Origami Paper Folded Christmas Decorations

In the summer I learned how to make these lovely Origami folded paper decorations, courtesy of Origami Est at The Handmade Fair. Its very easy to do and quite relaxing! Really pleased with the way these turned out, I used some lovely Christmas foiled paper by Dovecraft, Time to Sparkle, in 6 inch squares. You can see how to make these in Origami Est (Esther Thorpe's) book, Paper Home

or online here.

Camellia and Chrysanthemum Flower Screen Prints

My latest Screenprints are of a pretty Camellia and Chrysanthemum flowers in full bloom, in the style of vintage botanical drawings. I used a bright crimson ink for the petals which contrasts with two shades of green for the stem and leaves, and a delicate grey for the darker areas. I found the original drawings in a children's annual, and had quite a job to create the colour separations for the actual screen prints. I am used to drawing and tracing things using vectors in Illustrator, but for these I had to remind myself how to use Photoshop to separate out the right bits but I got there in the end!
I hope you like the results.

Screenprints of Volkswagen T1 Split Screen Camper Van Micro Bus

A whole load of prints on the drying rack

I've gone back to screen printing lately, and decided to this quite ambitious set of T1 Split screen Volkswagen Camper Van prints. I drew the image myself, scanned in the outline and then created the separations, deciding on a main colour, silver for all the metalwork, and a black outline. I thought it would be cool to use some coloured paper as the main areas for some of the vans, so I set about cutting out the paper for the main parts. Printing on top of these collaged areas proved to be more ardous than I thought, trying to get all of the ink out of the screen on top of the raised paper was difficult! However I am really pleased with the results. I also printed pink, lime and yellow versions, and printed onto some colourful pieces of wall paper that I had from a sample book. I think my favourite is the pink chequered collage one, I think I'll put it up on my wall. The rest of the 'Vans are available to order through my Etsy shop: welaughindoorsuk.

Making a Traditional Lampshade

Today I did a workshop in the lovely Makery in Bath, learning how to make a traditional scallop-edged lampshade, here are some pics of the process! I used some vintage Liberty Lawn fabric which I got from the Flea market a couple of weeks ago, and some pale mint bobble trim.

Sewing Machine Table Refurb

Having had this lovely but rather dark sewing machine table (which I inherited from my Nana) in my sitting room for about a year, I decided it was time to take the plunge and paint it a completely different colour! Unsurprisingly the colour was green.

The paint I used was Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence. I did 2 coats, then sanded the edges to give the table a distressed look. Then I waxed it using Annie Sloan soft wax, and then it was done! lovely. Now I must figure out the vintage sewing machine and do some sewing! Unfortunately I did manage to paint a bit of the curtains.

 

 

 

Chevron Cross Stitch

This is my first attempt at designing a cross stitch/embroidery, which I created to use up some of the massive pile of embroidery cotton that I have recently acquired!  Quite pleased with this for a first try!

Mother's day Spring hanging decorations

Lately I have been creating these pretty Mother's Day/Easter/Spring gift hanging decorations. I chose some fabrics and made flowers from then, then decorated the rest of the wreaths using coordinating ribbons, buttons, lace, fabrics and ricrac.

Each decoration measures 20cm (8") in diameter and has a pretty coordinating bow and ribbon attached with which to hang it in your home! They are currently available from my Folksy shop here. If you have an idea of something similar that you would like please do get in touch with me.

 Blue floral wreath

Spring Greens floral wreath

Pink and black floral wreath