concerts and shows

so me and my David go to lots of concerts and big fancy shows, and this picture is a little collage of what we have recently seen, every show is always different and I'm becoming highly critical of what works and what does not,this picture shows from clockwise top right, Barbra Streisand, Beyonce, scissor sisters and finally Justin Timberlake, they were all big gigantic productions with amazing light shows and fancy stage design, however the biggest was the worst as we just did not know what was going on....ill let you guess which one we left half way through because it was just rubbish...?
 

talented friends

so my friend Zoe, is just bonkers, look at the dolls that are making her famous...or do i mean infamous, around the world. these dolls have been talked about in heat magazine, NME music magazine and for all i know possibly caravan and camping weekly magazine ? the likeness to the real Amy winohouse and Russel brand is rather spooky don't you think.


i have begged her to make some Richard and Judy dolls,( for those across the pond they are our national treasures in the world of showbiz) so if you want one of these limited edition lovelies then head over to her etsy and grab yourself a future antiques roadshow treasure.( see my talented friends link) her label is called, love from Hetty and Dave.

my colour filled world

so following a lovely email from one of my fave bloggers Elizabeth Holcomb (see my fave blog list) who commented on my use of colour,it made me take a look at where i was living, and i realised most people would get a sore head living in my house, as at every turn there is a colour explosion, from cushions to artwork and me new purchases, a clown brush ? and a desk bin from cram cream that i have been craving for weeks, it certainly wont be getting any rubbish put inside it, and on it, it says "i will give you happiness" and i have realised that's what my colourful world gives me.so thanks Elizabeth for making me look around me.
 

london wanderings

so my best friend nick came to the big city last week as we had tickets to see Barbra Streisand in concert....now don't shoot me but I'm not a big fan and before the concert i could not name a single song she had done, but my David and nick were rather excited to see such a living legend do her stuff, our tickets were 100 quid each and we were about a mile from the stage in the gigantic o2 arena, but it was OK, a bit sedate and civilised but i did enjoy it, tickets near the stage were £600 each, now that's just bonkers..but apparently 70% is donated to charity so its not all bad....now anyone who knows my David knows he is a proper bargain hunter and amazingly he found some Barbra tickets for her 2nd show on eBay for only £20 each and we were much nearer the stage...and i think a better show because we were nearer...David is eBay king.



so the following day after nick had calmed down from his excitement (he does not get out much) i dragged him to see some London sights, namely the new shop at the royal festival hall that my fave blog, print and pattern, talked about last week, i was expecting something bigger, but it was still packed full of lovely heart beat increasing things...i will let the photos speak for themselves, but i will say one thing, i think I'm gonna start displaying my cushions on shelves...


so after this little bit of excitement, well i was slightly more excited than nick was...we went to the Hayward gallery to see the Anthony gormley exhibition, which was, well just OK, not brilliant, but the best thing he has done is cast his own body and made steel copies and has placed them on buildings all around the outside of the gallery.


they are on ledges and on rooftops , some are easily spotted but some are across the river and look like suicidal strangers about to leap of the edge. my journey into London is much more fun now as i go past this gallery on my train and i can spot at least 10 of these guys just standing about...i often think about all the other passengers who never look up from their newspapers to see the world around them,and missing this public artwork.


but the most fun aspect of this exhibition was inside and it was called blind light, and it was advertised as "like walking inside a cloud" well actually it was more like walking inside a sweaty steamy glass box...but it was excellent, only 20 people were allowed in at once as visibility was about 5 inches in front of you, and me and nick were giggling like school kids, trying our best not to grope a stranger, it was more fun actually watching from the outside where you could see peoples shadowy figures searching for the exit by following the glass wall around till they found the door.


so when we eventually found the door and escaped the steamy nightmare, we had a look in the newly refurbished royal festival hall,and in the gallery space there was an interactive exhibition called operation soapbox, which was about asking questions and possibly getting answers, you were meant to leave your question pinned to the wooden boxes which were built together to make a maze like structure, and maybe if you went back someone would have answered you query, however i thought this was an opportunity for some promotion, so left my etsy details.


but possibly the best statement i read on one of the first boxes you see simply said,..what a waste of trees, and it was so true, i just don't see the point of things like this.


however at the entrance to this display was a printed box that i really liked, i think this would look rather nice in my living room with my feet resting on it. don't you think its lovely...


so the rest of our day was just spent wandering about, jumping on and off buses and stopping for refreshments and nibbles along the way.....this nibble did not last very long at all..


and this next picture is just something that really made me stop in my tracks, it was a display of local kids artwork, and the simple way it was presented and the bright colours just helped to make it really excellent.


and my final picture of my wanderings show what many might call the odd couple, but what attracted me to this couple was the fantastic dress the lady was wearing, what a pattern, she has probably had it since the day it was printed and made, as it looked that old, but she was strangely cool....don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like that !

i was a birthday boy

so its been just over a week since my last post, and i have good reasons, firstly I'm a lazy bugger and secondly it was my birthday...so obviously i demanded lovely presents...i was not hoping for much especially as my David said he had not got me anything that i had asked for ? but just look at the wrapping paper he chose....he knows me so well...oh and look at charlsie, she was just hoping they were for her...but they were mine

and once they were ripped open i was truly spoiled rotten, he bought me a sparkly new digital camera,with a scary amount of features and buttons, a digital radio player, clothes,and a book that i wanted called living normally (more about this later) and some of the brilliant paperchase monsters stuff, as did my friend nick, well i actually dragged him into paperchase and said i want that one ,and this thing, ooh and ill have that too...thanks nick. and just look how nice everything looks together..you would think I'm a 13 yr old girl, but I'm not, I'm now a big bald 31 yr old hairy man....but i love it all.

and for my birthday treat, well all i wanted to do was to go to ikea and eat meatballs....and my David was not impressed, but it was my day so it was my choice, and it was great, ikea as usual was really busy and it was trek to get to it.but just look at my birthday meal....mmmmm yummmmy.



and after dinner we wandered around, me with a spring in my step as i love looking at nice things like furniture and cushions, and David wandered behind pretending to be interested....though he did choose a set of knives (so butch) whilst i wet my pants over a pile of printed cushions, i so wanted a gazillion million of them scattered all around my house but i resisted and took a photo instead...i do not need more cushions....or do i ?
so thank you to all who sent me nice things, the vouchers have been used, the chocolate has been eaten, the money is spent and I'm already excited for my next years birthday...only just under a year to wait, wonder what ill get ?

i made an accident

so do you remember that lovely fabric i got in the liberty sale, remeber i said a monster shall be made, well here he is, and he is called fred...floral fred to be precise...people assume hes gay, but he is just in touch with his feminine side, and he likes to waste his money on gambling and fancy women.
his little friend (not his boyfriend) is called spot....spot likes stripes so only wears striped things....so there ! and both of them will be in my etsy soon...
 

finally, finished stuff

so at last i have finished something, well actually 3 things, 3 cushion things, and I'm already attached to them so its a struggle to put them into my etsy, but in it they will go, soon, when i decide on a price, what do you think ? how much should they be ?. they are each one of a kind, and each rather lovely..i want them,......you cant have them.....you don't need them.... that's what I'm telling myself.
 
 
 

talented friends

so one of my best friends is rather brilliant, i have known Nicola for many years now and her label is called Jessica James, and she produces lovely layered prints, in soft muted shades, that she applies to a home wares collection, including giant floor cushions and stunning linen throws. these prints are also worked in to a capsule clothing range that includes Cotton t shirts and silk kaftan's.

this first picture shows a selection of printed linen cushions, each print is hand done and this produces differences in image placement that makes each item unique
 

this next image is a close up on the layered prints that work together to compliment the style Nicola works towards
 

and this is my favourite print,and this is so Nicola, where i would normally choose the brightest colour in the room, Nicola always holds back, and always ends up with something so nice and something so wearable in such stunning colour combinations.
 

and these are some of the accessories Nicola designs, woven leather belts and printed leather coin purses with vintage buttons...oh and i helped to make these.....i bet you wish your friends were as talented as mine are...join Nicolas gang at her Jessica James myspace site...(see my links at the side)
 

meet my dog...

this is charlie, or charles, or charlsie, or charles & eddy, or when shes bad, little bitch..... we are convinced she is not a real dog and often gets into strange positions on our sofa.she likes to play with toilet roll tubes and socks, which i often pull over her head so she looks like an armed robber.
 

fun with camera

so i have had the same camera for a while now and still just aim it and shoot, i use the macro setting and the normal everyday setting. that was until a while ago when i turned the dial thingy just to see what happened and good god a whole new world opened up to me.....i think i love it. when you press the button clicker thingy ? it takes lots of pics, so i just shook the camera around and look what i can now do.it makes instant art...i don't hang around road works much, but i saw this and knew i had to just shake the camera in its direction....i did get a few strange looks.....but it looks good don't you think ?.

liberty joy

so yesterday there i was rambling along London's fine streets when as usual i happened to wander past my favorite shop in the whole of London...liberty, and what stopped me more than anything was the words covering all the windows.....SALE, so i screamed a little scream and off i went...and what fun i did have as you will See from the following pictures......
this first one is just the little dull entrance to liberty, when i say dull, i mean possibly one of the grandest buildings in London...it is rather special, and even though i walk past it often and have been inside billions of times, it still makes me stop and look.


so once inside i jumped in the rather fancy elevator, with a posh lady who i think was scared of me ? and shot up to the 4Th floor, which is furniture, were not talking boring old tables and chairs, were talking one of a kind customised wonders, all presented in really cool ways. but first look at the size of this chandelier, it was just massive, and it hung from the ceiling(obviously) down through the atrium to the ground floor.


i want this chair and all that goes with it......it makes my heart go boom boom boom.i never pay much attention to who did it ? i just like it,no,i love it.


and just look at this pile of heaven on a bloody fantastic sofa...if it was not for the two shop assistants standing near it, i would have taken a run up and dived onto it, talk about visual overload.


and now look at this set up, how excellent, its the wallpaper i love, lots of little houses, and I'm loving the stripes on the cushions.


and this chair and cushion would just fit perfectly in my imaginary house, and the side table next to the incredibly dramatic wallpaper would just be lovely.


anyway so off downstairs i went to the floor where my wallet starts screaming and my pocket starts burning, the fabric and trims and things floor, which strangely is next to the carpet and rug section of the shop ?
anyway i just walked around and around and around again just being bombarded with prints and patterns,trims and buttons, and I'm sure they were talking to me, "buy me" "no buy me", and as the sales were on there were tables lined up along one side piled high with boxes of remnants of liberty prints, i saw one sales assistant who's job was to re fold them into pretty piles, i think he looked rather pissed of, wonder why ?


i was sneaky at taking my pictures, making sure that none of the snotty staff told me off, there were too many staff in the shop, it makes you feel like they are stalking you and will pounce if you dare to touch anything.
now just look at these buttons...


and more fabric just calling out to me, " look at me I'm pretty"


so you must be asking, what did he buy ? well actually i was a good boy and only spent about £5.00, and i was happy with what i got, i sometimes just have to say to myself, "you don't need it". but usually i say to myself "you cant afford it". and i mentally did spend a gazillion pounds and i furnished my imaginary house from top to bottom, so i left the shop a happy boy, and look, even the bags are kinda nice, the ones you normally get are purple with rope handles and rather fancy and make me feel kinda posh just to hold one,but this one was ok.


but just look how they wrapped my goodies, even the ribbon and bright orange lace was put into a little bag and the fabric i got was wrapped in liberty tissue and stickered. i was lucky to escape with my life as when i asked a small lady with spectacles perched on her nose where i got things cut, i think i made her lose count, and as she was holding an old fashioned wooden ruler i thought she was gonna beat me up. oops.


and so inside the tissue is this lovely piece of brilliance, don't know who its by ? and i don't care really, but i just wanted it in my life,i only got a 30cm strip, but its enough for me to play with. the only problem now though is what to do with it, will it go to the top of my "to do" list, or the bottom, or will i just look at it and smile ? i definitely think a posh little monster will be made ?


so thank you liberty for being so over the top and brilliant, and old and grand, and posh....ooh it is posh in there. and I'm so not.

practice makes perfect

so the last few days have been unproductive in actually producing finished things, but very productive in giving me ideas that i want to run with, and as ribbons and trims feature heavily in my work, and because i have bags full just waiting to be used, i tried this idea for a clutch/purse/bag/thingy detail. i want to, or should that be I'm going to use the trims as the decorative element, possibly on the flap,(not sure what the technical name for this part of a bag is ?) but flap sounds good, flap flap flap.


and another detail idea i have had swimming around for a while,uses the scrap leather pieces i have, and using them in what i can only call, a "crazy paving" way.and again this could/will be on the flap.

after i made this little sample i got carried away and covered a bigger area with these scraps, and i think i love what it looks like and its gone to the top of my must do list for every product,and i like how it will mean that every item i apply it to will be different and unique.


so maybe now instead of thinking things through i should just get on and do it.