Revamp!

I've been away for a month! I knew it had been a while since my last post but a whole month has shocked me! Unfortunately though I haven't really been crafting so haven't had much to share. That's the problem with being really ill is that even your favourite things become a chore :(

I have been dragging my butt into the shop and selling lots of things to some lovely people so I need to do lots of replenishing this month so hopefully there will be lots of posts over the next few weeks to catch up with!

The past 2 days have all been about revamping, upcycling, breathing fresh life into old clothes. There's never much need to throw things away, its a huge problem our society is conditioned with; if we don't throw things out then how will we have room for all the new things that we need to buy!! Oh how I hate the commercial, capitalist world we live in! Maybe this post can inspire some folks to take a step back and just update the wardrobe they already have rather than constantly buying new.

I went to town with some great charity shop finds and some screen printing. 

The first two pieces are a St Michaels shirt and a handmade vintage dress both on beautiful emerald green shades and I used a new screen print of mine 'happily ever after' to print onto the backs. I'd made the screen up to print some cushions with but decided it worked on these items too!

I picked up a few tshirts and vest tops on my collecting days and cheered them up with a few carousel horses, lions and zebras. The red and white tshirt below I also added a blue and white spotty pocket for a bit of extra colour. The stripey dress was also a handmade vintage piece that I added some balloons and also a big red polka dot pocket to.

I've also been working on a range of jumpers to sell in the shop. I wanted to combine my love of printing onto found fabrics with cosy jumpers and lots of lace and this was the result! Each is a one off piece.

Printing Day!!

So today was printing day!! I haven't had time to have a full day down at the PrintHaus in ages so made time to spend as much time as possible there today!

I started the morning cleaning up a few old messy screens and then exposed a zebra repeat onto a fresh one!

I've printed this design before but the cushions that I made form the fabric sold straight away so it only made sense to make some more! I used a waterbased ink first in a dark bluey green and then I messed about with mixing colours together - I went for a classic pink and purple combo. I think i need to make more of a gradient of the colour next time though.

I'd also put my favourite lion design on a screen before Christmas and still hadn't got around to using it so went to town printing loads of pieces in different colours.

  

I also took the opportunity to print on a pile of pashmina's that I'd picked up from eBay last week.

  

  

Ah I am now exhausted after a long day but feeling good. I can't wait for my next printing session, I'm definitely going to make sure its soon! 

Christmas Stockings and Printing in the Dark!!

Carrying on from the Christmas baubles I've been making I whipped up a few stockings. It's funny I feel rather odd making holiday decorations when its totally still November but its not like my house is decorated! Naturally these aren't the most over the top, festive things I could have dreamt up but I'm going with an alternative Christmas and sticking with it haha!!

Last week i managed to get a few things printed. It's definitely fun trying to keep up with keeping the shop stocked! I had a dress that my sister bought me that I thought could do with a revamp. Also a cute cotton skirt that benefited from adding a few Zebras.

 

I also printed up a few pashminas and smaller scarves too. I've made myself one too. They're super cosy. I used a waterbased ink so the print sits in the fabric rather than on top as with oil based inks which lends for a softer scarf, you definitely wouldn't want to snuggle into a plastisol print!

I found a few pictures on my phone from when I was printing, it was an interesting afternoon as half of the strip lights in the workshop were out. Good lighting is so helpful when trying to mix colours and line up prints!

 

 

Ah I've been super busy this week and have so much more to share! Its been a struggle trying to find time to blog about it but hopefully I can fill you in on the new stuff over the weekend.

Cushion the Blow

A good seller in the shop this week has been cushions that I've stitched up with my screen prints on. For me this is great as I'm getting my art work straight into peoples homes and keeping them comfy too haha. I had a good day of sewing yesterday so here are a few more I've made and some cheeky extra bits.

The Zebra repeat is a one off print I created about a year ago and I've been wondering what to do with the fabric for ages. I'd made the screen for a PrintHaus open day and had made a cushion for my friend Neil using a similar effect. It's so simple to do as you just line up the diferent colour inks on either side of the screen and pull them across with the squeegee at the same time. It creates a blend of the shades in the middle. I went for the classic pink and purple and cacked the pillow with a pink polka dot!

I made a space print cushion for our living room when I moved in with the boy and love it so thought I would make some up for others to enjoy too as it always gets compliments ;) It's backed with a cyan blue fabric with black polka dots, I'm loving spots haha! The main print is navy and has a light blue pixilated cloudy pattern underneath. Hmm I did make a couple of musical cushions on the pink polka dot fabric with trumpets and guitars from the last Snapped Up open day but forgot to take pictures! Will have to grab some tomorrow before we open.

Ah I'm glad I did manage to grab a photo of the jean's I revamped with some heart shaped knee patches and also a printed patch to the back pocket. Eep it's cool to say this -they're available in the shop!!