Gnome-man's Land

Gnomes. A rather odd preoccupation and yet, there they are, stumpy little bearded fellows with conical hats and brightly coloured tunics, constantly popping in and out of my head over the last few days. Possibly the onset of madness, but in this case I reckon I know the cause. I was working near Stepaside last Thursday and driving through it sparked a memory of childhood trips to the seaside. Stepaside was en route to Brittas Bay in County Wicklow and one of the houses in the village was practically suffocating beneath hundreds of gnomes: In the garden, on the garage roof, on the window-sills... they were everywhere, in varying sizes and hues, some with garden tools, others in lederhosen and most with beards, hats and chubby cheeks. Slightly creepy when I think of it now, but as a child it was simply mesmerizing - my sisters, my brother and I would watch anxiously from the car window on the approach to the village, for fear that we'd miss it. 

Recipe Folder

Sadly (or perhaps not), I couldn't find the Gnome House last week but the memory lives on in my head and since it doesn't seem to want to leave, I decided to write about it and (hopefully) exorcise it from my mind. Having gnomes on the brain has not led to a cake- or baking-inspired post, so this is not an account of a gnome-shaped cake or a cake that a gnome might like to eat (Which would be what I wonder? Mississippi Mud Pie perhaps?). Instead, today's post is all about being crafty. And by 'crafty' I do of course mean the art of making things, rather than the art of wily, crafty ways, a la Machiavelli. Bit of a leap from gnomes to arts and crafts I hear you say, but as gnomes are often ceramic, it made me think of plaster casts and pottery, which in turn lead to arts and crafts (you see? demented but still logical). 

Having outed myself as a closeted baker in one of my early posts, I think it's now time to exit the crafting closet, embroidery in one hand and decoupage glue in the other, proudly declaring my love for all things crafty. Looking back, I can see that I come by my crafty ways honestly. Early exposure to BBC's Blue Peter was reinforced by RTE's own arts and crafts show, hosted by Mary 'Make and Do' as she was known to all of us (apparently her real name is Mary Fitzgerald and the show was called 'How do you do?', though I have no memory of that). Hours and hours of fun projects involving crepe paper, cardboard toilet roll inserts, glue and paint... Resistance was futile. 

As a grown-up, arts and crafts can be fun and you can produce some really fabulous pieces even if you don't have specialist training and an elaborate work-shop. Not all crafts require you to fabricate an object from scratch, so even if you don't have the particular skills or tools needed for the likes of pottery, silver-smithing, woodwork or dress-making, there's always something you can do. Much of what I enjoy in the craft world is essentially embellishment or ornamental work - taking a plain, bland or unloved item and making it pretty (or otherwise livening it up - it doesn't have to be pretty, it can be a mad gothic delight if you so choose). 

Decoupage swan tray

A very simple technique to use if you can't paint or draw a picture to save your life (that would be me) is decoupage. It comes from the French word meaning 'to cut up' and unsurprisingly consists of cutting out bits of paper (from magazines, newspapers, old wallpaper - whatever catches your eye) and gluing them on to whatever it is you'd like to embellish. I decided to do a spot of decoupage on the folder that I use to store torn-out or scribbled down recipes. It was an old, cheap, red plastic ring-binder that upset me with its ugliness every time I took it down from the shelf. The joy of decoupage is that you can make any pattern or design that you like, very easily. Simply cut and glue (that really is all there is to it), then in the case of my folder, I simply covered it with clear plastic sticky sheets. Alternatively, you could jazz up an old wooden tray by painting it white and getting busy with some cut-outs, before varnishing the finished surface to protect it. The craft world is your oyster, so to speak.

Art Deco Poppy

Embroidery, as I've mentioned before, is another craft that I turn to every so often and there are any number and variety of needlepoint kits out there, from the twee kitten ones to heavy-metal band logos (Seriously). I've framed two of the larger embroidery pieces that I've completed, but as it seems a tad 'Cat Lady' to cover the walls of my apartment in embroidered images (it would be very easy to find yourself slipping down that particular road), this begs the question: what does one do with the finished pieces, accumulated over years of embroidering? Generally I just put them away somewhere and forget about them, since for me the joy is in the process rather than in the display of the finished product. I did, however, come across an embroidered poppy bookmark last year, safely stashed away in a book on Classical art (a heavy tome of a book, so I presume I put it there to press it). It was quite a stylised image, reminiscent of Art Deco designs, and it inspired me to decorate a big, grey velvet lounging cushion (sourced from Ikea) to give to my sister for her birthday. A few scraps of material, some pretty gold ribbon and lots of tiny stitches later, No.1 Sister now has a comfy Art Deco-style cushion to prop her up as she drinks her coffee on a Sunday morning.

The birthday cushion

So from decorative pieces to hang on your wall to gifts for loved ones - arts and crafts are the way forward. Indeed, there's an awful lot to be said for the therapeutic nature of craft and the satisfaction to be gained from creativity. Just one note of caution though - dip your toe into this crafty world and you can suddenly find yourself diving head first into the deep end. One day you're embroidering a small scene of lavender fields and the next you wake up to discover that you've crossed no-man's land and entered enemy territory - there are framed embroidery pictures on every wall, lace doilies on the tables, knitted cushion covers on the sofa, crochet dolls covering the toilet roll in the bathroom and an extended family of ceramic gnomes inhabiting your garden. So if you're thinking of taking up a craft, go for it - I can highly recommend it and if you're not quite sure where to start, there's inspiration to be found all around you. Just don't stray into gnome-man's land. It's a scary place of no return. You have been warned.