2010 is an exciting year.....

I am really excited about the plans for this year, some of you probably know but in July this year me and my boyfriend will be on our way to Thailand for the start of an exciting adventure. We are going to do our Tefl teaching course in Phuket and then hopefully go on to teach english in the country. We have some high hopes for our plans, starting in Thailand for quite a few months, then hopefully Shanghai and our dream to end up in Japan.

This is where we will be living near whilst doing the Tefl course.... to say im excited is an understatement.........

The Perfect Bangle...

Back in January, Kerry from lovely Pennydog Jewellery used some of my screenprinted fabrics to make a gorgeous bangle for me. I feel very bad as at the time I asked for the some pics in progress to show on my blog and for some reason it completely slipped my mind. So here goes.. better late than never :)

Stage 1.
Cut up pieces to put inside the resin bangle (these are offcuts of my screenprinted fabrics)


Stage 2.
Put on a scary mask, this will help protect your lungs


Stage 3.
Here is the resin, you mix it well with the catalyst and pour into the mould



Stage 4.
Take the resin out of the mould and hey presto you have a bangle! Check for airholes, these can be filled in with a thicker resin.


Stage 5.
Sand the rough edges with medium grade sandpaper until you have a even surface all round. Continue this with finer grades of sandpaper until it becomes clearer.

Stage 6.
Apply a thin coat of lacquer and then polish. And finally when you have the perfect bangle put it on your wrist to add some colour to your outfit :). I love mine and wear it nearly every day!



If you like the piece please get in touch with me or Kerry as we would love to make another one. Hannah of itstimefortea has one of these lovely bangles too! :)

Tag, your're it!

I was tagged by the lovely littleclouds to take part in this photo chain. I found some great photos I hadn't looked out for ages.

So here are the rules:
1. Open your first photo folder
2. Scroll to the tenth photo
3. Post the photo and the story behind it
4. Tag five or more people



This photo was taken in 2005 in Ephesus, Turkey. Me and my friend Jen went on a lovely relaxing holiday to Kusadasi. We ate, lazed by the pool, went to the beach, and drank quite a lot. I remember this day trip. The night before had been a late one and we were woken up by the room phone ringing. Apparently we were very late and were holding the whole coach up, Ive never got up so quick- put the first clothes I could find on and sunglasses to hide our shameful faces. I dont think I took them off, felt sick all day and to top it off we went to a turkish delight shop after (I hate turkish delight!) Apart from that it was a great holiday :D !

So now i am tagging..

Gail from seventyseventyone
Hannah from itstimefortea
Natasha from theblackbirdsings
Helen from memo
Jonathan from mryen

New colours and my latest prints ...

So it was my last day of printing last week, it has been a bit of an effort travelling back to Manchester to print each time but I am really pleased with what I have managed to do. Above are some details of my fabrics that will be made into canvases and others that will be used to make smaller pieces. I have been using some lighter colours but my work still has a similar industrial feel to it. I have recieved my frames in the post today so will be busy making my canvases in the next few weeks. All this work is for a gallery exhibition I have been asked to do in the summer. So for me I am super organised this time :)

Printing so far.....

This week I have finally been able to print again... although it is a bit of a trek, have to go back to Manchester to do it. But it is worth it as I love printing. I have been printing on large pieces of canvas which will be stretched onto wooden frames later to make art pieces. I have an exhibition coming up in the summer and this is the only time I have free to print (as I will be leaving the country soon... eek!) So these pictures show the beginning stages and the print table I use.
Yesterday I was printing next to a twitter friend :) so was nice to finally meet Louise of Lovelittle
She was printing some lovely wrapping paper for some upcoming fairs. Her work is fab!

How did I not see this...

How did I not see this when I opened everything else in the swap. Luckily Lucy told me it was in the package with everything else. The print is fab and deserves a post of its own. The light isn't great on the close up but its so dark in the house at the moment.
Isnt the print lovely, very retro :). Just need to find the perfect frame for it now...

Swap with Peas and Needles

Today was another exciting day for the post :) Here are the lovely pieces I recieved from my swap with Lucy Davidson from Peas and Needles . A handmade headband, a lovely necklace from Indigorocks and some funky magnets . She has also recently started a lovely blog Holy Holy Guacamole which features pics of amazing work which inspires her.

Swaps with brilliant designer makers are definitely the way forward for 2010 :).