Crochet Bead

Hi everybody!
I recently bought some really nice crochet-beads, they are wooden covered in different colours. I made myself a keyring with one crochet bead and two reclaimed glass beads, in matching colours. Some more supplies have come through in the post today, so I have loads of colours now, I'm itching to make some more!! I'll be experimenting with some new designs tonight, so watch this space!
Toby.x

Another blue

Here is another combination of blue beads, paler this time, with one of Toby's vintage glass buttons as a centre piece ready to be made up. Because of the vintage button, this one would be £7 plus £1 p+p SOLD

Blues

We were asked by our blogging friend, Julia, (have a look at her wonderful illustrations)http://juliabarber.blogspot.com/ if we had any blue bracelets in the style that Toby made last week. So, we went on a bead hunt, and here they are, same price £6.50 plus £1 p+p They can be made in any size, just let us know. More variations on this style to follow soon. Any colour requests happily taken.
email: info@naturalattrill.co.uk

6 Weird Things

We have been tagged by Lucy: http://life-of-pea.blogspot.com/ to list 6 wierd things about ourselves here, and then tag 6 more people to do the same.

Here are the instructions - The Rules: Each player of this game starts with "6 weird things about you". Each person who gets tagged needs to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as clearly state this rule. After you state your 6 weird things, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you're tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog for information as to what it means.

I find this difficult, infact back to front, because I like weird things, and so what is unsusual for me are 'normal' things, if you know what I mean.

This blog is Toby's as well, so we are sharing this challenge.

6 weird things about us:

1. Toby and I can speak 'arb' which is a made up language where you put the sound arb infront of everything that sounds like a vowel, ie we are 'Parbennarby' and 'Tarbobarby'.
I learnt this many years ago at school, and taught it to Toby. There are other versions, using different sounds, and also backslang, that I know of, I can understand some, but we are only fluent in arb.

2. I am predominently right handed, for strength, and right footed, however I draw and paint with my left hand, so I think this is my creative side! I work fulltime as a freelance illustrator and create alot of small detailed drawings and paintings. However this is not quite straightforward because if I am writing or drawing large, on a blackboard for example, I would use my right hand. I use an airbrush for work, right handed. I use the mouse for the computer with my right hand, and I can forsee problems with this as I have just bought a wacom pen and tablet, ....which hand? it will have to be my left, as I will be drawing my little characters for work, and it is a pen, but, I am used to looking at the computer screen and using a mouse with my right hand. Will have to wait and see, not tried it out yet.

3. I hate eggs, any kind, the taste and smell of them. I eat cakes etc, things made with eggs, but not anything that tastes of them.

4. Toby is like a magpie, everytime we go out, anywhere he goes, he finds things, usually on the ground, lots of coins, jewellery, all kinds of treasures.

5. Considering myself weird, it is strange for me, for many years to have participated in somthing quite conventional, I played netball. When I lived in London, I was quite serious about it, training each week, running and circuit training, being coached, working out tactics, and playing in 3 leagues. When we moved 'up north' I joined a local team and played for years with them, but no coaching, not such a high standard, we would practise sometimes, but often just turn up for the matches and play. I tore my achilles tendon, for the second time, (different leg though) and finally retired a couple of years ago. I am a very competitive person and loved the tactical side of defending especially, not letting my opponant do what they wanted to do or go where they wanted to go!

6. Toby is a fabulous cook, which is unusual for a boy of his age. In the school hols he often makes lunch, or cooks the evening meal. Not ready made dinners, he makes for example a fabulous pasta sauce, using fresh ingredients, garlic, onions, chillis, tomatoes, fresh herbs, olives, ex virg olive oil, butter, and various other things that happen to be in the fridge. All I have to do is the pasta itself as a huge pan of boiling water is very heavy. He doesnt usually follow recipes, just throws things in together and usually ends up with tasty results.

Here are the people that I have tagged, hope you dont mind!
http://magicalmiskellaneous.blogspot.com/
http://frenchfancy.blogspot.com/
http://madamebogg.blogspot.com/
http://karenjinks.blogspot.com/
http://scribblycottage.blogspot.com/
http://saragarrard.blogspot.com/

Inside-out Hat!

A while back i posted saying about my ceramics class. This is one of the pots i made, i thought it looked a bit like an inside-out hat; because of the shape. It is slab-built stone ware clay with pinched detail round the edge, and glass in the bottom. This week i made a matching pot that is very tall and thin.
Toby.x

New bracelets

Toby has made some more bracelets, not on beading elastic this time, but strung on Tiger tail, with clasps, they will fit a smallish wrist, approx 18cm. email: info@naturalattrill.co.uk
£6.50 plus £1 p+p
Bottom yellow/orangey bracelet sold

Phoenix

Carrying on with the bird theme, here is a plate that Toby glazed, Phoenix rising from the flames.

Pigeon

This Christmas I bought a handmade pigeon from our blogging friend here:
http://willowhouse.typepad.com/ which Toby and I customised as a present for Laurence.
Well actually it was mostly Toby, all I did was paint the beak grey. Toby made it a seasonal halo, and a garland of screws, as Laurence makes lots of things with wood and so uses them alot. The centre piece is a red glass chilli charm, Laurence likes chillis. He (the pigeon) lives on the top of our tv in the living room.

To buy a bag charm

We have been asked about prices, one like mine will cost £9 plus p+p, however prices can vary, if you'd like one made with just wool and plastic beads it would be cheaper, if all the buttons and beads are vintage, then more, just let Toby know what you would like.

Bag Charm

Here's a bag charm that Toby made for me to match my rucksack, you can see it in detail in the top pic, made from naturally dyed hemp cord, beads and buttons, and underneath, attatched to the zip pocket on my bag. He made another lovely one in neutral colours, whites, creams, peaches, with shells, beads and buttons for his cousin Amy, I saved the image to show you but then it got lost in our computer crash. If anyone would like to buy one, colour theme made to order, just let Toby know.

Back again!

Hello everyone, thought it about time I checked in here again. We had a lovely quiet Christmas at home, myself, Laurence, Toby, and my neice Amy, who was visiting us from Australia during her gap year. Think it was our 'Tate holidays' we went to Tate Liverpool, and also to the Tate Modern in London, where Toby and Amy slid down those enormous silver slide installations.
Came home to computer problems, which Laurence has now managed to fix, mostly, although we have lost lots of jewellery and arty images that we were planning to show you.
Now we are back to work and school. I am busily trying to catch up with illustration and design work, I have a range of 'cute bear' cards to create commissioned by Hallmark, and today I am working on drawings for a soft toy manufacturer, baby blankets and rattles for Mothercare.
Toby has jewellery in 6 shops, so we really need to chase them up and find out if anything was sold over the Christmas period.
Hope you are all well, and I look forward to reading your comments when you visit here this year.
Penny.
x

Computer Problems

Just to let you know that we have major computer problems at the moment, so cant scan in pics, also lost lots of emails, so any comments left in the last couple of weeks will not have been moderated and published, sorry, please write them again!
Visit here again soon, hopefully we will be back to normal then.
Penny.

Happy New Year Everyone

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
here's wishing all our 'blog friends'
Health, Wealth, and most importantly
Happiness for 2007.
xx