BUNTING

Bunting - you have to love it, kitsch as it comes!

I recently bought some for a project I'm doing (see my other blog) at a Butterfly Park and got very excited by it. Had to hang it up over my fireplace to make sure it was ok and long enough but might leave it up a day or two - cute :)

It reminds of our Silver Jubilee Party we had as kids, Union Jack Bunting everywhere, really special memory to me, not because I'm a Royalist, not bothered by them either way to be honest but the whole street got together and all my cousins came over and it was just one big community party, the atmosphere was fantastic, we don't do things like that often enough nowadays. The big Lunch is good for that, at least people do make the effort on that day to be community spirited.

I held a Big Lunch (that was more of a small lunch but it was only organised in a week to be fair) and made Bunting then from some of my drawings, it didn't last awfully well.

Might have to organise another big lunch now just to use my new bunting.

Some more for you :D

The Traditional Union Jack bunting will always be on trend.

http://www.oldeglory.co.uk/decorations-union-jack.html

I even found knitted bunting:

http://www.illustratemyname.com/products_bunting.htm

Or how about METAL holding the World record for the longest string of bunting at 2158metres!!!

http://idea13.org/tag/the-worlds-longest-line-of-bunting/

Studio time

Havent been Able to get to my studio in 2 weeks. Having withdrawal symptoms. I popped in today for literally 5minutes and realised just how much I miss it. Get half term out of the way and I go down to working a 2day week in march, I'll be never out of the studio then. Looking around I realise my little collection of found objects is very kitsch and should be in this blog for all to see instead of just hanging around in my studio waiting for visitors. It's made up of treasures that I have found on my travels and treasures that friends have found knowing I'd love them. Only contains items lost or abandoned, never bought, each with its own little story to tell. Still lots of spaces to fill but its getting there.

Sawdust and Paper Scraps: Playhouse closet

The cutest Kids Playhouse I've seen: Sawdust and Paper Scraps: Playhouse closet

Kidston

Cath Kidston according to the companydatabase.org

Cath Kidston started her company in a small shop in Notting Hill in 1993, selling second-hand furniture and vintage fabrics. She soon began to design her own fabric and wallpaper, creating signature floral prints, which have come to stand for her unique look. There are now seven Cath Kidston shops in London (Notting Hill, Fulham, Chelsea, Marylebone, Wimbledon Village and Covent Garden), as well as a store on the 4th floor of Harvey Nichols and the basement in Selfridges. In addition to this we have a concession in Selfridges Birmingham, and have recently opened our latest UK shop in Bath. We have two shops in America (New York and Brentwood, Los Angeles), we distribute our products to a number of speciality shops in the UK and we have over 500 worldwide stockists. We also have a shop in Bicester designer outlet village, which carries end of line, samples and seconds products.

But to me I just love her stuff - she sells fabulous fabrics and patterned items and her shops just make me feel like I'm back at my Nana's house circa 1980 and for that Cath Kidston I love you :)

These pumps are my next buy - you can get them from her shop or online at http://www.cathkidston.co.uk/p-15947-cath-kidston-mini-shooting-star-plimsolls.aspx Just don't buy all the size 7's please as I can't afford to buy them yet!

Kitsch

Kitsch (English pronunciation: /ˈkɪtʃ/, loanword from German) is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons^[1] while making cheap mass-produced objects that are unoriginal. Kitsch also refers to the types of art that are aesthetically deficient (whether or not being sentimental, glamorous, theatrical, or creative) and that make creative gestures which merely imitate the superficial appearances of art through repeated conventions and formulae. Excessivesentimentality often is associated with the term.

The term kitsch is considered derogatory, denoting works executed to pander to popular demand alone and purely for commercial purposes rather than works created as self-expression by an artist.^[2] The term is generally reserved for unsubstantial and gaudy works that are calculated to have popular appeal and are considered pretentious and shallow rather than genuine artistic efforts.^[3]

The concept of kitsch is applied to artwork that was a response to the 19th century art with aesthetics that convey exaggeratedsentimentality and melodrama, hence, kitsch art is closely associated with sentimental art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch

This new blog will be somewhere for me to post random things I find on the web that I like and that I'd like other people to see, mainly handmade,crafty,recycled stuff.

The photo is from Folksy made by Recyclanalyst and you can actually buy the lovely kitsch bracelet here: http://www.folksy.com/items/545877