From old to new

Ok I'm done with Christmas now! I had other posts with Christmassy crafts but I have simply lost any desire to post them - will have to wait 11 more months folks!

I must say, I've had a bit of a break over the festive period. The main reason due to becoming ENGAGED on Christmas day! And since then becoming consumed by all things 'wedding'!

But I'm starting to come down from my cloud now, its back to work and cold January nights. So what better time to get back to creating, fixing, making and selvaging?

When I'm strapped for cash but need seating for the kitchen table, I can't go past Ebay. We picked these little beauties up for just £14 for 4. Thank you very much. Just look at the detail in that back, I love how the wood has been naturally rubbed away over time. Ooooh past life.

 
I actually really like the emerald coloured leather the chairs came with, but my fiance (eeeee!) didn't, so we compromised and chose to recover. Que gorgeous duck egg upholstery fabric splurge!

Armed with a staple gun and scissors, I placed the seat over the fabric, snipping around it with enough room to fold up the sides. I wanted to keep the original seat cover...just in case. A couple of staples and about 15 minutes mastering those tricky corners and voila! Just like making a canvas but for a chair. Try it with your own patchwork fabric designs or mismatched fabrics with a similar colour theme.

 

 

Festive Window Displays

Brown baubles.

Brown!?

Not on my festive watch!

I found these on a recent charity shop binge and thought I would rescue them by recovering in something more pleasing to my eye.

My theme this year is purple and gold (just to be clear, that is my CHRISTMAS theme, not my theme for the year...that would just be too much).

Conveniently, I sourced this perfect fabric from another charity shop raid earlier.

Lot's of glue is needed, I used a spray mount all over the bauble to ensure my fabric slices were stuck down well, before attaching golden ribbon over the seams and create a loop to hang.

I've hung mine in the window to festively spruce up the view.

The sun was out for an hour last week and I was privileged to enjoy the playful shadows made on my door. Tis the simple things after all!

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas...

 It's Christmaaaaaaas!!

This is such a wonderful time of year, made extra special for me this year as my mum will be joining me in the UK! But that also means I get to play the big grown up and am in charge of cooking The Meal. Gasp! Don't worry, it's under control, when I say 'cooking' I really mean supervising ( the boyfriend is the cook in our house!).

The tree is up, a real one of course, with the smell of pine and fresh forest wafting through the house.  I've stocked up on the mulled wine (like I need an excuse) and sprinkled holly everywhere. Festive? Moi?!










 A recent trip to the German markets (uh..in London) has got me in the spirit. The lights are up and the shoppers are rushing around for presents. I've been crafting a few treasures for the tree and house...


First up, I've made little decorations to hang, cut from wood into shapes. Originally I was going to hand paint them, but in the end chose to collage them instead. Here I've used an old map of London to add interest to the house, and Christmas wrap for the tree.

Next up, baubles for the window...

Pigeon Prints...

Pigeons, pigeons everywhere! They love to hang out in gangs on my roof terrace and coo together, tormenting us early in the morning. I enjoy watching their rituals and hilarious mating dance.

Much to most people's disgust, I really like pigeons and think they are quite beautiful. They tend to carelessly shed their feathers around so I've pinched a few to take some prints from.

Inking up the actual feather works best I find. Here I have simply rubbed the paper over the inky feather to produce a light, embossed transfer.
























Below is where I tried rolling an inked up roller over top of the feather (under paper). It hasn't worked how I wanted but creates some interesting marks instead.

Creative Space

The Studio..

This year is the first time I have had an entire room to use as a studio of my own.

I love being able to leave current projects out and come back to them refreshed. Being able to display all my inspiration around me and make a mess.

I find the space uplifting and calming. This is where I create and watch the pigeons. It's not organised, probably the only thing in my life that isn't! And I like it that way, a place to go where I can just be me.