Wednesday 23 February 2011

bird vest


I had some fabric left from the lining of the jacket that I have finished a couple of months ago and it was just enogh to make a vest...and I love vests. No pattern used, just copied the measurements from an old h&m vest.

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Chocolate chip cookies






More cookies!
After getting a subtle messege from my housemates (see photo) I simply had to make more cookies! I followed this recipe this time for the best big fat chewy chocolate chip cookies and they are sooooo nice! The only ingredient I changed is the sugar, I used 200g of caster sugar instead of 200g dark brown soft sugar and 100g caster sugar (I simply don't like them too sweet and I didn't have any dark brown soft sugar anyways)... so I kept it simple and it did the trick! I forgot to mention, I have used milk chocolate and white chocolate chips...

Thursday 17 February 2011

The Bungaloo




I just found these fantastic prints by The Bungaloo . Check out his website!

Split fountain






I can't wait to try this technique, I haven't found a real tutorial yet, but it looks pretty straightforward although I bet it's quite tricky to get it right. I found these images on the three steps ahead blog. I also found some other beautiful applications of this technique but I can't remember the link! Oh well...

screenprinting frenzy









Screenprinting ROCKS! I had so much fun screenprinting my owl doily yesterday! I started out by printing just a white stencil of the face of the owl on different coloured paper, when the ink was dry I screenprinted the doily on top with red paint! I love it, so much fun.

I was invited by Chiu to join the BIAD print club for a few sessions, the atmosphere was so inspiring and lively! Also everyone seem to know what their fair bit about screenprinting which makes it such a great place to learn and collaborate.

PHOTOS:

1. the cut out stencil for the first print layer (the owl face)

2. the owl face printed on different coloured paper

3. Rubbing the emulsion off the screen (the doily is coming to life!)

4. tracing the doily on Mark Resist paper with Kimoto Pake pen

5. Chiu explaining the coating process

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Lino prints







I am in love with fantastic lino prints on fabric by Alana. I was thinking of making some lino prints on fabric too and I will shortly...with a little tutrial. In the meantime, this tutorial is great and tells you all you need to know about printing with lino blocks. It's great fun!
First spotted on creature comfort

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Owl doily




Finished! Last night I finished the owl doily! I've drawn it on a piece of acetate paper (actually it was a polly pocket) with a uniposca marker (the best markers ever, I've used them since I was a little girl) but now I'm not sure what do do with the drawing. I initially thought I'd screen print it onto fabric to make a cushion for our bedroom, but the paint is already peeling off and it's not very even (I guess all that stuff about the best markers ever doesn't apply here), so I have to act quickly! Watch this space....

The doily is based on the Martha Stewart "Doily TIn" clip art which is absolutely beautiful, actually the whole website is really great and full of crafty resources!

Because we are two peas on a porch




Yes, it's that time of the year again, the time where I wish we weren't just renting but actually had our own place to decorate and build just as we want it. But it's nice to dream for now and this is what I (and therefore HE) want... :)

candle light dinner
swinging beds on the porch

DIY vases



What a beautiful idea! So simple...I wish I had more room in our...well...room (ONLY 1 ROOM, seriously) to put these! I love white and these are cheap and stylish...why didn't I think of that?!?! tutorial here

Free pattern



Ah these are really cute! I just ended up on the Fitzpatterns website and I am totally in love with the Tonia cape pattern and keep it quite but IT'S FREE! I can't wait to make one myself! It looks so pretty and simple to make! You can find more free patterns here and other cute patterns here... I seriously can't wait!

Cookie gift sleeve tutorial






Just what I needed! I want to say a BIG thank you to someone that is helping me soooooo much (although he doesn't know that) and I knew I wanted to bake some cookies and look what I found, the perfect cookie sleeve idea from Martha Steward! I have already bought the cd sleeves and downloaded the template for the sticker, but I did change the design a bit and I have used the beautiful free wallpaper templates from love mae to make them a little more personal.

DIY tea





Finally!! It's been 3 months since I went to the markets in town and bought industrial quantities of herbs and spices with the intention of making homemade tea and guess what?! Never even touched them! I found this fantastic and simple tutorial at The Sweetest Occasion and I can't wait to try it out! They would make lovely presents... Just need to buy some food-grade muslin (not sure where to find that, but I guess that any non bleached cotton would do just as well)! Happy belated Valentine's day!