Recycled paper helmet

Morning folks! As everybody knows, the school holidays are fast approaching (I don't like this time of year, it makes me realise how quickly time is flying by, now another school year has passed!) I thought I'd share a very easy project with you (especially those of you with boys). Disclaimer: whilst I'd love to say this is my own clever design, it was actually published in the (now sadly defunct) Comic section of the Saturday guardian.

To start, tape together two sheets of a newspaper (along the long side).

Fold the lower right corner to the vertical centre crease.

Repeat with the top right corner. Rotate so that the triangle is pointing downwards.

The fold the triangular section upwards.


Turn the paper over. Fold both bottom corners to the centre line.

Fold the top flap over.

Fold this piece in half again. Your paper should look like this! Still with me?! Now turn the paper over from top to bottom.

Fold the outer flaaps towards each other, opening the helmet. Tuck one flap into the other and secure with sticky tape.

We added some strips of newspaper to the crown for a bit of decoration....
...and ta-da! Your helmet is ready for action!

Model: Herbie

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

And with a slight hangover I didn't feel like exerting myself too much, so after a little mooch in the shed, I took this piece of lovely thick plywood which has bright white fibreglass on one side. I'd found an extra-long paintbrush handle on the coast near the Lizard a few weeks ago and been unsure what to do with it. The ply was slightly longer than the 'fish' and set the colour off perfectly so I chose to make a very simple hanging plaque....

Look at all those layers of different coloured paint!

It could be hung outside - maybe on a shed or summerhouse door...

Or maybe on the bathroom door...

But for now it looks at home hanging on a peg in my studio!

Available to buy in my Folksy shop!

Psssssst! I'm going to do a Giveaway next time to celebrate 100 posts. Don't miss it!

More paintbrush fish!

Hello my lovelies and a warm welcome to any new followers! I hope that many of you have been blessed, like us here in Cornwall, with warm sunny weather this weekend - such a bonus this time of year! It was definitely t-shirt weather here this afternoon - Herbie even asked if we could get the paddling pool out!
We had a very fruitful trip to the beach earlier - collected lots of little pieces of driftwood for cards and a huge amount of old paintbrush handles! Unfortunately they were plastic rather than wood, but they come in a nice assortment of colours, so I decided to put my plastic snobbery aside and get creating!
So this is the first piece showing a driftwood fishing boat and its 'haul'...

I've called it ' A Fine Catch'

I think the 'buoy' might be part of a fishing rod or float, but I'm not sure!
We also found this bit of plywood on the beach yesterday. It's got some old green paint on it, so I chose some co-ordinating fish from my large pile to make a unique and unusual wallhanging...

It's currently hanging in our hallway, but I think it would add a nice decorative touch to someone's shed... the rope would rot eventually, but the wood and 'fish' are obviously weather-resistant!
Both are available in my Folksy shop.

So what do you think? Can plastic be pretty? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Grey Sea

There was talk of an old rowing boat having washed up on a local beach: apparently all the kids were having a whale of a time smashing her up, and people were taking remnants home. By the time I got down there several days later, there was no sign of the vessel, save for a few small pieces...
But you know, I looked at that bit shaped a bit like a 'A' and I turned it around in my hands a little.... and then it came to me! It would make a perfect beach hut roof! And the other tiny bit, painted the same colours could be the door! So today I set to work - and this is what I came up with...

A little wooden hut, with it's own mooring!


I couldn't put any other number on it, could I?!

The strip of metal on the boat is actually an old emery board that I picked up someplace..


And the fish? A rusty tin heart that has been gathering dust in my craft box for years...snipped in half down the middle and attached using rusty tacks which make handy eyes!!

Available in my Folksy shop.
Have a great weekend folks!