Okay, this might have to be the last drawing for a week or so because I really need to get back to screenprinting and then make some lampshades now that all the kit has arrived. There seems to be a bit of a kitchen/retro theme going on here don’t you think?! The only problem is I don’t have a retro looking salt mill but I found this one on etsy, shame it’s sold already.
This fabric is from Heather Moore’s Cut Out and Keep collection and is called ‘Avenues in Straw’. I love the yellow and the simplicity of the design is so clever.
I’m posting this as my first update from my new gilhoolie Facebook page so I hope someone reads it, I need some ‘Likes’!!
I’m easing myself in gradually so this will be a very quick post just to say Happy New Year everyone! It’s my first day on my own and I’m straight into gilhoolie, with a break to meet a friend for coffee thrown in of course! I must admit it’s a bit too quiet but at least we ended the holiday with a great day indoors building Lego and making cookies while the storm raged outside…
I’m back to drawing again because I really enjoy it and want to practice more while I book my next craft fairs for the months ahead. After the Christmas order rush it’s nice to sit back and have a play with things like this cutlery drawing, using Heather Moore fabric again, because I love it so much.
Heather Moore cutlery
It’s funny, this time last year I was a month away from finishing work and just had plans to decorate the house, finish my Interior Design course and learn how to screen print (oh yes, and learn how to make a lampshade). Now it’s January again and I feel a lot closer to knowing what I want to do when I grow up 🙂 hehe!
I have lampshades to print and make for a gallery in Leeds, lampshade workshops to look forward to in February and March. I just need to find a regular local craft fair I like, if anyone knows any near Maidenhead please let me know!
Well, the Christmas holidays are whizzing by but there’s been plenty of time for nice cups of tea, along with far too many mince pies and choccies. It was so nice to have a bit of ‘me time’ yesterday and do a bit of drawing while the boys played with their new toys and bothered their Dad while he’s at home!
Retro teapot and cup
I really like the shape of my teapot and teacup (see my previous blog post ‘All nice and cosy’) and thought they would be fun to draw. Again, I added some detail with fabric; this time just stuck on and not machine embroidered so even easier. The fabric has a small pattern which worked really well and is in keeping with the simple ink drawing. One of my favourite Christmas presents was a bundle of fabrics from my Mum and this one is called ‘Chards’ from the Cut Out and Keep collection by Heather Moore. I’ve got a feeling I’ll be using more of her fabric in my pictures as the print is nice and small and quite retro too, plus the colours are lovely. Not sure what I’ll draw next but I know I want to do another armchair and lampshade one; maybe more traditional this time but I might have to go on the hunt for more fabric to add to my collection first…
Well that was a bit of ‘me time’ in the morning, then it was a pretend family gun battle round the house before dinner and a tombola after dinner (a sneaky way to earn pocket money from us parents, funny boys!)
I know I said I’d written my last blog post for 2011 but when you feel like being creative it can’t be helped and this is just a really quick one! Besides, all the Christmas shopping is done, presents wrapped, cards posted, just some mince pies to make (and mulled wine to drink!)
I’ve been wanting to do some drawing for a while but the Christmas orders meant I had to wait. This is just the first attempt; a pen and ink drawing of a Scandinavian style armchair and lampshade. The cushion and lampshade are machine embroidered which was a bit tricky as you can’t sew too much in case the picture falls apart! Just about did it but more practice definitely needed.
I’m going to do some more traditional ones too as I enjoyed it so much. This one will look nice in our living room, just the right colours…
I’m not a natural runner, but I used to run every week, without fail, round the streets where I live. And I have to say I didn’t enjoy it much. The only things that kept me going were 1. knowing I would feel good about it afterwards and 2. Looking at all the houses as I ran past (I’d always make sure my route was down the streets with the nice houses!) Well, now I’ve given up running, (I decided life’s too short to do something you don’t enjoy and I get to walk to and from school twice a day now). But I still get to look at lovely houses, and in even more detail as I draw personalised house pictures for people. Not only that, I love doing it, I really do.
Here are some of my latest ones. Firstly, a gorgeous house with lots of windows, with my embroidered sky (including a pretty pink butterfly), in a white frame. This was for a lady who wanted to give it to a friend as a thank you gift.
Embroidered sky house
And secondly, another of my favourites, a Victorian semi for a friend who lives down our old road, with my original blue collage sky, in a white frame. I’ve got some ideas for developing these more in the New Year, but first I have beanbags to make. At least my orders for Christmas are nearly done now and I can relax a bit, but I’ll miss looking at houses for a couple of weeks… Maybe I should go back to running? Or maybe not!…
I had a go at embroidering the sky for one of my house pictures today as a bit of an experiment. Choosing the fabrics was fun and sewing them on wasn’t too bad, once I got the hang of it. I need to put it in a frame to get a better idea before I can say I’m entirely happy with it though. I must admit, sewing the clouds and sun onto the sky background was a bit strange as the needle had a mind of it’s own and straight lines are very difficult, but then clouds aren’t supposed to be nice and neat, so that’s okay (am I rambling?) What I’m trying to say is it was quite hard for a perfectionist, but I think the experience (!) was good for me too.
I had a lovely time at the school fair on Saturday by the way. Much more relaxed than last time and nice to just chat to people about what I’ve been up to. I’m looking forward to the Christmas Artisan Fair at Norden Farm (Altwood Road, Maidenhead) next Saturday, 3rd December (11 – 4pm). You might see this house picture on my stall if I can find the right size frame! It’ll be nice to meet more craft people in the area that’s for sure. On Saturday I found out an old friend from junior school makes adorable sock monkeys and peg bags – check out Rachael’s work on Monkey and Squidge. I definitely left the fair with even more ideas buzzing round my head, more about those another day…
I have finally set up my gilhoolie shop on folksy! HOORAY!
You’ll find a few gilhoolie things on there so far but I’m still working on adding some more including my bags, bunting and the rest of my lampshades. So please come back in a week or so and have another look (don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll put another update on here anyway to remind you!)
I’m ALWAYS looking at houses; windows, chimneys, brickwork, pretty details, I just can’t help myself. So when I visited a friend this week I left feeling I had to go straight home and draw their beautiful home. This is the third one I’ve completed (see my earlier post ‘Our house in ink and collage’) and it’s another thing I absolutely love doing.
I wanted to experiment with the sky this time, so instead of making a collage of bits of blue paper from magazines I used one of my gilhoolie patterns. It has a bit of a retro feel, which I love, and contrasts with the Victorian house. I just hope my friend likes it too!
If you would like me to draw your house just leave a comment on here and I can send you the details. Great for a Christmas present with a personal message added at the bottom!
This is just something I did the other day to fill some time in between appointments. I’ve always loved our house and I can remember really clearly the first time I saw it two years ago. I thought it would be good to do a simple drawing to put on the wall as a keepsake. I hope you can see the resemblance (and for those who have never seen our house, now you can!)
