Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day!

This year Belfast City Council pulled out all the stops and put on a four day festival for Saint Patrick's day and I was drafted in to do origami and papercraft workshops for three days.

 

We made shamrock badges, hairclips, necklaces and origami shamrocks and four-leaf clovers with kids from one to a hundred (more or less) and it was great craic, the only thing problem being that I was kept so busy that I hardly got a chance to take many photos or indeed to take part in some of the amazing other traditional crafts that were on offer.

 

I hope you all rose a glass for luck on Sunday, wherever you were in the world.

Handmade map lampshade

 

Here's a little sneak peek of the lampshades I'm going to be making to (hopefully) sell in the Christmas markets this year.

 

a paper globe lampshade

+

circles of pretty paper

+

double sided tape

=

a really nice present for someone.

 

 

Lampshades are available to buy. To find out more just drop me a line at - maevep22@hotmail.com 

 

- small £10

- medium £15

- large £20

 

Wedding chandeliers

 

A few weeks back I photographed the wedding of an old school friend (more of which later) and I was also asked to make some decorations for the venue. We came up with these huge coloured tissue-paper-and-drinking-straw chandeliers, inspired by the ridiculously intricate polish 'pajaki' and in colours based on the crazy-amazing cake below.

 

 

 

Here they are in the Portstewart golf club on the big day. I tried to make them all slightly different, adding strings of pearls and tassels to some, and they hung above the dancefloor, narrowly avoiding being ripped to shreds when the nearby pinata was attacked with a broom at the end of the night.

 

 

 

If you would like me to make some of these for your own wedding or event just drop me a line at maevep22@hotmail.com

pretty garland goodness

I was racking my brains for a new papercraft activity to do at Sunday's class and then I remembered these streamer garlands that have popped up all over the blogosphere in recent months. And they really are the quickest, easiest and sweetest way to decorate a party. In fact I'd have this bit of girly fluffiness  up year-round.

(p.s. the picture is a charity shop find and is of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. I love it because it goes the with beautiful wooden figurines of those two dudes that my mum brought back from her first trip to Spain in the 70s, and which I've now appropriated.)

All you need for the garlands is some string, some tissue paper and scissors. And that's it! Cut lengths of tissue paper, gather some together and twist a 3 inch section in the centre. Then fold it in half over the string and twist the two halves together. You can add a little glue if you want to keep it in place but I didn't bother.

Et voila! I'll be making this again for sure.

I brought it down to my sister in law's awesome salon where I have a little cabinet full of lost & found wares like wedding bouquets and record bowls. My 'shop' drastically needs a make-over so hanging the garlands in the cabinet is the start of the beautifying process. Now to drag myself off the sofa and make some signage and price tags. 

Once a carnie, always a carnie

I led one of my paper craft classes at the Crescent Arts Centre on Sunday and we did a couple of new crafts, including this big top made from an old book. I've been making book trees (below) for the past couple of christmases but never realised that by making just one fold instead of three, you end up with this circus tent design!

Wouldn't it be cute decorating a kid's room or birthday party? My lack of offspring won't stop me from displaying it in the house though. I like it because husband Danny and I met while working at a giant ferris wheel in Belfast so we're practically circus folk ourselves.

In Sunday's class we made the book trees/big tops, 3-D hanging stars, streamer garlands, giant paper pompoms and origami crane garlands. If you fancy learning some papercraft all of my classes will be repeated in the next term of the Crescent's jam-packed programme. 

  

Polish paper chandelier

Since my job at the university finished for the summer I've finally had some time to devote to attacking all the amazing craft ideas I've come across so here's what I've been working on recently - it's based on the Polish paper chandeliers, or 'pajaki' that I saw in Krakow back in January (below), though much simplified!

All you need to make these are drinking straws, some thickish wire, tissue paper and wool or cord of some type. They are pretty time-consuming but I reckon it's worth the effort and I'm looking forward to having another go at making a bigger and better one. Just let me know if you'd like a full tutorial.

Et voila! These would look amazing hung above tables at a wedding or party. Contact me if you'd like me to make one for you - prices from £20.

Lost & Found workshop

The lost and found exhibition at PS2 will be finished this Saturday and after then I promise to blog about something, ANYTHING else, but for now, here is a post about the free papercraft workshop we had there on Saturday.

About 10 people squeezed into the space to learn how to make newspaper pompoms and some origami designs. It was great to actually get people using the space. Afterwards a few of us hung out for a drink and a natter. How I wish this were my permanent home in the city.

Thanks to all the lovely people who came down - to the old friends and the new friends I made.

DIY lampshades

Here are a couple of ideas for upcycling those cheap paper globe lampshades you find everywhere, and they each only cost a few pounds to make!

 

I decided that I would put the lost & found exhibition space to good use and get my craft on there. So armed with just some lampshades, paint, tissue paper and glue I came up with these two designs, and I have a whole load more ideas I still want to try out.

The star lampshade is simply a matter of cutting shapes from tissue paper and sticking them on using PVA glue. Simples.

For the paint drip lampshade you just mix some coloured paints with a little water and then use a plastic cup to drip them all over the shade. Then let it dry before then turning it upside down and repeat!

Here they are lit up:

How would you decorate yours?

Origami class at the Crescent.

Last weekend I led an origami workshop at the Crescent Arts Centre with eleven lovely ladies. I learnt a couple of new designs - a little fox that's simple enough to do with kids and a butterfly, and I was invited to do an origami class in a school in a couple of weeks, which  is nice!

There's a paper party decoration class on next month too if you may fancy learning how to make decorations for a party or wedding. Click here to book a spot through the Crescent Arts Centre. The class costs £16 and is on Sunday 1st April.

Pixelated goodness

This morning I came across instructions for how to make this ridiculously clever pop-up card on a website called minieco which is chock full of brilliant craft ideas in the prettiest colours. It completely blew my mind! Turns out it's really easy to make as well.

Get the instructions and free printable here 

Here's my go at making it. I cut a little quotation out of a book and stuck it inside and glued another heart onto the front. (which came from a botched first attempt at making the card)

The inventor of this design is a genius and I now have yet another new website to obsess over. Happy days.