Month: June 2012

Painting the Shed

Painting the Shed

This is going to take ages.

And it’ll need two coats.

The colour is Cuprinol Garden Shades, in Lavender.

I was going to paint the window frames and the doors in Pale Jasmine (cream), but I’m not so sure now. Perhaps it would look better if it was all the same colour.

It’s going to look lovely when it’s finished though – much nicer than having a GIANT ORANGE SHED staring at us and at all the neighbours.

I wonder what the chances are of me being able to finish the front before it rains? Perhaps I shouldn’t have started it on a day when I have to go out in the evening for an extra choir rehearsal, but I had to take advantage of the sun!

Walk in the woods

Walk in the woods

Yesterday evening I received a text from Sarah at Skycarrots, asking whether we’d like to go for a walk. Of course the answer was yes, so the three of us grabbed our cameras and wandered into the woods.

Walk in the woods

The light was absolutely beautiful (when the sun tentatively appeared), and I found lots of places that made me think of ideas for my doll-related project.

My little camera behaved remarkably well, considering how much it dislikes working in low light. The photo below hasn’t been edited at all, and I’m really pleased with it.

(The two above have been edited in Lightroom, to make the light in the pictures a little closer to what we could see in real life.)

Walk in the woods

We also walked along to where the blackthorn trees are, and spotted lots of other fruit along the way. Blackberries, plums, cherries and sumac (a new one to me) are going to be plentiful this year, by the looks of things.

24/06/2012

I have so many books now about foraging for edible and medicinal plants. I must start to keep a notebook of where these things are in our local area, so I can recognise them when I don’t have Sarah around to identify everything for me!

Leather earrings

Leather earrings
Pretty little oak leaves, ever so slightly metallic.

Did you know that Ren, she of the incredible Fairysteps, also sells her offcuts of leather? Ever since I bought my amazing gold boots, I’ve been terribly paranoid about scuffing the toes and making a hole in them. Not due to any lack of sturdiness in the boots, I might add – I’m just very clumsy! So when I saw that there was a bag of metallic leather pieces for sale I snapped it up, thinking it would be useful to save a piece for the eventual mending of the boots.

Leather earrings

I think these are my favourite. I might try a pair with the colours the other way round.

And then the parcel got lost in the post, Ren gave me a refund, and I was a little bit sad for a while. No shiny leather for me. Until last week, when the parcel unexpectedly arrived! Hooray!

While the parcel was on its mystery travels, I’d been thinking about what else to make with the little leather bits. The first thing that came to mind was earrings, as leather’s so light.

Leather earrings

I’m not sure about the proportions of these. I think smaller jump rings would be better.

I had some craft punches that Paul’s Mum had given to me, and they turned out to be perfect for cutting out little matching shapes! It was a bit of a faff though, I have to admit. The punches are really designed to be hammered into card, and the thick leather was a little bit of a challenge. The pieces are quite fiddly too – the dragonflies are about an inch across.

The antique gold findings are all from Hobbycraft, made by Beads Unlimited. They say low nickel, so I’m hoping I won’t be allergic to them. I thought they suited the colours of the leather better than a bright gold. Apart from being a little unsure about the proportions of the gold dragonfly pair, which I’ll probably change at some point, I’m really pleased with how these have come out. I don’t think I’ll be making many more – my poor cutting mat can’t stand the hammering – although I do have plenty more ideas for things to make with the leather.

Corsages, doll shoes, perhaps a belt… watch this space!

I love Twitter.

Now to save up my pennies, so I can afford a place on the signwriting course!

First Doll – making progress

Face in progress

I’ve been reading tutorials online and in books for ages now, trying to build up enough confidence to feel able to at least attempt to work on this doll’s face without ruining it. This morning I decided the only thing to do was bite the bullet and just go for it.

She’s made from white poly-cotton, overpainted with acrylic, which is not really the ideal surface for drawing on. The paint’s made the needle-sculpting that shapes her face go a bit crunchy, so she has a few wrinkles in slightly odd places.

But every time I’ve looked at her since I put in her hair a few weeks ago, I’ve been convinced that she has her eyes closed. I think perhaps that she’s meditating, and I plan to seat her cross-legged. (She can’t quite manage the Lotus Position without knees!)

She’s not finished yet (I’m not happy with her mouth, and the whole face needs more shading and detail), but I think this is a nice start. Her eyelashes and the centre of her mouth are drawn on with a very fine sepia-coloured PITT pen. The colours are watercolour pencil, although I haven’t done much blending yet. I’m taking it slowly, so I don’t do my usual trick of spoiling something by over-working it.

I have a plan for a project (yes, another one) which involves making lots more dolls and photographing them in outdoor scenes. I’d like to get this little lady finished, so I can start trying out some different shapes and materials.

Running away to join the fair


Image © Carters Steam Fair

Yes, I know the circus is more traditional. But ever since I moved to Reading almost twenty years ago, I’ve been in love with Carters Steam Fair. On a whim, I wondered what sort of job a person of my skill range* could do as part of a fair, so I went to their website to have a look.

That’s when I discovered that Joby Carter, son of John and Anna who originally started the fair in 1975,  runs courses in signwriting and coach painting. He also has an additional business called White Waltham Restoration, which specialises in the restoration, conservation and use of vintage machinery.

Now that, I could do!

In fact I went to a signwriter and printer for my school work experience at the age of fifteen… although they didn’t let me actually paint or typeset or do anything, and I spent the entire week designing my own letterhead (they printed an entire ream for me, I think I still have some left) and drawing an extremely detailed picture of a hawk moth that was later hung in my parents’ hallway.

But I digress.

It seems as though my degree in typography and my (admittedly limited) experience of painting pub chalkboards would stand me in good stead for not making too much of a pig’s ear of a signwriting course. I’m good at hand-lettering (if I do say so myself!), and learning how to work in the style of the Victorian fairground would be fascinating.

And how absolutely wonderful would it be to work for a company that has its very own Victorian Roller Disco, complete with a live pianist in the middle?!

 

So, here’s my latest New-And-Improved Life Plan:

Step One: Book a place on Joby Carter’s signwriting course.
Step Two: Get a job with Carters Steam Fair or White Waltham Restoration**.

What could possibly go wrong…?

 

*Can’t drive, can’t lift heavy things, can’t operate or repair machinery, fairground rides make me sick…
**Yes, of course I know it’s not as easy as all that. Stop spoiling all my fun, will you?!

Learning to spin

Spinning!

Look! I made yarn! I started with fluff, and now I have yarn!

Yes, I am exactly as excited as that made me sound, if not more so. Yarn!!

So, yes, anyway. I borrowed the drop  spindle from work, months and months ago, along with a bit of leftover fibre from the felting sessions. I thought it might be handy if I could teach myself to spin, given that there were a bunch of spindles right there not being used. I found a couple of books, read a couple of magazines, and gave it a try. But it didn’t seem to make sense, I wasn’t able to make yarn, and I got a bit cross and shoved it all in a  bag and pretended I wasn’t sulking about it.

Fast forward to last night, and I went along to a local knitting group where Felix very kindly taught me how to spin! It turned out that what I needed was a person to demonstrate the principles, and then it turned out to be really easy!

Of course, the little bit of yarn I’ve made so far is terrible. It’s inconsistent in thickness, lumpy in places, disastrously over-spun, and almost certainly useless. However, I am assured that this is widely considered to be Art Yarn, and that I should make as much of it as I like until I start to get the hang of consistency. Usually I would be upset at the prospect of making an increasing amount of crappy yarn. Thankfully I’m so excited about having learnt this new-to-me ancient method of transforming fluff that I want to make as much of it as I possibly can!

As you might expect, I’m already coveting new fibres and new tools. I’m currently using a cheap MDF spindle, and spinning merino tops. That’s great, I’m making yarn… but trying out Felix’s lovely little walnut spindle with a little bit of fluffy Estonian wool was something of a revelation. Felix also suggested that I might want to look up Hilltop Katie on Etsy, and now I’m having a really hard time trying not to buy one of everything. Her beginners’ kits look like a great place to start.

I can’t go back to the knitting group next week, I’ll be at work. But the week after, I’d love to be able to go back and show them a whole  spindle full of Very Artistic Yarn!