This month on emuse

This month has mostly been about photography! I started a new feature, Sunday self-portraits, with some 1940s style photos, followed by some in a French sailor style and some Pretty in Purple ones after I'd had a makeover.

I also combined photography with getting out and about, starting with my days at Spa in the City (week 1 and week 2 and free stuff) and Hidden Door, a walk at Ravenscraig Park in Kirkcaldy, a visit to see the Outlander set in Dysart, and the Rob Roy re-enactment event at Falkland Palace. I had an evening at local business Love Restored. And I had a "shooting from the hip" challenge while walking around my own neighbourhood.

Another new feature this month was My collections, which I started with a look at my Japanese dolls.

I showed you a few cards that I'd made:

40th birthday card

iPad card

Green tea card

There were some other craft related posts:

Feeding your creativity

Tray upcycle

Bee brooch

Spotty top

Sashiko embroidery class, and the finished coasters

Love at First Stitch book review

And a couple of thrifted items:

Recently thrifted dress

Kimono book review

This month I have been mostly...

Visiting:

I went to Edinburgh early in the month, where I visited the Edinburgh College of Art degree show, the Pringle exhibition at the museum, had lunch at the Mosque Kitchen, and got my makeup done at the Urban Decay counter. The next day I went to a Jacobite re-enactment at Falkland Palace. And I spent a lovely evening at local shop Love Restored.

Watching:

Danish drama 1864, The Truth about your Teeth on BBC1, The Musketeers which my Mum has got on DVD, and, of course, the new series of The Clangers! Which might just be inspiring some craft projects soon, stay tuned for that!

Studying:

I've just finished the TUC Health and Safety Reps Stage 1 course.

Listening to:

I bought Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle and Sebastian, so I've been listening to that whenever I can convince myself to take God Help the Girl out of the CD player in the car! I've also got a bit hooked on Cambodian Space Project after watching a documentary about them.

Sunday self-portraits: Pretty in Purple

One of my freebies from Spa in the City was a makeover at the Urban Decay counter in Debenhams, so a few weeks later I headed off there!

Having a makeover at a makeup counter was something I've wanted to do for ages. I did get my eye makeup done at Benefit a few weeks beforehand, also as part of Spa in the City, but I felt that it was a bit rushed and didn't create as bold a look as I'd been hoping for.

I was pleased to find out that it was the same lady I'd seen doing the demonstration at Spa in the City who was going to be the one doing my makeup. She asked me what sort of look I wanted, and I really felt that she listened to me and took on board everything I said. She asked lots of questions about what sort of makeup I like to use, and kept stopping to check that I was satisfied with what she was doing.

I wanted a smokey purple eye makeup look, and luckily there was a picture on the counter that was exactly what I was looking for, so I was able to show her what I wanted. I was still a bit nervous that it would either turn out not bold enough, like my previous experience, or a bit bolder than I wanted (her own makeup was purple and blue with glitter, which worked well with her skin tone but would have been too much for me). In the end I was absolutely delighted - she got it exactly right!

I got a glass of champagne while I was having my makeup done, and a voucher to go back another time. And I didn't ever feel pressured to buy any of the products, although I did buy a brush that I had wanted anyway.

I took photos of my look once I got home. By then the lipstick had worn off, so I decided to add some purple lipstick to match!

Falkland Palace Rob Roy weekend

Sunny Sundays are my favourite time to visit nearby Falkland, so earlier this month when I heard that there was an interesting event happening at Falkland Palace, and the weather was lovely, I had to head up there!

The event was the Rob Roy Jacobite weekend, marking 300 years since a raid on the palace in 1715. This was the first time I'd ever been to a re-enactment event, and it was a lot of fun! I love photographing people, especially when they are wearing interesting clothing or costumes, so this was the perfect event for me!

I paid for a garden ticket, so I was able to visit the Redcoat camp which was set up at the orchard, but not the Jacobite camps which were inside the palace. I spent some time looking around and taking photos, then I headed to the Keeper's Lawn where there was a skirmish timetabled for 1pm, so that I could find myself a good spot.

The skirmish was a lot of fun to watch and photograph, with lots of bangs and smoke from the guns! Afterwards they gave a talk about the weapons and clothing which was really interesting too!

It was interesting to talk to the people involved in the re-enactment, as they were all very knowledgeable and passionate about history. I also met some other keen photographers.

I continued to explore the gardens for a while afterwards (they were looking beautiful as always), but decided not to stay for the later skirmish at 4pm. I had a great time, and I'm really glad I went!

Shooting from the hip

As you may remember, earlier this year I set myself a number of photo challenges, and one of these was shooting from the hip. On a lovely evening I set off on a walk around my neighbourhood to try this out!

I gave myself a few rules for this challenge:

1. The camera must be held at the end of its strap, around waist level. I allowed myself to vary the angle, but not the height.

2. I must not use the viewfinder or screen to compose the shot - I had to do it by instinct.

3. I could slow down as I was taking a photo, but not stop or go back to something I'd already passed.

4. I must not look at any of the photos until I got home.

As I walked around, I occasionally saw something of interest, for example a post box or a cat, and would point the camera in the rough direction and press the button.

I was actually amazed with the results of this challenge! They may not be great art, but they are quite special to me. Firstly, it was a real surprise to see what was on the camera when I got home - it was like when you used to collect your prints after having a film developed! Also, I felt that the photos gave a real flavour of the area where I live, because they caught a lot of details that I might not have thought to photograph usually. And there were a lot of unusual compositions that I wouldn't have thought of, with the lower viewpoint and jaunty angles.

Finally, it was a great way of taking photos in places I wouldn't have usually dared to, for example near people's houses where they would perhaps have thought I was being nosy or acting suspiciously (in the past I've had people ask if I'm from the council when I've been out taking photos around the area!).

Now I'm keen to try this challenge in other towns and cities to see what results I get!

Sashiko coasters

Last week I told you about the class I attended to learn sashiko stitching, and this week I'm ready to show off the finished coasters!

As the backing for the coasters I chose one of the fabrics I brought back from Japan, a brightly coloured and patterned fabric.

I cut the Japanese fabric and placed it and the embroidery right sides together, stitched around most of the way, and clipped the corners. I then turned it out the right way, ironed, and finally top-stitched around the edge.

They're really too pretty for everyday use as coasters, but I might use them when making green tea, or for sitting ornaments on.

Love Restored

Last Thursday I spent the evening at Love Restored, a wonderful independent local retailer which sells restored furniture and hand crafted goods. This shop, which had been open for over 2 years in Kirkcaldy's Merchant's Quarter, is one of my favourite destinations for birthday and Mothers' Day presents! It is owned by the very talented Lorraine and Nadia, who are also incredibly lovely and extremely welcoming to anyone who visits their shop, and always take a keen interest in the home decor and craft projects their customers are up to. Lorraine and Nadia have an amazing vision for the future of their business, which they revealed in a film.

They are moving to larger premises right at the centre of Kirkcaldy High Street later this year, which will not only have the restored furniture and gifts they are known for, but also lovely fabrics for your home decor projects. They are being very generous in their success by planning a space within their shop where local makers can market and sell their own goods, in the hope that this will raise these other makers up to the stage that they could open their own shops and further regenerate the High Street. They're also planning an area for running their workshops on furniture restoration and other home decor projects.

In order to do this, they are looking for help with their Crowdfunder campaign. They've only got until the 16th of July to raise the money they need, or they won't get any of what's been pledged, so please consider helping out this fantastic local business!

I had a lovely evening at Love Restored, and met lots of interesting and friendly people. There was a great selection of food to eat, with sandwiches, cakes, popcorn and much more, all beautifully displayed on the restored furniture. The film was a lot of fun to watch, and we all had a great time taking photos with a selfie stick!