Category: Chatting

Just Because…

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in After Effects, Chatting

I’m determined to do something with this blog, I’m making an effort to add content.

So first off, a Happy Monday to you!

Thankfully, my life has lots of yellow splodges to look forward to. These are highlights I add to my calendar. I like to look at the month ahead and see lots of yellow dates highlighted – they represent fun days. So far I have a couple of ‘posh nosh’ dates with friends, some lunch dates (with friends, not ‘date-dates, iykwim!) and a couple of meet ups and a day out.

My garden is lighting up with happy daisy faces and all sorts of things are blooming and showing off their love of life and colour. The rhododendron bushes are pushing out their pom-poms and cheer-leading joie de vivre in their ostentatious showiness. So many bees are visiting and seeing them buzzing about makes my heart just sing! Mahoosive celebration of loving the life you live. I find myself just drinking in the sheer gorgeousness of it all, it’s so mesmerising.

That crazy lady Marie Condo got into me over the weekend and I sorted out my hot presses. The Irish name for airing cupboards. I now have a big pile of things to donate to Noah’s ark (local animal rescue centre) and have very tidy folded piles of bedding, towels, T-towels and bits and bobs. It is a delight to look at them. A few years back I made heart sachets filled with lavender (allegedly repels moths) and there are several dangling in them. They look so pretty, that despite their scent being long gone, are earning their keep just by being pretty. I’ve come all over a bit Hyacinth Bouquet (or is that ‘Bucket?) and have an inordinate desire to invite the neighbours round for wine and nibbles and private viewing of them.

I also found an appliqué cushion that I made yonks back. The hares were applied using Bondaweb then stitched round:

The teddies gathered round to photo bomb the occasion, of course:

Teddy Boys – truly, this is the whole collection. No secret teddy stash.

They are sitting on a lovely rocking chair that I got from a charity shop some time back. It was a bit of a knacker but we repaired it and restored its looks with a fresh coat of paint. Scrubbed up well, eh?!

The velvet cushion was one I made and you can see a glimpse of a ‘confetti blanket’ – a blanket that uses up ends of balls making rows of different stitches. They are the best fun to make and I love them and currently making a big one.

Talking of charity shops, I found this ornament:

Rosina Wachtmeister

I’ve loved this woman’s cat paintings for years and years. I have images of her prints on all my devices! Then recently, spotted this brooch on Etsy:

It’s now on my denim jacket.

…looking around for more inspiration about things to post… think that’s it. For information, the animated gifs were created in Illustrator/Photoshop and animated in After Effects – joy at my fingers tips to create these things from nothing. I even bought three Terry Runyan books; two are about drawing cute characters… couldn’t resist drawing them digitally and animating them, ha ha!

Wherever you are, hope you’re happy and sending you all a smile from the heart.

Me!

Happy Monday

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in After Effects, Chatting, up-cycling

The blog has been neglected for a long time now and I was going to let it die off and start afresh with new name, site logo, etc. Despite cancelling WP account and payment authority, it all got reactivated, reinstated and the funds were drawn down. So the blog lives on for at least another year. Rather than waste money, I’ll make use of it.

No tutorial today, just a glimpse into a personal project and passion of mine – making over old furniture.

Typical old, dark sideboard from a granny house. Two-door, two-drawer, solid and strong. No pictures of it in original state but was skanky, manky, dirty and nasty. Cleaned up well and given first coat of off-white satin paint. Husband, Mr Bee, does the painting. Not me.

This is a pic of one of the doors. I used paper napkins and Mod Podge to add some colour and decoration.

Some of my knob collection. for the doors and drawers, obviously. Well, hardly use them as lampshades, would you?!

Here’s Charlie Chops (aka Lord Charlie Chops of Chopstown Manor. An aristocat who fell upon hard times, lost his top hat and cane but still appreciates the finer things in life and makes do with us until his fortunes are restored). Charlie is earning his keep by pointing at the knob in situ. Good lad. There’ll be some fishy reward for him for this. What do you call a fish with no eyes? …..Fsh!

All done and put back together.

It’s in my sewing room.

Similar technique used on an old blanket box. Paper napkins and Mod Podge.

You can see I like colour and surface design.

Just before Christmas we had the landing, stairs and hall papered, painted and had a fresh new carpet for the cats to scratch up. It’s as Art Nouveau as I could find without paying extortionate William Morris prices. More pattern.

Gracie Mae watching Cat’s TV.

Charlie, looking uncharacteristically spooked. He must have thought the bailiffs were after him. He’s the most laid-back cat I’ve ever known. Loud noises, crashes or even the dreaded vacuum cleaner, barely disturbs him.

Nothing tires him out more than watching people work. Hairy keyboards are a feature in my office area. Cat hair cushions the fingertips and prevents finger-impact injuries. Quite thoughtful, actually. Thanks, Charlie. Check out his little black toe beans!

We have another lovely cat. Jess (or Jessie James – quick on the claw). Like the other two, Jess is a rescue cat. She is beautiful and I love the bones off her. It’s taken years of quiet love and reassurance to stop her screaming at us like a banshee from under the table, under the bed or on top of the kitchen cupboards.The skin she can flay with a single swipe. If only she specialised in wallpaper removal. Faster than lightning. All fear-based triggers, sadly.

Mr Bee has been bloody amazing. He picked her up and hugged her despite virtual evisceration as his reward. Permanently scarred, physically, but undeterred, emotionally, he was positive he’d win her over (even his blood group is B+). And he did. She still gets a bit trigger happy, but it’s Paws not Claws these days. Usually. Unfortunately, of all cats to get diabetes, it would be Jess. Twice a day I have to inject her with an insulin pen…. and hold it in place for 10s. My life flashes before my eyes in those 10s…

Finally, thought I’d share my robot build MP4 with you. I’ve been using animation techniques in my work role and home projects for several years now but still take occasional refresher courses on Udemy, Domestika, and keep up-to-date following the wonderful tutorials on YouTube…

Robots appeal to me – maybe robots are simpler to me than human beings. My ADD brain fries trying to work out how to decipher human interaction and think how to respond appropriately. Masking, I think it’s called. I’m pretty good at it now but social chit chat makes me feel gauche and wanting to poke my eyes out with knitting needles or bite my feet off…

Anyway, old-school robots are a thing with me and I collect them a little bit. The robot in the MP4 is based on a ‘How to draw a robot’ on Wiki How. The background is one that came with a Udemy AE course I took a while ago with Louay Zarambakji (wholly recommend his masterclass, btw). I took it into PSD and applied a ‘Glowing Edges’ filter to switch it up a bit.

All simple stuff using regular PSR but part of a sub-comp for something else. The robot was created in AI, all animated elements saved to a separate layer, etc, etc, etc. If you animate, you know this stuff.

Happy Monday to you!

Gestalt Principles

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in Chatting

Gestalt principles describe how our brain takes visual elements and frames, or consolidates, them into a visual organisation that we are familiar with. We are wired to see structure and patterns; they help us make sense of our environment. The name ‘Gestalt’ was given by a group of German psychologists who developed theories about how people perceive the world around them and the power that psychology has to determine visual communication.

These principles give us a set of guidelines to help us become better information designers. Aesthetics are very important but for communications to be understood clearly, function must always come before form. Gestalt principles demonstrate that we order our experience by means of systematic order – we ‘like’ pattern, structure and logic. So, what do they mean and how do we make use of them? They help us to make design decisions about which elements will be most effective in different contexts, eg, separating elements by means of colour or distance help differentiate one set of elements from another and prevent misunderstanding and ambiguity. We can use them to direct attention to specific focal points and guide users through processes, for example.

Similarity

This principle states that if elements seem to be similar, we group them together and assume they have a common function. We have contextual clues in the picture above; we know the word is Gestalt so we are already predisposed to order the arrangement of circles into the letter ‘G’ and we easily accept it as a letter as it conforms with our letterform schemas.

Common Fate

If elements appear to be moving in the same direction as being related  to one another. Our brains simply see direction and then imposes a logical progression… we could easily imagine the letter E fading out to infinity.

Continuation

When we see elements in a curve or a line, we see them as related and distinct from other elements.

Figure Ground

This principle states that we actively perceive objects as being either background or foreground. We can use this principle deliberately for interest or to direct focus mindfully. The Middle ‘T’ in the word above plays with foreground and background so you either see a table or two people’s faces.

Closure

If we are presented with seemingly disparate elements our brain tries to discern a meaningful pattern within them. In other words,  we fill in any ‘blanks’ to make something recognisable. We see a capital ‘A’ in the picture above despite it missing one side.

Proximity

The principle of proximity states that elements placed close to one another are more related than elements more distant. The power of proximity overrides colour, size and shape. Proximity is a strong guiding principle for page layout , arranging elements like images and text to create a cohesive flow.

Symmetry

This principle states that if elements are symmetrical, we perceive them as a single group or object. The letter ‘T’ above is clearly split down its vertical axis yet is still an obvious T.

Being able to consciously identify key elements of communication from your designs is a strength; there is real power that comes from being able to identify and articulate what makes your designs meaningful and strong vehicles to carry your communications with clarity. The more you become conscious of how and why your design works the better you are able to communicate.


 

 

Typographical Anatomy

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in Chatting
What have I got that makes you want to love me? Is it my body? (Alice Cooper)

Letterforms are curious and complex creatures. They bring mood, personality and attitude to visual communication so should be chosen with care. Issue an invite to the wrong family and they’ll wreck the place 🙂

These quirky and intriguing little beings are made up of many parts and those parts are referred to as their ‘anatomy’.

This isn’t a definitive listing but does detail their more ‘animal’ side! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Movember

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in Chatting

Movember is a mens’ health charity that raises funds for, and awareness of, prostate and testicular cancer.

Throughout the month of November men are encouraged not to shave and to let their mustaches grow out. Show your commitment to men’s health by tagging Foundation (Facebook, Twitter) and including the #VIMM hashtag on all your social media outlets.  Insert the “Movember Campaign” to GROW A MO and SAVE A BRO.

Wax my moustache for more information 🙂

10 simple things we can do to help the bees

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in Chatting

The destruction of green space or chemically rendering those spaces barren, devoid of flowers, is taking its toll on bee colonies around the world.

” Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” Mahatma Ghandi

We can all do something and the help they need is pretty simple.

  1. Don’t use pesticides or chemical weed killer. These are wiping out thousands of bees every year.
  2. If you have lawn flowers like daisies or clover, let them flower before mowing the lawn. Bees love them and isn’t a meadow garden pretty before it gets too tall and straggly?
  3. Buy local, raw honey. Raw honey is becoming more readily available from farmers’ markets than ever. This is great for your own health, too, as it won’t have been treated with chemicals.
  4. Plant flowers in groupings. Bees like to focus on one family of flowers at a time. Leave an area of the garden to grow a bit wild. There are ground-nesting bees, like Mason bees, that will use it for their homes.
  5. Plan your garden so that you have something in flower all year round. but avoid hybrid flowers that are often sterile and have no pollen.
  6. Plant a tree. Tree blossom is a useful source of pollen, too.
  7. Make them a little rock pool bath. Get a small dish, fill it with water and add lots of stepping stone pebbles. The bees will be delighted to take a break and have a refreshing drink of water before flying off to carry on their foraging and gathering duties.
  8. Get kids interested. Remember that great quote that nobody seems to know who to attribute it to? ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children’. Teach children to love their world and respect all life upon it.
  9. Put up bee hotels on a south-facing wall. Garden centres now stock them regularly.
  10. Sponsor a bee! 🙂 Join a wildlife trust that supports bees, eg, https://iwt.ie/people-for-bees/ or https://pollinators.ie/. There are many organisations around the world all taking up the challenge of saving our bee colonies.

I love to see the garden full of colour and buzz with the sound of happy bees going about their day.

No idea what the plant is; it grows like billy-o and the bees love it. I have several bushes in my garden and the bees were all over it when I took this shot.
Hover flies like it, too… but this bee, with her bright orange shopping bags, has spotted a couple of unattended flowers to go see.
French lavender is a hit
Those orange pollen baskets are bulging.
They zip from one flower to the next and you have to get a bit snap happy to try and get a good shot.
I have two honeysuckle plants; one at each end of the garden. When they’re in bloom, they’re always full of bees. Honeysuckle attracts lots of bees.
Big bees and little bees. This is a little bee, possibly a Mason bee (?). I’m no expert, but love having them in my garden and we all benefit from their activity as the planet’s pollinators.
I’m working on a paper cut Green Bee logo for my blog.

Help the bees. Bee happy 🙂

Lifechanging, magical gumpaste tutorials

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in Baking, Chatting
A magical tree if ever I saw one

When you get interested in making flowers and decorative sugar doodahs for cakes you soon realise the shortcomings of plain fondant. You can add some oomph to it by mixing in some Tylose powder but for real, magical modelling properties, you need gumpaste. *Sigh*

Sweetpeas are made of this, who am I to disagree?

Gumpaste lends magic to your crafting skills and transforms difficult fondant to fine porcelain masterpieces… with some practice and a bit of help!

What help? As ever, YouTube has a tutorial for everything! I’ve compiled a list of my favourites.

If you’re making flowers for a cake, some of these tutorials are bound to inspire so give them a go.

gumpaste-flower-tutorialsDownload

The Magic of Gumpaste -Poppies and Snails!

by Irish Bees Don't Do Mondays, posted in Baking, Chatting

Fondant is … well, fondant. But, you want to make flowers it just fails. It develops what is called ‘elephant skin’ and goes all crepey and crinkled and doesn’t have the elasticity to be frilled or fluted.

What to use? Gum paste. Take a look at the gumpaste poppies I made last week. I couldn’t have made them with plain fondant.

Gumpaste poppies inspired by Renee Connor
Lemon & Poppyseed cake with gumpaste poppies and lily of the valley

I used the poppies to decorate a lemon and poppyseed sponge just perfect for Sunday teatime. It is filled with raspberry buttercream and covered with raspberry ganache.

Found the cutest clay snail models made by Joo Joo on the net and had a go at doing something similar with gumpaste.†

You can see how simple the basic shape is. I cut a ‘V’ into the head and tapered the V into antennae. The flower details were painted on using a fine 00 brush and Sugar Flair edible colouring. The fondant flowers were made with a petal cutter (plunger type).