getting ready for christmas

we are having fun getting ready for christmas. the silver tree is very small and actually has some decorations on it now {including a row of white flowers around the bottom, thanks to mr 6yr old}.
the present i'm most excited about is this t-shirt for hubby ~ a screenprint of one of mr 6's drawings! i hadn't screen printed anything since high school, but i have a couple of books on the topic and a little help from an art teacher {over the phone!} . . . it turned out ok! i had to paint in some of the lines afterwards as the paper i used in between the layers of the shirt were a bit jumbled rather than padded and flat {always in a hurry here}. no matter!
it was so lovely to trace/paint the drawing that i watched my son make ~ i really wanted to keep all his lines as they were. {to see the drawing and print properly, click on the image to go to flickr}.

are you organised for christmas yet??

three books and a review

in 2004 when i brought my maternity leave forward by a couple of months i bought this book. i had plans to learn new techniques, make heaps of things and paint. the book {which is excellent} still sits on the shelf – it's for people who are streets ahead of me. i don't have a massive studio set up with all the appropriate equipment for starters.




last week my son, who is nearly 4, and i made this book with a recycled floridex box, some paper, a potato and some red acrylic paint. it was lots of fun to make together and it inspired me want to learn a thing or two about hand printing. . .


printing by hand by lena corwin is a great book. it's right up my alley and it is full of projects and techniques that can actually be created and achieved at home. the projects are varied and they are things that i want to make. i love it! the instructions are clear and easy to follow and her style is frank and informative. there are lots of tips that could save a frustration and too much trial and error {i'm hoping}. and best of all the book looks good – it's beautifully photographed and made.
i bought if from amazon.
i was interested to find that lena corwin has a website and a stylish blog
happy reading and making!