New name, new look!

I had a day off today and suddenly decided that my blog needed a make-over. I found some lovely free backgrounds, headers and buttons at shabbyblogs.com and with the help of their tutorials, did some editing on FotoFlexer to customise my chosen header template.

What do you think of the new look?

I have also renamed my blog "Craft Nouveau". I have kept the original URL so that I don't lose any faithful followers :)

I hope to find some inspiration soon and make my next crafty item and share it with you. In the meantime, take a look at some of my most visited posts or browse through the archive on my side bar.

TTFN

Thrifty ways to get creative with Ikea frames

When I was last down at Ikea, I couldn't resist the bargain that was these 3 frames for the equivalent of a pound.

RAM frames from Ikea

They do the job if you want a postcard-sized frame, but are pretty dull - just a plain wood finish and a little rough around the edges. I decided some customisation was in order!

I have a favourite photo of a day out in Brighton that I wanted to display and thought a seaside-themed frame would be just the thing to top it off.

I do like to be beside the seaside 

I painted the frame with different coloured acrylic paints (bought in the art shop sale back in Strasbourg) and gave it a wash of white to make it look a bit driftwoody.

For the top decoration, I painted some small wooden kebab skewers and inserted them into some holes I drilled into the top of the frame. I then used some bakers twine to create a washing line, from which I could peg some stamps of Brighton that I had bought a while back (see, hoarding is a good thing!).

I then took inspiration from the postage stamp framed collage that I had seen on Sweet Paul and decided to put my dusty old stamp albums to good use. 

Purple stamp selection with matching frame

 

I picked out several purple stamps from around the world and then put them in a RAM frame painted green. I added a triangular stamp to the corner to add to the stamp theme. Again, this cost me nothing to make as I had all the stamps already and the green paint. Free art, what could be better?

Finally, I took a postcard of my favourite Mucha Art Nouveau piece, which is also my Blogger profile photo (I blogged about my trip to visit this sculpture here) and made a glitzy frame for it.

I found a very old pot of silver acrylic paint, which was just about usable and after the two coats had dried, glued on some craft gems that my boyf had given to me for Christmas. I think it sets the picture off well.

So, by spending just £1 on frames and using up craft materials and items I already had lying around, I have made 3 lovely new pictures to decorate my craft room :)

I can make that!

Do you suffer from Icanmakethatitis (aka No-need-to-buy-cos-I-can-make-it-myself disorder)? This disorder is fairly common amongst arty-crafty types and also among DIY enthusiasts. It can creep up on you without warning. Just small signs at first ("I will have a go at making a bracelet") then moving on to full blown symptoms: "Why buy a fitted kitchen when I could make the whole thing myself from scratch?!"

I admit, I have Icanmakethatitis. I blame my Dad. I caught it from him. When I was little we would wander around the shops or craft fairs on the weekend and I would say, "Daddy, can I have one of those puppets/doll's houses/games/scooters?" and his reply would be "No, dear. I can make you that!". However, he vary rarely did. It's not that he couldn't, he's very talented and has made lots of things around the home from metal and glass coffee tables, to whole sheds from scratch and he always did all the DIY. He also worked 12 hours a day and half days on Saturdays, so no wonder he didn't really have time to make a lot of these things for me.

I mentioned to my Dad in passing last year, not expecting him to get round to it, that I would like a darning mushroom. I was therefore extremely excited when he sent me this lovely creation in the post. Sometimes knowing someone with Icanmakethatitis is not such a bad thing!

Turned yew wood darning mushroom

Since I got into crafting on a more regular basis and especially since I decided to make all my Christmas presents, the Icanmakethatitis has worsened. I find myself thinking and saying "I can make that!" when wandering around shops and looking online A LOT. But, is that really such a good thing?

When you see an item that you like, you are not just paying for the materials, you are paying for the time it took that person to make it and also the original idea that they had. However, isn't it tempting when you see something to start planning how you would go about recreating it for yourself? Thoughts such as "I would save money if I made it myself. I could personalise it. I could learn a new skill!", all flit through your mind. But how many of us have the time and inclination to make these things?

Here is a case in point. About 3 years ago I saw this amazing lamp on sale in London. It has an amazing price tag too, unfortunately.

Via: Meme en Autriche

Essentially, it is copper wire with those small birds you can get from craft and floristry suppliers sitting on wire rods inside. I really wanted it, but couldn't afford it, so my first thought was, yes, you guessed it, "I can make that!". I set about collecting as many colourful birdies as I could and even started looking at old lamps that I could reappropriate. However, I didn't get any further with my project and those dear little oiseaux are sitting forlornly in my craft room.

"We had big dreams once. Now we just sit in a jam jar gazing out at the world"

You would have thought I'd learnt from that failed lamp attempt, but, no! My boyfriend and I have always liked this rather groovy Campari bottle lamp, which can sometimes be found hanging in trendy bars and restaurants:

Photo by Vineyard Adventures

Goodness knows how I would manage to make this light shade, but here are my little empty Campari Soda bottles waiting on the window ledge for a day that will probably never come:

Five Campari bottles, sitting on a wall...

I'm not sure I will ever be cured of Icanmakethatitis, but I will try and be more realistic and accept that I don't have the time (even if I think I have the wherewithal) to make all these things. If I really want something, then I should give credit where it's due to the person who made it by buying the one they made.

I think the key is to stick to making things that you are not able to buy: something personalised or unique that will have special meaning for you or the person you are making it for. It's much nicer to have something that you know nobody else will have, because you came up with the idea and made just the one :)

Made of WIN!!!1

I really can't remember the last time I won anything, so imagine my amazement when my name was drawn out of the ceramic bowl in the Posh Yarns give away! It was really nice of Rebecca to include international entries and as you can see my beautiful prize made it's way safely to me here in the Czech Republic.

Beautifully wrapped - will reuse the ribbon and button :)

My key fob prize - guaranteed to bring a smile to your face

So dainty and beautifully stitched, too.

Rebecca sells these lovely key fobs along with other gorgeous things in her online shop. I will definitely be browsing next time I need a gift. After all, I can't make everything myself! This key fob has made me want to try machine embroidery, though. Just need to get the special foot and needle and have a go!

Fimo, coral and wooden bead necklace with charms

After a creative slump during the last week or so, I finally got myself into gear and made the long necklace I have been planning.

I found a really good bead shop in Brno and bought some charms which I customised with tassles for an ethnic vibe and also got a few coral and semi-precious stone beads.

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I also recycled some beads from old earrings and used up some wooden beads that I have had hanging around for at least 15 years in my bead box! The long tube beads I made myself out of Fimo. I followed the  faux bone technique in my polymer clay bead book that I got for Christmas. It took ages to make them and the polishing was hard work, but I like the final effect.

The necklace is just what I wanted to go with my jumper and a new brown top I got and better still it didn't cost me hardly anything :)

1980s nostalgia

Last year, I ordered some nice flowers for my Mum for Mother's Day, but I wanted to make something this year in keeping with my handmade drive. It has to be postable, so that limits my options. I was going to do a painting, as the one I did for my Dad went down really well, but in the end I plumped for a bracelet. I'm pleased with the final result.

Family memories - 1980.

I'm especially pleased that I finally got to use these "magnifying cabochons". I bought them back in 2007 and had all sorts of ideas of what I could do with them, but it never quite worked. I picked them up from my favourite French haberdasher's/bead shop, La Droguerie (if you are ever in a French city that has one - go there!) and they refer to them as loups. I decided to scan and print some photos of me and my Dad from 1980 and put them in the cabochons. I then added some charms and used some pearls recycled from a broken necklace. I think my Mum will like it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there!

Craft room showcase

I have finally managed to start sorting out my crafting space now that I have almost all my craft things in one country. It wasn't easy - it involved a car journey, a lorry delivery and a flight! When we moved to the Czech Republic from France via the UK at the beginning of 2012 I knew that I definitely wanted a 2-bedroom flat again so that I could have somewhere to keep all my craft paraphernalia and also somewhere suitable to sit so I didn't keep losing beads and bits of Fimo down the side of the sofa all the time. I was really pleased that we were able to find a nice place that had a good sized second bedroom:

Blank canvas.

View from the window - a balloon floats by :)

Before investing in items of furniture, I decided to have a look around on the internet for inspiration. I came across a couple of fellow bloggers who had already posted about their craft rooms. Judi has an amazing craft studio in her garden with an array of storage and the best stock of craft supplies I have ever seen!

I want this! Photo courtesy of Judi Hodgkin

We don't all have the space for garden craft studios, but any space can be turned into a crafting zone. This time last year, Laura at Nimble Fingers and Steady Eyebrows blogged about her craft attic space:

Photo courtesy of Laura via: A corner of one's own   

I love the retro sewing machine and cute little personal touches used.

So, what about my craft space? What should I do with it? I have made a start as I really wanted at least a desk to sit at for the time being, but I want to do a lot more with it.

A tranquil corner

Trouble is, I have quite a lot of bits and bobs to accommodate as I am a somewhat eclectic crafter (cross stitch, sewing, Fimo modelling, jewellery making, paper crafting, candle making, mosaic, to name but a few!) so I need some nifty storage ideas and also some style inspiration.

This is where you, dear reader, come in! I have set up a linky thing at the bottom of this post (my first attempt, so hope it works!) and would love you to share links to your blog posts or online photos of your crafting space big or small, modern or shabby chic, professional or amateur. I'm also quite nosey, so it's a good excuse to peek into the inner sanctum of fellow crafters, ha ha! You will hopefully also pick up some ideas you can borrow ;)

Happy linking and don't forget to tweet about this post!