I'm creating again

I've moved enough stuff into the studio now that I can be creative again. Which is wonderful and just in time to pull together more stuff for Stitches which is in two weeks' time. I found this beautiful clock in my local supermarket after Christmas for £10 so it went up today.

I created these canvases a few months ago. I love Paris. I particularly love Le Tour Eiffel and I'm working on getting images of it all over my studio. I bought these coasters off a tourist trap seller's stall on the banks of the Sienne when we went over in 2007. I picked up these canvases from Hobbycraft and painted them with Adirondack Dimensional Pearls (the stamps are also done with the Pearls) before adhering the coasters on with Glossy Accents.

Today I've been working on two projects: The first is an altered cigar box for a class I've been asked to teach. I don't think this sample is finished, but it's definitely something to start with.

I removed the lid and as much paper as would tear off by hand. I then took some Midsummer Night's Dream paper and sprayed Interferance Violet Radiant Rains on it and ironed it dry. I covered the lid seperately, but have learned that you need to trim the lid down first or it won't fit once covered with paper. The inside of the box is covered with watercolour paper that I painted the Adirondack Dimension Pearls on to tie it in with the Scrapperdashery paper. I reassembled the box with hinges, added a clasp on the front and added corners to the bottom of the box. The lid was stamped with Tim's stamps in Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment Ink, then dusted with Black Sparkle Embossing Powder. I messed up a bit with the stamp, so I took three Prima flowers, covered them with Pitch Black Pigment Ink and dusted with Black Sparkle and set it.

My other project today as been to work out what the best Make N Take I can do at Stitches can be? It needs to be something that can be done in less than 10 minutes and that retailers might want to recreate when they get back to the shop. This little tag book uses one sheet of 12x12 (Romeo & Juliet), Radiant Rains, Distress Ink, Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment Ink and Black Sparkle Embossing Powder. It uses two sections of O-wire and the Bind it All to hold it together. It's simple, but I'm not sure if it's simple enough. Need to think about it more.

So, how is the rest of the studio coming along? Well, I haven't shown you any photos of it for a while (because my camera has been on the blink). So the photo of the cigar box shows you the work surface that I have covered completely with non-stick craft sheet. Wonderful stuff. So easy to keep clean. The corner that my computer equipment will go into is now ready for me to start moving in. I have network up in the studio (I'm writing this from the studio as we speak), so I need to move my desk up and then start to get the computer equipment in place. The desk will go where the white chair currently is. Behind the desk is a set of Billy bookcases, facing a set of Sten shelves that I painted white. This is my main storage and still needs sorting and organising. Somewhere in storage I have a label maker so that everything can be labelled once it is in it's permanent home. Underneath the benches, I have loads of Really Useful Boxes full mostly with paper.

This is the opposite corner - the one where the bench is entirely covered with craft sheet. There will be a desk going next to this. You can just see my paper racks to the right of the photo and I have a little oil heater which I can roll around the studio depending on where I'm working most that day. I have to be careful: this place is so well insulated that it doesn't take much to warm up and if I forget to turn it down, it gets too warm quite quickly.

I will take and share more photos so that you can see how things are progressing. But not right now, I need to go find dinner.