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Tuesday, 14 August 2012

Feeling Nostalgic With Stamps

                                                       Well, hello there!

Time for a post don't you think?! Been thinking about a comeback for while but wanted to showcase something new instead of designs you had already seen before. So welcome back! Take a look around and have a seat, you may need to dust it off a bit, as you can see it's been a little while since I was here........

So stamps..................seriously Camilla you have been gone for ages and you are going to talk to us about stamps?!..................well, yea I am.....

Don't worry my thirst for crafting hasn't been quenched by philately (stamp collecting, don't you know!) but rather combined............not that I could actually even call myself a philatelist, just an admirer I suppose. However saying that my Grandfather used to collect stamps so maybe it's just in the blood and a glimpse of further things to come? 

Some of my many stamps

One day last year I was in an Oxfam book shop and just as I was buying my knitting books I noticed a little basket full of bags of stamps. How cute I thought, so I bought a couple and when I got home they got muddled up with all my other crafting supplies never to be seen again. That was until one day I decided to tidy up (good procrastination technique to avoid university work!) 

I stumbled across the stamps and decided I must use them, and as you should know by now one of my favourite mediums to use is resin, so why not combine the two? And that is exactly what I did. I have to admit it was more fiddly than I expected but I got there in the end. Of course as we already know my uni course kind of got in the way of my crafting and therefore the stamps once again got tossed to the back of a cupboard or box and forgotten about. 

Stamps!
My recent redundancy from my part time job partnered with no more classes at uni has resulted in me having a lot more time to do crafts............well actually no..........that is not really true. The big D (dissertation) is always nagging at me but let's just say I have more time than I used to. So commence the craft room tidy and the re discovery of the stamps, I swear its like Christmas every couple of months when I decide to tidy! But being a crafter and liking to collect things my thirst for stamps grew which caused me to go and get more, now I have a lot of stamps ranging from Hungary to India and the UK and from the 1940s to the present day. Enter Camilla geeky stamp collector....... I don't actually know anything about stamps but they are pretty colourful and like mini paintings which we all see everyday but pretty much ignore (mental note, start looking at letters for stamps). 

The stamps which I like the best however are ones with the postmarks on them. There is a sort of romantic notion when you see the date and location. What was posted? A love letter? A Christmas card? A letter from a long lost friend? I think stamps are nostalgic and romantic, they remind us of time pre internet and emails when people took the time (or not) to put pen to paper. The designs don't just echo this but also reflects the country throughout the ages through a variety of seasons and fads. 

Think I'll stop before my love goes too far, I think the Olympics and the sense of British pride has been oozed through all the media and leaked into my brain.

Anyway here showcases what happens when stamps meet the resin. These jewellery pieces are not only vintage inspired but have helped to catch that moment in time, just like a photograph. I even came across some stamp designed fabric which boosted me into creating fabric made jewellery and accessories.


When resin met stamps
Vintage stamp inspired necklaces

Now is an exciting time for Camilla-Erika, the craft hibernation is truly over and I'm bursting with new ideas to try out. I will be continuing to work with resin but will also be branching out into fabric made jewellery and hopefully branch even further out into homeware. My folksy shop is getting updated and will soon be crammed full of goodies. I know it's only August but come on its getting close to Christmas, maybe just start thinking about buying Christmas gifts and come to http://www.folksy.com/shops/CamillaErika to get them!

Stamps with resin and stamp fabric necklaces and brooch
Stamp Heart Bezel Rings
Vintage 1972 stamp necklace


Enjoy the new designs and let me know what you think!
Camilla
xxxx

P.S It's good to be back!!! :) :) :)


Thursday, 16 February 2012

Hello, yes remember me???

Happy 2012 everybody..........yes I am aware it is February and even worse I am aware I haven't blogged since August last year!!!! A whole 6 months!!! I cannot believe it.

A lot has changed in the last 6 months, don't worry I haven't simply forgotten all my loyal followers.........if there were any to begin with! 5 months and 1 day ago I decided to quit my full time job and give up a salary to go back to university. Some may say brave? others stupid,  but 5 months on I have no regrets! 

This kind of leads me onto why I haven't be blogging and even sadder than that had no time to do any crafting. I hear some you gasp with disgust as you frantically knit/crochet/sew away on your latest creation. How can someone who said they love to craft so much not be creating anything?! Believe me this isn't really something I have enjoyed giving up...........hmmm giving up is not the right term more like I have "temporarily suspended my crafting". 

A postgraduate masters course has taken over my life so to speak. Instead of constantly thinking about new projects to work on my head is filled with terms like keywords, brand equity, cash inflows and consumer buying behaviour. I am doing a postgraduate course in International Marketing Management, combine this with a part time job and I am not left with much free time! Excuses I hear some of you say! Well no not really but I do have to admit my time management skills may not be up to scratch and to be honest after sitting in lectures, working in a shop and trying to read textbooks whilst not falling asleep (a skill I am not getting the hang of) all I seem to want to do is curl up on the sofa with my slanket and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Even my poor house is suffering the brunt of the lack of crafting. Jobs have been left half done, others wait patiently to be turned into a beautiful new piece of furniture or photo frame to be hung on the wall. Cans of paint stand still waiting to be used and mirrors gather dust whilst waiting to be hung on the wall. The dining room table is starting to resemble a librarians desk more than a crafters treasure trove and the mini photographic studio i set up last week is still up in the living room waiting for another session. 

However all is not lost as I am determined that whilst I am severely short on time I will slowly get myself back into it with my concentration focused on Camilla -Erika. Both my online shops are empty waiting for new listings and I have a heap of jewellery to photograph in preparation. Even some new stuff! Resin jewellery making is one thing I have managed to make a tiny bit of time for.  

Hopefully by writing this blog entry today it will give me the encouragement to get back out there, I don't want another 6 months to pass, I want to re-ignite my inner crafter once again.....that sounded cheesy!

I will leave you with some new photos I have taken of some of my resin ring creations, with lots more to follow in due course. Who knows I may ever have a project to show you next time............hmm shouldn't get too ahead of myself eh! lol

Camilla
xxx