Zeefdruk circus

Ik heb al heel lang een lijst met dingen die ik nog wel eens wil leren. Daar staan allerlei zaken op, zoals pianospelen (zie ik nog niet zo gebeuren) en boekbinden (is bijvoorbeeld wel al gelukt). Er staan ook dingen op die never nooit zullen lukken (ik ben gewoon niet atletisch genoeg voor een dubbele flikflak achterover) en dingen waar ik maar niet aan begin omdat ik gewoon niet weet waar ik zou moeten beginnen.

Een van die laatste dingen was zeefdrukken. Ik ben ooit begonnen met stempels en lino's snijden omdat ik niet wist hoe ik moest zeefdrukken maar wel dingen in de zelfde patronen op textiel wilde maken. En toen zag ik op een site in Amerika geweldig spul waarmee zelfs een nitwit als ik kon zeefdrukken.

En toen maakte ik deze!





De kleine vent vindt 'm mooi, en ik ben zelf ook niet ontevreden. Ik ben er ook achter dat ik de zeefdrukinkt kan gebruiken als stempelinkt om mijn stempels op textiel te printen. Dus ik ben ook maar weer aan het snijden gegaan. Volgende keer gaan we dus weer stempelen. Hoera!

(voor wie meer wil weten over het zeefdrukspul, kijk op ezscreenprint.com. En nee, ik word niet gesponsord.)

Apple mania

No, I'm not talking about my Ipad this time. ;-)

Some time ago, I bought some more craft books. I love those Japanese books, with all things zakka and with those cute dolly figures and stuff. This time I bought a crochet book. I loved this cute crochet apple! So that was one of the first things I made.



I thought the fabric was really zakka too... Ikea has such great fabrics!



The combo inspired me to carve a matching stamp and print my own fabric... For the first time ever!



As soon as I find the time (and my constant headache decides to take a vacation) this will be a library bag for the munchkin!

For anyone interested in Japanese craft books and Zakka: I buy my books here.

The Inspiration Giveaway (3)

Spring at last!!! I did think the sun itself wasn't enough so I made a rainbow to accompany it. I used them to box up some cookies (rainbow colored cookies!) for friends.









Too many pics? Is there such a thing?

I am considering selling my cookies on Etsy, but only in The Netherlands... Would that be a good idea? Hmmmmm... Time for a cookie post...

The Inspiration giveaway (2)

The frog is finished! I actually carved more stamps yesterday, I needed some for the label of a box of cookies that I made for friends, I'll show you that tomorrow.




Tomorrow: here comes the sun!!!

The inspiration giveaway (1)

Another stamp!!!




My inspiration is gone now... So... Any suggestions? How's that for interactive!

So you just name it, and I'll carve it! Maybe we can make it a little contest, you make suggestions, I'll carve a stamp and we'll have the readers of the blog vote... The winner gets a goody bag incluiding the carved stamp!!!

So, shout!

Another stamp...

Oh yes! I'm on a roll! Could this be... Stamp week? Hahahahahaha!

Anyway, I made this for a friend who is pregnant after miscarrying twice. I know that this time it will be fine, I had a dream that she carried to term and had a girl. So she can start painting the nursery pink. I used the stamp to gioftwrap a small gift for her.

Mayke, this one is for you!!!






Next week I'll show you how to re-use your favorite magazine pages by making them into gift bags like this one...

Can't choose...

Cupcakes or stamps? Stamps or cupcakes? Oh, the choices to make!!!

What to do, what to do... Oh, I know! I'll make a cupcake stamp!!!

:-)

Spring

And not a minute too soon... I am completely fed up with winter. It even started to rain while I was carving the stamp.

Binky bunny giftwrap

Yesterday I sold a binky bunny, so I had to come up with a nice way to wrap it. I used kraft paper and a couple of my prints. I would smile if I got this in the mail!

Finally!!!

You know, the thing is... I wanted an Ipad ever since Apple made the first announcement about this delightful little gadget... And on Dec. 31st I finally bought one!!! And it is the best toy EVER (apart from my kids, of course)!!! And good toys need good care. It took me five days and three plastic sheets to get the screenprotector on (damn the dust that got caught under it!!!) and now I have been thinking about making my own ipad sleeve.

So maybe you can imagine that I have been obsessed with apples lately??? ;-)

I decided to carve a stamp for my Ipad sleeve. And it turned out so well that I decided to make some notecards and put them in my etsy shop. I still haven't decided what the sleeve should look like...

More apples tomorrow!!!

Christmas cards

Today was Christmas card day in our house. I bought a silver stamp pad and some blank cards, and off I went. I made about 30 cards, using the scandinavian style christmas tree stamp I carved some time ago. Maybe I'll make some matching napkins with fabric paint, for christmas dinner.

Anyway, these are all the cards and envelopes I made today.







Tomorrow I'll have to write them all... Yay...

'Tis the season...

What is it about Christmas? I absolutely, truly HATE it, with a passion. I hate the dark days and long night, the cold weather, the forced-feeding and the "socializing". I prefer summer, warm weather, sun, and swimming pools.

Nevertheless, Christmas time does give lots of inspiration for craftiness... Inspired by the Scandinavian style craftbooks that I shared with you yesterday, I carved some very simple stamps that I plan to use on the napkins and tablecloth this Christmas dinner. I don't think I'll be sending Christmas cards, because I never do... Unless you order something from my Etsy shop, that way you'll land on my mailing list anyway!

By the way, if you live in Europe, you'll still get your order in time for Christmas...

Happy little tree

In memory of the late and unique Bob Ross, I decided that the house from my last post was lonely and needed a little friend. So I carved a happy little tree to keep it company.




Now I can make an entire street with houses and trees! This one is printed on cotton fabric.




And for all you Bob Ross fans out there, I say what I say with respect! Even though his show was always funny, and the paintings he made were not to my taste at all, I respect the way he made painting look easy, even though it's hard as hell!

Address book

Since some people asked me if I could do an address book, I've been trying to figure out how I should do that. I think I have an idea now, finally figuring out how I can make the tabs with some nice and cheerful colors! I also had to think of something nice for the front. So today, when te dynamic duo were asleep, I took my stamp-carving kit and made these!



The house will be printed on the cover of the address book:




The birdie I made to print on the envelopes and boxes for orders:



I will need to find some better paint to stamp them with... Maybe I'll try the acryllics and a roller... Any advice?

Black and white

I love black and white. I always wear black and white, white for summer and black for winter. No white after labour day since I saw "Serial Mom"! Usually, I draw with black ink on white paper. Yesterday, I was at the craftstore (if I ever stop crafting, I think they will go out of business) and I picked up a bottle of white ink. I saw on Geninne's blog that she uses a lot of white ink. So I thought I'd give it a try.

I tried white ink on black, but that was kind of... boring. So I tried another color background. I think it turned out pretty darn cute. The white ink works really, really well! You should give it a try!