Please enable javascript, or click here to visit my ecommerce web site powered by Shopify. Cobbled Together by Brenna: October 2010 -->

Pages

Sunday 31 October 2010

Forest Floor





On a stroll through Epping Forest last weekend...

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Autumn Leaves

busy Merlin in the woods

Autumn is an incredibly exciting time in London, it feels as if everyone is busy creating. This must be some lingering instinct from bygone days when Autumn was an industrious time of harvesting, pickling and preparing for a long sparse winter. Well, whatever it is, I like it. I've always liked Autumn, but now that I'm a knitter, Autumn signals an excuse to get those pins out and produce layers of woolly warmth for loved ones.


As a tribute to Autumn, I made this pretty mobile out of waxed tissue paper, that celebrates the leaves changing from green to brown.

Here's how you can make your own Autumn Leaves paper mobile:
  • Trace a leaf - I found the typical leaf shape more effective than a maple style leaf...
  • Cut out shape in layers of tissue paper in colours from greens through yellows, oranges, reds and browns (about 5 layers in each leaf)
  • Place half a pipe cleaner in the middle of each stack of 5 paper leaves and stitch a holding stitch either end of the pipe cleaner with a loop between. Then attached the hanging thread in the middle of the loop so that the leaf balances straight. You can then fold up and down some of the layers of the leaf to reveal the various colours
  • Make a ring out of some wicker or a pliable vine, or use some wire and cover with fabric strips or ribbon. Add four ties to the ring and tie with a loop for hanging, make sure it balances well
  • Hang the leaves in stages so that they spiral down (I've used eight leaves because it worked well with the four ties)
Hang and enjoy. Light a candle underneath (not too close) and watch the leaves twist and turn.

Thursday 14 October 2010

dinosaur eggs or latex bowls

Recently at 100% Design London 2010, I saw a great project called Ten-Plan where 10 designers had created 10 environmentally sustainable designs and generously allowed access to the plans for free. These bowls were one of my favourites they are by a very interesting designer Gitta Gschwendtner. Visit Ten-Plan to download the plans to make a set of bowls for yourself. They are made from natural latex, latex baloons, pigment and sawdust, that's it - so they are completely biodegradable.


Tips I'd give for a successful project would be to ensure that the latex/sawdust mix is laid on thick enough to hold the structure of the bowl (i spread it on with a knife quite thick, however you could also do a couple of layers to really hold the shape).


I find them just so exotic and beautiful, I just can't stop admiring them. They remind me of dinosaur eggs or like the thunder eggs we used to go digging for when I was a child.
enjoy.





Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...