Le Petit Cadeau

Shedtastic

 

At this very moment, I don't live in my dream house. I'm not exactly complaining - there are a lot of great things about where I live (for one - it is a roof over my head, after all, and for that I'm extremely grateful). One of the symptoms of living in a less than ideal house is my tendency to live through books and magazines - to get sucked into imagery, lost in daydreams of what I believe my ideal abode to be at that very moment.

One book that has captured my interest lately is Shed Chic by Sally Coulthard. It's not that I want to live in a shed, but my ideal place to live would have room for a shed or two. The sheds pictured in this book are pretty luxurious as sheds go. Some are definitely nice enough to live in if space weren't an issue - in fact the term "shed" is used rather loosely in this book, but then, I guess that's where the "chic" kicks in.

For as long as I can remember, I've loved gypsy wagons...

The "shed" below satisfies my rustic side.

If I had chickens, I'd know what I would want their house shed to look like.

A couple of nice work spaces...

 

This book is not an extensive how-to, but it is informative in an overview sort of way - and it is definitely fun and inspiring. There are many different styles of shed pictured from ultra-modern to traditional to country - all of them pretty good eye candy. If you like that sort of thing, I recommend it.
 

A Little Bit of Alice

There is a lot of Alice in Wonderland going on these days. I have been a fan for as long as I can remember, but I wouldn't consider myself a collector or anything like that. I do, however, have more Alice stuff than I realized, so I thought I would share a bit.

This is a book my mom bought me when I was in kindergarten. I loved pop-up books (still do) and so it was one of my favorites. Even as a child I preferred the Tenniel illustrations (yes, even at a young age, I was convinced that I was not of the current time period), and I still do. That said, the illustrations in this particular version of Alice in Wonderland are quite charming in a groovy sort of way.

 

The page below was my favorite of the book. There was something about how the red plastic tinted the roses - reminded me of those layered anatomy illustrations.

 

 

A Month of Halloween

A friend of Fred's dedicates the month of October to watching horror movies. I think I just might tire of watching horror movies every single night for a month, but I like the idea. So, to honor/express the darker aspect of my aesthetic, October's posts will be somewhat Halloween/Gothic/Horror related.

A little treasure from my vintage paperback collection -

Another Vintage Library Treasure

Another book that slipped through the cracks and is now so old that it is cool and fresh looking again. As is obvious from the title, it deals with silhouettes. I'll let the pictorial excerpts speak for themselves - except for the one below, upon which I feel compelled to comment.

I like the illustration, but it appears the artist cut up original antique prints. Maybe at the time this piece was made, antique prints were abundant and considered junk, but the thought of cutting up centuries old prints horrifies me. I know people still enjoy cutting up original antique and vintage paper goods, and I wish they would stop. I've seen stuff that people have made that I like, but altering originals instead of preserving them still doesn't seem quite right to me. I love to seeing old images incorporated into current art work, but only if they have been reproduced some way and the originals preserved.

Paper People

Paper People, by Michael Grater (1969),  is another book I was surprised to find at the library. It seems like once books reach a certain age, they are taken from the shelves and sold at library fund raising sales.

As a child, I really disliked the collage/simple graphic/mid-century style. Now, I find it interesting and charming, though it's still not among my favorites. I get a kick out of it, can appreciated it, but it fails to make my heart flutter most of the time. Still, I found this book worth a look, and I think I will probably try my hand at paper cutting....

Doll Book

I found this charming old book on the library shelves the other day. It's called "The Complete Book of Doll Making and Collecting" by Catherine Christopher. It was first published in 1949 and has some great information in it. The photos aren't all that great, but it gives directions for some techniques that have been all but lost recently - like directions for making dolls out of wax, soap, and this technique that particularly interested me - making a molded cloth face.

One of my all-time favorite books is "The Lonely Doll" and this little book gives directions on how to make an Edith type doll.

It also gives instructions on how to make ballerinas, dolls with various ethnic/traditional costumes, and 2-headed flip dolls - all very much of the period. And, since I get such a kick out of period things, I found this book to be quite the treasure.

 

Still Obsessed With Millinery Flowers

I'm still deeply obsessed with millinery flowers. I'm hoping the obsession will ease a bit as I force myself to move on to other projects. I'll show some things I've made - not all successful - as soon as I take some photos (still have to remind myself to document!). Until then, I thought I would share this book. It's one of my favorite craft books - even though I can't read it.

I don't even know the title, but the isbn # is - ISBN978-4-579-11152-7 - and I bought it at yesasia.com. I like most all of the flower projects in it - though I do tend to modify and go off on my own tangent rather than follow what directions I can make out. Maybe that's why my success rate is less than 100%, but I can't help myself. For good or bad, I've always had this need to mix things up a bit to make them "my own."

The photographs inside the front part of the book are clean and lovely (though, my photos of the photos are less than satisfactory -  Note to self - Light does matter. Remember to document when there is adequate light). The directions are clear for the most part (even without knowledge of Japanese), but I suspect some of the directions are clear to me because I have read other books about fake flower fabrication. I also suspect I am missing out on some of the subtler points, but all in all, this is a great inspiring book for those who are interested in making a silk flower or 500, and I love it.

Here's a rather paltry peek inside:

There are instructions and patterns for every flower pictured in the front part of the book.

And there is a photo of all the tools needed. I had a hard time finding flower making tools. I ended up buying my iron at JoAnn (it came with several tips, but the only one I find useful is the ball-end tip) and then making a rat tail tip and a knife tip. I would love to have several sizes of the ball-end tips, but I haven't figured out how to make them yet.

Felt Book

One of my goals for August is to make prototypes for five new items for my Etsy store. One of my favorite materials to work with is wool, so I ordered this book (not from Amazon) and it arrived yesterday.

I'm having a great time reading it - it has a bunch of useful information - though I wish it had more "how-to" pictures. I also have a very different color sense than most "felters" do. I can appreciate super saturated colors, earthy colors, bright colors - but they usually don't set my heart aflutter. I definitely respond more to soft muted colors, preferable with some age (real or manufactured) to them. I also really appreciate all the natural colors of wool.

So, I'm trying to wean myself from my silk millinery flower obsession and get inspired to make winter-y type things. I think by the time I finish this book, I may be ready to try my hand at some wool slippers, scarves, and of course, some flowers. I don't think I'll be able to give up my flower obsession entirely.

A Petite Post

Oh man, do I hope I can work up a flurry of activity before this coming Monday and actually accomplish at least one of my June goals for the Modish Goal Meet-Up. What happened to me this month!?! Well, I did go out of town for a week and my computer inadequacies did catch up to me, but it still seems like I could have crossed something off the list by now. On the plus side, I have been making stuff every day and working out some proto-types which should go into production within the next two weeks.... I guess one of my goals for July should be to focus specifically on my goals for July ;-).

Old Book

Because I am such a bad documentarian and the only photos I took of my vacation are on my boyfriend's camera, I'll share a few photos of an old book I bought. It rarely even occurs to me to bring my camera on trips, and when I am in the throes of a vacation, the last thing I want to do is take pictures. Odd, because I'm such a visual person, and I really enjoy looking at the pictures other people take. Maybe I just need to change my habits - bring my camera everywhere (though it is a bit clunky) and start snapping.

Cover of book mentioned above:

The book is nothing I would see myself reading, but the illustrations appealed to me. A few of my favorites: