Guest Blogger ~ Sunrise Cards

A few years ago my friend asked me to make a card for a relative who had just lost her sight , at first I didn't know where to start but then thought about all the different textures we could use to make it as tactile as possible.
I wanted to make it so that she could get as much enjoyment out of feeling the card as a sighted person would by looking at it.
I also managed to find a site that taught me about braille so that I could include that on my cards.
We sell our braille cards in an online shop set up by a man who lost his sight and does a lot of fundraising work.
http://sightzone.webs.com
he gave us a braille labeller to start us off and helps us to sell our cards
I have attached the three cards that we have made for my friends relative over the last three years.








Tracy and Paul ~ Sunrise Cards

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Guest Blogger ~ Joyknitt

The Veg Patch
by
Joyknitt

You may (or may not) remember from my last guest blog that rog and I moved about 18 months ago away from busy, noisy outer london - sorry, postal address was surrey, but still really outer london - to wiltshire. the house we bought was attractive to us for two main reasons, the first being a really well-built, but unfinished, outbuilding designated originally as a billiard room and now on course to become separate workspace for each of us, and the second being the garden which, while not being too big, is a nicely enclosed blank canvas for us to work wonders on.
we already have plans in hand for the renovation of the outbuilding, so I'll be blogging about that in later months, but for now as we wont really be able to do a great deal in the garden until the builders have been and gone, I have decided to take a small area of our very rough grass (I hesitate to call it a lawn) and turn it into an organic vegetable patch for use this coming season.



I have spent about three or four hours on and off over the past few days out there so far, and have double dug a small area and partially filled it with my own compost, made in a compost bag using kitchen scraps, fruit peelings, leaf rakings etc, and the contents of last years grow bags. I hope, as long as the weather continues to stay dry and not too cold, to have the entire area dug and filled before the end of march, so I can start planting in april.



what really motivated me to get going on this was something really silly. I have been buying organic desiree potatoes grown in bromham, which is only five miles from here, at the weekly market and the other day I read in the newspaper that gordon ramsey recommended that particular variety as the best one for making home-made chips. I found a few potatoes in the bottom of the bag which had gone past being ok to peel and eat, so rather than throw them away (call me cheapskate if you want to) I thought "why not plant them in the garden".



Rog has promised me a greenhouse, but that, again, will have to wait until after the builders have been and gone, so I have started off a few seeds in a seed tray which sits next to a lovely big east facing picture window in the dining room.



So over the next few months I'm hoping to have the opportunity to show you how the veg patch is coming along, and possibly the renovations to the outbuilding as well.

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Guest Bloggers?

I've just realised that I've run out of guest bloggers!!
Please could any of the wonderful volunteers who previously wrote a guest blog or anyone new, please contact me through Misi.
The only requirement is that you are a Misi Member.

Thanks,
Helen
xxx

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Guest Blogger ~ Candle Cavern

Nature’s Natural Purifier
by David

Picking a subject for this blog I thought would be easy – just pick something interesting and talk about it. Then you worry that what may be interesting to you may be mind-numbing to others. So I decided to think of something that’s positive for us and those around us AND we can enjoy it.

As a candle maker, throughout my time I have used mainly soy wax as a candle medium. This is aimed at wanting to develop & promote interest in candles from natural products and from a sustainable source. It was this ethos that led me to work more and more with Beeswax which, I confess, I now thoroughly enjoy as much.

By nature, I am a curious type and decided to find out exactly what it is, where it actually comes from and the benefits of beeswax. I found a lot of fantastic information and research (from the good ‘ole internet mainly) opening an interest and enthusiasm to use, produce and provide candles from beeswax as well as promote the natural benefits that beeswax contains.

As most of us know, beeswax is the building material of the honey bee which they use to make honeycomb. But, the benefits of using it as a candle fuel generally is quite revealing.



Firstly, beeswax candles burn brighter, longer, and cleaner than any other candle! The flame emits essentially the same light spectrum as the sun and in the process of burning emits negative ions that are known to clean the air. These negative ions help rid the air of pollen, dust, mould, toxins and many other pollutants and it is this feature that makes beeswax candles ideal for allergy sufferers – something that affects and limits many people to a greater or lesser extent.

Air contains electrically charged particles or ions. Ions act upon our capacity to absorb and utilise oxygen, and therefore cause powerful effects on our lives and well being. The ions in the air can affect our mood, energy and health. Positive ions are loaded down with pollution and allergens that are drawn to them and suspended in the air. Negative ions, on the other hand, remove the pollution and allergens from positive ions, allowing them to drop harmlessly to the ground.

As it burns, the candle flame convects air, passing it through the flame. It burns off pollutants in the same manner as a catalytic converter in your car. Thus, beeswax candles are natural air purifiers.

I admit I am a convert and believer that beeswax candles can help practically as well as provide a pleasurable experience. It does cost more but sometimes you get what you pay for!


Lots to be found at my Misi store.

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Guest Blogger ~ Joyknitt

Retired

I've never really "been" anything which has a title, like a teacher, or a policewoman, or a secretary, and never really wanted to be, I have spent most of my adult life, well 39 plus years of it, as a full time mum. thats not to say I haven't worked, as any full time mum will tell you, I have been nurse, childminder, head stroker, food fixer, drinks fixer, clothes maker and mender, food and supplies purchasing officer, pram pusher, nappy changer, hand holder, taxi driver, classroom assistant, swimming lesson clothes changer and dryer, readee (I think I just invented a new word, it means being read to), school outings tag-alonger and head counter, uniform washer and ironer, sports day helper, christmas fair helper, summer fair helper, argument mediator, peacemaker, bruise and cuts tender, bike pusher, birthday party organiser, cake baker, pet cleaner, house cleaner, toy sorter (lego, my favourite), and in latter years driving instructor, banker, cookery teacher, and oh I could go on and on and on, you all know how much a mum does.

I've also had some really good fun along the way, especially on the school outings, joining in with ice skating, abseiling, rock climbing, archery, orienteering, and I've been to the natural history museum, the british museum and the science museum, as well as the roman remains at fishbourne and the observatory at hurstmonceaux. and family outings when we have been to the victory and the mary rose at portsmouth, hms belfast in london, madame tussauds and the planetarium, chessington world of adventures, thorpe park and alton towers, the eiffel tower, montparnasse tower and cite de science in paris, seaside holidays in bournemouth and cornwall, one magical trip to the usa where we went to niagara falls, and many, many more. so bringing up kids has been my greatest achievement and living and learning through their experiences has taught me a great deal and made me the person I am today.

but now they are grown up and I am retired. it happened quite suddenly, one minute my first son was born, and a few weeks later, so it seemed, the fourth one is off to university and I am in an empty (well, almost, husband and cat are here as well) house. all I ever wanted to do when I was a grown up was to get married and have children and now I have done it, fairly successfully, I think, and its time to move on. its time to do something for me.

It took me quite a while to get used to the idea that no-one had any calls on my time, all the time I was "mumming" I used to dream about a future when I had all this time to myself but it always seemed to be just out of reach, just a few more meals to fix, a few more teenage mountains to climb, a few more tantrums to be overcome and a few more tears to be shed. and I do really miss having little dependents around, but what I love is the freedom and knowing they have all turned out ok, they are reasonable members of the human race, what more could I ask for.
so picture me now, a little granny figure sitting in my rocking chair on the front porch with my cat and my knitting on my lap. I wish!!! well in fact I dont wish, I am as busy now as I ever have been, I am a self employed phoenix trader selling cards at craft fairs and home parties, I make my own bread, I house sit for our local b&b establishment when the owners have evenings out, I drive back to surrey during half-terms and holidays to catch up on the older two sons and their partners and the grandchildren, rog, my hubby, and I walk all over the place, we are having great fun discovering the wonderful wiltshire countryside we moved to a year ago, we go to the gym once or twice a week, we are also renovating our house and outbuilding (big enough for a studio for me and an office for him), turning our small patch of unkempt grass into a decent lawn and useful vegetable patch, and later this year I am embarking on an open university course on digital photography. and I just about have time to sit down in the evenings in front of the tv to do some knitting or crochet, which is my "me" time.
So retired I may be, but idle? no thanks.

4 Sons

Joy
xx

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Guest Blogger ~ LiveWire Jewellery

The trials and tribulations of the frustrated but endlessly enthusiastic crafter

So first a confession, I’m not a very arty, crafty, creative type! I never have been. At school I was more into sports (and boys!), I enjoyed trying out art and craft but I never really pursued it and I certainly didn’t show any great promise! So it’s funny now that as I’m writing this in my studio I’m surrounded by boxes of beads, gemstones, ribbon, metal, pliers, hammers…

It all snowballed rather quickly, one day I bought a couple of beads to match an outfit for a wedding and managed to make a pair of earrings after cannibalising another shop bought pair and then a few tools followed, a few more beads, a bit of wire, some leather cord, a few more beads…it didn’t take long for me to develop some kind of magpie like obsession with shiney, sparkly, beautiful beads so if you see someone hunched over trays of beads, scuttling back and forth, already weighed down with materials that’s probably me!

But it’s not just about the shiney beads (or gorgeous fabric or whatever your addiction is) it’s that whole process from start to finish, the fantastic idea, the problems and setbacks that always plague the crafter and then the glorious finished item! I think it satisfies some deep urge in us to use our hands in a really practical way especially if, like me, you’re still waiting to give up the nine to five (you certainly don’t get the same satisfaction from filing away some paperwork!)

And that is what I think connects us all, the very essence of what we do, the ‘handmade’, not from some factory churning out thousands of the same item. It’s made with love and passion, with paper cuts and fingers super-glued together, with hundreds of failed attempts and sighs of frustration, endless cups of tea and some late nights, it’s all those half finished projects lingering guiltily in a box and the thrill of your first sale. So fellow crafters be proud of your work and make sure you tell everyone, ‘I made that!’



Steff
Live Wire Jewellery

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Guest Blogger ~ Just K Jewellery

Those of you who know my work will be aware that I often embed sweets in resin but I’d also scrounged some fragments of material from my mum – she makes patchwork quilts and the materials she uses are ideal to use with resin as they have small patterns.
I mixed a batch of resin and half filled a selection of different shape moulds. As I’d already cut the material to shape I knew it was the right size so I floated the material on the resin and gently pressed it down until it was submerged.




I was going to use a polo mint in the rectangular shape so I let this resin cure until almost hard. I do this to avoid getting air bubbles under the sweet.

I added some more clear resin to just cover the polo mint, let it partly cure and then sprinkled some crushed glass and silver glitter onto the resin and left it to cure fully under lights. The lights help to speed up the curing process.



The next stage is to add the second layer of resin. I mixed a batch of resin and put a small amount into another mixing cup. I added some metallic claret coloured pigment powder, mixed well and then poured it into the mould. I didn’t have enough for the second mould so I added some more clear resin to the mixing cup and this time some red glass paint. I mixed well and poured into the mould.






For the last pieces I stirred some metallic blue pigment powder into the resin and poured into the moulds. This time there was some blue resin left over so I added more clear resin to the mixture and a couple of drops of black glass paint. Again I mixed well and poured into the polo mint mould.
Once the resin had cured fully I was able to de-mould them. I like to leave them under the light for a few more hours before handing them. There are always some rough edges on the back which I rub down with wet and dry paper.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with these pieces yet. I might make the blue floral squares into rings by gluing them to flat pad ring shanks. The red floral batons will probably become necklaces so I’ll drill a hole into the top with a pin vice and then glue in a top pin.
If the polo mint becomes a key ring I’ll drill a hole all the way through the top of the piece and use a large jump ring or triangular clamp to attach it to a key ring blank. I like the effect of the glitter sparkling against the midnight blue resin, makes me think of stars in the night sky, this one might yet end up as a pendant.....

Karen Rickard

http://justkjewellery.blogspot.com

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Guest Blogger ~ Maisielu

Our guest blogger today is Amanda from Maisielu.

Why I Blog?

When thinking of a subject for the Misi blog I thought it it would be interesting to discuss why we blog at all. What use are these internet diaries that people talk about?

When I first considered doing my hobby as a job, it was happening upon craft blogs that give me the courage to go for it. I started blogging at the same time as putting my items on Misi, but found it difficult at first thinking , why would anyone care about my life, goals or hopes for the future?

Not having written full sentences since college I found the actual writing really hard, and I was always the girl who ends up fogetting/losing her diary so keeping it up to date became an issue.

But then you get some followers, and comments and then sales, and Pow you’re hooked. I am.


What can blogging do for me?

*Creating a blog can give you a space of your own to interact, learn and create on. And even better people can find you there, my blog was picked up on Google long before any of my shops were.

*It’s really easy to set up through sites like Live Journal, Typepad, Blogger, Myspace, or Wordpress you easily go through the process.

Then when you’ve got used to it. its easy to adjust to your style, and best of all most are free.

*It can create a valuable record of your creative process, in todays mass produced socity its inportant to have a record of where your ideas came from.

If someone copies your designs you can refer them back to your dated blog and ask them to remove the item from sale.

* Add pictures, if you make something show the potential new owner how much work has gone into the piece, its nice to see how your piece was made rather than thinking of it being mass produced in a factory somewhere abroad.

If you don’t like writing as the saying goes “a picture says a thousand words”.

*Its a great way of archiving your work, pictures and ideas to refer to at any time or place, if you lose your computer data you’ll still have the information on your blog.

*It’s a great way of connecting with others and gaining feedback.



I hope this inspires you to set up your own blog, and remember if you do shout about it, let everyone on Misi know so we can find you.

And most of all, enjoy it.

Amanda .x.


Thank you Amanda ~ come on crafters ~ get blogging!

If anyone would like to do a guest blog or be featured on the Misi Blog Fab Fridays ~ please message Helen through Misi.

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Guest Blogger ~ Lazy Daisy Glass

As a guest speaker, I thought I would talk about my craft of Glass Fusing.

What is Glass Fusing? (Part 1)

Glass fusing is a glass fabrication technique used to heat glass in a kiln until it reaches a soft point, which allows the user to manipulate the glass in a variety of ways. This method for working with glass is sometimes known as kiln-forming or warm glass. Warm glass operates at lower temperatures than glassblowing (which can be referred to as hot glass). A wide variety of objects can be produced through glass fusing, ranging from necklaces to bowls.


Warm glass is heated between 600 and 925 degrees Celsius. At these temperatures, glass softens enough that when pieces of glass are heated and pressed together, they will fuse into a single seamless piece.


There are many processes within fusing - slumping, draping, fire polishing, tack fusing, frit casting, pate de verre, combing, glass casting (more on these in Part 2). Besides fusing flat objects (see Fig 1 - Lazy Bones Fish), I also use the slumping method, which is one of the most popular techniques. Slumping is when glass is heated to a certain temperature and left to stretch and drop (slump) into a mould (see Fig 2 - a slumping mould). I created this three piece sculpture using a wave mould (see Fig 3 - Coast). It is a very controlled process - the glass is heated enough for it to allow to slump very gradually. If the process is not controlled you could end up with lots of melted glass in a messy heap!


A number of supplies are needed to practice glass fusing; including a kiln and tools to work with the glass. A kiln is vital to working in this technique and also the most important investment you will ever make. Therefore, it is important to make an informed decision. KIlns come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. My first kiln was a Hot Start Pro - a seven-sided shape (Heptagon, I had to look that one up!!). I decided to buy this particular one because it was slightly bigger than the small box ones (like the Paragons) and suited my needs better as I wanted to experiment with bowls and plates and not just make jewellery items. I have progressed since then, and now own a flat-bed kiln which measures 1 metre x 800cm - this is a huge leap, but my business has grown and I now supply trade. In order to keep up with orders, I had to invest in a larger kiln.



It is also important to have safety equipment like goggles and fire resistent gloves. Glass fusing also relies on the use of compatible glass; if the wrong types of glass are mixed, the piece can crack or explode as a result of different cooling patterns and densities. Surprising not all glass is compatible ie., it expands and contracts at different temperatures.



Written by Kathryn from Lazy Daisy Glass


(If you would like to become a guest blogger please pm Helen through Misi)

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