Design Inspiration. Planet Stencil Library.

Pushing Daisies R.I.P.

I’m missing you already.

I don't watch much television.  I actually enjoy being in the office after it closes.  I stencil, I tend my garden on fine evenings and belong to singing and drama groups.  When doing none of these things, I am writing this blog.  So, when a TV series comes along that intrigues me enough to draw me in, I cherish it.

Such was "Pushing Daisies".  A bitter-sweet, colour soaked delight that has been cruelly whipped from my TV screen after only two series.  I eagerly follwed the fortunes of the once-dead Charlotte and Ned, the pie maker who resurrected her by …well, he could temporarily restore life to anything just by touching it.  Oh, never mind the whys and wherefores.  It’ll take too long. Trust me, it works.
Each adventure would concern bringing someone back from the dead for just one minute so that crimes could be solved and rewards collected.  Each episode would involve the baking of technicolour pies at The Pie Hole restaurant.  Imagine the aroma of three plum with a gruyere crust.

Each story would also involve Charlotte’s grieving, synchronised swimming aunts. They shared multiple personality disorders and an inordinate fondness for cheese. The tale would always include lovelorn waitress, Olive Snook who spoke faster than I could keep up with.  My personal joy was private detective Emerson Cod.  Twin blessings of the best lines and the sharpest tailoring were bestowed upon him.

Apparently the lack of blue tone used in the set and the film processing gave it the sunny, yellow look.

The episodes looked as though they should contain more saccharine than the fruit pies, but the plot lines were not always that sweet.

In the UK the "Pushing Daisies" series was sponsored by Toblerone, the triangular chocolate bar full of sticky almond nibs. On a Friday night, tradition dictated that I flop on the sofa with Chips (that's Chips my husband not a bag of fried potatoes). We would savour a large bar of Toblerone whilst losing ourselves in the world of Charlotte and Ned.

ABC in the USA are going to show three previously unaired  "Pushing Daisies" episodes starting Saturday, May 30. The final two will air June 6 and 13. For UK fans there is the DVD. I would be interested to know what others thought of this programme.  Does anyone know why it was axed?  Were Chips and I alone in liking it?  He bought series one from Amazon for us last week. Brilliant! Tonight we may watch all the episodes.  Now, where is the Toblerone?

Helen.

Branching out with a stencil

Sometimes it needs little effort to add the finishing touches to a room.

  A touch of stencilling in gold completed the look of this room and took less than an hour.  The stencil was part of a larger one that I had used elsewhere in the home.  It 'grows' from the window in similar shades of gold as the furnishings. One of the colours is Stencil Library's antique gold the other is one from Modern Master's metallic collection.
The stencil used was part of CH12,  a peony and rose design.  A similar effect could be achieved with a less expensive stencil such as DR2 cherry blossom or LTL12 leaves.  Got a spare hour?

Helen.

A Riot of Colour at the Chelsea Flower Show

You can see many photos of the glorious displays at the Chelsea Flower Show, but I thought I would show you a few of the more unusual (and fun) aspects from the show.  The winner for pure fun has to be James May's much discussed garden made entirely of Plasticine (a putty-ish modelling clay), including a bust of the inventor of Plasticine himself.

(photo by Tony Fitzgerald).  I am just in love with this (especially the Plasticine tea).  I am not much of a gardener myself (I leave that to Helen & Chips), but I love colourful and abundant gardens.  I don't know that a Plasticine garden would necessarily be any more low maintenance, but it would still look colourful in the winter.

(photo by Christina Sharp).  There are even Plasticine vegetables:

(photo by Gillian Bond).  Look at the attention to detail - there is even the fat bottom of a bee sticking out of that flower!

(photo by Liz Gibson).  And here is another bee:

(photo by Rose Barker)

There was a display of wonderful, abundant hats made from flowers:

(photo by Jackie Vaughan)

(photo by Sue Druce)

Gardens are a wonderful source of inspiration and ideas on how to use and combine colours.  Look at this fabulous photo of Lupins.  Not colours you might automatically think to put together, but don't they look wonderful?  There's an idea for a scheme there.

(photo by Sally Ballard)

Finally, I will leave you of this shot of umbrellas....not rain umbrellas, but rather sun parasols.  Oh the joy to be found in colour!

(photo by Alison Acred)

Rachel

All the photos came from the BBC website and were taken by visitors to the show.

How to stencil a repeating pattern using DE82

This stencil joins together to make an allover pattern so make sure that the first one is positioned correctly as the pattern will grow from it.

With a clean, dry stencil brush take a little of the paint from the lid of it's jar.  Work the brush into the paper towel so that the paint is evenly dispersed on the brush and the tips of the bristles are moist, not wet.  To test whether the paint is dry enough, simply stipple the brush lightly onto scrap paper and run your finger over the mark that you have made.  If it smudges the brush is still too wet to stencil with. Using a circling motion tickle the brush lightly over the holes in the stencil.  Build up depth of colour by applying a second light layer.  After finishing the first pattern remove the stencil and reposition it by fitting the printed registration pattern over the area that has just been stencilled.
Once a complete line is finished use the registration marks to start a new row above it.
Keep going until the decoration looks complete.  Clean the stencil and brush gently in hot soapy water.

The wall colour was Prom Night by Crown Paint. Stencil is DE82 repeat from the arts & crafts collection at The Stencil Library.   The same stencil was used by Rachel recently to make velvet lounging pants from.

 

Lunchtime Lecture with me

I am looking forward to giving the lunchtime lecture at Dobbie's Garden World, Ponteland, Newcastle tomorrow 21st May. I'll be chatting about life in The Stencilled Home and The Stencil Library, but mostly I'll be demonstrating stencil techniques and answering questions. If you fancy joining us then telelphone 01661 820202 for details and a ticket. Or look at the events section of Dobbie's web site.  A buffet lunch is included in the price and I can thoroughly reccommend their scones.

Helen.

Is it a stencil or is it a....?

I opened my June issue of UK Harper's Bazaar magazine to see this:

They describe it as a wish list of lace-effect pieces, but I would actually call them stencil-effect pieces.  To me they look exactly like one of our stencils - the stencil itself not the pattern you get from one.  Not that I would recommend that you do this (especially with the lovely Oscar de la Renta frock), but with the right stencil brush and a little care, you could stencil through the chair, dress, shoe or screen quite successfully.  Just when you think you have seen it all!

Rachel

(photos: Graham Walser)

Mosaic with Modello

The other week I showed you how to use our mosaic stencils to create a life like mosaic effect.  Well, look at this....
No, it was not stencilled with one of our designs.  It was custom made Modello stencil by Modello Designs in California for Anna and Scott Sadler of Surface Refinements in Scottsdale, Arizona.  

Modellos are a one-time use, sticky backed stencil which allows some very tricky design work to be executed.  I have seen some fabulously extravagant decoration created with them.  Anna and Scott stencilled with metallic foils.  See more of this project and learn more about Modellos at Melanie Royal's Designamour blog.

See our how to stencil a life like mosaic project here and see how to stencil with foils and powders here.

Helen.

Fab Hat Alert

Regular readers will know that both Rachel and I are wearers of the hat.   Some of my ancestors were milliners, so I have inherited some from the past two centuries.  I find it hard to resist a flattering hat so was thrilled to see Me, Me, Me  in Newcastle were selling some fabulous ones from Philip Treacy and from Hokin. Look at the lovely trailing detail on the back of the straw topper.
A similar idea appears on this one.  They have stencilled cherry blossom on the walls in the shop.  Glad to say it is one of ours.
Don't you think this is pretty?   I have a similar hat from 1910 but this one is less dusty than mine.
I read in The Craft Business recently:

It's official: hats are back in vogue and looking bigger and bolder than ever before. Gone are the days when less meant more; now it's all about funky, attention-grabbing pieces guaranteed to make people stop and stare. Anything traditional, safe or ordinary will be yesterday's news, with loud, proud and awe-inspiring headwear set to take its place. But what are the latest trends you should be looking out for?

“There has definitely been a rise in the number of younger people wearing hats,” explains Angela Coupe from bespoke millinery designer hatsonheads.com. “And this has inevitably had an impact on trends within the sector. At the moment, consumers are generally gravitating towards pieces offering something slightly different from the norm, so anything with the wow factor will be very much in favour.”

I remember that the last time hats were BIG in the UK was during the recession of the 1980's.  Do hard times and flamboyance go together? Discuss.  The article in craftbusiness.com went on to discuss the rise in popularity of hat making kits.  Rachel hosted a hat making party a couple of years ago.  It was a super day and I made two hats.  One of my hats was stencilled with a paisley design and was sold in our shop. The other has been worn many times.

  This was me wearing it earlier this year.

I also read with excitement that Joan Collins of "Dynasty" and large hat fame will be hosting a television programme about bringing glamour back to dressing.  This, apparently, is glamour on a budget which I believe feeds creativity and I thoroughly approve of.  What do you think ? Could you be tempted to embrace hats for anything other than keeping your ears warm?  Are you a hat wearer? Hat maker? Does a hat make you feel glamorous or stupid?

 Helen.

photos from mememe accessories, Helen Morris and the waiter at Flatbread Cafe

arts & crafts stencil appeal

Photo shows stencils from The Arts & Crafts Collection at The Stencil Library

A reader from the New York area of the USA asks:

We are working with a collection of arts and crafts residential contents on behalf of our client. The collection includes 750 original stencils of the period. The stencils require some restoration as they have buckled as the result of exposure to moisture.  We would like to know if the value of the stencils is worth the cost of restoration

and would appreciate any information regarding the value of original stencils.

So, can any of you help?  Do you know someone who knows how to put a value on antique stencils? Please leave a comment and let us know.  
Thanks, Helen.

How to stencil a mosaic pattern with overlays

Recently on Design Inspiration I showed you a project that used stencilled concrete paving slabs.  I was using a mosaic tile stencil with a fish on it.  In this post I will show you how simple it is to use a multi-overlay stencil using another tile stencil from the same collection. Start with layer number 1.  Spray a little repostioning adheshive on the back of the stencil and press into postition.  Use a small amount of paint on a stencil brush and work the loaded brush onto paper towel until the paint on it is slightly moist not wet.  Apply it through the holes in the stencil. Before removing the stencil put a pencil mark through the registration holes in the stencil. Remove the first overlay and  line it up for the next pattern repeat by matching the registration holes with the last pencil mark.

 The first colour that you applied should be dry immediately so you can stencil layer number 2 straight away.  Or you could do all layer one then go back and start at the beginning adding the next layer of colour.  The registration marks for a new overlay are matched with the pencil marks from the previous layer.  You may be able to see on the photograph that the overlays have been numbered too.  This negates guesswork and makes the process simple.

Stencil and repeat with overlay number two just as you did with the first layer.
Now it is time for the last overlay which gives you the complete picture.  Using another brush with a third colour stencil and repeat as before.

Although the final photograph shows different designs from the same stencil collection you can see how the design builds to be a pretty convincing mimic of mosaic.

  The wall uses mosaic stencil patterns in the small size.  Medium sized mosaic stencils are used on the floor.  All these designs can be found in the Mosaic Collection at The Stencil Library. Brushes, adhesive and paint can be found in the accessories section.

Helen