July - August 2020 #Instagram

Hello! - Is there someone still looking? 

Some thoughts after using only Instagram for half a year:

It has been a while now where I only used Instagram. Yes, my idea was right, it is much easier and faster to post photos and tell what I do, so I do it much more regularly than I ever did here on my blog. 

BUT: I don't like the short life of a Insta-post. The most are only looked at when they are fresh, so after a week already no one notice anymore what you did, except in rare cases where someone found your photo over a hashtag search. I know that there are lots of people only looking at the photos and not even reading the text. I don't like that you can't put a link to a source of inspiration. I try to explain always where I found my ideas, but if someone don't read the text he might not notice and I feel like stealing the honor. 

I will anyway continue, as Instagram is now one of the most common social media platforms and I got over likes the feeling that there is someone interested in what I'm showing, than here in the blog where there are very few comments!

To safe the photos and ideas a little longer, I will repost my pictures and texts here. Give me a while to catch up with the last month and then there might be regular updates.

Jane on Instagram

Hello everybody!

3 month since my last post! Not only now, but since quite a while I recognise how difficult it is to find or to take the time to sit down at the computer, preparing the pictures and writing a post. 

I searched for a faster posibility of sharing my creations and ideas and as I have been already a while on Instagram for following other creatives, I started a new account: jane_lost_in_ideas

Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/jane_lost_in_ideas/

I'm already very active there. Here is a sneak peak of what I posted there since July:

I would be happy if you visit me there too! 

I don't want to quit this blog completely and probably I will every now and then post something. For example tutorials or bigger projects that need some more explications!

So long,

Jane 

crawling insects

Yesterday evening scribbling on a test print ...

A bientôt,
Jane 

Wood burning pyrography

Hello, I am back!

I haven't been very creative the last month and I don't want to make a blogpost about sewing endlessly face masks (what kept me busy for some weeks)!

But some days ago, I got a wood burning kit for my birthday and had lots of fun trying that out. After testing on an old piece of wood (we have tons in my husbands workshop) the first real outcome was this flower-candle! The rectangular wood was a test piece too and I had the idea to turn it into a candle, when remembering some wooden flowers I had on stock. 

This one went directly in a parcel I prepared for my dads birthday!

I really liked those flower candles and later made some more:

I tested different burning tips on spatulas. It is not so easy to draw freehand lines as the structure of the wood derails the pyrography pen.

The one with the owl turned out very good. It will become a page marker!

The ones with "thank you" and "merci" on it will become gift tags.

I also made three other page markers:

You can see I really liked the flower burning tip ;-)

With the wooden flowers for the candles I also found some owls and made for those pedestals with fir trees on three sides and footprints on the fourth.

My boys also tested and both made real drawings. Son 1 a hedgehog and a mole and I think the one of son 2 shows an explosion on water. (you can imagine the different caracters of my kids?)

A bientôt,
Jane 

Template printing easter eggs

Only Easter monday I got inspired by "Müllerin-Art" who makes great patterns and has a very nice blog, to design egg templates and printing ...

I followed her instructions for the egg templates and cut several first in paper and those 3 I like best I did as well with foil, so the template will be usable much longer.

See on the left the paper version (I put on a colored background to better see it), in the middle the foil template (already after printing) and one print on the right.

The first prints I did in my sketch book, but I found the eggs are a bit boring and lonely on blanc paper, so I looked for some already painted backgrounds and made some more prints. Some I didn't like and some I transformed into cards. Very sorry Easter is over, so I can't use them this year!

 It looked so much like a tulip, that I had to paint a stem

Template printing is so much fun. Since I detected this before Christmas I want to do it all the time!

A bientôt,
Jane 

Happy Easter at home!

Even if you are not celebrating Easter this year like you do normally, I wish you to have a very happy and sunny weekend with those who can stay close!

Wish you all the best and take care!!

Mes meilleurs vœux et soyez prudent!

Jane 

Two paper birds

When looking up this paper owl I showed you some weeks ago, I found also this free bird template and as it should be a wren one of my moms the preferred birds, I downloaded immediately the pattern to try. 

I took several print-outs to a crafting-talking-evening with my german girls and we all made one birdie. 

 I should have known before that they can't have the same size like a real wren (would be too fiddly). But for me they are really enormous! Even bigger than a blackbird!

The pattern is good and easy to assemble, the only critique I have is that the tail is visible from beneath, where are the cutting and folding marks and the piece number visible. I glued a paper scrap over it to cover. 

The only difficult (eh, really bothering) step is the feets! Maybe my metallic wire was too thick, but it took ages to install them! This is why the second one is sitting ;-)

In the end I like the couple and send them to my mom! Happy birthday to you! :-)

A bientôt,
Jane