Each Friday, I'm planning to add something which I either find funny, or which I've been enjoying making etc. Today, I'd just like to encourage any fans of The Office (UK) to give the US version a try. It's just as good as the English version, and there's loads more episodes.
This website isn't always a favourite of crafty types. I can understand why, I really can. However, there's nothing I like more than seeing what other people have made, and any site which narrows down the huge spectacle of Etsy can't really be a bad thing. It drives traffic to Etsy, it gets items sold which might otherwise be ignored, and if you ignore most of the comments from the other users, it's pretty good fun. Sure, there are some people who are just mean or rude, but mostly the sellers themselves enjoy it (and if they don't, the item can be removed). Most of all, the site raises money for charity - t-shirts and other items featuring favourite picks are sold on Zazzle, and all proceeds are given to chosen causes, or the money is used to ask crafters to make items needed by the causes. Most recently, the money was used to buy knitted false breasts for women who've had mastectomies. Have a look, ignore the snarks, and take it in the spirit it's meant, and you'll find something about it to enjoy. http://www.regretsy.com  Tattoo artist Kim Walsh has come a long way in the last few months. From doing some shadowing work and selling flash design on Tattoo Johnny, she's now on the cusp of opening her first studio. Her work has developed significantly recently, and she's really starting to get her own style. An accomplished artist, she can turn her hand to lots of different styles to suit the subject, from a delicate fairy for a memorial piece, to bright and funky cute colours. I've collected some of my favourite pieces of her work below, including my friend AM's Noon style tattoo she had done just yesterday. www.dontdieacopy.com           I did this on my old blog a couple of times, so I'm resurrecting it. My five favourite things on Etsy this week are as follows. In all cases photos belong to the seller, and you can click on the picture to go and visit the item on Etsy.  Murray Brothers plaid satchel Gorgeous upcycled bags. I really want to save up for one of these, cause there's no way I could make one this lovely.  Blue chameleon sculptural toy Isn't this amazing?  Apocalypse Cakes recipe cards I love these art recipe cards. They're beautifully retro designed, and have fantastic photographs.  Paper Mache sugar skull This girl makes amazing sugar skulls. They're all so perfect, it stopped me even trying to make them for my project.  Dave Grohl felt finger puppet
I love these finger puppets. They're just really cute. This is the latest for my project on transformation. It's based on an octopus drawing, combined with a bloodbag and some abstract forms. The base is tissue on canvas, and I started with watercolours, before moving onto acrylics, and then oil paints.   I was thinking earlier about what I need to blog about on here, and my goodness, I have a lot of rubbish that spills out of my head. However, after looking at Katie's site, I decided I should recommend some books. Goodness knows why, cause I don't really read books, I just sort of look at the pictures, and then go and scribble in a sketchbook. Then I remember. If it wasn't for Keri Smith, I probably wouldn't have started drawing again. Last year, when I was getting over my nervous breakdown and trying to decide what to do next, I went to the library to see Claudia. I felt immediately at home in that college anyway, but I also took a book home called 'Living Out Loud'. I went home, and read it, and started following what she said to the letter. The most important thing which I did from it was to transform the room in our house which had hitherto been my in-laws bedroom, or the study, or even the playroom - I built a tent in it, and suddenly it was my studio. The book also suggested taking a sketchbook and writing down sounds as you drew what you could see, and recommended ways to be relaxed. I started going on sense shopping trips (I had no money for actual shopping trips) ie just collecting little things I found on the floor, or little noises, or smells, or snippets of conversation. I love looking back over these old sketchbooks. I encourage you, even if you're not creative in anyway at all, to go out and get Keri's book, and start being kinder to yourself. It's less than a tenner, which, let's face it, is less than a bottle of wine and a bar of chocolate, and will last a lot longer. I'm still benefiting from it a year later.  If you can see my flickr gallery on the right, you'll be able to see my sock skeleton, which is halfway through being made. We've got arms, we've got legs, and now I'm desperately trying to work out how to make ribs. Current thinking is to use string to make a layout, and then add the socks to it. This seems like cheating somehow - maybe I'm a purist.  |   Archives |
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