Nest necklace

Having fun playing around with the idea of nests and eggs - tricky part is finding beads that have the look of eggs.

Two new pieces for the gallery

Put these into the Gallery last weekend and the green one sold before the end of the day.  

New piece for the Gallery

For Queen and Country

Cabinet for the Gallery

Before

After

I got this cabinet off trade me and gave it a good clean,  a fresh coat of shellac, and re-lined the back with some fabric.  Last weekend, with the help  of my father we put up this cabinet in the gallery.

Then I filled it up with new jewellery for sale (sold 2 pairs of earrings while I was putting jewellery into the cabinet).

Wooden Christmas Tree

I made these to give away to everyone a few Christmases back. I designed them by sketching the idea up first then plotted them out on the computer so they would slot together. They were cut out on a laser machine out of thin MDF and were about 15cm high.

Soldered Decoratons

I made these decorations for my work mates this year (I always make them a Christmas decoration each christmas).  These were soldered and given a little polish.  I used small facetted glass from a stained glass window supplier.

For the person who want's nothing.

Go that special person in your life who want's nothing for Christmas.  How about giving them one of these? I just used stiff card to keep it's shape.

Artwork verses Christmas

My artwork is suffering at the moment, I should be making more pieces as I just sold one yesterday.  But Christmas prep has taken over - Christmas cards, decorating the tree, shopping etc.  Maybe after Christmas day I can settle down and get things done.

Christmas Swap Birds

So these are my Christmas Swaps - wee felt birds with buttons and feathers attached.  Here are some photo's of the process of getting them made:

New Junk

Came home today from the junk shop with this lot

(pictured above) for just $2 !

Then there was the small matter of putting them all away in the right place (in one of the many draws in my studio) so that I can find them later when I need them.

Amazing what a little water and soap can do!

Small things that make you smile

Sometime the small things in life make you smile the hardest.  Like the rubbish bin outside work, where someone had crammed in some packing material.  I thought it looked like a giant tissue box!

Warm weather

Warm weather just makes you happy!  Living next to the botanical gardens is quite a treat at this time of year and I often enjoy a walk amongst the flowers.

Christmas Swap

I have recently signed up for a Christmas ornament swap for New Zealanders. There will be 6 people in my group (group 4), makes me wonder just how many people signed up!  So now the decision process starts - what to make, what material to make them out of and what colours to go for.  Then there is the small matter of getting my A into G and get them made! Looking forward to the challenge and seeing what others come up with.

New piece for the Gallery

Last week I put a new piece up in the gallery, I have neglected the gallery as much as my blog of late and now have some ground to make up.  I hand cut the book to place the laser-cut wooden trees inside.  The wooden trees have been hanging around half made in the craft room for over a year waiting to be made finished off.

My Trip to Egypt and Europe

Well as you may have noticed my poor little blog has been sorely neglected of late. I blame my overseas trip. . . before the trip I spent all my time researching the places I was soon to visit, then on returning I never got back into the swing of things.

My trip started in Cairo - Egypt and finished in Athens - Greece, with many a place inbetween. We were away for almost two months and had a wonderful time seeing and experiencing so many new places and things.

I fell in love with the Greek island of 'Santorini', we stayed in the little village of Oia, located on the very edge of the island, where one of the worlds most famous sunsets take place.

I did manage to keep a travel blog while I was over there, You can skip to it here if you are interested.

Appleberry & Sock Monkeys

The great wee shop 'Appleberry' that sells my Sock monkeys has just been featured in the April copy of The Press 'At Home'.
What a nice surprise to see my sock monkeys in print. So it's time I got back to the sewing room and get some more Monkeys underway.

Pilgrim

Update

Since last posting - Astric closed it's doors due to the owners personal situation. But the good news is that a cute shop has picked up my Handmade Sock Monkeys and people have been snatching them up. The shop is: 'Appleberry' and has Children's Bedlinen & Accessories.

New Art Pieces

These are the two new pieces I have just finished and hung up at the gallery.
The first is 'Padlock' - when standing in front the piece it looks as if it is made up of flat slats of wood, it's not till you move to the side that you see the shape of the padlock.
The seacond is 'The Block' - cut from the top of an old wooden door frame, with small dictionary terms in the windows eg: house, flat, crib, abode etc .

My Gallery

I share a gallery space with two other artists (my Mother and my Auntie). My auntie paints in the studio during the day and my Mother and I have a small gallery space beside hers that we have called 'The Wee Gallery'.
Our gallery is located in the 'Old Brick Mill' at the Waikuku beach turn off. We are the small building on the far right in the picture.
www.pilgram.co.nz

Astric Sandwich & Gift Shop

This is the little shop in Colombo Street, Christchurch that I supply my handcrafts to. I love to make all sorts of unusual jewellery and at the moment have a soft spot for sock monkeys.