Inspiration: Giacomo Favilla

I love Origami and love it when artists use two different mediums in their work. So when I came across Giacomo Favilla's work I was instantly drawn to the 'One of Us' project involving models wearing different origami masks designed by Francesca Lombardi. I think most people are used to the cute side of origami but I enjoyed how disturbing some of the portraits were dependent on the style of mask worn.

Enjoy...

Monday Musings: Fingerprint Building

Okay so I know it's technically Sunday evening but I won't be anywhere near a computer tomorrow so i'm being a wee bit cheeky and posting the Monday Musings post tonight!

I use fingerprints in my work quite a lot and when I came across this building in Thailand I just had to share it with you all.

I bet it's not quite as interesting inside but i'd like to think the interior reflected the design of the exterior a little bit. Unfortunately it's not actually a real design so don't get too excited!

Inspiration: Emily Blincoe

I was browsing online and came across the work of artist/photographer Emily Blincoe. I completely fell in love with her images of items neatly organised into colour groups. I love images like this, they remind me of Wes Anderson films.

You can check out more of her work on her website.

Enjoy!

Inspiration: Button Pics

While I was in Tokyo a couple of years ago we went to some amazing galleries and managed to see a lot of contemporary artists working in Japan at the moment. I was constantly taking pictures the whole time and I came across these pictures which I thought you all might like.

This is actually stills from a stop frame animation created using buttons. That's my excuse for the pictures being a bit wonky! Unfortunately I didn't manage to find the name of the artist so if anyone knows it please comment below...

Monday Musings: Sewing that makes me feel lazy

Wow I thought my sewing projects were always huge! This very talented woman makes me feel incredibly lazy...

Crafty Exploits: DIY Christmas Cards

So how organised am I this year? Christmas cards made already- check me out! This year I decided to do a mix of techniques and also try to minimise costs by using things I already have in my craft room.

I'm not one for liking very traditional Christmas cards so I always try to use images I like that have a warm, festive feel but don't necessarily include Santa, reindeers or Christmas trees!

For this one I used a typewriter rubber stamp and alphabet stamps on an ivory blank card. Once these were in place I used crimson watercolour paint with a small brush to place dots in the background.

For this card I used an ivy rubber stamp to create a repeat pattern with mustard ink. I then used shrink plastic to create a Merry Christmas! speech bubble to place over the pattern.

Have you been creating an Christmas cards? Leave links of your efforts in the comments  section below...

Paperfolk Loves: Yumiko Higuchi

I found the work of Yumiko Higuchi on Pinterest and immediately fell in love with her attention to detail in her embroidered works. There are so many intricate stitches that are used to create her designs and her colour schemes are so subtle yet striking.

I love that she clearly experiments with a variety of subject matter and ways of stitching. There are definitely some designs that really stand out for me but I think there's something for everyone's tastes.

Yumiko's website is in Japanese but there are plenty of images for visual inspiration as well as items for sale in her shop.

Check out these beautiful works...

Crafty Exploits: Amelie's Cross Stitch

I've been working on a little project for my nine month old daughter, Amelie. I wanted to make her something for her bedroom that could be hung on the wall plus I didn't like any of the designs that I've found for name plaques. So I decided do some hoop art and design my cross stitch from scratch.

Instead of reaching for a pencil and squared paper I thought I would try out the Easy Cross Stitch computer software. The software was exactly what I needed (i'll do another post about it later!)

Here are the results of my efforts...

Christmas Cross Stitch!

Okay so this is the second Christmassy post I've done in the past week but what can I say, I LOVE Christmas. Also if, like me, you enjoy a bit of craft at Christmas you kinda need to get started now so that its done in time to enjoy it over the festive season.

With that in mind I've pulled together my picks of some Christmas themed cross stitch patterns that are traditional without being too twee.

Oh and I've also been a bit cheeky and thrown in a link for a needlepoint clutch bag just because it's gorgeous!

Enjoy...

What Delilah Did. Buy it here

Subversive Cross Stitch. Buy it here

Pattern Bird. Buy it here



Tiny Modernist. Buy it here

Liberty. Buy it here

Paperfolk Loves... The Two Handed Stitcher

So now that Halloween has passed I assume it's sort of okay to mention the C- word? I love everything about Christmas and would quite happily begin the countdown from Summer onwards but I know that for most this would be off-putting and frankly quite weird.

When I was trawling the internet for some festive needlework I came across the Two Handed Stitcher or Laura J. Perin as she is also known. On her website you'll find some pretty skilled needlepoint work and every year she pulls together some Christmas themed works. I particularly loved the jewel colours used in her Christmas tree pieces. Although her work is very different from my own embroidery work I really feel that Christmas themed pieces can afford to be a little more on the traditional side.

Here are some examples of the Two Handed Stitcher below (there's loads more on her website!)

Monday Musings: Coral and Tusk Behind the Scenes

Sorry I haven't been great on the blog front over the past week. I just started back in full time employment after being on maternity leave for 9 months (shock to the system!) and also had a craft fayre in Glasgow yesterday. The past week has been filled with trying to get my head around speaking to adults again and also trying to make Christmas stock in huge quantities.

I found a little video online from Coral and Tusk, a brand that uses machine embroidery as their main process for creating their very sweet products. Its a little behind the scenes look at their studio and process. After watching I became very jealous of their studio space and very inspired to create some more work. Check it out here .