Skip to main content

Look what I made!

If you'll forgive a bit of bragging about my crafty exploits...

We had a couple of frames that I thought would work well in Toby's room.  All we needed was something to fill them.  Inasmuch as the room has a theme (we never did get around to decorating the nursery) it's probably insects.  There are a few slightly blurry stencils of dragonflies and butterflies on the walls, left by the previous owners of the house.  So I found some cheerful insect pictures on the internet, and enlarged them freehand from the inch-square originals.  Acrylic paint gave the perfect bold effect.



My sister-in-law Kristal has given us many beautiful sewn items, so for her birthday this year I wanted to give her something handmade too.  I discovered the technique of making pendants from glass microscope slides a few years ago, but after a frenzy of Christmas ornament making, I sort of forgot about it.  It was fun to take it up again, and this is the biggest project I've tackled so far.  When I got halfway through I was beginning to wonder why I'd ever started.  My soldering iron was one of those "ladies' tools" with a pretty pastel handle (yes, I know, but it was all the store had) and it was taking 5 minutes at a time to melt the solder.  Not what you want when you're trying to get fiddly little bits of chain into precise positions.  Finally I went to the store to buy a new iron.  The wimpiness of the old one was underlined when I noticed that one was 25 watts, compared to the 100-watt rating of my new model.  Moral of story: always go for the biggest, meanest tool in the shop.  Men have the right idea on this one.



I will get round to a blog on our recent trip to Virginia soon.  I just sifted through all the photos and don't have the mental fortitude to reduce 185 photos to one coherent blog post right now.  We had a lovely time and Toby was a big hit amongst relations, semi-relations and completely non-relations alike.  More to follow...
Labels:

Comments

Sally said…
Can you give me more detail on the microscope slide thing - it looks gorgeous. Cheers Sal
10 July 2011 at 17:49
Kristal Dawn Evens said…
Very cute paintings!!! I love the gift you made for me. I'm still wandering around the house to figure out the best place to put such a beautiful creation!
10 July 2011 at 20:22
Martha said…
Hi Sal, I did a post about it way back in July 2009 (Growing and Making) which gives the basic technique. For the wall hanging I just made lots of 1x3" ones with flower photos and joined them together with bits of chain. I think if you Google "microscope slide jewelry" you come up with some more links.
11 July 2011 at 12:14
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Forest Way: The End!

The National Forest Way finishes at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire, with beautiful wide-ranging views in all directions. I'd been hoping for a sunny day, and this one certainly fit the bill. The frosty earth lay under a glorious canopy of shining blue sky. I parked at Swithland Wood, close to where we finished the previous walk. Finding the waymarker on the first gate was bittersweet - this was the last time I would be following these familiar circles.   Swithland Wood had been acquired by the Rotary Club in 1931, and later passed on to Bradgate Park Trust. The lumpy terrain was due to slate quarrying. I skirted a couple of fenced-off pits. As I left the wood, I passed a lake which I assumed was another flooded quarry, but with an odd little tower next to the water. I followed a road up a steady hill towards Woodhouse Eaves. Many of the houses were surrounded by walls of the local slate. Woodhouse Eaves was a prosperous-looking village with some nice old buildings. Crossing the wide ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Limestone Way

Back in March, I finished a blog post with the words: "If I disappear for two sunny days, I'll be walking from Matlock to Castleton." And on a hot sunny day in August, Mom and I put on our hiking shoes and did exactly that, following the original route of the Limestone Way. Day 1 First, there was a hill: a steady climb through fields and along holly-enclosed paths, with a wide view up the Derwent Valley as our reward. We dropped down again on a stone-paved track and emerged in the village square at Bonsall. The cross was decked with rainbow ribbons, and bunting fluttered above us. All very cheerful. Another ascent took us to Upper Town, and then we were out into open fields heading towards Winster. The Limestone Way seemed a little shy of villages; the official route often avoided them. Mom and I preferred to visit, though, and enjoy such delights as public conveniences, postbox toppers and the local church. Winster is a pretty little place, I'm glad we didn't mi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monthly Munch: July

The weather this month has been beautiful, so we've been out enjoying it as much as we can - fruit picking, fete attending, gardening and walking.  Preschool is finished for the summer; I've planned weekly themes in an effort to stay sane during the holidays, so expect a few activity posts coming up. Toby He wanted me to make a box into a TV.  Here he is eating his lunch in it. - has made friends with the girls next door, and is getting much more confident socially - still insists on always wearing odd socks - has been loving the sandbox our neighbours gave us.  Apparently they nicknamed him "The Sandman" at preschool due to his love of digging - pounced on a writing practice book I bought him, and worked his way all the way through to P, doing really well at tracing all the letters. - won the hula hoop race at his first preschool sports day Athlete in action One of his great big Megabloks trucks Drawing a car with about a million wind...
Post a Comment
Read more