October 16, 2013 in diy craft projects
With Halloween only two weeks away, the Marie-Chantal team asked me to write this little project for their blog on how to make one of the props I created for their autumn/winter photo shoot. The photos are by Julia Bostock.
This friendly pumpkin mask is the perfect Halloween accessory that can be used again year after year. It is easy to make and can be used as a costume mask, a shadow puppet or simply as a decoration for a Halloween party. They are especially good for children who don’t enjoy having their face painted.
Materials required:
A4 size card about 1mm thick (around 400gsm) – it needs to be stiff, but if the card is too thick it can be difficult to cut through.
Cutting mat or board
Scalpel or craft knife
Pencil
Dowling rod
Gaffer/Elephant tape
Emulsion paint
Flat paintbrush
Step 1: Print out the template at A4 size and trace the shape of the pumpkin onto the back of the card in pencil.
Step 2: Using a sharp scalpel or craft knife, cut out the shape of the pumpkin, the eyes, nose and mouth.
Step 3: Paint both sides of the card and leave to dry. I painted them dark grey as shadow puppets for the shoot, but you could paint them the traditional orange or whatever colour you like. It may require 2-3 coats each side. Leave them plain or let your children decorate them further if they wish.
Step 4: Attach dowling rod to the back of the pumpkin with gaffer tape or wide masking tape as a handle. Ensure the rod is long enough to hold comfortably with the mask in front of your or your child’s face. If you want it double-sided, cut out and paint a second pumpkin and glue or double-sided tape it to the other one, sandwiching the rod between them.
Step 5: Have fun at your Halloween party!
You can read the original post and more about Marie-Chantal over on the Marie-Chantal blog.
My children are already getting excited about dressing up and going trick or treating. It’s time to stock up on sweets I think.
Have fun!
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October 11, 2013 in interior styling
Earlier on in the year I had the pleasure of working on a location shoot for the Autumn/Winter 2013 collection from Marie-Chantal, the children’s fashion brand that was founded in 2001 by Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.
The creative team was headed up by the talented photographer Julia Bostock. As well as Julia and myself, the crew also consisted of a hair and make up artist, a fashion stylist, a set builder and a film crew who documented the shoot and worked with Julia on the promotional film that runs alongside the campaign.
My role in the team was to style the interiors and sets, source the props needed and, prior to the shoot, make bespoke props that fitted the theme and could be used within the images.
Julia and I designed the stage set prop and it was made for us and placed outside in the wilderness and then brought inside to the grandeur of the stately location house. The clothing was chosen to match this idea, with casual wear outside and smart occasion wear inside.
Inside there are two different scenes: a dramatic night sky backdrop that I made and a much simpler white back drop to show the series of hand-held shadow puppets I also made. These consisted of the Marie-Chantal crown, castles, stars, a dragon and a Halloween pumpkin.
The film, art directed by Julia, is really sweet. I hope you enjoy it, it tells the story behind the shoot with a lovely narrative.
The clothes are just beautiful and the different settings perfect to show them off. I hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed working on them. These are some of my favourites.
You can see lots more photos from the shoot and the Autumn/Winter collection look book and on the Marie-Chantal website.
I’ll be posting a how-to from this shoot too so do pop back soon. x
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September 29, 2013 in food styling
They grow in abundance in our garden in Croatia. There are several trees hanging with so many fruit that we eat them straight from the trees everyday, as soon as they become ripe. My children have fun looking for the oozing honey drop that says “I’m ripe, eat me quickly!” We always make the most of them while we’re there as they don’t travel home well, and they taste completely different to the supermarket ones here in London. So fresh, sweet and juicy.
A branch of them brought inside added a lush splash of colour in a corner of our holiday house. Placed on an old stool purchased in an antique market in Zadar and an old bucket used through the generations, it made a happy little scene.
I bought the homemade fig cake from a stall at the fruit and vegetable market in Zadar, where each little stall sells things they have grown themselves or made, like olive oil and local honey. I have brought it home with me to remind me of the delicious fruit. I’m saving it for the right occasion and think it would taste perfect with cheese and crackers after dinner, as an alternative to quince jelly.
I will have to make some fig jam while we’re there next year so we can bring home the taste of holiday once again.
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September 23, 2013 in handmade goodness, vintage finds
Having worked as a textile designer, one of my great loves is embroidery, either by hand or on the machine. It was when my mother was renovating her little house by the sea on the Dalmatian coast that we discovered these beautiful embroideries. We were looking for interesting decorative elements to add character to the holiday house and at the local antique bazaar in Zadar we found two of these hand-stitched embroideries and a bright rug amongst a pile of folded old fabrics.
They have so much Slavic character and charm in a simple, understated way. I am not sure what they were used for, (we use them as hangings between doors) but we bought one each. I rarely see them for sale in the markets or in piles of vintage fabrics and embroideries, so I count myself very lucky to have one. My mother’s hanging has embroidered writing on both sides and mine is plain at the top. The script translates as “Look, my darling, at these red roses, they’ll be yours when you come to fetch me.”
The colours are bright and bold, the traditional Croatian deep red and white combined with interesting combinations like peach and turquoise. The burgundy colour acts as a neutral to the other brighter colours.
The other side translates as “Long live the joyful Anica Speht” (a lady’s name). Perhaps it was made as a gift for a loved one or she is simply congratulating herself on her accomplishment at finishing the embroidery.
I photographed them alongside the simple furniture I had available, flowers from the garden and fruit bought from the village market to give a cacophony of pattern and colour.
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September 13, 2013 in inspiring places
We visit our little holiday house by the sea that my grandfather built every year. It is part of my childhood memory and now is part of my children’s too. The old walled city of Zadar on mainland Croatia has many beautiful buildings in different states of repair and is laced with Roman and Venetian history.
On the one rainy day of our holiday we visited the city and popped in to see an art exhibition, where the entrance fees contribute to the on-going restoration. They are in the process of returning it to its former glory but I just loved the faded colours, the grand stairways and the layers of paint and textures of different building materials that had been revealed – and by chance my daughter’s clothes were of a similar tone. Elsewhere there are beautiful un-restored stone balconies and carved stonework amid the modernity, that bring joy to everyday life.
Ancient Catholic churches and towers remain, and one of my favourite things – the flagstone-paved streets, polished smooth over time by thousands of local feet.
We will have to revisit next year and see how much progress they have made.
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August 9, 2013 in interior styling
Here’s a little teaser of one of the art direction and styling projects I’ve been working on over the last few months, a new look for a new client. Very exciting! I will share more soon…
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A place to share my work and the things I love: interior styling and great design; fine art and contemporary craft; exciting new products and flea market finds; handmade and homemade; celebrating the old and embracing the new; creativity, family and fun. The things that I believe make your house a home.
Line Up contemporary craft exhibition, curated by Sania Pell, at Flow Gallery, 1-5 Needham Road
London, W11 2RP.
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