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?