Sunday, October 20, 2013

Halloween Craft - Not so "Scary Spider"



OK - time for another craft!  I volunteered to come up with a craft for the Halloween party for my daughter's class and it has kind of evolved, and I am now doing the craft for all of 4th Grade!  No pressure then? I am finding that as my daughter is growing up it is getting harder it is to come up with a craft that is not too babyish and also that appeals to boys and girls. After racking my brain this is what I came up with.  I have to say it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Valentine's Day Craft...


I volunteered to help with my daughter's 3rd Grade Valentine's Day party and I was struggling to come up with a craft that would keep both the boys and girls happy.  I thought it would be a nice idea for them to make a gift for their Mothers or another very special grown up.  I went to Michaels to get some inspiration and was a little disappointed with their offerings. As I wandered around I found these hearts tucked away at the back of the store and they were cheap - always a bonus - and I got the idea to make them into a key chain.  I think it is so nice to get a gift from your child with their handwriting on it.  So one side of the heart will be decorated either in glitter or with sparkly gems and the other side will have a little message written in sharpie. 

Monday, February 4, 2013

A Strange Urge...

For some bizarre reason I have had a strange urge to paint a sea gull. Yes, I know they changed the name to gull but I just can't help myself - it just doesn't sound right to me to call it just a gull. Seems kind of lonely without the sea part. Anyway, I don't paint - well I do, but walls, ceilings and the woodwork. I have tried to paint in the past but I am just not very good at it. When I was up in LA last week and got to go to Dick Blick's I picked up a few paints and a small canvas. This Saturday I took the time to have a go and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with how it is going. 


It looks like a bird which is a great start - I hope to finish it off this week.  I have confessed to my husband that I hadn't given him the whole story with regards to painting a seagull.  He knew that I wanted to paint a seagull but not that I actually wanted to paint a GIANT seagull - on a minimum of a five foot by five foot canvas! To be fair he handled it quite well - then I told him that I also had an urge to paint a pigeon - a GIANT pigeon! 

This month I will also get back to jewelry making - have a few ideas knocking around which I am itching to get started on. 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Hand sewing leather...

I have had fun over the weekend making a leather cell phone holder. It is not quite finished yet as my original idea was to have a detachable strap but Tandy Leather was totally sold out of the smaller size clips that I wanted. I still need to do some work on the closure strap but I am happy with how it is turning out.




Whilst sewing away - hand sewing the leather is pretty labour intensive I enjoyed listening to Passenger.  I love Mike Rosenberg's voice - he sounds like no one else.


My husband had a meeting in LA today - I was his car pool buddy and I got to have a little fun in the process. 
 I love this old sign on Ventura Blvd.

I also managed to get to visit Dick Blick while we were up in LA. I have wanted to visit this store for so long.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Now is the time...

With it being the New Year I have decided that 2013 will be the year of experimentation. Over the years I have stockpiled several ideas that I would like to try but have never had the time to indulge myself - instead I have concentrated on my jewelry making.  So, I have decided - now is the time... 


I have been experimenting with paint on leather.  I wanted to see what works and whether the paint would react with the leather and would it stay put. I painted both sides of a really nice black leather and I am really pleased with the results.  When folded there is a small amount of cracking but I have read that if you flex the leather as is dries that this can be minimised.



I also painted this tan leather which I had dyed myself.  The white paint yellowed quite a bit so I will try adding another coat and see how that does.  I am a little worried about the cracking.  Has anyone had any success with painting on leather? What paint did you use? Would love to know!