Month: October 2014

Step-by-Step Upcycled Wall Hanging

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It’s spring here in New Zealand and I’ve been inspired by my surroundings lately. Painting trees, making terrariums and all that jazz. So I have been thinking of a crafty idea using nature and came up with this elegant upcycled wall hanging. I always collect things for crafting, so had a pile of toilet paper rolls which I painted red and metallic copper then set to dry. Whilst that was drying I grabbed some tree branches from the hot water cupboard (they were drying overnight in preparation for painting). Then painted them with white acrylic paint. Then it was time to flatten and cut the toilet rolls into 1.5cm strips with the purpose to turn them into lovely little heart shapes. I did this with a small application of PVA craft glue in the seam and a peg to hold it firm whilst they dried. Once dry, I threaded a mixture of wooden natural coloured beads and the hearts (using a drawing pin to make the holes) with copper wire. If you didn’t have any copper wire …

Feria de Sevilla – The Seville Fair

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If you have ever been to Spain you may have heard of Feria de Sevilla or the Fair of Seville. It began in 1847 and started as a Livestock Fair back in the day. Since that time it has become a yearly occurence and lasts for two weeks following Semana Santa (Holy Week) in April or May. Nowadays it is a huge spring festival of Spanish culture including market stalls, art, horseriding, dancing, traditional Spanish tapas and partying through the night. If you go to Spain during this time you would likely see beautiful art capturing this festival in all its forms. The style of art you often see is vivid, colourful and retro in style.    I was inspired by Feria de Sevilla and its artwork to create this painting of mine. Have you been inspired to create something artistic after visiting another country? I’d love to hear about it.

Spring Tree

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I love trees. It’s spring here and right now the trees have already blossomed and are getting thick with bright green leaves. On a sunny day you can look up through some of the larger more established trees and see the sun flicking light through the small spaces between the green and the vivid blue sky. Its a pretty amazing sight – and needed to be painted.