Formentera: Designs

People who know me know also how important these small island is to me. I won't go into this now - I just wouldn't know where to start and propably wouldn't find an end ^^ So let's just summarize: I love Formentera!

Therefore some designs from the island. Just a few... but I liked them. And they can be a good recource for inspiration.

At first this adorable bag from the store encantes (they have a lot of "indian" stuff, trash, kitsch... and a lot of alike stuff. starting from clothes to jewellery, further to endless variations of scarfs and decorational things... in the brightest colours!). I love the colours as well as the design of both sides.

The shape of the island is shown here :)

This signature with a lizard can be found on official sites, posts, etc. This is taken from a bus time table (made out of metal!).

There are a lot of tile pictures like this one. Some are really old, some are quite modern...

I like the goat, it is just cute!

More a plate than a tile but I think it counts nevertheless!

And a cover from the report of the island. The colours as well as the motive are quite beautiful! 

Paper patchwork cards

Sometimes I wonder why one forget so simple and easy crafting methods which can have cool results. Like a collage... or in this case just something more like paper patchwork (because it is only made out of paper and not a combination of methods...).

I just started to cut paper pieces and scraps out of old magazines, newspapers, booklets.. hour after hour.. but I love the resulting effect on my own view. I now see elements and structures I didn't recognize before. And it is a cheap way to get all sorts of coloured and patterned paper kinds! A lot more than you could and propably would buy.

Here are a first few examples: My paper patchwork wave card...

I already used all of them and I am curious whether they will survive (and in which condition) being send as mail ^^

The next time I make these wave cards I will integrate some tentacles, seamonsters and fishs coming out of the waves... I promise!

An even easier way is to use nice pictures...

The next ones are just waiting to be done. Several flowers... stripes.. etc. But not finished until now :)

New envelopes - lot of pearls

...or something like that.

Done with pearl pens (yes, that's how they called them. Very innovative.. ehm...) on normal paper envelopes

I like the effect of shiny and wet drops you can create with this paint.

Drops.. dots... a lot of them.. small ones, bigger ones... hach...! I added some pics with some details and one little experiment in the end 8also not very innovative but sparkling ^^): glitter glue with glitter!

Names and adresses will be integrated in the design at the time I am using the envelopes :)

Jelly fish card - oil pastel

Long time ago sinced I used oil pastels. Long time... mh... loooooooooooong time... 10 years... 20 years...? Hum...

I need some more training but also I need some oil pastels for myself (I used the ones of a friend). They are really nice to paint with, I like the kind of lines and colours you can get.

Shadow spider

A spider tried to conquer the space between my wall and my screen (and done it! because until now I couldn't bring myself to remove her... not after taking pictures of her catching her prey... you just can't get rid of your fotomodel ^^ But at this place I think one of my cats will do it sooner or later...).

I used the flashlight otherwise it would be to dark (and I needed to be fast so no moving of other lamps). It created this great double layer shadow effect. On one side the light goes through the little and nearly transparent spider body and on the other hand the spider creates this shadow. Both are not strongly coloured so it is hadr to distinguish between body and shadow.

I don't know what to do out of it but I think it would make a great design...

Two of my leopard geckos...

...they slept one of the other (no, just sleeping, nothing else!). I just waked them up because i had to take a picture of them. So cute ^^

The one on the right is squeasal and the one on the left is pinky :) I have a third one (named brain, you never guessed ^^). Going to be ten and nine years already. Old boys :)

Black rubber tentacle!

I got some black rubber plates. Not the rubber like for an eraser but a very hard kind of rubber. Nobody knew for what use it was intended but knowing me they though I could do something about or with it. The size is something between DinA5 and DinA4 and it's 3 mm thick. Some of them I will just use as underground for stamping or printing with linoleum but not all.

I cut it with an short blade which I use for paper and carving in eraser like rubber. My poor hand arched a little bit because it was really a hard time to cut it (you can still see the rough edges everywhere) but I like the result. I think it will end up as wand decoration and as soon as I can convince my hand to cut another one there will be a set of black rubber tentacles on my wall ^^

Hanging on my wall with my new little rack / frame... I rearranged some things, not finished yet.

Lying in the sun so you can see the shone on the rubber and get an idea how thick it is...

...other side...

...back one the wall...

...just in a new position... 

But I think I will put this one and more of this black rubber tentacle to one of my mirrors. Growing out of it...!

For my own consideration.. again and again and again...

"Was immer Du tun kannst oder träumst es zu können, fang damit an. Mut hat Genie, Kraft und Zauber in sich."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In englisch:

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it"


One of these times where I feel the translation is missing something although it seems like an easy and quite (rare enough) direct translation. But somehow... I don't know... the german original quote hits home better.

New sketches - ornaments, octopus, some kind of flower...

My sketch book is beloved by myself and looks like that, a little bit rough and used ;)

I wanted new motifs I could use for papers or textiles... or to cut them in linoleum for printing! Going a little bit organic, ornamental, etc.

The first impressions out of my sketch book:

And the first ones traced with sandwich paper. I already write down how I like sandwich paper? Usable to almost everything and cheap! Great transparency, soft but still very durable, nearly perfect for all kinds of crafting with paper!

I already started to vectorize the digital images (the one below) with inkskape (great programm and freeware, hard to top!). The vectorized image I will colour in different themes and print on fabric. Maybe not, maybe only print them at the copy shop in larger version ^^ I'll see.

Biggest problem is the work in the details of the lines. They are all rough and uneven still. Bah.

Soap test pieces...

I cut some small soap bars (really small ^^) so I could make some sets out of them and give them away to friends of mine. So they are obliged to test them now ^^

I really love soaps done with the cold process reaction. I just could start testing my first soap batches and I can only say (although it is not very original or creative ^^) : I love them all! I hope the first round (study: phase 1 - with a small number of selected people) will have good results. And I am curious which one they will favor.

I gave away sets of "Just cream", "coffee and cream" and "pump-skin".... I just realize that I never uploaded pump-skin! Arghs! Okay, to-do for tomorrow - photos!

I made tiny stamped banderoles for the soaps and packed them in this very transparent sandwich paper (great for crafting things and makes a great gift wrap paper!), afterwards I added a little card with my tentacle at the front. Inside were the dates of creation...