Table Easel

I am particularly proud of this one, though it wasn't even my idea.

Here is the old laundry basket that we bought in 2005, it served us well and survived a move but late last year the wood developed some cracks, stiffness and very loose screws lead to it leaning so bad that it had to be propped up against something.

(there is a top piece not shown here that is currently being used as a "duckboard" to keep the basket of toiletries off the floor in the bathroom)

It was dismantled at the start of December 2010 and the pieces were sitting around doing nought til yesterday.

I had a notion of making some sort of tablet weaving jig and was discussing this with Ais yesterday she pointed out that it would not be very practical as it wouldn't be at an easy height without being on a table.

Then she had the brainwave to make a table easel, stroke of genius there Ais!

I had an easel on my Christmas list last year and I've been on the lookout for one in charity shops and such for a long while so this was definitely a wanted item.

So firstly we looked through the pieces to find the best crossbar type thingy on which the canvas would be resting.

Then the three pieces were thoroughly cleaned and the bottom of the legs were treated with an anti mould spray (as this had been in my bathroom for a year and next to my washing machine in the old place for four years previous)

Then the crossbar was glued onto one side using multi purpose diy glue that I've had for so long I've completely forgotten why I bought it in the first place.

Ais wiped away the excess that oozed out so it dried without any glue sticking out.

While this was left to dry I strung up some wool through the pre drilled holes in the second part and fingerbraided this wool to make a strong tie.

Lastly the two sides were tied together on a flat surface.

Here's the finished product and I totally love it!

The painting is of Cork City FC then captain Dan lifting the League Trophy in 2005 by a local artist Elaine O Connor and takes pride of place in our living room.

A few improvements may be made to this depending on how sturdy it is during use including some back supports across the void so it can hold smaller pieces and perhaps something up top that will add to the overall sturdiness of it.

So two final things...

I still have a good bit of the laundry basket left to do something with (not a clue what though so any suggestions are welcome) including the canvas type bags.

Cost of finished item: €0.00

Pencil Roll

Inspiration for this project came from various sellers on Etsy, it was one of those things that I was considering buying until I stopped myself for a second and realised that is was totally doable.

Firstly, material.

I started with linen from the scraps box, ironed and cut into a neat rectangular shape and then hemmed all around.

Next it was folded over to approximately half a pencil length and sewn up both sides.

Lastly, the "pockets" for the pencils were created one by one using a particularly chunky pencil each time to get the snuggest fit, leaving some bigger pockets at the end for large pens and markers.

All sewing was done by hand as I don't currently have a working machine (see the first post) and also because it is much harder to mess up hand sewing.

I was a bit indecisive about the cover, I first considered more plain linen (I have 4 colours to choose from within easy reach before going digging into The Chaos) then secondly an embroidered cushion cover that I had from a bedcover set.

I settled on leather in the end as it will take the most punishment, can be put down on damp grass without worry and is the most hard wearing.

It has the bonus of being authentic to have out at gigs if need be and also it turned out looking like it could be in a late 1800's adventure / steampunk-y expedition kit, so woot on that too.

The leather was cut to the size of the linen plus approximately 1cm all around (with a fold down from the top of the inner linen part accounted for to keep the pencils in and clean when closed).

The linen was then sewn onto the leather at the two shorter ends and a scrap of long, tapering leather sewn onto the middle of one of the short sides as a tie when it is closed which can also be used to hang it up on a wall or chair if needs be.

Overall I am very happy with this item, I hope that it will lead me to actually bringing a sketch pad and pencils to interesting places I will to be visiting in the future. :)

Best of all...

Cost of finished item: €0.00

PS. I'm going to have to figure out how to make etsy quality pictures, everything on there looks so perfect!

So what's this all about?

Yes, this is the boring introductory blog post, I apologise now for the predictability of it all.

Basically I wanted to be able to share these little ideas and projects that I have with all of my friends and hopefully get advice from all of your fantabulous mega minds.

As some of ye know already, I am now a lady of leisure and, in between looking for employment and getting a tad fitter, my aim is to be more creative in general.

However, being a lady of leisure, I am not awash with coin of the realm to fund this so I am going to be going to be doing this in as "Cost Neutral" a way as possible

(this also fits in nicely with my hope to be environmentally friendly)

This is going to be done in several different ways:

1. Use what I have

2. Use what I am given / can source for free

3. Trade excess of what I have for what I need

4. Sell excess of what I have for currency to buy what I need

For any of ye that have seen (cue scary music) The Room of Chaos ye know that what I have is extensive (which helps with points 1, 3 & 4)

In relation to point 2, my friends in this are, well, my friends (Claire, thank you so much for the art supplies among other very useful things), Jumbletown and Freecycle Cork (Yahoo Group, full list of Freecylce Ireland groups can be found here , I can't recommend these sites highly enough)

And in relation to point 4, I will have various things popping up on ebay to prop up the Paypal balance to make purchases.

There are a few things that will be purchased before the Paypal account is healthy enough to take the hit however.

Firstly I really need a sewing machine in good working order and since I still have a little redundancy money left and I've always lusted after one I'm investing in an antique Singer, complete with table, this will come in at approximately €130.

Secondly, I need a working camera in order to document the craftstuffs as mine is banjaxed and will soon be making an appearance on ebay as spare part fodder methinks. I have a loan of a camera for the moment but I will need to get one quick smart and the budget for this is approximately €100-€150.

I am hoping in time that these two purchases will be off-setted by way of ebay selling etc. and I will be keeping a running tab on the money out / money in regarding all of this, my aim is to have these two balanced at the end of this calender year.

Inspiration for these little craft projects is diverse and I will also be sharing these sources, chief among them: Re-enactment kit and accoutrements (sources vary depending on project), Jumbletown Before and After , Etsy , Design Sponge , Ikea Hacker , The Steampunk Home and many, many more which I will reference as I go along.

I would really appreciate your input on any or all of the above, this is a private blog viewable only to my friends (mostly re-enactor types) so feel free to comment or if you'd prefer email me direct.

Thanks guys!

Néads

PS, first completed project post will be making an appearance in the next 48 hours, once the pics are loaded :)