an amusing week

so, not sure if anyone even noticed but i have been having a blog battle with an anonymous commenter about my blog.. they took it upon themselves to leave a nice comment criticising me about starting all my posts with so, so i have been here....so i have been there etc.. who cares ? and i don't know about you, but i would NEVER ever leave a comment on someones blog Belittling their style, i would never be so rude, because that's all it is.. its just my style. a blog is a personal thing, that you use in anyway you choose, i couldn't care less if i don't use the correct grammar or start every sentence with a capital letter, life is too short.. whoopee do its just not important to me. I'm a 33 yr old man, I'll do what the hell i like, she says I'm a terrible speller, tell me something i don't know.. ill cope with it, and the spell checker on this blog must be rubbish too. but what got me more annoyed was how all the comments were left anonymously. and the fact she took it upon herself to take time out of her day to leave such a rude comment says so much to me.. i might be a crap speller but i actually have a life... and anonymous said she wont be back.. but i bet she is, she obviously loves me and my blog, so hello anonymous... stick it... you have amused me much this week..or is it weak ? remember im a terrible spellar. and silly anonymous, why do i need to buy a dictionary to look up vitriol.. (thats what google is for) and unlike you i do like vitriol..when it fits.

i made some accidents

so i have made some new little happy accidents, i have sold quite a few over the last few years here at carry me home, my friends shop. and thought it was time to get them in my etsy... these little guys, like everything i make, are the result of me just sitting down and having what feels like a lucky dip into my bag of ribbons and fabrics and seeing what i pull out, i don't plan, i just create, following only the tiniest of plan in my head.each one is unique, each one has a head of ribbon hair, and each one has a hand sewn felt heart upon their bottoms..these guys are now in the shop, i hope someone gives them a nice home, they are made for everyone, not just for kids...

a helpless patient

so can you believe how fast time seems to be flying past us ?.where are the days going, what have i been doing, how is it that its now Thursday already when it seems only yesterday that i blogged about the September issue film i want to see.. anyway i have obviously been so busy and creative (in my dreams)... but this page i rescued did stop me in my tracks this week, and it just makes me smile, and thank the lord i did rescue it because if ever i stubble across a helpless patient, i now know how to give the poor soul a fireman's lift.. if it wasn't for this page i might have just dragged them along like a caveman with a fresh kill.but not now.. and what makes me smile most is the fact that these men had to pose for these photographs to be taken, and i can imagine them saying to each other "i say, don't we look jolly stupid old chap". but like us, at least they learnt something.
this page is now in stevensstuff...

i want to see this

so i really want to see this film... my David would rather boil his own head than watch this, so i doubt he will be accompanying me to this feast of fashion, its been ages since i even bought vogue magazine, and how my family never knew i was a homo ill never know ? because as they were pushing the trolley around the supermarket i could usually be found in the magazine aisle perusing the latest glossies...I'm more of a vogue living kinda guy now though and i want my pretty fabrics to be on the furnishings around me rather than on me, but i still know this film is right up my street.


(edit...a anonymous commenter pointed out the fact that i didn't originally start this post with so, like i always do..but i now fixed that, thanks anonymous ? )

(edit 2, to anonymous...if you dont like it, you know what you can do... dont read it..you big chicken, not showing your face..)

(edit 3, to anonymous, its not as if i will be losing anyone with anything worth saying .. i would never leave a comment on another persons blog criticising their writing style.. how rude is that..)

more printing fun.

so i have been back at my old college again and done some more printing, this time i hand printed by making my own blocks out of very technical and fancy cardboard and sellotape.... and again like with all my work i only had a vague idea what i wanted and as usual the end result is a million miles away from that idea, well the colours i used are.. i aimed for shades of grey with little accents of colour, but as you can see that never really happened.. but i couldn't care less because i really like the end results...what do you think.. should i be radical and not make these into cushions ?.. maybe bags ?.ill have a think, and probably do the opposite of what i conclude..

wave the flags

so i just listed these pages in my shop, i got them along with the stamps i blogged about below, and if I'm not mistaken, some of them are a little bit controversial.. Nazi flag anyone ?... and some of them i believe possibly are for countries that no longer exist or maybe are now named something different. but either way they are lovely colorful pages that will be lovely either framed and displayed or chopped up and re used.

anyone got a spare stamp

so there i was walking the old folks around islington when we came across the antiques bit, and wowzer it was quite lovely, with some shops literally just selling porcelain cups and plates, some selling just silver wear and others bursting at the seams with a whole plethora of loveliness.. but i found these amazing sheets of old postage stamps. or at least i think they are old, im pretty confident that they are old because someone went to enough trouble to paste them to these pages, and would someone do that to reproductions ?...i think not. so anyway they are now in my shop. and i know they will be some collage lovers dream, or simply beautiful framed and displayed..

two things that stopped me

so this week in sunny London i saw a few things that made me stop and stare, i have had my mum and dad down for a few days and anytime visitors arrive i seem to end up in places that would not normally be on my path, and this is what greeted me when i ended up down on the south bank, by the royal festival hall, and don't you agree, all trees should be wrapped like this...it turns out they are to do with an exhibition that is in the nearby Hayward gallery called walking in my mind, they are so cool i had to stop and stare, and take pictures of course..

and the next sight that greeted me as we wandered about was just outside the O2 arena, way down the Thames, i took my mum and dad to see the enormous dome where incredible concerts and shows are now held, and its the place where Michael Jackson was due to perform his 50 date comeback show, and just outside is the most intense wall of tributes, all handmade and heartfelt, be it poems or simple words, the sight was hard not to be moved by.. and not only that, it just looked really good.

what have you seen this week that made you stop and stare ?

i travelled back in time

so a few days ago i travelled back in time to 1998 and sat at my old desk at my old college and i drew some scribbles, and an hour or so later screen printed them on fabric...ta dah... it was as easy as that. and here is a sneak peek...
i graduated from ravensbourne college of design and communication in 1998, with a degree in fashion and textiles, the college was sad to see me go as they said i was the best student they had ever had and would ever likely have..(i wish), and until last week i had never been back, and to say i was slightly freaked out by walking into my old building, the place where i kinda grew up, was just a bit bonkers, but i sat at my old desk, and literally just doodled away a rough idea i had, got it exposed onto a screen and had it printed, no tests, no plans, just do it and see.. and this is what i got.. and i love it, as with the way i work, i embrace happy accidents, and it just so happened that the screen was quite imperfect, and not only my exposed image printed on the fabric, as you can see it has smudges and marks, but to me this gives the print life. and gives it that used hand made effect that i wanted.. and after the print had dried and been heat pressed to seal the pigment, i washed it lots to really fade down the intensity of the black, so it now looks more charcoal grey than stark black. I'm not sure what ill be making, but i think you know and i know what some of these will end up as ?.. trays for plates for eating dinner in front of the TV...also known as cushions... or is that just me that does this ?..so watch this space.

is it christmas yet

so i have had quite a fun week, firstly i was on decor8, which was really quite exciting and got me some lovely compliments and some nice messages to my etsy shop, and secondly i joined the living etc forums and came out from lurking in the shadows and posted pictures of my leather cushion onto the see what i made section, and again, the compliments came flooding in, and hurrahhhhhhhhhh, my cushion only bloody gone and got sold, to some lovely lady who saw it there.. so blurghhhhhh to etsy (i love you really)...living etc forums rule.... and i started a major groundbreaking debate about the merits of dynasty and similar type of massive shoulder padded programmes...and it was on the forums, whilst browsing some of the other posters blogs did i see this...and I'm so buying it, its just really quite excellent...and its also stupidly cheap, and a limited edition of 500 and its A1 size, and I'm sorry but size does matter. its from here and the profits go to charity, and even the tubes that it gets posted in look cool..ill post about it on here when i get it... hurrahh for a good few days, they really kick you up the jacksie and make you move on, to try and better them....

if your names not down your not getting in...

so today i feel like my name is on the list that allows me access to an exclusive club, like my raffle ticket has been drawn from the lucky dip, like i am the one that people are looking and pointing at... you see today i have the privilege to be featured on what i feel is the greatest blog, decor8, holly asked me some weeks ago to put together a post called a few of my favorite things. and today its live on her site.. and the fact that of all the many thousands of people and places holly must see and know, she asked me, and I'm chuffed beyond words... go and have a look here at my post.. and i hope you like a few of my favorite things...

im a leather lover

so back in June i gave a sneak peek at some work in progress, well now after many many hours, its finally finished, and i have to say..i bloody love it, i adore it and I'm slightly obsessed with it, and if it was a real life walking talking pillow with emotions and feelings, well, it would have by now got a restraining order out on me...like Britney did, on that manager she had... this pillow is totally unique and even if i wanted to, i don't think i could ever even come close to repeating it, the leathers i used make this really stand out, and some of them are so sparkly and special that they look like precious jewels.i made it for a 14 inch square pad, and it had a soft corduroy back,.. i don't know about you guys but i seem to enjoy making things that take ages to make,and if i was to do the whole cost per hour pricing for this then it would be in the hundreds, but i long gave up the make just for a sale mentality, and i now make and craft to enjoy, so I'm selling it at what i feel is a very reasonable price for the amount of work involved, and if it sells its a bonus,and ill happily have to make another with different leathers, but if not ill have longer to look at it, and talk sweet nothings too... actually, please buy it now.. I'm talking to a pillow....help me.
it's in the shop now....

doodles away

so i finally got around to making some prints of my doodle,and they are now for sale in the shop... and each one is still going to be unique, because when i sell one..if i sell one ?. i will print it out and doodle onto it,adding more marks and scribbles, making it a unique piece...

happy logs

so my friend Zoe just came back from a holiday in Switzerland, and she just posted pictures on facebook, and this one made me smile and i want to show it here.. happy wood, even though they have been chopped down and are soon to be chopped up and burnt they can still smile about it...

somethin exciting comes my way

so this is a sneak peek at something i have been working on this week, something that hopefully will come to be realized fully in the next few weeks, something that has given me a few sleepless hours, something that could be good for little ole me, either way its been a busy around here... ill let you know if it all works out...