One whole year and I’ve still not made it along to Dr Sketchy’s. Bad me. Still, no reason why you can’t make it…..

Posted: July 31st, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Events.
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It never fails to amaze me the things that get bids on Ebay and the things that don’t. I’m currently (read desperately) trying to raise some money for the wedding and am getting rid of some things that no one seems to want either.

I mean who in their right mind wouldn’t want a TV with Happy Days on it that’s actually a lunch tin? Genius!

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under For Sale.
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The past couple of nights have involved making Save The Date cards. Two nights and only 11 done. Ugh.

Posted: July 24th, 2008 under My Projects.
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So it seems I’m not the only one out there experiencing some apron love at the moment. The explosion of crafting and home-making has upped the desire for beautiful aprons. Apron*ology is a new publication which is currently seeking submissions (click on image for further details). The deadline for submissions is September 15th and they’re not just looking for great new aprons but creative ways to repurpose vintage ones and whole bunch of other apron ideas.

Posted: July 24th, 2008 under Fashion.
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The ever-inspiring Meggiecat gave me an unexpected blast from the past this morning with her link to a site on decorative shoe-lacing. I swear I used to think I was super cool with my fat laces tied in a checkerboard lacing. When teamed with dungarees/overalls I was positively chic! (no I will not tell you how recently this was!) 

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Fashion, Tutorials.
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I have a confession. I love an orderly home, organising things and having a ’system’. My downfall is that I am inherently lazy, frequently leave things at my ass and am generally a messy bessie. So, imagine my horror when I realised in only 10 days time I need to find room in my place for another human being and all his belongings! It’s enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. I am already mourning the loss of all that wardrobe space, having to share a desk and the thought of all the extra dirty dishes/washing/ironing/mess. Yeah, I’m a such a romantic! There’s is one silver lining though… all this cleaning means I get to bust out the amazing apron I got as part of my last swap on swap-bot. I swear I’d never believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it for myself but this is a slimming apron. So slimming and shaped I want to wear it out.

Swap-bot has had a recent makeover and I’ve not signed-up for any swaps in a long time (not enough time!) but it definitely worth checking out if you love getting handcrafted items in the mail (and what crafter doesn’t love that?!)

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Life stuff, Swaps.
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I may not of mentioned it before but Him Indoors is returning to Scotland! Unfortunately it means he will be working through in Edinburgh, but it has caused me to try and be a bit more positive about our nation’s capital. For a start, it’s home to a multitude of museums with some great exhibition’s coming up (Tracey Emin’s first ever retrospective begins at the start of August).

Personally I can’t believe I’ve never ventured through to the Museum of Costume and really want to catch current exhibition Hip Knits:

Hip Knits brings together a collection from Fair Isle sweaters to cutting-edge creations reflecting Scotland’s international reputation for its beautifully designed knitwear. Explore the enduring popularity of luxury Scottish knitwear and check out some of the latest catwalk designs. See knitwear by Queene and Belle, Pringle of Scotland, Ingrid Tait (of Tait and Style) and other international fashion firms.

Get a real feel for techniques and material. Learn about designer inspiration, find out about the versatility of wool, get to grips with yarn and try out some knitting techniques yourself. Entry to the exhibition, which runs each day until Fri 31 October, is free (included in museum admission). If the exhibition fires your imagination, there are a number of knitting workshops being run in conjunction with the exhibition.

Posted: July 17th, 2008 under Events, Knitting/Crochet.
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Five craft- and DIY-themed online communities — Craftster.org, Etsy.com, CraftZine.com, BurdaStyle.com and ThriftyFun.com — have launched the Creativity 350 partnership and contest to draw creative energy and attention to 350.org’s goal of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million to stave off drastic climatic and planetary repercussions.

The Creativity 350 contest is actually two contests in one: A 350-themed craft contest and a 350-themed T-shirt design contest. For the craft contest, participants are invited to craft any project that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350, using any crafting technique. For the T-shirt contest, entrants may create an original T-shirt design that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350.

Entries will be accepted from July 15 to August 15, 2008. Then the public will vote for their favorites from August 16 – August 31, 2008. Valuable craft- and green-themed prizes will be awarded to the two winners. A complete list of the prizes can be found at the contest Web site: http://www.craftster.org/350. The winning T-shirt design will also be utilized by 350.org on t-shirts that will help the organization raise money and create awareness of its mission.

Co-founded by environmentalist and educator Bill McKibben, 350.org centers itself around the number 350 to provide focus on a clear, concise goal for reducing global warming factors: “350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.”

This unique partnership between the environmental community and the crafting community will bring out the creative energy of people around the world to help spread this important number, 350, in inspiring new ways.

Posted: July 17th, 2008 under Competitions.
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Shepard Fairey, the contemporary artist whose irreverent works have deconstructed the meaning and methods of propaganda, ironically became the creator of one of the most potent political images in recent history – the OBAMA “HOPE” poster. The image found such immediate resonance with Obama supporters that it became ubiquitous throughout the primary campaign and across the web.

Now, at the request of Russell Simmons, Shepard has donated one of three fine art versions of the poster to the charity auction, Art For Life, an annual event which benefits Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.
This piece is approximately 4 foot x 6 foot in size and is a mixed media stencil collage on cotton rag paper. This “HOPE” may be the only fine art piece of this image available to the public, and is one of only three in existence.

The Art For Life auction ends Tuesday, July 16 at noon. Then the online budding is closed and the highest bidders are invited to bid by phone during the live auction on July 19. Entering the online auction is the only way to enter the live auction. The online auction can be found here.
  
ABOUT RUSSELL SIMMONS / RUSH PHILANTHROPIC

Russell Simmons is responsible for bringing the culture of hip hop to world through the record companies, management concerns, clothing brands and production companies he has founded, ranging from Def Jam to Phat Farm to Def Comedy and Def Poetry Jam television series. Simmons founded Rush Philanthropic with his brother Reverend Joseph “Run” Simmons, the former lead rapper of Run DMC, in 2000. It’s primary focus is bringing children arts education, sponsorship and mentorship in the arts so that they can experience the transformative effect of creative expression. Simmons has been involved in the Obama campaign since he endorsed the Senator in March, 2008.

Posted: July 14th, 2008 under Art/Illustration.
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While I can never see me quite mastering the art of paper cutting to the point where I’d be able to give Rob Ryan a run for his money, I do think I would like to give it a go some time soon. Our walls are bare and patiently waiting for The Great Print/Painting Hangfest I keep putting off and I think that I’d like to have a small cut-out attempt ready to put in the hall with our other pieces. Heather at Skinny laMinx kindly put up this wonderful tutorial a few months back so really I have no excuse other than the need for some inspiration subject matter! (all suggestions welcome)

Posted: July 13th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Inspiration, Tutorials.
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