New Year, New Focus

Hello out there!

To be fair, over a year since my last post means it's highly unlikely anyone is ready this, but hey ho, you have to (re)-start somewhere.

So 2016 sees me filled with renewed passion for craft, which after the installation of my new studio at home a year ago, has become a full time thing. Last year was exceptional for me, making a lifelong crafty friend and undertaking new business ventures. But if there's 1 thing a busy year teaches you, it's where to prioritise the following year. So this year my promise to myself is to make time to craft for joy and to share that joy as much as possible.

So to kick off, here are a couple of  projects I have started the year with.

First is this sweet little hanging icon. It's not overly intricate or detailed but I love it.

It was made for a friends daughter who very recently lost her Grandad and was having nightmares. She loves crafting and has spent time making things with me in the past. I hoped this would cheer her up and help her sleep at the same time. 

Next up is this extra large frame I have made for my husbands upcoming birthday. As usual, the January budget is very tight so extravagant privet gifts are out of the question this year. But the old cliché is true, handmade gifts do mean more. So this year I had each of our 4 kids write down 3 top reasons why they love their dad and used them to create this frame. Obviously for a 50cm frame you can't make a backing from 1 sheet of paper. So I decoupaged pieces of text, map and other paper together onto the backboard of the frame. I then knocked it back with some dry brushed Paper Artsy Nougat paint. I then sprayed black and red sprays with gold perfect pearls spray.

I used a clear embossing dauber  and silver powder randomly to enchant the tatty, workshop manual, industrial look.

The wooden words cost £1 and were sponged in black. I typed up my kids answers with an tatty typewriter font, mounted them on craft card and lightly sponged the edges with paints to match the ink sprays. Then just put it all together 😊

Hope to be back with more work next week. Take care xx