happy to find these beauties at a local store called Tiger for 50p a roll!

Tiger also do a small selection of colourful tapes, perfect for presents and letters.

Speaking of letters, I ordered some kawaii writing paper from Japan and it arrived yesterday very prettily presented!

Car Booty

2010-02-11T12:08:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about summer is the car boot sales. I've been to more than I can count in my years and have discovered many a bargain. The one closest to me holds between one and two hundred stalls on a good sunny morning. Until then it's a more humble affair but while I whet my appetite I thought I'd show off some of my favourite finds from past boot sales.

♥Above: Limoges apple pot 20p ♥ White rabbit 50p ♥ Musical jewellery box 50p ♥

I have a thing for oriental jewellery boxes. This is one of many!

Ceramic hands lamp - 50p. I've had this for over ten years. It obviously still works and I still love it!

Vintage lace dress £3

There's plenty more where those came from. I'll share some whenever I find the time to snap more photos. This Sunday I'm going to another car boot sale so who knows what I'll find! It's also Chinese New Year so expect some photos from the London celebrations unless I get snowed in...

Wrap it Up

2010-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Good wrapping makes a gift even more special. One of my favourite things is wrapping up presents. In fact, I enjoy it so much it's like an unbirthday presents to myself! Turns out I'm not alone in this. The Flickr group Nice Package! have a wonderful selection of images of wrapped up gifts and package swaps, something I'd love to try someday.

Wouldn't you love to receive any of these? I know I would! I like the idea of experimenting with different materials to wrap such as posters, paper bags, fabric, comic books, maps, the list is endless.

This was one of favourite 'wraps' for the birthday of one of my best friends. I found a lovely vintage mini briefcase at a car boot sale and used some Paperchase paper as well as some handmade gold paper to wrap the dozen or so presents inside. To decorate I used parcel string, netting, ribbons and stamps!

Are you... Bluish?

2010-01-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

I took these photos a couple of years ago in the woods near my house when the bluebells were out. I still really like them. (Quite unusual.)

You Could Be My Flamingo...

2010-01-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Robots, bears, cakes, owls, elephants, teapots, origami and bees. Having themes makes shopping even more fun! Adopt a theme and go hunting for items that carry it. It makes finding a pair of robot knickers even more fantastic! (Just the one pair so far...)

A particular favourite theme of my friends and I is the mighty flamingo! My collection is pretty humble so far. Once I get a house with a garden I'll be after some of these babies for sure:

Lawn flamingos available at Get Flocked! and watering can from Love thy Space.

But who needs a garden when you can have a lawn flamingo chandelier?!

This whimsical creation is by Palmerschallon at etsy. And here I was thinking my conflicting love for pretty vintage and bright 'n' bold tack would never work.

If you're after something a little more subtle, how about these fab earrings by fellow Brit nelli D over at etsy.

I hope you'll forward me any fabulous flamingo finds (it's so easy to alliterate, and no, I won't apologise). I might focus on a theme a month, we'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll show my robot knickers one day. Probably not whilst I'm wearing them...

Past Presents

2010-01-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

One snow day last week my folks and I opened a dusty box. This box came from my late Grandfather's attic and it contained photos and memorabilia from generations of my family. It was a joy to look through!

As you can see, a lot of it is Navy related - journals, souvenirs, logbooks and postcards.

And much of it is personal photographs, letters and sentimental items. Unfortunately not all of the photos were inscribed so unless we recognised the people in them, we were at a loss as to who they were. That didn't detract from the experience. Wondering was half the fun!

I leafed through this Navy Week Souvenir Guide from the 30s and found some great old school advertisements.

Typographically I don't think the fonts are that dated. I wonder if they come around full circle like fashions do.

A colour ad! Carlsberg must have been flush in the thirties.

Late for a Very Important Date

2010-01-08T11:51:00.001-08:00

A happy new year to you! I must apologise for my absence. My only excuse is my terrible affliction - laziness. I hope to post more often this year but I make no promises. This week my inspiration has come from snow! Not only is it a beauty to behold...

... but with such an abundance of free building material it brought out my creative side, as well as my mittens.

Nessie

Waiting for a date...

Tea time in the igloo.

Farewell from the rabbit hole!

Zombie High, Win or Die

2009-10-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

Something wicked this way comes... Halloween is upon us once more! Halloween is one of my favourite creative holidays so I thought I'd share some pictures of the costume I created last year. I'm actually afraid of zombies so I figured I face my fear by becoming the source - a zombie! Zombie what? Why, a zombie cheerleader of course!

I used cheap basic items from Primark to adjust as it was easier than starting from scratch. The skirt needed some work but it was quite easy to shorten and elasticate. I had the most fun creating the top. After designing the cheerleaderesque logo I purchased some red felt and simply cut out the designs then used fabric glue to stick them straight onto the cotton.

The small lettering was pretty tricky to cut out but I was really pleased with the result. On the back I actually made two costumes, one for me and one for my best mate. Since we were from the same 'squad' we picked our lucky numbers and put those on the back.

To complete the outfit I splattered some red pom poms with burgundy nail varnish to represent blood splatter.

Make-up was obviously also an important part of the costume. White face paint, heavy on the dark eye make-up and some fake wounds later, we were rocking the undead look. I even bought some blackjacks to chew on to turn my mouth black! Putting my hair in bunches and backcombing them took minutes but looked great.

The final touch was a difficult one - to cover myself and the shiny new costumes in fake blood - but once we got into the zone it was a whole lot of twisted fun.

I loved the reaction we got walking around the London Underground - especially turning round corners and making people jump out of their skin. The costumes went down so well they're asking for a reprise.

But not this year!

This year I am lucky enough to be going to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween night. I'm in the process of putting together a Trixie/usherette costume. I can't wait!

Mad as a Hatter

2009-10-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

These personalised party hats were fun and simple to make. Using an A4 sheet of card each I rolled and stuck the hats in place then collaged them with various bits and pieces with the 3D first letter of my guests names as the focal point. A few fabric and parcel ribbons plus a white feather made the top a little more interesting. Finally I added some multi-coloured elastic and the hats made a nice touch to the tea party.

Nail it!

2009-05-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do something different with my nails, rather than the usual single colour (or alternate colours if I was feeling fancy). Here's what I ended up with:

No, I didn't paint all that on. I'm far too lazy for that! I have a bunch of comics I use for creative projects - they're all old and random, but yes, I did feel a little guilty cutting them up. At first I was going to cut out panels to fit each nail, but then a saw a tiny speech bubble that would fit on perfectly on a nail and had a eureka moment.

I first painted my nails black using my favourite Barry M nail paint. When that was dry I carefully cut out some speech bubbles that fitted the nails (some needed more trimming). I used Hi-Tack All Purpose Glue to stick the speech bubbles to each nail and waited for that to dry.

The final step was to cover the whole nail in clear nail varnish - I used about three coats because obviously I didn't want the paper to get wet when I washed my hands. Unfortunately, it did after a couple of washes so, while they did dry again, the nails didn't last more than two days. I think coating the bubbles in PVA or similar water resistant glue before application might solve this issue.

It was a fun project completed in under two hours, and I got quite a few compliments!

Ikea, you've gotta see her

2009-04-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

I had no idea Ikea had a fabric section! When I found it downstairs in the caves of rugs and lamps it was a nice surprise. There was quite an impressive range of patterns, though I was disappointed to find some of the ones I wanted weren't in stock (and hadn't been for months, I was told). At around £4 per metre on each I limited myself to two designs since I'm low on cash. This funky heart design from the 'Fialena' range:

And this quirky bird motif from the 'Gunilla' range:

The intended uses are probably upholstery and such, but the black, white and red heart fabric is dieing to be used in a Queen of Hearts dress or bodice, and it would be easy as pie to make tote bags from them!

They were out of stock of these black and white designs (just as well or I'd have made lightened my wallet a whole lot more). You can view most of their selection on Ikea's website (though they are not available to buy online).

Philately Lately

2009-03-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

At a car boot sale a lady was selling packs of around 500 stamps from all around the world for £1.50. How could I say no? The tiny canvases are perfect for incorporating into jewellery and other art projects. I had more fun than I thought I would going through them all.

These are seven of my favourite designs.

Link to the Past

2009-03-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to get a commission to put together a costume from one of my favourite game series, Zelda. It was Link's outfit I was challenged with making and I had a whale of a time making it all up.

I started with by gathering up the materials I needed for the basic outfit. This included green suedette which was great to work with (no fraying, fabric glue was fine on the seams, minimising sewing!), and white stretch cotton. The faux chain mail was difficult to find, but I eventually found some silver netting in my favourite haunt: Fabric Land.

The hat was the easiest thing to make so naturally I made that first! Only one line of sewing was needed, then I glued the hem and added the side detail. Next up was the green tunic. Since this was laced up at the side rather than one complete piece, this didn't take too long. I made the criss-cross detail at the front with strips of the suedette.

The white under shirt was the most difficult piece to sew, as I had to work from measurements and no model, since it was a mail order piece. I redid the collar a couple of times, as this was quite tricky.

After this was finished I added the faux chain mail, sewing this into the tunic. I ended up with two pieces - the tunic, complete with chain mail, and the white undershirt. The customer kindly agreed to find some white trousers himself, as I don't think I'm at the level to make trousers from scratch quite yet!

Next up was the accessories - a Hylian shield, Master Sword and the belt brace. I used three belts for the brace. They proved very difficult to attach to each other - I used epoxy and velcro in the end.

For the sword I bought a plastic one and took off the guard. My dad cut some wood into the general shape and I attached and painted it, along with the handle. It's a rough representation but it does the trick! My dad ran away with shield idea and created his own method of making them from a cardboard base. He's sworn me to secrecy.

I used acrylic paints to paint the basic design and touch up, and silver spray paint around the edge. We attached a metal door handle to the back, and a leather jug handle (we just happened to have a bundle lying around!) as the arm brace. I was very pleased with the end result. I'll be making one of these babies for myself next!

I had a fun with this project and learned a lot too. I'm really happy with the way it all came together. I'm still waiting for the customer's verdict and I've asked him to send a couple of photos of it in action - provided it fits!

Cute as a Button

2009-03-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went to my first car boot sale of the year! I just love walking around the boot sale, not knowing what people are giving up. There's a huge one near my house every Sunday and the weather was good so we headed up. I was on the lookout for old watches, having missed out on some ebay lots recently. I found four watches for £3 (plus a pretty pearl brooch for £1), way cheaper than on ebay. Oh how I love a bargain.

I intend to use them in jewellery pieces.

Rekindling a lost love for antique trinkets, I dug out my grandma's sewing box, where I remembered seeing some old school buttons. Who doesn't love buttons?

I love how the designs are so intricate for such small things. I can't help wondering what they were originally intended for...I think these are my favourites:

London Love

2009-02-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

I traveled up to London recently, and made a point of checking out a couple of craft markets. First up was the Sunday Up Market in Brick Lane. I was completely taken with the area, immediately feeling a great atmosphere. The market itself was full of handmade items, predominantly clothing, cards and jewelery. A few small retailers I'd been following online had stalls, including Buddug, who have to sell the most beautiful jewelery and trinkets. Also came across a lovely lady who sold crocheted fascinators and interesting brooches. Her website is underway at Twinkle Bug so keep an eye out!

I bought a brooch from Rosie Wonders. I have a thing about robots, and this little fellow was a must have, since I was informed it had only been made the previous day! Meant to be.

I can't wait to save some money and go again (without the burden of my luggage!). I highly recommend a visit. If you decide to go, make sure you get your money out before you get to the area as the cash machines often run out before lunch!

Fascinating!

2009-02-08T05:46:00.000-08:00

A boredom-inspired eBay search led to my discovery of fascinators. I had the notion to search for 'burlesque' in the clothing and accessories section, and these curious hair ornaments kept popping up. There were some beautiful ones about, most of which predominantly used feathers. A few went a stretch further and played around with materials, which I what I decided to do when I tried my hand at making one.

Using mostly bits and pieces I had lying around, I'm really pleased how this turned out. Black, white and red is a favourite colour scheme of mine and I'd wanted to usde some old playing cards in an accessory for a while. The only new purchase for this creation was the red feathers.

The piece is attached to a slim red alice band, and so can be worn on either side of the head. I had a lot of fun making this and can't wait to make some more. This, and others, will eventually be sold on my forthcoming online store.

The Fight Against the Blank Canvas

2009-01-27T03:45:00.001-08:00

Blank space does funny things to my brain. Whether it's a blank page or blank walls, the long I stare at it, the more my mood spirals downwards. That's why I'm a fan of that basic and beautiful design skill - the collage. Everywhere I've lived, the collage has followed. The colour and design of each individual piece transform the entire canvas into visual candy.

At university a like minded friend and I collected fliers. Being students, we collected a lot! At first we created a simple collage covering an entire wall, but one lazy Sunday we decided to step it up and make a flier rainbow. This is probably the best collage I've had a hand in making!

I've also used collages to jazz up boxes, folders, notebooks and such. Here are a couple of boxes I worked on as gift boxes.

Untamed Menagerie

2009-01-22T14:37:00.001-08:00

On one of my many internet adventures I was led to the Etsy store of Untamed Menagerie. Being a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, I fell in love with the 'Curiouser & Curiouser' necklace, which arrived in the post today. I thought I'd share that, and one or two of the other wonderful acrylic jewelery designs.

Point and having pointed, pounce!

2009-01-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

The triptastic Beatles film Yellow Submarine holds a special place in my heart, as it was probably one of my most watched movies growing up. It's been a family favourite since I can remember and that's why I made this little plush Glove to give my mum on Mother's Day.

He's 20cm long and made of felt. All hand sewn.

Material Girl

2009-01-18T08:53:00.000-08:00

On a recent trip to London I was taken to a magical place: the largest Paperchase store I'd ever seen. It was a delight to explore the shop's three storeys of art supplies, trinkets, wrapping paper and gobsmacking array of greetings cards. With mixed media canvases in mind, I bought a few sheets of handmade textured paper, among other things.

Recently I also found some Japanese postcards my Granddad had sent my mother during his time in the Royal Navy. They're quite beautiful. I may end up using some of these in the canvases too.

She Won't Let Those Robots Eat You

2009-01-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

Out of everything I have ever made, this is my favourite. Meet Giant Happy Robot! He is 50cm tall, but his little brother is a wee 18cm. Made from felt and PVC, he has a wire frame and all he wants to do is hug you. GHR is completely handsewn (I love machines but machines hate me!), and even has posable arms and legs!

The three basic body sections were made by using a basic box template, so these came together quite quickly. The trickiest parts to sew were the hands with their three claws.

Giant Happy Robot currently resides with a dear friend of mine, where his friends include No Face and Nobby the Night Gaunt. Tiny Happy Robot lives with me.

If you love GHR as much as he loves you, watch this space as I plan to make and sell more!

To Me, Tutu

2009-01-13T05:41:00.001-08:00

I created this for a party I was going to, with a twisted Alice in Wonderland theme. The method is so simple, and didn't cost much at all. I got a belt (elastic works too), multiple strips of black and red dress netting and some suedette which I had lying around. Each strip measured double the length that I wanted the tutu to be and couple of inches wide.

Each strip was doubled over and loop tied around the belt. I looped the other strips, of which there were around 100 in total. And that finished the basic tutu! I glued some hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds as the finishing touches.

You can find detailed instructions with a quick search of youtube or google.

Colour Me In

2009-01-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

I bought myself a new camera for Christmas, since my old one was getting on in years! It's a simple slinky Sony W110 and I've been playing around with it. I wanted to go out and about but it was so miserable outside I stayed in and made colour grids.

We're Number One!

2009-01-12T05:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome! This blog is intended to be my creative journal. I'm interested in a variety of creative media from plush toys to website design to freehand doodling and prose writing. Creativity is a messy business, so in an endeavour to apply some sense of organisation to my creative life, I'll be documenting my projects, loves and inspirations in this journal.

As a first piece, in ode to this being my first entry, a little doodle dedicated to that most important of numbers, the yin to 0's yang.