When I Grow Up
est. 2004
A Creative kind of Life. A blog by Helen Hobden
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new year fireworks
Happy New Year!
January 5, 2013
Just a quick note to wish you all a very wonderful 2013. I’m busy planning the year ahead…first I’m continuing the renovating push we started in the month before Christmas. I have a little more to do in the living room before I’m going to do our bedroom; so there’ll be more to come in my renovating blog at last. I’m also planning on getting Be In The Place available for the kindle and I’m hoping the inspiration muse will descend (otherwise known as ‘Flipping heck Helen, this book has been almost finished for 8 years or something, isn’t it about time you actually flipping finished it?’ self-talking to) and I’ll actually finish the last ever ever ever edit of my second book. For Oshun – www.oshun.co.uk or www.OshunCreations.etsy.com my plans for the year are to finish my new main website – I’m currently re-listing every item and after a new design, will hopefully be ready by summer. In the mean time I’ll be busy making floaty maxi dresses and handy bottle bags in time for Glastonbury festival; and wedding dresses – upcycled and re-made fairy-style and also starting something completely new – a small selection of made-to-order, made-to-measure steampunk and historically inspired gowns. My other Etsy shop, www.WickedFaerieGifts.etsy.com will carry on as usual, though my enjoyment of making book covers, along with my new Christmas present – a spellbinders grand calibur die cutting machine – means I’m going to make large wedding guestbooks with every page embellished, decorated and distressed with lots of interesting places for guests to sign and leave messages. Fun stuff. I think that’s enough to be getting on with for now.
Fabric Art Workshop by Susan Stein
September 4, 2012
View this item on Amazon This book explores techniques and materials in more ways than you could possibly imagine! I like the step-by-step instructions for each technique – they are straight forward and easy to follow with plenty of pictures so you can follow them with no problems. I’m not particularly a fan of the books that tell you how to achieve the projects that the author has made – they leave no room for imagination – so this book is ideal for me. For example, it won’t tell me how to make a mono-print elephant tea cosy; it simply tells me how to do the mono-printing. (Which is good because I don’t really want an elephant tea cosy.)
Bikini Babes
August 31, 2012
I’m lucky enough to be going on holiday soon, so I’ve actually been the target audience to all the swim wear on offer in the high street. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted looking through rails of clothes and trying on various combinations of bikini tops, tankini tops, bikini bottoms, coordinating skirts and one-piece swimming costumes. It’s actually been doing my head in. You can’t do it quickly either! In order to try on swimwear, you have to take (almost) absolutely everything off! (Then of course, you need a different size and being a British citizen, rather than an American one, (and not shopping in high class, super expensive establishments), this means getting at least partially dressed again, scurrying across the shop and back to the changing rooms hoping for better luck this time.) ….
Mixed Media Explorations by Beryl Taylor
August 30, 2012
View this item on Amazon This book is fairly old now, but I only recently discovered it and really hope Beryl Taylor will have a new one published soon because I can’t get enough of her work! Mixed media is a relatively new thing in the UK, but over in America, they’re experts. Beryl Taylor is a mixture of both; living across the pond now, but grew up in England. Anyway, as a brief explanation, mixed media art usually involves a range of materials and techniques, including stamping, painting, sewing, quilting, embroidering, beading, gluing and lots more!
Alternative Wedding Dresses
August 23, 2012
Celebrities and friends are getting married all over the place and photos are appearing everywhere from Hello magazine to Facebook. Unfortunately I haven’t had any invites this year (not even from Kate Moss!) but I do love looking at all the wedding dresses. Of course the wedding of the year was Prince William and Kate Middleton, and whilst I did like her dress, I preferred Lily Allen’s vintage style dresses. The price for all of the ones we see in magazines are usually somewhat astronomical and out of reach for most of us, which makes handmade dresses on sites such as Etsy, even more appealing. The dress above by blackmirrordesign is no doubt a brave statement to wear as a wedding dress, but if you like it; why not? Surely your wedding day is the best time to wear something that truly reflects you.
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