Things I make, do & love

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A spot of doodle silliness while in between jobs. The result of mis-hearing "eager beaver"

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While on Eigg I visited All About Willow and met Catherine and Pascal, two island residents who make the most beautiful willow baskets. They sell and ship them all over the world from their studio on Eigg which is remarkable! I went to do a 3 hour taster weaving course and was pleased to know I was the only person ever to finish all three weaving projects. If you've never smelled willow before, I'd suggest giving it a sniff, it smells like Christmas! What a lovely place to work, I'm definitely going to carry on weaving, it was so much fun!

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This Easter I went to Eigg, no pun intended which is an island in the Scottish Hebrides. There's no phone signal, one shop and only 86 permanent residents and I loved every minute. It's the perfect spot to unplug from the modern world, do a bit of crafting and explore some good hiking routes. After Eigg I went to the slightly more populated island of Skye which seemed really busy in comparison with its 10,000 or so residents. Still so beautiful though. Totally recommend the Hebrides and can't wait to go back!

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This little galaxy scene was actually quite simple to make (using hair in cinema 4d) but a real pain to get the lighting right to show off all the colours and depth of field. Pretty pleased with the end result though!

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I’ve been learning the basics of cinema 4D modelling and animation in my down time at work to try and add another string to my bow, and mostly because it’s fun. I’ve learned that mostly whatever you make, the beauty of it really rests with the lighting, which is probably the toughest bit to get right!

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So after my wedding was over I was left with a rather insane amount of beautiful bunting. Rather than turn the inside of my living room into a Laura Ashley, I decided to make it into a blanket. I started with a small test blanket that was quickly claimed by the cat as his new bed. Working on a larger and more interesting pattern now I've got the hang of quilting.

[emma-blogs]

So after my wedding was over I was left with a rather insane amount of beautiful bunting. Rather than turn the inside of my living room into a Laura Ashley, I decided to make it into a blanket. I started with a small test blanket that was quickly claimed by the cat as his new bed. Working on a larger and more interesting pattern now I've got the hang of quilting.

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For our honeymoon we were lucky enough to go to Bali. We spent the majority of the time staying at an eco lodge in the rainforest learning about the culture and religion of Bali, eating the most amazing food and meeting some wonderful people. My new husband decided to learn the Balinese flute, which I think everyone decided pretty quickly was a bad idea. I did Balinese wood carving which despite sitting cross legged too long and getting cramp was fab. Much more interesting than high school CDT lessons. Thinking of investing in a set of chisels, or at least a woodwork course.

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So it's been a while since I posted but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy designing, crafting and art loving. Quite the opposite in fact. Last year I got married and pretty much spent the entire year making everything for the wedding by hand from the invitations to decorations, even labels for our wedding cider we had made at a local cider press after we spent a few weeks orchard raiding (with permission!) So lots of blog post updates about my crafty year are way overdue and I'll try to keep better track this year! And yes, it was a wonderful wedding!

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I've started growing my own fruit & veg. (I think there must be something in the water in chorlton that makes you turn into a bit of a hippie after a year of living here) So I decided to start making my own jam, which led to me starting to design labels for my new jams (which I haven't made yet as the fruit is still growing!) I'm enjoying getting the water colours out again & have lots of packaging ideas that should be really fun! I'm such a design nerd!

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My good friend is 8 months pregnant and she's having a baby shower on Sunday. This gave me a great excuse to exercise my inner Martha Stewart and make her a nappy cake. It's stuffed with baby products, clothes and nappies - all the things she'll need for her new arrival! It's was very easy to make and has reawoken my inner craft girl!

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Feeling like I’m rarely in the country these days! Spent the weekend in Norway to celebrate my birthday, and aside from getting in touch with my inner Laergetha, I went to see what modern art Oslo had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised to see the jacko & bubbles statue by Jeff Koons as well as the Damien Hirst cows (although I hate these, they’re utterly horrifying!) I had a great time and have come back feeling very inspired to create more art. Although I doubt I’ll be taking a chainsaw to any livestock.

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Just returned from a long weekend in beautiful Berlin. I loved the city, it's a real mix of architectural delights, both modern and older (even ancient). While I avoided most of the horror sites like the Stazi prison, I did love seeing the graffiti on the Berlin Wall and the Russian memorial tanks. My fave was the Bauhaus museum - I am a total Gropius groupie. I also have huge respect for any city that makes the traffic light little green man a cultural icon!

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Here's a few last bits from the serpentine exhibition and some shots of the Hermès exhibition at the Saatchi gallery, which was gorgeous. A real wonderland of Parisienne art, clothing and life! Well worth a visit.

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Just back from a wonderful weekend in London where I visited several galleries to get some inspiration. My favourites being the Serpentine in Hyde Park and the Saatchi gallery. Above are some of the amazing piece in the Serpentine at the moment, it's a huge explosion of colour and textures there at the moment. I absolutely loved it!

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It's my last day at WRG today as I'm starting a new job on Monday. Exciting times! We're having beer & pizza as a send off so I decided to design some Italian pizza style typography labels, because why not!

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Went off for a wonderful wintry walk around dove stones park today with some lovely folks from the RSPB. Took my film camera out but didn't manage to get many shots due to the weather closing in fast. Will definitely go back it's beautiful here!