Thursday 21 February 2013

pretty dandy flea wishlist



• PRETTY DANDY FLEA WISHLIST •

 <<   1. Donkey Collage by James Green Printworks   >>
<<   2. Tickety Boo card from Pretty Dandy  >>
<<  3. Apple Tea Towel from Pretty Dandy  >>
<<  4. Kissing Birds Plate by Carly Dodsley  >>
<<  5. Drring Bike Bell by Claire La Secretaire  >>
<< 6. Bird Brooch by Modflowers  >>
<<  7. HeHeHe Ay Ay Caramba Family by Tracey Meek  >>
<<  8. Bird of Prey Card by Ding Ding Makes Things  >>
<<   9. Daydream Wallpaper by Julia Rothman from Pretty Dandy  >>
<<  10. Untitled editorial illustration by Lou Illustrator  >>

On Saturday I'll be taking Butterscotch & Beesting to the Pretty Dandy Flea in Nottingham. It's my first market of 2013 and I'm only doing a few this year, so it feels a bit special.

The flea is split between two venues - The Corner in the creative quarter and The Broadway Cinema (which is where I'll be). Two fairs for the price of one. Actually there's no charge for entry, so it's two for the price of free! There'll be fabulous makers at both sites, as well as lots of glorious vintage finds. I've picked some of my favourites.

Pretty Dandy Flea
• Saturday 23 February • 10.30am - 5.30pm
Broadway Cinema • The Corner • Nottingham

Friday 15 February 2013

diy wax seal

All my hinting may have fallen on Mr Bettyscotch's impoverished ears this valentine's day (two blog posts and an Etsy treasury didn't do the trick), but I did get a delightful treat in Skin and Blister Blog's fabulous #heartswap. Reams of washi tape and ribbon are a sure-fire way to win my heart, and totally made my day. Thank you most gratefully heart swap friend xx

When Anna first sent me the name of my heart swap back in January, I read through her q+a and saw that as well as being partial to a bar of fruit and nut, my #hs also loved wax seals. So my brain started whirring until I remembered a project from the quite wonderful Print Workshop book by Christine Schmidt from Yellow Owl Workshop.

The Print Workshop tutorial uses a lip gloss to mount the stamp, but I didn't have one so I scoured my art box and found some wooden dowels instead (aka long rounded sticks). I glued these together and wrapped different coloured cotton around them to get a gradient effect.

This is how it looked > > >

wax seal, gradient colours, wax seal tutorial, handmade

I had so much fun I thought I should share.

WHAT TO GATHER > > >
a pencil
a piece of paper
a rubber carving block (I use Speedball Speedy-Carve - HandPrinted sells a nice kit with tools)
cutting tools + craft knife
wooden dowels cut to the same length, or sticks, or anything cylindrical you can wrap
cotton thread in lovely colours
a stick of sealing wax (I got mine from local bookbinder Sue Callaghan - opening the door to her shop is like stepping back in time and into the pages of a Mr Benn book)
a candle and a match
a (metal) teaspoon you don't mind never using again
a sheet of baking paper or waxed paper

wax seal, gradient colours, wax seal tutorial, handmade

HOW TO MAKE THE STAMP > > >
1 /      draw your illustration or initials in pencil on a piece of paper
2 /      draw a nice neat-ish circle (or square or rectangle) around your picture
3 /      turn over your piece of paper and lay it on your rubber carving block
4 /      trace your picture by scribbling all over the back with a pencil (it will be reversed on your block)
5 /      carve out your design with your tools
6 /      cut around the outside of your circle / square / rectangle with a craft knife
7 /      this is your stamp

- - - whoooohoooo first bit done - - -

8 /     now line up your sticks so you have a flat base at one end
9 /     glue the sticks together (I used a glue gun for this bit, but other glues should be fine too)
10 /   take your cotton and, starting at one side, wrap it around your sticks, covering the loose thread
11 /   to change colour, knot in the next cotton and carry on winding
12 /   keep going like this with different coloured cottons until your sticks are totally covered and beautiful
13 /   tie a knot and tuck in the loose thread
14 /   stop and admire your rainbow-like workmanship
15 /   now attach your stamp to the end of your pretty sticks using superglue
16 /   I painted the other end with acrylic paint, but you don't have to

- - - whoooohoooo, you've made your very own colourful stamp stick - - -

HOW TO MAKE THE WAX SEAL > > >
1 /    lay out a piece of baking paper on the floor or on a table
2 /    cut a slice off the sealing wax and put it in the teaspoon
3 /    heat the teaspoon by holding a lit candle below
4 /    when all the wax in your spoon is melted, pour it out on the baking sheet (you want to make a smallish circle of wax)
5 /   stamp the wax using your fabulous seal
6 /   when the wax is set, carefully lift it off the baking sheet and stick it where you want it using a glue dot or double-sided sticky tape or just glue

Once you've perfected the seal making, you can just pour the wax directly where you want it to be. You can even miss out the teaspoon bit altogether and drip it where you want it, but watch out because the wax can burn and you'll be left with black streaks.

And that's it - - - a diy wax seal. Ta da!

wax seal, gradient colours, wax seal tutorial, handmade gift

Monday 11 February 2013

oh comely tape giveaway


Issue fourteen of oh comely magazine dropped into my letterbox last week and it's as inspiring as ever. In amongst its beautiful pages, you might spy some silly birds sticky tape. They've got five rolls to give away. So if you want your presents looking 'as good as a big top tent in the afternoon sun', you could ask them nicely and see if you win. Or if you don't fancy your chances, you could always grab some rolls over in my shop.

Oh, and if anyone ever finds the copy I left on a Sheffield to London train last February, I'd love to have it back. I miss it.



Sunday 3 February 2013

valentine wishlist

It's nearly 14.02. A day for hearts and flowers. Love and affection. Tears and tantrums. The day when Mr Bettyscotch can be heard to say: "But you hate valentine's day and told me you didn't want to be drawn into a commercial celebration of love, so I didn't get you anything . . ." (the last bit of the sentence is muffled because I am leaving the room.)

Yes, I know you shouldn't have to spend money to show someone you love them. And, yes, a cup of tea in bed and a spot of buttered toast is really all I need. But if that toast happened to have any of these delightful valentine treats next to it, oh, how very, very happy I would be  >  >  > 



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♥   VALENTINE WISHLIST   
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<<   1. Ernest and Eloise Play Telephone printable pattern by Flapper Doodle   >>
<<   2. Adorable Valentine Card by poosac     >>
<<    3. Love at First Sight gocco print by Olive Dear    >>
<<   4. Valentine Dodo screen print by Hello Dodo    >>
<<    5. Folk Heart Ceramic Coaster by Tilissimo   >>
<<    6. Stained Glass Love Birds by The Round Window  >>
<<   7. Love Let Go embroidery hoop by moxiedoll   >>
<<   8. I Like You Big Time and You Are Purr-fection cards by Hello Small World   >>