Trixie Delicious

You know what? I'm crazy about the work of New Zealand based Trixie Delicious.
Her Vintage Vandalized reworked china appeals to me on several levels. The pretty, recycled, vintage china becomes a canvas for an abundance of cheeky,twisted messages. Girly sweet plates with contemporary observations, words and phrases.
I've featured her here and there on Lino Forest, and have been patiently waiting for the "perfect" Trixie Delicious creation before I lashed out and bought a piece.
I thought I had come close here,and here, and even here,and would have died and gone to heaven if I could have received these for a Wedding gift (but they weren't on the radar in 1993).But today I found this. And it's mine!Duckie fell off the wagon...at least he can still fly!
All Trixie Delicious items are one-off hand selected vintage china pieces with text and drawings hand painted in French Porcelain paint and heat fused for use.
According to Karen Dennis, the creator behind Trixie Delicious, "I love to create art for people with a sense of humour. I have had many years experience as an exhibiting artist and designer and have a BFA in sculpture.
I am interested in design, art and craft and my work straddles the boundaries of all three categories.
Taking vintage plates as a canvas for text and portraits, I bring a new twist to an old tradition, and recycle those discarded left-over plates, giving them a modern make-over in the process."You can buy Trixie Delicious on Etsy, Big Cartel , and catch up on the new creations on the Trixie Delicious blog and Facebook page.

Tin Pan Alley

As well as featuring crafters here at Find, Make, Do, I will be looking at the myriad of recycled materials used by these talented and innovative makers.
Being passionate about giving life and beauty to peoples unwanted and discarded bric-a-brac and saving it from heading to landfill, I will be featuring the wonderful array of recycled, repurposed, reclaimed, and reworked materials that have been utilised by craftspeople, and their finished results!
Today I am looking at three jewellers who use recycled tin.
I found the Michigan based Shixie on etsy one day and was immediately taken with her pieces.
I chose these delicate pair of recycled tin earrings and when I commenced wearing them, immediately dubbed them the conversation stoppers! While chatting to people, their eyes would be slowely drawn to my ears, and then, without fail, all talking would stop and the earring would become the focus of attention!
I love the summery dress shape of them, the bits of wear on the edges, and how the "hangers" are actually ear posts.I now own the red and pink hearts earrings aswell , bought recently from the Hearts for Haiti Etsy shop.Jane Harrison's Fofum jewelery is created from layered and riveted vintage tin. "I use vintage tin which often bears marks showing its past life which I find simply charming .... because I like old things. I use a patina on the finished pieces to further darken edges and bright metals - and also this darkened quality unifies and accents the antiquish aspect of this jewelry. Making these metal collage pieces creates an object rich with pattern, color; and asking the questions…..’What were you? where have you been?, and look at you now!’ "Her work can also be found at Quirk Gallery.
Anna Davern is a Fine jeweller from Melbourne who's CV is as long as your arm. She is represented by a number of major galleries, exhibits around the world, and is practically Jewellery Royalty. Move over Queen Liz!
Among other precious and recycled materials, Anna uses pre-loved biscuit tins and tin trays in her work, skillfully hand cutting the images to create brooches and neckpieces.Anna sources pre-loved materials from opshops, garage sales and fetes, and for a while had a blog dedicated to documenting her scores called "Garage Sailor". I have even been the lucky recipient of one of her finds! Read more about her here.

Little Black Crow

For my first post I would like to introduce you to Little Black Crow, the brain child of Grace Garton, a self confessed "discombobulated arty, crafty gal"!
According to Grace " Little Black Crow's Studio is a strange little place made up of odd little animals and characters."
All Little Black Crow dolls are made to look frayed worn and a little dusty as if they had once been much loved and played with by children long ago. No two dolls are alike!
A little while ago, Grace put the call out for some vintage brown buttons for her doll's eyes on her blog "Little Arty Crafty Crow".
As my studio is overflowing with buttons, I spent a pleasant half an hour sorting out the brown and grey "pants" buttons I never use and then posted them over to Little Black Crow's Studio in Hobart, Tasmania.
It makes me happy to know they are being used on Little Black Crow's whimsical critters, as I have been a huge fan since the first time I saw them.
In her most recent email Grace ends by saying " Off to sew eye's onto my bunnies. I've made over thirty in 2 weeks!!"
That spells dedication and a love of creating, as well as the mad rush to get work made for the up and coming market Handmade Hobart.
If you can't get to Hobart, you can buy Betsy on Etsy! Betsy the Donkey and her friends are available from The Little Black Crow Studios etsy shop.The sailor suit is as cute as you could get!!A gorgeous selection of Grace's dolls can be found on Georgie Love too. Like Fred the Elephant.The best place to see all the amazing creations from The Little Black Crow Studios is on Flickr.
The photo set entitled My miss-adventurous creatures is chockablock with sweetness. All the dolls are photographed in cute miniature dioramas with vintage props and old timey hues.
Check out Grace's art work while you're there . She is also a talented artist with a background in animation.

Welcome

Welcome to Find, Make, Do!
A place to celebrate the wonderful, the creative, the repurposed, the pre-loved, and the age old tradition of making do.
Showcasing crafty, innovative and unique products and the creators behind them.
If you know a great product you would like to see featured on Find, Make, Do, just drop me a line.