Handmade Shop Stock

The first two months of 2023 were rather sluggish in the Tomlinson household this year (as I hear they were for many people). Our year started with both of us being pretty rough with a bug brought back from Christmas in the UK and we just couldn’t seem to shake it off and regain energy. My mind had all sorts of ideas of ‘things I wanted to make‘ for the shop for the coming season, but my body had other ideas. I did, however, manage a few rather therapeutic creative sessions here and there, although I ended up gravitating to things I fancied making at the time, rather than the items on my sensible list! Sorry – these items are not intended for sale online as they’re headed to the Art Studio shelves for the coming summer season.

Enjoyed decorating these exercise books – it was nice and messy! Hand-painted and collaged covers – inside and out plus handmade stamps on some of the pages.

Rolled paper beads are so therapeutic to make, although I confess I find sealing and varnishing them with several layers of varnish a bit tedious. If you rush that stage, you can so easily end up destroying the beads! These had the added advantage of being able to be made at home, in front of the woodburner.

A new idea in process… some handmade accordion notebooks covered with handpainted seascapes. Have only made a few of these so far and I’m still perfecting the process… but I think they could be quite popular.

Yes I know… more blue… and more seascapes! These handmade cards were done on the geli plate as monoprints and finished off with some ink washes so each one is unique.

A different collection of small handmade accordion books – some using leftover printed pages from past calendars, and some using original artwork and collage.

A little close-up of some of the hand-rolled paper beads.This is probably my favourite shape as it shows off the variations in the painted papers. Some are rolled from cut up old paintings and some from paper painted specifically for the purpose. Others are rolled from surplus printed calendar pages. They will all, eventually, after several coats of sealant and varnish, find their way into paper earrings, bracelets or neclaces.