Friday, August 08, 2008

Weekend Wordle Fun

'Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide...Either type in some of your own text, or give the address of your blog. See what it comes up with!' My blog address brought up words like 'Jail', 'ex-con' and 'Prison' thanks to my recent article!
I thought I would try my muffin recipe. It looks quite funky!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

T Shirt Patisserie

I always enjoy visiting Di Overton's inspirational blog Designer's Block. She has just been to the launch of T Shirt Patisserie. After my recent attempts at hand printing, This really does seem to be the easy way out! You design your very own t-shirt [or mug or cupcakes or chocolates!] on their Web Page and they will print it for you! What fun!

The pick up point is the delightful Luna and Curious - a shop created and run by group of designers. It carries their unique range of objects and clothing. [This creative place should have been on my "Lovely London List"!] Read about Di's exciting visit there!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Off to Prison!

Take a look at "Made in Jail". I have been intrigued by this Italian business for a while. It was started by an ex-con and employs many other ex-convicts. Prisoners are able to use their time to learn skills and manufacture products sold under the "Made in Jail" Label.
I love the fact that these People's lives are creatively and skillfully enriched, equipping them well to be re-intergrated into society.
This is on my mind as I am off to the Westville Woman's Prison today! I have been before - it was a truly significant experience. My friend Jill goes there weekly as a "Religious Worker" She has asked me to take the ladies through a "Gifting Course". It will be a privilege to work with these ladies and help them to see their God-given gifts!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

I Am Enjoying...

The trolley at the end of my passage... I've rearranged the elements and every time I walk up from my bedroom, I enjoy the silhouettes - of my quirky vases, the pile of oranges and the fact that the emergency light is now underneath the trolley, because our power outages seem to be a thing of the past!

Monday, August 04, 2008

Button Art

I have a big packet of buttons just waiting to be used up - somehow. When I saw this Button Colour Series by Multistorey, I was amazed and inspired! Each button is stitched onto a backing fabric to create these intriguing wallhangings. Perhaps when I am finished that glove cushion series??!!??

Friday, August 01, 2008

Baby Steps in Hand Printing!

The results of my first attempt at hand-printing fabric! I have had so much fun starting on this learning curve. I find the silhouettes of decorative objects fascinating and so I used these as the basis for my design. I cut the stencil out plastic foam packaging [It was a dream to cut, but a bit soft to work with as a stencil]: I applied the paint with a brush, allowed it to dry and then ironed it on the back to set it. I have a lot more designs in my head and on paper. Perhaps I will try getting some of them silk screened or printed!!??. Thanks Jesse for the good idea! Have a look here and here and here at Jezzeblog to see other recent prints from all over the place.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Sequins from a Friend

Tracy Kendall designs the most intriguing wallpaper. She takes all sorts of elements and applies them to wallpaper - either physically or graphically. Her bespoke range was started with a sequin design inspired by 1920’s flapper dresses.I have sequins decorating my room too - A friend called the other day and offered me a vintage sequinned jacket she had inherited. It's colourful and blingish and very happy decorating my room! PS.I have had piles of Admin to wade through this week, but I have been giving my printed square for Jesse's Exchange a lot of thought. I have finally put ink to fabric. Hopefully I'll show you the outcome tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

More about Coffee and Recycling

Yesterday I showed you how I re-used some of my illy coffee cans. Well, illy are involved in re-cycling much bigger cans! This illy Push Button House, designed by Adam Kalkin is a fully functional and sustainable home built within an industrial shipping container. [via the Alternative Consumer] These Flickr pics show some creative uses of South African containers:by Dick uit Zandvoort and Sergio Espana

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Coffee and Me

My love of excellent coffee has had a huge impact on my life! I have been known to travel great distances to get a good cup! I even owned a coffee shop for a couple of years! So it gives me a kick to be able to use some of the many coffee tins generated here for a neat storage solution in my workspace!
I positioned the tins to fit well into the space. Then I secured the stacks with elastic bands, before placing them in the shelf!
I love re-using what's already here!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Decisions Decisions!

While we were away, we had a beautiful Africote coloured cement floor laid in our home. It has a modern, seamless look and shows off our persian carpets really well!Now we are busy deciding what colour to paint the walls. Our home looks a bit like a giant paint colour chit -but we want to make the right choice!The electric box in the top right corner of the pic is the control for the underfloor heating. Ooo this is lovely! [We may live in warm Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa, but it still gets quite chilly in winter!]