Of plastic bags, Colour Catchers, drinking straws, pinching ideas off the internet – and exploding paint cans.

But chiefly pinching ideas off the internet.

1. First internet idea – pompoms made of plastic bags. I’m sorry, I can’t remember whose idea it was, but I thought it was an interesting idea.

Then I spotted instructions for making a ladybird in the instruction leaflet from my pompom maker. [Yes, I know you can make pompoms with two circles of card, but I bought myself a pompom maker. OK?]

Now – this little fellow, who I have just named William [because he’s orange, obviously] is either an ironic comment on nature and plastic bags – or he’s naff. Personally I am leaning towards naff but cute. He has no spots because I couldn’t work out how to add them – the leaflet suggested glueing on bits of wool which I found a tad unhelpful – and no eyes because I couldn’t find my googly eyes.

While I was wrapping the plastic round the pompom maker I had ideas of making him lots of brothers and sisters, but after I’d added the legs and feelers I decided it was too much like hard work.

2. Second internet idea is from the ‘Between the Lines’ blog. The great looking originals were leather – would it work in plastic?

Mmm – that’s a definite ‘maybe’. I think it’s partly the colour – perhaps a few more shopping trips to Superdrug are called for, to supplies to make pink ones?

 

 

 

They look great made from Colour Catchers, but CCs aren’t litter…

[I did some research and apparently most litter is either smoking or fast food related – which matches my own more limited observations.]

 

3. I put those on one side for the third internet idea from Aunt Peaches. [Well worth looking around both those blogs, for two very different but equally appealing aesthetics.]

It’s not quite a chandelier, but these are my efforts.  The ones on the left are the original design.

Then I tried leaving a shorter gap between the two cut ends, and squashing the straw segments flat.

The result looked as though it would liven up a flower from internet idea 1. I haven’t quite perfected the method of attachment, but definite more interesting. Pink ones with white stamens, perhaps?

Then Wensleydale suggested they looked like dandelions – before and after seeding – so I tried wiring the flattened ones together

Photographing them on the black paper made me think of the work of Mrs. Delaney – which gives me a whole new set of ideas…

And the exploding paint tin? Felt like tragedy when it happened, but is starting to seem like farce. I decide I wanted to add some webbing spray to a page of my sketchbook. I should make clear that this was NOT Krylon webbing spray, but a can I bought in a sale from a DIY chain which no longer stocks that make. [Could be  a reason fro that.]

In taking the top off the can I knocked the spray nozzle off – and the $**&”!%& stuff began to spray everywhere. I put my finger over the end and panicked – couldn’t think what to do. Go out in the garden? I didn't want nasty black stuff all over the grass. I headed for the scullery, yelling for Wensleydale  – but still couldn’t decide what to do. Don’t want it in the sink, don’t want it in a bucket, why did I come in here, better out in the garden…

W. arrived, a tad calmer than me, and said ‘plastic bag’ – he grabbed a bin bag and we shoved the hissing beast into it. Then, bless him, he helped me clean the overflow off the floor, the sink, my specs, myself. I can recommended Tufanega cleanser and Superdrug exfoliating mitts – though I still have trendy black nails, albeit on only two fingers…