Christmas break

Apologies to everyone as I really haven't been nearly as hard working on updating my blog for a long time now.

This year I've really not made much of an effort with festivities as I may have done in previous years. I wish I were in London or New York but alas, I decided to stay in Hong Kong but kept away from the crowds. Got a whole week off work and a delivery of some goodies that I had been expecting to receive for weeks now! Planning on designing some more t-shirts in the new year. Unfortunately the Artline inkpad didn't work so I am thinking of trying a few home made recipes and techniques I found on the internet the other day.

http://www.curbly.com/Chrisjob/posts/1355-Print-Your-Own-T-Shirts-Using-Homemade-Stencils

http://www.threadbanger.com/post/490/diy-screen-printing-how-to

http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/artrecipes1.html

T-shirt printing

At last, I have had time to catch up on some crafting! It's been a whole month of manic work and wedding plans since I've been back. But it's great that I had a Saturday night in to relax by myself this weekend. So, seeing as I bought a whole bunch of different inks and paints to experiment my rubber stamps with, I thought I'd put them to good use. Surprisingly, I think the Artline ink pad works quite well. I've ironed it at the 'cotton' temperature so fingers crossed, it will still be there when I put it in the wash.

Treasure maps

Was rummaging through my things in the drawer and came across some lovely maps of Paris that I had bought around 4/5 years ago. They came in a pack of 10 fold out maps and were illustrated by French illustrators, Philippe Bucamp and Magali Tessier. I remember I bought them from this gorgeous european book shop in Covent Garden. I hope it's still there.

Asian Dolls

I went to Tate Modern today and I found this cute image of dolls in a book. It's given me some more food for thought for a set of dolls that I have been trying to create for ages....

Yummy warm muffins

Went to Spitalfields yesterday afternoon - at least what's left of it. Leon, the trendy coffee shop is still there. Look at these yummy muffins! Mmmhmm....

Making a mess of things...

You don't have to use ink pads to get inking. I've tried using some old block printing water colour inks to experiment with. I think the results aren't too bad. Now my next step is to get some more permanent inks for printing onto fabric.

Nesting dolls

Look what I found! Packed away in boxes in my room, were these little treasures that I had almost forgotten about. Ok, so they're not antiques... but they're pretty cute! Especially the Indian and Caucasian dolls. They were a range done by Oxfam a few years ago.

Visiting an old friend

It's great to catch up with good friends and I always seem to draw inspiration from an ex-colleague whom I'm known for around 5 to 6 years now. We spent the whole day together at her new home in Harlow.

Am I sitting on a small fortune?

They were a rare find but a few years back I bought these really wonderful religious picture books in a car boot sale near my parent's home. I was enticed by the naiveness of some of the titles, 'I'm Sorry', 'Thank You God' and 'Please'. And the imagery is gorgeous! They've been sitting in the drawer because I'm just waiting to find something to do with them.

Rubber stamp mad

Finally, I made it back. After a 12 hour flight, 2 aeroplane dinners and 4 movies, I am now safe and sound at my parent's home in Tylers Green, Buckinghamshire, UK.

I even brought back my rubber stamps in case I get some spare time to get crafting. Could be the start of something different...

Give your old greetings cards a facelift

This is so simple but it's also a really useful way of utilising your greetings cards or memorable cards that you have kept stashed away for sentimental value or simply because you really liked them.

1. Just cut up some spare paper and fold them in half so that they fit inside the greetings cards.

2. Make 3 holes in the middle of the card fold and the paper fold with a needle. And sew.

3. When you have sewn the card together, close the book and trim off any excess paper that sticks out from the edges of the cover.

Turning junk into funk

And so we have it. Mini masterpieces!

Well, there were a few mishaps along the way - especially in choosing the wrong type of glue. Hence, why I have been using this Japanese binding stitch technique which works wonders! It’s environmentally friendly because I use less glue. I am now getting quite good at it. At least I remember the order in which the stitches go off by heart now.

I've still got more to do but it takes time working out which fabrics and patterns go well together.

It's totally amazing!

It's just so fantastic being surrounded by such nice junk! I didn't realise I still had these clipping lying around. I'm going to be busy this weekend for sure!

Bookbinding frenzie

I've been going through my collections of patterned fabric and ribbons that I have accumulated over the past 3 months and decided to finally be creative with them.




And seeing as I am still in my book binding phase, I thought I'd experiment. Here, I have used cable tape and ribbon as binding on the spine. Interesting results. It's a good way of recycling old scraps. At least it makes note taking more interesting...

#5 Making your own wedding favour

I happened to be in my old neighbourhood the other week and walked past this shop that sold bamboo steamers and only bamboo steamers. They sold ones that were as big as the circumference of a hula hoop but the ones that caught my eye the most were these cutesy diddy ones! With a diametre of only 2.5", just big enough to fit a piece of chocolate inside. Dress them up with a ribbon, Martha Stewart style, or just keep it plain. Ideal for a wedding favour.

#4 Presentation makes all the difference

How can you make an ordinary photo into a stunning display? The obvious answer has to be in the way that you 'dress it up'. I took a photo of some crochet cakes - could have easily been mistaken for being a magazine picture that it was so ordinary... but what if you put it against a cute gingham background? I also found some eyelets to enhance the presentation. Of course the hardest part is in researching which patterns go with which photo but you can have fun doing it!

TIP: I find the best way to frame images with busy backgrounds is with a nice simple white or wooden frame.

Bookbinding progression

Yesterday, I managed to bind my first hardback book from SCRATCH! I was pretty chuffed at my first attempt. I may consider binding my own portfolio this way. It's more rewarding than just covering an existing book with your funky fabrics. As an artist, you want to be able to have more control of the size. etc

Last week was when I attempted to bind my first softback book. I used newsprint like paper for the insides to print my illustrations on. It worked well for some of the less detailed illustrations but didn't do my bigger pictures any justice.

And today, again we found some more toadstools growing in the soil of another plant. It must be the soil from Wellcome that's making them grow. But it's a shame that they die within 24 hours. Best to capture them when you can.

Unidentified smurf abode...

Woke up this morning to find a small toadstool growing in amongst the soil of our aloe vera plant. Any ideas as to whether this is a good thing?

Sweet sweet basil

Over the past 3 months, I have been nurturing my sweet basil which, I am proud to say, have been grown from seed. Thanks to my sunny kitchen window sill and the 'Diamond' water which really works wonders with my plants around the flat. Our fish seem to really love it too! I can't wait to make Tomato and Basil soup next week. Anyone know of a good recipe?

folio updates and summer break

I realise it's been almost two months since I last updated my blog so to highlight what I have been up to, here are a few photos and illustations which I have been feverishly been working on. I've been away to Kenting and Kaoshiong in Taiwan which was fantastic in terms of weather and food. You can see some of the other photos in my collection at my flickr page. But since returning home, I have been totally dedicated to updating my illustration folio. I think it's coming along quite well but I am still developing it. You can see it at www.ilovecolour.com

I love green

As well as increasing the size of my foliage collection. I have also been illustrating and finding out a bit more about what these plants are called. Here is a new project which I have started on. I am aiming to create a set of fact sheets or something of that nature.