Bleach dying - Pinterest Wednesday

I got the idea to do this after seeing this pin http://pinterest.com/pin/365706432212112802/

Although it's different, it gave me the idea for this. I thought that if I created a stencil and dabbed bleach through it that it might work, so I did a google search for a stencil to try out and printed it on thick photographic gloss paper. The reason I did that is that I thought the bleach may soak through the paper if it was plain paper or card.

I then cut it out using a craft knife:

I then positioned the stencil where I wanted the pattern to be, and then dabbed on toilet bleach (make sure it's bleach, not cleaner. I made that mistake to start with!) Also, make sure you put something underneath the area you're bleaching or it will go through to the other side. I used a folder wrapped in a bin bag, tucked inside the top. I also recommend wearing rubber gloves:

The dye will start to bleach before your very eyes. Once you are happy with it, wash it straight away in cold water to get rid of any excess bleach, and then pop it in the washing machine.

I LOVED the way it turned out! I'm going to make my own designs and use this technique to upcycle some old clothes. Coming soon to my Etsy shop! xxx

Salt dough decorations - Pinterest Wednesday

For this weeks Pinterest Wednesday post, I decided to give salt dough a try. I've never done it before, but read that you just use a half, half, whole recipe. I used 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of water.

I had a play about with it and don't think it's something that I would rush back into doing if I'm honest, but I think the weather didn't help! The dough just kept sticking as it was SO hot! I tried stamping some and then wanted to cut them out afterwards, but found that you get the best results by using cookie cutters.

Here are my favourite pieces:

I'm a complete beach bunny and live on the South Coast, so love anything with an nautical theme! I think salt dough would be great to use to make Christmas decorations, so I'll probably give it another go when the weather cools down.

To make these I rolled the dough out, cut the shapes out and then stamped them with some stamps that I bought. I then baked them in the oven on the lowest setting for about 4-5 hours. Once cooled, I sprayed them with polyurethane varnish. This means that they should keep for years and years (if looked after properly).

Here are some related pins that I found:

http://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211944277/
http://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211805331/
http://pinterest.com/pin/417216352949343379/
http://pinterest.com/pin/276197389619050572/

Decorated pebbles - Pinterest Wednesday

I've seen a few pins on Pinterest of decorated pebbles and decided to give them a go myself. Here are some pins I found if you want to check them out:

https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432212007367/
https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432212006075/
https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211860305/
https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211802486/
https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211430733/

If you want to try this yourself, I suggest using fine markers. Unfortunately I only had regular Sharpies to hand.

So yes, they're no where near as good as the ones you see on Pinterest haha. I'm going to get myself some fine markers I think and write inspirational quotes on others at a later date and put them back on Southsea seafront. These are quite fun to do and I'm sure kids would love having a go =)

Silhouette pictures - Pinterest Wednesday

Happy Pinterest Wednesday!

For this week, I came across this pin that I loved:

https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211901944/

I googled 'silhouette' and came across a few that I thought would work well and this is what I came up with:

I think this would work really well with fabric also, and again is something that I'm going to play about with. It would be really nice to have more detail on them I think. Perhaps adding contrasting accessories (like flowers on the branches of the owl picture). I love the 'hello' on the original image.

Have you tried this yourself? Please let me know if you have, I'd love to see how other peoples have turned out =)

Emily Joan and Kate Miller Jewellery

Hi guys, I wanted to write this blog post as I have been thinking for a while about what direction I wanted to go in with Emily Joan. I'm trying my hand at many different creative processes at the moment to expand my skills and want to experiment alot in the future with different mediums. I originally started Emily Joan to help support myself through my Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (which I start in September) and then through my Fashion & Textiles degree, which I am hoping to start 2014 (2015 at the latest) I also started it to help pay the mortgage and household bills.

I am currently attending jewellery and fused glass classes. I had intended to sell (and blog about) the jewellery as part of Emily Joan, however, I feel that selling and blogging homeware and jewellery together, with all their different categories may come across as a bit confusing, so I have decided to split it into two and have Emily Joan and Kate Miller Jewellery.

Emily Joan will include all my vintage, upcycled, handmade home blog posts and accessories and Kate Miller Jewellery will include all my jewellery (fine jewellery, upcycled, etc). I have just purchased the domain www.katemillerjewellery.co.uk and it is currently being registered. I will work on a blog and website for that as soon as I'm able to.

My Facebook pages for both are as follows, please give them a like if you haven't already ♥ 

Emily Joan

Kate Miller Jewellery

Thank you,
Kate xxx

Colouring in for adults - Pinterest Wednesday (On Saturday)

Hi guys, sorry for the delay in the Pinterest Wednesday post. I really enjoyed this one and have been working on a few this week.

Here is the pin that gave me the idea: https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211316483/ It links to a page where you can download a couple of freebies:

All set, with tea and chocolate cornflake bites for an afternoon of colouring =)

Work in progress

Work in progress

Completed

This is the first one I did

and this is the second. I really prefer this one, so decided to cut it out and mount it on some black card.

The two together.

Decided to try another

I really like this one as it reminds me of a stained glass window

I saw this one too and had to try it.

I decided that I wanted to go with a 70's colour theme with the oranges and greens on the background pattern

In progress

Nearly finished!

I decided to do a very light yellow for the background. I really love this piece, so have decided to cut it out, mount it on black card and frame it to hang in our living room.

I really enjoyed this project, it kind of takes you back to being a kid. The first 2 patterns are the free to download patterns that you can access via the Pinterest link. The other patterns were all found via a google image search for 'adult colouring in' and unfortunately I have no way of finding out who created them, otherwise I would credit their work. I don't own any of the patterns, I simply coloured them in, so these will not be offered for sale. I do intend to experiment drawing some patterns of my own that I may put up to sell at a later date. I thoroughly recommend giving this a go yourselves though, it's great fun!

Heart painting - Pinterest Wednesday

I have decided that my 'Pinterest posts' will now become 'Pinterest Wednesday' posts.

I have been working on this painting today and really like the way it has turned out.

I painted this on a 30x40 cm stretched canvas, using acrylic paint. The stems are drawn in with a green sharpie pen. I got the idea from this pin on pinterest:

https://pinterest.com/pin/365706432211887941/

I decided to put my own spin on it. I have a love for hearts, I have lots of them around my house, so thought I would try that instead of the circles. I am going to paint a few more of these canvases and put them up for sale, so I will probably do some circles, some hearts and perhaps some other shapes.

Here are some photos that I took during painting:

Painting the outside edges

Adding white to the paint to blend into the centre

Starting to paint the hearts

I then drew in the lines with the sharpie pen to complete.

If you see any pins on pinterest that you would like to see me attempt, please post below, or let me know on my facebook page - Emily Joan