CRAFT!

I am broke, I have no job and no prospects! Also I'm hooked on this image sharing site called imgfave, lots of memes, superimposed helvetica  and presently harry potter stuff. Every now and again it has pictures of cute little crafty stuff and I like to save these pictures to inspire me in my endeavors! This got me started on stumbling crafts on the stumbleupon engine which led me to various craft/ d.i.y sites and so for the past month I've been accumulating a cache of ideas for homemade presents! I love making people stuff, the present is completely unique and then theres the reaction, hopefully it'll be something like "OMmmGod that's SO cute/cool!!"

So let me give you a run down of all the handmades I've put together so far -

First off - pantscakes. I've seen this done with socks, vests, towels and of course underwear and they look so cute and easy I had to try them. I cut the bottoms off plastic cups to make the bun cases and finished off the raw edge with green ribbon and pink bows which I salvaged from my leaving cert craft project ( a Marie Antoinette puppet). Then I rolled up the pants with a little corner sticking up to look like frosting. Finally I wrapped them in cellophane, just cause! I made these for my secret Santa friends in studio 4, peaches of girls they are, truly worthy of being honored with undergarments!



Show a little backbone! (BAM again)



Next -The footprint necklace. Jess was my specific secret Santa, I got her a honka honka horn for her bike and fashion origami but I wanted to make her something too. Earlier in the year I made a necklace from a bird vertebrate my friend Vanessa found in a handful of gravel and Jess said she'd like one. However I didn't like the idea of going spine hunting so I went with this. I love dinky little pendants with charms on them but at the moment all the ones in the shops all have either swallows, owls, clocks, lockets or something equally whimsical on them. So in a bid for uniqueness, I made a little tablet out of fimo paper clay and pressed two little footprints into it with a pen, when it dried I sprayed it with gold chrome. Why footprints? Lets just say over the 7 years of our friendship Jess has made quite the impression on me. (BAM!)



I also gave all the girls one of these Warm Wishes cards, a stencil and red paint on card, simple as!

 

Another necklace worthy individual is my friend and savior Hazel Egan. Hazel rescued me last Tuesday when I filleted myself with my scalpel during a lino cut, she sought out first aid, took me to the hospital, waited with me, and sat through the stitches with me, and we only just met this year! Anyhow as we sat in the waiting room we were chatting away about various artsy things and I found out she liked this beautiful rainbow necklace by  designer called mixko. So home I went to attempt to do something similar! Its 5 strands of embroidery thread suspended between two paper clay clouds hot glued onto a chain. Its sitting in a casio dictaphone casette box because it was the only small box I had left, but I think it adds something!

I also made her a card, red glitter a la the yeah yeah yeahs video for off with your head!

For my other studio 4 holmes I made these candycane heart pops that I saw on the Pleasant Home blog. You break the candycanes to size, arrange them over a lollypop stick then pour melted white chocolate into the heart you've made, I finished them off with some festive sprinkles and more cellophane and a twirly ribbon!

I have friends on the outside too! For my life-partner and fellow owl enthusiast Meghan I sewed her an owl bobble hat. We saw one in Claire's Accessorise but I missed the boat to buy it so I made her this with patchwork fabric, big buttons and embroidery thread. Dear god I hope she forgives the fact its eyes are so far apart!

For my stylist, confidante and all round beautiful person Andrew I made a speaker hat, I took one of those furry deerstalker hats, sliced the sides and sat in a pair of speakers. Will this prove practical in reality - 50:50 but its warm as having a fox wrapped around your head!

 

On a final note, most of this stuff apart from the hats was made after Tuesdays trip to a&e (Pictured above are my gristly paw and my slings, one for day wear and one for Spacemas) so I was largely a one handed effort; and so is a testament to just how easy all this stuff is to make!

Christmas at LeSAD!

So I was wondering what art college Christmas would be like and as I am presently on holidays I can tell you! First sign of the festive season was the enormous tree they set up in the reception, I have to say I'm surprised by the conservative choice of a red and gold bauble set up, not that it made the tree any less festive and glowy! Next, after several light powderings of snow, 3 snowmen materialized around the front of the college, how they managed to scrape three together out of 2 inches of snow is a Christmas miracle!

Next was the Christmas lunch, on the 6th of December, why so early? No clue but there is nothing wrong with spreading out the events, Christmas is an entire season after all. Jodie and I opted for the vegetarian choice of Mediterranean vegetables in a filo pastry case, Jod is a cilliac and can't have wheat and it took all the self controll in my body not to ask her for her empty pastry case when she was done. I also hit myself in the face with the cracker prize when I dueled with Kevin but I walked away with the pink paper crown and an 8cm ruler! There was a band playing but unfortunately for us all we got was 30 minutes of sound checks, they only started playing after we finished but we could hear the music all over the school after so cool times still had by all!

Godbless the staff in their Christmas hats, true heros.

Then last Thursday night to top it all off - Spacemas! I like Christmas, I like space and I LOVE costumery so I spent the night gettin' wild in my power ranger leggings, my space boots, my diamante helmet and my sling/modified ray gun! In terms of adherence to the theme the student unions concept of space seemed to revolve around packaging the venue (Dolans) and the revelers securely in a wholesale amount of tinfoil! Cool music, cool people, and my friend Glen reinventing the act of dancing, I'm quite sad everyones gone home to their father and motherlands for 3 weeks!

Last saturday....



Taking pictures in the bathroom - not cool?
No no it's for my blog!!



So I went to a ball last Saturday! My friend Jess invited me to this fundraiser thing organized by graduates from LeSAD, would I ever turn down such an occasion? So off we went to socialize and hob nob with the upper echelons of the limerick art scene (I'm not really sure how many echelons there are, I'm gonna say 3 or 4?) "The fourth years are like, the babies! Uh we're in first year? Ouhhhh my god yere like the zygotes!"

So I was naturally starry eyed from the get go. Jess warned me from the outset to be cool and not tell a particular story - naan bread Luke, if you remember me, I'm terribly ashamed of myself! The whole affair was held in the Shannon rowing clubs clubhouse, I'd never been there before, it's a gorgeous venue, if I knew my interior design I'd be able to elaborate so I'll just fob you off with old world style!

At one point we found ourselves perched over (and later draped over) a balcony protruding out over the river Shannon. It was an icy cold night and I repeatedly and loudly made the point that "this is JUST like that bit in the TITANIC!!"

Back inside there was a band and a d.j playing some (uhm.. contemporary? as in mixed with synths?) Jazz. I got my jive on like a girl who has been jiving for years but who has never in a relevant setting! .. Wait.. I was a girl who....

Another distinctively arty element was the garb, purple chord suits, ostrich feather waist length capes, velvet, a huge abundance of velvet! In my experience its so rare that people go all out and I lapped it up.

So the people were arty and knew how to party and goodtimes were had by all at the ball!

What happened after the ball however is a whole other tale in itself, I will give you three clues, a kimono, a concussion and the phrase "I buried Shep this day last year...."