Geometric Patchwork Inspiration

Five(ish) of the Best Ideas for Graphic Patchwork Projects

I posted a few weeks ago about minimalist patchwork quilts and the simplistic lines and limited colour palettes that appealed to me. Having said that I don't do much patchwork, I now keep seeing patchwork inspiration everywhere! Sometimes in the unlikeliest of places!

Here is a round-up of five six of the best - which would you most like to see turned into a quilt or patchwork project? Check out my Pinterest board Geometric Patchwork Ideas for more inspo!

Please click on the pictures to follow to the source.

This art print by Niki Singletary would make a fantastic hand pieced hexagon quilt for a double bed. I love the random cascade feel in the limited colour palette.

I actually thought this art piece from Contemporary Art Daily was a minimalist patchwork quilt until I looked closely. Perhaps not for everyone but I love the simplicity.

This art print, 'cubic cube one' by Julia Kaiser would take some careful choosing of solids to recreate (or perhaps dying fabric yourself) but I love the bold shape and use of the traditional tumbling blocks pattern in a modern form.

This colourful geometric cushion cover for Etsy is beautiful in its soft tones and subtlety, juxtaposed against the straight lines and bold shapes. It would be easier to buy it than recreate it in patchwork! But it's great inspiration for gem-based shapes and patchwork.

This poster by German graphic designer Hans Beer would work well with marbled fabrics - perhaps starting with grey and white and dying the rest then working from strips.

This Westminster Records sleeve design for Gloria by Vivaldi is striking in its modernity, considering the subject. A great cushion cover in little squares - I am quite tempted to try this out as a project. I suspect my 5 month old would love the primary colours too!

What have you seen that has given your inspiration for a project recently? What's the strangest thing that has sparked an idea for a craft project - pavement slabs? A cloud formation? Pattern and colours surround us everyday, perhaps the trick is in how we look at the world.

Five of The Best Teacup Favours

Five ways to fill your Vintage Teacup Favours

If you liked my Teacup Favour tutorial here, but don't want to use sweets, here are some other ideas for what you could fill your teacups with.

Planning a vintage wedding? Check out my Pinterest Board here for more inspiration, and watch this space for a DIY Doily Wedding Invite Tutorial.

Use your teacup as a mini terrarium!
Plant with succulents and moss for a gift that will keep giving after your big day.

Turn your teacup into a candle!
If you don't fancy the time-consuming business of making all your candles, you could simply pop in a tea light or votive.

Fill your teacup with loose sweets.
This saves you the hassle of wrapping the sweets but you would have to fill them at the venue, and it would be a little harder for guests to transport!

Add a personalised teabag and let your guests use the vintage lovelies as they were originally intended!
The teabag tag can also double up as a save the date or place name.

Fill it with a posy of beautiful flowers!
Wet a small piece of Oasis and place in the bottom. This is a beautiful look but requires making the morning of the wedding or the day before if you want them to still look fresh!

What did you use as favours at your wedding? Did you make them yourself? Let me know if you have any other ideas of ways to fill a favour teacup!

Five Of The Best Map Walls

Or, Proof That It's Acceptable To Use Maps In Every Room in Your House

If you saw my earlier post about DIY Printable Map Artwork here, you will have seen that I have a thing about using maps, on everything. I would probably use them in every room if it wasn't for that annoying nagging feeling that that would be overkill ...

But if you would like to transform your house into a gallery of cartography here is a run down of five of the best map walls!

Click on the pics to follow through to the source.

Living Room - pair with a vintage Chesterfield and battered old trunk-cum-coffee table for a shabby chic travel look

Dining Room - draw out one of the map's colours in a bright pop, like this table, and team with old school chairs for a fun and retro feel that takes you back to the classroom

Office - use local area maps in a limited colour palette for a more sophisticated feel. The layering of the pages of this map create a blueprint look that echoes architectural drawings and creates a professional, fresh vibe

Children's Room - Use a country or state- specific map to give bigger blocks of colour. The colours and straight, graphic lines from the map are repeated in the floor and upholstery coverings, making it the perfect bold and inspirational space for a child

Bedroom - the sepia vintage city map provides a monochrome colour palette that is repeated in the natural woods and soft white lines of this bedroom, creating a relaxing and sophisticated boutique hotel feel

All in all, proof that maps can be used in any room, to create a whole range of moods and looks. How have you styled your map wall?

DIY Paper Lampshades

Five of the best paper lampshade tutorials

If you were inspired by my Fortune Teller lampshade tutorial but don't fancy all that folding, how about these tutorials for other lampshade ideas? Ok, so a few of these also require some folding, but I cant keep away from the Origami. Despite the fact that, when a Japanese friend of mine visited and saw I was doing Origami she was amused because, quote, it is an old person's pastime in Japan! Oh well, knitting is cool again, right? Why not origami? Let's not let all the pensioners hog the fun ... !

Please click the pics for links.

Saucy Glossie

Work and Process

Dig Mig

Welke

Wit and Whistle

Enjoy!

Intricate Paper Art

Five of the best paper sculptures

Today on the blog is all about paper. To start, here is a round up of five of the best paper art. 

Some of these are fascinating and very intricate. Some are also tiny - I am so drawn to tiny sculptures and intricate pieces. I think it ties into my love of books such as The Indian in The Cupboard and The Borrowers as a child - these tiny sculptures and intricate works almost promise of another world, a miniature one within our own that we can only understand through glimpses.

I think I also like the intensity that paper-only art creates, when you only have one medium to work with there is no covering up with a splash of paint or a daub of glue; a wrong fold in an origami work and the whole piece could fall apart.

Dinh Truong Giang

 Matt Shlian

Sculpture Today

Fictional Landscapes by Kyle Kirkpatrick

All Things Paper

Which are you most drawn to? Have you done any work in paper recently? Check out more intricate works and paper art on my Pinterest board here.

Minimalist Patchwork

Five of the best graphic geometric patchwork quilts

My mum owns a patchwork shop, Abigail Crafts. It's a beautiful, inspirational space. I find that even a few minutes in there will give me ideas for new projects. But when I see the bolts of fabrics lined up along the walls I don't immediately think of patchwork projects; in fact, I hardly do any patchwork at all.

Pinterest (wonderful place that it is) has shown me a whole new world of Patchwork, however, and I find that I am increasingly drawn to the very graphic, geometric prints like those on my board here. I was going to name this post 'Modern Patchwork' but, actually, some of these designs are from the 1930s and 1940s. Here is a run down of five beautiful quilts that I would love to own or make - please click the photos for sources.

What have you seen recently that has inspired you? Do you prefer simple monochrome pallets, or a busy feast of colour?