Liverpool contemporary arts fair...UK's new modern art fair

UK's new modern art fair

Next weekend Britain's new international modern arts fair kicks off in Liverpool. Showcasing work by emerging and established artists from over 50 leading British and international Galleries...the stockists of my concrete works, Art at 88, included!!

Visitors will be able to view and buy art from all the participating galleries.

The fair will include visual art, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass work and much more.

Liverpool contemporary arts fair is part of the cultural programme for the UK's International Festival for Business, which is hosted by Liverpool and will welcome over 250000 national and international visitors to the city.

So needless to say, I am very excited that Art at 88 will be showcasing my concrete bowls there!! And what's more, an image of my bowls even made it to the flier for the fair!!

So today I am sharing a few pictures of my collection that will be on show in Liverpool next week:

 Extra large cast concrete bowl with copper gilding

My collection all ready to go...

Extra large cast concrete bowl with gold gilding

 Small cast concrete bowl with copper gilding

The Liverpool contemporary arts fair will take place at the World Museum, and opens to the public 3-6th July.

I feel so honoured to be showcased amongst so many amazing artist!

I want to thank Malcolm and Jenni from Art at 88 for taking my bowls up north for this amazing event and wish them all the best of luck!!

xxx

June



Kitchen makeover....Moodboard and wish list

Mood board and wish list..

Having been quiet on the redecorating front, due to some personal issues, I am now rearing to go again!! (And yes...the bedroom reveal is still to come!!)

 This time it's the kitchen that is getting a makeover!!

In fact, If you follow me on instagram, you will already know that the current state of my kitchen is a mess....in progress!!

But I have both the determination and the vision to know that it's gonna look great!!

I thought I'd let you in on my plan of action in this post, as well as sharing my kitchen wish list!

homebase silver mist kitchen paint , bleached wood and metro tiles with grey grout

 So, my kitchen units are OK (not dreamy fab....but OK),but I have a yellowing wooden worktop that needs some TLC, and I am retiling with white metro tiles with grey grout....

Oh! And the horrible red walls are turning a silvery grey....hurray!!
(See the before pictures of my kitchen in this post )

Not a long list of jobs, but I think the impact is going to be massive!! (And re-tiling is NOT a small job!!)

There are quite a few things I would love to add once my kitchen is re-decorated....unfortunately, money is very tight at the moment, so they will just have to wait....Anyway, here is my Wishlist for the New look kitchen:

Vintage industrial steel laboratory table from factory20

FLAP large analogue wall clock from habitat

CUISINE metal sign from Rockett st George

Large Distressed metal lampshade from Rockett st George

Hand painted blossom mug from Rockett st George

Rustic wall plate rack from not on the high street

Isn't that table nice?? Discovered factory20 by chance...they have some amazing stuff....Unfortunately all quite pricey....and based in the US! But dreaming is allowed right??

Love that large wall clock from Habitat....will be saving and waiting for a sale!!

Rockett st George is fast becoming one of my favourite online shops for home ware...Their recent collection is perfectly eclectic!!

And I love how you can find so many "unique" gems on Not on the High street, an online marketplace full of smaller independent makers and shops!!

oooh....to win the lottery!!

I am so excited to finally be redecorating the kitchen...it is the room that has been niggling at me the most since we moved in...with its horrid blood red walls and hard-to-clean tiles!

Also :stay tuned for some DIY's for the new kitchen as well!!

xxx

June



Diy wire cage light tutorial

....tutorial 

I had my heart set on some cage lights for our bedroom, but they come with a hefty price tag, so I thought I'd try to DIY one... Inspired by this rustic looking industrial cage light, today I want to share with you all how I made mine for a fraction of the price...

YOU WILL NEED:

copper wire (£4.99, Clas Ohlson

lamp holder with flex (£10, Clas Ohlson)

wire cutters

Pliers

Drill

Cut the copper wire into 8-9 lengths of ca.70cm

Because the copper wire is so soft, it is quite hard to work with in this state (and will also look quite messy), so to solve this I used my drill to twist the wire:

Fold each length in half.....

...place the ends of each length of wire in your drill and tighten ...

hook the wire onto a nail or screw in a wall.

Pulling the wire taut, gently squeeze the drill so that the wire twists...

Repeat on all the lengths.

Not only does this look nice, but it makes the wire more rigid and easier to work with.

ASSEMBLING THE WIRE CAGE

Start by looping a piece of wire around the base of your lamp holder. Pull tight.

Snip the wire and use pliers to squeeze the ends together.

Make a larger ring in the same way.

 Next, you need to make sure you have 4 lengths, exactly the same...

Trim using your wire cutters.

Make a soft bend, halfway on each of the lengths, then tread it trough the little ring on the lamp base..

It will help if you have the bulb ring attached to the lamp base at this stage, to hold your little wire ring in place...

Bend the ends of the long wire lengths around the big ring..

Continue with all 4 lengths, crossing them over each other as you go along...Adjust the positioning as needed!

This can be a bit fiddly, I'm not gonna lie!

 

When you have wrestled the wires into shape, its time to put the final, lets call them "petal-shapes" on the bottom.... Take a length of the twisted wire and attach it to the big ring, squeeze with your pliers to hold in place. Then bend the wire and loop it around again to create the "petals"..

I used 2 lengths to get around the big ring...

screw in your light bulb! (The old fashioned Edison-bulbs looks nice!!)

That's it...your copper wire cage light is done...

I hung mine from an IKEA shelf bracket...(I had to drill holes in the bracket and remove the plug on the flex before threading through)

(The "be gentle with yourself" print is a free downloadable from Persia Lou )

 I love the way this turned out: Minimalistic and industrial cage light...for a fraction of the price!!

 Making another for the other side of the bed as well.

 

The Edison bulbs are not cheap, at £5 each, but worth it for their warm glow...don't you think??

How about it then: DIY your own for £15...or spend upwards of £50 for one??

xxx

June

Creating art with apps...D3LTA

 .... D3LTA

"morning light through my bedroom window"

I love a great app! Most of all I love a great photo editing app!!

And I recently found D3LTA geometric surface photography....and it is my new favourite toy!!

"Early morning dew drop rhododendron"

 

"picking posy's in the rain"



It basically takes any image stored on your phone and applies a geometric element of your choice to "deconstruct" your image in a very cool way!!

"rose"

It is how I created the free downloadable print I shared with you all in this post!

"Textures by the sea"

To make a poster out of your edited photo, just upload it to an online sharing service, like picasa or dropbox, save to your computer and print...

"Concrete work in progress"

 The App even lets you layer effects , for a kaleidoscope look that is eye-bending (I can say that ....right??)

"White flowers and ferns"

    

I'm sure there is a lot of similar apps available out there, but I found this one really easy to use and I am really impressed with the "poster - worthy" results, so I just wanted to share it with you all!! 

So why don't you give it a go and create some frame-worthy geometric photo prints for your walls!!

xxx

June

Last minute Fathers day DIY gift: Bleached design t-shirt

 

 ...and I really mean last minute!!

Having just got back from Norway, with my parents in tow...because today we are celebrating Little Miss Moo's 5th birthday....Fathers day completely slipped my mind this year!!

bad mummy!!

But somehow I've managed to save the day, with just a plain cheap t-shirt from the supermarket and some bleach!!

If you are also stuck for something for dad tomorrow...this will only take 5 minutes to make, and will be a unique present that shows (although you might be forgetful...) you care!!

Take a plaint -shirt (If you have no time to buy one, raid their wardrobe!!), place a piece of baking paper and an old tea-towel inside (to prevent the bleach from seeping through to the back of the t-shirt). Fill a pointy nozzle bottle with thick bleach...or use a brush...

 

...and your motif on the front of the t-shirt in bleach, like LMM demonstrates above...

She chose to write " I <3 (heart) DAD"

Keep it simple...

 

Leave the bleach to work its magic for 10-20 minutes, then pop it in the washing machine on a quick cycle to rinse the bleach off...hand to dry....

Ta Daaaa!

Daddy is proudly sporting LMM's DIY fathers day T-shirt!!

I think it looks rather cool with all the drips as well!!

 

And LMM is so proud that she made her Dad a t-shirt for fathers day!

Everyone's a winner!!

(And I'm NOT in the bad books....phew!!)

Now on to celebrating our baby's 5th birthday....Where did the time go??

HAPPY FATHERS DAY EVERYONE!!

XXX

June

Norwegian summer...making memories

making memories...

Just wanted to share some instagram pictures from our little holiday here on the west coast of Norway... little snaps from our days in the sun, a taste of the coastal life!!

 Picking posies...

boat-trip...

blue skies and open sea...

wind in our hair...

Faster, faster..

Collecting shells.. 

...at the beach

 

...Another day, another beach...Catch of the day: bucket full of crabs..

  At the lake...

driftwood

through the woods... 

We've had a great time....wish it would never end! Feeling recharged!

I guess sometimes you've got to get off the merry-go-round and learn to love life again!!

xxx