Tastykaeru

Happy New Year...

2012-01-09T09:23:00.000Z

I'm not sure where my making will take me in 2012... .

One thing I have decided though is to change my Etsy shop name, so in preparation for this, and in celebration of the new year, I am having a sale in my Etsy shop throughout January: using coupon code HAPPYNEWYEAR2012 at the checkout will give 20% off all items.

Happy New Year!

Second chances...

2011-11-22T16:52:00.000Z

On the 31st October I finally finished my second album of solo music. I wrote, recorded and produced the whole project myself, and it took 2 years of (very) hard work and not a little frustration and struggle but also elation and fulfilment.

This album feels more like more of a risk than 'Human', my first CD, partly because I set myself the challenge of including more songs - which means lyrics and singing: both of which feel more personal somehow than instrumental pieces. The lyrics and music chart my journey through the last few years of my life, and the project is called 'Second chances'.

'Second chances ' is freely available to download or to stream online at my music website, here.

Inspiration...

2011-10-17T21:21:00.001+01:00

Just back from a fantastic trip to Skye, Harris and Lewis, where the gold, copper and bronze of the Machair, the turquoise of the sea and the white of the beaches (and the big skies) were really inspiring...

Dramatic skies at Scarasta beach, Harris

Sunset at Neist point, Skye

Waves and a rainbow at Dail Mor, Lewis

KTPR002...

2011-09-22T23:28:00.001+01:00

I'm nearly at the end of my period of almost-full-time working, and I'm really looking forward to having more time again for all sorts of makery and crafting.

One thing I have been managing to carry on with during it all has been my current music project (KTPR002).

The teaser webpage is now live!

Zwierzyna...

2011-09-08T22:01:00.002+01:00

My friend Kasia and I just opened up an Etsy shop!

We bring you... 'Zwierzyna' - where we will sell jewellery and perhaps pieces of artwork that we have collaborated on together, made from Kasia's illustrations and my fibre-y embellishments.

The first items to go into the shop are three brooches that we made a little while ago, featuring...

a dapper gentleman cat:

a proud fish-catcher:

and a playful fattycat:

we're looking forward to developing more brooches and other ideas!

Sculpture inspiration...

2011-08-21T17:13:00.001+01:00

Today Kasia and I visited Jupiter Artland, a secluded sculpture park outside Edinburgh. We timed it just right before it got busy, and spent a lovely couple of hours wandering around the woodland admiring the sculpture.

This is 'Firmament' by Anthony Gormley, inspired by an old star map:

Although I love to look at sculpture, it doesn't often move me. An exception to this today was the group of sculptures called 'Weeping girls' by Laura Ford. I thought these were the best sculptures in the whole place - very sad and rather chilling, with such attention to detail in the hands and shoes, in a perfect setting in the deserted woodland:

Seeing so many different styles on such a larger scale than my own work was very refreshing!

Meanwhile on a much smaller scale, yesterday I completed a prototype pair of earrings in my favourite wooden bezels.

Turkus

Inspiration...

2011-08-15T22:33:00.003+01:00

Last Friday my sister and I spent a very enjoyable day at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. It was lovely to see some internet friends like Chris and Myfanwy in person (and to browse their wares!), and it provided me with some much-needed inspiration.

Looking forward to playing with these!

Jewellery...

2011-08-01T20:37:00.001+01:00

Since coming back from Japan I've been having a long, hard think about my jewellery making and my Etsy shop.

At the moment particularly I have so little time, but I'm also focussing more on other projects. Also, I've been trying to think more about what is really 'me', and to make pieces which more truly reflect that.

So, I've made the decision to slowly streamline my jewellery making. At the moment and for the foreseeable future, the only pieces I will work on will be more 'wooden bezel' brooches. All other items in my shop will not be renewed when their listings expire.

This feels like the right decision, and in celebration, yesterday I finished two new pieces:

Profond

Peregrine

I'm still in love with these beautifully smooth wooden settings :)

Watercolours...

2011-07-23T22:01:00.000+01:00

I spent a very enjoyable time this afternoon having a 'serious play' with beautiful watercolour paints (thank you Kasia!).

Like sketching, painting is something I have certainly felt a bit scared of. Today however I had a lovely time mixing and painting and spattering!

I love colour!

These were experiments in preparation for using watercolours as part of a secret project... .

17th July 2011...

2011-07-17T15:43:00.000+01:00

Since coming back from Japan I haven't had much time for crafting. I've temporarily changed to working almost full-time, and also have been experiencing a rich patch of inspiration for my current music project, which means that other things aren't getting much of a look-in.

What I have managed to do though is to finish another felted, beaded and embroidered pencil case:

Made from black linen, vintage Japanese kimono fabric for the lining, and an 8-tama kumihimo braid for tying.

The felt piece is made from merino roving, cotton nepps, organza, scrim, bamboo fibre, silk hankie fibre and silk fabric, with metal and glass beads, tiny sequins, and seed, detached chain, colonial knot, bullion knot, running and detached fly hand embroidery stitches.

Morningside Makers Market...

2011-07-01T18:12:00.000+01:00

This Saturday I will have a stall at the Morningside Makers Market, being held at the Columcille Centre, Newbattle Terrace, here in Edinburgh, from 11am - 4pm.

If you're in the area it would be great to see you there!

Japanese fabric...

2011-06-19T12:56:00.006+01:00

Japanese fabric has got to be my absolute favourite. Whilst in Tokyo I had a lovely time in an area called Nippori, famous for its fabric shops. I found a wonderful kimono shop that also sold smaller pieces of antique and vintage kimono fabric.

I couldn't resist!

Almost too beautiful to cut up and use... .

Japan sketches...

2011-06-11T23:41:00.001+01:00

Well, we're home and adjusting to being back in the UK after a wonderful time in Japan. I've come back laden with many wonderful craft books and supplies, and while I was there I managed to get a little sketching in:

5 Buddhas at Osorezan on the Shimokita Hantō

A lady having a snooze on the Aoimori train betwen Aomori and Noheji

Looking forward to making something with my new supplies!

私は日本に行くよ...

2011-05-15T19:43:00.002+01:00

私は日本に行くよ = I'm going to Japan~!

Getting myself into an appropriate frame of mind in preparation for the trip I had been working on a complex dodecahedral modular origami assembly of 90 units.

(these took a long time to fold!!)

But...

...fail!!

Hmmmm. Hopefully whilst I'm there I will be able to absorb some improved origami skills from the Japanese ether and then will be able to have another more successful attempt on my return!

Also, my Etsy shop is now closed for the duration of the trip. As I mentioned in this post, I planned to donate the equivalent of 50% of the value of anything I sold in my Etsy shop between the date of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and now, to the Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. I'm so grateful to my lovely customers, who between them bought Tangelo, Berenjena, some custom kumihimo bracelets, Verbena, Ianthine, Carduus and Astral, and have enabled me to donate a total of £50. Thank you so much!

Origami...

2011-05-05T12:32:00.000+01:00

When I am not embroidering, felting, beading or sewing, my other favourite craft is origami. I find it mind-bending and fascinating, and very satisfying (when it finally works after many practice runs!). It was my birthday on Sunday...

(We went up Arthur's seat for a picnic... here is my friend's dog, Jackson, looking longingly at my cake!)

...and I was very lucky to recieve some lovely non-traditional origami papers, as well as a fantastic rare book called 'Origami for the connoisseur' by Kasahara & Takahara. I heard about this book through Flickr, where there are so many photos of people's amazing origami projects which are very inspiring. Most of the projects in this book will take some building up to... but I'm looking forward to the challenge!

In preparation I've been practising some 'modular' origami - where you make a compound shape using multiples of a base 'unit' made of one folded sheet. I've been working with 'Sonobe' units with a lot of help from a wonderful book called 'Marvelous modular origami' by Meenakshi Mukerji.

30 Sonobe units folded and ready to be assembled:

I am fascinated by all the permutations that are possible using the same basic units.

These are all built from the same base unit, but in different multiples or sizes of paper sheet:

(6 pieces for the cubes, 12 for the octahedral assembly and 30 for the icosahedral assembly)

These are the smallest ones I have managed!

More brooches...

2011-04-23T23:51:00.000+01:00

Today I finished the rest of the wooden bezel brooches - here are Topaz, Lavandel, Natsu, Nimbus, Baya, Melocoton and Agua.

I still can't get enough of these wooden bezels: I love the way the beautifully smooth wood contrasts with the texture of the felted pieces.

Brooches...

2011-04-22T17:29:00.000+01:00

I'm working on some more brooches using the beautiful wooden bezels made by brightcolorart. Hoping to have them all ready in time for the Magpie Market!

Here are the first few I've just finished:

Moonshine, Islet, Guava, Pomme and Flamenco.

Magpie Market...

2011-04-15T22:08:00.001+01:00

Kasia and I will be sharing a table at the Magpie Market Spring Fair, being held here in Edinburgh on Sunday 8th May. Hooray!

Do come along and say hello if you're in the area!

Affodell...

2011-04-10T12:49:00.000+01:00

Today I finished the second of my two narcissus brooch experiments - I wanted to explore colour, petal/sepal shape and corona size, so here is an alternative to Jonquil: Affodell...

Giving shape to the edges of the corona:

The felt for Affodell is made from silk throwsters waste, wool roving, silk lapps, wool locks, bamboo fibre, silk fabric and wool nepps, with glass beads, freshwater pearls and seed, colonial knot, bullion knot, detached chain and detached fly hand embroidery stitches.

Here they are together - my ode to spring!

Jonquil...

2011-04-07T22:28:00.002+01:00

I managed to finish this today.

'Jonquil'

Another attempt at a more 3D beaded and embroidered felt brooch, this time inspired by the beautiful narcissi and daffodils that are blooming all over Edinburgh at the moment.

Here are my preliminary notes - I found out that 3 of what I thought of were petals are actually sepals! The corona posed a particular challenge.

The felt is made from wool roving, silk velvet, cotton scrim, organza, soy silk, bamboo fibre, silk noil and silk tops, embellished with glass beads and colonial knot, seed, bullion knot, detached fly, detached chain and Algerian eye stitches.

Work in progress...

2011-04-06T22:44:00.000+01:00

Trying to get this finished before all of the inspiration finishes flowering!

Pencil cases...

2011-03-31T22:59:00.003+01:00

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on a special present of a pencil case. I wanted it to be a 'wrap' style case with no zip, and to make it from a piece of felted, embroidered and beaded linen, and to use some Japanese fabric for the lining.

When I do projects like these I always start off with a rough sketch of what I hope it will look like, with approximate dimensions - this becomes the 'pattern' that I work from (although I don't actually use pattern pieces, just measurements). I generally make two of anything so I can iron out any problems with the design in the first attempt.

Here's my rough sketch:

The first pencil case I made was like this:

It has a pouch for storing pencils and pens...

(the black and cream lining fabric that you can just about see is more from my vintage kimono stash that I got from Kyoto)

...and then rolls up like this. It's held closed with an 8-tama kumihimo braid.

Here's a closeup of the front felted area:

Fortunately the pattern worked out ok, which meant I could also make up the second pencil case - this time in my favourite autumnal shades:

the inside has red kimono fabric:
(I used felt for the lining of the pouch to provide some extra protection for the contents)

The Autumnal pencil case has been given as part of a special present, but I am keeping the blue prototype for myself - and I'm looking forward to using it on our next sketching trip!

Maquettes...

2011-03-20T23:27:00.000Z

Some paper maquettes for more 3D brooch experiments...

Another auction for Japan...

2011-03-19T13:28:00.001Z

I just wanted to let you know that my friend Kasia, a very talented illustrator, is auctioning one of her beautiful limited edition prints in collaboration with Maggy of Red Ted Art. All proceeds will go to Save The Children and their work in Japan with children affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

You can find the auction, and details of how to bid, here!

Auction for the Japan quake appeal

2011-03-13T23:00:00.003Z

I just wanted to let you know that my sister will be running a series of auctions/raffles over the next wee while, with all proceeds going to the Japan quake appeal. First up is my 'Sakura' brooch that I posted about here a few days ago.

You can find the auction, more details, and instructions on how to participate in the bidding for a chance to win the brooch here, at my sister's blog.

Japan...

2011-03-12T11:55:00.003Z

I love Japan. I have been fascinated by its language and culture for years, and have been lucky enough to visit twice. Some of my happiest memories are of times spent in beautiful, peaceful temples, or being awestruck at vast cityscapes viewed from the top of skyscrapers.

I watched in horror yesterday news coverage of the terrible earthquake and devastating tsunami that have hit north-eastern Honshu. The terrifying footage of the tsunami eating up everything in its path is haunting me today.

I'm travelling to Japan this May. We just booked our flights last month. We had been looking forward to spending some time in Sendai, and on the Miyagi coast. I can't imagine what people there are going through right now.

You can donate to the International Red Cross here. Not only are they providing essential aid in Japan, but they provide much-needed help all over the world following natural disasters. Other suggestions are Oxfam, Shelterbox or MSF. I will also be donating the equivalent of 50% of the sale price of any items sold in my Etsy shop, until the time of our visit to Japan, to the International Red Cross.

My thoughts are with everyone in the world affected by natural disasters and their aftermath.

Sakura...

2011-03-09T22:15:00.000Z

I'm really ready for proper Spring now. We woke up to snow this morning! That just doesn't seem right.

The crocuses and snowdrops are out here at least, but I'm longing for narcissi... and cherry blossom!

This is a piece that has been in progress for some time. She's my first experiment in slightly more 3D work (she's not hugely 3D but I needed to start somewhere).

'Sakura'

Sakura is made from 5 petals made from beaded and embroidered felt:

After making each petal, I gave them a little bit of extra shape:

and then joined them all together...

...into a brooch!

A great craft fair...

2011-02-28T21:43:00.000Z

Well, Saturday at the Byers Road Makers Market was very enjoyable - it was extremely busy with lots of interesting customers to talk to, and the time just flew by. I also managed to surpass my financial goal, which was a bonus, so all in all it was a great success.

Going all the way through to Glasgow on the train felt like an exciting adventure and was actually very do-able (particularly thanks to lots of much appreciated help from my lovely Marc :D)

Here I am setting up. Still a bit nervous but doing some kumihimo and origami helped to calm me!

The new hat pins and wooden brooches in particular attracted a lot of attention and lovely comments, so they were well worth the RSI I gave myself crafting away to get them ready for the show!

Phew...!

2011-02-25T23:32:00.000Z

Finished! (and more besides)...

These amazing wooden settings are by brightcolorart on Etsy - I love them!

hat pins

...and now all packed and ready for tomorrow!

Byres Road Makers Market... this weekend!

2011-02-23T20:07:00.000Z

An opportunity arose this week to make a last minute booking for a craft fair being held across in Glasgow this Saturday, so I decided to go for it! It's the Byres Road Makers Market - organised by the same people who put on the Edinburgh fairs I have shown at in the past.

This has left me with slightly less time than usual for all of my beloved lists and tables and organising (maybe not such a bad thing?!) but I think (hope?) that I'll be ready...

I'm going to be crafting like a demon over the next couple of days. Fortunately some fantastic supplies from Etsy have arrived in time, so I hope to have some new styles available at the fair.

Hope I get them all finished!

If you're in the Glasgow area on Saturday, it would be great to see you there! The market is in Hillhead Library on Byres Road and runs 11am - 4pm.

Colour, shapes... and a giveaway!

2011-02-11T10:00:00.003Z

Over the last couple of days I have been revelling in the colour of beautiful new supplies - silk hankies from Sassalynne, Tussah silk roving from SilkAndShine, handdyed firestar from FeltStudioUK, and the most amazing 'wooly crumbs' from The Wool Peddler:

so much inspiration!

I'm also still trying to come up with new shape ideas for brooches and necklaces... so I thought I would open it up to you! Leave a comment on this post with your suggestions for new shapes for me to try - if I end up using any of your shape ideas, in return you get to pick an item of your choice from my Etsy shop that I will send to you as a thank you!

I seem to prefer more abstract or organic shapes, and am limited to somewhat simpler forms (it's not possible to preserve detail in very complex shapes). Here are some shapes I have already tried, to get you going:

Thank you!

Sketching trip #4...

2011-02-04T18:49:00.000Z

Today we went to Stockbridge and I drew some more bricks and cobbles :D

I experimented using Kasia's lovely special water-brush-pen - exciting!

Sketching trip #3...

2011-01-29T00:09:00.003Z

A bit of colour this time (wooo!) and still trying to get the gist rather than accuracy. I have to say I'm finding the whole 'artistic licence' thing quite stressful though (plus I was getting a bit obsessive with all the tiles and bricks...!). And perspective... well that's a whole other kettle of fish!

This is a semi-imaginary view of Cockburn Street, off the Royal Mile, here in Edinburgh.

Sketching trip #2...

2011-01-15T17:52:00.004Z

We spent a lovely day in Glasgow yesterday wandering around familiar haunts (in the also familiar Glasgow rain...). The sun did come out though for a glorious few minutes just as we arrived at the Botanic Gardens. This was the first time I had seen Kibble Palace since its restoration and boy is it looking handsome.

I made a quick sketch sitting inside the main dome, with more very much appreciated encouragement from Kasia!

I'm still trying to learn to focus on capturing the 'idea' of something rather than specific detail.

There was lots of inspiration to be had, particularly in the fantastic ‘killer plants’ room (!) – the colours and structures of the pitcher plants in particular giving us lots of ideas for future projects… .

Dreamcloud...

2011-01-10T18:08:00.002Z

My first new brooch of 2011 - and another experiment and attempt at working with colours I don't usually favour - this time, pink and lilac.

I had a brainstorming session trying to come up with new shapes for brooches and necklaces, and this shape was one I decided to try to see how it turned out. While I was sewing around her edges I remembered about some labradorite droplets that had been languishing in my beady stash, and the idea developed from there.

'Dreamcloud'

Felted silk hankie fibre, cotton scrim, chiffon, organza, tencel nepps and silk throwsters waste, embellished with tiny 2mm sequins, glass beads and seed, colonial knot, detached fly and detached chain stitches. The labradorite drops hang from assorted sterling silver chain.

I love labradorite. It's my favourite mineral!

Etsy connections...

2010-12-29T17:46:00.002Z

You've got to love Etsy. Really. And I'm not just talking about for the way it satifies my earring and ceramic habits. Every so often it lets you make a great connection or forge an unexpected link with someone on the other side of the world - case in point:

This is a brooch called 'Bosket'. I made her in October, and she ended up all the way over the Atlantic in Georgia, USA - which is pretty amazing to begin with - and then I found out it had been bought to go with a fabulous handknitted bag that the buyer had made - check it out here. I never could have hoped or imagined that's how and where Bosket would end up - but I love it :D

Season's greetings...

2010-12-17T14:33:00.000Z

I would like to wish everyone who reads this blog a happy and relaxing festive period, and a healthy and fulfilling 2011.

Thank you all for your visits and comments in 2010!

Bellevue Christmas Fair...

2010-12-09T14:02:00.000Z

This Saturday I will be selling at the Bellevue Christmas Fair, in the Bellevue Chapel, Rodney Street, Edinburgh from 10am - 12pm.

If you're in the Edinburgh area and can make it through the snow and cold, it would be lovely to see you there!

~*~

Unexpected...

2010-11-26T13:48:00.001Z

I tend to work in a rather intuitive way (maybe that's just a nice way of saying completely unplanned and disorganised!) - I felt first with my embellisher in a sort of spontaneous mess, and then I bead and embroider along contours whispered to me by the felt. I rarely, if ever, plan layout in advance, and although I usually have a rough idea of the finished overall shape even that sometimes takes me by surprise...

Two cases in point, finished today:

'Cephalopod' - somehow became reminiscent of an octopus!

'Meteor' - some sort of pomegranate asteroid fallen to earth?

More brooches...

2010-11-21T14:33:00.001Z

Today I finished three new brooches:

Rudbeckia, Radicchio and Geode.

These have been in progress for a wee while - I purposefully was trying to stretch my 'colour comfort zone' and try colour combinations that I wouldn't normally use, and as a result I found the process more difficult than usual. The result feels like a bit of a wander through a vegetable patch or geology lesson!

Leaves...

2010-11-11T23:50:00.002Z

It definitely feels like winter is well on her way here - so I've been trying to eke out the last drop of autumn inspiration before all the leaves are gone... .

An autumnal gust of wind must have swept through my flat to leave these on my desk!

New brooches - Ginkgo, Maple and Holly:

Sketching trip #1...

2010-11-06T22:31:00.000Z

Ever since the creative desert that was art class at my secondary school, where I was told age 11 that I couldn't draw and shouldn't try, I have avoided drawing and sketching like the plague. I'm in awe of those who can make beautiful images with the sparsity of line.

Recently though I've been wondering about the possibility of facing my fears and exploring drawing (perhaps more as a means to help with other crafting and making endeavours), so yesterday in that spirit I went on my first ever sketching trip - and was extremely grateful to have gentle and patient guidance from a very kind friend :)

Having the beautiful sketchbook and cover certainly made me feel more at home, and we had a lovely time - warm and dry in a nice cafe as the November rain poured outside... .

We tried a few different drawing exercises to help me feel less scared (!) - here's my favourite result - drawn holding the very end of the pen only!

It's meant to be the Scott monument and George Hotel behind trees - but to be honest I'm just pleased I dared to try!

Sketchbook cover...

2010-11-04T23:19:00.001Z

As you may have noticed, I'm a bit obsessed with making covers and cases for things... :D

Another project that has been taking up room on my desk waiting to be finished is finally complete - a wee 'wrap' style cover for my beautiful new sketchbook made by Hypsela. I am trying to lose my inhibitions about drawing and to give it a go, and thought a lovely sketchbook and cover might be encouraging :) - the cover necessary because I have so much detritus in my bags and I would hate to damage this beautiful book!

Isn't the hand-dyed fabric cover beautiful?

I went for the wrap idea so that it would fit any small-ish sketchbook and could be re-used once this book is full.

I used oatmeal linen and a felted piece on the same linen that I had made but hadn't yet thought of a use for.

I hemmed the linen, sewed on a lovely laquered button and added a thin kumihimo braid for closure. Then I beaded and embroidered the felt to finish it off.

Running, split, bullion knot, colonial knot, seed, detached fly, woven spider's wheel and detached chain stitches:

She will be getting her first outing tomorrow on my maiden sketching trip! *gulp*

Kindlecase...

2010-10-31T20:32:00.005Z

I've been very excited this week at the arrival of my Kindle e-reader. Of course the first thing I had to do once it arrived was to make it a protective case...!

I decided to make a two-part case - a padded protective one for everyday storage and a 'hardback' case to protect the screen when I'm carrying it around in my bag.

For the inner soft case I used some of my precious vintage Japanese kimono fabric that I got at a temple market in Kyoto back in 2007 - this is one of my favourites with stylised Japanese clouds in cream on burgundy. I sandwiched in a layer of wadding, and lined it with beautiful hand-dyed viscose felt from Sassalynne:

For the 'hardback' case I padded pieces of very thick card with more wadding, and then slipped them into a fabric case made with wonderful hand-dyed cotton fabric from AngelicaV.

I added a lovely big coconut shell button, and some couched threads, hand embroidery, tiny 2mm sequins and glass beads.

I braided a thin 4-tama kumihimo braid and added this as a tie for closing the cover. The inner 'cloud' cover fits into the hardback cover for extra protection if required!

My first ebook is 'Frankenstein'!

Autumn winds...

2010-10-28T09:18:00.000+01:00

I've been working on another fibre art piece inspired by Autumn. The season is in full force here - this week we've been having wonderful light especially, and the smell of falling leaves is thick in the air.

'Autumn winds' is a piece worked straight on to heavy-duty vintage upholstery linen - first of all with my embellisher and then with hand beading and embroidery.

To start, I felted abaca tissue, metal organza, wool waste, cotton scrim, linen scraps and silk fibre onto the linen:

Then I added tiny 2mm sequins, lots of glass and metal beads, including some vintage beauties, and then finally lots of hand embroidery stitches:

seed, colonial knot, bullion knot and detached fly:

running stitch in the form of Japanese stylised wind:

and detached chain stitch (the tiny gold ones in the middle top):

to make the finished piece:

I have rather enjoyed working on the vintage linen with its stains and faults - it is very satisfyingly thick and I think the irregularities add to the texture and feel of the piece.

Etsy packaging...

2010-10-19T13:29:00.000+01:00

Another thing I have recently revamped slightly is my Etsy order packaging. As a buyer on Etsy I really appreciate lovely packaging and I have always tried to make the packaging for my own work pretty but as sustainable as possible. I've recently tried to update everything, and here is the latest incarnation that will be rolled out with all new pieces:

The large box is for brooches and necklaces, the smaller for earrings and bracelets. The boxes are recycled, and reuseable - I used to stamp my 'KT' logo on boxes but have decided instead to go with a moo.com sticker to decorate the box, which I hope makes it more reuseable. Around the box is some black organza ribbon, folded into a bow and secured with thread and some small beads. With the box goes an origami crane, a moo minicard, and a recycled kraft card on which I write a short thank you message. These all go into a wee glassine envelope. Finally it all goes into a pink and white striped paper bag (the sort you used to get penny sweets in!). I send it all off in a Jiffy Green padded envelope, which is recyclable.

I'm always on the lookout for new packaging possibilities, and have had some wonderful inspiration from many fellow Etsy sellers who come up with some beautiful and original ideas. My favourite packaging so far has been from tinctory (no longer on Etsy but now here) and bullfinchbarbury - both were for beautiful pieces of jewellery and the packaging was the icing on the cake!

Bosket and Namida... and believing in your own work!

2010-10-16T21:42:00.000+01:00

I'm beginning to gear up for fully reopening my Etsy shop with revised photos and pricing. It's something I've been thinking about (and struggling with) for a long time - the different ways to value one's work and having the confidence to do so. After some while, and many helpful discussions with myself and other friendly ears (you know who you are - and thank you!) I have decided that it's time to support my own work more strongly.

One of the main ways to do this unfortunately involves money - price often being construed to equal value (although often not actually the case) - but when your work is in the public sphere I do think this has to be taken into account. There is so much information and advice available on the internet regarding pricing - what factors need to be taken into account and so on. By the time you have factored in supplies and time often the numbers just don't add up to a feasible amount.

When I first started out, I couldn't believe that anyone would actually want to buy my work - I loved making it, but the process was the goal for me and the end result it was sort of extraneous in a funny kind of way. Now over the months and years, I feel my skill has developed and so has my confidence (in myself and in my work) which means now that I can better value the time, care and skill that I put into the pieces that I make - pieces that I feel are beautiful and original. This isn't meant to sound like blowing my own trumpet (so apologies if it does!) but rather it's an understanding that is very significant for me personally as well as for my work. If I don't believe in it, who else will?!

It still feels all rather nerve-wracking though, particularly as another goal that I have set myself is to approach some galleries and boutiques in Edinburgh to see if they would consider selling some of my jewellery... *gulp*! I plan to do this after my shop is sorted out... and I'll let you know how it goes!

So anyway, back to the crafting - amidst all of this soul-searching I have actually been making things too :P - today I finished two brooches:

Bosket

(loving this word - just learned it today - it means a clump of small trees or bushes :D)

and Namida (which is Japanese for 'tears')

Birthdays and inspiration...

2010-10-11T15:31:00.001+01:00

The big project I've been working on recently has been a fibre art piece for my sister's birthday, which was on Saturday.

My sister chose the general colour scheme - a mixture of blue-grays and greeny-turquoises with a hint of pink - inspired by some beautiful silk laps we picked up from the Oliver Twists stall at the Festival of Quilts.

So, first of all, using a natural linen background, I felted the silk laps along with cotton scrim, silk/metal organza, silk throwsters waste, abaca tissue, silk fabric, silk cocoon fibre, wool nepps, silk carrier rod fibre and silk threads.

I left some silk threads loose so that I could stitch them afterwards:

Then I added my current favourites - tiny 2mm sequins...

...and very many glass and metal beads:

...and finished off with lots of hand embroidery - running and detached chain stitches:

bullion and colonial knot stitches:

detached fly stitch:

seed stitch:

...to make the finished piece:

Apart from working on this project I have been busy being inspired on a short trip to Skye - breathtaking!

Autumn...

2010-10-02T18:37:00.001+01:00

It's truly feeling like autumn proper here in Edinburgh now, with dark mornings, chill winds, falling leaves and beautiful colours. I love it :D

It is inspiring lots of autumn-themed projects!

Yet another autumnal work in progress!

Sale!

2010-09-28T15:19:00.000+01:00

I've recently been thinking hard about my Etsy shop and my jewellery-making in general, and have made some decisions about the direction I'm going to take (more on this to follow in a later post!).

As a result I have decided to hold my very first sale in my Etsy shop - selected items from my older jewellery design ranges will be available at a substantial discount, starting October 1st 2010.

This is a precursor to me slightly revamping the shop, and and reconsidering difficult things like pricing structures and packaging.

So, if you would like a tastykaeru original at a bargain price, check out my Etsy shop from October 1st - the sale will run throughout October.

Rêve...

2010-09-12T21:46:00.001+01:00

Here is the second of my linen experiments, an opportunity to try out a few ideas in preparation for a bigger project (more details on that anon!). This time, using a palette of grey, silver, teal and pink, I worked onto the felt/linen...

...adding tiny iridescent 2mm sequins...

...wee labradorite chips...

...and glass and vintage metal beads, as well as running, bullion knot, colonial knot and detached chain hand embroidery stitches.

Again this is just a small piece, fitting into a 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" aperture frame:

Terrain...

2010-09-11T19:06:00.001+01:00

Recently I had an experimental session felting onto upholstery linen for the first time, using small scraps left over from other projects. ... although slightly tricky and needle-bending, the linen is very satisfying to work with, and I feel the muted natural colour of the fabric brings out the colours of the fibres.

I was working with a wonderful selection of hand-dyed fibres that I picked up at the Festival of Quilts (called a 'texture pack'), made up of scrim, viscose felt and other goodies.

I was quite surprised to find that the linen took to the felting quite well:

Then of course came the beads, couched threads and embroidery:

It measures about 11cm x 8cm.

What I learned this time was that yes, I really should have used a hoop for the beading and embroidery (I hate using hoops but linen this thick is just such a nightmare to get flat...), and that next time I would use a slightly lighter-weight linen to felt onto.

I got a bit carried away during the linen felting session though, so I have a few heavier-weight pieces to finish first - details to follow!

The reel thing...

2010-09-02T13:31:00.002+01:00

When my Dad visited recently he bought a rather large box full of interesting things, amongst which were several pieces of driftwood.

We have been collecting driftwood in one way or another for as long as I can remember, so now there is quite a stash in my Dad's workroom. We have been trying to think of a good project to use it on but hadn't had many viable ideas.

Then, recently, whilst trying to tidy (!) my own crafty stash I started thinking about all of my thread spools and whether there would be a way to store them more accessibly and visibly - to see them all at once for colour inspiration. I started thinking about some sort of wall-hanging-spool-tidy, and drew a few sketches which I sent to my dad for suggestions (thanks Dad!). The idea gradually developed, and then we realised we would finally be able to use some of the driftwood! Hurrah!

Here's what we came up with:

(it was my Dad's idea to call it 'the reel thing', honest)

I really like the mishmash of different types of spools and it's great to see all the colours together. I'm hoping it will inspire me to develop my machine embroidery skills!

Sunburst and Vortex...

2010-08-25T17:33:00.004+01:00

It has taken me quite a while to get these finished... . I've been otherwise engaged all over the place doing lots of fun things like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and travelling down to Birmingham to see my sister and nieces and going to the Festival of Quilts. The Festival of Quilts was quite an event (I had never been before) - and although I am not a quilter we had a wonderful day drooling over all the stalls and getting lots of inspiration. The highlight of the day though was actually getting to meet lovely Myfanwy of Sassalynne in person and to see (and buy!) a collection of her wonderful supplies 'in the flesh'. Over the course of the day I bought lots of exciting and inspiring supplies, and discovered new sellers like 21st Century Yarns, which was great too.

Anyway, back to Sunburst and Vortex - these are prototype necklaces, the first two end results of my Sassalynne viscose felt project.

'Vortex'

I haven't done any felting myself this time - the colours of the felt were so lovely I didn't want to cover them up by adding any more fibre. Instead I just beaded and embroidered onto the surface, and experimented with a more 'ethnic' feel with dangly (not sure how else to describe them!) additions at the bottom of the felt piece and on the chain.

Glass beads and tiny sequins, with seed stitch in ribbon and cotton.

'Sunburst'

Glass beads, and seed and running stitches in gold thread.

The addition of the metal drops is a bit of a departure for me - the idea arose from wanting to try to incorporate a bit of movement into a necklace.

Aegis...

2010-08-15T13:20:00.000+01:00

'Aegis' is another new necklace prototype I have been working on - I wanted something a little smaller than the 'bib' idea, but still large enough to give me a good area to play with :). I have been trying to think of iconic shapes, but steering clear of anything too figurative like hearts or stars. Eventually I was reminded of a 'shield' shape (inspired by beautiful earrings I bought from ILDVED on Etsy) - ok so still quite figurative but more unusual, and the symbolism of protection and strength really appeals to me.

So, I tried a few shapes and sizes out in card, came up with a prototype stencil, and here is the finished result:

in situ:

I made the felt from silk hankie fibre, merino roving, abaca tissue, silk throwsters waste and cotton nepps. Then I added couched thread, glass beads, and seed and colonial knot hand embroidery stitches.

First stage...

2010-08-05T09:52:00.002+01:00

The first stages of my viscose felt projects are complete:

(they each measure 4.5 x 6 cm)

Free time...

2010-07-30T22:56:00.003+01:00

As of this week my Thursdays are now free, meaning I have more time available to develop some ideas that have been brewing... .

I recently bought some absolutely beautiful hand-dyed viscose felt from the ever wonderful Myfanwy of Sassalynne (her Etsy shop is here). As usual I have been 'sitting' on it for a wee while waiting for inspiration to strike - which it inevitably does, sooner or later, when one is lucky enough to have a store of such lovely supplies... . Here is the first stage of my idea - 9 versions to be precise - more to follow at a later date:

The colours and the texture of the felt are irresistible!

Another project I got to finish today is another 'bib'-style necklace - I've slightly tweaked the design with this one, and changed the parts that connect to the ribbon to a more 'pointed' rather than 'rounded' shape.

This one is called 'nightgarden'.

The felt piece is made of silk hankie fibre, cotton scrim, cotton nepps, and silk tops, embellished with many glass and antique metal beads, and colonial knot, seed, bullion knot, detached chain and woven spider's wheel hand embroidery stitches.

Verdure

2010-07-25T12:59:00.001+01:00

My second 'bib'-style necklace prototype is called 'Verdure'

She is smaller than 'Flare', and measures 13.5cm x 5cm at her widest and longest parts.

To make her, first I made a piece of felt with my embellisher, using silk hankie fibre, cotton scrim, cotton nepps, silk throwsters waste and silk thread. Once I've drawn up and decided on the necklace shape, I mask off the area with paper so I know where to work:

Next, I added couched silk boucle thread, and lots of glass beads in shades of green, yellow and gold:

and then seed, bullion knot, detached fly and colonial knot hand embroidery stitches in silk ribbon, cotton, rayon and silk threads:

Usually by this time I have decided on a name for the piece - although as you can see I changed my mind with this one!

Once the beading and embroidery is finished, I carefully cut out the felt shape and then whip-stitch around the edges:

Then I added hand-dyed variegated silk ribbon, joined to the felt piece with bronze jump rings and tiny stitches:

I decided to go with ribbon rather than chain to make sure the necklace would be adjustable to the right length for any wearer.

And finally, to give a (rough!) idea of what the necklace looks like in situ:

I've really enjoyed making these necklaces - it's been a real treat to have a larger 'canvas' to work on and I love the amount of detail and texture it allows me to add. Although I've decided to keep 'Flare' for myself, I'll be adding 'Verdure' to my Etsy shop later today.

Flare

2010-07-21T19:32:00.003+01:00

I have finished the project that I have been working on: my first 'bib'-style necklace, called 'Flare':

The surface is felt I made from merino roving, silk hankie fibre, silk throwsters waste, silk fibre, silk carrier rod fibre, cotton scrim, silk/metal organza and silk velvet. Onto the surface I have added many beads, couched gimp thread and gilt purl goldwork wire, and detached chain, colonial knot, woven spider's wheel, bullion knot and seed hand embroidery stitches.

She ties with hand-dyed silk ribbon:

and looks like this in situ:

This one is really quite a statement...!

. . . . . .

2010-07-17T17:54:00.000+01:00

. . .

2010-07-16T11:14:00.000+01:00

In progress...

2010-07-10T23:45:00.000+01:00

Well now the show is over I have some time to work on a few other projects and to start developing new ideas. I had a very enjoyable and relaxed felting session this afternoon with my embellisher... I am definitely beginning to feel more confident with colour and am feeling more able to experiment with combining colours within pieces. This week I have had a major clearout and 'streamline' (!) of my craft stash, and during the process I came across lots of wee bits and pieces of work that let me see how things have developed since I first set off down this path just over two years ago. It's all been trial and error really - I'm still not very good at detailed planning, I tend much more to go with my 'instinct' (whatever that is!) - but it's interesting to see a thread of continuity between pieces that I have made along the way. Anyway, here is what I've been working on today:

The larger pieces are for attempts at a new jewellery idea. More about that soon!

Also this week I've been able to finish another project I wrote about recently - here's the back of it:

can you tell what it is yet? :P

Right now the finished piece is stretching its legs on the wall in our living room - more photos to follow!

Mission accomplished!

2010-07-03T21:16:00.001+01:00

Well, I have survived another craft fair and lived to tell the tale...

Actually it was a much better experience all round this time, with some of my lovely friends helping me set up or popping along to offer moral support (and buying things too - thanks guys!).

Particular thanks go to my 11-year old friend, photographer, organiser, arranger, de-linter and financial adviser Hannah (she took the photos), who helped me man the table for most of the day. Thanks Hannah!

(her being chief photographer unfortunately meant I didn't get any photos of Hannah in action...)

...so instead here I am instead looking a bit cheeky for no reason...

...and a bigger view of the table.

Generally the fair was a lot busier than my last one, and again the time went very quickly. Lots of interest in my kumihimo braiding on the marudai, some very nice compliments, and excitingly, some sales! I met my target, which is great, and also actually had a good time. Yay!

My Etsy shop is now up-and-running again after a month-long break, with lots of new items to be listed over the next few days.

Colour...

2010-06-28T20:55:00.002+01:00

A work in progress...

Cardorama!

2010-06-20T14:14:00.000+01:00

(last cheesy title, I promise :P)

It's finally done: the last of the big projects I needed to finish before the craft fair:

lots of fibre art cards!

- I love looking at these once they are finished but boy do they take up the most room and time to make!

That's everything major finished now - my last decision is whether to make up a few more kumihimo rings and earrings.

The earrings were popular at the last craft fair but don't sell well on my Etsy shop - and the rings are a fairly new idea so they weren't around last time. To be honest I think I have enough to cover the table (!) but maybe people would like the option of matching bracelets and earrings/rings.... what do you think?

Braidelicious!

2010-06-09T23:06:00.001+01:00

(I just can't enough of these cheesy post titles. Really.)

Here are some other things I've been working on...

...bracelets!

Thanks so much as always to Sarah and Myfanwy for the beautiful threads that I love to work with so much :)

Ringtastic!

2010-06-04T20:08:00.000+01:00

I'm busily crafting away building up stock for the craft fair... .

My favourite things to make are still

rings!!

Makers' Market table rehearsal...part 1

2010-05-25T20:41:00.002+01:00

My second ever craft fair is looming on the horizon (ok, it's not until 3rd July but that feels quite soon!) - this afternoon I tried my first 'dry-run' of my table set-up, so I know what still needs to be done. I have a lot to go on from last time - so I have most of the necessary bits and pieces. The challenge this time is that I have a greater range of pieces that I somehow have to arrange and fit onto the table!

Here's my first attempt:

(so my kitchen table is actually 2' shorter than the 6' table I'll have at the fair, but you get the general idea!)

I haven't finished a few things as yet (there'll be more bracelets, more felted rings, and the box on the far left will be filled with greetings cards rather than cake :P) so this is just a general idea. I've gone for rings on a piece of Indian slate, and some earrings on a plate (I'll source a more interesting and suitable plate somehow before the event!).

As always, any comments or suggestions are more than welcome. What do you think of the earrings display - too busy? Too busy in general? Should I group similarly shaped brooches together or mix them up? So many options!!

The other most exciting crafty thing happening has been the arrival of some new threads from the ever-wonderful Sarah of therainbowgirl. She has produced the most amazing custom selection of hand-dyed mixed threads for me to use for new kumihimo bracelets - check out these beauties:

yum!

Prototype hairband...

2010-04-19T22:37:00.000+01:00

Here is the other prototype I have been working on that I mentioned recently: a prototype hairband/fascinator:

I've found this particularly difficult to take photos of!

It's a gunmetal grey hairband, with two circles of beaded and embroidered felt in pinks, purples and blues with a hint of yellow.

The felt pieces have a wee 'sleeve' of felt sewn to their back so that the hairband can slide in and out - meaning that it can be worn on either side of the head and with the larger circle top or bottom.

Here it is in situ, modelled by my friend Rachael and her beautiful hair :D :

(thanks Rach!)

I'm quite liking this hairband idea - but have found it so difficult to photograph well that it almost puts me off making any more! I have other ideas for different shapes to try out though, so I think I'll persevere :)

Brooch prototypes....

2010-04-09T15:04:00.001+01:00

So here is the result of one of my recent projects: an experimental fibre brooch - this one is made from the raw materials in the first photo in my previous post.

My aim with these brooches was to explore making something less 'tidy' and more freestyle. Fibres feel so good to touch I quite like having the edges left raw and fraying, and to be able to watch them wear over time. I made the brooch by layering cotton fabric, fibres (silk hankie fibre and cotton nepps), cotton scrim and mixed threads. I held them together with 'magic film' and then machine embroidered over the top to trap them in place.

Here are some others that I made:

They all measure about 6cm x 6cm ish.

I'm not totally sure what I think about them, to be honest. I like being able to feel the raw edges of the fibres but I'm so used to having neat edges, having a more freestyle look like this takes a bit of getting used to! Maybe the idea is good but I need to develop it a bit. I made more prototypes than this, but the 'magic film' malfunctioned a bit and they had to be abandoned (the magic film gets trapped by the machine embroidery and then you iron the piece, which is meant to make the film evaporate - but if you don't do it right it just goes sticky and that is disastrous!) - so before I try to develop the idea further I think I'll try an alternative - maybe Solvy.

Work still progresses on the other project - photos to follow soon!

Current projects...

2010-04-05T23:38:00.000+01:00

A couple of projects I have started this long weekend:

Something green...

and something in rainbow colours...

Both hopefully will become things to wear; one is a development of a previous prototype, and the other is a new idea for me. More details to follow as they progress!

Another craft fair...

2010-03-29T15:52:00.000+01:00

Well, I've bitten the bullet and have decided to do another craft fair - on Saturday July 3rd, at the Columcille Centre in Morningside, here in Edinburgh:

It's organised by Craft Fairs Scotland but also has its own website and blog.

You may remember I did my first craft fair last May in Portobello - organised by the same company - so I'm sure this one will be just as well organised.

I've had mixed feelings about doing another fair - mostly because my Etsy shop has been rather busy lately and I'm slightly worried about being able to keep up with demand as my pieces are so time-consuming to make. After a lot of thought though I decided that the face-to-face feedback you get from being at a fair is so valuable it was worth giving it another go. Many of my current jewellery styles have been directly developed from constructive criticism or comments that people made at the last craft fair - mostly about making the lines of my jewellery shapes softer and more curvaceous, which let me to make my curved necklaces:

'Solferino'

and my Paisley-shaped brooches:

'Terne'

-so that sort of feedback is worth doing the fair for in itself.

So now I just need to work on building up a selection of items and planning how I'm going to coordinate everything with the Etsy shop - I think I'll avoid listing online everything I have made, and I also plan to make use of the handy 'vacation mode' in the shop for a few weeks before the fair just so I'll have a clear idea of what pieces are available to show.

I have to say the bit I enjoy most is doing the practice run-through of my table set-up :D - watch this space for photos closer to the time!

Silver and felt necklaces... the sequel!

2010-03-17T23:18:00.001Z

In Autumn 2008 I started developing some ideas for a series of sterling silver and embellished felt necklaces during my jewellerymaking evening class. I wrote about the first prototype here, but never got around to finishing the other pieces I started. In fact, I confess that I all but forgot about my selection of silver pendant bases that I had made that were hiding in my metalsmithing workbox.

Well, they finally made it to the top of my projects list again, (I have to admit that actually I've been a bit scared to finish them, as working with silver always seems terribly serious!) and I have made two more prototypes: 'Quezacotl' and 'Materia' (if anyone can make the Otaku link to those names then I'll sort you out with a special prize :P).

I sawed sheet silver into a tag shape, filed the corners to gently round them, and then added a matte brushed texture and an asymmetrical hammer texture pattern. Then I made the bezel settings from tiny strips of thinner silver sheet and soldered them onto the base tag. The pieces of felt are made with silk hankie fibre, and embellished with tiny glass beads and hand embroidery stitches.

'Quezacotl'

I'm still not totally sure about jewellery photos featuring live models, but I wasn't sure how else to best show the necklace's scale...

And here's 'Materia':

So satisfying...

2010-03-13T13:59:00.000Z

Phew!

Only a couple of yelps of frustration, and surprisingly few intractable knots :D - yay!

Spring clean...

2010-03-09T10:58:00.000Z

I have the week off work this week, and one of the things I have vowed to do is to sort out this:

I've been feeling guilty about this big embroidery floss spaghetti for a while. I'm not even sure how it got like this! Whilst all my yummy space-dyed threads are neatly bobbined and arranged by colour in boxes, my poor embroidery flosses are treated like second class citizens languishing in this ball in an old bag. Well, not for much longer!! (That's if I can actually untangle them... watch this space!)

Brooches in progress...

2010-02-28T17:30:00.002Z

This weekend I'm working on some new Paisley-shaped brooches. I particularly enjoy these as they're a bit bigger than my rings or necklaces so I have a larger area of felt to play with. Again their colours have been inspired by my new supply of felt hankie fibre - and I'm trying to be a bit more adventurous with my bead colour choice, mixing colours together rather than sticking to shade variations of one colour.

This brooch will be called 'Chartreuse' - I'm really loving these delicate spring green shades at the moment:

I generally play around with bead placing for a while before I make the final decision (although sometimes it evolves as I go along). It's pretty much impossible to keep the un-sewn-on beads on the felt as I sew, so these wee beauties come in very useful:

These are some of a set of tiny wee ceramic dishes made for me by Karen of hodgepodgearts - they are handy for so many crafty purposes, but I particularly use them for holding my beads as I work. They are works of art in themselves (Karen made me a beautiful set of 8, each a different size and colour) and I just love to use them.

I've also been working on 'Iroiro' this weekend:

Still loving the rainbow colour combination, and I can't resist adding in a touch of gold with the beads.

I generally seem to do the beading first before the embroidery - I feel somehow that the beads give structure in a way that embroidery doesn't, so I tend to fit the embroidery stitches in around the felt textures and beads. Embroidery for Iroiro and Chartreuse will hopefully be happening this evening!

Earrings in progress...

2010-02-22T21:32:00.002Z

One of my favourite parts of the earring making process is when all the stitching is finished, and the felt pieces have spent a while under a pile of books getting nice and securely fixed on to their metal tags. I carefully take them out and delicately check them over, front back and edges - it's like a little surprise to see them again and to remember it was me who made them!

This is my latest collection - Turmeric (orange), Levant (burgundy), Lupin (multicolour) and Carduus (purple).

Choosing names for my pieces is another favourite part of the process. I love my thesaurus, and the internet (particularly Google images) is also an invaluable resource. Sometimes I go for simpler, or more complicated, colour names (it gets more and more difficult... finding new names for purple shades these days is giving me a big challenge!), and other times something more abstract or that sums up what the piece reminds me of. I also use quite a few Elvish names for the more nature-like pieces - I find Tolkien's invented language to be beautiful, and there are such evocative descriptions of nature in his writings.

Silk hankies and general fibre goodness...

2010-02-13T17:34:00.000Z

The penultimate item of my recent fibre order extravaganza arrived this week - beautiful silk hankie fibres from EndlessInspiration.

Did I mention how much I'm loving working with silk hankie/bell cap fibre at the moment? Although it's a bit tricky to manipulate with my dry winter hands, it's just so light and beautiful, and a little goes such a long way!

This wonderful rainbow mix of colours inspired me to have a go at making a start on a project prototype. It's an idea I've been thinking about trying for a while, which then became more defined through discussion with my sister when I was visiting with her recently.

I won't say any more just yet, but here is a sneak peek at the initial stages - I made a start on 2 different versions today:

Last of all, I've been really enjoying working on more rings - here they all are:

...rather fiddly (even by my standards!) but very satisfying :)

A rainy afternoon...

2010-02-06T17:55:00.000Z

There's not much I like better than getting down to some embellisher action on a dreary, misty, moisty Saturday afternoon... .

I had quite a busy December and January in my shop, which has meant I've been able to splash out on some gorgeous new fibres. I'm particularly loving silk bell caps/hankies at the moment - a little goes such a long way, and with wonderful dyers out there like fibercottage and knotmydayjob providing such beautiful colour inspiration, I've been having fun this afternoon!

So, here's what I came up with. I'm particularly excited as more ring blanks have arrived from Olay, so I'll be getting to work on more felted, embroidered and beaded rings this evening.

These will become rings, earrings, necklaces and brooches sometime soon :D

More ring prototypes...

2010-01-27T22:29:00.000Z

A couple of ring prototypes with a mossy theme:

Sphagnum...

....and Bryophyte.

New Year, new ideas...

2010-01-15T16:42:00.002Z

I always have about 3 or 4 notebooks on the go at all times - for words, thoughts, ideas, notes.

An idea has been developing over the last few days... here are my initial notes:

...more to follow on how it develops and turns out!

Wonderful Sarah of therainbowgirl also recently dyed some cotton scrim and muslin for me - I use scrim a lot and so was excited to try out some muslin. Here is the first result - called 'niji' ( 虹 - Japanese for rainbow):

...so the background is muslin felted (with my embellisher) straight on to the batting that I use as backing for all of my felting.

Something else I would like to have a go at this year is designing and making some cuffs and bracelets - not kumihimo but felted, beaded and embroidered. Need to have more thoughts and make more notes about this first, though!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T10:58:00.001Z

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2010 - and may all of your crafty projects be enjoyable and successful~!

Kate x

Autumn felted and embroidered journal cover...

2009-12-29T22:58:00.003Z

So as promised, here are some photos of the 'Autumn' themed journal cover.

Here is all the fibre laid out, pre-felting. You can't see how deep it is from this angle - it's about 4cm!

There's a whole mixture of fibres, including many from a wonderful mixed pack from a recent discovery: Stone Creek Silk. All in all there's merino roving, silk throwsters waste, silk tops, silk noil, flax fibre, bamboo fibre, soy silk, angelina and wool locks.

After the felting I added some couched threads on the front cover side, and some embroidery on the back cover side.

On the back cover I used cast-on stitch to represent falling leaves (in lovely space-dyed threads from Stef Francis)

And on the front cover I couched on silk boucle thread in a classic Japanese 'gust of wind' design. I also added a wonderful handmade burr wood button (courtesy of Julie and her husband of Roseland Bags), and again I made two different kumihimo braids as pagemarker and for closure.

I lined the very inside with plain green cotton, and for the cover holders I used another piece of antique kimono fabric from Kyoto.

Here's the front laid out:

...and a detail of the button closure:

All in all I was pleased with how these two journal covers turned out - although they're quite substantial, and not really delicate, I love the colours, and they feel wonderful to hold.

Felted and embroidered journal covers...

2009-12-28T12:38:00.002Z

Two big projects I was working on in the run up to Christmas were a couple of felted and embroidered journal covers, made to cover Moleskine large note/sketchbooks. The colour themes were 'Sea' and 'Autumn'. These were by far the biggest felting projects I have undertaken using my embellisher machine, and it certainly felt the strain of felting mixed fibres over about a 30cm x 20cm area - lots of broken needles!

For 'Sea', I used organza ribbon and fabric, wool locks, merino roving, silk fibre, silk noil, silk throwsters waste, angelina fibre, silk/metal organza fabric, net fabric, silk fabric and bamboo fibre. I felted this onto cotton batting, and then masked off the journal cover area and added lots of hand embroidery stitches: feather, colonial knot, bullion, seed, whipped spider, cast-on, double cast-on and fly stitches.

I also added a beautiful big carved mother-of-pearl button (it had been lying in wait in my stash for years, waiting for the perfect project!).

To make the lining of the cover, I used pieces of antique Japanese kimono fabric samples - I bought many of these at the most amazing temple book market in Kyoto on our last trip in 2007:

I also made two different kumihimo braids, one for a page-marker and one for closure. Here's what the inside looks like, with the cover on the journal:

And here's the final journal cover, inside and outside:

...and a closeup of the button, and a texture closeup:

Phew! That's a lot of photos... ! I think I'll show 'Autumn' in a separate post :D

Works in progress...

2009-12-16T22:28:00.003Z

So various presents have all been finished (more details to follow once they have been unwrapped!), which gives me time to get back to my old favourite - more felted, beaded and embroidered jewellery.

Here are the three pieces I'm working on at the moment - at this point I have made the felt, and added the beads and embroidery, and have just added backing felt to the pieces using Vilene with an additional piece of Tyvek for the brooch:

One of my favourite parts is choosing names for my pieces. Sometimes they are obvious and I know what they are called straight away, and other times it takes longer to learn their names. For these three, 'Droplet' (top right) was chosen almost before I had decided on the shape, whereas 'Prairie' (top left) and 'Ember' (bottom) were slightly more elusive.

The next stage is choosing what shade of embroidery floss to use to whip-stitch around the edges of the piece - I find this decision one of the hardest parts, as the colour choice can make all the difference. I often narrow it down to 2 or 3 colours and then sleep on it, and the choice is easier the next day.

'Prairie' and 'Droplet' will become brooches, and 'Ember' will be a necklace - I add the findings last of all, and then comes the Flickr/Etsy photo session (still so hard!).

My favourite shots are always the texture closeups:

100!

2009-12-13T21:25:00.005Z

Tastykaeru has passed the 100 sales mark... very exciting!!

Adding beads...

2009-11-22T22:39:00.001Z

I've been experimenting a wee bit with adding extra beads to my necklaces and earrings... what do you think?

Not sure what I think yet.... need to mull the idea over for a while!

I've also been working on some secret projects...

A sneak peek...

2009-11-13T11:27:00.000Z

Lots and lots of projects on the go at the moment... thought I would just post up a wee sneak peek of what I'm making for my niece Mathilde's birthday - a joint project with my sister who is making her a very fun nature-themed 'fuzzy felt' board - what a great idea!

Bodies and antennae next!

New prototype earrings...

2009-11-09T00:17:00.000Z

Well, I've been out of commission for a while being a bit under the weather, but I'm on the mend now :). One good thing about my crafting is that it can be done with minimal expenditure of physical energy (...not including eyesight!).

I've been working on some earring prototypes after being given a new idea (thanks Mum!). I found some lovely vintaj patina metal blanks and earwires on Etsy, here, and have been seeing what I can turn them into. Here are the results so far!

Clementine

Nous sommes du soleil

Nutmeg

Atoll

Orchid

Gamboge

I've been playing around with the idea of adding beads, as you can see with the 'Gamboge' pair. I have some lovely findings from PatinaQueen and some fabulous beads from CaladoniaMarch on the way - so once they arrive I will be able to try out a few more ideas. I've been thinking about possibly adding a very few beads to my necklaces also - we'll see!

October giveaway winner~!

2009-10-27T14:01:00.002Z

The cats weren't interested in helping me with selecting the winner this time...

don't think you can trick us again... we know it's not food this time!!

so instead I turned to random.org.

*drum roll*

and the winner of my October giveaway is commenter no.2 ...

*~* Jude *~*

Congratulations!

To everyone else, thank you so much for entering, and keep your eyes peeled for more giveaways in the future!

October giveaway~!

2009-10-19T23:38:00.002+01:00

Inspired by the wonderful autumn foliage that is adorning Edinburgh at the moment, up for grabs in my October giveaway is a kumihimo braided bracelet in rich shades of lime, copper and amber.

A close-up of the braid texture:

The bracelet is made from a 16-tama braid, made on my marudai.

At the moment she measures 21.5cm long - but I will happily alter her length for the lucky winner :)

If you would like to enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment on this post, and I will put your name into the draw in a week's time~!

Good luck!