Vintage Style Handmade Civil Partnership Cards

A while back I made some Civil Partnership cards, but to be really honest I wasn't happy with them, they weren't my normal style at all. Last week I went back to the drawing board and had a think about how I was going to do them. It would be near impossible to get appropriate embellishments so I knew I needed to make them myself. I've been making my own images for my cards for about a year now, and I've been using lots of vintage illustrations and photography. They match really well with the papers and distressed ink I use. After much Googling and Pinteresting I found vintage images of gay couples. I was hard to find the ones with the right tone, that were romantic but not too trashy for a wedding card. I must say I'm really delighted with them, I know it's really hard to get civil partnership cards, let alone unusual handmade ones. I've made about ten of them, as yet I haven't sold any so I'm starting to think I might be better off listing some online. A farmers market is not exactly the kind of place that people go looking for a gay wedding card!

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Handmade Father's Day Cards

I just made up a new batch of handmade Father's Day Cards. I had some left over from last year that I've had on the stall over the past coupe of weeks, but with the weekend that's in it I thought it was a good idea to make some more.

As usual they are for sale at the Limerick Milk Market, they are €4 each or 3 for €10. To see a full album of images please go here.

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How-To Paper Collage Bookmarks

Yet again I found a great tutorial on Pinterest, this how-to by SEI Lifestyle is for making magnets, which is what I intended to make, but as I started working on the I changed my mind. I made bookmarks instead since I'm now running a second hand book stall, and I thought they would be nice to have if someone was buying a gift.

 I ended up not using some of the above items, so here is my revised list of what you will need.
Kraft Card 12" x 12" sheets
Lots of scraps of fancy patterned paper, I have tonnes of this left over from cards.
PVA glue mixed half and half with water.
A brush or sponge
Brown aging ink
Scissors
Pen
A corner cutter
Sewing machine
Varnish
Card for a printer

I grouped my scraps of paper into coloured themes, this gives a more cohesive look especially since the papers are all in clashing patterns. I have been saving up these scraps of paper for years, I have loads of it, so I'm delighted to find a use for it.

 Cover your 12" x12" sheet of Kraft paper with you glue mix, then lay out the scraps of paper, gluing the backs of each of them too. Try to think about what colours sit well beside each other, and also add interest by ripping some of the sheets in stead of having a cut edge. Also try to remember that this large sheet will be cut into smaller strips, so try to layer up using lots of small bits(but not too many either or will never be able to sew around them all)

Allow the sheets to completely dry out.

On the back measure out 6" x 2" strips and cut up your sheet using a scissors. I then used my x-cut corner punch to round the edges. After cutting up the strips I decided I wanted to back them on something more substantial, so I cut out 7" x 3" strips on Kraft card to sew my collaged pieces onto.

Since these were going to be bookmarks i wanted add quotes/saying to them. So after a bit of Googling I came up with a few short lines. I used photoshop to lay them out in long narrow strips in a font that I liked, and then I printed them onto some glossy card.

I carefully used my sewing machine to sew around each of the paper scraps, take your time at this bit, it's fairly tricky. I sewed the coloured paper onto a larger piece of Kraft card, do all my central stitching. When this was finished I sewed around the edge onto a second piece of Kraft card. What this does is hide all the unsightly stitching from the central panel and sandwiches it between two pieces of Kraft card.

I then used some brown stamping ink to age the edges and add some more interest and texture. When this was done I varnished the bookmarks back and front and waited for them to dry.

Hey Presto! they're done. I'm pretty chuffed with how they turned out, and I'd really like to adapt this method to other projects too.

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Craft Inspiration from Pinterest

It seems like I've become completely addicted to Pinterest(an online pinboard for endless pretty thing,ideas, and craft projects). It has been a really great research tool, but the last thing I need in my life right now is another online distraction!

On the upside though I've found loads of new craft blogs, sometimes I feel the internet is this amazing party, but I'm lost and I can't find the right address. I read an article recently that said that the online community is made up a an endless series of small circles, just like society. Most of us go to our usual 10 favourite sites, rarely dipping our toes out beyond that. I'm guilty of this just like everyone else. Pinterest(like Stumble Upon) is a great tool for escaping this never ending cul-de-sac.

Here are some great projects I found through Pinterest:

This is a fab suitcase upcycling project. I'm always seeing old ugly cases in charity shops(it's a rarity to find a pretty gem) and this is a perfect way to use up my scrap paper and make some pretty storage for my studio. See the project here.

I have tonnes of fabric and paper scraps that I refuse to throw away. I also have lots of canvases that I had great intentions for, but have never gotten around to filling them with master pieces. I think this collaged canvas would look pretty nifty in our front room, especially if I used varying sized bits of paper, and maybe did some aging on the canvas. I was really into collage when I was in college, and this would satisfy the scrap hoarder in me. See the project here.

It's insanely sinful that I've had a shadow box for years and I've done nothing with it. I think I love them so much I can'decide what I want to do with it, there are just too many options. I don't think I'd like to make something as ornate as this, as I still want the box to be the focus, but I still thought it was pretty cool. I got mine from a skip in college, they were throwing out an old letter press machine...shocking I know! See the post here.

I've been doing lots of research on card making, as it's always good to have fresh ideas. Whenever I used to Google card making I came up with the cliche ugly do-it-yourself house-wifey stuff...you know what I mean?? I'm delighted to now have an endless supply of cool blogs to look at. After I read this post I ordered some stamp carving rubber. It arrived yesterday so expect a stamp making post soon! See the post here.

I'm always looking for new things to make each year for Christmas. I made something similar before as a tree decoration, but I love that this one is in a pot. Yesterday I got some dinky red pots in a discount shop that will be perfect for this project. See original Flickr image here.

Now I just need to find gallons of spare time to make all this stuff!

Lecture in Eco Fashion

No, my aforementioned toothache did not kill me, although it sincerely tried to. I've just been really busy. One of the things I was doing was giving a lecture in the University of Limerick. I agreed to give a lecture on Eco Fashion and my business in Mikael Fernstrom's class, but it was only as the lecture loomed nearer that I actually started to question my sanity. When I said how nervous I was to my mother her reply was 'You'll be fine, you did debating before, and you were on telly sure'...well that public speaking was nigh on 15 years ago, and with tv they can always retake a shot!

I was afraid of the usual things, that I would freeze up, get cotton mouth, run out of things to say in about 10 minutes, lose my ability to read my notes, in general make an arse of myself. But thankfully I didn't, or at least I don't think I did, if any of the attendant students are reading this you can let me know. I prepared a power point presentation of my lecture, going through the background of my business, how I got into eco fashion, and then moved onto the wider topic of recycling within fashion, the effect the garment industry has on the environment, and the use of sweat shops. An hour is a long time to talk but after a small bit of Q&A I actually ran out of time-which I was totally shocked at.

It was a really fun experience, but boy is it a lot of work, I had a huge amount of prep work to do before the class. I assume lecturing only really begins to pay when you are doing it a few years and you have all the lesson plans pinned down.

I was asked back to give a second class to the same group, but this time it was far more practical. I gave them a small customising project to do on scraps of denim. This was a much easier class to give as it was in my comfort zone. I had no real research to do, I just had to prep the materials. The class naturally divided into two, those who knew how to sew and worked away happily on their pieces. And then those who had never picked up a sewing needle. It was nice to walk away after an hour and to know that I taught about 8 grown men how to thread a needle, sew properly in a straight line, and the essential skill in life...how to sew in a button. I was really surprised to see how open they were to learning this, and it was a lot of fun showing them.

I would think of doing guest lecturing again if I was asked, now that I've gotten over the first hurdle. The only thing is that within all the prep and nerves I didn't get any of my own work done that week.

Ps: Thanks to Mikael for inviting me to do the lecture, and also for the use of his photo.

Gift Boxes

I bought lots of plain boxes like the one above here with the intention of doing something lovely with them. Paper collage and distressed colours came to mind. I started working on them with no real end goal in sight, I wasn't sure if I was going to sell them, keep them, or sell them with something else inside. I used my Cuttlebug to cut out the heart and circle shapes from lovely paper that I got in Cork Art Supplies. I firstly painted the boxes using a bright and varied palette of red,pink,blue,yellow, and white, painting all the surfaces different colours.

I then matched up the papers to the lids and boxes, gluing and varnishing as I went. I started looking around for nice papers with little interesting details that I could put on the inside, after all everyone loves to see what's inside a box! The next stage involved a leap of faith; distressing my lovely painted boxes with ink, then followed more varnish. It took me a few hours to figure out what was missing, then it occurred to me that some buttons would tie all the colours together and bring back some brightness after the dark inks.Surprise, surprise, that it was buttons came to the rescue!

Then came the really difficult bit, figuring out what to sell them as??? A friend suggested that they could be proposal boxes, something I had never heard of before. Basically it's a posh little box that an engagement ring is put into. Also they could be party or wedding favours, I know I would be thoroughly impressed if I got one of these at an alternative wedding!(I'd do a discount for orders of 10 boxes or more). In the end I had to make a decision about the price, when I looked at how long they had taken to make I decided to charge €10. Which at first seemed expensive for a small box, but it's not feasible to sell them for less considering the effort. I've made the decision not to sell them at the market as I can see people being shocked (and sometimes rude) about the price. I understand that it's a recession but sometimes I feel that all of this talk in the media telling people to challenge prices has less them to being rude. Sometimes I just can't listen to it. So to save my sanity these boxes are on sale exclusively in my etsy shop. I will be also adding oval and square boxes in a little while.

Handmade Cards

I was a busy lady again making more stock for the market. Since I went back to the Bedford Row market I've only had a small box of handmade cards with me, but I want to start using my very snazzy card stand again. But that means having the stock to fill it! So I knuckled down and used up lots of the lovely paper I've been hoarding. I also went browsing through my many editions of the Sunday Times Style suppliment for images to used in my collage cards. I got about 40 made in the past day and a half. Here are a few examples, and if you want to see all of them just head to this facebook album. I spent the past two hours taking and editing photos, as I think I'll list them on my Etsy shop. I know there is lots of people selling cards on Etsy, but there is no harm in trying eh?....ever the optomist!

Busy Listing

I've been feeling very proactive the past few days, so I added even more listings to my etsy shop. I always have a batch of handmade cards, but I'm always very lazy at listing them in the shop, but today I scanned and listed lots...Yey for lack of lethargy