New Projects! Make Your Own!

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I have been working on some new projects on the run up to Christmas. I have begun by printing my own Christmas cards. The photo above is of he first layer of polyblock print. I wanted to create a background with some texture and carved the patter into the foam block. I chose red as one of the most popular Christmas colours. 


Christmas is a difficult time for me and I find all the rushing stressful and annoying. I have decided this year to take my time and be prepared to minimize the stress and actually enjoy myself.. My previous post about 'buying handmade' this Christmas is handy if you want to find different gifts this year. I like to make my own if I can and this year I plan on making or buying a handmade gift for each person on my list.

I have been exploring 'felt' recently and I began by making a mini pin cushion as a little experiment. I want to make large felt hearts and other shapes for wall hangings or door handle decorations. My pin cushion experiment (above) came out 'ok' but, the writing was a little rushed on my machine. I want to explore with different fabric, wadding and stuffing, to see what works best with my designs.


The reason I have decided to make very 'kitch' designs is a simple one; I can never find anything I like at an affordable price. The highstreet feeds us 'what's in' and I genuinely like 'what's out'. My taste is becoming more and more popular but at a price. I want creative designs at affordable prices and what better way of doing this is to make it myself! 

I have purchased some pleather (fake leather) to make heavy metal inspired designs for my boyfriend and I to enjoy. We are massively into Metal and it's not easy to find anything metal inspired in the shops. I collect studs and weird buttons, which will be perfect for my creative madness! 


'Home Sweet Home' signs, 'Love pin cushions, 'House Of Metal' pleather cushions,wall hangings and maybe a few little brooches for fun. 


I think in this day and age where we live in a consumerist, demanding, mass produced, frightening society, we have to be more creative to keep our individuality. People bang on about growing your own veg, making food from scratch, I think we can apply that to textiles and MAKE OUR OWN!