Excited to be part of Modamo.KreARTiva Concept Store.

On Wednesday night Modamo.KreARTiva Concept Store opened in Mostar and I am very excited to be a part of it. They are calling it 'a small shop, full of style' and that is what it is!

Everything that is for sale in the shop has been handmade in Bosnia and Herzegovina by young, up and coming artists and designers. They are selling everything from clothes, bags and jewellery to paintings and amigurumi dolls! And that is of course where I come in. I feel very honoured to have been asked to be a part of this new exciting adventure and to exhibit and sell my work alongside that of some very talented people.

It is great to see creativity being encouraged and celebrated in Bosnia and Herzegovina and I look forward to seeing how this adventure unfolds.

Handmade Birthday

We arrived back home yesterday after visiting the UK for 3 weeks. In the first 30mins that we were back I  bumped into quite a few friends including one who invited us to their daughter's birthday party that evening. Being totally unprepared and not in the mood to go shopping after a long journey I decided that it would be a handmade birthday present. I set to work and 4 hours after we had arrived home, as well as unpacking and other stuff I had made this! The little girl loved it and jumped up and down when she opened it. All in all a good first day back home.

What do you see?

If you watched the video on my last blog post you may have already spotted some of these wooden dolls. They are so easy to make and so cute and effective. We made about 40 of them for our Street Art Day!

This is what they look like before they are painted. I buy these in a shop which sells building supplies. On the label it says it is a finishing piece for a column. I think it looks like the end piece for a curtain rail or maybe banisters. Anyway, a couple of years ago when we were looking in this shop for something we needed for our house I saw these things on a shelf and instead of seeing a 'finishing piece for a column' I saw a doll! (That probably says a lot about the way I think!) I decided straight away I had to buy some and use them for a craft activity. They went down a storm and so ever since I have been buying them and turning them into dolls at craft workshops. 

Next week we are going to camp. It is a camp for teenagers and the theme is 'Discovering life in an Indian way.' They asked me to run craft workshops, so guess what we'll be making?

Street Art brightens up the day!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since March! Well, I have a kind of excuse - I've been very busy running this street art project for young people. The project had it's grand finale on Sunday when all the art work was displayed on the street. Here's a video so you can see some of the highlights of the day. And here's a facebook link so you can see the photos. Hopefully I'll have a bit more time now to get back into blogging! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the video.

New adventures with socks

Last year I taught a lot of people how to make sock monkeys! It seemed to be very popular and as I'm planning art club activities for this term I've been thinking about variations on that theme. After looking at pictures on google images I decided to go for an elephant. I found a tutorial on Fretta and Friend's blog and I mixed that with how I make the monkeys and this is what I came up with!

I added the scarf as his neck was a bit scrawny looking. I'm not totally happy with the dimensions of it. I think the arms and trunk are too fat and the head is a bit too small but for a first go it's ok. I'm looking forward to seeing what the young people at Novi Most Jajce come up with when we make them at art club.

Ako voliš lijepe stvari...

dođi u Mostar 10 i 11.12.2011.

How to make a scarf from an old t-shirt

This is another tutorial from makeit-loveit.com found via Pinterest. I didn't follow the tutorial exactly as I made my scarf from an old t-shirt rather than from shop bought t-shirt fabric so I didn't have enough fabric to make it exactly like the one in the tutorial.

How to make a necklace from ribbon and washers

This is another tutorial I found on Pinterest. It is from a blog called Tiny Sparkly Things and is another well written and easy to follow tutorial with pictures to help. Click on the link and have a go yourself!

Hand-painted Plush

Happy Craft Party Day to all you Etsians out there! Here's another example of one of the things we're going to be making at our Craft Party on Tuesday.



and the back view!

Happy New Year from Fluffy Bunny

Fluffy Bunny is a bit different from the others - he's still living in the 60's with his flared trousers and slightly spaced out look. The other bunnies are very excited about 2010 and the new fashions that will be coming out, but Fluffy Bunny isn't thinking about that, he's thinking of peace and love and all the meaningful things that would really make 2010 a special year.

Happy New Year

Tweedy Cat

Tweedy cat likes to be outside and to climb trees. As you can see, he ripped his jeans climbing a tree last week and had to have them patched up. Today he had better luck - he climbed up the tree, picked a lovely red apple and put it in his bag ready to eat later on.

Tweedy cat is for sale in my etsy shop.

raspberries and custard

Happy Christmas everyone :)

I finished making raspberries and custard yesterday. She's really got the colour co-ordinated accessories down to a fine art - and check out her mittens, complete with safety strings so she doesn't lose them, just like we all had when we were kids.

raspberries and custard is for sale in my etsy shop.

bunny prepared...

This is bunny prepared. I made him over the weekend. I seem to be on a roll of making bags for amigurumis at the moment - so he has a bag, and in the bag a carrot! He makes me smile every time I look at him. He really looks like he's about to start out on a mission...

accessories for amigurumis!

You may have seen pictures of this amigurumi before - she was a gift for a friend. This same friend saw the Ali(en) cat I made and was jealous of his bag, so asked me to make a bag for her amigurumi! I haven't given it to her yet but I think she'll like it - it matches her outfit and comes complete with lunch. If you are interested in having your own amigurumi then check out my etsy shop and if you really want a bag to go with it then convo me :) he he

Flo

Here she is! I gave up on the idea of sewing a dress - I couldn't get my head round it and my friend was busy and I just wanted to get her finished. I'll sew a dress for another amigurumi. But anyway I'm really happy with her crocheted outfit she's so stylish! She is for sale in my etsy shop and you can see more photos there or on my Flickr account. If you're reading this blog then leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Cao :)

Ali(en) Cat

Ali(en) Cat is my latest creation. He is part cat and part alien - not sure why, but that's the way he turned out! He has his bag of stuff with him so he's ready to return to his planet at any time - or perhaps to move to live with someone who buys him from my etsy shop! You can see more photos of him on my Flickr account.

Christmas Gifts...

Christmas is coming soon - and little punk and tiny dancer have been bought as Christmas gifts. If you want to give someone something cool, cute, handmade and unusual for Christmas this year why not check out my etsy shop! I have been christmas shopping on etsy myself already - it's an excellent alternative to the normal shops you'd go into. No more Marks and Spencers, Accessorize, Argos or Toys'r'us- as nice as those shops may be - buy something handmade for Christmas this year :)

a new creation...

This is what I started making today - he/she/it looks a little strange, not sure yet how it will turn out, but I'll keep you updated as the mystery unfolds. The hair looks a lot better in real life -it's like a big afro except it's not curly.

Ballerina?

This little mouse loves to dance but I'm not sure if she would make it as a real ballerina.... she's a little bit chubby! reminds me of when I did ballet as a kid :) don't forget to check out my etsy shop for more cute amigurumis.

Dress Making?

So - I've noticed that I start nearly all my blogs with 'so'! Anyway, she is finished - all that is needed is to make the dress, and that is where I'm stuck. I had a go at drawing some ideas and kind of thought about making some paper patterns - but I really haven't got a clue how to do it, so I'll wait to hear back from my friend and see if she'll help me later on this week.