Link love digest: week 9

Looking back over last week's daily link love shares.

Julia Horberry
Julia's Driftwood Furniture and Lighting

Julia's Driftwood Furniture and Lighting

My passion for Driftwood was born when I discovered and fell in love with Cornwall.

Walking along the beautiful beaches provide me with, what I can only describe as ‘Treasure’. The moment that I pick up that piece of wood I know exactly what it’s going to be, the climb back up the cliff with a heavy backpack full of wood is all part of the fun.

Having an outlet for my creations is more of a relief than a job; I have so many ideas constantly filling my head.

I am self taught with only a background in creative den building, Born in East Yorkshire and moving (escaping) to Cornwall in 1994. Yorkshire made me practical and Cornwall give me the freedom to create; the two together make a good combination.

I make a wide range of furniture, lighting and home accessories from Driftwood and other recycled materials.

I've been doing this for 22 years (half my life), but I turned it into a business back in 2008.
All my driftwood is hand picked in Cornwall and sometimes Devon if I am brave enough to cross the Border :-).

Lesley Jane Nixon

Maid on the Moors

Maid on the Moors

After spending 12 years as a hot glass artist, making beads for artisan jewellery designers, I have been somewhat seduced by the beauty of semi precious gemstones.

I used to collect pretty stones as a child ... still do ... now I make pretty things with them too.

All of my jewellery is hand created using copper and sterling silver wire and beautiful gemstones.

Kate Cook
Vandalised with Love

At Vandalised with Love, we love to bring you something different. Creative Acts of Vandalisation, be it from elegant flower hair clips or sophisticated fascinators and crowns, to crazy fun hatinators, accessories and unique and interesting pieces for your home.
We can also custom re-design ('vandalise with love') your own shoes -  you buy the shoes or send us your old, scuffed shoes and send them to us.

Vandalised with Love

 Perfect to revamp your old but comfortable shoes and make them match your outfit.  Prices start from £35 when you send us your shoes. We will 'vandalise' them with love and return free of charge. All of our shoes are handcrafted to order, ensuring each piece is unique.

We also make shoe clips, clutch bags and fascinators to enhance and match your shoes. Take a look through our pages for inspiration and feel free to contact us with any questions.

We cover shoes using the French art known as decoupage. Thin layers of beautiful specialist paper, sealed and varnished with high quality materials; surfaces are therefore not entirely smooth but have a lovely unique finish.

All our treasures are one-offs and 'vandalised with love' just for you.

Christianna
Mes Amies Soaps

Mes Amies

I discovered my passion for making my own vegan soaps after I tried a delightful handmade bar of soap from a Wiccan store in New Orleans, Louisiana.

I am committed to using all natural, high quality ingredients, sourced from around the globe. Charity is also a very important aspect of my business vision: one bar of soap is donated to a local homeless shelter for every 10 bars purchased.

I'm happy to be sharing my passion for soapmaking with you and I hope you love my soaps just as much as I do! 

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Turquoise kilim

Turquoise Kilim

I have been unable to fins out anything about this person, other than that he lives in Turkey. I can't even find a name. But his beautiful kilims deserve a mention, just the same.








Emma Louise Corry
Emma Corry Designs

Emma Corry Designs

Emma Louise Corry is a textile designer and maker, who lives in Marcham, Oxfordshire, with her husband, daughter, two cats and a hamster. Emma creates beautiful pieces using carefully chosen new and upcycled fabric with attention to detail, colour and design.

Emma remembers the first time she borrowed her mother’s Elna sewing machine, she was about 8 years old. Emma spent a long time teaching herself to thread it and sew with it. Recently Emma bought the same model, as it evokes so many lovely memories. Emma has always been creative – her mother tells stories of handmade paper being made in her blender and printing wrapping paper on the kitchen floor – but Emma's love of textiles really began when she started her two-year diploma at Worthing College for Art and Design in 1984.

After Emma's diploma, she completed a three-year degree course in Fashion and Textiles at Leicester Polytechnic, followed by a two-year MA in Woven Textile Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Graduating in 1991 – Emma was only 20 years old! After leaving the RCA, Emma worked as a freelance textile designer for a short period, then for Monsoon, followed by a job designing window displays for a family run business. Emma started her own greetings card company, specialising in handmade cards. Now that has grown into Emma Corry Designs, which Emma runs from her studio at home, whilst also organising ‘Stitch and Sew’ clubs for primary school children and giving textile support to ‘A’ level students.

Little make

Becky Berry
Little Make

I live and work in our little home in Salisbury, England with my family.

My inspiration at the moment is coming from nature and the animal kingdom. My biggest inspiration is bears and not forgetting my two little girls who help spark my imagination.

Karyn's Kraft Korner

Yes, I'm aware that Karyn's Kraft Korner abbreviates to KKK. But I'm not going to be scared away from the easy (and appropriate) alliteration, just because some pernicious bunch of bigots beat me to it. So there. Or, as my husband's (Swedish) family would say, och därmed basta!

Karyn's Kraft Korner

I have already mentioned how I am helping a friend with her newly established business Grace & Favours in Northampton (England, not Massachusetts). I've even mentioned my 1:1 krafting sessions. At the moment, the furniture and construction of my Kraft Korner is temporary. It will improve, once things have stabilised somewhat. Nevertheless, I thought I'd show you how things look at the moment.

I put in some storage shelves today. More will no doubt follow in due course, since I filled those in short order!
On the back wall, you can see some pieces of organza. Those are samples: I'm going to make some photo backdrops for weddings. I won't be using the sewing machine you see under its white fabric cover practically dead centre of the picture. That's Jules's (shop owner's) machine. And I'm going to teach her to use it, come hell or high water!

In the foreground, you see a framed item I was working on today.  It's a sort of mixed media piece about Corduroy the bear. It's one of my favourite children's stories, and I was never able to read it to my sons without getting all choked up at the end. This was true of all my favourite bedtime stories. My children are probably convinced that most children's books end "...choke, sob, sniffle."

To the left of that is a rather pretty white lamp (you can see a lit one top left of the shot). Next up on the improvement plans is lighting suspended from above - lighting in the shop is pretty poor...which is okay since Jules has a distinct penchant for fairy lights, which abound, and are shown off to their own advantage by the absence of good light from other sources.

On top of the lamp is a piece of wood carving, that seems to have come off a traveller's caravan (Jules and I found it in a ditch one wet day). I have painted it cream. When it's dry, I shall burnish it with burnishing paste.

Willow heart

To the left of the lamp you see a heart-shaped box that Jules is working on. It's a slow-burner. She has other things on her plate, and since I do enough crafting for both of us, she's under no pressure to finish it until she feels inspired.

Only just in the frame on the left, is a heart I made from willow sticks suspended by copper wire from another willow stick. I'm rather pleased with its rough and ready look and it makes the most pleasant wind-chime-y sound when bumped. I might add some more copper wire to stabilise it at some point.

The table is cluttered, because it's in use. What you can't see is that there are at least two more projects underway on the other side of the table. One of them involves the red paper you see rolled up next to the sewing machine. The other involves carved bamboo spoons. I didn't carve them, but I am painting them.

Like I said: I craft enough for both of us.

So here's the thing. If you're a local person, why not book yourself in for a 1:1 session of krafting with Karyn? You can learn something new, improve a skill you're already working on, or relearn something old and almost forgotten.

In the run up to Mothers' Day (which is in March in the UK), I'm also offering sessions for people of all ages to make a gift for the first woman they ever loved.

Or you might like to gift your Mom with a voucher for a 1:1 session of her own. Contact the shop via our website (still under construction, but basically functional) or Facebook page (or just give us a call) to make your booking.

Link love digest: week 5

A day late, for which I apologise, but I was occupied on site at Grace and Favours all day yesterday (more of that anon).

So let's take a look at my link love shares from last week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

On a side note, a few weeks ago, one of my link love shares caught the eye of a friend, and that crafter is a now a supplier to the friend's shop. You never know where the ripples may spread to...

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Papercrane Studios

Papercrane Studios

I don't actually know the name of this crafter, but I love the steampunk pieces s/he creates.

Papercrane Studios is the product of a Theatre Design degree and a whole lot of travelling. We try to combine a traditional jewelry aesthetic, with industrial sensibilities- nature and machine; old and new; salvaged goodies & found treasures from the world over. The pieces we make are unique, and will never be reproduced. They’ve already lived a past life, and now come to you ready to live a new adventure!

Roz Legge
Orchard Felts

Believing I was totally without artistic or creative talent all my life I followed a scientific career until a few years ago when I stumbled into crafting quite by accident and became hooked. Initially all and any craft would do but then I discovered felting and became addicted.

Roz Legge

I love working with wool fibres. Being able to create such a vast range of items from the humble fibre fascinates me and I am always on the look out for new ideas and techniques.

I use lots of felting techniques in my work, needle felting, wet felting, nuno felting and resist felting, to make a wide range of items. My main focus has always been my nuno felted scarves which I adore due to their super soft and lightweight nature, but I love to experiment and other items are always popping into my head and therefore my shop.

Gorgeously soft merino wool is used for my scarves, which in the case of nuno felt is felted onto a silk or cotton base, with other fibres, both natural and synthetic, being used for decorative effect. Other breeds of wool are sometimes used for other items.

I have recently given up my full time job allowing me to dedicate more time to my felting.

Jacqueline Jean
Hip and Clavicle

Jacqueline Jean

Hip and Clavicle is an expression of my adoration for nature, the heady perfume of whimsy, magic and romance that surrounds any investigation into the awe-inspiring parade of forms that millions and billions of years have worked... what better source of inspiration could an artist draw from?

A tomboy at heart, I find artmaking akin to exploring underneath rocks in the garden. There are common themes but each discovery is unique. I take the greatest pleasure in exploring new materials and revising designs. When I'm not busy designing and paper-sculpting my favorite creatures, I can be found outdoors with a camera in my hands.

A couple of themes I repeatedly find myself returning to:

•Bringing the outdoors in and the indoors out.

•Exploring the way ordinary objects and processes come together with human sense and memory in moments that transcend their everyday existence. I am drawn to capture and recreate those moments that spontaneously fill me with wide-eyed reflection and contemplation.

I find inspiration in dark woods, moss-covered bark and wild fields. I daydream constantly and long to live in a treehouse. If I were a piece of music, the instrumentation would include a piano and a harpsichord, and at least a peppering of something broken or long out of tune. ;)

Corinne Thorne
iamjewellery4u

I am a single mum to a toddler I love him and jewellery! I design and create every piece you see in my shop from scratch. Each piece is handmade in my home from silver, copper and glass. I also create Memorial jewellery.

Corinne Thorne

I make handmade one of a kind pieces of jewellery using silver, glass and sometimes copper. Created from design to the finished piece. I also fuse the glass myself so everything is unique.
I bought a piece of glass from America and loved it so much I wanted to know how it was made. I had a read, bought a small kiln, supplies and had a go. I've been making fused glass jewellery for a while now and the glass is amazing. Find me on Instagram corrinet1974 for some small videos. 

I started encasing ashes in glass for people a few years later and this has evolved. I wanted to learn silver jewellery making to enable me to make the memorial jewellery extra special. I did a 12 week course and after week 2 is bought basic tools and again had a go. Now I create one of a kind pieces of handmade jewellery at home. My blog Greyhairedmummy.co.uk (memorial jewellery) gives more of an insight into why I do this.

I love knowing that no one else in the world is wearing the same piece of jewellery. It's as individual as you.

Andrei Voronin
Woodworks

I've not been able to learn anything about Andrei, other than that he lives in Belarus. His website is in Cyrillic, and there doesn't seem to be an 'about' section. So let's let his work speak for him, shall we?

Andrei Voronin

Sue Trevor
Sue Trevor

All my items are handmade and ready to post to you via 1st class royal mail, often arriving through your letterbox the very next day, with the exception of my overseas customers where the items take a little longer to arrive....

All come neatly packaged in tissue paper or with an organza bag. Each and every piece of my work is individually handmade then photographed before I list it for sale in my Folksy shop. Some items will be similar, but no two are the same.

Sue Trevor

I trained at Loughborough College of Art and design. My current body of work started about 12 years ago when I mastered the art of free machine embroidery. Today a lot of my work is based on the botanical world. I layer up my fabrics which are usually hand dyed Egyptian cottons and I often incorporate silk too, as it gives a wonderful sheen. Then I free machine embroider over all the layers to create quite a stiff fabric before I cut, sew, fold and manipulate the fabric into shape, often 3 dimensional, resulting in little treasure like containers.

I have had a love of badges since a very young age and I'm pleased to be able to incorporate these in my current work.

I also love making my own glass beads, known as glass lampworking, this too can be seen occasionally in my work.

Anne Honeyman
Chocolate Frog

Anne Honeyman

I’m Anne Honeyman, a full time textile artist living and working on the beautiful Isle of Skye (UK).

I revel in the visual and tactile effects unique to my medium – from sumptuous textures to delicate lacy structures. With a background in environmental science (PhD in palaeo-ecology), the natural environment is an endless source of inspiration for my work.

I specialise in machine embroidery, but also enjoy hand stitch, dyeing, crochet, and using an embellisher. My designs tend to combine precision and repetition with an element of serendipity!

Since completing City and Guilds Creative Embroidery in 2000 I’ve exhibited throughout the UK in art shows and contemporary craft galleries. I’ve also had over 40 projects published in “Classic Stitches” magazine and have work featured in “Fiberarts Design Book 7”.

Oh, and my two other favourite things are frogs and chocolate! (I didn't even know about the Harry Potter thing when I chose this name!) 

 
Website  
Blog
Facebook

Link love digest: week 2

Continuing the practice of a daily shoutout (in my most used online spaces) for a fellow crafter/maker, here is this week's digest. You will notice that I have very little information about some of the crafters. I decided from the outset to include people on the basis of the quality of their work, regardless of how much they share about themselves in their various online spaces.

Monika Mager's work

Monika Mager
Sand & Soda

Handmade lampwork beads and jewellery since 2007. She sells her pieces via her Facebook page. She has an Etsy shop, but it isn't stocked at present.

Sarah Bell
Sarah Designs UK

Sarah makes beautiful pyrography pieces and shares my love of dragons. From her Etsy shop: 

I've always been interested in arts and crafts and making gifts for friends and family. Others became interested in me creating customised pieces for them, so I started to sell items. My husband bought me a Pyrography machine for Yule one year after I'd said I'd always wanted to try it. I loved it! I now sit most evenings when the children are sleeping, creating special items.

I love taking commissions and creating special gifts. I create my own designs and work freehand, never using templates.

Catherine May

Catherine May Design

Jewellery. From her Folksy page:

I live at home with my husband and 2 of my sons, my other son is at uni at the present,
I have always loved making and creating but never had the time, now my boys are grown up I am now able to devote more time to what I like doing, I work this in around my job in the local farm shop.  

I started a few years ago making copper enameling with a wonderful tutor who encouraged me to get my own kiln and find a space just for me, This then grew as I took a silversmith course at our local college to learn the basics. by now I was gradually spreading my self all over the house, so my husband thought it time to build a shed and move me into that. I also enjoy pyrographics (wood burning) and at present trying to work on creating drinking glasses out of bottles. (I'm still perfecting this).  

Inspiration for my designs come from history, nature and the christian religion which is very important to me

Claire Woodhead

Hook and Loop

Knitted and crocheted items. From her Folksy page:

Welcome to Hook Loop Knits. I sell hand knitted and crochet home decor and lifestyle accessories.
Explore my collection of tea cozies, egg cosies, mug cosies, hot water bottle covers, gloves scarves, hats and lots more home accessories.

My collections are inspired by nature, and my autumn fall tea cozy has a beautifully hand knitted acorn and oak leaf. My other tea cosies are embellished with crochet flowers and knitted leaves. There is a collection of tea cosies, mug cosies and egg cosies with a christmas theme. These are embellished with crochet mistletoe and berries, and another one with a nordic pine christmas tree. I also have a few items that feature owls. A brown owl tea cosy and owl mug cosy.

There are lots of different colours of hand knitted fingerless gloves and scarves to keep you warm and cosy.

If you see anything that you might like in a different colour then please feel free to contact me.

Andi Gregg
Willow and Hobbs

Vintage creations and art from reclaimed wood. From her Folksy page:

I live in rural Lincolnshire and run my furniture restoration and interiors business from my small workshop looking out over the beautiful countryside I am so lucky to be surrounded by. I am very passionate about vintage and reclaimed materials in general, loving old forgotten furniture and wood that's been left to age. It's items such as these that cry out to be re-loved to bring their beauty back into our lives once more.

I am very inspired by colours and patterns and love nothing more than transforming something old and worn into a beautiful new creation, one that'll take pride of place once more in someone's home. So stencilling, decoupage and paint effects it is to enhance the vintage elegance of the pieces I find. Making what I like to think of as heirlooms of the future!

My wall art creations are made from reclaimed wood which has been aged and as such provides a rustic quality to my work. This together with the use of decoupage and guilding, help me to create pieces which will enhance a variety of tastes and settings. Although I enjoy creating my designs, I also love to take on commissions, both for furniture pieces and for wall art, working with my customers to source and design stunning and unique pieces. Above all else I have a passion for what I do which comes across in my designs, with quality and attention to detail being fundamental.

Hannah-Mae's work

I'm always looking for new inspiration and constantly source special vintages pieces to re-love into beautiful one off bespoke creations. Ultimately my passion comes across in what I do.

Hannah-Mae Williams
Hannah-Mae Illustration

Illustrations and cut paper art.

Jacqueline Austen
J Austen Jewellery Design

Silversmithing and jewellery items. From her Folksy page:

I enjoy designing and creating jewellery. Taking inspiration from art, history, nature and very often the stones I am working with, I create designs using traditional hand knotting and metal smithing techniques

At the moment, I particularly enjoy experimenting with different casting techniques, recreating solid silver or gold replicas of found items, such as fossils and shells found on beach walks, interesting buttons and keepsakes or even leaves and seeds found in the countryside. Casting in sand, clay and even cuttlefish bone, I love the different effects these methods create in the gold and silver during the casting process.

My designs can be simple, making the most of a gorgeous stone with minimalist lines or more elaborate with lots of detail. I enjoy a challenge and embrace taking on commissions - especially those which push boundaries and ideas.

All my gemstone and pearl necklaces are traditionally hand knotted, as I believe that even the smallest details can make a difference. Much of my metal smithed work is hall marked, in accordance with the law and bears my unique makers mark.

If you have a commission idea or repairs to be made - however small - please do contact me, as I will be happy to help and advise.

Please pay a visit to these shops to see what these wonderful crafters have to offer.

Giving a shout out to the independent businesses and crafters

As an independent crafter, I like to spread the 'link love' and share news of others who are in the same boat.

It was my birthday yesterday, and my friends and family took the trouble to give me gifts that supported small business and independent makers. I'd like to share their details with you. Perhaps you've already finished your Christmas shopping, but there are still birthdays, weddings, graduations, mother's/father's day and so on...

Jacaranda World Wooden Carvings

This beautiful giraffe carving was brought all the way from Cape Town when my son travelled there to attend a recent wedding. It is the work of Dennis Maguma at Jacaranda World Wooden Carvings, and is made from sustainable timber. He has a stall in the Watershed at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and can be reached at dennismaguma75@gmail.com.

Steampunk buttons

These pewter buttons came from someone who knows of my weakness for all things steampunk and my love of sewing. They came from Alchemy England. I shall have to think of something fitting to do with them!

Bath time goodies

This selection of handmade bath time goodies comes from FruFru. I'm a shower person 6 days a week. But on a Sunday night, when Mr Namasi is off playing ice hockey, I treat myself to a soak in the tub with my Sudoku. The friend who gave me these took account of my preferred colours and smells and my love of all things lime. As if that wasn't enough, the card that came with this gift was handmade, and included a watercolour portrait of me by an artist called Samantha Crowe.

Sammy's Scribbles

While not strictly a birthday gift, this also arrived today, so I'll include it: a lovely personalised Christmas bauble, hand painted by Henna Exquisite.

The last few months have been hellish for us. I lost my workshop under unpleasant circumstances (as you know), I had a cancer scare, my husband's company was closed down and he was made redundant. But thoughtful, handpicked gifts like this make a world of difference.

Ask the audience

The title of this post is drawn from a popular TV quiz programme in which contestants have the option to ask the studio audience how they would answer the current question. Contestants then have the right to go with the flow, or ignore popular opinion and choose a different answer. A lot money rides on getting it right.

==oOo==

It is said (in a widely contested quote) that if Henry Ford had canvassed people on whether he should build a motor car, they would have said they needed a faster horse.

It seems to me that large corporations spend a lot of money finding out what customers want, and then an even larger sum of money convincing them that they desperately need a product that the corporation produces.

So how much is about listening to your market, and how much is about leading it? If you only listen, you'll produce things that people are already somewhat familiar with. If you allow your creativity free rein and produce something completely innovative and different, you might never persuade people to buy it.

Now I'm not a corporation. I'm just me. As a result, I'm even more directly dependent on people liking the stuff I make enough to buy it. And I don't have a massive budget to spend on market research. I am restricted to straw polls, and reactions to the products I have already made. I am also under some pressure to produce something different and/or original, because I can't compete on price with the mass produced output of the larger corporations.

It's a fine line: it has to be desirable and different, but still mainstream enough to attract a buyer.

Flowering chive

I recently completed a cross stitch of a flowering chive. I had bought the kit from a charity shop (I have a weakness for botanical art). It was far more complex than any of the other cross stitches I have done recently (see below), so it took quite a while to complete. Then came the challenging question: what to do with it?

People don't tend to buy framed tapestries/cross stitch panels any more. I know this, because I have bought several discarded ones from charity shops, with a view to upcycling them. They are currently quite popular upcycled as cushions, bags, clothing, seat covers, etc.

So I posted a picture of the completed panel on my Facebook page and asked my followers what they would like to see done with it. There were some creative suggestions that I would really have liked to try, but I had to be conscious of what would find a buyer.

The most popular suggestion was a cushion cover. So I decided to go with that, but I avoided the obvious approach and went with something asymmetrical with just a touch of the bohemian about it.

Completed cushion cover

Of course, now comes the real litmus test. Will it find a buyer? Did I make the right decision in listening to the audience?

I have bought several miniature cross stitch kits, as well as already completed tapestries and cross stitches, as I mentioned, and I'm having fun turning them into useful items. I haven't yet gone with an item of clothing, but I think that might be next on the agenda.

Jute carrier bag

Cotton book bag

Tea cosy (commissioned item)

Craft bag

I'd be interested to hear from other independent makers, artisans and crafters how they manage the balancing act. Have you found the magic silver bullet?

Note: at the time of writing, some of the items pictured in this post are still for sale. Please contact the author with any enquiries.

The creative umm err OR from hmm to tada

Madeleine's collar

For an eclectic collection of reasons, ranging from practical to deeply personal, I have been away from my workshop for the past week or so, working from home in my studio.

This has meant a shift from power tools to fine handwork. I guess my sewing machine is a power tool, so I haven't been entirely without them.

It has also meant a shift in output from items made of wood and metal to items made of fabric, thread and beads.

The immersion in a different set of skills with different materials has resulted in some new ideas, which I hope will see the light of day soon. I've found myself rethinking my plans for some of the items in my workshop. Some bits of work were going to become one thing and will now (probably) become another. Just because of the shift in focus.

I haven't deliberately been thinking about this or that piece of wood. It's just that while one part of my mind is focused on the task (quite literally) at hand, another part of my mind wanders off of its own accord. There is no guarantee that it won't come back empty handed. In fact, there's no guarantee that it will come back at all, but that's another story.

I was recently asked to describe my creative process for a feature in a magazine (more of that anon). I have to say I felt like an utter fraud. I don't think my journey from hmm to tada really deserves the word 'process'. That sounds altogether too organised.

The sort of work I do at home is far more likely to have a process behind it, because it often involves patterns. I'll think of a piece of fabric in my stash and ferret out a pattern that will be suitable. Or I'll come across a beading/cross stitch pattern and dig out the materials I'll need to complete it. Following the pattern is like following a process. Of course, I deviate. A lot. Because that's just kind of who I am.

For example, I bought a series of Mouseloft cross stitch miniatures. Once I had completed them all, I turned them into a sort of patchwork carrier bag.

Mouseloft miniatures carrier bag

I liked the finished result, so I took a couple of MJ Hummel cross stitch panels, and turned them into a carrier bag, too.

MJ Hummel carrier bag

Skirt tote bag

But that's not always how it works. I came across a skirt I have (ahem) outgrown. It has a beautiful applique design on it, and I wondered if I could turn that into a bag, too, since I seemed to be on a bit of a roll with bags. I could and I did.

Sometimes it's just a case of needs must. Some time ago, I was making a necklace for my son's fiancee to wear for the wedding (which, in the end, never took place, but that's beside the point). But it transpired, she didn't want to wear necklace for perfectly acceptable reasons of her own. So I set the piece aside.

A few days ago, I came across the various bits of it that had been completed, and thought I might as well finish it. Sadly, somehow, I had lost some of the beads called for in the pattern. So I had to innovate. The finished product (at the top of this post) looks somewhat different from the original design, but I like to think it works.

Do you have a creative process? Do you plot and plan? Or do you fly a bit more by the seat of your pants?

Working with other materials

For the most part, as you may have noticed, I work with wood (or facsimiles thereof like MDF, laminates and laminated chipboard). But I also work with other materials. I have a studio at home, where I carry out handcrafts that don't involve power tools: sewing, beading, decopodging...that kind of thing.

Tray table - before

In the typical manner of a creative person, I tend to start out with one goal in mind, and wind up in a slightly different place, as inspiration moulds the project organically. So I seldom work entirely within my comfort zone, and most projects stretch me at least a little. Oddly enough (or perhaps not), this is exactly the approach I employed when I used to design learning solutions in my previous life.

Then from time to time, I am given the opportunity to explore new territory.

I was recently commissioned to restore a metal patio set that had seen better days. A two-seater bench and a little tray table. It had great sentimental value to its owner. I knew that I could strip it and sand it back by hand, before painting it again. And I knew it would be a long, slow process.

Two seater - before

At the same time, I was also given a candelabra made of twisted iron rods. The cups for the candles had pretty much rusted away, and the client gave me carte blanche to let my imagination run riot. Once again, this would involve stripping and repainting.

First things first, though - those rusted candleholders had to come off. This sort of work gives me time to think, so it is during the purely manual parts of a project that inspiration tends to strike. It dawned on me - maybe I could have the rust sandblasted off instead.

I found a local sandblasting firm and approached them. For them it was a small project - they usually work on huge pieces, but they were keen on the idea and agreed to do the work for me. They sanded and primed all three pieces.

Screw-in eyes

In the workshop next door to the sandblasting firm, is a metalworker. He works on Rolls Royces and vintage lorries. But he was happy, too, to weld screw-in eyes onto the candelabra for me (he also made a new drip tray for our gas barbecue, but that's another story). I think the work felt like a holiday to him.

During conversations with the sandblasting man, we discovered that we could form a mutually beneficial relationship in respect of some of the stuff he throws away. I will save him the trouble of disposing of it, and it will provide me with the basis of some interesting pieces going forward.

Once that was done, I painted all three pieces in accordance with the clients' instructions, and reunited them with their happy owners.

Patio set - after

Candelabra turned lantern tree

The point I'm making is that it's worth having a go. It's worth talking to other local tradespeople and crafters. It's worth asking. People can always say no, but often I find people enjoy the opportunity to do something different. Especially if they get to be a little creative in the process.

So you've never tried x thing before. Give it a shot. You might surprise yourself. And you might make some interesting new acquaintances into the bargain.

On not knowing that it can't be done

There's something to be said for a certain level of ignorance. It has certainly served me well in my life. Years ago, when I sang in a band, I didn't play an instrument, and I would want to go straight from one song into another. The instrumentalists would tell me it couldn't be done, and I'd say "Like this..." and sing what I wanted. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. Nobody died.

The first piece of user-driven 'e-learning' I ever created was done using PowerPoint and a screen capture tool called SnagIt. Apparently that couldn't be done either. Except I did it. And it worked.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not describing a level of defiance here. It's not that people say a thing can't be done and that then fires me up to prove them wrong. It's that I think of something I want to do, and decide on a way to do it. Sometimes I find out before I begin the actual work that it (allegedly) can't be done. Sometimes it is only after I've done it that I find out it can't be done.  Sometimes when people tell me a thing can't be done, they're right. Sometimes I say "But what about..." and it turns out they weren't right.

I seem to have an overdeveloped 'how hard can it be' gland (perhaps it takes up the space where my schadenfreude gland is supposed to be, because those who know me will attest to the fact that I am singularly lacking in that area).

That same blithe lack of realism is found in most areas of my life. The work I do with my hands is no exception. There are so many examples of things that I didn't know couldn't be done before I did them.

Pine, rickety and in need of TLC

Today's post is about one small example of that.

I acquired a little stool from a house clearance not far from my home. It was pine. It was rickety. And it was strung with hideous green nylon twine. I know it doesn't look hideous in the photo, but trust me: it was.

First I took the twine off. I Freecycled that to a keen allotment gardener for his peas and beans.

Then I made it a little less rickety by sanding off a lot of excess of glue, previously applied for no doubt the same reason, and re-gluing it. One tip: new glue doesn't generally stick very well to old glue (does that make sense?), so if you need to re-glue something, take the old glue off first.

Then I painted the frame a lovely duck egg blue, and gave it a good waxing.

So far, I haven't mentioned anything that 'can't be done', have I? Well, here it comes...

What was I going to do about that top? I could just screw on a plank of wood. I could put a piece of wood with a cushion on top. But I liked that woven look. And how hard could it be?

How hard could it be?

I bought cotton ribbon in duck egg blue and cream. Two different designs. Then I cut lengths of it and wove a new seat for the stool. Starting in one corner and alternating between north-south and east-west. I pulled it as tight as I could and stapled it with my trusty staple gun. Then I covered the ends and staples with some calico strips, much as I do when I'm reupholstering a chair. And hey presto! A stool for teddy.

It never occurred to me to think that the width of the ribbon and the dimensions of the chair would be a mismatch...and they weren't. It worked perfectly. It was only when I put the item up on my Folksy store and Facebook page that I found out that it was tricky to do a seat like that and easy to get it wrong.

Hey Presto! A stool for teddy

I say again: there's a lot to be said for not knowing something can't be done. I'm sure there's a lot of deep philosophy that can be extrapolated from this, but it's just how I work. Perhaps I'm just in permanent denial. Don't disillusion me, will you? I seem to get more done this way.