Crafty Work

[pensnest]

I am now the poorer by, um, quite a bit, and have added a quantity of fancy card, a light box, some tiny mirrors, some Christmas paper punches, a selection of silk threads and about a thousand peel-off sticker sheets to my already out-of-control stores. It was the Knitting and Stitching Show in Alexandra Palace. Met up with hsw and some other stitchery-minded folks, which was a good thing not just for company and cheerful conversation, but also because it cut down on the shopping time. Ahem. And I did a workshop, for the first time in many years of K&SS attendance, and have made (I hope) an attractive sheet of lustrous silk paper (it's drying now), so possibly I shall actually be inspired to use my beautiful silks and create Art. Then again, possibly not. I do not wish to become addicted to creating attractive sheets of lustrous silk paper. I have ninety-ish stories to write.

That said, I think I'll play with Photoshop now.

Comments

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

Shows like that are horrible! You go, intent on mostly looking and perhaps just buying a few smallish things, because it's such a chore lugging things around with you, and then, before you know what's happened, all your money is gone and you have arms like an orangutang from carrying tons of stuff around with you all day. This always happens to me so I'm quite wary of craft shows these days. Sneaky things!

And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll not get addicted to silk paper making, I want more stories :-)

[pensnest]

Obviously a kindred spirit! Yes, this is all true - though as I've been going to this particular show for quite a few years now, I've already bought a vast quantity of stuff. Just have to restrain myself, certain in the knowledge that I'm not going to get round to using all the beautiful, tempting things I see! I was very good, though, I saw a peacock stole, with glittery feathers, and didn't buy it.

I don't think the silk paper is going to be a real Thing for me. I like my glass paints too much! As for stories, at the moment they seem to be flowing nicely. :-)

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

Have you made the glasspainting in your icon? It's lovely! Such wonderful shadings in flower petals.

I've hardly created anything the last few years, my back's been too bad, but I still continued to collect craft materials for a while, so now I have to be stern with myself. I'm not allowed to buy *anything* until I've used up at least some of my supplies :-) There's this mobile with cats I started several years ago that's *still* not finished, not to mention the decoupage I'm doing on all the jars in the kitchen - I've painted the jars, I've cut out all the pictures from old magazines from the 60s, I've finished pasting them on about a third of the jars...

[pensnest]

Yep, this is one of my glasspainted cards. The flower petals are done in pearlised paints by Rainbow Glass, who make the most gorgeous colours (and all sorts of stuff). Really yummy. I do sometimes use other kinds of glass paints, especially for large areas, but these pearlised ones are my favourites. (I was very impressed at how well the background paper came out on the scan - I put a painted something on acetate in the card aperture, and usually some kind of fancy paper behind it. I'm a stationery junkie - my conservatory is hip-deep in pretty paper! This one is a swirly shiny silver.)

I have phases... the glass painting has been going on for quite a while now, several years, in fact, and not showing signs of going away, though sometimes I make cards which don't involve a lot of it, because I have so many papers, and twinkly things, and beads... I did manage not to go too over-the-top yesterday, restricting myself to things which I'm pretty sure I will use for card-making. And I sell the cards (sometimes) too, and occasionally sell other glass painted items, which gets them out of the house! It's not exactly a money-making proposition, but it's gratifying, cos if someone *pays* for something I've made, I know they like it.

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

Don't mention stationary! I try not to even look at all the pretty paper out there because I just want to buy everything I see! And then I never use it, just hoard it :-)

(Reply to this

[pensnest]

Yeah - and when it's really, really pretty paper you don't *want* to use it anyway because then it will be *gone*.

'Tis a puzzle.

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

(I wonder where that last line in my comment came from? Very strange.)

I used to feel the same thing about fabric too. "What if I use this piece now and next year I'll think of something even better to make of it and then I won't be able to do that!"