Happy New Year

Well I can’t believe another year has passed zip zap!

So many things not finished… sigh

hey, a new year.. so many things to start LOL

but for now Happy New Year and do look back at my last (first!) blog year if you like.

I’m not making resolutions but I am going to try to blog more frequently- or at least more regularly; the long gaps mean things get passed by as something else happens!

FOR EXAMPLE “here is one I prepared earlier” THAT NEVER GOT FINISHED AND POSTED UP. I would like to use it as it is a good way for me to remember a start of a project. ( so, sorry, but I’m going to inflict it on you too)!

This is the first publisher template I made for the matchbox accordion booklets. I’ve adapted it a few times now but at the time I felt very pleased with myself! It has made new ones much quicker.

It also shows me how much I can prevaricate and get sidetracked! ( cue; sidetrack)

My favourite author Terry Pratchett has a bit in one of his books where he describes ideas as sleeting through the universe- sometimes the best idea “hits” the wrong brain and is wasted; other times there is a lightbulb moment for some bright spark!

This idea so resonates with me; I often feel like I am standing ( or to be honest, more probably sitting) under a veritable rainstorm of ideas- sorting them out and getting a proper solid hit to work with has always been a problem. I like the metaphor of all the randomly crashing, sleeting, rain better than butterflies fluttering. It feels much more like what happens to me at times. It stops me actually finishing so many things- I prove concept and then get distracted by the next thing.

Of course sometimes I just can’t be inspired, or bothered, (impatient and lazy?) Know thyself! 🙂

Anyhow here is a sequence taken which to me shows how I work things out ; or how i should not to do it if i ever want to finish it!
!Idea! This well known rhyme “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, your house is on fire your children are flown”.

Firstly a 3D paper house using my bag/box/house fold. I wanted it all as one piece but the flames are added separately on these rather scruffy tryouts. [idea 1]

Then messing about with a little paper doll [idea2]

Then I think it would go well in a matchbox (at this point I had done only the doll and beetles in them) so made a rough working out of layout of the text…

…and decided to try out Publisher.

Much gnashing of teeth ( Publisher was, is a learning curve all by myself!)
but started messing about with seductive clip art [ ideas3 and 4] Oooo, great fun.

Covered a matchbox with fortuitous tiny scrap from friend quilting leftovers and thought about maybe using my nice vintage ladybird or house buttons. [idea5]

Which led to the idea to use even- more- tiny scraps as individual ladybird children (as can’t bear to waste such an apt bounty) glued onto card with threads so they can dangle..! [no.6]

Then had idea to make mini fabric ladybird ( like Agatha beetles ).[idea7]
Tried it but at about an inch long a bit frustratingly fiddly- so not really happy with it and left that.

I also made up some individual booklets for my cousins’ children, with their names in the text and the – second verse ( more clip art fun and games)[no 8]

Abandoned whole boxful to do other rhymes.!!!

I did actually finish baa baa black sheep ( but there is a similar abandoned boxful of other ideas for that too!).

Hmm.

But today I feel like doing the ladybird one again- can’t find the energy to start anything completely new- even if it is New Years day!

Watch this space- I may actually finish one.

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Butterfly Days

I’ve been working on lots of things – at the same time as usual. It’s a wonder I ever finish anything. I was reading on another blog about limiting the creative theme to focus the creativity; but when I have a theme my brain immediately zips about with lots of different variations or uses for it. I can’t help it; and it makes finishing things so hard. As fast as I start something and prove concept, I have another idea; and then it is tedious to work on one thing when I’m itching to see what I can do with something else. Especially as, like most of us, I usually have to put it down in mid flow, to “do life”. This is why I am so often in a paper, wool and fabric chaos zone- one I have a definite love- hate relationship with. Sometimes I long for a nice normal uncluttered home- but a soon as I approach this holy grail… in starts to creep another muddle as I try to “just finish off this”.

For example yesterday- an “at home day”; having excavated my table the day before.
Started in the morning- over breakfast.
Decided to get on with the nursery rhyme boxes which I’ve been dying to do since I sold the Baa Baa Black Sheep one.

Got out “Mary had a little lamb”.
Remembered where I had got to.

Remembered the look I wanted for Mary – got out old needlecraft book to refresh my memory of the crinoline look.

Cut out Mary, roughly.

Realize she is totally out of scale with the lamb.
Remember him? He had a little side trip when I did the lamb jars.

So; also realized the crinoline Mary was for a “Mary Mary Quite Contrary” box!

The other style matchbox doll (here in my shop) had been my original thought – but I think her vintage pantaloon undies short circuited my memory to ‘crinoline effect’ and mixed it all up.

Bother.
So redid lamb smaller anyway, as quite liking the crinoline Mary and getting on well – end in sight.
Took some photos as I am trying to get on top of this blogging-as-you-go thing. ( Sorry, they’re a bit dim; dull day. )
Decided to photo the crochet from night before while I was at it – pumpkin cosies.

See how this distraction thing happens…?
Peep Po!

Waylaid by Mr. WG’s arrival and second breakfast cuppa!

Then, necessary housework. 😦

During tidying decided to prep evening ‘easy to do TV project’ while I was as it and the light was good enough in the “wool mine” (AKA spare room).

So sorted out some tiny balls of weird and wonderful marl boucle etc. that are lovely but only big enough crocheting for tiny objects (i.e. cosy, finally something to use them for!).

Daughter arrived for Tinkerbelle outfit and party planning.

Green dye session to dye purchased leotard from white to Tinkerbelle green ( win some; loose some. No need to cut out fitted underbody / need to have dye bath in kitchen sink for couple of hours).

Meanwhile… made some Peter Pan silhouettes to hang from party ceiling!

Fitted Tinkerbelle overdress dress toile in old net curtain ( handy in the hall in a designated “really do not need; to leave the premises” pile ) but it did come in useful after all.

– Fits. Yeah! Relief.

*worked out pompom for shoes- persuaded her old satin shoes better than new ditto for partying in. Or messing up with pompoms.

Dinner.

TV and bit of mindless crochet ( preparation paid off – yeah ) – some more cosies from bag of nice wool.

Made two!

Fell into bed!

This morning … Oh dear!

Tink stuff still in hall by big mirror (fitting remember)!

Mary the lamb, 3 pumpkin cosies and the two marley ones, all sitting on my table reproachfully!
One pumpkin at a jaunty angle on Shelly doll’s head – courtesy: tinkerbell!

Hmm; she looks a bit like I felt by the end of yesterday…

So I’ve typed this over breakfast. Badly.

Wonder when I’ll post it… 🙂

Anyone else have this sort of day?

It is fun though! Wonder what I’ll do today…

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Bug in a bag

Another lovely event at the reserve.

Bug in a bag (there is that alliteration thing again).

The children love this one. I use my paper fold box/bag net with some printing on. These are easy; my original best idea (one of them anyway, she said modestly) for a really versatile event activity.

I’ve adapted the box net for loads of different things;

they can be decorated flat (Sooo much easier!) then assembled (OK, usually by “moi”) when done.

This time the children made a little bug (more about that in a mo) and popped it in to the bag to carry home. The bag gave them scope for naming their bug and adding some facts (or even a back-story!!) and also an opportunity to think about habitats etc.

Neat. More stealth learning.

For the bug to go in the bag we wanted a different bug instead of our normal paper and wire versions, and thought of making things using wood from the site.[ It’s great that we have different styles – together inspire each other and come up with all sorts of different things.]

My friend spent ages sawing and sanding bits of twig to use as the bug body; and we used up lots small scraps of nice card we hadn’t been able to bring ourselves to throw away.

So as a bonus it was practically free… if you don’t count labour 🙂

They turned out F.A.B !

A step up from the first idea! Add in the children’s natural creativity, and voila!
Bug in a bag, extraordinaire.

As you can see the children were very inventive, although we did have a lot of the ubiquitous butterflies they seem to love above all else!

We also had a neat life cycle disc; mounted on recycled CDs for the older guys. Plus caterpillar bookmarks…

…and one very LARGE caterpillar!

This little chap laboured on; working his way patiently through some old, almost exhausted, felt pens (we need more cash!)

to finish this Opus Magnus.

And we found these abandoned when we tidied up!

Probably someone’s idea of what we looked like by the end of the day.

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How time flutters by…

Very busy over the Easter Holidays, including two big events: the first at the museum.

Visitor stats – 3000 on the Sunday and 5000 on the Holiday Monday!
Not all came to make butterfly chains with me and my lovely volunteers, but it was rather busy…

We made butterfly strings, to tie in with the end of an exhibition.

I would normally put this activity out for children when I am not around, but they said ‘keep it simple – it will be busy’… and it was!
It’s such a simple activity but strangely (to me anyway) lots of children like just “colouring in” butterflies.

Sticking them on a string gives an extra creative element, so they can make it into something; to wave about, decorate their room,

or as you can see on the older girls –

to wear!

I will make an “Art Pack” of these (with extra bits in), for the shops, as lots of people asked me for copies of my instruction sheet and templates to use for parties and holidays.
Not too much appeal for boys ‘though, even with bees.

So I couldn’t help myself taking extras for the second day, and we had lots of caterpillar bookmarks and bugs.

I also made this chap

The guardian of the cash tin!
I didn’t think him very worthy, (I’m always disappointed with clay!)
So, like a brave grown up, I let him return to the clay bin once he’d finished guarding for the morning!
Now I feel kind of betraying, seeing his cheerful face…
but at least a kind person took his photo for me!

I was inspired by the talented potter, Bird Wallond * after seeing these cute owls she had made.

She and her helpful sons (who helped me lots too) ran a “making clay heads” workshop with the children.

*Leave a comment if you want to contact her – I tried to persuade her to set up on Etsy or Folksy as she sells them!

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