Lino Cuts

For those of you that are linked to my facebook page  
https://www.facebook.com/bluedaisyglass ( feel free to go and like) 
you may have noticed I've had a thing going for lino cuts this week. Oscar got some tools and lino in his birthday tool box and I thought I should have a go to iron out any problems! Good job I did they are so sharp I sliced my finger within the first two minutes. There was quite a lot of blood! 

I had in mind some 'Thank you' cotton bags from the boys to their teachers. Oscar drew a picture of a sun and wrote 'thank you' on sheet of paper the same size. Then I turned the paper over and rubbed the back. I remember doing this at school using that odd tracing paper from the toilets. (Humour me those of you that are young enough not to remember this paper!) So glad I remembered to turn the words backwards. I did however forget the part where you leave the part you want and so on the 'Oscar 'test piece I actually cut the letters.

 It doesn't look too bad though. It took a while to cut off all the excess and I did my first print onto paper. It was obvious where I hadn't cut enough so I cleaned it and scraped some more. After another few test sheets I was ready to print on the bags. No room for mistakes here.

 I did an extra one for me with a dandelion style cut. The bags are hanging to dry while I cut personalized lino for each teachers name. I think if they were mounted onto wood they would work as a stamp so I'll include those in the bag. Each child has drawn then carved their own name on a circular piece of lino add a 'from' element to the bags.

I enjoyed this project and so delved into the online crafty world to find some professional examples. I cannot believe how intricate the designs are. How on earth!

Jools Yasities

I love these stylized flowers.

King and Queen of Hearts by JaneDukeArtist

I love the multiple colours in this one. I may have to do a 'how to' on youtube.

Moleskin bee notebook by Talented Apple

 

I think my boys would love to print on books and paper with name prints they have been working on.

HannahAndHerPress

This is so precise. One slip of the tool and a whole row of cabbages would be wiped out! I love the perfection in this one.

Basket Weaving in Nicaragua

Nicaragua 

 Can you locate it on a map? 

Do you know one snippet of information about this off the beaten track spot?

I was lucky enough to visit Nicaragua this February as a stop on my journey through Central America. What a fantastic country to visit! I would thoroughly recommend it. It's a country dominated by volcanoes and filled with super friendly people.

I stayed with my family for a week at the Mariposa Spanish School near Masaya, an area famous for local artisans. 

http://mariposaspanishschool.com/

 In the mornings we studied Spanish and in the afternoons we explored the local area. We crawled through ancient lava tubes, sampled local delicacies and watched in awe as local artisans created masterpieces before our eyes. 

 One afternoon we visited Los Pueblos Blancos. The buildings in these towns were originally painted white (blanco) to ward off evil spirits. Each village specializes in a particular craft. We started in Niquinohomo, the birthplace of Augusto Cesar Sandino, to visit a basket weaver and his family. 

 

First the bamboo is sliced lengthways. Note the knife is pointing towards to the man! Not a job for wimps! The man was covered in cuts and scars from knife wounds. His brother then creates a frame from the sliced bamboo strips in a star shape. A length of thinner bamboo is then woven in a spiral from the centre towards the edges of the basket. This too resulted in blood letting while we watched! The men worked at speed and at the end of each day have a pile of baskets ready for sale. Most of the baskets are used by locals to carry their wares to market. They are huge and sturdy enough to be thrown from the roof of the chicken buses on reaching the market.

Oscar was completely mesmerized by this process and later in the trip we made a mini woven rug from bits of palms on the beach. 

Searching online I found some great projects. Purchase of baskets from this site provides food for children in schools. Local women have been empowered by basket weaving projects. A little monthly income in Nicaragua goes a long way. This clip shows a lady using pine needles for her basket.
 

http://www.fmscmarketplace.org/products/nicaragua-pine-needle-basket

New fused glass bookmarks.

Finally the new bookmarks are finished. Well, the first two! I've made glass cabochons and attached them to giant paperclips. I've called them bookmarks but I'm sure they'll have more uses than that.

Did you know that paperclips were first patented in 1867 by Samuel B. Fay.

The giant paper clip in Sandvika, Norway

A recent survey by Lloyds bank of London revealed that of 100,000 paper clips only 20,000 were used for paper.The others were used for lock picking, stress relief,

cleaning fingernails etc!

On a more pleasant note these may be helpful holding fabric instead of pins or to close bags such as cornflakes or the unhealthy chocolate rubbish that my children seem to favour!

 As the end of the school year approaches I think they will make great teachers gifts with a notebook or mini graduation gifts perhaps alongside a favourite or inspirational book.

mish73 
Eclectic Vintage Finds

lillysnightgarden 
Digital Stamps, Handmade Cards and Gifts