Sunday 20 May 2012

Cherry, Fruit And Olive Plates (And More Thank Yous!)

Pressies From Maisy Lee :)



I'd like to start by thanking all the people who left lovely comments and congratulations on my last week's Handmade Monday post x You may like to know that it was the very deserving Helen Small who won the Circle of Love Giveaway in the end - well done Helen!


Incredibly, i began this week with the rather wonderful news from a lovely lady called Donna that i had won ANOTHER blog giveaway! It was on her blog, Maisy Lee Designs. She has only recently started this little window into her crafting world and i love reading her posts, as they always put a smile on my face :)  She has a beautiful way of looking at life!


The prize for the giveaway was fantastic - the choice of anything from her Folksy shop! It was really hard to choose as everything she makes is so lovely, but in the end i went for this beautiful hand embroidered rainbow campervan pin cushion, pictured here with all the lovely extra goodies she sent me - i can't tell you what a lovely package it was to receive, it felt like my birthday!



Thank you Donna! I'm completely in love with my new pin cushion, and was very touched by the love and care you put into sending it to me :)


A Peaceful Leaf


I discovered Lindsey Harris's beautiful and original garden collage photography when i came upon her Etsy shop, 'A Peaceful Leaf' by chance a couple of week's ago. I found her work both touching and inspiring, and was really happy when she agreed to me doing a feature on her work on my blog.

I published the feature this week - it includes some fascinating insights into Lindsey's inspiration and working practices as well as lots of her stunning photographs - if you have a moment, you can find it here - you'll never look at leaves the same way again! Lindsey is the loveliest person and i know she'll really appreciate any comments you feel inspired to leave (pardon the pun!)



Painting Plates



My own creative expression this week has taken the form of some experimental plate painting (try saying that quickly three times!). I ordered a set of six porcelain side plates recently as i have been enjoying mug painting and fancied branching out, and have been looking forward to getting started on this project.



I don't know about you, but in our house side plates are generally used for putting little snacks on - frequently to eat on the sofa in front of the TV of an evening! So, the first i came up with was this fruit design - the perfect plate for a fruity snack (why do apples taste better when they're cut up..? or maybe i'm alone with that one... :))



I was pretty pleased with the cherries on the fruit plate so next came a cherry only design (a fruit you always need a plate for because of the stones!)


Then along came another... i'm toying with the idea of selling these in pairs, but i do find it hard to get them looking exactly the same when painting freehand so i'm not too sure if this will work. My other half says that this is part of the 'charm' although he also thinks i should find some more 'rustic' looking plates for these designs.. what do you think?


On the theme of 'things with stones' i also came up with an olive design which i rather like.


I'm thinking that it might be quite nice to create a set of four side plates each with a different design.. i'm itching to do some 'sweet treat' ones too - expect to see cupcakes and other yummies on a plate here soon!

Thanks for listening all! I'm off now to Handmade Harbour to link up to Handmade Monday and find out what everyone else has been up to - I really look forward to hearing all the news each week, and to reading the lovely comments that people leave here on my blog :)  its good to talk!

34 comments:

  1. The plates are so pretty and agree apples have to be cut into 18ths to taste better. A wonderful prize of a beautiful pincushion well done.

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    1. thanks Caroline! it really is a gorgeous pincushion - i shall treasure it :)

      so glad i'm not alone with the apple thing :)

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  2. I love the olive one especially and no I don't think it matters if they are not the same as otherwise why would people bother buying handmade?

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    1. i completely agree but i'm not sure everyone sees it this way... i had a customer recently who seemed to expect the individuality of handmade but with a 'factory finish' - i guess this has made me feel a bit more pressure that only 'perfect' will do!! (even though i know that in reality there is no such thing!)

      i'm glad you like the olive one, i do too - perhaps in part because i love olives! x

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  3. Beautiful plates - the cherry ones are my favourite. And there's no way I would expect hand painted plates to be identical, that's part of their charm isn't it? Definitely sell them in pairs.

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    1. thank you for sharing your thoughts (so helpful!) and for your compliment of my plates too :) x

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  4. These plates are great, so fun and funky, love the cherries

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    1. thanks Nicki! that's really kind of you to say :)

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  5. Love the plates, and yes it's good for them to have small differences - it's definitely part of the attraction of handmade. Love the idea of a set of them. And of course apples taste better when cut into slices, you're not alone in that one. It's the very best way to eat them! x

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    1. yay! another one with me on the apple thing :)

      thanks Wendy, your words are reassuring as i know you have a lot of experience with painted crafting :)

      i'm glad you like the set idea, now i just need to think about what design number four is going to be! x

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  6. Love the plates. I'm not sure they need to be more rustic. I think the designs are quite delicate so really they need delicate plates (in my opinion anyway). The olive one is my favourite. I like the way you have painted the 'shine' on them, they look almost 3d.

    What a lovely gift you chose. The little pincushion is gorgeous! What a lucky girl you are :)

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    1. thank you! i think i agree that i prefer delicate - much more me! :)

      i do feel super lucky right now - its quite amazing really! and i will certainly treasure my gorgeous pin cushion :) x

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  7. Well done on winning that lovely pincushion its beautiful
    The plates are lovely I like the cherries I dont think they need to be identical if you are selling in pairs as thats part of their charm when they are are handpainted xxx

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    1. thank you! it is a beautiful pin cushion - i love it :)

      the consensus seems to be that the plates don't have to match completely which is good to know! thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

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  8. Yum, I love cherries your design is so bright and cheerful, makes fruit eating all the more tastier! I like apples cut up as well!

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    1. yay! another apple cutter upper :)

      i'm glad you like my cheery cherries! x

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  9. Those plates are really cheery, and I agree with your OH that something a little more rustic would set the painting off beautifully. From choice, my apples would be cut up, and then fed to me piece by piece by George Cloony....sigh.
    !!!

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    1. ha ha :) now that really is apple eating in style!

      thank you for sharing your thoughts on the plates, i'm a little confused about that at the moment.. i expect i'll know the right ones for the job when i see them!

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  10. I love the olive plate, all the plates have such a lovely retro feel to them. :)

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    1. thank you!

      yes they are quite 70's aren't they.. perhaps i should use avocado or orange coloured plates instead of white!!!! :)

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  11. The loive plate is especially lovely - might have to give that a go myself!

    Have just left my 2 yr old downstairs with a little plate with a cut up apple on it - he would say they definatly taste far superior when cut into quarters, rather than whole!

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    1. and you can't argue with a two year old!! :)

      porcelain painting is great fun, and a lovely way to personalise things :)

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  12. I love the cherries and the olives! Would definitely buy a set! x

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    1. awww thank you! that's lovely of you to say :) x

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  13. I too love the cherry plate. I agree with you on the apple thing - and I always try to peel it in one when peeling an apple for my son - I haven't done it yet - but my Nan can do!

    Have a great week x

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    1. thank you :)

      good luck with your apple peeling ambitions! :)

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  14. Lovely plates, I agree with your OH that they don't have to be the same, the cherries and olives are great.

    Jan x

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  15. The plates are so lovely, but really like the one with olives on. They look as though I could pick them up and eat them. You are right, Lindsey Harris' work is beautiful. Hope you have a good week.

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    1. thank you! that is a lovely compliment :)

      I'm glad you like Lindsey's work, i was so happy when i found it, her photographs really touched me :)

      hope you have a good week too! x

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  16. :) Awe thankyou so much for the lovely blog post about my give away prize, i am so glad you liked it. x x x

    I love the cherry plates, they are so cute, and even though i hate Olives i do like your olive plate.
    I don't think any thing that is hand made has to be the same, I like that they each item is unique. So selling them in pairs shouldn't be an issue.

    Donna x

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    1. yay! i hoped you'd read it Dona :) everyone seems to agree that your pin cushion is lovely and a wonderful prize!! :)

      thank you for your compliments on my plates :) it is reassuring to know that you, along with quite a few other people think that handmade items are 'allowed' to vary - i will breath a sigh of relief!! x

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  17. The plates are great! And the little differences are all part of the handmade thing - go for it!

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Your lovely comments are much appreciated x