Wanna see me knobs?!?

Hello welcome back... Seems I have spits and spurts at blogging I'm not very good at keeping on top I hope you don't mind :)

I have been working on a new project 'project knobs' ... No no no I'm not being rude honestly..... I mean these knobs

There fabulous new glass handles/knobs for draws and small units, I'm in love and so many quirky ideas I have too.

I found a UK supplier for the sleeves and rods at the average size M4 and once I was hooked I thought I'd let everyone else in on cheap supplies too, if you like the look and fancy a shot check out my Etsy shop here.

Are you doing a revamp in your home, these knobs are a simple yet effective way to change your look ..... They will be also be available here

They are also available at The Gift Box which I mentioned in my last post :)

Thanks for reading and I hope you like my new designs

Louise x

Exciting news about The gift box

It's official we have a new handmade gift shop and its open to the public whoooooooooo I'm so excited I don't know if you can tell :D

It's called The Gift Box and it is in the village of warkton near kettering, the owners are Deanne and Rona and what a fabulous pair they are too, they definatly make the shop with their wonderful bubbly personalites.

If you would like to visit this gorgeous quirky and personalised gift shop please see details below or visit the facebook page TheGiftbox

 

Moorfield Courtyard

Warkton

NN16 9XJ

Kettering

Northamptonshire

United Kingdom

I had my official launch of the knobs here too which makes it extra special for me... Take a look at what's on offer;

Thanks for reading, catch up again soon

Louise x

My 1st lampworking lesson as the teacher!!!

Ooooo this was a really big thing for me, I've been making beads on and off for about 3 years now, it has been the most exciting hobby I have ever had and it it has also encouraged me to meet new people and from which I have a whole new bunch of friends who I love dearly :)

A couple of months ago I was approached by a lady (Keeley) whom id met a year ealier at one of our local craft fairs, she asked about having a lesson; now I'm no expert nor am I a 'tutor' in any way but for some strange reason it really appealed to me (and scared me at the same time) so o got aload of class information together and sent ir on... Only to my surprise Keeley was up for being my first student :D

We arranged a date and the rest is history. The class was last week ..... And I thought it was a fab day, not only did I find one of the easiest and creative students possible but I had a wonderful day and enjoyed every moment.

Teaching is not something I will be promoting highly but it really does give u a sense of achievement!!!

Keeley also left me some feedback ''Thank you it was brilliant. And I didn't burn down your studio so all is good! Thank you for being a great teacher. :-)''

Chuffed is an understatement..... Can u tell I had fun? :P

Louise x

Our Holiday

Me and Kevin (the other half) went on our first holiday together in May... After not being away for 7 years I was very excited to spend some time to relax in the sun and best of all with my best friend!!

We set off to palma nova in majorca arriving late on Friday evening, threw our bags in the room and headed down to the beach bar :)

We took a few boat trips, visited Palma City; oh what a beautiful place it is! we also went to the magaluf water park; im such a big kid i love all thing adrenaline.

 

The main reason for this holiday was to RELAX, and relax we did, eat in a different resturant for Breakfast, lunch and Dinner each day and sunbath almost on a different beach every day.

Now were back home back to reality.... planning our next trip :D

Louise x

AOTM June 2012

AOTM of the Month - June 2012

Martin Brody

Introduce yourself

My journey into oil painting started after I watched an programme on sky called Bob Ross, he made it look so easy and quick using an method called “wet on wet” and I thought I could do that so I went out and purchased a starter kit, sat in my shed and learnt how to paint.

The secret to this technique lies in the base medium – a thin oil base, often white in colour, applied direct to the primed canvas. This is the first layer of “wet”. Thick oil paints are applied on top of this base, making it easy to move, mix and blend colour direct on the canvas with just a few stokes of the brush. This is the second layer of “wet” – hence the wet on wet technique


When and how did you get started in your art/craft?

Started around 4 years ago like i said before by going out purchasing a started kit and practicing



Have you had any lessons?  Where do you get your knowledge from?

Yes I have attended lessons especially on the portrait side from a lady called Valerie Stewart who is American, she was absolutely brilliant, after the lessons I purchased CD’s, took them home, studies and practice again and again and again

Are there any artist / crafters you admire? What for?

Bob Ross &Valarie Stewart for making painting oils easy and more importantly enjoyable to do
Where do you get your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from my mother who had a “can do attitude” if you want to do something go out and try it, if you find you don’t like it cross it off your list and go onto the next one

Which piece are you most proud of - can you tell us the story behind it?

Two portraits, one of my mother and the other of my wife, both done together in 3 days, taking a blank canvas and turning into something everyone reorganises and true to the original photo is the best feeling

What are you currently working on?

I am concentrating on landscapes especially now the warm weather is approaching us, light bright skies and lovely seascapes

Where can we find more of your work?

I have not managed to promote any of my work at present but if you would like a commission piece, please contact Louise at tootsieshandmade @ live.co.uk

Martin Brody


..... next month I hopefully will have a wonderful designer/crafter of fabrics :)

If you feel there maybe someone who would like to be apart of this, please contact me tootsieshandmade@live.co.uk with their details so I can check out their work and get something set up :)

Prize Giveaway May 2012! - winner

Prize Giveaway!!!

Get to know Tootsies Handmade for a chance to win our very first prize give away with a choice of prizes to celebrate our first few months of business!

 

All you have to do to be entered is:

Email your name to prizegiveawayth@live.com, putting 'May Giveaway' in the subject line!

Enter NOW!!!! Official give away will close at midnight on Sunday 20th May 2012.

The Prize winner will be selected and notified by Monday 21st May 2012. The winner will be selected through a random number generator system. The winner will be notified by email directly and also an announcement will be made on Facebook!

(please like our facebook page www.facebook.com/tootsieshandmade (from your personal account) & Share the page with your friends and follow our shop on etsy http://www.tootsieshandmade.etsy.com/)

Prize: One winner will receive one of the 3 gifts on offer - pick of their choice, if more than 30 entries are made; I will select a runner up prize also.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

THE WINNER IS JILL PAGE - CONGRATULATIONS JILL - YOUR HEART BEAD IS ON ITS WAY TO YOU NOW :)

Dressing Table Project

After the success and sense of reward I got from my very first furniture project; I just had to give it another go :) so off I went searching for a nice dresser!!!

I managed to find a lovely mirrored dressing table with lovely stripe legs and two large draws ...found again on ebay and it was alittle further away than the last but it was well worth it!!!

Here we go :)

From this.....

To this.........

What do you think? :D Im chuffed

Homemade Wedding Planner

Wedding Planner

My partners bother got engaged to one of our family friends this year after a romantic proposal in USA, I had a bright idea of making them a personal wedding planner book; to be one of my first attempts I loved the challenge, here is the finished item and im very glad to say they are very happy with it :) ... so much so Gemma would like me to help her design something similar for their holiday snaps!!!!

... roll on the next one!!!

AOTM May 2012

AOTM
Artist of the Month - May 2012

Trudi Doherty

Introduce yourself
Hi I’m Trudi and I’m lampworker artist making glass beads based in Northamptonshire.

When and how did you get started in your art/craft?
I’ve always been interested in making my own jewellery, and about 5 years ago some of my friends started to lampwork .. I’m nosey and I just had to see for myself what it was all about.


Have you had any lessons? Where do you get your knowledge from?

When I started out I had only had a brief demo on lampworking, and so most of my early skills were picked up from reading books and researching on internet forums. Since then I have been fortunate enough to have lessons with artists such as Di East, Sally Carver, Sarah Hornik and Becky Fairclough


Are there any artist / crafters you admire? What for?

There are so many talented workers out there, and there is so much to learn from them all. I recently attended the Flame Off in Towcester and I so admired Claudia Trimbur Pagel. Closer to home I’m blown away by the fine stringer work of Lorna Prime (Pixie Willow) and I love the sculptural work of Madeline Bunyan.


Where do you get your inspiration from?

It comes from all sorts of places, some times I can see a piece of fabric and I try to pick out the colours and incorporate them into a bead. This is not always as straight forward as it seems as some colours react with each other and you often need to play around to find a solution. Sometimes I work from a challenge set in one of the forums I belong to and other times I ask on facebook for some colour combinations.

Have you got a 'signature' style? How would you describe it?

Styles usually change and evolve as you learn, but it would be fair to say that I lean towards the brighter colours and more often transparents rather than opaques.


Which piece are you most proud of - can you tell us the story behind it?

I’m really proud of my Patchwork beads, most of these have been heart shaped.

The idea is that the bead has lots of “sections” to it that are put together. Inside a typical bead there will be 2 colour tones, dichroic glass, goldstone, a reactive twistie (these give off the lovely reflections), fine silver mesh, and murrini. They’re made up from lots of components and layers so there’s a lot of planning and components to gather before I start making up the bead itself.

Which of your personality traits comes through in your work, do you think?

My mischievous side tends to come out, I like to be light hearted and fun and I think that this shows especially in the colours I put together.

Where can we see more of your work?

I’m all over the place (in a good way)

My website is http://www.glitteringprize.co.uk/


On Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/shineon2

I have a facebook page, and I love to interact and share things on there, sometimes saying what I’m up to and showing off makes from my customers. For the past couple of years I’ve also written tutorials for some UK magazines including Beads & Beyons and Bead, and later on in the year I’ll have a tutorial on an online magazine called Soda Lime Times (one for lampworkers)

Trudi Doherty

..... next month I hopefully will have a fabulous painter from my local town.

If you feel there maybe someone who would like to be apart of this, please contact me tootsieshandmade@live.co.uk with their details so I can check out their work and get something set up :)

Realitas Community Arts Centre

Realitas Community Arts Centre

Realitas Community Arts Centre is one of East of England's largest charitable art and crafts exhibition centres located in the picturesque village of Peakirk, six miles north of Peterborough, off the A15. 

The Centre exhibits the original art and crafts of over 150 local artists and crafts people. The Centre also runs a wide range of demonstrations, workshops and art & craft therapy sessions.

I popped along to the centre to update my display and also see what new things were on offer and I would like to share my visit with you!

Their are a total of 77 local crafts people exhibiting a wide range of local crafts which include Bags, Cards, Book and note pad covers, Ceramics, Cuddly toys, Jewellery, Glass Beads,  Book marks, Woodcraft and many more.... Here are a small range of items available:

There is also 57 local amateur artists displaying a wide range of art; here are some photos of some of the art that caught my eye during my visit:

  

My display is nicely updated and I believe it can be found on or near the reception desk next to the entrance J .... I will also be adding more stock within the next few months that does not relate to Jewellery so watch this space J

Check out the event page at http://www.realitascommunity.org/ to see when an  opportunity may arise to meet your local artists to learn more about their work

The centre is open:

Tuesday to Saturday            11:00 to 17:00    

Sunday                                   12:00 to 17:00

Open bank holidays

It can be found in the wonderful  village of Peakirk @ St Pegas Granary, Peakirk, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE6 7NF

For more details you may also call on 01733 252 538 or email: Neil@RealitasCommunity.org

Registered Charity Number 1146019

Well worth a visit!!!