Myths & Fabrications

We're All Mad Here...

2017-04-04T12:42:00.002+01:00

Every now and again I like to set myself a challenge. Partly because I feel like as an artist I ought to be stretching myself in order to improve; partly because I enjoy the problem solving that inevitably come with it; and partly, possibly, because I'm a teeny bit sadomasochistic!

I was enjoying working on designs for wedding cake toppers, especially as the nature of them gives me that little bit more artistic freedom to do what I really love, which is to go ever so slightly crazy with attention to detail! Whilst I was scribbling designs and coming up with silly puns, I sketched up this 'Mad for Each Other' Alice in Wonderland design.

This was definitely going to be a challenging design to realise, there are quite a few tricky elements, but I wanted to see what I could achieve.

Alice and the Mad Hatter had to be made in stages, sculpting sections, then baking, then sculpting more on top so that I didn't ruin all my hard work by squashing anything! My initial intent was that they should be clothed in real fabric, but as I just could not find any fabric fine enough and with enough of a drape to work at this scale I decided that the clothing would need to be sculpted too. Once the structure of the clothing was complete, I could also add a little extra detail with acrylic paint. Alice's hair is made with yellow cotton thread, and the Hatter's is merino wool.

Alice with crazy hair

For the surroundings, I wanted to achieve the impression that the cards were whirling around mid air, to add a little element of chaos to the design. The easiest way to do this was to add some wire swirls, which I wrapped in iridescent thread, to make them a little bit more magical. I then sandwiched areas of wire between a front and back design of each playing card. The motto is created in a very similar style, but using some thin plastic sandwiched between the card letters to create a little more stability. The cards and motto are all varnished to protect them from moisture. Alice holds a bouquet of white paper roses (painted red of course!) and is joined by the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse and Caterpillar, all sculpted from polymer clay.

It was hours and hours of work, and quite a technical challenge too, but I got there in the end. My 'Mad for Each Other' Alice in Wonderland Alternative Wedding cake topper is now available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Maybe I'm Nuts...

2017-03-20T07:14:00.000+00:00

I admit to being a little bit weird. I can't help it, I've always been this way. I've just never quite liked the things that everyone else seems to like, fashionable just doesn't do anything for me...but things that are just a little different, maybe slightly odd- now that's what I find interesting.

So, this slight penchant for the peculiar occasionally manifests itself in my creations. I don't think I particularly make things that are seriously strange, I'm not ultra macabre or grotesque or creepy...I'm not even really very abstract- I like characters and narrative too much to be totally obscure. Sometimes though, I might get the urge to make a wedding cake topper, for example, where the bride and groom just happen to be smiley, happily wedded coconuts....

It might seem like an idea completely out of nowhere, but like most things it all started with a silly pun. I often begin my ideas process with words rather than images, and phrases and idioms are quite frequently a starting point for me. As usual I had a list of phrases that you might associate with couples: Mad for Each Other, The Perfect Match, Meant to Be, Made for Each Other and, the words that spawned the whole idea, Nuts for Each Other. I had previously made Evil Coconuts for my Fun of the Unfair project at University, and they remain some of my favourite of all the characters I have ever made. I still have them, which is unusual in that I usually grow to spot all the faults in my own work, and want to get rid of it rather quickly! But not with these guys, these guys are proudly lined up on my daughter's mantelpiece; luckily she's inherited the weirdness gene, so is quite happy to decorate her room with evil coconuts where most little girls would keep fairies or princesses. I don't know what it is about them, but clearly I'm predisposed with a fondness for coconuts, because I was definite that it was coconuts that I wanted to be the nuts in my 'Nuts for Each Other' cake topper design.

The usual scribbles ensued, and I went for a design that would be in keeping with the trends for Summer Village Fete style weddings; rustic, with sweet washed-out pastels and a vintage, nostalgic feel.

The coconuts and their stands, I already had practise making, so these were easy enough to sculpt from polymer clay, with plenty of scratching for texture. I know it's cliched and genderist, but pastel blue and pastel pink stripes painted on the stands just seemed right somehow, and in keeping with the vintage summer tones, reminiscent of hazy summer days and ice cream cones.

To keep the grass soft, fun and kind of rustic I decided to go for blades of grass cut into strips of paper. These are then glued onto a painted plywood base in a similar way to how you would glue quilled paper. This gives plenty of texture, but takes forever! To finish the country fair scene, I added the motto, painted onto calico flags and bunting, tinted to look more like burlap.

I think this one is a particularly niche design, which may well be in my Etsy shop for some time until a couple just nuts enough comes along to claim it!

Sloths in Love

2016-05-17T13:57:00.001+01:00

There's a whole lotta sloth love out there; even before the sloth in Equador that had to be rescued by police from a motorway crash barrier, and before Neil the Sofa Sloth appeared on UK TV screens, sloths appealed to people for their sort of cute oddness.

I first put my needle felted sloth up for sale on Etsy back in February 2014, and both he and the cards and notebooks featuring his image have proved fairly popular ever since.

So, what could people fall in love with more than a cute, fuzzy, felted sloth? Why, two cute, fuzzy, felted sloths of course! I decided that a wedding cake topper version of my sloth with 'I Love You' banner was most certainly in order.

The sloths themselves are a little smaller than the original, but are otherwise pretty much the same, with the addition of a ribbon bow-tie to distinguish the groom and the bride wears a veil with a little bit of glitz in the form of three crystals. They sit on a circular plywood base, covered in lace and finished with a little taupe ribbon. For the banner, the most obvious choice to me was to personalise it with the names of the couple getting married, but like most of my designs, this can be customised to your taste if you prefer something a little less obvious! The text comes in a choice of 12 different hand-stamped fonts.

The colours can also be customised to tie in with your own wedding decor if you wish too, as you can see, this customer ordered hers in a lovely dusky pink, instead of the red in the original listing.

Mr and Mrs Sloth (who are also equally as happy to be provided as a Mr and Mr or Mrs and Mrs Sloth!) are available made to order in my Etsy shop.

Scooting over to Handmade Monday for the first time in aaaaaaaages too!

The Perfect Match

2016-03-09T12:15:00.001+00:00

One of the things I like most about handmade is how completely unique, individual and just plain weird it can be. You don't have to be constrained by the things the fashionistas are telling you that you should like, you don't have to have your taste defined for you, you have the capacity to own something that is completely, utterly and undeniably you, however peculiar you may be.

I think handmade really comes into its own for alternative weddings- when two weird worlds collide in a crazy collaborative union of oddness! If your partner is madly into film noir, baked beans and warthogs, and you have quite a penchant for manatees, hula dancing and all things electric blue; the chances are you probably won't find something that represents both of you, or let's face it; either of you, on a shelf in a shop anywhere, let alone something like that but wedding themed. That's when custom, bespoke handmade artists come into their own- 'Why yes, of course I can make you a cake topper featuring a warthog in a trilby and trench coat, hula dancing with an electric blue manatee on top of a tower of baked bean tins. No, that won't be a problem at all'.

I love a custom commission anyway, but a wedding cake topper custom commission, well- that makes me feel really rather honoured.

It can be tricky to decide what unique and unusual things to adorn your cake with; we're so used to the conventions of a bride and groom figure, or a floral flurry on top of our cakes, that it's sometimes not the easiest thing to know what else to use. I wanted to make a couple of toppers that I knew would probably have a rather niche market, and I turned, as I often do, to my love of a cheesy pun for inspiration.

My favourite design I came up with was my 'Perfect Match' cake topper. There's something about a matchbox that I just like. It has that kind of warm, nostalgic feeling that I also get from other little boxes and tins, buttons, ribbons and marbles- maybe it's a childhood treasures thing?

My matchbox features a pink and blue match, which can easily be customised to the colours of your choice if that's too much of a gender stereotype for you (although I didn't actually say which match is the boy and which is the girl ;P )

The box features a flaming heart design in a style that gives a gentle nod to vintage matchboxes, but is just a little punchier in colour. The box can also be personalised with the addition of the couples' names in the heart if desired.

Despite me thinking that these little matches might be a bit of a niche oddity, and perhaps not going to be to most peoples' taste, they have so far proven to be my best seller of all of my wedding cake toppers! They are fairly inexpensive at only £35 plus postage and packing, so for Alternative Weddings on a pretty tight budget, but still wanting something fun and unique; this topper does indeed seem to be the Perfect Match!

The Perfect Match is available in my Etsy shop, along with the other unusual Wedding Cake Toppers in my A Love Less Ordinary collection, or for bespoke custom commissions you can fill out my form or click through a custom order request in my Etsy shop.

Gingerbread Wedding

2015-09-15T19:48:00.000+01:00

Like most crafters, much of what I enjoyed about my own wedding was the preparation. I loved the DIY- making our invitations, table decorations, favours, and decorating all of the cakes we had. But my singular regret about my wedding is that I did not make anything to go on top of our wedding cake. I just ran out of time. Now whenever I see photographs of our wedding cake I just feel frustrated. I'm even slightly tempted to just Photoshop something onto the photos of the cake just to stop feeling irritated by it!

I'm pleased to say that I've discovered a way to atone for that horrible sin of not making my own wedding cake topper, and to live vicariously through others. I think I might be growing something of an addiction for making bespoke wedding cake toppers! Fueling my burgeoning compulsion is That Alternative Wedding Fair. It's a weekend wedding fair at Fargo Village on 19th and 20th September, aimed at brides and grooms to be who are looking for something a little bit different and unusual for their big day. My mind and fingers have recently been very much occupied with devining, designing and realising some quirky little cake adornments that you just won't find, well, anywhere else!

Over my next few posts I'll be sharing some of my new pieces with you, and a little insight into how they came about too. The first piece I'm going to share is my Gingerbread Kitsch cake topper.

One of my favourite Christmas products that I make for sale is my gingerbread men tree decorations. I just think there is something so friendly about a gingerbread man! I decided that a gingerbread couple would be very cute for a cake topper. The original idea was supposed to include text to look like piped icing that said: 'Made for Each Other', but in the end I decided to go without any text.

I had lots of fun trying to create familiar cake decorations in polymer clay. I soon realised that creating sprinkles one at a time was really not worth the effort! In the end the method I used was to roll out thin strands of polymer clay, bake them first and then cut them. This way the clay doesn't squash as you cut, and you can cut a few different colour strands at once. Jelly diamonds are particularly easy and effective. I mixed up some colours of clay with a high proportion of translucent clay, cut out the diamonds with a plunger cutter and gave them a little coating of liquid clay before sprinkling with fake sugar. My favourite fake sugar is the tiny glass micro beads, but you can also use white craft sand. Once baked I glaze with Fimo semi-gloss varnish, this helps keep the 'sugar' in place but also brings out the translucency.

Initially I went with violet and cerise accessories on my bride and groom, but these looked much too strong once I mounted them on their kitsch pastel base, so I painted over them in baby pink and lilac.

I'm hoping to also create a Christmas wedding version of this topper in red and white candy stripes in the future, as gingerbread is so quintessentially Christmassy!

In celebration of my first wedding fair I'm inviting visitors to the fair the opportunity to win the Gingerbread cake topper. Anybody popping by my stall can pick up a card with details on how to enter. To book your free tickets for That Alternative Wedding Fair all you need to do is register your details here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/that-alternative-wedding-fair-autumn-2015-tickets-16766805968

Holy Moley!

2015-05-03T18:35:00.000+01:00

Every so often I just get the urge to make a particular animal, some image of some little character pops into my head and I just feel like they need to be realised in felt. Whilst making hamsters I had noticed that as they are being felted, before I start to sculpt the head properly, they look a little mole-like. I have always rather loved the velvety, snuffly, shovel-handed little critters and it made me think that a felt mole might be rather cute... a felt mole wearing Wellington boots.... obviously!

I definitely wanted to try to replicate those funny digging hands that moles have, so I made nice big fingers with polymer clay claws and wrapped then with pink cotton thread. The wellies I also sculpted from polymer clay.

The felting actually took two attempts to get just the right head shape. The first head was to severe and pointy looking, and I couldn't get the eyes right. The great thing about felting though, is that if it's not worked you can just felt a new face on top! This time I went for a chubbier face and no eyes- just cute smiley impressions where the eyes would be. This worked much better, and he's a far more charming looking chap.

The finishing touches were just to add a little red plaid neckerchief for a splash of colour, and sculpt some tiny forget-me-nots from polymer clay and add them to a little plant pot for Mr Mole to hold in his impressive hand!

Mr Mole is now available in my Etsy shop.

I will joining in with Handmade Monday again this week.

Pushing the Right Buttons

2015-04-10T12:35:00.000+01:00

It's Happy Friday Time again! The day of the week when I join in with Planet Penny's Happy Friday link-up and talk about the little things that have made me happy this week.

I think one thing that makes the vast majority of crafters happy is buttons. I don't know quite what it is about them, the sizes, the shapes, the multitude of colours, but buttons are just a cheerful little object. I don't think I've ever come across a miserable button! Even the word button sounds like a happy little word to me.

I couldn't resist buying some tiny little 6mm buttons from berrynicecrafts on Etsy who has a rather lovely range of buttons in her shop. My intention is to use them on some of my felted models, but also as part of the design on some little notebooks too (admittedly I mainly bought them because they are super cute and tiny...not really because I have a plan for them!)

I have also had fun this week making more of my fabric covered button jewellery. I thought it might be nice to show the process, so here is a quick tutorial:

How to make a fabric covered button

You will need:

-Cover button blanks the size and style of your choice (they come in various sizes and either flat backed or button backed, you can also find them in metal or plastic versions)*

-A cover button tool*

*You can find both buttons and tools on eBay, or Blooming Felt is very good if you only want small quantities of buttons.

-Fabric of your choice.
I print my own designs on washable cotton from Crafty Computer Paper- but this makes the whole process a little more complicated.

1. Whether you are using fabric or your own design you will need to ensure that the part of the design you want to feature on the button fits in the centre, with enough bleed to also cover the sides of your button, and enough excess fabric to hold securely under the button back. You will usually need around 5mm extra all the way around your design, but I tend to find my tiny buttons seem a little deeper and need a little more excess than you might expect!

2. If using inkjet printable cotton, print your designs out- follow the instructions on the product for the best results. Cut circles of the desired size out of your fabric. If using the printable cotton remove the paper backing from your circles.

3. Place the clear 'cup' part of the cover button tool over your circle, as centrally as possible.

4. Carefully pick up the tool and fabric together, trying to keep the fabric in the same position (sliding it off the edge of a table works best for me) and press on top of the domed face of your cover button. You should be able to just about see where the design will sit on the button through the cover button tool. If it is not right, take it out and try again at this point, but be wary the fabric may become stretched if you do this too many times.

5. When you are happy with the position of your design, turn the cover button tool with the fabric and button top over so that the cover button tool sits on the desk with the fabric and button top on top. Press the button into the cover button tool.

6. Fold the fabric into the centre of the button, place your button back on top and use the 'plunger' part of your cover button tool to snap the back into place. I like to use a piece of wood to help me push down the plunger if I'm making small buttons or more than a couple of buttons, as all that pressure on your fingers can cause nasty blisters!

7. Pop the buttons out of the cover button tool by pushing the cover button tool as if you were going to turn it inside out.

If you are using the flat back cover buttons you can glue on earring posts, clutch pins, hairgrips or cufflink blanks as desired. I scratch a cross hatch pattern into the back of my buttons with a scalpel for better adhesion, and use a two part epoxy glue to stick them together.

Here are some of my newest designs:

You can find my Cute as a Button range in my Etsy shop.
I'm also joining in with Handmade Monday.

Getting Poetic

2015-04-03T20:18:00.002+01:00

I'm going to deviate a little from my normal craft related post today, and share a little bit of my poetic side with you. I'm also joining in with Planet Penny's Happy Friday, which might seem a little strange with the subject matter that follows, but for me this was all about finding a little hope and happiness in the sadness. I'll also be joining inn with Handmade Monday, as while there's no crafting in this post I think the creative process of writing still counts!

I don't profess to be a good poet, or even a passable one to be honest, but never the less I have always enjoyed words and writing, despite not being much of a literary luminary. When I was around eleven or twelve I used to take a notebook to school with me, and would sit on my own in the classroom scribbling my piteous little verses, switched off to the rest of the world and the typically teen antics of my fellow classmates. Needless to say, I was not a popular kid!

Nowadays I don't often get the chance to write much (apart from listing descriptions and my sporadic blog posts, obviously!) and I probably have matured into being a little more reserved about sharing my amateurish attempts! However, last October my Granddad died, and my sister and I were trying to help to find something suitable to be read at the funeral. We knew that although it was a sad occasion, my Grandma just isn't the morbid, lamenting type, and she would want something with a little bit of hope and light in there too. It was quite surprising, after trawling the internet for days, to find little to nothing suitable. Everything was doom and gloom; sadness and sorrow. The only poem we could find, which had a little more of an upbeat feel was 'She Is Gone' which we obviously changed to 'He Is Gone' and this ended up being read at the funeral.

I don't know if it was spurred on by trying and failing to find something suitably poignant, or whether it was just how I was feeling, particularly as how my Grandma would be feeling was on my mind, but (apologies for the cheesy and terrible cliche) I just felt moved to write something.

The words came strangely quickly, and I'd scribbled it all out in less than half an hour...which possibly you can tell! It isn't well written, it lacks form, it's amateurish and it seems perhaps I haven't really moved on from my clunky teenage style. I do feel like it got across a feeling though, and has that little element of hope despite the sadness that we just didn't find in the other poems we read. So I decided to share it, just in case there is someone else out there, who has lost a loved one, and wants some imperfect but heartfelt words to use at their funeral:

Echoes

I thought I heard you whisper,

But it was only rustling leaves.

I thought I heard your soft sigh,

But it was just the wind that grieves.

I thought I heard your laughter

In a little child's delight.

I thought I saw your smile

In reflections of sunlight.

I felt your arms around me,

When I turned you were not there

And the thought of 'you no longer'

Was a thought too hard to bear.

So I closed my eyes and searched for you,

I listened and I heard

The faintest echo of your voice in the sweet song of a bird.

Now I know I heard your whisper

In the rustling of the leaves.

And I know I heard your soft sigh

In the blowing wind that grieves.

I know it was your laughter

In that little child's delight

And I know I saw your bright smile

In the sparkling sunlight.

You may not walk beside me

Ever since we had to part

But I know you walk within me

For you live inside my heart.

Jenny Egerton 2014

Making the Biscuit

2015-03-27T07:24:00.000+00:00

A couple of months ago I received a rather interesting request from a fellow team member of the Craft Britannia Etsy Team; Zoe of Cogzspot Woolly Things.

One of Zoe's best sellers are her Mug Hugs which come with a pocket to keep a biscuit inside. The trouble that she was having, which I can relate to having sometimes used edible photo props myself, is that every time she needs to photograph her mug hug she has to buy a new packet of biscuits, as the rest of the packet tend to get scoffed between photo shoots!

Photograph Copyright of Cogzspot

Zoe had decided that what she really needed was an inedible biscuit, and having seen my Konditorei Komisch range, she thought I might be just the girl to help!

So Zoe commissioned me to make her an actual size polymer clay digestive biscuit, as true to life as possible. I'll admit, I was slightly daunted, I don't normally make things realistically sized, and though lots of people have said my cakes look realistic, I can hide behind the silly expressions I put on them, so they don't need to be absolutely perfect! I'm a girl that likes a challenge though, and I was fairly certain I could do it, so I agreed and gave it a try.

It did of course mean that I had to purchase a packet of digestives myself, for reference, and to attempt to keep my biscuit-loving husband and daughter from devouring all of them. The biscuit shape, I decided to just sculpt by hand from a ball of pale cream/biscuit coloured cernit. Then I used my needle and ball tools to push in holes and sculpt in the text detail. I added texture, particularly to the edges with my needle tool, you could also use scrunched up foil for this, but I managed to acheive what I wanted with the needle. The whole thing was finished with a dusting of various brown, flesh and yellow shades of soft pastel, concentrating darker browns towards the edges for that baked look, and also to bring out the text.

Not too bad a likeness- I just hope nobody tries to eat it!

Biscuits and Custom Commissions both make me happy, so I'll be linking up with Planet Penny's Happy Friday this week

And also with Handmade Monday over on Lucy Blossom Crafts

Duly Noted

2015-03-22T20:30:00.000+00:00

Quite some time ago I blogged about some of my notebook designs, including my Honey Bee, Seagull and Fox spiral bound kraft note pads. It seems I'm not the only one who enjoys owning a nice pretty notebook to keep all my random scribblings in, and these have proved fairly popular, and I enjoy coming up with new designs so I've expanded the range a fair bit since then!

Wishes and Dreams

Cupcake

Happy Thoughts


Somewhere for Secrets

Often my designs are fairly feminine, and I decided I wanted to attempt to try some more 'boyish' designs (although cool girls are very welcome to buy them too!) I also wanted to be able to sell them at a slightly lower price point, so I went with polymer clay embellishments, as they are slightly less time consuming than felted designs.

Monstrous Ideas

Inventions

Dastardly Plots

They all come with lined paper inside, so can be used as journals, planners, recipe books, list books, places to scribble ideas, dreams, notes- whatever takes your fancy really!

Wonder if any handmade Monday-ers have been up to anything note-worthy this week!

Just Genius.

2015-02-23T14:17:00.000+00:00

I'm not one to blow my own trumpet about my work but my latest piece is just genius...

no, really- my latest piece is of a certain very famous genius...with my own little silly pun of a twist of course!

Meet Albert Einschwein. The amazing Pig Physicist.

Albert Einschwein is one of those pieces I've had in mind for quite some time, and finally got around to making, in fact I shared this original sketch of him on Facebook way back in March last year!

It's nice to finally see him realised in felt! I was originally intending to put a quote on the blackboard behind him, but it seems there are so many quotes on the internet that are attributed to Einstein that are not really Einstein quotes at all! That put me off a little, so I decided to go with the obvious. You will notice the E is quite distinctive; this is because I (ever the stickler for detail) Googled what Einstein's handwriting looked like, and attempted to paint something that looked vaguely similar!

I'll be joining in with Handmade Monday again this week to see what genius makes others in the Handmade Community have been getting up to!

Happiness is Hamster Shaped

2015-01-30T10:19:00.000+00:00

I'm going to be joining in with Planet Penny's Happy Friday for the first time this week, which is all about blogging about something that makes you happy. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will have probably realised by now that one little animal that brings a smile to my face is the humble hamster.

I have owned five hamsters growing up- Nip-Nip, Treacle, Toffee, Scrabble and Yossarian (Yossy for short) from the age of about 7 to 18. Then a couple of years ago we decided to buy a hamster for my daughter (read- for me) to help build her confidence with animals. She had always loved animals, but after she was scratched by a cat at around 3 years old, became very fearful of all animals. That's how the notorious Mr B came into our lives. Mr B sadly went to hamster heaven in November last year, and, as I mentioned last week, we now own a sparky little chap called Hazelnut.

As promised, I finally managed to get a few quick snapshots of the little fella, so I'm very pleased to introduce Hazelnut to you all:

This week I have also been commissioned to make three of my hamsters from my Hamming it Up range. I'll be making two Hamlets (in two different colour ways) and one Hamwise Gamgee. I realise I've shared Hamlet and Miss Havisham with you in an earlier post, but since then the range has grown a little.

Hamlet

Miss Havisham

Here is Hamwise Gamgee, and also a Hamwise and an especially commissioned Frodo, as the lady that bought them likes to always have a Frodo to go with her Sam!

Hamwise Gamgee

A punny hamster double act that I couldn't resist making was Hamibal and Will Gray-ham

Hamibal and Will Gray-ham

And, probably my favourite because of her girliness and bouffant hair, here's Marie Hamtoinette:

Marie Hamtoinette

Nothin' Says 'I Love You' like....

2015-01-25T18:48:00.001+00:00

What with Valentine's Day creeping up on the horizon I thought it might be a good time to share with you an unusual little token of love that I actually made some time ago, but is proving pretty popular recently. It seems that nothing says 'I Love You' like a sloth!

Sloth was made just on a whim one night, pretty much just because I like sloths and quite fancied making one. So I made one, with nice long poseable limbs, and when I sat him down and took a quick snapshot to share on Instagram with his arms outstretched, he just seemed to me to be missing something.

Originally I stitched up a plush heart for him to cuddle, but it just didn't sit right, and the beauty of those long outstretched arms was lost. So then I decided to make him a banner to hold. I was going to print the words 'I love you this much' on it, but decided to print with alphabet stamps, so to ensure it fit on the banner kept it to a simple 'i love you'.

The sloth is available made to order in my Etsy shop and comes with the option of customising the removable banner.

Also available in my shop is a greetings card featuring the sloth, for all your heart-felt (felt- geddit?!...tenuous, yes...) Valentines missives!

I'll be joining in with Handmade Monday in it's new location on Victoria's Lucy Blossom Crafts Blog.

A Legacy Lives on for the World's Most Fashionable Hamster

2015-01-18T17:43:00.000+00:00

In my last blog post I broke the sad news of David Bowie's demise- not that David Bowie, obviously! I think you probably would have seen it in the news and on social media if it was that David Bowie. No, I'm talking about the lesser known but equally cult figure of David Bowie the hamster. Also known as Mr B, he is our cream banded Syrian who took the internet by storm with his cardboard cut-out dress-up.

We are currently settling in Mr B's successor, the rather more conventionally named: Hazelnut (if you read my previous post you will be wondering what happened to Scruffles- Scruffles was the intended name but Hazelnut proved not to be scruffy enough for Scruffles). I'm hoping he will be as obliging and as photogenic as Mr B was so that I can continue making greetings cards in his glorious tradition, but for the moment we are just getting used to each other! No pictures taken yet, but I'll be sure to formally introduce him when I do.

The Christmas themed costumes that Mr B sported that I mentioned in my last post seemed to spread an awful lot of festive cheer,

but Mr B is an all-year-round kind of guy, with a look to appeal to everyone!

Here he is showing his warm fuzzy side:

but you could also say he's a bit of a party animal too:

and he's just about the hammiest Ham there is when he's hamming it up as Hamlet:

but then he does love to express himself artistically:

He's pretty handy:

and a little bit of a hero:

ready to sort out trouble with his hamsterly authority:

and could certainly teach you a thing or two:

he's all about nurturing and growth:

and he's just about the most caring little ham around:

He's just a little bit magical:

And completely out of this world!:

A fitting legacy for that most fashionable of hamsters.

My Mr B Dress Up Cards are available individually for £2.50 plus postage from my Etsy shop, sets of 4 different designs are also available for £8.50 plus postage.

I'll be joining in with the 200th Handmade Monday, which will sadly also be the last.

Sad News

2014-12-17T11:36:00.002+00:00

Once again, it's been a while since I checked in (I know it's not proper bloggers etiquette to make mention of that fact, but I am saying it anyway! Especially because I'm going to blog about last month today :P )

November was a pretty tough month in more ways than one. It felt like anything that could go wrong did, we had washing machine problems, boiler issues, uncertainty in the day job, as well as the general depression and malaise that comes with gloomy November days. Then, on the 25th we sadly lost poor little Mr B. Thankfully it didn't seem to be a traumatic end, he had been his usual cheery self the night before, and looked very peaceful when we found him. I was a little shocked, but kind of relieved that Lainey didn't appear to be particularly distressed by the news. It was a surprise though, because there were a few nights when Mr B was still well and truly with us that I had needed to comfort her as she wept bitterly over the mere idea of him dying. It seems though that whatever preparation we did with her worked, as she was totally pragmatic about the whole thing, advising me that she was sad, but she was also excited at the idea of buying a new hamster called Scruffles. I was a little more emotional.

The nice thing about Mr B, as short as his little rodent life was, he most certainly made his mark on the world! Back in summer I had worked on a few new costume designs (which I'll share in a later post) and also a set of 6 Christmas card designs. I've had a great response to the Christmas cards, they have been very popular, so much so that two designs sold out, and it's nice to think of his furry, funny, festive image being used around the world to spread some seasonal cheer!

So here's to David Bowie the cream banded Syrian, the world's most fashionable hamster. Long may his silly pictures bring amusement to whoever encounters them....especially if it happens to be a gloomy November.

El Verdadero Amor Nunca Muere

2014-09-21T16:18:00.002+01:00

Last Saturday my younger sister got married. The theme of the wedding was rustic Mexican; my sister and her husband had traveled around Mexico for a while, and had fallen in love with the attitudes and culture, and wanted to bring the Mexican spirit of fun and celebration to their wedding day.

Sophie and Ben had decided that for their wedding cake toppers they would like a nod towards the Day of the Dead, and wanted a bride and groom skeleton but in a friendly folk art style and (flatteringly) they decided I was just the girl to make them.

I set up a Pinterest board for Sophie and I to gather inspiration and set to work scribbling down some design ideas. I knew from the start that I didn't want to use polymer clay as I wanted a more rustic finish, and I thought that this might be a good opportunity to try out paper clay. I started the way I always start any important project; by feeling completely and utterly daunted and convinced that it would all go wrong!

Once I had managed to persuade myself to just take a deep breath and get on with it I sat down and made two wire armatures, which I wrapped with making tape. Surprised that these had actually worked the way I wanted them to I then left them for nearly a month, totally sure that I would completely ruin them with any attempt to sculpt! So, the second time I finally managed to persuade myself to take another deep breath and get on with it, I tentatively set to work with the paper clay, unsure of what to expect.

I was anticipating that the clay would be rather sticky and difficult to work with. I knew it was unlikely to yield the refined and detailed results you can achieve with polymer clay, but then that's partly why I'd chosen it as the medium for this particular project. I was actually pleasantly surprised. Whilst you can't get the same level of detail as with polymer clay, you can actually work a lot smaller and finer than I expected. The clay is pretty forgiving, not sticky or messy, and very enjoyable and tactile to sculpt with. You can use water to smooth, and also a dab of water or a little water and PVA can be used to attach details to your clay. Bride and groom both came together nicely. I planned to have them holding hands, so I left these hands un-sculpted and let the figures dry first for stability, before sculpting the clasped hands onto the dry clay. This worked very nicely, and it is very easy to add wet clay to the hardened dry clay. Once the clay is dry you can sand it for a nice smooth finish, but I decided I liked the fine grainy texture.

After the success of the sculpting I convinced myself that things were going far too well, and I undoubtedly would ruin them with the painting, so I left them again! After a third mental pep talk with myself I took a third deep breath and got on with it... for the third time!
I chose to work in gouache to avoid the shiny finish acrylic would give, and instead have a nice chalky rustic feel. Shockingly (!) all went well once again, though to add interest I decided I would use a little spot of acrylic paint here and there to bring certain details out. I also brushed a pearlised white mica powder onto the wedding dress to give it a satin like sheen.

The plan had been that the characters would hold a banner above their heads with the motto 'til death do us part' on it. I decided that the topper would be far too tall with the banner above them, and that instead this should hang below their waists, across them. Mexican papel picados, cut paper flags, seemed much more in keeping than the original singular banner intended, particularly as Sophie and Ben had been busily cutting away to make their own papel picados to decorate the wedding venue. Three weeks before the wedding we received the very sad news that our granddad has been diagnosed with aggressive leukaemia, and wasn't expected to last to much longer. On an aside, as I write this he is still hanging on in there, double the longest time he was expected to last- a testament to his wonderful strength of character I'm sure! And he still retains his sense of humour too, when the Macmillan nurses asked him what they should call him, Douglas or Doug, he responded, no doubt with a twinkle in his eye; 'Sir'! Good ol' granddad!

We do have quite a dark sense of humour in our family, but 'til death do is part' suddenly took on a whole different meaning, and we decided it would not feel appropriate. We decided instead to go for the far more positive motto 'True Love Never Dies', but in Spanish so it didn't sound so cheesy ;) Sophie was a little astounded when I told her I intended to cut the phrase 'El Verdadero Amor Nunca Muere' out of miniature paper flags, but I like to attempt to push myself for a special bit of extra detail in most projects! Admittedly 'Verdadero' took three attempts, but once was because I spelled it wrong, but otherwise all went well. I coloured the flags using alcohol inks as I wanted the colour to bleed through to the back too. I also gave the flags a quick coat of varnish to finish them off, and attached them to a piece of thread wrapped wire 'rope'.

To finish off, I made some tiny tissue paper flowers and paper leaves for the bride's (lack of) hair, and glued the couple to a painted plywood base, and they were done!

I think I surprised myself a little at how close the finished toppers were to the image in my head, and they did look just right on the Mexican patterned wedding cake too! This is the second wedding cake topper I have made, the first being a pair of needle felted reindeer for a December wedding. I do enjoy making them, trying to make them feel something a little bit special. I still regret not having made any for the top of my own cake, so perhaps I'm trying to live vicariously through others, but I'm planning to start offering a range of slightly unusual/alternative wedding cake toppers in my shop, as well as a completely bespoke service too, so watch this space for more! You can also commission your own custom paperclay skeleton alternative wedding cake toppers from this listing in my Etsy shop.

Linking up with Handmade Monday.

Does this Look Familiar?

2014-06-02T07:18:00.002+01:00

I know that it's a little early for Halloween...and no, I'm not organised...I'll let you into a secret...I actually started making this last September for Halloween 2013, but ran out of steam and only finished it a few months ago! Oops! Oh well, let's just pretend I'm ultra organised for 2014!

This is Grimalkin the witches' cat. She is needle felted merino wool over a coated wire armature.

She holds a glass jar full of only the most select oculi (that's eyeballs to you and me) which are individually sculpted from polymer clay and suspended in clear resin, to keep them fresh!

She sports a pointed witches hat of purrrrrple velvet, and a matching satin bow.

She can stand freely with her tail used to help keep her stable.

Grimalkin is available for Halloween, or just for anyone who would like their very own fabulous familiar from my Etsy shop.

I'm off to Handmade Monday to take a look at the other Enchanting Makes.

Sweet as a Honey Bunny

2014-03-30T17:56:00.000+01:00

A few blog posts ago, I mentioned that I had decided to revisit some of my earlier designs, and introduced you to the re-vamped version of the Cat's Pyjamas.

One of the first Punny Bunnies that I made was this little Beekeeper Bunny- Honey Bunny brooch.

I thought this particular bunny would be a fun one to revisit and realise as an art doll. Part of the reason for this was that I had a new supply of little tiny glass jars that I had been desperate to get using, and I have also just recently started playing with resin- the perfect recipe for a tiny jar of honey!

I especially enjoyed designing and hand painting the teeny weeny label, which has a little coating of varnish to prevent scratching and give it a pleasant sheen.

The bunny himself is made with my usual method of felting merino wool over a wire armature, both for stability and so that the character can be posed in various positions. This chap has wire in his ears too, so even they can be adjusted!

No Beekeeper would bee (!) complete without a hat and veil. This buzzy bunny's hat is made by stretching felt over a tiny polymer clay hat block, that I made myself, and stiffened with PVA to make the crown. The brim is felt stitched over cardboard by hand, and tulle netting carefully sewn in place too. The hat slips on over his ears, and is removable.
The final touch is to individually hand felt half a dozen or so tiny bees to ensure, to quote Eddie Izzard, he's 'COVERED IN BEEEEES!!!'...well, he wouldn't be a beekeeper if he didn't have bees to keep!

Honey Bunny is available for sale in my Etsy shop, all ready to ship for a fun and unusual Easter decoration!

I'm going to hop on over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been buzzily making this week.

Make Believe Clients and Sea Life Bunting

2014-03-24T14:00:00.000+00:00

Today I will not be sharing much of my own work, but the work of a friend and fellow crafter. The subject of today's post though, is one I can particularly relate to. Frequently I find that when I have the inclination to busily beaver away at realising my design ideas, I just don't seem to have the time, but when I do suddenly have the time to spare, I just don't seem to have the inclination. Keeping up motivation can be a very tricky thing.

My friend Claire, who I know via the Etsy CraftBritannia forum, was finding herself in this situation. She had amassed a backlog of ideas, but was unable to work on any of them being somewhat inundated with custom orders, in particular for her lovely nautical flag bunting, which was proving very popular:

As she eventually got to the end of a veritable bunting making spree, she found that now she had the time to whip up some wonderful new decorative delights, she just didn't have the drive anymore. The lack of deadlines and pressure made it hard to get started on anything.

Whilst we were having a chat about it in the CraftBritannia chat thread, I suggested that she could consider me a make-believe client for one of the designs she wanted to get done. She could set a deadline for getting the bunting finished, and if she hit her deadline, I promised as a reward that I would promote it on all the various social media platforms that I use. Well- you can probably guess by the fact that I am writing this blog post that Claire hit her deadline- Hooray!!! So I am very happy to share with you, Claire of AislingDezines wonderful under the sea bunting:

It's a lovely cheerful bunting, that would look gorgeous in a kid's bedroom. I particularly love the little pearl detail in the oyster. Further details can be found (or you can purchase it!) here: AislingDezines Under the Sea Bunting.

I'm happy to say that I have been feeling reasonably well motivated and have been working on a few bits and pieces- all looking rather strange and random right now- but it will soon come clear....

I'll be joining in with Handmade Monday as usual this week, which is another good motivator! How do you keep motivated during quieter times?

The Ham Who Fell to Earth

2014-03-14T13:19:00.003+00:00

It's been a while since David Bowie the cream banded Syrian hamster's last foray into the world of fashion. Taking the internet by storm, and grabbing your own centre page spread in the pages of Take a Break Magazine can take it's toll on even the most lively of rodents.
But in the style of his namesake, this little ham is always up for re-inventing himself, and what better way to make his come-back than by paying homage to the man himself?

I think you'll agree, he's completely fabulous as Ziggy Stardust (or as Heather Skillen, journalist for Caters put it- 'Ziggy Sawdust'!)

He looks completely natural, nonchalant even, as Bowie in Life on Mars?

He's super slick in his cream suit for a rendition of Modern Love.

His perfect Pierrot pathos comes to the fore in Ashes to Ashes.

And being a Labyrinth fan of old, my personal favourite, for which he has the attitude in spades is the incredible Jareth, the Goblin King.

I'd love to know which is your favourite of Mr B's guises, or if there is a costume you would love to see him in!

I'm off to join in with Handmade Monday.

Jingle (Wedding) Bells

2013-12-22T14:46:00.001+00:00

Back in October (or one blog post ago) I mentioned that I was working on a rather special custom commission for an old school friend.

Having struggled to find wedding cake toppers for her forthcoming wedding that weren't ugly, generic or unimpressive, she decided to contact me to see if I could create something pretty to grace the cake. As it was to be a winter wedding, she decided that she would like a pair of reindeer which she could then keep to use as Christmas decorations in the years to come.

She sent a picture of the cake, and some ideas of the type of things she looks for in a reindeer cake topper, and I set to work sketching. I liked the idea of a nice winter white and silver, and just the slightest hint of purple and lilac here and there to fit with her wedding colours. I cut out a circle of paper of the same size as the top tier of cake so that I could also ensure the size of the cake toppers would be just right, and scribbled out the dimensions for the armatures.

Cake from Marks and Spencer

Sketches and sizes having been approved by the bride, I went ahead and started work on the armatures. Armatures have never particularly been a strong point of mine- I much prefer making the pretty detail on top, than the proper, practical stuff below, but I have worked hard on improving in this area. The best tips I have picked up along the way are that using a sketch measured out to the right scale to hold the armature that you are working on against for comparison really helps no end with the final stability etc. I also find that using a thinner wire and wrapping more of the thin wire around the basic shape where I need more strength also suits me better- I'm not great at working with tough, obnoxiously stubborn bits of wire! It seemed to bode well that even the armatures were looking pretty good!

I also painstakingly wrapped the antlers in silver thread, and they did look rather lovely. At this point though, I quite often have a mini crisis of confidence- I've got this far pretty well, with not hiccups; am I now going to completely ruin all my hard work with bad felting?! I have to just take a deep breath and get felting and hope for the best.

The felting came together fairly well at first, it was a little fiddly with wanting to keep those limbs nice and slender, it's a common misconception that the smaller the piece the less it should cost- the time to carefully felt all the little details takes far longer than a nice chunky figure you can stab fairly haphazardly at! Towards the end of the felting is another point at which I typically tend to question my own ability. The trouble being, they look kind of like the finished article, but obviously not quite there yet, so they begin to look terrible to me!

I often abandon work at this point, worried that it's all going wrong. With this particular piece though, it was important I got it finished in time for the big day, so I decided to sit down and have one day committed to finishing these two, and trying to make them beautiful. Thankfully, I think it just about worked! I was pleased with them, and more importantly the bride loved them.

The bride has promised to send photos of the toppers on the cake, which I'm really looking forward to seeing! I haven't really had the chance to see my work in it's new 'home' before!

I'll be joining in with Handmade Monday to see everyone else's festive makes!

As is the Custom

2013-10-06T19:43:00.001+01:00

The last few weeks I have been largely working on custom commissions. I love working on my own ideas and designs, but there's nothing quite like a custom order to get you feeling that little bit more focused. I do also like being set a brief- I like problem solving and coming up with an answer. I used to get a little anxious about custom commissions as I often worried they wouldn't live up to my customer's expectations, but lately I find myself feeling quite a bit more confident in my own ability, and custom commissions are now a very enjoyable and positive experience all round.

My notebooks from my previous post caught the attention of a fellow team member from the Etsy Craft Britannia Team, she's a lovely lady that really loves dogs, she volunteers at a rescue kennels and has two dalmatians of her own. She decided that she would rather like a dalmatian notebook, this was a lovely one to work on, and I was so pleased with the outcome that I've decided to offer it as a made to order listing in my Etsy shop.

Sleepy Dalmatian Notebook

I was also contacted by another lovely lady, who liked my Konditorei Komisch cake brooches, and wanted to buy them as a Christmas gift for friends, but really wanted six different cakes- I only had three. I was very happy to take on the challenge of coming up with a few more designs, and set about sketching.

She decided to go ahead with the Passion Cake, the Chocolate Brownie and the French Fancy.

Passion Cake

Chocolate Brownie

French Fancy

I was also contacted by an old school friend who has asked me to make two needle felted reindeer to use as cake toppers for her wedding cake, which was rather flattering. Not much to show for those yet, and it somehow doesn't feel right to share them with the rest of the world before they've graced the cake, so you may have to wait until December for those! But for now, I'll whet your appetite with a little sketch:

Look forward to seeing what else everyone has been up to for Handmade Monday.

Take Note

2013-09-22T18:57:00.000+01:00

Just recently a friend of mine was leaving her job at the place we both work. She's a very lovely lady, so I wanted to make her something nice as a leaving gift. Because she is also a crafty type I thought she might make use of a little notepad/sketch book in which to keep her crafty ideas. I still had one of my aperture notebooks that I hadn't altered yet, so I decided to make her this snoozy little fox

I was quite happy with how this little chap turned out, so took a few quick pictures to share on my facebook page. Turns out he was pretty popular, and within a few hours of him making an appearance I had a request to make another the same for somebody else!

After the success of foxy, I felt moved to make a few more notepads with felted critters on them. First up was inspired by this rather disdainful chap that we met in Aberystwyth

I fell a little bit in love with the herring gulls in Aberystwyth. They're not as snatchy or shrill as some of the smaller seagulls, but I do love their expression of complete and utter contempt, as they are sat on the roof of someones car as if to say, 'If you didn't want me to sit on it, you shouldn't have parked here.'

Herring Gull & Beach Hut Notebook

My felted Herring Gull is a rather sizable chap in proportion to the cheery British beach hut he sits on, and I'm glad to say I captured that wonderful scornful expression! He's already flown off to his new home, to a lady who had her eye on him when she saw a work in progress picture, but they can be made to order too and are available in my Etsy shop.

I had actually run out of aperture notebooks, and couldn't find any stockists anywhere, so in the end I managed to get hold of A5 craft notebooks, this time with lined paper, with no aperture. I decided to cut my own aperture, and seeing as I wasn't restricted to a square I decided to use this to my advantage and base the design on the aperture shape, and came up with this Honeycomb and Honey Bee design:

Honey Bee Notebook

The body of the bee is needle felted, he has embroidery thread antennae and organza wings. Because of the aperture this particular design comes in a choice of styles available from my Etsy shop.

I have also had a request for a custom notebook which features a sleeping dalmation in a red kennel, which has turned out rather well, but I'll have to save sharing that with you for another day, as I haven't taken any pictures yet!

I'm off to catch up with the other crafty business that's been going on this week in Handmade Monday.

Return of The Cat's Pyjamas

2013-09-09T14:56:00.001+01:00

I'm the type of person that is never ever happy with anything I make. There is always something about the finished piece that isn't just quite the way I wanted it, and it bugs me for eternity if I have to see it every day. Being able to sell my work has been very helpful. Once it's posted off to its new owner, I don't have to think about all the annoying little things about it that I didn't like, and I can just fondly remember it with a bit of a rose-tinted view and think it must have been okay if someone was willing to part with cash for it!

I guess for an artist/crafter, being a miserable, never satisfied perfectionist sort is kind of a blessing in disguise. Despite the frequent heart-ache, and hissy fits (I have been known to fling my sketchbook across the room in a fit of artistic fury on the odd occassion) it does mean that you have a constant drive to improve, and a desire to strive for that unobtainable perfection. During my interview for my University course one question the tutors notoriously ask is 'What would you do if I threw your whole portfolio out of the window?' to which I responded, 'I wouldn't mind, as it is a means to an end- the work I did was to develop my skills, not to keep forever' (correct answer, in case you were wondering....I was tempted to actually go and open the window for them and offer to help with the flinging!)

The other 'new thing' for me since starting to sell my work, is that I have had to make the same piece more than once, which isn't really something I had to do whilst making artwork for University or for fun. Now, this has given me the inclination to revisit the things I've made that I've liked and see where I might take them next. The first example of this is The Cat's Pyjamas. The original Cat's Pyjamas brooch was one of the very first things I ever needle felted (the third thing to be precise) and was the first Etsy listing that I sold.

When Hamlet proved to be popular, it lead me to think that maybe people were happy to buy felted models, despite the cost associated because of their time-consuming nature. Seeing as The Cat's Pyjamas was a piece I had quite a bit of fondness for, I decided that this design might make a nice model too. So I made this variation on the original, with the addition of a 'blankie' to snuggle with. He turned out to be quite a sweet little fellow, and somebody else thought so too, as he was snapped up within hours of being listed, though he is still available made to order from my Etsy Shop.

After the success of revisiting this old favourite, I've been inspired to revisit another, and am currently working on a model version of my little Honey Bunny brooch. I'm hoping he is a success and that I'll be able to share some pictures of the new (and hopefully improved) model version soon.

I do love coming up with brand new designs and concepts, but I've found that revisiting old designs is rather nice too- it feels like coming back to an old friend!

Speaking of old friends- I'm off to have a look at what my friends in the Handmade Monday crafting community have been up to this week.

Ham(super)STAR- David Bowie, the World's Most Fashionable Hamster

2013-09-02T16:49:00.002+01:00

David Bowie the Hamster

Now, any of you who follow this blog will probably already know about our family pet, David Bowie, the cream banded Syrian hamster. You will also know that he is my very own furry little muse, inspiring my most popular creation Hamlet Hamster.

Hamlet

Because of the popularity of little Hamlet, I have decided to create a whole range of little hams, and the second creation to grace the stage of my 'Hamming it Up' range, is the delightful Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham, a jilted bride hamster, stands forlorn in her stained and jaded tattered veil, with her wilted, and browned bouquet and headdress. The roses are individually made paper roses, I used a hole punch to get those teeny petals just the right size, and they are tea stained for that antique, decayed flower finish. The original Miss Havisham has been snapped up by the lovely lady that also bought the original Hamlet, but further editions can be made to order and are available from my Etsy shop.

Miss Havisham

It turns out that our lovely hamster, David Bowie, is not just an adorable source of inspiration for some of my best work, but he is in fact, a star in his own right and is currently taking the internet by storm. As you may know, we are right at the end of the summer holidays, and you may also know that the summer holidays is traditionally a time for children and parents to become slightly bored and do slightly odd things to alleviate said boredom. Well- one day my five year old daughter and I were in just this situation, and Lainey declared that she would like to dress Mr B in her dolly clothes. Now, I didn't think that was going to be particularly enjoyable for the fuzzy little fellow, and I am trying to teach her to respect animals, but I was somewhat bored too, and it did sound kind of cute, so this sparked an idea. I suggested we cut hamster-head-sized holes in a box, and paint costumes on the outside like those sea-side cut-outs, so that when he stuck his head through he would look dressed up, but he would actually quite enjoy the experience (like most hamsters: head + small hole = happy hamster with head in hole) It was actually a fun activity for us to do together preparing the box, deciding what outfits to create, and painting them together- we used non-toxic paints, just in case he decided to chew as hamsters are prone to do. The results had us in fits of giggles, he had a good time exploring, and we managed to grab a few quick snapshots too.

Cheshire Cat Hamster

Clown Hamster

Mermaid Hamster

Princess Hamster

I posted the results on Tumblr, thinking they might amuse a few other people, and they have...but rather more than a few- the pictures are currently less than 50 short of 114,000 notes! I posted the pics to my facebook page too, and was contacted by a lady who told me she had noticed the images appear in her newsfeed, and low and behold- David Bowie the Hamster was featured on Buzzfeed, cited as 'The World's Most Fashionable Hamster'! Then a couple of days later I was contacted by a lady from the picture desk at the Mail Online, who was asking permission to use the photographs for a feature in Femail! So Femail have now posted an article about the fabulous David Bowie Superstar Hamster with his many costume ch..ch..cha..changes (sorry- couldn't resist!)

For other makes, I'd recommend checking out Handmade Monday.

Until next time- I'm off to clean out the Superstar's cage!