Veränderungen

Liebe Leser(innen) von meinem blog. Ich bin in letzter Zeit leider VIRTUELL sehr ruhig gewesen. Aber behind the scenes passiert viel... Ich arbeite an neuem... und hoffentlich auch großem. Und wenn Ihr noch ein klein wenig geduldet, dann werde ich es auch demnächst hier posten :-)

Diese kleine Puppe habe ich neulich für mein Patenkindchen hergestellt. Süß, oder? ;-)

Craft market update!

Finally :-) I must admit that I am not a regular blogger and most probably will have to admit that I won't ever be one. But I do hope that whoever finds and reads the odd post I manage to put up here enjoys it nevertheless.

Over the last few months I've been a busy bee in terms of visiting and selling at craft markets. It's something I've done since my wee little years (as a child with my mother in Namibia, selling handmade jewellery and painted stones and all kinds of other handmade memorabilia to German tourists) and something I really enjoy. Selling at a market is always a fun experience. Its social. You get to speak to loads of people all day long and meet some really interesting characters. Its uplifting. You sell your own, handmade products and see people being really happy about buying your stuff. It's good for business - in the sense that you finally climb out of that little bubble and see what people are really interested in buying. Sometimes I will see that those products which I really love and think will go like hot cross buns...don't. And it's the oddballs which catch the craft market visitor's attention. Maybe it's because craft market visitors are in themselves often more creative people who really appreciate the value of handmade products. But even if it's just because of the fact that my personal taste doesn't match that of the masses... I am always incredibly pleased and happy about the post-craft market insights I can walk away with.

In December I visited two craft markets during my holidays in Namibia.

First, there was the Jenny's Place Christmas Market at the end of November 2011. Set in a gorgeous courtyard location this must be one of the prettiest outdoor craft markets I know. I presented my MainSchatz products... which made some people really happy. Cloth covered buttin jewellery is already a hit in South Africa but hasn't reached Namibia yet. So we had sceptics and then we had those who were immediately convinced. It was great fun to sell my products in an entirely different country (on an entirely different continent) and to know that there will be people walking around with my products in the place of my birth! Ont he picture, at the left with the little one is me, with craft market selling mentor: My mother.

Then in December we went to the Boeremark, or Farmer's Market set in the Windhoek showgrounds. 

A very rugged location, I really loved how this made me know so clearly I was in Namibia. Temperatures on the day itself reached 40 degrees celsius which after having lived in Germany for 8 years now even got me sweating (and I am a child of the heat, trust me!). We sold loads of our cards which my mom had spent the days prior to the market making. All that was so much fun!Our tent can be seen at the top left with the bunting which my friend Mary made.

Then, after returning back to Germany, a lot of my energy went into the preparation of Create! am Main's first ever Kreativtag. The day itself was great - not too many people pitched up, but everyone who did I think had fun and also learnt something new for their craft repertoire. I put togetehr a couple of impressions of the day:

After this event, my energy all flowed into finalising a new packaging for my MainSchatz products together with the wonderful elp of my super talented sister. I am really grateful she invested her time into helping me - and what came out is a lovely and fun new design for the entire label. I got to present it for the first time at SchnickSchnackShopping in Darmstadt. This craft market is huge but not one little bit less gorgeous. Located in a 200 year old dance school, I was really happy I could take part on that day.  And I think that after investing quite a bit into jewellery presentation, my stand could really hold its own!

So there you have it. My craft market update. Since the coming summer will be my last at home with my little angel I have decided to put a break on craft markets until those in and around the Christmas season. My hopes are high for SchnickSchnackShopping, Eintagsladen, Stilblüten and maybe the Brückenstrassenfest.... and who knows, maybe another jewel of a Create! am Main craft market at some point in time!

Wednesday craft update: quilting

I am supposed to be working on beautiful jewellery for my next market... but some of my tools are still missing. I am supposed to be preparing my beads (and much much more) for Design am Main... but somehow, I feel like I can get away with what I have done so far... And so I end up SEWING. Is it a good thing? You tell me :-)

What I am currently working on started off as a mattress cover for my daughter's playpen. But now, a couple of stitches down the line, it is turning into yet another baby quilt. I'll post an "after" picture once I am done:

So while I am on about quilting, let me say I am no experienced stitcher on this field. I made my first object early last year after being inspired by a good (American) friend of mine who made a baby quilt for each of her three little blessings. I started off with a practice round - a floor/play blanket for my little one. This blanket turned out to be more of a patchwork project than a quilt one. I learnt that I am no traditionalist and enjoy doing all parts of my quilt with the machine.

Then I continued with my daughter's very own baby quilt which I thoroughly loved making - especially the freestyle machine quilting around the borders.

"Beflügelt" as they would say here in Germany, which means as much as being on a roll, I decided I could take on any quilters challenge and contiued with a 2 x 2 metre bedthrow made from my husbands old (sea island cotton) shirts. This one was a biggie and I eventually darted off to the Quilt Cottage for some emergency help - hoping that I could get my project done by Christmas. Needless to say that the help and level of tips there was absolutely amazing and I managed to finish everything in time.

 I even got to use my awesome new embroidery function of my sewing machine and gave the whole blanket a slight maritime theme.

Although I am relatively new to this field - and don't want every corner of my apartment to be patchworked, I think making these blankets is a wonderful way to use up material leftovers and turn them into something that can be cuddled and loved for many years from today.

Monday, Monday - cleanup recommendations

I don't know how many of you know the feeling of, after a bout of flu or cold or anything else that rendered you out of action for a certain period of time, being completely drowned by paperwork. I have been in that position for about a week now (hence the post-free blog) and seriously need to get my act together and work through my personal pile of admin.

Although I am quite the organised Kreativistin and I love filing (I have the appropriate file for practically every purpose) - there are many other organisational techniques that I can still get much better at.

One of my major sources of inspiration is this blog by Rachel. She is amazing in terms of giving her readers a realistic approach to getting organised. Her major focal point is decluttering and clutter prevention - the latter being a challenge if you have som many different hobbies and interests as I do.

There are a couple of books which I also like to go for some inspiration - especially when I am feeling a little overwhelmed by what needs to be done, sorted, decluttered and cleaned up by... tonight. ONe of them is Storage by Terence Conran - the ultimate interior design guru. This book is all about reducing what you need to store and storing what you need to keep in a way that doesn't look cluttered. Or Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. No pictures - but a whole lot of excellent practical tips provided on a room by room basis.

Then of course paging through inteterior design magazines also tends to get me working. Breathtaking homes - especially those in Scandinavia - invite me to look around and think about better ways of handling all of my creative tools or paperwork or kitchen appliances.

It is a never ending process... but there is a lot of potential (and copious amount of research) to find new and creative solutions to becoming more organised. One tip I recently read on the internet - and followed up on - was to sort through my personal books (of which I have many - most of which I really love) and donate a few of those to the local library. The library was happy, I can always still access my books if I really want to - and I can actually fit most of my books in the bookshelf again...

At the end of the day, organisation can be an extremely creative process. Do you have any creative ways of staying organised?

Weekend Project: Attempt fashion drawing

A looooong time ago I started a distance course in Fashion Design and Dressmaking at Stonebridge Associated Colleges. I did this because I love sewing and I really like clothes and always found myself spending money on especially interestingly designed/patterned items of clothing. I thought it would be wonderful to be able to make and design your own stuff. Alas, as it sometimes goes with these self-study ventures, life got in the way: first my work and then falling pregnant and having a baby... I stopped with unit 4 (of 12, I think) and just never carried on.

 

The other day I was sorting through a pile of old documents and found this little green workbook that focussed on sewing machines and overlockers and an assignment about the same, as well as one on creating your own seam gauge. I blew off all the figurative dust that had gathered there and decided to get down and do the assignment. I wasn't sure if I was going to be allowed to continue my course after having taken such an extended (and unnanounced) break. But today, in the post, I was sent the next unit and assignment as well as a marking sheet which said:

"A clear and accurate assignment Desiree. Congratulations on the birth of your baby".
And "Passed".

It looks like I am back in the game! Thanks to the super flexible nature of stonebridge distance courses...! But that also means: I need to practice my fashion drawing. It is nowhere close to where it should be at this stage, but with some practice - who knows what I'll be putting up here in future? And for anyone who is interested in joining me, here's a nice template to print out and use as a starting point:

Post skip

Sorry everyone. Kreativistin is slightly out of order and not feeling particularly creative thanks to a really nasty cold. Should be back on track by Friday's post!

Wednesday craft update

On Wednesdays you'll get a little peak into the crafty part of my life - and hopefully also be inspired to try out one or two new techniques. On that note, I have been trying out a couple of new things this past week. And with that came a substantial amount of trial and much more error! But every now and then also a few "yay, I made it"'s...

Anyway, here you go...

My trials and errors:

Learning to saw metal with a jeweller's saw.

I broke quite a few blades in my quest to turn a silver-plated spoon into jewellery. I also learnt that trying to form a silver-plated spoon handle into a ring is crazy. You need pure silver, otherwise it is absolutely unbendable. (And I have STRONG arms, being mommy to a little eight and a half kilo bundle that simply loves being carried around). Or is there information out there that I am missing?

Trying out Shrinky Dinks (which I have wanted to do for ages)

I learnt that forming hot shrink plastic into a ring really is just that: HOT. It burns. And I wasn't quick enough so all my rings are a little weirdly shaped. And then all my late-night attempts at drawing pretty things also wasn't such a good idea. I'll try again when I am less sleep deprived. But I also realised it is LOADS of fun and I cannot wait to see what I will create from this shrinkable plastic idea.

Probably the most exciting aspect of the past week was that I finally got to unpack and try out my awesome Christmas gift, the Dremel Fortiflex.

This thing is amazing and it opens up a world of creative possiblitites to me. WATCH THIS SPACE!

After all of that trial and error, I unfortunately don't have as many success to share as I'd like to have. But here's what I have.

My Successes:

It's rather rustic and all but I am very proud of this little heart pendant. My first-ever self-made silver plated pendant. Cut from the top of an old spoon and polished at the edges and roughed up on the top with the Dremel.

A cute pair of Shrinky Dinks earrings. But now I want an inkjet printer and the printable version of this stuff. Then my possibilities will truly be endless!

Practicing the yoyo brooch. I will be showing anyone who wants to know how to do these, as well as kanzashi brooches and cute bow-tie brooches, all from material, at the next Design am Main event in Frankfurt.

Tell me what your creative endeavours were this past week!