Can you tell what it is yet?

Now I think this is the most eccentric present I have made so far. It was my friend Lisa’s birthday and she had mentioned a while a go that while travelling she and her boyfriend had bought a Didgeridoo in Australia. When I last went to visit her she had mentioned when she bought it they had all been displayed sat in cut off tree trunks. When she said this I thought perfect I fancy a new crafting challenge and that’s what I got. My first task was to plain the top of the wood down smooth then chisel out a hole in the centre for the didgeridoo to sit in. I spent an afternoon covered in sawdust but just wasn’t getting much headway on craving the centre. So I had to see some technical assistance. This involved using a large drill bit and just breaking up the wood so it would be easier to carve. It worked. I did really enjoy this project but it was quite a physical one. I made a small plaque/ label out of copper tape and the oxidised it for a nice antique look. It’s not very exciting put the good news is she loved it and said I was very thoughtful. Mission accomplished.

Lisa also got engaged while in Australia and so I decided to make her a wedding planner as well. Lisa had started to look into venues and is thinking 2010 is the year so I hope this will help her keep all her research in order. I used a dull lined note book and covered it fabric. I then made bookmark dividers out of ribbon to divide the sections of what she needs to plan. I will post some photos of the detail a little later but here is the front cover for now.

My new crafting table

At last I have my own laptop. Yeah me! Now I don’t have to wrestle with my boyfriend to get on the internet and I kind of feel like I'm channeling Carrie Bradshaw as it is a nice shinny Mac Book. This kind of all ties in with my latest crafting project to kind of refurbish an old computer table that was not needed at the school I work at. I’ve been looking for a potable work table which I can have in our living room. My plan is to use the table for my crafting projects, I can then quite happily leave things out on the table but they tuck this into the corner of the room out of the way. 

Before:

After:

I used oil cloth, cut to size and just stapled it on the underneath for a quick but practical revamp of a very dull table.

Zip flower brooch

Well at last I have started to list items on my Etsy shop again. It has been a while. The mad thing is I have been making things everyday but have yet to list ( it doesn’t help that my boyfriend hogs the computer, it is his but that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it). So I came up with this idea to make flower brooches out of zips. I have had these 50cm zip for ages and just haven’t known what to do with them. There was no way I was going to start knocking clothes out with them (I would love to but just wouldn’t know where to start) so had to think of an alternative use. I’m very happy with the way they have turned out and have had some very enthusiastic comments already.
I have made them in 3 colours and they are in me Etsy shop now. This is the second time I have listed items and have been working on my photography which I think is a key part of your Etsy Listing. I hope to make at least a couple of sales.

Banksy t-shirt

Banksy t-shirt
Originally uploaded by DuckDownDesigns

This is a project I did a while ago. This is a Banksy graffiti designs of a girl reaching out for a heart shaped balloon embroidered onto a t-shirt. It took me forever. My boyfriend had made a stencil of the design to put on a canvas for a friend. However I borrowed it to get the outline onto the t-shirt. I used regular spray paint to mark it out with (I need to invest in some fabric paint). I then embroidered into the sprayed design using satin stitch and embroidery thread. I do love this t-shirt but it did take me a while due to all the detail. But I got a mention on someone’s blog who liked what I had done, so thanks Blog-standard.

I'm rubbish

Well I think its official I am the worst person at blogging, ever! Well I don’t really have any excuses. The good news is I have been very busy creating all sorts of exciting things but I just haven’t been documenting any of it. I have now joined the flickr group crafting 365 so now I have no excuse for not posting regularly. I am crafting everyday and researching new projects daily so as you as my witness I will try to be better. I now have a good stock of things to go in my Etsy shop as well but again haven’t got round to listing them which is probably why I haven sold anything, makes sense. So please watch this space.