A Peek Inside My Sketchbook VII

Printing with cranberries!

Click here to see previous sketchbook posts, and like me on Facebook for sneak peeks as they happen!

Juniper Press @ The Bluecoat, Liverpool

Last week, I was fortunate enough to visit the newly formed Juniper Press, at The Bluecoat, in Liverpool. It was set up in the last few months by a group of people keen on letterpress, including my father! They actually have quite a few printing presses, but you could say these two Albion presses are the main focus...

Don't they look amazing against those windows?! The natural light in the studio is just fantastic.

Here's some snapshots from the day - you can see even my sketchbook got in on the woodblock action!

If you'd love to experience the studio for yourself, workshops are being offered throughout the year. If you'd like to find out more, comment here and I'll point you in the right direction!

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook VI

Can you believe I've nearly finished this sketchbook?! I'm amazed haha. It's my Birthday this week though, and I'm very excited to be getting new sketchbooks to fill with lovely colourfulness :)

Campervan stamp available here.

Texture experiments using acrylic paint (some applied straight from the tube), a ridged tool, and string wrapped around a cardboard tube.

More textural and shape experiments, using cardboard tubes, straws and sticks. I also made a stencil using a circular punch and applied texture medium over it.

Printing using homemade cardboard shapes as stamps.

Click here to see previous sketchbook posts, and like me on Facebook for sneak peeks as they happen!

Crochet Hook Case

If you like me on Facebook (something I recommend if you want sneak peeks!) you will be aware that I have been doing some sewing this week, but I haven't let on exactly what I've been making!

I was fortunate enough to inherit most of my crochet hooks from my Nan. They came in a 90s cardboard Jaffa Cakes circular tube, and whilst I loved that my Nan had put them in that, I wanted something more practical for my own use.

I spent a while scouring the internet, but couldn't quite find any tutorials which suited what I wanted: a fabric rectangle I could roll up, with a lower row for smaller hooks, and a higher row for longer hooks and knitting needles, with lots of room for me to expand my collection! So, some brain storming with my husband, and we came up with this design. This would probably be an afternoon make for most people, but I was thrilled to have made it in less than a week!

And even better, the only expense for me was some more thread... The outer floral fabric is from a pair of old curtains I received from a kind person on Freegle, and the inner denim is from an old pair of my jeans - the great thing about wearing flares is that you get a lot of fabric!! [The top of the jeans were used in this skirt!]

Assembling it worked out fairly simply...

• A large rectangle of floral fabric for the outside, with some ribbon added when it was finally assembled.
• A large rectangle of denim for the base of the inside.
• A rectangle half the size for the tall pouches for knitting needles, sewn on to the inside base.
• Two long thin rectangles for the short pouches for crochet hooks, sewn together and then attached at intervals to the tall pouches. [This has also added bonus pockets between the short and tall pouches, which I lined with more floral fabric!]

I'm so pleased with it! What do you store your crochet hooks and knitting needles in?

Floral Birthday Card

The stamp is this one from Hobbycraft; mounted on a dark green card, and handpainted multicolour background, left over from another project. I think I might make more of these :)

Christmas Thank You Cards

When it comes to post-Christmas thank you cards, I want something I can make quickly and simply. Ideally, I love to find bits from wrapping paper, crackers, or extras from previous makes to create something new.

These cards, for example, are made from a layer of brown paper, and some stamped Christmas trees left over from last years gift tags, and some gold bows I had lying around. Simple, yet effective :)

Crochet Yoda Toy

I recently saw this amazing Star Wars themed nursery by Sticks on a Plane, and particularly fell in love with this simple Yoda toy. I couldn't find a pattern anywhere, but thought it would be perfect for my youngest nephew for Christmas, and managed to crochet one up in an afternoon!

The ring was a simple rectangle that I joined up and stuffed. The ears were a lot more difficult and don't perfectly match each other haha, but I think it looks just lovely :)