Icarus

Hand-cut collage, approx. 4" x 6"

Some Cards

When it gets quiet at the Tea Rooms, out come my scissors and glue for a bit of cut-and-paste action. 

Cards

I made some any-occasion cards.

All handmade and one-of-a-kind, they have been left blank inside so you can include your own messages. These and more will be available at my stall in the Tea Rooms, Brick Lane, every Saturday and Sunday. 

Recycled Padded Envelopes - A Tutorial

If you're like me and do a fair bit of wheelin' and dealin' on the interwebs, you probably end up with lots of used, padded envelopes piled up precariously too. The little recycled padded envelopes shown here can be made in various sizes, don't take much time to whip up, and won't cost you any money at all!

You'll need:

Large padded envelopes

Scissors (DO NOT use your best fabric scissors!)

Glue (I used Copydex, nut you can use any kind of paper glue) 

Scrap paper (Magazines, catalogues, wallpaper, newspaper etc)

Sewing machine

Thread

Sewing needle (if you haven't got a sewing machine)

Here we go!

1) You'll need to transform this huge padded envelope (above) into this (picture below). Start by splitting the front and back of the envelope apart, so you get 2 pieces of padded goodness. Then, fold the separated parts into halves or quarters, depending on the size you want to end up with, and cut them up into into 2 or 4 parts. Those will be the front and back bits of your new and improved, little padded envelopes. Trim the bit that you'll use as the back so it's about an inch shorter than the front - this way, the longer portion forms a flap that you can simply fold over and tape when you need to post something.

2) Still with me? Ok, good. Now, get the scrap paper that you want to use on your envelopes, and trim them so they're just slightly larger than the padded pieces. This makes it easier to glue them on. Put glue on the front of the padded pieces (the side with the paper, not the bubble-wrap).You don't need to glue the whole piece, just a dab on all for sides will do, then stick them onto the back of the scrap paper. Trim the overlapping paper bits away, so the edges are all flush. 

Do the same for all your padded pieces.

3) Let the glued pieces dry (overnight is best, but at least 4 hours if you're in a hurry). This is so the glue doesn't make your sewing needle all sticky.

Time to sew. Set your machine to a zig-zag stitch (if you haven't got one on your machine, just go over it a few times). 

Place the front and back envelope pieces together, wrong sides (i.e bubble-wrap sides) facing each other. Turn it around so the shorter, back side faces you, and start sewing. You'll only need to sew around three sides, leaving the top open so you can slip your goodies in later. Backstitch a couple of times at the beginning and end, and at the corners of the envelope, to make it more secure.

4) Cut the hanging bits of thread off, and voila, you're done! Congratulations, young grasshopper, you've made a fancy little recycled envelope! Now go make more...

Tips and suggestions and other stuff - I made my envelopes fairly small (about 6 x 7 inches) but you can, of course, make yours any size you like/need. If you need a huge envelope, you can always just glue some scrap paper or newspaper all over it, and re-use it. 

I used some pages from a Toast catalogue for the example above, and some pages from a travel catalogue for the others. You can use any kind of paper you have laying around - newspapers, wallpaper, wrapping paper, whatever. If you're going to pop these into the post, it may be a good idea to leave the front fairly plain, and make the back a little fancier, so it's not too distracting for the postie. 

If you haven't got access to a sewing machine, or you're simply not up for abusing your machine like I do, you can always sew the sides up using a needle and thread. I think a nice blanket stitch would make it fairly secure, and you can use some yarn or embroidery floss for something a little fancier. It takes a little more time, but at least your sewing machine won't be making any angry noises.

Ladykillah

A little collage/ drawing that I've just finished, utilising two of my current obsessions - gridded graph paper, and security patterns. It'll probably be going into the next issue of The Great Unwashed.

**Some of you may have noticed that I've changed the name at the top to 'Woolly Two Shoes'. No big reason for that really, I just thought it would be less confusing to have the same name and URL, is all.

Tutorial - Security Pattern Scrap Paper Notebook

When I wrote about the security-patterned paper notebook I made, I also said that I would have a tutorial up 'in a couple of weeks'. And that was only, oh, I dunno, about a month and a half ago.

But I've finally got my arse into gear and taken some photos of the steps required, so you can make your own little notebooks out of scrap paper too! Of course, you can make them any size you like, I make mine A6 as they fit into pockets easily. You don't really need any bookbinding equipment, but it probably makes things much easier if you do. I don't.

1) Gather your scrap paper, and cut them into size if they're not the size you want. I use a range of papers from magazine pages and envelopes. You'll also need a piece of cardboard - cut into the same size as the paper you're using - for the cover. For this tute, I'll be using an old postcard for the cover, but you can cut up old cereal boxes or other suitable items too.


2) You'll also need some tools - if you're professional, you'll have an awl (for punching holes), a bone folder (for scoring paper and cardboard), a metal ruler, upholstery thread and maybe an upholstery needle. Oh, and a Stanley knife.

If you're like me, you'll use a thick canvas needle (for punching holes), your fingers (for folding), crochet cotton and a darning needle. I do, however, have a metal ruler and a Stanley knife named Stanley! Wahey! I've actually got an excellent metal ruler that has an indentation running all the way down the middle so you can place your fingers in it and slice away without worrying about your fingers. I bought it coz I was seduced by its good looks, then realised that it was also cheaper than the standard flat ruler, so, double score!


3) Decide on the number of pages you want in your notebook. Remember: each piece of paper gives you 4 pages when folded in half. I wanted 32 A6 pages in my notebook, so I picked out 8 A5 pieces of paper and folded them all in half.

You'll get a nicer fold with a bone folder, but I don't have one, so...I used my fingers.


4) You'll then need to collate your folded pieces of paper. Just put them all together in the order you want them.


5) Fold your piece of cardboard/ postcard in half too. If you have a bone folder, score the cardboard down the middle before you fold it for a sharp, professional look. I'm jsut using my stubby little fingies.


6) This is where having an awl comes in handy. If you haven't got one, get hold of a thick needle. In my case, I'm using a thick canvas needle. Piece 3 holes in the spine of your notebook. Hold all the pages together, then make a hole in the middle of the spine, then one each nearer the edges. If you want to be neat, you can measure out where you want the holes to be and mark them with a pencil before piercing, but I just guess where I want them and poke. Just like life.


7) Do the same to your cover. The easiest way to get all the holes aligned is to put the pages into the cover, hold them all tight, and put your needle through the holes you've already pierced, then push it all the way through the cardboard cover.


8) Next thread your darning needle. Or a proper bookbinding-type needle if you have one. The professionals use waxed linen upholstery thread (I think?) but I'm using some nifty red crochet cotton instead. Coz it's what I have. Oh, and don't knot your thread at the end.


9) Then open your notebook to the centre page, and put your needle and thread through the middle hole, leaving a tail about 2 inches long. You'll need this tail later.


10) Put your needle back through the top hole...


11) ...and bring it back out through the bottom hole.


12) Then bring the needle back into the middle hole, and made a knot with the 2-inch tail that was left there. Trim the tails so you don't have too much of a bulge when you close the notebook.


13) We're almost there! You'll notice that the pages tend to stick out, so you can choose to leave them as they are, or trim them. At times, you'll be trimming mere slivers of paper, which can get fiddly, so you can always them like that and say you were going for the 'shabby chic' look.

14) Because this is a tute, I'm gonna to show you how to trim them. This is where a metal ruler and Mr. Stanley Knife come in handy. Make sure your blade is sharp too, or you'll end up with gross rumpled edges (shabby chic, again?). A metal ruler works much better than a plastic or wooden one in this case because the blade doesn't cut into the metal, so you'll be almost certain that you're cutting a straight line.

I say 'almost', because sometimes my fingers go crazy and don't listen to me and I end up with wavy cuts anyway.

So, place yourmetal ruler against the edge of the cover, and make light but firm cuts till you've trimmed all the protruding edges way. Don't rush this, as the blade might drag on the paper and tear bits off.


And it's done! I've put up some examples of different ones that I've made, so you get an idea of the kinds of covers you can use. Of course, you can use any type of paper inside, or make a little storybook out of it too.

Security!

We get a lot of mail. A lot of them come in giant A4-sized envelopes. (Why? It's not that hard to make a couple of folds in paper! Don't companies have interns - who they don't pay - to do that sort of thing anyway?)

I usually take my so-important-it-can't-be-folded letter out of the envelope, then chuck the envelope into the recycling.

But last week, while waiting for the kettle to boil so I could have some tea (my life is exciting like that), I peeked into one of those A4-sized envelopes and discovered that on the flip side of the white surface, was a whole other world, a world filled with security patterns.

Isn't it awesome how you discover previously unknown things while waiting for a cup of tea? I need to drink more tea. Anyway, I didn't want to throw the pretty security patterned paper away, but I have enough shit lying about the house not being put to use, so I needed to try and make something 'useful' with them.


So I cut up some envelopes, found a pretty vintage postcard, and bound it all together into a nifty A6 sized notebook.

I only had enough security patterned paper for 16 pages, but I wanted a thicker notebook, so I cut up other envelopes. It makes for a cute little pocket-sized 32-page notebook, and the different papers mean you don't get bored with it too quickly.

A tutorial should follow shortly. Maybe in a couple of weeks...I'm off to make some tea now.