Posts in Craft Projects
Mat Leave Crafts: Wooden Block Mobile

My parental leave has started, which means I spend most of my days cleaning the house, watching Law & Order SVU, reading up on childbirth, looking for my toes, and... handmaking our baby a boatload of things he doesn't really need. 

                                                            I seeee you (almost)!

One of those things is a little mobile, made from second hand wooden blocks I got at the charity shop. I read somewhere that babies' brains are stimulated by (black and white) patterns, and wanted to make our little boy something to that would get those synapses firing.

A few years ago my talented friend Kim made a gorgeous little mobile for her baby boy (see blog post here, she occasionally also sells them in , but they go quickly) and I was inspired to get crafty myself. 

I'm quite pleased with how these turned out, and it was fun to do, despite my dislike for literally watching paint dry (just kidding, I cleaned my fridge and labeled everything in the hospital bag while waiting. I am turning into horror mom already). 

                                                 Waiting for the first layer of paint to dry.

For instructions on how to make your own mobile, check out Kim's post, and these (link 1) two (link 2) tutorials on the Etsy blog! 

Our Wool and the Gang Knit Party

Last week at the office, we ganged up with the lovely people of Wool and the Gang for a little knitting party! 

Wool and the Gang is a London-based but internationally renowned community of makers (or 'global knitwork of gangstas' as they like to call it) focused on promoting fashion production that's made in a sustainable way. They want to bring back knitting as a viable means of production for generations to come, every piece make unique. Music to my ears. 

I myself have made multiple attempts at taking up knitting, generally unsuccessfully due to my own lack of knowledge and an overconfidence in my own ability (this still isn't done). Knitting a blanket out of baby cotton with miniature needles? Sure, that sounds like a fun project to push aside after a week!

Our group had a few knitter drop outs like me, as well as a few expert-level knitters and a couple absolute beginners. We used the Snood Operator kit, which included an instruction manual with various options depending on your level, some crazy sexy wool in a color of your choice, knitting needles, and some regular needles for turning the scarf into a snood. Time flew by and I think most of us got quite far into the pattern under the expert eye of the lovely gangsters from Wool and the Gang HQ, aided by the clear instructional videos. 

Our group had a few drop outs like me, as well as a few expert-level knitters and a couple of absolute beginners. We used the Snood Operator kit, which included an instruction manual with various options depending on your level, some crazy sexy wool in a color of your choice and knitting needles. Time flew by and I think most of us got quite far into the pattern under the expert eye of the lovely gangsters from WATG HQ, aided by the clear instructional videos. 

I ended up finishing my snood this weekend, right in time for the hot spell that came over London this week ;-). I’ve got a feeling this soft cowl will come in handy at some point, though. Yay for British weather!

© Anna Denise Floor

Have I been converted to knitter-dom? Let's hope so, or I just threw away the £50 I spent on more wool in their online shop (although I can always just snuggle up to the balls of yarn when Mr. Floor is away, they're so soft) 

If you want to become a knitter, I can heartily recommend getting one of their knit kits. If you're an experienced knitter, the crazy sexy wool is absolutely stunning.

Use this link and get 15% off your first purchase! 

Journal Page: Snow Globes and Super Glue

© Anna Denise Floor

So then my colleague Ingrid and I had an epiphany and decided to wear matching sparkly tights to our office Christmas party and even though no one actually said so, everyone was of course very jealous. It is also probably the reason why my team won the gingerbread house making competition (we made a boat), and why our snow globe had dinosaurs in it and looked sparkly and badass. No, actually, I think that may have been my colleagues doing, as I was too busy laughing at my boss who glued his fingers together with superglue (he's alright, although he probably hasn't been able to access finger print protected iPhone for two weeks). 

Anyways, I included the snow globe making tutorial in my drawing as it was AWESOME and super easy to do - big thanks to my colleague Jane, who was the mastermind behind the amazing party and this tutorial!

Did you have an office party? Any good gossip?

Floor Painting

'Aha-moments'. I don't really have them very often. I know there are people out there who do. People who have seen that proverbial lightbulb, but not me. For me, realizations come slowly - inklings, ideas, they unfold for me rather than pop up ('slow' is what my brother would say, probably). So when I say that picking up drawing again, was a life changing event for me, I don't mean there was a ray of light hitting me from the skies whilst dramatic music made all the animals in the forest perk up their fuzzy little ears.

When I picked up a pencil again in 2007 it was kind of slow and annoying. My hands wouldn't do what I wanted them to do and it stayed like that for a long time after that first day. They still won't listen to me, always, but taking that first step has changed my life in so many ways. I learned to listen to my passions again, I learned to express myself fearlessly, to find stillness in creating, and remembered what it feels like to be inspired again. But it came slowly and through continuous practice. 

Through blogging, my work at Etsy, and the many courses I've taught online and in person, I've tried to help other people pick up a practice of their own. So when the Fantastic Mr. Floor showed me his paintings and drawings a little while back, but also mentioned he hadn't touched an easel in years, I knew I had a mission. 

So we bought paint, canvas, brushes, sat down on our living room floor and got going. No singing cherubs to be seen here, but boy, that was fun! And fortunately, when you get sick of staring at your own drawings and paintings, you can always give them away to your parents. They're supposed to love everything you do. Use it. 

 

#Signfail
The final Pieke eehm, Pieter sign.   © Anna Denise Floor

The final Pieke eehm, Pieter sign. 
 © Anna Denise Floor

Just a little while ago, one of my good friends gave birth to a beautiful little baby boy named Pieter. Of course, I'm one of those dorks who can't NOT make people something they don't need (and have to act all grateful about) instead of just going to the store like a normal person and picking out something they'll actually use like... pacifiers, and socks, or like, earplugs. 

Seriously, when I got my first real apartment, my parents were like "Great! Here's four boxes of useless drawings and clay art projects you've brought home the last 20 years! You can have 'em back! Tadaa!*" - and I totally get it. I'm like the sultan in Aladdin, stuffing birds with crackers they don't want (and we all know what happened to him). It's out of love, folks. All love.

Anyhow. I decided to make one of those little door signs for the little dude and here's what I did and how it happened. It's not a tutorial, as I didn't take any decent pictures or actually included any useful information on how to do it (Pet peeve: tutorials that go like "step 1: get some wood, step 2: pick out some colors, step 3: do the entire thing and make it superawesome" which I am not saying happened here, but you catch my drift. If I knew how to do the entire thing, I'd go do it and instead of wasting my time reading your so-called tutorial, but hey, that's just my personal opinion). But anyhows. I took pictures with my cell phone. Here they are. And yes, I know you can't actually read his name, which is really the only thing it needed to do, right. #Signfail

pieter-2.jpg

* Actually, my mom sifted through all of the drawings and turned a selection of the best/most memorable ones into a book, and then gave me the box of drawings that didn't make the cut because she didn't want to throw them out. Seriously, my parents are pretty awesome, and I had a very happy childhood, but where's the fun in that, right? ;-)