emuse

Doll clothes

2012-02-05T13:39:00.002Z

1. New jumper, 2. New outfit, 3. Look out... it's a pineapple!, 4. Long socks, 5. Yellow nursery rhymes, 6. Red skirt, 7. Another dress from a hat, 8. Pretty in Pink
Recently I've been making quite a few dolls' clothes.

Rubber stamped nails

2012-01-28T18:40:00.002Z

When I came across this article on Craftzine, my initial reaction was, "Wow, you can use ordinary rubber stamps on your nails!", before realising that it was about the Konad nail stamping system that consists of plates that are used with nail polish. But the rubber stamp idea stuck in my head, and I decided to see if ordinary rubber stamps and stamping ink would work. And they did!

This is how I did it - and a few tips:
1. Cover nails with base colour and allow to dry completely.
2. Stamp the design on using a rocking motion across the nail. I used a small stamp and Stazon permanent ink. But I experimented with pigment inks later and they also worked.
3. Allow to dry completely.
4. Remove any stray ink with a cotton bud and nail polish remover.
5. Quickly and gently apply top coat. Don't go over any area more than once or it will smudge.

I also found this video by someone else who has had the same bright idea!

For my first attempt I used a small square cherry blossom stamp over Jermyn Street by Nails Inc. I was inspired to use this by the colour used in the Craftzine article. For my second experiment I used a larger cherry blossom stamp (and added details with an embossing tool dipped in gold Winsor & Newton ink) over Sexy Lady by China Glaze. This is my first bottle of China Glaze, but I have For Audrey and Kinetic Candy on their way!

Now I have the huge variety of stamps in my collection to try out! I'm pleased to have found a way to use some of the craft supplies that don't get used very often.

Christmas cards

2012-01-04T16:08:00.002Z

These were this year's Christmas cards.

Christmas wrapping

2011-12-01T21:07:00.000Z

I can't believe that my Christmas presents were all bought and wrapped before the start of December!

Petite Blythes

2011-11-30T21:03:00.002Z

Some lip carving on my newest petite Blythes.

Dress and jumper

2011-11-22T17:34:00.002Z

The dress was a design from my own imagination, I just made up the pattern as I went along. The jumper was from a tutorial online, and was made from a child's sock.

Charity shop finds

2011-11-21T17:14:00.000Z

A Meakin Studio jug and a little dish with lucky cats on it that I found on last week's trip to the charity shops.

A new dress for Audrey

2011-11-20T16:12:00.001Z

I made this dress from the empire dress pattern.

A Blythe-sized poppy

2011-11-06T15:43:00.004Z

I'd just got my own poppy yesterday, so decided to make one for my mini-me Zoe! It's made of red and black card and a pin.

This is a Scottish poppy - it's got 4 petals and no leaf. It wasn't until last year that I realised the Scottish and English poppies are different (I always assumed the newsreaders got special ones with a leaf because they are on TV!).

The photograph is of my great-great uncle George Albert Victor Roberts who died at the Somme.

Reopening of the National Museum of Scotland

2011-08-13T19:58:00.001Z

The reopening of the museum, something I'd been excitedly waiting for, was very well attended. There were performances by taiko drummers, a walking dinosaur, and fireworks. I went back a few weeks later, and it was still very busy. I'm hoping to go back again soon, and explore some more.

Gordon's last day

2011-08-12T19:53:00.003Z

For my friend's last day at work, I made him a sad raincloud and reworked the cardboard computer I'd made for him some years ago. Inside the "monitor" were presents and cards.

Glasgow Blythe Meet

2011-08-11T19:34:00.003Z

A few weeks ago I met up with some fellow Blythe enthusiasts in Glasgow. I took along my six dolls, packed into my vintage case. We went to the Willow Tearooms on Buchanan Street, followed by Sloans Bar, and got lots of stares from the locals!

Goodbye cards

2011-07-28T09:45:00.002Z

For my best friend at work who has been transferred to another school :(
The red card is from all of us, the cloud is from me.

Goodbye card for a chemist

2011-07-27T09:44:00.000Z

My chemistry stencil came in very handy here! This card was a lot of fun to make.

It's for a colleague who is being transferred to another school - I'm very sad to see her go after working with her for 17 years.

Retirement card

2011-07-26T09:42:00.002Z

For a friend who is retiring. We've been working together for 17 years. Luckily she will be coming back to do supply work after the holidays!

Elizabeth Blackadder

2011-07-18T15:19:00.003Z

On Saturday I went to an exhibition of art by Elizabeth Blackadder. I'd known her paintings of cats and flowers (in fact I sat under one when having my lunch at the Christian Aid book sale back in May). But I'd only recently become aware of how much her art was influenced by Japan.

I really enjoyed the exhibition, especially the room devoted to the Japanese influence. I love how she paints groups of objects, not as a traditional still life, but just as individual objects. I like art showing collections of objects, and some of my own drawings are on this theme, so it really appealed to me.

I was intrigued by the fact that she doesn't erase all her pencil lines in her watercolours, but they still look finished. Maybe I'll be more lazy and not erase mine in future!

Before I went to the exhibition, I downloaded the iPhone app that the gallery had produced. I found this really useful, because it had a plan showing the layout of the exhibition, and audio commentary for some of the paintings. The only problem was that I was worried the staff would think I was trying to take photos of the paintings!

Pushpin

2011-05-30T18:38:00.003Z

My friend Marceline has just opened her new zine distro called Pushpin. It has zines about people, travel, Japan and creativity - some of my favourite things! And one of the zines for sale is my very own "Things I Love About Japan" (which is also available on my Etsy shop).

Cresshog

2011-05-22T17:37:00.003Z

A little video of my cresshog in action! With music by Juli the Jools. I ate the cress today along with some salad leaves that I grew in my garden.

Cresshog and earrings

2011-05-18T09:21:00.001Z

A very good mail day - both of these arrived on the same day quite by chance!

I'm so excited to have a Cresshog at last! We had one when I was a child, and I don't know what happened to it. Since I started using ebay I've been looking for one, but haven't seen one until now (and there were three at once!). My Mum also bought one, a brown one.

You sprinkle cress seeds on the top, and pour water down the hole, then wait for the cress to grow!

The earrings are by a very talented jeweller in Lithuania, called Giedrė Kolokšanskytė (karramba on etsy). I have three pairs of her earrings now - birdies, owls and hedgehogs. I will be collecting more in the coming months, I'm sure!

The Japanese Influence

2011-05-16T18:28:00.002Z

On Saturday afternoon I went to a talk called "The Japanese Influence" at the City Art Centre. It was about Japanese influences on art and clothing in the late 1800s.

Christian Aid book sale

2011-05-15T14:29:00.003Z

Yesterday I went to the Christian Aid booksale in Edinburgh, and was pleased to find lots of interesting things. The prices are amazing, something that is especially noticeable now that many of the charity shops have increased the prices of their vintage books. Things that would reach high prices in the charity shops can still be picked up at the booksale for next to nothing. The prices were so good that I picked up a few items I knew I might already have, like Ladybird books at 40p each. The prices seemed to be particularly good for vintage illustrated children's books.

Palissy dish 50p
Egyptian wooden doll 20p
Chinese bamboo tea scoop 20p
M&S reproduction Cheery Families playing cards (still in the plastic) 20p
Thistle pendant £1
Blue beads 20p
Black beads £1
Springs of Persian Wisdom 50p
Springs of Oriental Wisdom 50p
Grannie's Little Rhyme Book 10p
The Language of Flowers (illustrated by Kate Greenaway) £1
Ah Fu, a Chinese River Boy 50p
Ladybird - How to Make Dolls 40p
Ladybird - Tricks and Magic 40p
Ladybird - Hymns and Songs 40p
Ladybird - Knots 40p
Ladybird - Sewing 40p
Ladybird - Learning to Sew (same content as the above book!) 40p
Ladybird - Handwriting by Tom Gourdie 40p
A Book of Toys by Gwen White 20p
Graphic Art of Japan by Owen E Holloway £2
Empress by Shan Sa £1.50
Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein £1.50
Waterside (photographs by a Japanese photographer) £1
Heijo (photographs of Japan) £1
Glasgow Stained Glass £1
Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer £4
Kyoto £3
Japan £1.50
Vanishing Japan £1.50

Each and every one of these items is so exciting to me that it could have its own blog post!

The Palissy dish has a design that reminds me of Scandinavian folk art painting, and also the designs on traditional style Japanese kokeshi dolls.

Springs of Oriental Wisdom I already had, but could not resist another copy of such a beautiful book at that price - then when I got home I realised the copy I already had was in German and the new one is in English!

The thistle pendant reminds me in style of Ceard jewellery, but is not quite as good quality. I wouldn't usually buy anything quite so Scottish, but I love its shape.

I love the design on the cover of Grannie's Little Rhyme Book - it has an almost Japanese aesthetic to it with the circle and the screen in the background. Unfortunately the book has been scribbled on inside, and some pages are falling out, but what can you ask for 10p!

Ah Fu reminded me of a story in a vintage book I've had since I was a child, also featuring a character called Ah Fu, called Children of Other Lands. It turns out that both books were printed in 1926 - perhaps that was the stereotypical Chinese boy's name of the time!

The Ladybird books are ones I had as a child, and were very nostalgic to look at, especially the sewing one. I only managed to buy a couple of duplicates of what I already had - must remember to take a list of these next time!

The three hardback books about Japan were purchased with a quick glance at the cover, and without even looking inside them other than at the price. So I was delighted to discover when I looked at them today that Vanishing Japan has sketches and watercolours as well as photographs.

Crossword Card

2011-05-15T14:28:00.001Z

I've done so many golf related cards for Dad, so this time I decided to base my card on another of his favourite activities, the crossword.

Mum's birthday card from me

2011-05-03T20:07:00.000Z

This card is based on Denby Greenwheat pottery, which Mum is collecting. She used to have lots, but got rid of it some years back, which she now regrets. All that survived of her original set is a few bowls and side plates that I had laid claim to. I remember these plates from my childhood, although we didn't use them very often. So I kept some of them for nostalgic reasons.

Mum's birthday card from Dad

2011-05-02T19:51:00.003Z

The card I made for Dad to give to Mum was based on a type of pottery she collects. The pottery, made in Scotland, is called Milton Pottery.

April

2011-05-01T20:46:00.004Z

For Mum's birthday I got her this Blythe clone, and did its make-up. She's decided to call it April, after her birthday month.

Royal wedding drawings

2011-04-30T18:15:00.004Z

I hadn't originally planned to watch the Royal Wedding, but then I had the idea of drawing the hats and dresses, and ended up spending all day glued to the TV from 8am to 1.20am the next morning! You can see more of my drawings from this royal wedding and others here.

Recent vintage and thrifted finds

2011-04-27T20:16:00.002Z

At an antiques fair recently I got:
A Chinese mother and baby fabric doll (£4)
A pretty dish with cherry blossom type flowers, by Winterling, Bavaria (£1)
A gorgeous (supposedly 1930s) Japanese koi dish (50p) which I just spotted by chance when my dad lifted a watch that was on top of it!
Bright green and orange vintage beads (£2 each). These have turned out to be "in" colours this season, and I'm wearing them a lot!
Japanese paper box (£1 I think)

In the local charity shops at the weekend I got:
A tiny bamboo steamer (50p)
A Royal Doulton Frost Pine jug and bowl (£5)
A bowl similar to the one I already use for green tea (99p)
A vintage brooch (99p)
A St Michael scarf with lovely orange, gold and navy colours on it(99p)
A tiny wooden bed with two teeny people in it (25p)
A little dish with apple blossom on it (seems like I'm starting a collection of little dishes!) (50p)
A bangle with little baskets hanging from it (25p)

In another charity shop last week I got this tiny vase, marked Foreign, for 10p! And I had found 10p on the ground shortly before that, so it seemed like fate!

Another recent find at a charity shop was a little blue birdie, I think he was about 99p.

Royal Wedding memorabilia

2011-04-26T19:46:00.005Z

My souvenirs from Charles & Diana's wedding include postcards, a first day cover, a Ladybird book, the commemorative coin, and a photo album full of newspaper clippings from their engagement up to Prince William's birth. I used to have the supplements from lots of the newspapers about the wedding - I don't know why I ever got rid of them. I also used to have a book of photos of Diana, but must have got rid of that too.

The Charles and Diana book was found in my local charity shop last year, and the deciding factor that made me buy it was the dozens of newspaper clippings hidden in the back. It's quite sad to think of someone spending time cutting all these out of newspapers, only for them to eventually end up in a charity shop.

From Andrew & Sarah's wedding I have a newspaper supplement, the Ladybird book, and postcards.

Birthday balloon burst

2011-04-25T18:30:00.001Z

Just a little bit of silliness, and a little bit inspired by Amelie!

Sarah Ferguson

2011-04-24T19:17:00.000Z

In the run-up to the royal wedding, I decided to rake out some of my old drawings from the 1980s of the royal family.

My first march!

2011-04-23T15:15:00.004Z

Today I went on my first ever march! It was organised by Unison to show opposition to cuts in public services. It started at Kirkcaldy Town House and went to Beveridge Park, where there were speakers and also activities for children. It was quite exciting going on my first march, especially because my friends and I were almost at the front! I was also pleased that I managed to get some photos of Gordon Brown.

Diana

2011-04-22T19:15:00.002Z

In the run-up to the royal wedding, I decided to rake out some of my old drawings from the 1980s of the royal family.

Craigtoun Park

2011-04-20T20:41:00.003Z

I'd driven to St Andrews last week on quite a dull and drizzly morning, but by the time I was finished there the weather started to improve, so I set out towards Craigtoun Park, and by the time I got there the weather was glorious. This was somewhere I loved to visit as a child, but I hadn't been back since. I was worried that I might find it a disappointment, but it was actually just as good as I remembered (apart from the fact that the little train doesn't run any more).

I was also able to see the building where I was born 40 years ago, which was Craigtoun Hospital. Sadly it is all boarded up at the moment.

Blossom

2011-04-18T17:42:00.001Z

I spotted these blossoms in my town one day and had to go back the next day with my camera. It's strange that I hadn't noticed these particular trees before, because I pass them quite often! They looked like fluffy pink cotton wool from the distance!

Japanese exhibition and event

2011-04-17T15:34:00.005Z

On the first day of my week's holiday, I went to Glasgow to see an exhibition and event which were raising funds for Japan.

The exhibition was called The Way To Northern Cherry Blossoms, and consisted of work by five artists. One of the artists, Campbell Sandilands, had taught me Japanese woodblock printing a few years ago. Another artist, Stuart Kerr, is one of my Flickr contacts. The exhibition was in the studio of another of the artists, Blair Thomson. The art was lovely, and it was great to see Stuart's work close up after looking at it online.

The Japanese event was held at the STUC. I've been to a lot of Japanese events before, and thought this was one of the best organised. There was Japanese dancing, a kimono fashion show with about 20 participants, a Japanese man in a kilt playing the bagpipes, and a recitation of a lovely piece of poetry in both Japanese and English "Ame ni mo Makezu" which really captures the spirit of the Japanese people, especially at this time. There was also a local choir, singing a variety of songs, including one of my favourites, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring.

Highland Wildlife Park

2011-04-14T15:57:00.005Z

The weekend after my birthday, I went with my brother and his wife and my parents to the Highland Wildlife Park. It was a little surprise for me and my mum - we knew we were going somewhere, but didn't know until the night before where we were actually going.

It was a really good day out, and I particularly liked the red panda, the Japanese snow monkeys and the wildcats.

On the way back we went to Anstruther for a fish supper, and it was the first time that I'd actually been inside the restaurant (having usually eaten "à la car" in the past!).

40th birthday

2011-04-01T19:35:00.005Z

On my birthday my parents and I went to Glasgow to have lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms, because I love Charles Rennie Mackintosh's architecture and I'd never been to the Willow Tea Rooms before.

We all decided to have the "Scottish Rarebit" (toasted cheese) with bacon, and we had the Willow Tearoom's own green tea to drink. The main course was great, but the sweets were even better! Dad had an enormous meringue, Mum had a huge strawberry tart, and I had the warm chocolate brownie which may well be the best thing I have ever tasted, and I'll definitely be going back again specifically for the brownies!

After we'd eaten we were able to see inside a room where the original stained glass doors and some other pieces of furniture are kept, then we had a look at the shop downstairs.

We had a look at the shops on Sauchiehall Street and I bought myself a cuddly Moomin!

When we got home I opened all my lovely presents, which included a vintage enamelled silver pendant that I had chosen, some other vintage jewellery and a jewellery box to keep it all in! After that we had one of my favourite meals - a haggis supper!

40th birthday - pre-birthday day

2011-04-01T19:06:00.002Z

I had an amazing time on the day before my birthday. Because my birthday was on a Saturday, we had to celebrate on the Friday at work. On the way up the stairs first thing in the morning I was stopped by one of the German teachers - I thought that she was going to report a computer fault but instead she presented me with a bunch of balloons with greetings written on them in German! She then told me there were some photos of me on the staffroom doors, so I went to look at those.

By the time I got upstairs I had spotted my photos a few other places around the school, and when I walked into the workshop I found my desk (and in fact most of the room) was covered with balloons, streamers, cards and confetti! There were big banners across the window and on my chair. There were also two huge badges with the number 40 on them, one of which I proudly wore all day!

Just before breaktime one of our colleagues came in and started chatting to me, but it wasn't until other people began arriving that I realised we were having a little get-together! There were sausage rolls and other nibbles, and a chocolate cake with candles to blow out. Later I took some birthday cake round to the staff who couldn't make it.

Because it was Red Nose Day (a charity day) we were all able to wear our jeans, which added to the party atmosphere. At lunchtime there was a charity event in the hall, the loudest teacher competition, which was loads of fun. It really felt like the end of term!

One of the best moments of the day happened by chance. I'd gone to a classroom to fix a DVD player, and as I was looking at it I realised that the class had spontaneously burst into song, and were singing Happy Birthday! The teacher had not told them it was my birthday, they had spotted my badge and started singing of their own accord!

I think it was probably the most fun day I've ever had at work!

40th birthday - meal with friends

2011-04-01T18:52:00.004Z

Two days before my 40th birthday I went out with my colleagues for an Indian buffet meal. We'd been planning to have an Indian meal for ages, and my birthday was the perfect excuse! Before we left work they gave me a wonderful present of a beautiful book - Geisha by John Gallagher (they know my tastes so well!). After the meal we had drinks at my house. I had a great evening!

Drookit Droid

2011-02-27T15:39:00.003Z

For a friend's birthday I made this card, inspired by a retro game called When it Rains that he has co-written.

Antiques fair

2011-02-20T15:37:00.001Z

From an antiques fair last weekend. The plate is a Kenneth Townsend design, and was just £1. The horse was £5 and I think it is by Walter Bosse. My horse from the antiques fair fits in well with my Dala horses!

At Risk

2011-01-22T18:55:00.004Z

My colleagues and I were informed a few days ago that our jobs are "at risk" and we are entering a 90-day consultation exercise.

I work as a technician in a secondary school in Fife. These proposed cuts are severe, and also affect admin staff and librarians. I believe that these plans will have a significant impact on learning and teaching.

Please take a stand against the cuts to public services that are happening all around the country. You can make your voice heard on the following websites:

Unison Million Voices Campaign
False Economy

Please stand up for your public services.

Here's a photo of us in happier times!

Family cards

2010-12-30T11:49:00.002Z

These are the Christmas cards I made for my family this year. I sewed the felt decorations, and glued on a few trimmings, then attached them to the cards with some pretty paperclips. I cut out the fronts of the cards to match the shape of the decorations, which can be removed to hang on the Christmas tree. And the recipients probably don't realise yet that their initials are on the back!

Golly, it's Christmas!

2010-12-29T11:47:00.000Z

Mum has been collecting Golly badges recently, so I made this card for Dad to give her. It's a snowman in the style of a Golly!

Reindeer cards

2010-12-28T11:40:00.004Z

These Christmas cards were very easy to make. All I did was glued a reindeer on each card and stamped a greeting underneath. The reindeer were "table scatter" from Paperchase. They are made of felt, and are slightly puffy. I also used them to make gift tags.

iPod cozy

2010-11-21T14:52:00.003Z

I made a case for my new iPod Touch, using some of my favourite Japanese fabric. And I also discovered that a tiny easel makes a good stand for watching videos on the iPod!

Some new drawings

2010-10-31T15:44:00.002Z

Did these drawings yesterday.

Amelie's outfits

2010-10-04T18:26:00.005Z

I wanted to wear something inspired by one of my favourite movies, Amelie, so first I had to re-watch the film and look at her outfits. I decided to sketch them as I went along. This was a bigger project than I had anticipated - I ended up with four pages of sketches, and that was not even including the clothes she wore as a child.

My interpretations of the outfits may not be perfect - I was watching on a portable TV while drawing in bed! It was difficult to tell the colours of some of the items - a jacket that looked red in one scene looked brown in another. If the outfit was only seen for a few seconds, or if it looked the same as an earlier one, I didn't bother drawing it.

Glenrothes Heritage Centre

2010-09-12T15:43:00.002Z

I helped out on the first day of the Glenrothes and Area Heritage Centre a few weeks ago. It is running as a pilot project for the month of September in the old Coda shop in the Kingdom Centre. It's open 10-4, Monday to Saturday. There are loads of fascinating old photos and artifacts, newspapers, and a video. I even found myself in one of the old newspaper photos!

To see many more photos of the heritage centre, have a look at this album by Ian Sloan.

Garden stones

2010-09-05T18:46:00.002Z

I finally got round to finished putting down the stones in my back garden this summer - it's taken me over two years from when I started!

Fringe shows

2010-08-22T15:51:00.005Z

I went to see five shows at the fringe this year. I think Rhythm of the Drums, Song of the Cicada was my favourite, closely followed by the Sushi Tap Show.

Princess Pyunggang and General Ondal
Korean performers, lovely costumes, dancing and drumming.

Stationary Excess
A one-woman show performed on an exercise bike - really strange but fun show.

More Light Please
A Polish girl working in a shoe shop in Ireland dreams of being an actress.

100
A group of people who have just died each have to choose one memory to take to the afterlife. Really similar to one of my favourite Japanese movies, After Life.

Sushi Tap Show
Really fun and fast-moving, I just wish I had been in the front row so I could see their feet!

Rhythm of the Drums, Song of the Cicada
A performance of the traditional dances of two Chinese ethnic minorities - spectacular costumes and lively dancing.

Power of Compassion
A really interesting insight into the prayers and dances of Tibetan monks.

Zine workshop

2010-08-10T10:06:00.004Z

I had a great day on Sunday. I headed through to Glasgow, and first of all had a look around the shops. I was buying an obi belt (wanted one for ages and it was only £3 in the sale) in H&M when I got a text from my friend Aurora to say she was on her way. I met her and her boyfriend Armando at Queen St Station, and then we got the subway out to Kelvinhall.

We had lunch at Ichiban. It was the first time I'd been at this branch of Ichiban as I usually go to the one on Queen St. Then Aurora and I headed to the Zine Workshop at Welcome Home, which was just a few minutes walk away.

The workshop was run by Marceline and Jen. I'd met Marceline at her stall at a craft market before, but I hadn't really spoken to her. I had a couple of her zines already, and bought a few more. This was the first time I'd met Jen. There were about 20 people there, and they were all really interesting to talk to.

First Marceline talked for a bit about zines, and showed us how to make a little zine, then we all got on with making our own. I made two tiny zines about Japan. It was a lot of fun, and I've decided to join the challenge to create and publish a zine by the end of the year.

Afterwards I took Aurora to the huge Millers Art Store. It was the first time she had been there and I enjoyed watching the look on her face as we walked out onto the upper floor, as I remember how amazed I was the first time I went there!

Antiques fair and craft fair

2010-08-09T14:25:00.003Z

On Saturday I went to the antiques fair in the Grassmarket. It was the first time I had been, as I only found out about it late last summer. It was well worth visiting and I may be back at some point over the next few weekends. I bought a damascene bracelet.

Afterwards I visited the craft fair at St John's Church at the end of Princes Street. This is something that I have been going to for many years. This year my friend Aurora and my summer school tutor Mina are among the stallholders.

Summer School

2010-08-07T21:37:00.007Z

I've just spent a week at an Illustration summer school at Edinburgh College of Art. Our project for the week was to produce a book with 6 pages of illustrations on the theme of Journeys. We spent a lot of time developing our ideas, and our tutor Mina Braun gave good advice on how we might improve our work. By the end of the week I had produced some illustrations that I was really pleased with, and learned some new techniques like mono-printing and using a dip pen (I loved this so much that I have bought quite a few colours of ink to try out).

The people on the course were really friendly, and it all seemed to be over so quickly! I was really exhausted by the end of the week (especially after doing the mono-printing).

The book that I made was based on a young-adult novel called Little Sister by Kara Dalkey. It is based on various aspects of Japanese mythology, and tells the story of a girl going in search of her sister's lost soul.
More photos

Chanel

2010-07-24T17:11:00.002Z

When I saw a beautiful advert for Chanel Coco Cocoon handbags, printed in shades of grey, I decided I had to try to recreate it in white paper. I've been wanting to do a picture made of white paper for a while, and this was the perfect subject. I messed up a bit on the model's face, but I'm quite pleased with it other than that.

Mariel's new look

2010-07-22T19:09:00.002Z

I finally finished Mariel - filled in some of the bald spots on her head, did a bit more lip carving, added some pastel make-up, and styled her hair.

Decorated notebooks

2010-07-11T12:14:00.003Z

I decided last night to decorate these Moleskine cahiers. I used a white Sharpie marker and coloured pencils. One will be for notes on my favourite TV shows and those I'm thinking about watching, one for my favourite music and concerts I've been to, and one for plays etc that I have been to. I will keep tickets from the performances in the back pocket. I will keep them with the books and movies cahiers I've already decorated. When I get some more cahiers, I will start one on art exhibitions I've been to. I found the black ones were not as easy to draw on successfully, but maybe I just needed a thinner white pen.

Dad's birthday card

2010-06-05T16:20:00.005Z

It's almost a month since Dad's birthday, and I haven't got round to blogging his card. It's been a busy month! The idea for the card was not my own (I saw the idea on a website for kids) but it's the sort of idea I would probably had by myself eventually!

Comics course

2010-05-30T18:21:00.003Z

On Friday night my friend Aurora held a course on writing autobiographical comics. We started off by listing characteristics of our personality and appearance, then tried to draw ourselves. It was lots of fun and gave me lots of new ideas, and I feel a lot more confident about drawing people now.

Dundee degree show

2010-05-24T18:41:00.003Z

Yesterday I went to the degree show at Duncan of Jordanstone. I was pleased that the show was back in the art college building this year. The things that stood out for me were:
Zuzannna Bukala's amazing wooden dolls. They are a wonderful mix of traditional and modern, and they are the sort of thing I would love to buy if they ever go into production.
Sarah Bissell's illustrated Synaesthete's Alphabet was particularly interesting to me because I have synaesthesia.
Johanne Cameron's illustrations
Naomi Archibald's paintings
Meg Park's animation Kahani
Kelly Gray's paintings of road signs
Ian Ritch and Alison Mehta's pop-up book
Linsey McGregor's paper jewellery was fantastic - it reminded me how much I enjoyed experimenting with paper at the paper engineering course last year. Her pieces were very tactile and sculptural, and I would have been interested in seeing how some of the shapes would translate into precious metals. I also was interested in the work that she had done within a school, encouraging children to come up with their own wearable paper art.

Just a tiny rant - I really wish that artists who are having degree shows would make sure that they have a website (even a blog, it isn't difficult to set up) and that they have the correct address printed on their postcards. I always like to give credit to those artists whose work I particularly enjoyed, and some of them don't make it easy!

A great weekend

2010-05-19T19:04:00.002Z

I had a really good weekend - Les Miserables with my uncle, aunt and cousins on Friday night, and my future sister-in-law's hen night on Saturday. Les Miserables was amazing! I've been listening to the music on Spotify ever since. It probably was the first musical I had been to see at a theatre since I saw Annie when I was in the guides (and in the same theatre)! It was great spending time with my cousins on both evenings, and I made some fun new friends.

Christian Aid book sale

2010-05-08T18:27:00.008Z

This is my fourth year blogging about the Christian Aid booksale at St Andrew's and St George's Church in Edinburgh. I wasn't sure if I was going to go, because last weekend was so busy, but I'm glad I did!

I bought:
A pair of Korean dolls £5
A tiny Swedish Dala horse (I've wanted one for ages) 50p
90-Day Geisha by Chelsea Haywood £1.50
Hotel World by Ali Smith £1.50
Out by Natsuo Kirino £1.50
Kyoto Gardens £1.50
Origami Birds (which is so cute and retro) 50p
The Courtesan and the Samurai by Lesley Downer (which was on my Amazon wishlist, and is by the same author as a book I bought last year at the sale)£2
A Japanese print £30
A pair of Japanese geta sandals £6
A grand total of £49, which is not as much over budget as I thought (I usually try to stay under £40, but the Japanese print pushed it up a bit this time!)

When I sat down to have my lunch, I discovered I was right next to a Japanese print, and decided to think about it over lunch. Then someone bought it while I was still eating! Then I went round a corner and discovered some unframed Japanese prints. The prints were £30 each so I thought long and hard before I bought this one, and I'm glad I did. It's got cherry blossom on it!

And I'm so pleased to have a pair of Japanese geta at last. They are fun to walk around in although I didn't really buy them to wear!

Garden of Cosmic Speculation

2010-05-03T18:59:00.004Z

My friend Aurora invited me to go to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation with her and some other friends. The garden is just north of Dumfries, so it took us a few hours to get there from Edinburgh. It's only open one day a year. The garden was spectacular, and there was so much to explore.

Herb pots

2010-04-29T20:49:00.000Z

I've recently been filling up the pots in my garden with some new herbs, including mint, rosemary, thyme, chamomile, lemon balm, sage, parsley, basil, and chives.

St Basil's Cathedral

2010-04-28T20:43:00.001Z

A birthday card for Mum, based on St Basil's Cathedral.

Radley bag card

2010-04-27T20:39:00.000Z

Another Radley bag card, a bit simpler this time.

Cherry tree survey

2010-04-26T20:36:00.004Z

Today I took part in the Natural History Museum's cherry tree survey. I measured my two cherry trees and added them to the map. If you have any cherry trees in your garden or local area, the instructions on the website make it easy to take part.

Blythe dresses

2010-04-15T18:33:00.001Z

I've made these two dresses over the past few days. The green dress was made for a felt dress making competition, and the blue one is an idea I've had for a while, made from a child's dress.

Visit to St Andrews

2010-04-12T18:53:00.003Z

I went to St Andrews yesterday, firstly to the botanic garden, and then to the Cathedral where I met up with an online friend, Alice, who also collects Blythe dolls. This was my first time taking photos of my dolls in public, so it was good to have a friend for moral support! We had a great time photographing our dolls, and only got a few comments from passers-by!

Desktop card

2010-03-30T19:31:00.000Z

Birthday card for my boss.

Birthday card for someone who's decorating

2010-03-29T19:26:00.000Z

For one of my colleagues who has been spending all his spare time recently decorating his bedroom.

Radley card

2010-03-28T17:13:00.003Z

A birthday card for a Radley-lover. Unfortunately I could not afford to give the full-sized bag as a present!

Blythe card

2010-03-22T20:19:00.002Z

I made this card for Mum, for Mothers Day. It's based on the promotional cartoon for Gentle River, one of my favourite Blythe dolls, who was the inspiration for my custom ADG Blythe, Mariel.

My Japanese day

2010-03-07T16:21:00.004Z

First I went to Kelvingrove Museum to have a look at an exhibition of eight Japanese surimono prints. They were used in a similar way to greetings cards, but because they are so delicate not that many have survived.
After having a look at the shops on Byres Road (where I bought a Momiji doll) I found a noodle bar called Wudon on Great Western Road, so I had my lunch there (Gai Chow Fan(chicken fried rice) and Gen Mai Cha(green tea with roasted rice)).
I then went to the botanic gardens where the Hina Matsuri was taking place. There were various stalls with origami, furoshiki wrapping, and Japanese sweets, and I was able to get my photo taken wearing a kimono for the first time. There was also taiko drumming.
Finally I went to the Collins Gallery where there was a fascinating exhibition of sashiko stitched textiles. The old and new garments on display were varied and beautiful, and there was also some old film playing of traditional life on Sado island, which was very interesting. There were also some people taking part in a sashiko workshop.

Tetris card

2010-02-26T21:40:00.001Z

Continuing the birthday card season - this one was for a friend who's into retro games. There are more to come soon - all the birthdays in my family and close colleagues are in the three month period from mid February onwards, and there's Mothers Day too.

Camera card

2010-02-25T19:03:00.000Z

This card was for a colleague who is a keen photographer, mostly of birds.

Twilight birthday card

2010-02-24T18:44:00.003Z

I made this birthday card for a colleague who had read my copy of Twilight after hearing about it from one of her classes (she teaches Biology). I had made the card about a week before her birthday, so I was very amused when a few days before her birthday she lent me the DVD of Twilight!

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

2010-02-14T19:07:00.003Z

A new dress I made for Zoe to celebrate Chinese New Year. It's made from felt, and the pattern was modified from Orriettacat's Asian coat pattern. The ribbon is one of my favourites - it was from VV Rouleaux, which shut down, so I've been saving it for something special. The black knot closure was found lying in a street in Edinburgh!
The shoes belong to my J-Doll, and are massive even on a Blythe, so I had to stuff them with cotton wool. It's a good thing I didn't leave them on long, as they stained her feet purple!
Her blue eyes go well with this dress, but I'm going to change them soon for some pale teal ones.
Now I feel like watching "In the Mood for Love" to celebrate both Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day!

Charity shop finds

2010-02-02T19:57:00.002Z

Although I'd bought a make-up holdall as a doll case, I still had my eye open for something even better. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this in the window of a charity shop! It was the perfect shape, size, colour, condition, and price (only £3.99!). It even has a couple of pockets to store their clothes in. Now my Blythes are as happily housed as my Sindys and Pippas are in their vintage cases!

The kokeshi-like cats seem to be from Denmark. The big one is missing its tail, but I'm sure I can make one.

My custom Blythe

2010-01-25T20:08:00.004Z

I was so desperate to get Casual Affair, the first Blythe that I had ordered, that when the first place I ordered it from didn't have it in stock on the release date, I ordered it from somewhere else. But the first company wouldn't let me cancel, so I ended up with two! That was many months ago, and I'd intended to sell her - as you can see she didn't come out of her box. But recently I started to feel the urge for a new doll - and realised that I could have one without the hassle and expense of buying a new one. All I needed to do was buy a wig!

I then decided to do some custom work on her face - she has been sand matted, has pastel make-up, all new eyechips, lips carved and painted, gaze correction, new lashes, and painted eyelids.

The outfit took me about a week to make. The pink dress is made from Laura Ashley fabric, and is decorated with small pink bows, pearl beads, lace and broderie anglaise trim. It laces up the back with a pink ribbon. Under the dress she wears a white underskirt made from cotton with a net frill. Her socks are made from an old t-shirt, with decorative elastic at the top. The soles of her shoes are made from polymer clay, with fabric, paper and elastic, with little polymer clay roses on the top.

Yellow crochet hat

2010-01-21T20:13:00.003Z

Zoe is wearing a hat that I crocheted over the past few days, with a jumper that I made from an old one of mine, and a necklace that I made from a charm and a piece of chain.

Two Blythe-related parcels arrived today. I also bought a Blythe-sized violin from a charity shop, and a make-up bag to use as a Blythe carry-case (how could I resist it with all those colourful flowers!)

Deer

2010-01-14T19:58:00.002Z

I made this baby deer from a pattern I found online. I probably would have chosen shades of brown if I'd had them, but instead I went for this kitsch mixture of green and orange.

Mix and match Mariel

2010-01-09T20:54:00.006Z

All week I've been working on some new clothes for one of my Blythe dolls, Mariel.

I started with a brown flowery dress, which took me three evenings to make, probably about 10 hours in total! I made it from an old pair of cullottes I used to wear when I was a student. The fabric was very thin cotton with a lovely pattern, perfect for dolls' clothes.

I then added a cream apron with a pocket, edged with ribbon. I made a red belt and a flowery belt from two of my favourite ribbons.

The hat was the quickest thing to make - it took less than half an hour. I based it on a hat which belongs to one of my childhood dolls and which fits my Blythe dolls perfectly.

I made a reversible cape that can also be worn as an apron. It has the brown flowery fabric on one side and green fabric on the other, and is decorated with a bird, a heart and a mushroom.

They can all be mixed and matched in various different ways, and I will be making more items to go with them.

I've also reshaped Mariel's bottom lip, and given her some green eyeshadow.

Today was perfect weather for photographing her (well, when it stopped snowing!).

Another raggy flower

2009-12-30T18:04:00.004Z

This is my second raggy flower from the tutorial by Molly Chicken. This time I added a button.

Totoro Two

2009-12-28T16:58:00.003Z

On Christmas Eve I had enough time to build a little Totoro to go with the big one.

Furoshiki

2009-12-27T16:40:00.002Z

I bought bento boxes for my brother and his fiancee for Christmas. I made these matching furoshiki cloths.

Sleigh scene Christmas cards

2009-12-25T11:00:00.001Z

This year's Christmas cards for my family are based on one of our family traditions - the sleigh scene.

The Santa and reindeer are ornaments that my parents probably bought in the 1970s, and look like they are of Chinese or Japanese origin. The robins joined the scene when my mum made them in the early 1980s, and they sit in a sleigh made from a basket. Each pom-pom robin has its own cheeky personality. My mum used to fill the sleigh with sweets (often from the (now much missed) pic-n-mix at Woolworths). Each sweet would be wrapped up and have a ribbon attached to it, and we would have to grab a ribbon to choose our sweet. Finally, Mum made the snowman to join the gang a few years ago.

When I left home, I had to start my own collection of ornaments for my own sleigh scene. I have a ceramic Santa and penguin, a cuddly reindeer given to me by my friend Katrina, some robins (made by Mum of course) sitting on little wooden sledges, a little wooden Christmas tree, two snowmen (also made by Mum). This year I also added a toy soldier and Finnish doll which I had found in charity shops.

In order to make the cards, I needed to get some photos of the sleigh scene as I didn't have any good enough photos to work from. Luckily I was able to surreptitiously take some photos a few weeks ago, but that didn't leave me much time to make the cards. I usually start them in October!

I made the cards so that they could be displayed together as a continuous scene. Before I assembled the cards I scanned the various elements arranged against a sheet of paper - I may use this design for some of next year's printed cards (yes, I'm thinking that far ahead!).

Rectangu-Robin!

2009-12-24T11:00:00.002Z

Rectangu-robin - he's rectangular and he's a robin! He can also be used as a gift box. I made him from a Moo minicard box, for the Moo Minigift Box Competition. I had the box sitting beside my computer waiting to be decorated for about a month, but I wasn't feeling inspired. Then, after photographing a robin in my garden this morning, I had this idea. I only got a handful of photos taken before he took a tumble into the snow, but he seems to have survived relatively unscathed!

Snowtoro!

2009-12-23T18:18:00.004Z

I got home from work early, so I was able to make this snow Totoro before it got dark! This is the first snowman I've made since I was a child, and probably the first I've made without my dad's help, so it was a learning experience! It may be a bit lopsided, but I like it!

The whiskers were made from some twigs that I'd stored in my shed for no good reason, and the pebble for the nose was dug out from an area of pebbles under the snow (luckily the first one I dug out was the right shape!). I added the details using a chopstick!

I've taken inspiration from some of the other people who have made snow Totoros.

Wardrobe remix

2009-12-21T17:41:00.000Z

I'm trying to be a bit more creative and colourful with my clothes. Here are some of the outfits I've been wearing over the past week or so. I've been buying a few bits and pieces at charity shops (the green skirt and coat, flowery skirt, purple jumper, and the dress under the turquoise coat) to combine with what I have.
As you can see I love the hats I got recently at Marks and Spencer, and I wish that I had got the purple one as well!

Great Santa Run

2009-12-20T20:21:00.003Z

Last weekend I went to Edinburgh to see the Great Santa Run. My bus was late, so I had to run as fast as the santas and missed the first few minutes! But I still got some great photos. I was keeping an eye out for one of my cousins who I knew was running, but I was surprised and pleased to meet my aunt and uncle, two of my cousins, and the daughter of my other cousin. These are some of my favourite photos of the race.

Gift tags / baubles

2009-12-20T18:02:00.004Z

I was feeling uninspired as far as gift tags were concerned, until I remembered these papier mache hearts I had bought to make Christmas baubles from. I just cut the recipients' initials from origami paper, then used mod podge to stick them on. After the presents are opened, the recipients can hang them on their own trees. I think this might become an ongoing theme for my Christmas gift tags - something that can be kept and hung on the tree.

Edinburgh at Christmas time

2009-12-09T19:24:00.002Z

Some photos taken over the last few weekends.

Charity shopping

2009-12-03T17:33:00.002Z

I had one of my best ever charity shopping weeks last week. Everything in the first picture was found in one shop in Edinburgh on Saturday. I was pleased to find a straw doll, because I saw some recently in Glasgow and regretted not buying them. The rabbit is by a company called Bellini, and has space to store cotton balls inside.

The Momiji doll was one of three in the shop, but I bought this one because it's one I've liked for ages, and it came with its original tin (which has cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji and a birdie on it). Her name is Sakura and she is designed by Joanna Zhou. The Momiji had a message written on the secret little piece of paper inside it, and I wonder whether the recipient ever read it? It says "I'll miss you CLTP Vxxx"

The rest was all found in a charity shop at the end of my street, which I didn't realise still existed because it only opens when I'm at work! When someone told me about it I was down there like a shot in my lunch break, and found all this in the space of about 5 minutes!
The pictures were just 25p each, and when she added up the total she just wanted to charge me £2, which meant I was pretty much getting the fabric for nothing. I did give more than £2 though, because I thought that was way too little. It was only later I found the original sticker on the fabric - £7.95 from Ikea!
The picture on the left is by an artist called Strev, and the others are by Soulet.

Kokeshi with beret

2009-11-24T22:29:00.003Z

I bought this lovely vintage kokeshi from ebay, and it arrived this week. It's quite small, so the package was able to fit through my letterbox! I love how it has been painted, with parts looking like inlaid wood and mother of pearl. I was hoping to buy another one from the same seller in similar colours, but I got outbid by a long way on that one! It finally went for over £21 whereas this one was just over £7.

Dancing Dolls

2009-11-14T14:23:00.001Z

Dancing Dolls
Originally uploaded by emusing-emma

Another animation.

Birdie pals

2009-11-11T21:48:00.007Z

Birdie pals

I'm experimenting with stop-motion animation - it's a lot of fun!

My first ebay purchase

2009-11-10T17:50:00.002Z

I signed up for ebay a few weeks ago and this was the first thing I was successful at buying - it's a vintage Japanese milk glass cockatiel. Looks like it's going to be good friends with Piu Piu!

Spotty knot bag

2009-11-09T17:36:00.001Z

I've been wanting to make one of these reversible Japanese knot bags for ages, and finally got round to it. It's very easy to make, and there is a tutorial by Show Your Workings. I used beige spotty fabric from an old pillowcase I got at a car boot sale, and green spotty fabric from a lovely little fabric shop I found near the Meadows in Edinburgh.

Kirigami

2009-11-08T14:08:00.002Z

I've been experimenting with kirigami - the Japanese art of paper folding and cutting. It's similar to making paper snowflakes. My favourites so far are the five-petalled flowers - it's amazing that it's possible to fold paper in such a way as to produce five petals.