Caught Crafting

The Tree - Part 2

As promised. I'm back with some more tree stuff. For the love of colour: Three tree decorations from three continents.

First South America. Peru, to be precise. I have some Peruvian, woven blankets, which I absolutely adore. They are cheerful, well made and harmonious. The ornaments below also have that quality and can ease up Mr. Fir (who can sometimes looks a bit stern).

 
First a paper ornament with a small nativity scene, as seen online at Ten Thousand Villages (but also available in local Fair trade shops all around Europe), then a "retablo" (or mini-altar). In this case not a real altar as instead of a religious theme we see a weaver's shop. The Folk Art Gallery has a whole bunch more of these, depicting different crafts and shops.

 

Want to create you own Retablo? No problem with these empty ones. Just let your creativity and ideas run free. I saw them at Tesoros. I think a pompom garland would be the perfect finishing touch for a "Peruvian " tree. The picture is taken from a German art supply shop (Idee), but can be found everywhere in the net really. Assorted pompoms or with a specific colour, different sizes or all one size...Yvestown put up a quick tutorial on how to make one yourself from a bag of ready made pompoms last year. Or buy a door curtain and cut off the single strings. Amazon has one in green and blue that I know of...

Next: Cloisonné. This technique has a long tradition in China. And that's where the following sets of ornaments come from as well.

 
These intricate designs are just perfect for a small tree! Found them at China Sprout, and also saw them popping up on Ebay Germany here and there. (On another note: I don't know why typepad keeps cutting off the pictures on the right hand side. If anybody has experience with this...? Tips are welcome!)

Finally, I ran into these majolica ornaments from Italy. Love at first sight, I tell you! However: It might be more of a long term collection effort to get your tree filled with these, as prices start somewhere around 70 € a piece. Beautiful still. Handpainted and all. 
In the coming days I'll get the last part of this series up - quite different than today's one, I promise!

The Tree

Christmas trees are actually a non-topic at our house. Not that we don't like them. We do. It's just that we spend many of our Christmases abroad. Or at home. Depending on the perspective you take.

I mean, what use is there to set up a tree without being able to enjoy it? The years in which we do have our own tree, I almost can't wait to put it up, but am also a bit sad to slowly see it weather away. Ideally, we should have a big garden so we can get a potted one, which we can plant out again later!

Anyway, whatever your thoughts on Christmas trees are, decorating them is undeniably fun. Even thínking of decorating them is. So this week, I'll put up three virtual tree decorations for you - to get the ideas going!

Today I'm starting  with the "natural" one: Materials as nature supplies them, skilled crafting turning this raw material into something stunning, and a small idea to get creative yourself.

 

Cinnamon scented beeswax ornament found at Shaker Workshops, and an example of the "Carolina Snowflake". The "Snowflake" is made of artfully woven thin wooden strips, but you can also use paper for them. Examples and some how to's can be found everywhere in the net. Just google "Carolina Snowflake"!  

The "Erzgebirge" region in Germany has a long tradition in creating all sorts of wooden (Christmas) decoration items. One of the techniques used is "shaving" or carving wood in such a way that a beautiful pattern of wood curls appears. The specific star shown above is from Martina Rudolph and can be obtained at Nestler. The garland in the middle is from Crate and Barrel. A traditional cranberry garland made of red wooden beads instead. This simple, straight forward garland adds just the right amount of colour to a tree with wooden ornaments. The item on the far right is a wood cut made by Betsy Sylvester, and is just one out of her extensive snowflake series. Her webpage can be found here.

The last thing I wanted to show in this post is something you can easily create yourself. For the wooden ornaments below I used a set of wooden discs I picked up from my local craft store  called "Idee". Unfortunately I couldn't find the same wooden discs in their online store! Furthermore I used sanding paper (small grain), paper & pen, a white gel pen, white acrylic paint, a size 0 paint brush, and a sharp spike.
 

I started by tracing the wooden discs I wanted to use. This way I could try out some doodles on paper first and see what would fit the individual shape of each disc.

After that, I sanded and wiped the discs clean with a damp cloth. With the white gel pen, I free-handedly copied my designs onto each disc. Then I painted the pattern over with the acrylic paint and the size zero brush. To get a "worn" effect you can slightly sand over your painted discs, and repaint them. Or you can finish them with a varnish to make them glossy.

When dry, make a small hole with the spike (be careful not to put too much pressure otherwise the discs will break!) and add thread or ribbon to be able to hang them in your tree.

That's it for now. Next up: Lots of colour with a folkloristic inspired tree!

You are never too old...

..to buy a colouring book (for yourself).

Two weeks ago my oldest turned 8. So we had a party. And she got presents. All of them very nice, but one of them I couldn't put out of my hands: This colouring book from Joelle Jolivet.

 

 
 
 

Wonderful illustrations, both for grown ups and children to enjoy. I had to have it as well, so I ordered one (from Amazon, after I found that my local book store unfortunately didn't have them in stock anymore) got my crayons out, and now we sit together side by side. Me and my girl. Whenever there is a quiet moment we are colouring, comparing, enjoying each other's creativity as we add our own interpretation to these illustrations.

And crayons are only one medium really. Think of ink, watercolours, collages of paper or fabric, grabbing a fine liner and filling the blanks with doodles or patterns. The possibilities are endless, and the paper is of such a nice, thick quality that it will actually play along with all of these materials!

So, I re-discovered colouring books for myself again, and immediately looked for more nice ones. Here is an outtake of what I found:

 

Left: A doodle book from Doodlers Anonymous . The fun here is that 29 different artists are represented with a colouring doodle - all with their own style. Right: Labor Ateliergemeinschaft has brought out a whole series of books which combine colouring and drawing. The (very funny) illustrations are only partly done and leave room for your own fantasy on how to finalize them. 

The following ones are probably widely known in the US, but they are new to me:

 

All via Amazon. All lovely patterns. The snowflakes are clever because they are all mirrored: You can cut them out after colouring and then glue them together with a contrasting paper in between or these small square foam stickers to give them some extra dimension.

Let nobody tell me again that colouring books are suffocating (a child's) creativity ;) it's just heartless illustrations, printed on bad paper that could do that if you ask me! 

Monthly Close-Up: July

I'm definitely a water-girl. And as school holidays are approaching, we will soon pack up and get away for a couple of days to enjoy the sea-side. So nothing comes easier than a beach theme for this post. Especially about all the good craft material you can find in abundance at the shore. Sand, water, shells and flotsam. Here we go:

All you need for a good sand castle (or tower, or animal, or monster, or...) are some buckets, a spade or two and some "cutting" tools like broken shells, a pocket knife, pointy pieces of wood or plastic spatulas. The more compact your sand pile is in the beginning, the better you can shape your creation later on and the longer it will last. More about sand sculpting can be found on Paul Hoggards and Remy Geerts' web site. The amazing pieces below are from (clock wise) Sue McGrew, Ellen van de Wetering and Maxim Gazendam. Needless to say mine will look a bit simpler ;)

  

Sand painting is another way to get creative. The short-lived, but gorgeous results always amaze me. I haven't tried it out myself yet, but read on several web sites that it's easy to make your own coloured sand with food paint. Truely inspirational are the famous and ever inspiring sand mandalas of the tibetan and bhutanese monks. But also the Navajo native americans are known for their intricate sand paintings as you can see below.

 

Then, of course, there is beach combing. Especially when you're the type of person (like me) who enjoys going to the beach during atypical weather (windy, not too sunny, just after a storm). Dr Beachcomb has a great site with tips on where and when to look so you can increase your chances for finding something nice.

All that sand and flotsam not your thing? Maybe you're a crocheter then, and lazy beach-afternoons might just be the right time to start on a shell stitch shawl that'll keep you warm when the sea breeze gets chillier. Darla Sims book has over 250 variations on the shell stitch and the lionbrand site offers an easy pattern for free. The seagulls are actually a wall paper and a re-edition of a Voysey design by Trustworth Studios. A site worthwhile to visit.

 

 Have a good summer!

Monthly Close-Up: June

It has been very difficult to get back to "normal life" (if there is any such thing ;) after our pentecost break in Italy. We had a very good time, and once we got back home, the inspiration required to get my blog-posting under way just didn't kick in for a while.

But now, shortly before the longest day is over, I'm back with a monthly close-up! A small reminder that summer is coming -after two weeks of almost non-stop rain over here. I'm thinking of flower-fields, ice tea and a lazy afternoon in the hammock. What would that be without the gentle humming of bees in the background?

Searching for "bee-material" I found that most fabrics, patterns or prints with a bee theme tend to be designed either with children in mind, or with classic, heavy napoleontic brocade as an inspiration. As I was looking for more grown-up and modern interpretations, things took a little longer. But I got there in the end, and here's my round-up:

First, a stamp and some beautiful hexagon tiles: The stamp is from NoraJane's Etsy shop (she has a great collection of animal stamps anyway), the tiles are made by McCheek. She made a ton of them for her own bathroom and they aren't in her shop at the moment. But maybe, if we ask real nice, she might do a couple of them again, right? The colour combination is great and as they are handmade, each glaze is different. I love that. They would make a lovely mosaic on an iron (side-)table.

And here, a dose of rich, fresh colours and a bit of Cavallini. The fabric left and right is from Patty Young's Flora and Fauna range. Available in Europe via Volksfaden or Still Water Designs.

The Cavallini eraser is just one of those small things that turns a dead-normal (and sometimes frustrating) activity like erasing into something pleasant. At least for people like me. You know, the ones who enjoy hanging around in an art supply shop, and go Oh! and Ah! over the calligraphy and ink department.

 

Enjoy your summer!

P.S.: And as we're talking about bees: Commercial exploitation by human beings is breaking them up these days. Like chickens, pigs or cows they are kept in masses as part of big business. You can find some more info here. Save the bees!

May Close-up

I'm a fan of Jeanne Bayol. She made gypsy waggons fashionable with her fabulous Provencale, bohemian style, and now the holiday and travel season is starting over here, a gypsy themed close-up for May seems to fit quite well.

I did some research on Roma interiors, because although I love Jeanne's style, I had to see the real thing as well. This brought me to the beautiful portfolio from Carlo Gianferro . The elements of the gypsy waggon (doors, stucco, the way the furniture is placed), the strong personality of the interiors, the people, it all stands out and makes these photos truly wonderful.

 
I do think Jeanne is capturing it quite well with her interpretation, so I looked for some supplies along her lines and soon landed with another great designer, who secretly must be a gypsy at heart: Anna Maria Horner.

 
From top left: "Social Climber" from Anna Maria's Garden Party collection, combined with pink crocheted lace from Stick & Style (Germany) and green sequined lace from Recherce Fabrics (Australia).

Or maybe you prefer a more sedate colour pallette, reflecting the asian roma roots:

 
Again, fabric by Anna Maria Horner (via Volksfaden), brocade sari trim from Enjoy India's Dawanda shop, and interior pictures from here.

So whether you want to outfit a whole room or make a cushion with this unique culture in mind: Be bold and make your own rules! 

April Close-Up

Welcome to the first edition of my new monthly column. Each month I will pick a specific theme and look for an inspiring collection of crafting materials, techniques and tools to match.

This April I'll kick-off with a motive that really fits early spring: Tulips.

Although I am Dutch, I never managed to see those famous tulip fields in full bloom, as I come from another part of the country - and also this year I'll be missing it. I live too far away to hop over for a visit. The picture below does give a good impression of the sheer size and feast of colour though, and to hold on to that a bit longer I am considering a deck chair or a set of cushions with this striped canvas.

 

(photo left: "Fields of Gold" by Allard Schager, via earthshots; Striped canvas "Karting" (45 cms wide -10 UK Pounds/Metre via deckchairstripes) 

A charming tulip motif in a softer set of colours comes from Klippan. Lotta Glave designed this print and I saw it at scandinavian-lifestyle for 27,00 €/Metre.

 

Last but not least an "arts and cafts" inspired stencil, designed by Lisa Klofkorn from flyonthewalldesign. Here shown in black/grey/white, but of course there really are no limits to the colour choices and surfaces you can decorate.
   

Enjoy your month of April!