Hyde Hall Photo Walk

Mr Writer and I recently had a week off and took advantage of the lovely Spring weather to get out and about exploring the local Essex countryside. The Spring flowers are in full bloom and there is blossom in the trees- everywhere is looking so pretty at the moment! We were given the very thoughtful gift of an RHS membership and our nearest RHS garden is Hyde Hall in Essex. It's interesting to visit the gardens throughout the seasons to see how they change. Here are some photos from our lovely Spring walk around the gardens...

Check out the Minion scarecrow!

Hope you're all enjoying some Spring sunshine where you are. I'll be back at the weekend sharing a Spring inspired How To- until then, have a great rest of the week!

Photography... Practicing

I'd love to learn to take great photos and for Christmas Mr Writer surprised me by gifting me a DSLR Camera! I'm loving learning how to use it and I figure that the only way I'm going to learn how to use it well is to practice, practice, practice taking photos of all subjects. I'm going to get this book to help me 

I live in a little town in Essex, close to the park by the river and here are the first photos I took whilst out and about on a chilly afternoon walk. I grabbed a hot chocolate to warm up and enjoyed being out in the fresh air!

Next I'm going to practice taking photos of my jewellery using my lightbox- I'll share this in a later post!

Do you have any photography tips to share?

How to... Make a D.I.Y Fabric Pin Board

One of my goals for the blog this year is to start featuring regular tutorials, so welcome to the very first in my "How to..." series... How to make a D.I.Y Fabric Pinboard! 

This is a great way to jazz up that boring cork pin board you may have in your study/studio/kitchen and is also a good way to use up any odd bits of fabric and wadding you may have. You could even use the fabric from an old dress or jumper, so it's a handy recycling project and you get something useful (and pretty) at the end!

1). You will need...

You will need a cork notice board, scissors, a staple gun and staples, wadding in your chosen thickness (I used 4oz) and a piece of fabric large enough to cover your board

 2). Cut wadding to size

Cut your wadding to size, allowing aprox. 3 inches extra all the way around your board. If you'd like a thicker padded board you could use a double thick layer of wadding

3). Staple your wadding to the board 

Staple your wadding to the board, taking care to only staple onto the wooden frame. Carefully pull the wadding taught to avoid a saggy finish

4). Cut your corners

You may need to trim some excess wadding away from your corners to avoid a bulky finish

5). Cut away excess wadding

Trim away any excess wadding

 6). Attach your fabric

Now your pin board starts to take shape! Cut your fabric to fit around your board and allow aprox. 3 inches extra all the way around your board. Staple into place over the top of the wadding, still taking care to only staple into the wooden frame

7). Neaten your corners

Trim the excess corners of your fabric in the same way as you did your wadding and fold into a neat shape. Staple a couple of time to keep secure

8). The final trim!

Trim away any excess fabric to neaten the back

9). Yay, it's finished!

Use your board to hold shopping lists and notes, or images and drawings, photos, magazine clippings, jewellery, or anything else you like! I'm using this one as part of my jewellery display and I've found map pins really useful for holding pieces in place.

Decorate your board with strips of ribbon, lace, mini bunting, the possibilities are endless! You could also attach ribbon or a hook to hang the board, or sit it on canvas display stands, as I will do with this board.

I'd love to see photos of your pin boards if you give it a go and I'd love to know what you're using them to display!

(Mis)adventures with a Light Box part 1

I'm constantly making new pieces which are always photographed by me before they head off to a shop/gallery/their new home as I like to keep a visual record of everything I make. I also have a  photographer friend who takes beautiful professional photos for me (visit her studio here).

However, I would like the photos I take to be better than a quick snap and I'll admit that I'm really not a great photographer (although I'm very keen to learn!) so I ordered a Light Box from ebay! Good lighting is one of the major obstacles I have, so the Light box was ideal as it came with two lights and a camera stand!

 I've read tutorials on making your own DIY Light Box using cardboard boxes, but due to being slightly  really clumsy I wanted something more substantial. This one folds away neatly into a carry case as well so it's very portable for taking between home and my studio (a cardboard version wouldn't last five minutes in my hands!)

I've made a start today having a play around with it and although I did manage to break a light bulb knocking the lamp off my desk (told you I'm clumsy!)  I hope with a lot of practice and learning I can start taking some great photos! Bare with me with the photos below, just practicing!