My Rob Ryan Plates & Collection

I have a little collection of Rob Ryan work. None of it original, original - unless you count my signed lazar cut. (which is signed!)

This was my first purchase.

Rob Ryan is an artist, based in England and is quite well known for his intricate paper-cuts. He was really one of the first well known and established paper-cut artists, before paper-cutting became incredibly popular.

He lives and works in Spitalfields, London, where you can visit him in his shop named Ryantown.  Two years ago on my trip to England, I missed an exhibition of his and contemporary British craft artists. I was literally a day late and was kicking myself to the point of bruising! I even went to Spitalfields to find his shop later and got distracted by a huge street market.

 One day I hope to own an original but it is out of my price range at the moment )-:

My 3rd Acquisition ... his little story book.

Well I did manage to visit a gallery/shop that represented him and managed to buy some lazar cut cards. You can check out Castor & Pollux here. It's a really cool little shop...

My camera died before I could photograph them for you!

Today I purchased his plates. YAY!

Oh, to eat off of them or hang them on the wall - decisions, decisions!

Makes me HaPpY!

This was sent to me by a friend. I LOVE the STUPID MUSIC....oh and the cake is pretty darn cool too.
From the site Cake Wrecks, which is a super blog that documents bad cake making.

If you don't have time to watch this video at work, then check out this little project using crayons:

One of the many things you can do with a heat gun.
Better than plastic-ing windows. See the project here.

Dye oh My!

Check out this dye job on How about Orange! I once took a class in cyanotype and this is basically the same dye: light sensitive, solid colour.

The product is called Inkodye. Hmm. Wonder if it is only available
in the States...can't imagine what duty would be on chemicals....

Hearts Continued....

Folded and ready....I added my money hearts to a ribbon with paper clips which hide under the folds.....

It looks like a garter! But then I had a problem....

The ribbon was longer than the card )-: ! ....but I played....

I put three of the hearts on the inside of the envelope and two on the outside...

And tied the bow to the front of the card....

Chose a bigger and prettier envelope and voila! wedding gift completed!

Money as a Wedding Gift

I am attending a wedding this weekend and it sounds like a no gifts affair, as the couple is based in NYC, but getting married in their home province of Alberta.

I was going to buy the lovely couple a gift certificate for Eataly, Mario Batali's Italian version of Whole Foods. They have awesome food and products despite the horrific layout and crowding of people! EEK! But they don't sell gift certificates online (WHY?!?!?!) Actually I don't think they sell gift certificates at all!

Boo - money is so boring. Now I am wondering do I give them Canadian money or American?  And how do you present it in an interesting way? Origami of course!

There are videos on You Tube on how to make a basic heart. I didn't include them here on this blog but they are very simple. In the video above, this heart has a flower in the centre and is a wee bit more difficult. I like this one. If I make this one out of a Canadian fifty, it can be pretty in red. Then I thought about getting some American dollar bills and making some basic hearts. Maybe put them all on a string? If only they could pop out of the card....I'll let you know what I decide on!

Inspiration: Space Invader

Perhaps it is a childhood thing, but I LOVE Space Invader and the graffiti artist who travels the world with his tiles. If you have never seen Space Invader's work in person, keep your eyes peeled!

I photographed this two years ago in Brick Lane, London.

This guy I spotted in New York City in the Spring.

Today on Poppytalk is a terrific Space Invader bookmark!!! Eek! I HAVE to make this!!!

 If you want to see more of the Space Invader in action, check out the film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" by Banksy.

Future Project

I really, really would love to make this....