Hand painted sign

A hand painted sign I created recently for my neighbour’s birthday. He has a music studio in the garden. As usual I forgot to take WIP photos but you can see the sketch that I originally drew in Procreate. I painted onto aluminium composite board which is beautifully smooth but super hard to transfer the design on to, and difficult to photograph! I’m really pleased with the result though. 

 

 

 

 

Reusable flat packed wooden Christmas trees!

I always wanted to buy a small tree that I could use over and over again, without having to buy a plastic or real tree, which would not easily fit in my small home. I could not seem to find anything suitable at a reasonable price, so I thought I would create my own, and share the idea in my shop, here.

If you are looking for an alternative to a real or plastic christmas tree then this could be it! These locally made laser cut plywood Christmas trees are designed to be decorated and used year after year. Small enough to fit on a table or counter top you can decorate these trees with small decorations and lights to create a festive atmosphere. You could even paint the tree to fit in with your festive colour scheme.

The trees are supplied flat packed and can be disassembled easily and stored away for use next year and many years to come. They are very easy to slot together and directions will be provided.

 

Ghost signs of Frome

Having recently looked at a called Ghost signs of Bath (Andrew Swift & Kirsten Elliott, Akeman Press), I remembered seeing a few really good ones in Frome, where I work. So I went out last week to photograph them all and, delightfully, some new ones have been revealed! Which is super great for me doing this blog post!

I expect a lot of people have visited Frome and seen the below ghost signs for A.S.Ashby which was once a photographic shop at the bottom of Bath Street. I love the way the top one has more than one layer of overlaying words and layers, known as a Palimpsest. Amazing how the vivid colour has survived!

Next I found this set of 3 three advertising ghost signs not far away on Palmer Street.

They're fairly hard to make out but I believe  this one says:

WEAVER

& SON

FOR

WALLPAPERS

DISTEMPERS

I can't figure out the last word, I think it begings with VAP and ends in S.

 This one is harder to read but says:

[          ] WE STOCK 

[            ] AND

RECOMMEND

JOHN HALL'S

PROLAC

GLOSS FINISH

&

PROLAC PEP

PLASTIC EMULSION PAINT

FOR [      ] BOTH

... And the some more words I can't make out. 

John Hall & Sons was a paint manufacturing company in Broadmead, Bristol.

This sign around the side reads:

WEAVER & SON

FOR

GLASS

OIL

PAINT &

WALLPAPER

 

 Whist not actually a ghost sign, I like this metal sign for Colman's Blue, on High Pavement.

 Further up the same building as the Ashby Kodak signs, is this long section of text along the top. It advertises:

CHINA & GLASS SHOW ROOMS |  DINNER SERVICE | TOILET SETS, VASES, [      ]RES, PORTMANTEAUS | STATIONERY

I'm not sure what this shop was called but I guess it was a department store.

The following building on Badcox is currently being renovated, which I guess is how these beautiful ghost signs have been revealed.

I can't make out the bottom left or right text, but maybe I'll make another visit to try to find out. 

Some of the other sections read: 

Teas, Coffees Grocery AND PROVISION STORES

CHEESE, SALT Agent for HANSEN'S Cheese Rennet

THORLEY'S FOOD FOR CATTLE Ovum & Lactifer

Robin Starch

ZEBRA Grate Polish

Let me know if you've seen any more ghost signs in Frome!

Handmade Terrarium

Last november I did a great terrarium workshop with Loof Terrariums where I learnt how to plant up a lovely teardrop shaped terrarium. I was really pleased with it but I wondered if it would be possible to make my own glass shell instead of using a ready made one (also they're quite expensive and not sure about where they come from, ethically etc). I vaguely remember doing some soldering at school a long time ago! I did learn how to cut glass when I did my Fused Glass houseplants panel, so I was confident about cutting the glass. I bought a template from Etsy as I didn't want to spend ages figuring out the shape, it wasn't very expensive. 

After I had cut out all the glass panels (it helps if you have quite a few to do and then you can use the glass more economically) I wrapped the copper tape around all of the edges. This is what will hold the construction together once soldered. as this is what the solder sticks to. After that it was a matter of soldering it all together. I had already practiced on a cube shaped terrarium, this one has a lot more pieces so it took a while to get them all correct. I watched some helpful videos on youtube beforehand. 

After cleaning and polishing it was the fun part- adding the plants! I bought one of these and the other 2 were from splitting up plants I already had. I bought the pebbles, moss and charcoal from etsy as well, in a kit. Really pleased with the result and I have another one to plant up too.

Half constructed

Fully constructed and half soldered

Fully soldered

Nice and polished

Planted up and added seaside pebbles

Watermelon Peperomia paper plant

I made this “Watermelon Peperomia” as the last paper plant I made was successful so I made another. This is another one from a book called Handmade Houseplants by Corrie Beth Hogg and there are plenty more that I would like to make. 
It was fun arranging all the leaves in the pot once I had created them. I think it looks very lifelike!

Pink Cordyline paper plant

I made this “Pink Cordyline” paper plant to hang in my house, because it is fairly dark and all the plants die if they’re not close to the windows! This is from a book called Handmade Houseplants by Corrie Beth Hogg and has loads of other projects I can’t wait to make!
It was reasonably easy to make but you need to be able to get the right thickness and colour of paper, and some floristry wire. I also made the macrame plant hanger to put it in, it all coordinates quite well with my wallpaper I think!

Owls Woodland Quilted Panel

I was asked by a friend to create this Owls Woodland Quilted Panel for a family expecting a new baby. So the panel features an owl for each member of their family. I wanted it to be gender neutral so I used a woodland type of colour palette using lots of different bits of fabric and felt.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out and so are the family I hope!
These are the same owls I designed for a nursery hanging mobile, see it here.