Printing and Iron-On Vinyl

This weekend I had the house to myself. Chris was away helping 8 of his work buddies do the Oxfam Trailwalker Challenge. They walked 62 miles in 30 hours!!! Chris was part of the support crew feeding them, looking after them and motivating them to continue. He really enjoyed himself and it left me time to get on with some artwork and play around with new things.

The images below are of a jersey scarf I printed probably this time last year with the black geometric crystal form pattern. The print went wrong because of some badly mixed print paste (Grrrr! my own fault) and some smudges from mucky fingers (again my fault) so I hadn't looked at it since. But the want to print scarves came back and I decided to carry on and use it as a prototype.

I'm sorry about the bad light. My studio is in my basement so there is no natural light and the spot halogen lights have been placed at very odd points in the ceiling, but it does give you an idea of the print as a length.

A slightly lighter shot and here you can see the colours properly and the small gold triangles which are the iron-on vinyl. This is cool stuff! I did a test wash of a sample I did previously and washed it at 40 degrees. No problems!

Finally a bit of a detail shot so you can see the colours in their full glory and the iron-on gold vinyl. Sorry (again) for the shadow in the bottom. They are just quick snaps I like to take as I go along.

The print turned out lovely and I was really pleased witht he colour combinations, but little did I know that sewing jersey is an absolute arse! Not happy! I am going to try some interlock jersey and hope the same annoying issues don't occur with that too. Any help???

Totally New Bags

I apologise for the title, it was just so obvious I had to go with it.

I realised that I posted some taster photos of some screen printing I did but never posted the finished products. How foolish of me!

I've gone back to playing with layering colours which I absolutely love. It's why I love screen printing so much which first began when I did my National Diploma 11 years ago. I now teach on that course and my fascination with shape and colour hasn't wained. Only increased! It seems to subconsciously creep into my work when I don't even know it. 

I've only printed a few of these bags to see if they sell. If you like them, i'll do more and in different colours too!

Available from my Etsy and Folksy shops now!

Super Maker!

No pictures of exciting things i've been doing this week i'm afraid. I have been super busy at work as we were finally given our timetables for the next academic year so we've spent the week in planning meetings and generating projects and paperwork. Yawn!! I have Schemes of Work coming out of my ears and I don't want to talk to anyone, anymore!

So in the mean time I thought i'd start a new feature called "Super Maker". In these posts I will be showcasing the work of makers and designers who's work I really love.

I thought i'd start with Lucie Beeston of Lucie Ellen.

I've decided to insert pictures of things from Lucie's website that I want to buy. Starting with the Wooden Bunting Flag Necklace - Sun and Sea

I actually own one of these in yellow but I had to post a picture anyway because they are so cute!

Balloon and Ribbon Brooch - Pink, Blue, Mint or Yellow

My ears are pierced but I stretched then to 14mm years ago so I can't wear normal earrings, BUT! ever since Lucie started making these I have wanted to get my ears pierced again so I can wear these beauties!

Wooden Triangle Stud Earrings - Blue Spotty - Four styles to choose from

This probably isn't the first time i've showcased Lucie's work because she's constantly coming out with new things I want to buy! Keep checking her website and her facebook page for new and exciting things.

I love you Brogues

My mission behind Cuppa Tea and Cake has always been to make products that I myself want to own and hope that other people feel the same way. This may be a risky starting point for a small business but how can you enjoy making things if you don't want them yourself? The more I think about it the more it seems like a fantastic idea actually!

Anyway, my lastest creation is the brooch above. I've loved getting my illustrations laser cut out of wood so this is product number 3! The illustration is of my well worn and well battered brogues. They were actually tidied away for the last time recently because i'd worn them to death. Luckily now they are immortalised as a brooch (and I bought a new pair!)

These guys are surprisingly big! I will add a picture of me wearing one when my sunburn has gone down. They're available now in my Etsy Shop and Folksy Shop.

You may notice something different over there, more news on that soon but get ready to redirect your RSS feeds because the blog is on the move!!