Blogger App

So while I'm sitting around waiting for the cabinet maker to arrive and finish off my kitchen, I thought I'd try this app, Blogger for iPad.

I'm already using Blogsy on my iPad which is a great app, but sometimes I just want to do a quick post and Blogsy being such a powerful app is sometimes a bit confusing for this poor old baby boomer brain.

And what's a post without photos? Slightly boring, so I'm going to give you a sneak peak of the kitchen progress.

A lot of progress has been made since this was taken and I've even filled up a few cupboards, but I'm still waiting on some cupboard doors and quite a few handles. The splash back has been tiled and I'm really pleased with how it looks. I was worried because when I got the tiles home I wasn't sure if I liked the colour that I chose, but thankfully they look great.

I have a feeling the big before and after reveal wont be until the new year.

We’ve Made A Start

Sunday we demolished the kitchen, pulled out cupboards, ripped off tiles and pretty much emptied it out.

Half empty.

Totally empty apart from the oven.

Plumber comes on Wednesday and hopefully the new kitchen gets installed on Thursday of Friday.

DH is none too happy about the renovation, he can’t understand why I would get rid of a “good solid kitchen”.  Well, so solid you needed brute strength to open some of the cupboards and drawers, also it was forty plus years old and very tired and in dire need of a complete face lift (me too!!!!).

Currently I’m making toast and boiling the kettle in the laundry, fridge, microwave and cutlery are in the lounge, most of the things from the cupboards are in the spare room and I’ve got dinner in the crockpot cooking in the other spare room and everything is covered in a fine layer of dust.

So while this has been going on nothing at all has been happening in my studio, I suspect there’s a fine layer of dust in there too. I have been playing on my iPad quite a bit though and having some fun with iPhoneography.

I used the Snapseed app and applied one of the filters.

This was the original photo.

Filters.

The original.

Both of the original photos are of a pattern that I really liked on a quilt cover, so I snapped a few photos of it intending to perhaps do something similar on some clay. Don’t think that will happen until well after Christmas now.

My next post will be before and after photos of the kitchen I hope so stay tuned.

Flickr Tags: iPhoneography,kitchen renovation,filters

Goodness Me

Its been two weeks since my last drink post. And I don’t really have a great deal to show you.

Kitchen renovations are still taking precedence over everything else, cleaning out cupboards and getting rid of clutter and did I mention the laundry is getting a make over too?

My studio is very sadly neglected and I haven’t cranked the handle of my pasta machine for quite a few weeks, but I have just listed some necklaces that I had made quite some time ago in my madeit store.

This one has been pinned and re-pinned quite a few times on Pinterest so I thought it was time to send it on it’s way to a new home.

Black and white polymer clay hand stamped pendant with a textured hand made bail.

Pretty blue faux ceramic polymer clay pendant with blue sodalite beads and silver connectors.

And another textured and hand painted pendant, with swirled and textured pc beads and spacers and some white crackle beads.

Getting back to the kitchen reno, I’ve bought the sink, new taps and range hood, still have to pick out tiles for the splashback, I’m going for large 600 ml tiles (less grout to clean). The cabinet maker has apparently cut all the cupboards out so with a bit of luck it should all be in and functional by Christmas. Here’s hoping!

Flickr Tags: polymer clay,texture,hand stamped,faux ceramic

The Art of Conversation Maybe Dead

I'm in the family room and DD is in her room.

I hold grave fears for the Human Race.

Posted with Blogsy

Topsy and Turvy

Things are a bit up and down and topsy and turvy around here lately. We are about to start a kitchen renovation which is exciting and scary at the same time. My kitchen is about 40 years old, very old, tired and dated and in need of a face lift (bit like me really) so I’ve had the unenviable task of cleaning out cupboards. So far I’ve packed up 4 cartons of stuff to go to good sammies and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. We humans just have way too much stuff. So my mantra for culling is “if it hasn’t been used in 2 years I don’t need it”.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with kitchens, but in between all the madness we celebrated my husbands birthday.

Another occurrence that upset the apple cart was a computer breakdown. So yesterday I had to buy another one. For the last few years I’ve been using Windows XP but this new comp has Windows 7 installed so it’s another learning curve and not just the operating system. I always write my blog posts using Windows Live Writer but Win 7 has a newer version so I’m floundering around here trying to get my bearings. Being a baby boomer I don’t like change!

As far as creating anything in my studio?………nothing, nada, zilch, for the past few weeks. But here’s some photos of beads I made a few weeks ago.

This one below has been made into a necklace but I haven’t photographed it as yet.

I’ve also been very lax in keeping in touch with all the lovely blogs I follow. I’ve been reading but not leaving any comments so I will remedy that very soon and with a bit of luck I may have some before and after photos of the Great Kitchen Renovation of 2012.

I’m Back……

…….with absolutely nothing crafty or handmade to show you. It’s been very busy at work this week so I haven’t been in my studio for over a week. I’m so pooped when I get home it takes me all my inner strength just to make dinner then I flop on the lounge and it’s only 7.30 and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.

But I have discovered a couple of fantastic apps that I have been playing with on my ipad. The first app is called Whims and if you love fonts and typography you will love this. It’s been described as instagram for words and it’s a lot of fun and there are some very clever people creating amazing whims.

You can change the font, size and colour of your words also the background colour and it’s extraordinary the way some creators have manipulated some keyboard characters to “draw” pictures.

Here’s a few of mine.

It’s a free app, so go and download it and have some fun.

The other app that I really love is Wider Image. It comes from Reuters, the worlds largest new agency and it’s a photo journalism app. Amazing images from around the world with the story behind the photo by the photographer. Lots of information, with facts and statistics and the ability to follow favourite photographers. I could spend hours looking at the photos and reading the photographers stories.

I’m hoping work will slow down a little next week and I can get back in the studio and create. Because as my Whim says, I just like making stuff.

Technorati Tags: apps

Today I Baked

And it wasn't clay. Today I baked a cake from scratch and not from a packet. I mentioned to Carmen the other day that I was going to attempt one now I had the use of a great mix master and she scoffed......yes scoffed if you please. So I decided to text her evidence of my culinary efforts which started a texting marathon that lasted long into the afternoon.

The day we discussed the whole cake making thing, she gave me all these instructions (more like demands really) e.g. Don't use self raising flour, use plane flour with baking powder, real butter not margarine, make sure the sugar and butter are beaten to within an inch of their lives, eggs must be room temperature, proper vanilla not extract etc. etc. etc.

 

 

You can see we're not the best texters either......baby boomers, what can I say.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Beads

I've painted, splodged, smeared and dabbed several layers of paint. Thinned the sheet in the pasta machine and made bead guts with scrap clay then covered them with the painted veneer. Here's the unbaked results.

Some large beads.

And some large and small.

I'm loving the effect. Crackled, marbled and the odd splodge.

Posted with Blogsy

New Studio

Changing circumstances in our family have necessitated moving my studio to another room, well two rooms really. Lucky me. So now I’m at the other end of the house with easy access to a water source should I need it (plus a toilet in close proximity).

So my wonderful sister-in-law came over and had me all moved and organised in under an hour. DH always complains I’ve got so much stuff and I always deny it, but after moving rooms I’m kind of inclined to agree with him (although I would never admit it).

I could never work out why I was reluctant to work in my old studio in the afternoons and now I know why, it was the light, or lack of. The new rooms have bigger windows and the rooms are much brighter.

My new studio

One of my desks next to the window with the added benefit of a window sill for a bit of extra storage.

I wont show the other room as it’s a bit cluttered and messy but I’ve managed to set up a photography table next to the window with the hopes of getting decent photos.

This is what I’ve been working on since I moved in. Different shapes, paints, textures etc. and these were all taken by the window of my new photography set up.

This one below is a mixture of periwinkle blue, coral and smidgeon of black acrylic transparent paints. They have a lovely shimmer which isn’t evident in the photo.

Not quite done with this shimmery sage green flower. Possibly a bit of antiquing and sanding.

 

Below some pieces that will become earrings.

More potential earrings using the same texture as the first pendant.

So who knows what kind of creativity (if any) will emerge from my new studio, only time will tell.

Technorati Tags: polymer clay,polymer clay pendants,earrings,studio,acrylic paints

Mel’s Giveaway

Mel the marvellous mold maker extraordinaire is having a giveaway on her blog. Her molds are fabulous and she’s got some beauties to give away.

Like these……

  

…….and these.

 

All you have to do is visit her blog and leave a comment and you can tell her I sent you if you like. It’s that easy and there’s eight…..yes eight molds to win. Oh, the fun you could have with those, fill them with clay, resin, utee any number of things and make jewellery, or add to scrapbook pages, cards…..if it doesn't move embellish it I say!

You may remember this. Made using one Mel's molds.

So do yourself a favour, leave a comment on Mel's blog and keep your fingers crossed.

Technorati Tags: polymer clay,molds,giveaway

Some New Pieces

Down here in the southern hemisphere spring as arrived with summer not too far off. The days are getting longer and warmer so with that in mind I’ve been using much brighter colours in the jewellery I’ve been making the last week.

Like this.

and this.

Sold

Cobalt blue is big this spring/summer especially shoes.

The flats I could wear, the heels?………not in a million years. My high heel wearing days are long gone sadly.

Both of the necklaces are listed in my madeit.com store, go check it out.

Technorati Tags: cobalt blue necklace,polymer clay,polymer clay pendants