Christmas in July

I know, I have written about this before on my blog, but in the States, it is a big thing to have "Christmas in July" sales and events. This is not the case in England, where people look at you, as if you are half mad to even mention such a thing. As school is shortly coming to a close for us (tomorrow is our last day, Yipee!), I thought this would be a good time to use a bit of the Summer break to begin working on a few Christmas/winter-y projects.

One, being my crocheted granny blanket, which I have yet to have the chance to begin, with all the craziness of school going on around us. But, also to possibly start a few Christmas projects early. Here were a few things I came across and I might just try to make some of these, or at the very least be inspired by them, especially the sock monkey coffee cup wrap, he has personality!

Do you begin your Christmas making projects early, or are you a last minute kinda gal (or guy)? Enjoy!

Now is a good time to start collecting vintage cookie cutters at thrift stores and yard sales. These "frames" would be gorgeous to have up all year round!

These mice would make perfect teacher's presents or classroom gifts. If you changed the colors they would even be cute for an Alice in Wonderland Themed Birthday Tea Party.

Want to make your own granny square blanket to stay cozy with when the weather turns frosty, go to Meet me at Mike's for a granny square tutorial.

This sock monkey coffee cup wrap is too cute. Perfect for your coffee lovers, any time of year.

(All images copyright their respective blogs)

Danny Brito

Danny Brito is an artist I discovered ages ago, through Danielle Thompson's blog. He is someone whose work I have come to appreciate it. Especially his curly whirly whipped ice-cream beehived hairdo clad women!

This is a little video he made on making a handmade book and I liked his process, so I thought I would share it with you, I can't wait to try making one of my own on my little dollhouse sized machine! Enjoy:


Mini-book from danny brito on Vimeo.

(All images and video copyright Danny Brito)

The Enchanting Lotte Reiniger

Right before Christmas, one of the Art teachers in my department, decided that she would have the students create shadow puppets as a nice little wind down to the week that we were breaking up for the holidays. I love shadow puppets, there is something very magical about them!

She showed the students a video by Lotte Reiniger, so they could get an idea of what kind of final outcome they were aiming for and to see how the process works in actuality. I had never seen these Reiniger videos before and I fell in love with them. They are beautifully crafted and absolutely enchanting.

She was a true visionary, ahead of her time in innovation and even beat out Walt Disney in the designing of and use of a multi-plane camera to achieve distinctive visual effects. She was filmed to show her working through her creative process and it is truly astonishing to see how quickly she sketches and expertly cuts the puppet she is creating.

As a group of digital Art students are now working on a similar shadow puppet project, it made me think of these bewitching videos, so I thought I would share them with you! There is such a sweetness to them and they are without a doubt, timeless interpretations of beloved fairy tales! Enjoy!





(Still images courtesy of the Animation Archive)

A New Project

I have a blanket that I am planning on crocheting, but with the craziness of school that has happened yet. The last time I was home, I picked up this:

I have done a few dry runs with my "practice" yarn and I finally decided on which pattern to use; a granny square with a circle center:

I decided to start small, to get warmed up again for designing and creating my granny hexagon blanket. I plan on turning this yarn into a very happy "Rainbow Brite" coloured scarf with a heather grey scalloped border.

So stay tuned, I am getting my crochet needle ready to start this project and since next week is half term and we plan on keeping things low key, it should be a wonderful time to begin crocheting this mini project!

Crayola Totem Poles

I was creating a sign today to describe the artwork that was being put on display for a particular class and in searching for a totem pole image, I came across this:

I think these are just amazing, the time that must have gone in to creating these lilliputian sized artifacts. They were sculpted by an artist named, Diem Chau, and I love their rainbow happiness. What a true little piece of art. The personality that they each appear to have for something so minuscule is quite astounding.

The girl reminds me of the soap carving that Boo Radley made of Jem and Scout in "To Kill A Mockingbird". They have that air of vintageness about them with the styling of the girl's hair and dress. Maybe these would be the modern version of what Boo would carve?

The smell while carving them had to be heaven. I love the smell of a fresh pack of crayola crayons, that waxy scent that is distinctive to them. It is not the aroma of a candle or of any other crayon brand.

There was nothing better in the world when you were little, then when you got a new pack of crayons and a coloring book and your entire afternoon was spent lying on your belly deciding which color you would pick for the ballerina's slippers. Oh, to be little again!

(Images found here)

Cinco De Mayo Round-Up

Tomorrow is one of my favourite little holidays to celebrate: Cinco de Mayo. A wonderful excuse to just have a good time! I thought I would share with you a few ideas I have found to create a wonderful fiesta! So grab your biggest sombrero and your best fake moustaches and lets have some fun!

1)No fiesta would be complete without guacamole. This is one of my favourite recipes from The Pioneer Woman and I promise you, after you make this, you will never want to eat store bought guacamole ever ever again!

2)All soirées need a little blush of colour and these tissue paper flowers from 100 Layer Cake are the perfect adornment to any setting, outside or in!

3)It wouldn't be fitting to have a Cinco de Mayo party if you didn't have a piñata. Since you might not have room for a big rainbow coloured tissue paper clad miniature burros at your house, these piñatas from One Charming Party are the perfect size for everyone! Perfect for your guest as take home treat!

(All images belong to their respective blogs; Cinco de Mayo banner created by J. Michie) 

Royal Wedding Round-Up

Today is the day of the Royal Wedding and I am very excited! Just what the World needs right now with everything that is going on, a happy event that is all about  LOVE!

Here are a few Royal Wedding Round-Up Ideas just for you:

1) If you are throwing a party with your friends to watch the "Big Day", go to Design Editor to print out adorable bunting, labels and even your own crown for your festivities.

2) Don't let your guest go home without a treat. 100 Layer Cake have an adorable and simple idea to package up shortbread for all your wedding attendees.

3) What British Royal occasion would be complete without the dogs? You can find a pattern to knit your own little royal corgi here.

*(All images are copyrighted to their respective blogs)

Eggstraordinary

A small Easter Round-Up, as we move closer and closer to the Easter Bunny coming. Here are 3 "eggstraordinary" ideas from 3  places I like to visit! Enjoy!

1) Abby Try Again, has created a carton of confetti filled eggs to brighten up any Easter party:

2)The gang at PoppyTalk have constructed painted eggs with a hidden message inside:

3)Molly at The Purl Bee has designed 3 different Spring time coloured bags, to hold all the eggs and surprises you find at the Easter Egg Hunt:

(All images are copyrighted to their respective Blog, Easter banner created by J. Michie)

Catherine Campbell

One aspect of  not only being an Art Historian, but also an Artist and appreciator of Art is the opportunity to continually discover new Artists.

I am constantly making suggestions to the Art students to look at this Artist or that Artist and they in turn open my eyes to Artists I am not familiar with.

While flipping through the Illustration Now: Volume 3 book one afternoon in the department, I was inspired to do a little online research on an Artist I had come across. Her name is, Catherine Campbell and her work is hauntingly beautiful, I fell in love with the girl and owl in the teacup. Her work is colourful and imaginative and I like her use of mixed media.

I endeavour to always make new discoveries and continue to explore, that is what life is about, just keeping yourself open to something new.

(All images copyright Catherine Campbell)

Vintage Beauty

Our cottage is a hodge podge of vintage and new items. I have a soft spot for old things. Things that have stood the test of time and may or may not be used for their original purpose in our house. For instance, I have an old bon-bon sweets box that now holds laundry items and another vintage box that was re-purposed by a previous owner to become a tool box, but has now been re-purposed by us as a CD holder.

When I came across this post, it made me smile. I love to see old things gain a new life and not only that, but have a life where they are enjoyed every day and not tucked away. This has inspired me as one of the many things I collect are old linens, I have a few that would look absolutely beautiful on a lamp shade. So, now, I just need to find the right one!

To see Annalea's complete lampshade how-to click here.

St. Patrick's Day Freebie

I come from a long line of inventive and artistic women. My Mom was always designing little things for us; drawing pictures on our lunch bags or on our love notes, especially if there was a holiday around the corner!

It is something that I have inherited from her. I love to doodle, to draw, to make things beautiful! I decorate for every holiday, just like she does! So, it was no surprise to me, as I was looking for my St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun to put out that an idea popped into my head. I decided I would create a little something to put on my table.

I went through my collection of images, looking for one file in particular and when I spotted it, I knew just what I wanted to do with it. I would create place cards for my festively green St. Patty's Day table.

I was so happy with how they turned out, I thought I would do something I've never done before: I would create a PDF file so that you can make them too!

I hope you enjoy making and using them as much as I have? If all goes well, a few more freebies might be springing up here and there.

To download your St. Patrick's Day Freebie click here.

A Lucky Brooch

St. Patrick's Day, is this Thursday and I can't wait! There is still plenty of time to make something for your lapel, so you too, will be "Wearin' O' the Green", as they say.

I spotted these cute shamrock pins on Martha Stewart's website and I thought they were very sweet. They have an air of vintageness about them. Something you could have seen your grandmother wearing on the side of her hat, or pinned to her smartest coat. The perfect thing to bring you luck any time of year!

For the full directions and pattern, go here.

*Watch this space, I am giving away my FIRST ever FREEBIE this week and it may or may not be St. Patty's Day related! ♧

Valentine's Round-Up

Valentine's Day is almost here and I have collected a few last minute ideas, recipes and sweetness from some of my favorite places to share with you. Click on the images below to be taken directly to the featured project:

Jenny B. Harris of Allsorts has done it again, with this cute Valentine's Paper Angel. A fun project for your little ones to decorate your kitchen table with:

Serena of The Farm Chicks has created adorably wrapped chocolate brownie bites. A cute idea for the little Valentine Love Bugs in your life:

Eat, Drink, Chic has the most wonderful answer to staying in for Valentine's. Amy Moss, has designed a DIY Valentine's popcorn bucket to invite your Honey Bunny to spend a night snuggled next to you on the couch. You just have to provide the popcorn and the right movie:

The lovely Bridget, of Bake @ 350 has taken "bark" to a whole new level with her Sweet Heart Conversation Candy Bark. A great idea to hand out to your neighbours or any little Valentine's fingers that might be around on the day:

The cute girls at One Charming Party have come up with simple yet effective idea. If you are stuck cooking on Valentine's night, why not bring as many hearts into the mix as you can. These home made heart shaped pepperoni pieces add a cute flair to store bought pizza for your sweetie pie:

And, just in case you forgot to get a card head on over to Eat, Drink, Chic for some DIY printable Valentine's cards and envelopes. You can never go wrong with polka dots!:

Have A Heart

I love these heart garlands that I found on "How About Orange"! They are a great way to use up fabric scraps, an easy sewing project for a beginner and a simple yet effective way to create something beautiful for your home.

A fabric stiffener is used to keep these hearts a fluttering. I looked in my local fabric store this weekend for a fabric stiffener, but they were out. I thought about trying starch but considering I live in a very damp little part of the world, I don't think that is such a good idea.

Alas, I will just have to wait till they get more in stock. In the mean time I can dream of what fabric I will use and how pretty they will look strung along the mantle or on the bannister going up the stairs, or in my cottage window...

For the How-To go here.

A New Years Card

I have kept you guessing for the past few days and today I am finally revealing what my secret project was: a New Years postcard. Did you already deduce that? This past year, Christmas arrived in such a whirlwind and with everything that was going on in and around our lives, I had no time to send out my usual Christmas cards.  But, I was not going to feel guilty about that, I had a plan, and that was send out New Year's cards instead.

Well, New Year's Eve came and went and I began my mission, I was on the hunt for Happy New Years cards. I had absolutely no luck. What was I going to do, I thought? And, then I realized, I am from a very long line of creative and artistic people, why was I even looking for a pack of cards. I would simply create my own.

I decided, that instead of drawing one, or creating one through a paper or fabric medium, I would design one using Photoshop. I went through a series of ideas, as all creating processes take and I stumbled on one that I liked.

I used images from a vintage children's book and pieced different parts together to create my card. Using the background of one page, I removed items that I liked from others. Placing a little gnome in the corner and darkening his hat to a more Christmassy red. I put a glowing candle from the Christmas tree into his hand and placed a friendly woodland squirrel next to him.

Next, I placed "Happy New Years" on my card using pink and white as a highlighting color and the front was finished. Then, I moved on to the back, again using the same pink as on the front but with red as a highlighting color. After doing some more nerdy computer work, they were ready to upload. I have used a variety of printing services for different projects along the way, but this time I used MOO. They were a dream to work with!

Since, this was not going to be your normal "Christmas Card", I decided that I would send out postcards instead. After uploading my design, I got envelopes to put them in and even had the chance to design my own sticker book. Everything arrived in my postbox this past week and this weekend I got down to business and wrote them.

I had so much fun coming up with a design and seeing the final piece printed up and in my hands, I don't think I will go back, to buying cards again. So, look out, next Christmas I hope to be sending out cards designed by yours truly.

(Copyright, this design was created by Jennifer Michie and is not to be used without permission. All images property of Jennifer Michie)