Some more stamps...

...for "für große Mädchen" :)

And there will be more on their way soon but to other destinations ^^

Real clay...

Did you ever had a moment like "Why took it me so long to try it?"? I had one! We have a culture project (or better a "fabric of culture"!) called "Werk II". There is a concert hall, music, readings, a little cafe, some community clubs, etc... and there is a workroom for clay! You only pay a few euros, you get the clay and the colours and the working space... and the help of the master craftsman of pottery who runs the whole workshop. It is open at monday, tuesday and wednesday in the week. Your stuff can dry there and he'll fire it for you. I knew that there was this workshop for some time... but it took me until now to go there! Don't ask me why. I couldn't give you an answer which would also satisfy me ^^

These little things are my first trials. Not perfect with the colour because I took not enough. But still I like it! Just look at the blue! I made tiny bowls... just for a pair of earrings or so...

You can see the clay coming through the glaze.

This was a kind of transparent glaze which is used to enhance structures. Here was some lace pressed into the wet clay. 

You may remember this one! I made some molds for it and already used them for air-drying clay as well as polymer clay! Works also great with (real?) clay :) I just can't used it too often without drying times in between because I made most of my mold with air-drying clay which can react with the wet clay. Maybe I should make one with clay and fire it?

Also this shape I used quite often in the past. As you see the edges are not even because the clay moved during the drying process. Also I should have used a lot more glaze. But my first try, won't make this mistake again.

And just some discs to get the full effect of the glaze!

And I think it won't surprise any of you if I tell you that I am going to make some earrings out of them ^^

Metal and stones

There is something about this combination which fascinates me. I have to touch the surface all the time, the rough touch of the stone against the smoothness of the metal. The lines of the metal are following the edges and the form of the stone even if not everything is visible for the eye. But the fingers are feeling it and the metal wire gets it's position and hold only from the stone underneath. 

Although the materials seem so different, the stone breaks the light while the metal, silver and even black as it is, reflects all the light falling upon it, they come together as one.

The stone keeps and the metal holds. There can't be a wrong line or a way the metal wire is folding around the stone which creates not beauty. Just because the metal adapts to the stone while your fingers are folding it.

Nothing but the own fingertips are creating the union. There is no pressure and no force needed, nor even wanted, for the metal wire might easily break.

But what about the stone which is too smooth to hold anything anymore? Which went to the water, thrown through the waves, again and again until no edge remains. The little rough parts, all the imperfections, the breaks on the surface, may they be seen or only to be feeled if you are getting close, they allow to create a binding.

Smoothness may be a kind of perfection but what is left of you if nobody can touch you anymore?

If the time and the changes, subtle like water and crushing like storm, eradiates all edges, all flaws, all what made you different. Unique. Round and smooth, so perfect, so like many others.

No connection, no hold, falling, rolling with every wave, helpless by being formed. But the single strands of metal can go together, weave into a pattern which will surround all of the smoothness. The metal holds now the stone, keeps it tight and secure.

All the stones and also the pieces of shells are from Fuerteventure (no, not Formentera this time ;) ). I got them from "für große Mädchen" after her holiday there. Yes, I love to get stones, shells, plants, sea-sanded glas, strange undefined things... from other people from everywhere :) And I`ll try to make other pics as soon as I have time during the short period of daylight... and whether there is light at all... weather is going dark and grey... :(

Just another small teaser...

...as a kind of a life sign. This one belongs to some stamps which shall fly over the ocean soon :)

Not so lazy sunday morning...

Hello there, I'm lachafa, saraccinos baby sister.

She's been trying to get me to contribute to her blog for ages, but for several reasons unsuccesfully, one of the biggest being that I don't own a good camera.
This is still true, but today I decided not to care and just go with it.

I hope i can figure this out :D

I assume some of you know this feeling: Today I woke up and just NEEDED to do something crafty.
So I trawled my room for a bit and found this:




















A piece of expensive looking fabric I've been dying to work with, a green zipper and some of saraccinos adorable buttons.

Of course I started off by sewing the zipper on with the wrong side up, but that's what you get for being to quik on a sunday morning. :(
I started over and kept going and in the end I'm quite happy with the result:
















It's a little box pouche. I will use it to carry around my knitting stuff when I'm on the go!




















Once again THANK YOU, saraccino, for the buttons. I love to add them to my stuff, they really make the expression "cute as a buttton" work. :D

Beloved owls...

This is an image made with my new owl stamp. Not a small one this time because I would love to use it also on fabric. 

You have to know that this image comes from the fabric of the bed linen I had as a child and which were also used by my sibling. 

I nearly forgot it but my sister gave me some of the cut bed linen (don't worry, there is another one with different colours in the memory collection of my parents :) ). Strange how something which was so ordinary now changes to something so special! I just had to smile and I'll make a cuddle pillow just for myself with the fabric! 

I just made a foto with my digi and printed the image in black and white. From this print I cut out on of the owls. I went over the back with a pen to create a kind of copy paper for image transfer.

If you put this side over the rubber and trace the lines of the image they'll go over the rubber. Perfect for carving! But be careful, never ever use too much pressure or you may scratch the rubber. And of course I also made a stamp for the bigger star! 

I found the design for the bed linen in a brown and white combination at smafolk (a danish design, they have also beautiful kids clothes!). But not with other colours (the one stored is green :) )... It must be purchased at the early eighties... or even earlier? So if any of you find one of the other coloured owl fabrics and / or bed linen... please, please, please.... send me a piece! 

The owl would be sweet for cards and tag... but also for fabric! (Okay, my fabric stamp pad is nearly empty...)

I love it!

Just the stuff lying aroung...

Another picture (collage) I made (also while being on formentera). 

As the title of this blog entry says: I made this with stuff I had at hand at that moment. I liked the picture which I used as the basic. From a spanish (or english? don't really remember) magazine which all family members already read or just looked through... I cut out some leafs also from a magazine and a butterfly... some text... 

Okay, you see it. Or maybe you can see it if you look at the picture in more detail (just click on it, this time I used a higher resolution for uploading than usually!). Because I painted over all the stuff so often that it is not always to see where I glued one piece over another one ^^

The text is a kind of wordplay in german... but not really to translate. You could read it as "to know science" or more "knowledge creates knowledge"... (and for the german readers, yes, it is not perfect, in one case a f is missing... but still, I like what you can read in this :) ).

Wissenschaft - Science
Wissen - knowledge
schaffen (schafft) - to create
wissen - to know

And also, yes, everything in this picture has a reason, even the number ;)

Some strange fish...

As I said there is still some stuff I made while being on formentera. Like this little fish! Just a fast sketch with coloured pencils and a black fine liner... but I like him :)

A little teaser...

...because at the moment there are millions of small projects (next to the real relevant work stuff ^^) and non of it seems to get finished in some time although I love them all!

But this one should be the next to be finished, therefore a little pic :)

And also as a little life sign from me ^^

Trees growing on walls!

It was already dark outside... but I just had to take a picture! This wall is a direct neighbor to the house I am living in... but I never really looked up the wall before!