Spring projects

It’s been such a long time since I posted regularly, but now that the spring is here I’ll be making a start on some of the many ideas I’ve got buzzing round in my head. Before I can get properly underway I need to sort the spare room as it’s the only cat-free zone in the house – then I can get out my fabrics and make, make, make!

I have been doing a few jobs though – a quick renovation of a chair to match my daughter’s room now that she has a desk to sit at, led to a second chair being kitted out to match our kitchen and dining room. The chairs will be for the garden eventually and I want them to reflect the rooms indoors – there are two more waiting to be done when I’ve located the right fabrics.

Last summer I bought some cheap metal lanterns. They were all different shapes and sizes, but a rather dull cream colour. I bought them with the intention of sprucing them up and we made a start on that this weekend. I’ll be using up more of the left over paint from decorating the house, and also some of the gazillion match-pots we bought to try out different colours. Many of these are similar to the colours we eventually chose, so again these garden adornments will reflect what’s inside the house – and what a cheap project! Lots of us have some leftover paint, either from decorating or from craft projects. They can be put to great use in giving something a new lease of life.

I’ve definitely got the bug again now, so I hope this weather keeps up so I can spend more time in the garden painting. I’ve also got some small pieces of furniture to renovate so, watch this space!

I’ve added a few mirrors to the garden too – they add a wonderful further dimension – and double the lights! I’d love to know what you’ve got planned for the spring.

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April 2012 Calendar

I’m late with this month’s Inner City Pickle calendar! I know some of you were lucky enough to get a pre-printed copy from Eira at the Made in Roath and Milkwood Gallery Spring Fiesta on Sunday, but here’s the digital version for you to download and print yourselves.

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and Sean, in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

To download April’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The May page will be available at the end of the month – I will remember!. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

March 2012 Calendar

March already and time for the third installment of the 2012 calendar for the lovely people at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff. The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and her partner in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

Eira has been working on something new to tickle your tastebuds. ‘Mam’s Brown Sauce’ is the latest addition to her incredible range of locally produced goods – all made with locally sourced ingredients. Some of the new titles will only be available for a short while – for example Cathays Pear Jam was made with pears from … you guessed it, Cathays. The next batch could be from another tree in another area so grab it while you can.

To download March’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The April page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

February 2012 Calendar

Here is the second installment of the 2012 calendar for my good friends at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff which has been made using photographs taken by Eira and her partner in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”.

Eira will be at Roath Farmers Market on Saturday 4th February from 9.30 until 1.00.  This will be a one-off appearance so do pop along and see her. She’ll be selling all her  local seasonal products. Eira makes the best banana cake that you will ever taste, bara brith, Adamsdown artichoke relish, Seville curd, Cathays pear chutney, and the wonderful Mostarda di Frutta and Pumpkin marmalade. Plus more. Not to be missed.

To download February’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The March page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

And save me a jar of Seville curd!

Typographically speaking

'Old Type..' by Marco Filinesi

If you make a quick search for the use of typewriters in graphic design you may be dismayed to find the returning results lean heavily towards compilations of typewriter fonts – whether to download or to recreate using Photoshop. This is not what I was looking for when I began research for this post, but maybe my search terms are to blame.

I suppose that in the vast majority of cases, paper-based items of graphic design are intended for multiple reproductions, and the use of a real typewriter would be prohibitive for all but the most limited of editions. Unless the hand-typed words were then scanned or photographed, we’re probably looking at other areas of design and art.

I’m going to have to do a lot more research for a future blog post it seems. I know the work is out there, I just need to find a way to get past the proliferation of sites whose owners have worked so hard to make the search engines work for them. In the meantime I would like to share with you some of the gorgeous photographs of old typewriters that I found during my search. If you like them, do click through to Flickr to tell their owners.

And watch this space for another post on the subject. Thanks for visiting.

'let's type' by |vvaldzen|

'Underwood Typewriter II' by Geof Wilson

'sQWERTY' by Troy Paiva

'writing...the old fashioned way' by Darwin Bell

'UPPERCASE Typewriter Event' by Janine Vangool

'Typographer' by Ed McGowan

'Underwood Typewriter' by RiaPereira

'Royal Quiet Deluxe' by Janine Vangool - click image to read her blog

'we regret to inform you' by Andre Govia

Book sniffing

I love books. I love the way they look on the shelf or on the table. I love the way they feel in my hand. I love the way they smell. Yes, smell. I confess I am a book sniffer – and I know many of you are too!

New books have the smell of paper and ink, and sometimes glue. Even mass-produced paperbacks have a ‘new book’ smell when you first open them. More expensive books have a smell of their own, but I think my favourite book smell is still the mustiness of old books. Really old ones.

The sensual experience doesn’t end there. Books feel wonderful too. Again, popular novels fit well in the hands – whether we fold them back around the spine, or whether we carefully hold them open to keep them pristine. The beautiful smoothness of the pages of a classy coffee-table book means I find myself running my hands over the pages as I devour the images. Old books, in turn, are fragile and precious, their papers often thin and brittle while their covers may be made from robust materials such as leather, yet weakened at the stitches. Textures abound.

You may have guessed that old books are my favourites. I hope you will enjoy this collection of some stunning photos of some very beautiful old books. And do click through to the originals on Flickr and tell the photographers if you like their photos.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy.

Libros viejos // Old books by Diego Neyra

'a room without books is like a body without a soul' by Kevin van der Leek

Libros by Antonio Luis Hernández

'hotel register from another era' by Nicholas Mitchell

'Very old book - from 1752' by soozika

'Very old book from 1752 Satyrische Briefe B' by soozika

Oldies... by M. Raj

'Pages of Yesteryear' by Karrie

'....e le favole spiegate colla storia' by Marta Ponari

'Old Book' by Geoff Powell

'Old books' by David Reneses

'Old Jewish Book' by (((The Space Between)))

'Well Read' by Lynn Armstrong

'hanging, waiting, unbound, unravelling' by Shawna Lemay

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Happy New Year

First of all I would like to wish a very happy and healthy new year to you all. I’d also like to thank everyone for reading my blatherings here and on Twitter.

Last month I posted the final installment of my free-to-download 2011 calendar and announced that for 2012 I’ll be sharing a calendar for my good friends at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff.  If you’re in the Cardiff area, do check out the website. Eira’s exciting range of jams, pickles, preserves and baked goodies can be bought locally in many markets around the city and her ingredients are locally sourced.

The calendar has been made using photographs taken by Eira and her partner in the Cardiff kitchen “as it happens”. Lots of lovely ingredients and finished products to make your mouth water all year round.

To download January’s calendar page, just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to a full sized version which you can download and print. It works at A4 and A5 so take your pick!  The February page will be available at the end of the month. If you don’t want to miss it, why not sign up to see new posts as soon as they appear.

Have a great 2012!

December Calendar

Despite the fact that many people have been talking about Christmas since September, we are now only just about to enter December. As a big fan of autumn I am always dismayed to see people wish it away so fervently, so I for one have been embracing it.

I do like the winter though, and always enjoy Christmas – when the time actually comes, and not for months beforehand.  I don’t decorate until around the Solstice and it all comes down at least by the New Year. I’m no humbug, I just like to keep it in its place and enjoy the rest of the time for what it is.

I hope you like this year’s final free to download calendar page – this time last year we were enjoying a rather unseasonal snowfall.  The Christmas card industry would have us believe that this kind of scene is normal for the time of year, so I’ve given in and hope you will enjoy its icy goodness from the warmth of your own home or office.  You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image).

Here I usually announce that the next page will be available at the end of the month. However, for 2012 I will be posting calendar pages that I have created for my good friends at Inner City Pickle in Cardiff.  The pages will have lots of lovely images of the locally produced and sourced fruit & veg that Eira uses for her amazing jams, pickles and preserves – a truly local and ‘green’ business in the heart of the city.  I hope you will enjoy the calendar pages wherever you are.

If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss them.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from the 2011 calendar pages).

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below, and thank you for visiting this year.

January  February  March  April  May  June  July August  September  October  November

November Calendar

Eeek! I’m late with this one. The end of October was so hectic that it completely slipped my mind. My apologies.  I’ve been out and about photographing more stained glass – look out for several posts about this on my other blog very soon.

I hope you like this month’s free to download calendar page – back to decay (which is what the autumn is all about after all) and a moody shot taken in a Berlin cemetery.  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of November (promise!).  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

January  February  March  April  May  June  July August  September  October

October Calendar

Can you believe it’s almost October? I love the autumn and I love the nights drawing in. There’s something about the night-time that’s exciting and full of promise. I’m not sure if it’s because of the sequence of Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night and then my birthday that I’ve always loved the darker evenings but it must have something to do with it. I also love the light in the autumn – the lovely warm sunlight, long shadows and the colours of the trees. My favourite!

I hope this month’s free to download calendar page will cheer those of you who are already mourning the summer’s passing. I was quite surprised to find these conkers still on the tree – don’t kids play conkers any more?  You can see more of my photographs on my Bēhance portfolio (as well as some of the floral and decay images from this year’s calendar pages).

You can still download the previous months’ pages (see below the main image) and the next one will be out towards the end of October.  If you sign up for updates on new posts, you won’t miss it.

To download, free to print for your own use, just click on the image below.

 

January  February  March  April  May  June  July August  September