Creativity Exercise: Design Combinations

Rhiannon came up for a few days to my place and we've been planning and crafting and brainstorming!

I found an idea in "100+ Ideas for Teaching Thinking Skills" by Stephen Bowkett that I thought would be fun to try.

Basically you make two lists of key ideas or themes, randomly combine two, and think about what the crossover would be. We did a list of items you could make and a list of themes. Then we rolled dice to get a random combination each and came up with a design idea.

Round One: A Household item in the theme of fairytales. Rhiannon designs a Sleeping Beauty castle trivet.

Round One: A toy in the theme of the movie Inception. Tanith designs nesting dolls - an idea inside a sleeping man inside a sleeping man...

It was fun and challenging. Like most things, the combinations that seemed the most challenging ended up being the most fun and producing more unusual ideas.

Round Two: A hat in the theme of sushi. Tanith designs a stack of empty sushi train plates.

Round Two: cake in the theme of vikings. Rhiannon designs an adorable helmet and beard combination.

I was hoping we could use this to come up with actual usable ideas, but some of our designs fell outside our areas of expertise. I think it was good for our brains regardless. It could certainly be adapted in other ways that would focus more on our crafts and interests.

Round Three: A Van Gogh greeting card. Tanith at first designs a disturbing ear card then a sunflower seed idea that is slightly more tasteful

Round Three: A Jungle Animal bookmark. Rhiannon designs a twisted vine with various animals (after some decisions about what lives in jungles - not giraffes, for example)

Product Photography, a Craftsy Addiction, and a Bunny

So first, Craftsy. I went first because of the patterns, then started following the blog, but I was keen on the idea of the classes too. I have quite an addiction to learning new crafts even though I don't have time for my current ones. Having these lessons join me in the comfort of my own home whenever it suits me is pretty darn appealing.

So courtesy of a 50% off sale and no willpower, I bought my first class. It's called "Shoot It: A Product Photography Primer". So far I've watched the bits about colour, composition, style and such, and today I'm sharing with you some pictures I took as part of the first homework assignment (the best kind of assignment - one that no one but you cares if you actually do the work).

The homework is really just to take photos and start playing with what works and doesn't, but particularly considering composition.

The subject today is a bunny Lovey Dovey that is waiting for the birth of its future owner next month. Its made from white and pink bamboo fleece and has a little embroidered face. (I previously made the elephant version of the Lovey Dovey)

My first ever hat features in this next photo. I have sure improved a lot since then, but it makes a nice photo prop.

So back to the classes. They are basically structured as a set of videos that you can watch and re-watch as you feel like it, and they stay available to you forever. You can add notes so you can find bits you want to refer to later. Then there's course materials like notes and resource lists and stuff. The best bit, and what sets the classes above other online resources, is that you can ask the teacher questions and get their feedback on whatever you need. Other class participants can help you out too, and you get to see their questions and answers. Then people share pictures of their completed projects too.

I've since started another class too, but I'll talk about that in another post. There's plenty more classes on Craftsy that I'd love to get into, but I must be a good girl and finish the ones I've started first!

Black, Red and Silver Mini Tricorne

The second mini tricorne from a foundation I had lying around for a while waiting to be finished up.

The foundation is the same as the previous one, buckram and millinery wire. The main fabric is also the same black wool, picking up the same fluff and cat fur!

The side band is trimmed with the central piece of some ribbon. The whole ribbon was too wide and a bit over the top, so I just snipped around the central bit of it.

Some red feathers and a cute little silver button from the vast (but now organised) collection, and it's done!

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons

I've mentioned before that I have a lot of buttons.

 
The Ritz tin has been their home since before they were my buttons. I'm not sure whether Mum got the tin full of buttons at a jumble sale, or if she already had the tin and just got lots of buttons at the jumble sale, but I'm sure a jumble sale was involved in gaining this volume of buttons.

Everytime I need buttons I pour out the contents of this tin into a plastic bowl, or a series of bowls, to sort and search for what I need.

 
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I've been saving these jars that came with herbs in them. I've been keeping them with a vague hope that I will make jam. It hasn't happened yet.

Separating the buttons from the Ritz tin feels like breaking a tradition, but I decided it was time. Time to sort the buttons and store them that way! I also like the idea of storing things in ways that make them visible. Not only is it easier to find them, but seeing them constantly reminds me they are there.

 
Sorting an ancient collection of unmatched buttons by colour is a difficult task. Is this more blue or grey? Closer to cream or brown? What about pink and blue together? When will I use a button that is pink and blue together?

 
I also had a few things that are not buttons. And only one button too big to fit into the jars. Poor sad button.

 
All up, I'm pleased with the result. And it was fun to look through all the buttons. There are some crazy ones, especially in the metal jar. Time to get back to finding ways to use them.

Black and White Mini Tricorne

I had a couple of buckram frames for mini-tricornes sitting around from ages ago, so I thought I'd better make some progress on them. I was going to say I hate unfinished projects, but the evidnce suggests that I don't!

So it's a buckram and millinery wire foundation covered with a black wool (I think) fabric on the crown and the top of the brim, and a gathered creamy white silk (I think) for the underside of the brim. This is the problem with working from random fabrics in your stash!

Look how beautifully wind swept it is! The perfect gentle breeze came for my photoshoot. And modelled on my lovely decoupaged foam head.

Trims are a gathered velvet ribbon in dark green, and two crazy buckly things that were in fact earrings! Good lord. And an ostrich plume and a little rooster feather.

I'm planning to stop using feathers but I have a supply to finish up first. (Although the rooster feather came from my grandmother's rooster anyway)

This black fabric has made many an item for me, and I love the way it sits and the way it hides stitches, but it sure picks up fluff and cat hair! You can probably see what I mean in that photo.

Fun times. I like the bit of military feel that the colours and the world's ugliest earrings give it. Completing a long-ignored item feels good!

Hat Makeover: Red Felt Cloche

This hat's story begins in 2008, still early times in my forays into millinery. The first classes I took were taught by Christine Thompson (of Christine's Millinery, check out her awesome stuff!) who also lives in the Blue Mountains. I took a class with her on drafting flat patterns in Rozelle or somewhere equally wacky, then discovered we both lived hours away from there, and about 20 minutes away from each other. The second course was at Christine's home studio (thank goodness!), and was on blocking felt. This was the hat I made in that class.

Since this was my first go at blocking, we stuck to a really simple cloche shape as I learned about the techniques. I was pretty excited about how nicely it matched my red coat!

Over time, however, I've gotten a little bored with it, and it also has a little hole in the felt at the front. You can't see the hole from a distance but up close you sure can.

At last year's International Millinery Forum I did a class on free-shaping felt hats with Watraud Reiner of Torb and Reiner. One of the other students had a felt hood with a hole right in the centre, and asked for advice for how to get around that issue. Waltraud took the felt, folded the fabric over the hole and worked from there. I felt like the class collectively dropped their jaws in amazement at the simpicity of this solution.

So after removing the binding from the edge, that's how I started too. Then I just played, folded, stretched, played and trimmed until I had this:

Here's a view of it flat, where you can see the back a bit and how the feather goes through to the other side.

A bit different huh? What do you think?

7 ways to make your crafting more ethical

Like many people, I'm getting pretty concerned about waste, the environment, and the bad things going on around the world. By handmaking things, we're already taking a step in the right direction. Anything we make ourselves is something we know wasn't made in a sweatshop somewhere.

Rhiannon and I are always looking for ways to improve our ethical practice. Here are some of the things we keep in mind while crafting.

Try to use your stash
Obvious steps first. Avoid buying unless you have to. Also, I find that searching through what I own stimulates my creativity and encourages me to think in different directions.

3 pumpkins from one old tea towel

Buy ethically
When you do need something your stash can't provide, think about the materials you are buying. Make sure you know exactly what amount you need so you don't buy wastefully. Consider that natural materials will potentially be compostable at the end of their useful life. They are also often much nicer. Organic is another thing to look out for.

Buying local is a lot harder to do with craft supplies than, say, food, but if an opportunity does come up - take it!

Also look into second hand. Some vintage shops have fabric scraps or trims, and most op shops do too. Also nice fabrics from clothes and linens can be rescued for other crafts. You will also find more unusual and interesting fabrics.

This petticoat was an op-shop sheet

Do crafts that work on different scales
Most of my stash is leftover from the days when my primary focus was clothes and costume. When I started making hats, I discovered how far the leftovers from clothes would go on small hats. Some pieces have made half a dozen hats. Playing around with tiny crafts, like Christmas ornaments, means even smaller bits of scrap are useful.

Lots of little scraps were used up on this guy

Use even the smallest scrap
I've been saving everything recently, including thread, and using it to stuff soft toys (in the centre, surrounded by real stuffing to keep it soft). Don't make soft toys? Maybe pincushions or little padded Christmas ornaments could help. Or if you are using natural materials, chuck them in the compost.

This whale is made from a leftover school project apron and partially stuffed with fabric scraps

Organise a Craft Swap
Maybe you aren't sure that you like that fabric or trim anymore, but you have some crafty friends. Get together over some cakes and exchange for something more your taste.

Maybe you don't need ALL these ribbons...

Use libraries and the internet
I love a new craft book as much as the next person. As fun as buying brand new craft books can be, most libraries will have a range of craft books that contain information and project ideas, and huge amounts of information, tutorials and patterns can be found on the internet. If you do buy, try to buy second hand.

Giving up a craft? Give your supplies away
Someone will want them! Op shops will take a lot of stuff, if you don't personally know anyone who'll take it. Ok I don't think I've ever actually given up a craft, but theoretically it might happen!

Compost monster likes ethical crafts

What steps do you take? We'd love to hear any more ideas.