christmas making

there has been a lot of christmas making going on late into the evenings here. from stamped gift tags to new matching stockings, paper lanterns and ornaments. the first half of the month was so busy i'm a bit ashamed to say i've not done any christmas shopping yet and there's only one week to go! how did this happen? i'm never a last minute shopper but you know how it goes.

at least the stockings are hung and we managed a rather charlie brown-looking tree for the kitchen. tea has fuel the way, this is my favourite mug at the studio. 

this is a simple and very effective lighting project. i found the idea here and simply drew out a cityscape onto a piece of paper and wrapped it around a jar with a tealight candle in it.

i have to say that cavallini & co has the most beautiful stamp sets. we have a few boxes of them around at the artyard and i couldn't resist making a couple tags of my own for gifting this year. the deer head is a favourite.

finally, after spending four christmases together david and i have stockings in the same country at the same time. of course i have my own that hangs at my parent's house but it only seemed appropriate for us to start out this year with new ones. i stitched these up using a pattern from purlbee.

what have you been making lately?

twine tawashis

i'm a bit tired of buying kitchen sponges. i gave up buying the cheap coloured ones long ago but even the re-washable ones aren't proving to be the best deal either, especially when it's so hit and miss if they're even stocked at our local shop when it comes time to replace them. so to the internet i went to find a simple alternative i could whip up at home.

left: acrylic tawashi / right: scrubbie

4 balls of garden twine: 99p
knitting needles: already had them
wool batting: £2.50 (enough filling for 6 or so)

introducing the tawashi (japanese for scrubbing brush)

the garden twine is brilliant for this type of thing. it's rough on the dirt and very durable. i've made a flat one which works great for scrubbing at the tough grime and a padded one (with wool inside) to get the suds up. they both dry relatively quick and the little loops on the end make them easy to hang up on the balcony to dry after dish-washing time.

twine is tricky to knit with as it has zero stretch but after i got the hang of it, these knitted up quite quick.

the story of a succulent

i've not had good luck with succulents in the past. some say they're the easiest plants to take care of yet until now i've successfully managed to down a few to death. last year at ikea we were choosing plants for our new flat and i picked up another succulent. david asked, "are you sure?" i love how they look and i thought, this time i can do it.

people, i've had a breakthrough.

but, first this happened...

one year later and the succulent was growing so tall i had to prop it up with a stick so it wouldn't break under its own weight but one day, snap. my succulent was in two pieces on my desk. i was devastated. another epic succulent growing fail. 

there is good news however. 

after a bit of quick research i broke off a few leaves to save for propagation (i know), and the other bit i simply replanted and it worked! not only have i revived my original plant but i've made succulent babies from it!!

a few weeks later the succulent is happy and small again in its pot and i have many new succulents just starting to get roots. this weekend's project is to pick up some more cactus soil and drill holes into some spare jars for planters, like this.

succulent success at last!

(look at the tiny succulent roots growing! an honest miracle.)

not like i'm an expert but if you have a bad track record for keeping succulents alive here's my advice:

- when you feel inclined to water it, hold yourself back (unless you live in a very hot, sunny place [ie. not england] then it only needs water once a month or even less)
- give it as much direct sun as possible
- when replanting or transplanting, make sure your soil is specifically for cactus/succulents

don't be shy, tell me if you've ever killed a succulent (i can't be the only one!).

knits for little ones

you know when you reach that age and it feels like every single on of your friends is either getting married or having a baby. me right now. so i've been knitting up little knits for soon-to-be-born babes. this pair in cream white because one friend decided not to find out the sex until the birth.

it's ready for the post in a package addresses to canada in hand-stamped arrow kraft paper. remember those stamps i made a few weeks ago? i have a feeling they're going to be stamping a lot of gift paper in the future. 

the pattern used is from a debbie bliss book i took out from the east sheen library called simply baby, two-toned socks (although i kept them single-toned) made to fit a 3-6 month old (i heard babies grow really quick so i figured to go a bit bigger than the smallest ones).

stamp making

i'm quite bad at hoarding craft materials until i find the perfect thing to do with them. hence why i've carried around a speeball rubber pad from canada to hungary (twice) and to england for the past three years hoping that one day i would decide what to carve into it and finally make some use out of it. that day came this week after i saw this pin from poppytalk.

Source: lovelyindeed.com via Jan on Pinterest

the simple shapes were a definitely draw, so i decided to finally cut up my pink pad and gouge into it with my carver. i skipped the striped one and embellished the house. lessons learnt: take your time. even the slightest knick can screw up the shape. patience, patience, patience.

the process.

you said it

Source: blog.shopbop.com via Erin on Pinterest

knitting at the speed of stars

i've got a lot on the go right now. i'm a couple weeks away from moving into a new flat (although i'm secretly sad to leave this little studio... it's been my little den for the last half year and despite its small kitchen, it's actually perfect for us). our new place is closer to the city which is more convenient on all fronts. there will be a post on my new haunts as soon as i move. otherwise, i've been knitting my dear little heart out as much as i have time for.

we're getting into the "knitting off-season" if there's such a thing. i don't particularly enjoy knitting in summer or at least i haven't done it too much in summers past but i've been eyeing these pieces and patterns, and well, there's just too many knits to knit to have an off-season.

plus, world knitting day is coming up next month!

tuques with pom poms, neutrals with a bold kiss of colour, bows and ascot neck ties, cabled cowls and socks. i'd even like to attempt the teddy.

from top left: wool / ascot / giant pom pom hat / bow scarf / white tuque / stripe tee / florence sweater / bow headband / cable cowl

lately

ONE // london weather has been the pits lately. non-stop rain. but it's spring, right? couldn't resist this classically london shot while walking across the waterloo bridge between rain showers. hello, big ben! this city never ceases to impress me.

TWO // the rain and wind has stripped all the trees of their spring-time blooms. when the wind gets blowing, they look like pink snow or baby pink wedding confetti.

THREE // when you're on house arrest because of the foul weather, there's nothing to do except watch back episodes of gossip girl, paint your nails and knit. at least that's what a few of my days looked like last week.

FOUR // rainy days call for outings to museums. i won a ticket to the cecil beaton photography exhibition at the v&a on twitter and took advantage of the chance to see other corners of the museum i haven't see before. this is one of the most beautiful rooms there, golden and gilded.

what have you been up to lately?

double explosions

...otherwise known as double exposures.

after seeing a tutorial on how to do this in photoshop, i can't stop. i'm not that great in photoshop yet but i'm trying to learn a new trick every day or so. what i love about lomography cameras is that you can do multiple exposures on one frame, that's what hooked me on the holga when i was a teenage. of course, doing it digitally does feel a bit like cheating but there is the plus of not wasting film on potentially bad shots. 

fitting room katie meets old door near old street station in london.

nude on a spanish beach meets craggy early spring gardens in richmond park.

what do you think? 

are there any good photoshop tutorial sites i should check out?

rainy nights mean craft nights

i am totally enchanted by the incredible things you can make out of paper. one of the ladies i work for at the artyard is a master of this medium. the entire studio is filled with papier-mache creations from life-sized deer heads, dainty designer shoes to paper roses and cakes. last night i ducked down to the studio for an evening of craft and all i have to say is wow!

when the weather has been such a muck lately, i can think of few things better to do than tuck into and evening of crafting with a glass of wine. 

love this herringbone navy and white fabric, perfect for the outside of this clasp purse with a touch of pink for the liner. it's a bit lop-sided but for my first purse attempt, i think it's pretty alright!

i was surprised how much i got into the paper crafts last night. there is no limit to the things you can make. here is my trio of tarts and cakes i made out of various bits of papers and cardboard.