Creative florists Lotte & Bloom really know how to say it with flowers.
Need I say more?
I’m desperate for a La Sardina from Lomography. I think the developed images are quite refreshing in comparison to other toy cameras and the body graphics just ooze with rustic holiday fun. How we can dream.
What’s your favoured lomography model?
Zoe De Las Cases cardboard creations make such a positively happy world.
I definitely need the cardboard laundry room for about £20, why not have the kitchen and grocers too?
I love the traditional technique of sun prints and Cyanotype prints. The naive style and blue tones are just gorgeous!
The last image is a painting, but it seems to be totally inspired by cyanotype, the florals have a beautiful dreamy quality.
When I worked as a technician for a college textile course we use a cyanotype solution to paint onto fabric and then expose. I’m not sure where I can find this solution, but I will try and track some down so I can do some DIY cyanotype fabric tutorials. When the sun comes out of course!
The numbers have been drawn at random to reveal the 5 winners of the pencil prizes!
Congratulations to all 5 winners who will each receive a set of 3 pencils featured here.
#2: Laura
#4: Cheaps
#6: Noella
#12: NikNaks
#15: Jeanie B
The New Year always prompts fresh starts or resolutions and although I am not one to make resolutions on a whim as Big Ben strikes 12:00am, I am, however, partial to wise words and thoughts, especially those lovingly illustrated by talented folks.
I bought this “Here & Now” print last year by Katie Daisy from her truly inspiring shop The Wheatfield and for a second year running it will be my word sof the year. My words for twenty twelve.
If you’d like these to be your words too, then you can buy the print here.
I couldn’t resist making these dance peg dolls, when i saw a tutorial for them over at the PomPomEmporium.com. They are the cutest thing ever with their flapper hair do and fluffy pom pom skirt.
I got my pegs from Wilkinsons, they were incredibly cheap, the wool I already had so all I needed to do was get painting. I painted half in dusty pink and the rest pale green to match the wool I had stored and adorned them with touches of gold and silver.
My pretty dancers are going to have to retire from dancing this season in favour of pegging up my Christmas cards!
These are the original dancer peg dolls and you can find the super tutorial here.
I am no sewer, but I was with no doubt excited when I first heard of The Liberty Book Of Home Sewing. Liberty has got to be one of my favourite places of all time, in fact I can’t believe it was only last year when I made my debut visit, but since then I have clocked up lots of visits. However, saying all of this, Mollie Makes is who I thank for this beautiful book. A few months back they were offering The Liberty Book of Home Sewing as a free gift when you became a subscriber and who am I to refuse an offer like that? I hear I wasn’t the only person to have succumbed to this Liberty book as Mollie Makes had an overwhelming response to the offer.
This is a sort of review, but sort of isn’t since I haven’t actually made anything from the book, but I do have a few projects that I would like to complete in mind. Firstly, the tote bag with leather handles, I already have sourced my lining fabric and some blue leather handles but currently looking for the perfect outer fabric. The Tana Lawn I chose is from their most recent A/W 11 Liberty Rocks! collection, a print picked by Florence Welch, called Dancing Ladies B.
The tote bag tutorial is actually more of a weekend bag in style, or an everyday bag. I would usually associate a tote bag with a book style bag, but this is some what more of a challenge. A challenge it may be, but as I mentioned before I am no sewer (I only own that mini John Lewis sewing machine & a few pins!), but this Liberty tutorial has not scared me off at all, in fact it makes making a bag look pretty simple is worked on with love and care, something that I could even achieve. The tutorial for making this bag and all other projects is perfectly digestible. They list what you need, how much fabric you need and also give a mini diagram to illustrate how the fabric should be cut. Each step of the project is clear and concise and adorned with a beautiful watercolour illustration by Richard Merrit.. The illustrations are a charming touch and just typical of the Liberty personality. The illustrations are as informative as they are charming too, showing you those extra details throughout each stage.
There are lots of projects within this book, from very simple, like a pot holder, to something more of a challenge, a very exotic kimono. Perhaps I can update further with a project review when I have made my Tote Bag, but other than that I love leafing through the pages to spot the different liberty prints which serve to introduce the different project areas. More gems hide throughout the book, at the front hides a short history of Liberty fabrics. At the back is a short dictionary of Liberty prints used throughout the book, which is snuggled between a useful glossary and useful equipment pages.
I don’t believe this book offers a lot in terms of new design projects, but what it does offer is how to inject a little bit of the Liberty magic into your sewing (and bookshelf) and a really really good excuse to go and browse they delightful haberdashery. It would be rude not too and I highly recommended this book.
The Liberty Book Of Home Sewing is published by Quadrille Books, who have a long list of super titles within their craft & art books such as Made at Home by Lisa Stickley many Cath Kidston craft books and a great insight to a favourite designer of mine, Celia Birtwell.
My new blog is a little over a week old and it’s only just warming up, but to mark the launch of this new blog I am hosting a little giveaway.
I’d like to thank the few readers I have so far, but I hope that this giveaway can work on attracting a few more and some potential contributors in the future! I am very excited about starting this blogging journey again, but with more focus and lots more inspiration and creating.
So, this giveaway is to win a trio of pencils that are featured in my blog banner. The pencils feature 3 words which are now the focus of my blog, inspire, design and create. These 3 words mean a lot to me and the way I go about creating and so I hope they’ll mean something to you too!
BE A WINNER
Good Luck!
Now I reside in London, I have nothing to stop me from going to the cream of the crop handmade craft fairs and so I am excited to be going to Bust’s Christmas Craftacular this Sunday! My little sister is coming down to visit so a spot of shopping and then some ice skating in Hyde Park is hopefully on the cards.
Are you going to Bust’s Christmas Craftacular? They boast of 70 stalls, Tatty Devine Tombola and even a Made in the Shade Craft Library.
This Sunday, 27th November, at York Hall, 5-15 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PJ, just 1 minute from Bethnal Green tube station and open from 12pm until 6pm.
See you there!
INDEPENDENT HIGHSTREET
I’m currently working on compiling a list of all those lovely bricks and mortar shops that are hidden away on our highstreet, the ones that specialize in independent designs and hand crafted goodies. I often see these gems dotted about the place when you suddenly stumble upon them, but sometimes I really fancy making a conscious decision to visit these little shops. Know where i’m coming from? Well I hope so and that’s why I though by collecting the details of these shops and filing them by region we’ll all be able to go on a shopping trip to support these shops and independent design.
So why do I need you?
I have made a start on some of the shops I know off the top of my head and within my locality and I also have a notebook with a list of them waiting to be typed on in the “LOVE LOCAL” category. However I’d love to add in those ones I’ve miss or haven’t visited yet. So if you’re a small shop, or you know a independent shop that you’d like to see added to the list, leave me a comment with the shop details, tweet me on twitter or email me at Shedraws@hotmail.com and i’ll as quick as my fingers can type.
EVENTS
Another personal aim is to get involved and go to more creative events, but my problem tends to be forgetting when they are, where they are or just not knowing these events are on and so this is why I have added an events calendar on the left hand side of the blog. The only problem is there aren’t many events on there at the moment, so if you are having an event, know of an event and you would like it on the blog then please get in touch! I am hoping to do some posts on the events so we can all attend them.
The events can be a variety of things, from craft fairs, book signing and even workshops. I would love to create a really comprehensive creative events calendar!
Finally, we have JOBS.
I’ll try not to ramble on about it too much, but I did have a hard time finding a job (any job) when I finished university and so I thought this blog could have a job feature to mention all creatives jobs, both big and small. These jobs could be anything from designer internships, freelance illustration jobs, or even just the tea boy. If you have a job to fill and think shedraws.co.uk would be an ideal place to place your advert then please get in touch via email shedraws@hotmail.com.
It would be really great if you would all like to get involved to help me to fulfill my aims, so please get in touch if you have anything to add. I’d like this blog to be a tool for all you readers as much as it will be a tool for me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
**All features are free of charge.
Welcome to Shedraws, my new blog about inspiration, designing and creating.
Some of you may remember me from when I ran an online shop for a short time selling my illustrations as gifts and goodies, but since that time a lot has happened and my shop is currently on hold. I also ran a personal blog along side this shop, but never the less it was time to open a new blogging world, not just about me, but also about you and about the creative world.
I have created this new blog mainly for my own fulfillment, but I hope that it will be a useful tool for you guys too. My current job requires me to be inspired constantly (and my creative side needs a lot of feeding) and to create lovely things, so this blog, I hope, will allow me to document everything I see to inspire me and you all too!
So for my very first post on this blog I have included a little gallery of things that you may remember me by and somethings I love, I hope you like what you see, and if so perhaps you’ll enjoy entering my world.
Laura.
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