Rule Britannia II

Some time ago I talked about how I'd been inspired by seeing lots of Union Jack cushions to make my own. Well here's a picture of it, made of red silk, blue cotton/wool and calico, perhaps surrounded by too many other prints jostling for attention, but that seems to be how it is in my room...

A Little Bazaar

I've mentioned that last weekend I took part in my first craft fair. I must admit, actual sales were a bit thin on the ground, but it was good to get my things in front of real life people, and I had some really good feedback and lots of people took business cards, so I think a success overall!! It was - a bit unusually - in a bar, but it was very sunny outside, so my photos are a bit funny lighting-wise, but they give a bit of an idea of my stall in situ...

Dolly Clothes Peg

A couple of weeks ago, my flatmate came home with about 20 old wooden clothes pegs that he'd found whilst helping his mum move house. He thought I might turn them into dolls, and although I hadn't thought of doing that before, it brought to mind Sarah Neuburger and The Small Object, who I've been a fan of for a while, and I thought it would be fun to have a go. I painted some, left some wooden, gave each a little bob and tiny features (with little rosy cheeks that always seem to bring things to life), and cut really simple dresses with pinking shears and glued the seams. Et voila! I sold a couple at the craft fair on the weekend (more of that to come), and now I'm going to put the rest on Etsy, a few at a time. Here is the first little batch...

Scrapbook Sunday

Here are a couple of scrapbook pages which feel really summery to me - lots of dusky colours, and white sun-bleached light. Unfortunately summer in London looks and feels a long way from these!!

Supersize Me

As an experiment, a couple of days ago I decided to try making a larger version of my dolls. I stuck to the same basic shape and design, but made everything bigger, and used a darker linen fabric instead of the usual calico. Here's the result - Lulu, a special one-off doll, with slightly fancy silk/wool/cotton attire and socks. This is her on my pillow, perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the hot pink surroundings... I'll take a better picture soon. I'm going to pop her on my table at A Little Bazaar on Saturday, and see what people think!

...and here's a clearer picture as promised...

Pretty As A Picture

In a couple of weeks' time, I've got a stall at a craft fair - my first - in North London called A Little Bazaar. So, in preparation, I've been making lots of dolls & toys, and I thought it would be a good chance to make a few other bits and pieces and see how they go down. For example... these six little box canvases...

Scrapbook Sunday

Wow, I can't believe it's already Sunday again. And so, here are a couple of - actually extraordinarily girly - pages from my scrapbook!

Now I'm seeing them again, I realise that I must have been subconsciously inspired by the heart hot water bottle covers (below), as I made "his and hers" hotties for my brother and his girlfriend, with slightly more unisex stars on, for Christmas last year. They live in Canada so I thought they'd come in handy...

Night Light

When my longstanding cheap-but-did-the-job bedside lamp broke a little while ago, I found it really hard to find something equally well priced but nice looking to replace it. No doubt Ikea would have come up trumps, but a visit there is a bit of a trek. So, I decided, in the absence of any existing solutions, to make my own lamp. I'd seen some lovely blue water bottles (Ty Nant) in my local supermarket, so I bought one of those, and went to a lighting shop to get a very cheap fixture that goes into the top of a bottle. Then, using the old lampshade skeleton, I - quite roughly - sewed a length of old Indian fabric to the top and bottom, et voila, hey presto, let there be light!!

Scrapbook Sunday

I've been keeping a scrapbook for a few years now, and although I don't stick things in as often as I should (plenty of loose tear sheets waiting at the back to be slotted in though), I really enjoy having it and flicking through it. I do think it's interesting to see how the things I pick out for it (mostly from lifestyle magazines) have changed over time, but also to see a consistent style come through. I thought I might share some pages here every now and then, for inspiration and posterity!

Ventura Venture

When I first came across the work of Ana Ventura, and her paper dolls in particular, I was so inspired I set about collecting some pretty scraps of paper myself, and made this take on her work. Although a bit rough, I like having it hanging on my wall, I think it has a quirky kind of charm!! One day I'd love one of the real things. In fact, revisiting her website just now has absolutely reinvigorated my fan-ship!