Deidre's Amazing Blog

Kawaii Postcard

deidre421 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:26:44 +0000

Made this cute little postcard for a swap. That is one down! I kind of wish I had like a mini laminate machine instead of using packing tape, but it works for now! Hopefully it make it all the way to its destination in Norway.

I used cut up pieces of kawaii memo pads and little note sheets, and some stickers, also some glitter glue!

Ready to craft

deidre421 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:06:19 +0000

I have been busy the last few weeks and a bit sick recently so I haven’t had much time to get any projects started. However, I do have some swaps coming up with some handmade postcards which should be fun. I have a couple of weeks to send them out but will start working on them this week sometime. I have a few more pieces to take to get fired too. I makes me nervous taking unfired dried out pieces in my car to go get fired, but so far there have not been any disasters. Once I get some things fired I fully plan on trying out some of the ceramic paint and sealer I inherited around Christmas time from people at work. I have a handful of teabowls that would make perfect test subjects. More to come soon once I get more done. I also have been getting so many ideas and tutorials from Pinterest, too many for me to handle, but maybe sometime this year I will have time to try a few.

New rings to ring in the new year

deidre421 — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:28:03 +0000

Awhile back I found this video on youtube and thought it looked like an interesting technique to try. I got the Tacky Glue weeks ago but just hadn’t had time to make anything of it. Last week I made some little forms with some white sculpey I had lying around and did the technique shown in the video which is super simple. The video shows them using some forms made with a casting product, but I just handmade some little gem like shapes with the white sculpey and baked it. I used the same burning technique with a normal candle. I painted them with some Jacquard Lumiere, Dynaflow, and Pearlex I had. They are marketed more for fabric but work on other surfaces. My favorite it the ball shape that came out pinkish purple. Look at the photos below. Not sure yet, if I will sell these or keep them/give them to friends. I still have some ring blanks to use for ceramic rings!

Secondly I worked a bit on the wheel today and have some pictures of the pieces. The large bowl is the best, but I may use the other two pieces in an attached together piece. Also I had a day to unpack all my boxed up ceramics pieces, and put them on shelves. The bottom shelf is 2011 work, (and will have 2012 soon), the middle shelf is 2009-2010, and the top is older work. Clearly I need more shelves

End of the year wrap up

deidre421 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:04:10 +0000

We are already a few days into the new year, but I still have some things that never got put up from last year. These are some random things that didn’t fit in with other posts or I didn’t have time to make a separate post for.

First off I made another Christmas stocking this year, this time for my best friend. He came with me to the fabric store and picked out some fabric himself. I still have enough to make another stocking and may do so before next Christmas. It has Rudolph licensed fabric on the outside and some swirly beige fabric on the inside.

Second are some pictures of the first items to be made on my at home wheel. I made one bowl, a curvy vessel, and 5 little off the hump things which may be used as teabowls. They have all been trimmed and are now just awaiting being fired.

For the new year expect to see a lot more sewing projects and items made in my in home studio as I continue to expand it. I have a heap of fabric just waiting to be used and plan on making a purse with it I have already made one bag, which I actually do not think I ever photographed! Save that for the next wrap up post I guess I also am planning on making more jewelry and expanding to more than earrings. Happy New Year! I look forward to hearing from you guys in 2012.

Paper beads galore

deidre421 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:58:33 +0000

Recently I signed up for a swap to do some paper beads, it is a beginner swap and sounded like fun, but then I had to go find some tutorials so I could get an idea as to what I was in for. I found this little video from EvelineUK and it was just perfect. Like she says in the video it is quite addicting, especially since each one comes out a little different! Eveline also has a blog which can be seen here, I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet but I look forward to seeing if there are any other crafty tips.

I used some magazine pages, mostly from arts or craft magazines with interesting fun graphics on them, and some patterned paper I had in my pile o’ paper at my crafting table. The nail polish trick mentioned in the video really does work, and something I found to be fun was using tinted nail polish that was still transparent, giving it a glimmery colorful look but still sealing it and giving the beads shine.

Here are some pictures of my first handfuls, I have made a couple handfuls more so I am sure you will see more pictures of these in the future.

Dog stuffies: a tutorial

deidre421 — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:24:27 +0000

I have done my fair share of sewing projects over the last year, and shown pictures of many of them. I thought that I might do a little bit of a tutorial on one of my favorites to do and that my little dogs really seem to enjoy. This project does not take very long at all, I made the one seen in the photos in one night. They are also easy to personalize.

Materials :

Fleece fabric – Do not need much, I got half of a yard and still have plenty after making 2 stuffies.
Cotton quilting fabric or other strong fabric – again not much is needed and it can even be scrap if the size is right, mine was leftover brown from a purse project.
Stuffing! – I like to use Polyfill, or polyester fiberfill.
Embroidery floss or thread – I hand stitch everything so I use embroidery floss a lot, if you have a working sewing machine though the thread used with it will be fine. While not necessary I recommend using a thread that will match the fleece.
Felt – I personalized mine with initials of the puppers, you can generally get one 8″ x 11″ sheet at a craft store for .25-.40 cents in multiple colors.
Scissors
Pins to hold stuff in place while you sew.
Fabric glue – I use Sobo glue for almost everything, but if you have a different one the works for you that is fine as well.
Recommended White chalk pencil – I used one to draw out the letters to give me a guideline for cutting them out.
Optional squeaker - I got a package of them on Etsy and used them in these stuffies, my dogs love squeaks!

Step 1 – Make you initial or other personalized feature. I started with this first so I would know how large to make my shape. The blue initial featured in the photos is for my brothers dog Bastian, the pink one for my baby girl Buddy. Still have to make an L for our new baby Lola. I used the chalk pencil to draw a bubble letter B, that I was comfortable with and then cut it out. If you are unsatisfied with the initial cut out you can always trim away until you find something you like and set this part aside.

Step 2 – Make your shape and cut it out. I made a simple small circle for one of them and a large oval bean like shape for another. Also keep in mind the size of your dogs mouth. I made the smaller circle for a smaller dog. Cut out two of these shapes in the fleece and two of them in the cotton fabric.

Step 3 – Attach the felt initial to the fleece. Take one of the fleece pieces and the felt letter. Spread a light layer of the fabric glue on the back side of the letter and press down on the center of the fleece piece. Once it dries for a bit Add some stitching to the outside of the letter to hold it securely in place and for an added decorative touch.

Step 4 – Sew the fleece and the lining together. The reason I added the brown fabric is to make this stuffy extra tough! Our newest dog rips toys apart and this added some extra structure to the toy. Simply line up one cotton piece with one fleece piece (make sure the initial is facing out) and sew around the edges using a simple line stitch. Repeat with the other two pieces.

Step 5 – Sew your two pieces together. Line up the two pieces you have sewn together with the fleece facing inward. sew around the edges again using a simple line stitch. Leave about one inch or so of space to stuff the toy.

Step 6 – Start stuffing! Turn your toy right side out by pulling the inside through the hole you left. Take your polyfill and start stuffing it into the toy, make sure to use plenty and make it big and fluffy.

Step 7 – Optional – Add the squeaker simply shove the squeaker towards the center of the toy and surround with more fluff.

Step 8 – Finish sewing together. Sew together the hole and make sure there are no gaps where fluff can get through.

Step 9 – Let your pups enjoy! So far our tearer up of toys has not been able to tear a hole in this stuffie, of course each dog is different. Watch and supervise your dog to make sure they can play with the toy nicely and don’t leave a fluffy mess in your house. She has gotten it very dirty but a toss in the washing machine will fix that.

There is a wheel in my basement!

deidre421 — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:21:09 +0000

Yes it is true I finally saved up enough to afford a wheel and my parents helped a bit as part of Christmas, and I still have money to spare! I ended up getting a Shimpo VL Whisper, which does make me feel quite traitorous, since I have used Brent for much of my 9 years working in ceramics. But… the Shimpos are soooo quiet, and I got it as part of decent sale. Also from what I have heard from some former teachers, the Shimpos hold up a bit better over time. the one thing that does irritate me about them though is how stark white the tops are, they got instantly dirty and never look clean afterwards. Especially since the clay I got to play with is brown. I got mine at a local pottery shop called Krueger Pottery, that you can also access online. Next purchase is a Giffin Grip for sure!

Speaking of, I got a new clay body as part of my gifts with purchase. I chose this one because it has a nice speckle when fired, it is also a tan colour. Working with a new clay body is fun but I kind of cut into it a bit much on my first piece when trimming the bottom on the wheel. It was just so smooth. Anyway I am going to go play with the wheel some more, the first pieces I threw should be ready for a trimming!

Too many earrings for one girl

deidre421 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:56:41 +0000

I went on a little earring making binge a couple of weeks ago and have many new ones to show off. Look out for them in the coming weeks in my etsy shop as I also renew some older listings! There is a group picture coming in this post of the new additions. Some have the glossy glazes on them, others just a matte underglaze, but all are very bright! I also recently got some ceramic paint that I will have to experiment with at some point after I get some sealer.

The Etsy Holiday Sale that I participated in went off without a hitch. I really enjoyed this sale a lot more than others I had participated in. There was a great group of artists and everything seemed to be ran very smoothly. I sold a bit more than I have in the past as well. By no means did I do phenomenal, but it is a step in the right direction and something I would definitely be interested in participating in again. I have included a picture of my table as well.

Blog Swapping Blogs!

deidre421 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:04:56 +0000

DeidreArt from Swap-bot (Gain Readers and Comments Swap)

Have another blog swap over at swap-bot this time with 12 partners. In no particular order, here are the blog partners I was assigned along with links to their blogs for everyone to enjoy!

Crafting with Blue - definitely a crafters blog! Lots of great images of crafts with detail on how it was done and different ideas. Also participates in a blog hop, which I do not know much about but am intrigued!

Sanity’s Overrated / Views from the Readers Side - This blogger has 2 blogs! I couldn’t resist taking a peek at them both. Sanity’s Overrated is an everyday life blog full of fun little anecdotes and reviews. Views from the Readers Side is a reading blog and has many reviews of different books. Great if you are looking for something to read.

maggiemark - a relatively newer blog with a few posts with some different crafts included.

miseducated - For sure a girly girl blog, just the way I like it! Lots of pink and cuteness and fun. Crafts and other stuff with a kitschy girly flair. Definitely got a few ideas to try myself, this blog makes me smile a lot,

smilernbp – Life blog from a mom of three. Fun little anecdotes and great kid stories.

Glory’s Mischief – Life and craft blog. Lots and lots of craft ideas complete with some instruction, pictures, and links. Also life stories, check out the elf sightings!

Buddhatropolis - Blog mainly focusing on yoga and the buddhist lifestyle. Has inspirational images and messages.

Patricia’s Fabric Art - Craft blog with pictures of her craft. A lot of little art dolls and other creations for your viewing pleasure.

Where’s the Mommy – Cute little blog written from the point of view of a cat, I am not a cat person but the blog was still cute. Imagine though if it was written from a dogs point of view!

Hot Pink Gesso and Signo = Creative Flow - Creative blog with some mail art postings as well as other swap crafts and much more

52 Weeks of Mail - Posts featuring different mailart for each week! All from the hands of one very crafty person.

KNClodge - Craft blog full of lots of paper crafting, ATCs, mailart, and much more. Very beautiful work and some great ideas for yu as well.

Hope you enjoy looking at these blogs! I’m sure I will have more swaps in the future. I should post tomorrow if I have time about the recent sale I was a part of and also some new pictures.

New jewelry in progress

deidre421 — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:29:33 +0000

I’ve been working on some newer jewelry and some different shapes. Sticking more to earrings as those seem to be working out best and are fun to make. A few more textures and glaze combinations this time. The photos included are before the final firing. Some have underglazes and will keep a matte finish others have the bright glossy glaze! Hopefully they will be fired and ready to be photographed before the 3rd Annual Etsy Sale at Contemporary Art Museum that I will be a part of. More info is in a few blog posts back. There are a few other pieces awaiting a firing as well and photos will be coming soon.