Camper Vans, Caravans and a Street Party

I had a special request this week for a birthday card featuring a camper van: not something I had considered doing before, but I remembered a small piece of driftwood in my stash with orange peeling paint on it....sometimes when I find odd bits on the beach I know immediately what they will become: others may hang around for years waiting to be used. The orange piece fell into the latter category - and now I had the perfect chance to use it!

I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out - and my friend, who liked it too, proceeded to order a dozen more for her gallery! Couldn't help but think I had been tricked!

After sharing the images on my Facebook page, I was then asked to make a vintage caravan card...

....and following that one, several more orders ensued!

Trade mark washers and a bit of bunting mean that they compliment my other driftwood cards nicely, so I am selling them on my website!

And finally, here is my latest piece I made today: a rather jolly work called "Street Party"

All the above make me think of summer....or is it the abnormally gorgeous weather we are experiencing at the moment?
I hope you are enjoying the sunshine - wherever you are!

James and the Giant Peach

Did you ever start a project you wish you hadn't? Hmmm, me too!
It seemed like a good idea at the time: my youngest son was off school with asthma, we had just finished Roald Dahl's magnificent "James and the Giant Peach" and Herbie had done this rather fabulous drawing to illustrate it...

(I love the way kids draw, don't you? Like the wiggly line that is the sea)

Anyway, I got to thinking how it would be really cool to make a model from paper mache - a mobile perhaps that could hang in their bedroom - of the peach being carried along by some seagulls. Ambitious,perhaps, but the boys were very eager!

We started on the gulls first - and following a happy accident (I wanted cardboard, and toilet rolls were the first thing to hand....how very Blue Peter!) realised a very simple seagull shape could be made using two pieces sellotaped together (the larger piece is simply folded under the bird's body)



..or folded above it in this example.

Then, using PVA glue as an adhesive, we covered the cardboard shapes in newspaper to make them sturdier.

And painted them with acrylic paint. I like the way the newsprint shows through!

Now for the peach itself!
Unfortunately the photos I took were too dark to document this part properly, but we covered the most part of a balloon with PVA and several layers of paper (letting it dry before applying the next layer) We left a hole at the top, simply because a peach isn't balloon-shaped, it needed to be more rounded than that. So we left a section at the top of the balloon uncovered, and when the paper mache was dry, and the balloon had deflated, I used long strips of newspaper to cover the hole. Another happy accident ensued: the soggy strips sagged in the middle - which turned out to be a more realistic shape than I was aiming for!
The sunken part would be where the stem would go!

Here's what it looked like painted!

I used a stick for the stem, there was a nobbly bit (technical term) protruding from the bottom of it, so I pushed it right into the paper mache and the branch bit (pointing upwards) prevented the stick from falling out.

Next problem, how to fix it all together! If you are familiar with the story, you will know that the birds carry the giant peach along with spider silk, but I needed something a bit sturdier than that, so I used wire. I stuck one end of a piece of wire into the cardboard gull, and wrapped the other around the stem of the peach. I could then move the birds into position quite easily.


Finally (I'm exhausted just writing this up!) the whole thing was suspended using lightweight jewellery wire.

TA-DA!!!!

The peach is complete!

New driftwood work: a week in pictures

The wood here comes from the washed-up boat we discovered last week. I utilised the original copper nails to create a "functional" piece of art!

"Farmhouse with washing line"

The vibrant colours of "Cottages On The Beach" would look great hanging in someone's bathroom

I love the roof on this one: all those layers of peeling paint in gorgeous colours!

"Village On The Green"

The blue piece is a little bit special: one of those finds that have been waiting in my woodpile for the "right moment"!

Our House, in the middle of our street....

Quite a prolific week! I am enjoying myself thoroughly at the moment!

Breathing new life into an old boat

Steve had a couple of days holiday to take this week, so after we had dropped the boys at school, we headed for the beach to do some serious "wrecking". Don't get me wrong, I love going to the coast as a family, but there is only so far you can walk with a reluctant 4 year old!
At first, it appeared as though our trip was unfruitful....not much driftwood about. Then we started to find loads of pieces which were obviously all from the same boat. And then we stumbled across this....


Such a shame, really, when you see the workmanship that has gone into such a vessel.
But my mind was already planning what I could make with some of these finds...

See here, this large section of the boat? Well that diagonal stripe spoke "slipway" to me!

And from the ashes, something new was born!

You can see the lovely crackle-glazed effect still. I wanted to keep the piece almost as I had found it, so I only trimmed off the rough edges. I am chuffed with the result: I will be looking for other bits like this from now on!

We also found this long piece of quadrant painted in brilliant blue, which made a vibrant roof for this terrace of cottages!
And much more besides, but I had to put the driftwood side on hold as another collage commission was calling me!

Anyone recognise it? Clue: its on the North Cornwall coast

with a tidal pool?

Its is Bude. Only a small piece, it measures 30cm x 24cm.
Well, I feel as though I have been quite prolific this week!
Have a fab weekend folks!

Tenby collage

Well done to Melanie Wickham for guessing Tenby!

I love the colours of the buildings here, they remind me of Neopolitan ice-cream!

We have had a few lovely days of sunshine here in Cornwall this week, and with the days drawing out and daffodils blooming, it really feels as though spring is well and truly on its way!
This makes me very happy!

We headed down to the beach looking for "treasure" yesterday....

....and we were not disappointed! (Poor Steve, you cant really see from the picture, but he has 2 industrial sized buckets filled with little bits of driftwood over his shoulders, as well as the longer planks he is carrying - what a star!)

We found this big chunk of hardwood (maybe oak?) which is really heavy and quite an irregular shape. Steve wanted to keep it as a bookend....but then I had other ideas!

New work: Tobermory

So this week I left my beloved Cornwall behind - though only in a virtual sense, you understand - and headed up to Scotland to carry out this commissioned piece of Tobermory. Some of you may be familiar with the place, especially if I tell you that this colourful town is where the childrens TV series "Balamory" is filmed!




I would love to visit for real one day!

Next week, I am off to Wales! I have another order for a pretty town on the coast. Can you guess where that might be, I wonder?

Have a most excellent weekend folks xx

One man's trash is another man's treasure...

Hey folks, I just want to begin by saying thank you for all your supportive comments regarding the Contemporary Craft Fair! I guess we all compare ourselves to other makers and have doubt in our abilities.....but you have faith in me and that is just heartwarming!

So......the title of this post? Regular readers will probably know by now that I don't like letting things go to waste, and that, together with Steve, I am always on the lookout for old stuff which I can incorporate in my work. Well, I was browsing on ebay earlier in the week and did a little search for old nails, the kind I use for chimneys on my driftwood cottages and boats. I didn't really expect to find anything. But it must have been my lucky day, because there was one seller (only one, mind) with about 5 different lots up for grabs. And would you believe it, they were in Cornwall.... and only about 15 miles away!
So we went up to collect them today and I'm so happy! I got like a lifetime's worth for about £8!

(including some pretty heavy duty ones.)

I got to work straight away! Check out the fab colour on the roof of this one(we don't find orange coloured driftwood very often!)

And this one is like a very rustic farmhouse! The sort an estate agent would say needs 'updating'!

A long thin terrace. The wood I used for the roof is shaped almost like a toblerone (what is that shape called?) Anyway it was perfect!


And here's one I made earlier in the week. As soon as I found that white bit of driftwood, I knew what I was going to do with it! I didn't want to trim the bottom off to make it freestanding, so this one is designed to hang on the wall.
I feel better for having at least started on making some stock for June. Plus you won't find me scrabbling around on the shed floor searching for odd nails anymore! I am now spoilt for choice!

Have a great week folks!