Friday 22 February 2013

Foxes and Cakes

If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll have seen I've been on a bit of a fox kick recently.

I've experimenting with what I can only call magazine art, and it all started with a fox. That's the secret thing I was talking about here... and I'm still not ready to share it yet. Instead, in order to satisfy a foxy need, I picked up some thick felt in the craft shop and got to work with my needle to make a fantastic fox cushion:


Thanks is due to the article in my mum's Mollie Makes magazine - featured here online. I couldn't bring the mag home with me, and I didn't have time to photocopy the pages, so I snapped one pic of the finished cushion and worked the rest out for myself. Cute, isn't he? He makes me almost nostalgic for autumn. I also am aware that foxes are not the most popular animals at the moment... but for me, they will always be.

OK, moving on. Lots happening here. You may notice I have another new tab on my blog... MMM! HandmadeToo! has launched, due to such high local demand, and I am now pleased to be supplying sweet and sometimes healthy treats!

So, wish me luck. I'll be back soon, with some scrapbooking, some more foxiness, and maybe some cakes. Have a great weekend!

Saturday 2 February 2013

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Netherlands...

(this one is a project long in the making. a true labour of love.)

Last year, we planned a surprise 30th birthday trip for two friends to come see us, and then go see a favourite band in the Netherlands. It was such an intricate plan, with us only telling them at the last minute that they'd need to pack their passports, and such an exciting secret to be keeping.

The band, The Slackers, were playing their end-of-tour gig at a bar in Sittard, where they'd previously recorded two live albums, and we were going to be part of it.


Their flyer started me off on my colour scheme - black, white and yellow.


Their own 'tagline', from one of their songs, gave me the title. I used an acetate cover to add more interest and dimension to the front page.



Their singer, with his odd, funny in-jokes, gave me the style: he kept talking about events in comic-book terms ('meanwhile, somewhere in the Netherlands'). I went heavy on the layers for the front page, too - loads of paint, ink, gesso, newspaper and glue.


And the genre of music gave the pattern: ska. Behold the ska car! First I painted this wooden car shape with white acrylic paint, then stamped the checkers on. After I covered it with a layer of crackle glaze and waited for it to dry.


 I love this photo of the three best friends.



We got a bonus band, too. The New Town Kings.


I used the Fun Days kraft patterned paper and chipboard pieces from MME. They were a perfect background for the stamping, painting and inking.


The filler for this frame was an awesome find from my mum - wrapping paper from Tesco!



An amazing double gig ended with us partying with the two bands in the cool May evening air. What a day. What a brilliant surprise.