Frame it

There are few things I've been meaning to get around to for absolutely ages. And, I've finally set some time aside to do some of them.

 

I really wanted to capture Ruby's hand print in clay. I rolled some air dry clay out until it was just over a cm thick. I then pressed her hand into it, making sure I got all the fingers and the outline of the palm. You have to do it it pretty swiftly before baby starts to move and scrunch their fingers- or you end up with 10 digits and ugly, finger nail marks. I'm really pleased with the result.

Another thing that I've wanted to do since we moved in, is a put up a welcoming/encouraging verse for visitors to see as they come in. I bought the frame, designed and printed the poster and asked Steve to hang it for me. He promptly broke the glass whilst doing so. So we hung it without the glass-I think it looks effective without it- as it's printed on really nice card stock.

We're always taking photos of all sorts of things. Since having Ruby, we have taken absolutely hundreds of her. For years, I've had little stash of frames, waiting to be used- and I hardly ever get around to printing photos to put in them. So this month, whenever Ruby naps, I lock myself away in my work room, print photos and put them in all my neglected frames and albums.

 

I bought these pictures from Cornwall, a couple of years ago. We love Cornwall and have several memorable holidays there, so we wanted to have something to remind of the place at home. 

I thought these colourful, little nautical scenes by Jane Bell were just right. They're actually greetings cards that I bought from Padstow. I've put them in good ol' Ikea frames and hung them in our kitchen.

 

Boobs, Beta-Blockers and The Bible: How I Became A Christian

I always went to church. As a family, we attended an Anglican church in the village that I grew up in. Mum is and was a Christian and brought me and my brother up with Christian values. I always knew God existed and I would pray from time to time, I thought that I was a Christian because Mum was. I was always a well behaved child, in contrast to my older brother and I thought this made me ‘good’,

I thought this made me ‘acceptable’.

My parents had a very messy break-up when I was 11 and my world was turned upside down. I began to attend a pentecostal church with my mum. This was a real culture shock, but it was here I discovered the work of the Holy Spirit. I also began to gain a proper understanding of the gospel and that I needed to make a commitment of my own. There were always opportunities to become a Christian at the end of church services, but being very self conscious and lacking self-confidence, I would resist going to the front. I would never stand up during worship for the same reasons. I remember being at a conference with my mum, and being really struck by the lyrics ‘mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name’. I had begun to discover just how awesome God is and I remember telling my mum that I was stood up on the inside.

 

I worked extremely hard at school and got very stressed throughout my GCSEs, to the point of being prescribed beta-blockers by my GP. I was really excited to finish my exams and have 11 weeks off school before A Levels started. When I finally finished my exams, it was quite an anti-climax, I suddenly felt purposeless. I was struggling with a lack self confidence and was incredibly self conscious of my developing body. My friends wore pretty, figure hugging clothes and under-wired bras. I wore comfy, but ugly crop tops and baggy, boyish clothes- anything to cover myself up, anything to hide behind. This led to me feeling very down. It was the first time in my life that I discovered that my parents could not solve all my worries. One night in bed I felt so depressed and scared that I got into bed with my mum. She began to re explain the gospel to me. She explained about the many laws of the Old Testament and that this is how the Jewish people tried to gain acceptance from God. She then explained how Jesus had defeated our sins and sorrows on the cross. Taking the punishment for all the things I had done wrong and that He loved me unconditionally. It was here that I made my own commitment to God.

Although my mood did not immediately lift, I began reading the bible, finding verses appropriate to my situation. I really felt that God was close to me and this would often fill me with emotion. Around that time there was a song that I listened to a lot. It was a Whitney Houston song about friendship called ‘Count on me’ and I strongly felt God speak to me through its lyrics: ‘Count on me through thick and thin, a friendship that will never end, when you are weak I will be strong, helping you to carry on, call on me I will be there, don’t be afraid, please believe me when I say, count on me’. One thing I have discovered over the years, is that God will speak to a person in a way that is appropriate them. In this case, showing a teenage girl that he loves her and can be completely relied upon through a pop song.

God has been so faithful to me over the 12 years that I have known Him and He continues to amaze me daily. He has blessed me with so much and I feel more loved and accepted than ever before.

Soup Can Pen Pots

If I'd been told a year ago that I would be knitting and crocheting covers to make pen pots from old soup cans, I would have laughed! But here I am posting a photo on my blog of just that.

I'm Hooked!

For the past month, I've been attending a Friday Knit & Natter group at one of my favourite shops. Love 13 is an amazing little gift shop which I discovered at the beginning of the year. They run lots of different crafty classes and now they have coffee and cake- woohoo! They're baby and buggy friendly as well- which is a definite bonus.

I love going to Knit and Natter. I've made new friends, learnt some really good stitching tips and I've had some great cake!

For the past few fridays I've been working on a crochet shopping bag. As I said in my previous post, I'm determined to spend less on craft materials, so this bag is made from yarn that I had left over from other projects. I doubled lined it with an old pillow case and a top that doesn't fit. Very eco-friendly- I reckon. I actually learnt to crochet at Love 13 so I was very proud to show them my work.

 

 

Creative Caffeine Fuelled Frenzies

Whenever Ruby gets excited about something, be it seeing Daddy arrive home from work or finding something new to chew on, she makes a very cute and excited 'oooooh' sound, followed by a low growl. Anyone that hears her, laughs and asks 'where did she get that from?' I wasn't sure where she'd learnt it, until my dad told me that she'd got it from me. And thinking about it- I reckon he's right.

I've noticed that that's the sound I make when I go into an art shop or a haberdashery. I love anywhere with lots of colourful bits and pieces that I could turn into something or that inspires me to make something. When I go into this type of place, my mind starts to swell with ideas and I revert back to childhood. I scour the aisles excitedly, grabbing at everything, oohing as I go. I stand mesmerised, looking at colourful buttons and threads, grabbing all the different varieties of wool and leafing through inspiring books. Suddenly, I want to buy lots of pretty things to make my house more beautiful. Over the years, I have been guilty of far too many impulse buys. I just love all the colours and textures!

If I begin my shopping outing with a trip to a coffee shop- things get much, much worse. The caffeine turns me into a hyper-active nutcase and sends me into a creative frenzy! My mind starts to brim with new ideas, new businesses to start, things I want to buy, people to collaborate with. I suddenly want to change the world with 'my art' and I start to plan how I will achieve this. After a large Americano at Starbucks , I once spent a fortune on canvases and acrylic paint. I was going to paint the masterpiece that would make my millions... but, once the caffeine had worn off and the excitement had died down, the canvases and the paint ended up at the back of my wardrobe, where they stayed for years, covered in a thick layer of dust.

The amount I have spent over the years on creative impulse buys is not worth thinking about. As I get older and wiser I am learning to be more self-controlled. And now that I'm a mummy, I have other things to be spending our pennies on, i.e  nappies, wipes and decaf coffee!

So I decided to see what I can make out of things I already have. I have a vast stash of making supplies- so there's plenty to chose from.

I've started seeing potential in things that I would have either just left in a cupboard or thrown in the bin. Suddenly a baked bean can triggers my imagination.

I've found myself watching old episodes of Art Attack- is that wrong for a 28 year old to be doing that? Anyway- I think it's amazing. There is nothing that Neil Buchanan can't do with newspaper and PVA glue!
I used to think that recycling and reusing 'rubbish' was for  hippies and tight wads but I've seen the error of my ways. It saves cash, preserves the environment and is actually pretty fun.

By using a bit of lateral thinking, I've learnt to really value materials. The things you make needn't be naff and Blue Peter-ish. I've discovered a whole load of ideas in books, magazines and online for making some pretty cool things by using 'junk'.

Check out this Pintrest page full of cool upcycling ideas

And this one's good too

I bought this book a few years ago and have just rediscovered it. There are loads of ideas for making things out of found materials. I particularly like the necklace made from badges.



So if you're feeling creative and you fancy making something, before you spend a fortune- see what you have at home first. You never know what you could create. I'd love to see your creations lovepraymake@gmail.com

Back To The Drawing Board

Since the age of 15 when I started to make and sell cards to order, I wanted to run my own business. Making stuff for a living is all I've ever really wanted to do. Now that my little girl is getting bigger and I have a little bit of time to myself- I'm going back to the drawing board with my business. I'm currently re-naming, re-branding and re-designing... everything. How did I get to this point?

I graduated from university with a 2.1 in graphic design in 2006. I love graphics, I love colour, type and pattern, but I don't think the graphic design industry ever really suited me and I don't think it ever will. I'm not competitive enough, I'm definitely not commercial enough and do you know what? Having studied graphic design for three years- I'm really not that great on Photoshop and I know next to nothing about web design. Phew! That feels good to get that off my chest!

Throughout uni- I constantly felt like a square peg in a round hole. I enjoyed the ideas process and I  really excelled when it came to making anything, like a book or the board game I designed in my
3rd year. But generally graphic design was far too tech-y for me. Too much time on the computer and not enough cutting and sticking for my liking.

Here are some of the projects I enjoyed.

These wallets were made out of duck tape and covered with memorabilia from my summer job at a crazy golf course.

For this project I had to design a greatest hits album cover for an artist/band of my choice. I inevitably chose Stevie Wonder. The album cover was based on sound and the ear. When it's opened up it revealed a pop up representation of the inside of the human ear.

As part of the project we had to design a promotional gift to go with the album. This little box was designed to contain a set of headphones.
































At the end of my final year of university, I racked my brain over what I could do with my life. I went round in round in circles and never came to a conclusion. In fact the board game I made was designed with that in mind. Some of the points on the board include 'Marry a rich man and become a lady of leisure' or 'go home to your mum' and if you actually do make it to the end you're sent straight back to the beginning. It's only now, looking back on this, that I realise how cynical I was.

However, to my delight- Hallmark Cards spotted my work at my degree show and invited me for an interview. I was so excited and thought that this was it- the beginning of a long and prosperous career in design! But it didn't go to plan. An aloof man in a Hawaiian shirt leafed through my portfolio with what can only be described as complete disdain. I sat quivering in front of him, as he ripped me and my work to shreds (not literally- that would have made an awful mess of his shiny, white studio). I went home and put my portfolio behind my bed and vowed that that's where it would stay.

So I convinced myself that teaching was the thing for me. I worked as a teaching assistant in a secondary school and then a primary school. I enjoyed it. I loved helping the kids that struggled. But I preferred to be making resources for them or making scenery for the nativity play. I soon realised that design was where my heart was. I attended an interview for Junior Designer at a children's publisher in the city. This time, the interviewer loved my portfolio, but.. lack of industry experience went against me.

Having been rejected again, I decided to start work on my own designs. Mainly greetings cards and wedding stationery- which were really popular amongst friends and family and then friends of friends. Now this may seem a little hasty and possibly a tad irresponsible, but having only just started out on my little venture- I handed my notice in. I really thought this was what God was telling me to do. I have no idea how I convinced my husband, Steve of this.

I spent my time designing and making cards and stationery. I designed bespoke wedding stationery for several couples. I sold cards at craft events and in craft shops, as well as to friends and family. I attended business courses and worked on my website.

I began selling  my work in a co-operative craft shop in St Albans. Here I made friends with several jewellery designers, who inspired me to learn some new skills. So I began an intensive business and jewellery course at The London School of Jewellery. I left this course feeling thoroughly inspired and began work on my own range of jewellery. I wore my jewellery everywhere and it soon began to attract attention- even from random people on the street- which was really encouraging!

I made enough money to pay for my materials, courses and industry magazines- which I was really proud of. But the money I earned definitely didn't pay the bills. We really wanted to move out of our flat and into a house- so I needed to get a job. I got a job as Assistant Manager in a ceramics cafe- which was a real blessing. The regular income was brilliant, it settled Steve's nerves and enabled us to get a mortgage on our house. It also meant that when I left to have Ruby that I got maternity pay.

The year and a half that followed  has consisted of full time employment, pregnancy, refurbishing a house, depression, giving birth, moving house and taking care of my very active little girl. Therefore my little business has been seriously neglected and I miss it!

Having come to the end of my maternity leave we realised that it just wasn't cost effective for me to go back to work where I was, so I made the bold step of resigning from my position. My life has obviously changed considerably in the last year and so my head is now brimming with new ideas to explore. I'm getting back to researching, making, planning and selling and I'm excited.

So watch this space!

Nothing deep or spiritual to write about today- just shameless showing off of some of pretty things around my new house.

I recently learned to crochet. I made a giant granny square and stitched it to a pink, polka dot cushion. I'm gradually covering it in buttons, knitted flowers and badges. I'm pretty proud of the result- particularly next to a coordinated baby.

I made a whole load of these verse cards ages ago. I thought I'd string some together with some beads and hang it at our front door. What better way to greet people to your house.

I always thought decoupage was a bit naff, but I've recently developed a liking for it. Here's my decoupaged door number- which I've also used bits of my verse cards on. Holy door numbers? That could work.

I got these letters for Ruby's door from a shop called 'Art For Art's Sake' in Muswell Hill. I think they're just die cut from old greetings card. I would've made them myself- but as they were only 40p each- thought I'd take the easy option.

Fran is one of bestest friends in the world. She bought this Belle and Boo picture for Ruby when she was born. I love it because it looks like I did when I was little- I think Ruby will probably look like it too. It matches her room perfectly. Only someone that knows me really well would know to get this.

I bought these little canvases from Dunelm Mill. I thought they looked great againt Ruby's brown polka dot wallpaper. You may have noticed I have a really childish sense of taste. I had pirate and princess bed covers until I got married- not the norm for a 23 year old I know. Having a little girl has enabled me satify my love for children's accessories without seeming wierd- phew!

It was quite a novelty having to buy two Father's Day cards this year- one for my dad and one for Ruby's daddy. This one was hand screenprinted by Alison Hardcastle, which I bought at Love 13.

I painted this gnome from Zebra Ceramics, where I worked before I had Ruby. I also did prints of Ruby's feet here when she was 4 weeks old.

I've just started making these button pendants. I wear this one of Ruby all the time. I'm working on a whole range of them at the moment- so watch this space.

I love this Graham & Brown wallpaper! I've used it in my little work room. I've been meaning to put something in the frames- but haven't had the time or courage to do so yet.

I've knitted since my nan taught me when I was little, but I only recently learnt to follow a pattern to make clothes. I am very proud of this cardie I knitted for Ruby. I decided the rabbit would probably stay more still than Ruby would.

I found the little chair in my in-laws' loft. It must have belonged to Ruby's cousins when they were small.