From Scratch @ thepapersac

Hi Everyone

I'm changing my schedule this week. I've decided I need to spend the whole week working on my Faux Turquiose project, so that's where I will concentrate my efforts. All week, I'm planning to develop my jewellery pieces using the Faux Turquiose stones. I now have two batches of Faux Turquiose stones/beads - all need polishing. They are currently looking a bit 'washed out' having been tumbled, which gives a dull, flat finish. I need to spend time polishing with Renaissance wax and a Dremel to give them their shine. 

I have some basic plans for rings, bracelets and earrings. My process will involve developing a series of sketches followed by a more detailed plan of how to form whatever piece I'm working on. I would like to combine some silver work with my Faux Turquiose so will spend more time working through how to use the 'stones' with the metal.

I'm using my usual Make Art Monday session today as a focus for my sketching and will take my time on this first job. I will share my efforts  throughout the week and hopefully I can get my little collection underway. 

At the moment, I have all the beads/stones waiting on my very untidy workbench !

                                 

I'm hoping I can work throughout the week on this project and see some good progress. I don't have a specific deadline as such but feel I need a concentrated effort over the week to really focus on this one project. I will share my progress each day as I work through the project.

Thanks for reading.

From Scratch

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm featuring a ring. I'v made a few prototype samples of this ring and it's a great statement item. Here is a large statement ring sample in green and gold.

                                

I will be making some more samples in a variety of different colours. I'm offering the ring idea in kit form to include a little storage box for your completed ring. My sample is a very large ring because I love BIG rings but I'm also working on a range of smaller shapes and sizes to appeal to someone who can't quite cope with such a large ring and prefers a smaller one.

If you prefer the 'ready made' version that will also be available too.

Next time, I will share the options and styles available.

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.

Clay Day

Hi Everyone

I'm able to report a semi finished project today !  - I've finished and actually worn a pair of silver hoops with my Faux Turquoise beads. The beads are generally a success, in as much as they do resemble Turquoise I've the semi precious stone and have polished up reasonably well. I'm sure I can improve the lines in the stones. I feel they would be more realistic if the were a very dark brown rather than black, the contrast with the turquoise colour is too stark, for me. I'm going to try a very dark brown, almost black clay and compare the finished beads.

                                 

The photo shows a couple of Doghnut Nuggets (bottom left) as I'm calling them. I've tried to make the beads less round and have tumbled them for about an hour in a simple sandpaper lined tumbler. The tumbled beads have an initial dulled apprearance post tumble but when polished up with Renaissance wax and a felt wheel they do shine nicely. I'm not sure about the darker almost green colour mix ? I'm hoping they will look better when threaded. I feel the colour needs to be more turquoise in shade.

I'm planning to make some new hoops, with a hammered finish today and use the darker beads. I'm also going to thread the remaining beads (I have about 30 beads) as well as develop a new batch with a slightly different colour mix. I also think I can improve on the technique for making the veins in the clay - will share my experimental technique and results next time.

Thanks for reading.

Recipe Wednesday

Hi Everyone

I'm reporting back re the soup recipe from last week. This soup, Red Lentil and Coconut, was a huge success ! Everyone liked the taste and the colour was wonderful - bright green ! The green came from blending the spinach leaves rather than leaving them whole (I thought the floating leaves would instantly negatively affect the boys). I'm not sure the colour helped, initially. However, the taste was particularly good and all the soup was eaten with gusto !

                                

There was a clear flavour of leeks and the coconut milk gave a lovely creamy texture. The soup took about 20 mins to make in total. Most of the ingredients just go into the pan and cook - lentils, grated ginger, garlic, stock followed by the coconut milk and leeks after 10 mins. At the end, add a handful of spinach leaves and whiz with a hand blender. I served with fresh bread and a squeeze of lemon. 

Look back last week for a link to BBC Goodfood recipe and a detailed list of ingredients..

The soup got 20/20 in out little scoring system and will definitely go into the book.

Thanks for reading, hope you will give this soup a go !

Making Framework

Hi Everyone

We have a very exciting workshop going on today with the Making Framework. We also have a guest presenter - Hayley. She will present her ideas on Cross Stitch. This is a new craft to the group, although I know some folk will have tried this craft before. I'm not sure exactly what we will make but I will give a detailed breakdown of the experience with some photos of the session, next time.

I love organising and facilitating workshops but it will be just lovely to take part and be a MAKER, I'm also looking forward to continuing with 'cross stitch' and am already looking for ways of weaving cross stitch into my work.

Here is a look at the invite for our session. The images are ones which I've seen and inspire me rather than what we will do in the session.

                               

I love these colours and they are a bit Spring like - which I like too !!

Thanks for reading.

Make Art Monday

Hi Everyone

As usual I'm off on a tangent ! Most of my recent Art stuff has been experimenting with printing and I'm still trying out new ideas. I love my fabric print from a few weeks ago and want to develop the piece. My next idea is to create some little house images going on around the piece and I've been searching my 'library' for inspiration. I came across one of my own books about layering textiles and there are lots of possibilities going on. I've decided to have a go at creating some Bondaweb stuff combined with magazine paper. I have some pieces of this fabric in my stash so can get to it today. I like the idea of something in the book which uses painted/dyed Bondaweb with paper and machine stitching - perfect.

                                

I especially like the mixture of colours and would like to develop a layer of material to turn into some houses for my fabric print. Here is a little reminder of the initial stages of the piece. Not entirely sure of my colours yet but I need to have my reds and greens of the original piece in there somewhere.

                               

I'm seeing the little houses creating streets around Anna (at the moment). 

Thanks for reading.

From Scratch

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm introducing a plan to develop some broach pins. I recently saw some lovely examples in a local gallery (made from porcelain) and thought I would love to make some similar items from polymer clay. I'm hoping to develop a surface patterns using similar clay I'm using for beads identified in last weeks post. I have 5 different designs of beads and will develop a broach per bead clay. The shapes I like are based around a simple circle style. I've been playing with layering the shapes and will make a few prototypes to decide which to go with. Here is a quick look at my experiments so far :

                                 

The colours and patterns are not necessarily what I will end up using but they are loosely based on my pebble bead sample, the green one in the middle is a possible idea for transferring one of my Gelli prints onto clay. I'd also like to make some hand crafted silver pins to attach the broaches and some pretty boxes to display them.

I'm also considering using smaller versions of these broaches to attach to knitted items and will also add a few with button holes for stitching. I have a little knitted bag which can act as a Guinea pig for this idea.

Have a great weekend. Thanks for reading.

Clay Day

Hi Everyone

I'm operating 'holiday mode' this week (it's school half term) so do not have as much time as usual for making stuff as I'm having a rather lazy start to everyday !  However, the Faux Turquiose project is moving on. I've prepared and shaped my beads, cured them and done a little sanding on some of the darker green shades. Looking in detail, the beads are OK but need a definite shine to give them a 'gem like' characteristic. I'm considering giving the beads an hour or so in the tumbler and then shining with myDremel. If this isn't enough, I will give them a varnish coat. Here they are so far. I have mainly roundish beads for a bracelet and a beading project as well as four doughnut beads (for earring hoops).

                               

I should have finished the project a few days ago but was yet again distracted by making some silver rings. I've enjoyed making the rings and still have more work to do (finishing/polishing) but they are just what I wanted in terms of shape. Each ring (of 3) is quite a chunky size, the outer rings are made from round  wire and the central is a square wire shape. I can wear them separately but rather like the stacked look. I'm already planning my next ring !

                                 

Thanks for reading.

Recipe Wednesday

Hi Everyone

My recipe today is a soup - it's a new one completely (to us) and I'm not sure what response we will get. I'm trying it out today - so the jury is out.

I love the idea of these ingredients but the boys will probably question the whole idea !

                         

Everything about it appeals to me. I like lentils and love coconut in all forms. Love the colour too.

I will put a link here to the recipe page , it comes from the BBC Good Food site recipe here . You may want to try out the recipe before I report back.

I will apply the usual tests is how easy to prepare and clear up afterwards (for me) and what do the boys think about taste. They are on a bit of a 'downer' re soups. I almost always dish up soup from October to May for lunch ! As its half term holiday - they are here on a week day and don't usually have soup for lunch. I make all our soups (mostly) 'from scratch', so don't see the complaint ! I also try and incorporate lovely breads and garnish items to accompany. Good deal, I think !!

Will give the results next time with some chat about the recipe and the process.

Thanks for reading.

Making Framework

Hi Everyone

This week is a holiday week for us (half term break at school) so not a usual round of activity for me. As a result, I'm going to post a few items which will keep you up to date with ongoing current projects.

Just a quick update from last time - no pictures for the Making workshop, my phone let me down ! or rather I need to organise my photo storage process properly but I will blame the phone ! I will get some good photos when we finish the bangle and box project in a few weeks time. Until then, here is a view of my workshop samples. I made a few extra items when I created the bangles. The boxes have their little felted mats, I like the mats and they provide a protective layer for storage :

                                 

                                 

I'd also like to share another example of my own personal Making Framework project. I've been trying to develop my knitting skills recently. Although, I learned to knit as quite a small child, I've always struggled to complete knitted projects which I'm happy with. However, I've joined a knitting group and am enjoying some level of success. My most recent completed project is a knitted and felted bag.

                                  

I love it ! -  the bag turned out great with no mistakes and a really lovely item to use. I will share the process in more detail next time. This project has been a reminder that making lots of different things and working with a wide variety of materials really does develop skills which transfer across crafts and without doubt, make self belief and confidence an important element of the process.

Thanks for reading.

Make Art Monday

Hi Everyone

I'm sharing my Gelli print paper from last week today. As described last time, I planned to decorate a little cuff bracelet box with the print. I didn't have a plan so decided to die cut some circles (the cuff bracelet suggested a circle to me). I simply cut out circles and placed them in positions which I found pleasing. The colours reflect the actual cuff bracelet and will act as a storage box for the piece. I hope to be able to identify the bracelet at a glance (while in the box). My only problem is that there is no distinguishing marks on the sides of the box and I will probably stack it, so I will need to add something to the side.

                                 

This is the bracelet I've placed in the box :

My Art today will be to decide on how to move forward with the fabric print I started last time (read back last Monday for details). I want to add some embroidery to my fabric Gelli print but need to develop a plan. I like the idea of trying out some hand and machine embroidery and adding a frame to the piece. I don't think I want to overwork the piece but add a layer of something ? Will share my ideas next time.

Thanks for reading.

From Scratch

Hi Everyone

Last week, I mentioned trying out leftover beads to develop some polymer beading stretchy bracelets. The beads types are almost there. I've chosen the initial five bead types - see the samples below.

                                

                                 

I'm hoping I can keep developing a range of colours and textures for quite some time using these particular beads. Each week, I'm planning to develop a new batch and I will keep a record of colour mixes, shapes and sizes. I will, of course, share my developments and post samples as I experiment.

I've also been making some seed bead bracelets (for my shops) which can be developed in the same way as the stretch bracelet idea ie either ready made or in kit form. My first idea is a multi strand bracelet using a sort of Gate clasp. The clasp allows three strands of beads to be attached to a really pretty clasp (little hook and ring required) and is a simple make, so accessible for most makers. Here is a quick look at the idea.

                                 

These type of clasps are available with many more rings to attach more strands and give a wider bracelet, I will be experimenting with the widest I can find.

I'm taking a little time to develop these bracelets along with pretty packaging and plan to keep these pieces in my collection long term. I can change bead sizes, shapes and colours but I'd like to create a signature range which I stock all the time.

Thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend.

ClayDay

Hi Everybody

I've got a new mini project going on today. I'm making some faux Turqoise (blaming one of my lovely friends for encouraging me with a further distraction from my work plans). I've seen amazing examples of all kinds of faux semi precious stones made from polymer so am hopeful I can achieve something worthwhile. I'm using advice from Carol Blackburn's book How to make polymer beads. I often refer to this book for reminders re techniques. Carol is very precise and I trust her clay mixes for colour every time.

 My plan is to produce two different varieties of Faux Turquiose - Eastern (a more green colour) and Southwestern (a more blue colour). I warm slightly towards the Southwestern at the moment but am open to persuasion on this one. The image below shows how much of which colour I'm using in the mix. There are many variations in colour shades of Turquiose, so it's not critical but Carol talks about a ratio of 10 Turquoise to 1 caramel and 1 yellow for Eastern and 8 Turquose to 1 of white and 1 ecru for Southwestern, I'm pleased with the mixed colours. 

As I've mentioned, the basic colours are mixed and Im ready to add some black paint/ grated clay to give the 'imperfection' element to the stone. I also need to chop up the clay to  give an appearance of nuggets of rock. Carol uses a wavy ripple blade to do this. 

                                 

I intend to make up some Doughnut beads for silver hoops and some beads for a planned beading project and we will see what's left.

 Next time, I will share the next steps and hopefully my final, finished beads. This is just a short project so 'fingers crossed' all goes to plan. 

Thanks for reading.

Recipe Wednesday

Hi Everyone

Today's recipe is called Gingered Butternut Squash with Cheese Toasts, I added a jacket potato with smoked salmon.

                                 

The whole meal tasted good and the additional potato made the meal more substantial. The original recipe did seem a bit 'light' ie without the potato. I think the dish is more like a side dish rather than a main meal. I did think the squash felt like a side vegetable. I added mushroom and sweet red pepper to the dish and without this, although tasty, would be a disappointment. The sauce/stock was a bit thin, again very tasty but not really my kind of sauce.

I'm not ruling out ever trying the dish again but I think I would serve as a light lunch with the cheese toasts. If you want to try is out, simply cube a Butternut  Squash, fry in olive oil with chopped garlic, root ginger, red onion (I added more vegetables too - mushrooms and red pepper). Add 300ml vegetable stock and simmer for 15mins. Prepare some cheese toasts and serve. Add chopped parsley to serve.

The meal was given a collective 8/20 and therefore will not qualify to go in the book. This is the first time we have rejected a meal ! It was worth a try but not as a main meal.

Thanks for reading.

Making Framework

Hi Everyone

It's Tuesday again and today we have another Making Workshop. Today's workshop is the second in the Polymer Clay Bangle series.

                                 

 Last week we finished a couple of bangles but need to take more time finishing the pieces and spend time decorating the surface (or not ) of the bangles. Each bangle will have its own box too, so there's a bit of extra work to deal with. I will hope to get some more photos of the bangles with their boxes throughout the workshop.

Each box will also feature some little 'mats' inside the base and the lid to give the bangles protection. These mats are made from felted wool and look great in the boxes.

If anyone manages to finish their bangle and box, we can have a go at a ring technique or another simple bangle. The second bangle uses another 'rolled' construction technique which is an interesting contrast the the first. The images in the poster (above) show examples of how the decoration can work within the construction of the rolled bangles and rings. I love these colours together and the Gold clay really sets off the vibrant greens and blues.

Will share images of the items we come up with next time.

Thanks for reading.

Make Art Monday

Hi Everyone

I'm sharing a print today (from last week). This is one of the initial Lino prints of Anna on fabric using the new large Gelli plate.

                      

I like the outline shape of Anna's head and feel Inwould like to develop the print with some freestyle sewing (using a sewing machine). I'd like to identify some hand embroidery stitches too. I've an idea about embellishing with gold thread and gems ? I'm not entirely sure about what to do ? but I like the idea. The colours and the surface textures of the print (using separate printed layers) work well for me and I think, the piece,will provide a good basis for these elaborate embellishments I have in mind. 

I'm also considering an elaborate gold frame - much of the time, my work is displayed without a frame but I think, in this case, a frame would work. However, much more to do before any thoughts of displaying !

Back to today, I'm going to use some other Gelli print work to embellish a small card box. I've created some patterned papers to use as for this purpose and have used similar colours to a piece of polymer clay jewellery, destined for the box. If I have time, I will try out some more more fabric prints using the Gelli plates.

Thanks for reading.

From Scratch

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm experimenting with FROM SCRATCH beads which will turn into samples for the stretchy jewellery I talked about last Friday. These beads are leftovers from previous projects but I'm interested in shapes to develop rather than using these particular beads. If something interesting turns out, all the better ! I already know that I will develop more of the beads featured in the Green Project (love those shapes and textures) - read back for images of the Green Beads. I probably need another five or so shapes and colours. Here are my experimental beads :

                                   

                                   

I'm looking to develop very simple bracelet and necklaces which can be worn everyday rather than major statement pieces. I'm not ruling out changing surface pattern or colour but I want the pieces to be versatile and robust; at this stage it's the shape I'm focussing on.

Alongside the necklaces and bracelets, I'm thinking about packaging and storage so will try and develop something specific to each piece. Hopefully, I can get production going pretty quickly when the initial designs are settled. I'm planning on making up kits as well as offering a ready made collection. What this space.

Thanks for reading

Have a great weekend.

Clay Day

Hi Everyone

I'm hoping to plan my knitting/crochet accessories today. I've done a little research on shapes and will get myself a Pinterest board to collate my ideas for inspiration. Read back last week for details of this project. I'm going for little houses as my first idea. I hope to develop a prototype for a crochet bag today. The accessory I'm starting with is a button which I will add to the finished bag. My bag has leather straps and will be made from T Shirt yarn in  red. Here is a quick look at the project :

                                  

Other news - I've been working on a new ring collection and have come up with a prototype green version. It doesn't sit with the now famous Green Bead Project (read back for more on this) so I'm going to make one that does. Here is the ring which I'm calling 'Vita'

                                

I'm pleased with the shape of this new ring and it offers a few different options because it's quite large (even for me). I want to mix some green colours and apply the similar surface pattern as the Green Project beads. 

                                

Thanks for reading.

Recipe Wednesday

Hi Everyone

Today's recipe is known as The Monday Bean Dish. It's not a new recipe to our family and it appears, as the name suggests, almost every Monday. It seems to divide opinion with the boys, one loves it and the other 'groans' every Monday ! Can't please everyone any of the time ! However, I like the dish, it's easy and you can prepare the first part (before adding tortilla chips) well ahead or freeze it - brilliant if I'm pushed for time.

                                  

Start with chopping an onion and a sweet red pepper. Gently fry in a little olive oil for 3 mins. Add 1 tbsp paprika, 2 tsp cumin and dried chilli flakes (add to taste). Continue frying for another few mins., add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a tin of red kidney beans (in chilli sauce if you can get it). Simmer, covered for 15 mins. That's it for preparation. I divide the mixture between 4 small dishes to serve but you could use one larger dish. Sprinkle with tortilla chips to cover the top and grate strong cheese over the tortilla chips. Put in oven (gas 4) for a few mins to melt the cheese. You need to keep nearby as the tortilla chips can burn very quickly.

We serve the dish with guacamole and baguettes, making this quite a substantial dish and perfect for Monday's.

I gave the dish 5/5. The collective boys score is 10/15 but that's because one boy gave 0/5 !! The final score is 15/20. So, it goes into the book. Hope you have a go and enjoy it.

Thanks for reading.

Making Framework

Hi Everyone

I'm reporting on last weeks Making Framework workshop today. The Polymer bangles we made are lovely. Some of our group experimented and will continue to develop their bangles next time but we also had a couple ready for curing. As a group, we decided on a few basic characteristics of the successful Polymer bangle - a simple and stylish bangle can be made using the 'wrapped' construction rather than other approaches. The thickness of the clay is crucial, too thick and the join is messy, too thin and the clay is fragile. The drinks can we used as  a 'form' proved to be very useful to manage the decoration as well as a great way of considering the surface pattern design. We decided the bangle construction and any clay decoration is much easier when done with non-cured clay. I will create a gallery of makes next time but here are a couple of partially completed bangles.

                                 

These two bangles both use a wrapped construction style and both have a blue base colour. The top bangle has some embedded, extruded clay  'chips'. These 'chips' have been rolled into the bangle clay before being wrapped around the form. The bangle also has a surface pattern created by a plastic embossing plate. Light Gold chalks have been brushed over the clay - pre curing. The bangle needs quite a bit of finishing but is an interesting experiment. The bottom bangle uses a similar construction technique but has lots of punched flowers creating a very pretty look. The flowers have been given some texture and are skilfully placed to use the colours throughout the piece. Again, the bangle needs to be finished. 

Everyone in the workshop had great ideas and their personal high standards inspired them to keep working on their individual designs. The group are all demanding of themselves and are real Artist Makers. In addition, the whole group, in our second year, is 'at home with Polymer Clay' and I love to see how they come up with amazing ideas (all different) .I find these workshops so inspiring to my own work.

Thanks for reading.

Make Art Monday

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm still excited about experimenting with my Gelli Plates. I've got some backgrounds going on for future work (see my image below) but would like to develop more for the Eyes Project (look back to previous Monday's for more on this). I also need to get another Anna image (again look back to Monday's for details) for a whole new face. The image at the top suggests the side profile of a face (to me) so will try and exploit this as a starting point for the next stage. Will share my efforts next time.

                                 

                                

I have a new larger Gelli Plate to play with so will enjoy a few hours doing that today. This new plate is bigger than my other two plates and I have an idea of using them together to give multiple layers in specific areas of the print preparation. I also want to try out a new way of applying paint to the plate using a palette knife. I have an idea that this technique will give me more control over the final print. I don't want to eliminate the creative 'surprise' of the print, just limit the parameters, slightly. 

Thanks for reading.