Janelle Monae is amazing and her words give me goose bumps every time I read this speech.

They also fill me with anger because we (particularly us white people) still have so, so much work to do on equality, discrimination, harassment and abuse of power. 

But they fill me with hope, because I’ve overheard conversations between old, powerful white men about how they now think about the language they use around women and the “jokes” that they can no longer make.

They fill me with hope because I’ve had so many amazing conversations with young women at craft fairs and seen their passion and drive to make change happen.

So let’s work together, let make it happen.

“to those who would dare try and silence us, we offer you two words: Time's Up. 

We say Time's Up for pay inequality, 

Time's Up for discrimination, 

Time's Up for harassment of any kind, 

and Time's Up for the abuse of power. 

Because you see, it’s not just going on in Hollywood, 

it’s not just going on in Washington, 

it's right here in our industry as well.

And just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well. 

So, let's work together, women and men, as a united music industry committed to creating more safe work environments, equal pay, and access for all women.”

Janelle Monae, Grammys speech 2018.

The print and hanger are available here...

Powerful women

Women are powerful and I see them stifle this every. single. day. 

Stop looking to be saved and hiding your magic. 

Stop tossing aside your voice and valid emotions. 

Stop wasting your time with toxic friends or searching for numbing cures. 

Material things, better jobs and even other people-they won’t fill your gap. 

Only you can do that. 

Life is short. 

Rise up and step back into your own intuitive and innate power. 

You are compassion and creative force and divine life itself. 

You are a goddess.

Victoria Erickson

The Behold My Feminist Agenda paper cut is available

here

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs8n1cIFnnW/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

#52weeksofschoolrun

For years I've had the notion of taking a weekly photo of an everyday view in my life and watching how it changes over the course of a year and finally I've actually made the notion a reality. 

I realised a couple of months ago that part of our walk to school everyday has become quite a regular photo opportunity.  The light is particularly beautiful when it's low on winter mornings and #52weeksofschoolrun was born on Instagram. 

I can't wait to see how this view changes and grows of the course of a year. 

It's amazing already looking at how the trees have burst into leaf over the last few weeks.

"It's funny looking back, nothing has changed and yet everything is different"

-  Anonymous  -

Hellooooooo.........

Ermmm.........hi!

Happy New Year............ and it's almost February!

Easter Monday Escape

We headed west on Easter Monday, quite far west.

In fact as far west as you can in mainland Britain, all the way to Ardnamurchan.........it was glorious!

We set off at 7:30, 3 adults, 3 children and 2 dogs!

Glencoe was quiet, misty and spectacular with a fresh dusting of snow right down to the roadside.

By 9:00 we were sitting at Corran Ferry waiting to cross Loch Linnhe.

And by 12:30 we were at Ardnamurchan Lighthouse basking in glorious sunshine and eating our picnic!

We headed to Sanna Bay one of our favourite beaches in the world. We ran around and played in the sand.

Then everybody bundled back into the car for a snooze and the long return trip.......with fish and chips for tea!

I think I'll need two days to recover!

Welcome 2016!

All the turkey and Christmas pudding has finally been finished, the chocolate oranges are a distant memory and the only sweeties left in the super mega Quality Street tin are the ones no one likes. It's the coconut ones here in our house, maybe we should arrange a swap shop, just send any coffee crèmes my way!
And that fateful Monday has arrived when real life jumps out of a dark January morning and gives you a big damp slap in the face, or was that just me?!  I do love the Christmas bubble that we all retreat into and I slightly grudge having to return to reality come January.
In a bid to ease my return I've put together a few of my favourite mid winter (because lets face it, January and February are still most definitely wintery, especially here in Scotland) Instgram hashtags, Spotify playlists and podcasts.

I fell head over heels in love with Instagram in 2015.
My two current favourite hashtags are #thequietwinter and #makingwinter , just beautiful......

 

I always have music on in my studio while I'm working and I'm a big fan of Spotify, specially their playlist section, they have a playlist for any possible mood you're in.

My bestest favourites over the past few weeks have been The Far-North Folk,  Acoustic Winter and Electro Swing.

 

If I'm not listening to music I've got a podcast on.
My absolute favourites are Art for your ear, The Jealous Curator and Design Matters with Debbie Millman I always come away from their episodes having learnt something or with a fresh perspective.

 

I hope this week is kind to you all..........

Perthshire Open Studios 2015

The countdown to this years Perthshire Open Studios is on and there are only 5 weeks to go!

5th - 13th September 2015

http://www.perthshireopenstudios.com

A random Saturday!

The weeks seem to be flying past this year, I can't believe that it's the middle of March already!

 

JH and a friend had a survey to do in Crianlarich on Saturday morning and the boys and I decided to go with them and we spent a sunny but cold morning in the park! 

 

After they'd finished we decided, on a complete whim, to go to Oban. 

No planning, no idea why or what we were going to do when we got there. 

 

So we went!

We visited the Barn Bar and met old friends. 

 

We bought fish and chips, and beer and belated birthday cake and ate and drank at sunset, looking at this view........

 

 

throwing stones off the slipway.....

 

admiring the beautiful shades of blue.........

 

 

 

It was a glorious, indulgent, stone skimming, chilly, beautiful gloaming.

A balm for the soul. 

 

A Sunday well spent.......

A Sunday well spent brings a week of content!

This Sunday we went on a mini adventure in the woods behind our house

Climbing hills

building dams and then bursting them

swinging on tree swings

splashing in streams

finding out what sinks and what floats in HUGE puddles

and then home to the wood burning stove, hot tea and yummy home made biscuits.

Monday we're ready for you!

Hope you all had a lovely Sunday

xx

My five favourite Instagram photos of 2014!

I know I'm a bit late to the party with this post, but you'll forgive me won't you?!

This post was originally supposed to be called "My favourite FOUR Instagram photos of 2014, but it was really hard to narrow my favourites down to just four and that's why there are five!!

Paddling pool - I can feel the intense heat of those distant, long hot summer days in those blues.

The three musketeers - The first photo of all my boys together! 

A vignette of "stuff" found in my studio! I really enjoyed putting this together so I'm going to try to do this again....soon!

Paper cut - I love cutting this design and seeing all the different things that are important to people

Happy New Year - Last post of 2014 and last new product of 2014!

You can find me on Instagram, @loumclaren  Leave a link to your Instagram profile below and I'll hop over to say hi, in a non threatening, non stalking kinda way!

xx

Treasured

I've been taking part in the Create and Thrive #CTMonthInTheLife challenge over on Instagram during August.  I've really enjoyed the challenge of representing aspects of me, my work and business in a single photo and getting into the habit of taking photos again!

 

The prompt for Saturdays photo was "Treasured.....anything that you treasure and has helped bring you where you are today". 

Wow, what a toughie! So many things whirled through my mind, my boys, my family and friends, my dog, my favourite tools, my most treasured possessions (too many to list!)

Inspiration finally struck when I was standing at the launch party of this years Perthshire Open Studios watching the fabulous film by Dave Hunt and I realised that my Treasured thing, the thing that more than anything else has helped bring me to where I am today, is not a "thing" it's an event.  An un-holdable, temporary, fleeting, wonderful, inspiring thing called Perthshire Open Studios! 

 

Although it only takes place annually for 10 days in September it's effect on me, my work and my business has been transformational!

This year will be the third year I've taken part in POS and when I sent off my application form for the very first time I'd only been selling my work for about 6 months.  I had no real "body of work" (up until then I'd only sold personalised paper cuts for wedding gifts) to the extent that I had to design a paper cut to photograph as the image for use in the POS brochure!  The birdie in a tree I came up with has gone on to be one of my most popular card designs. I didn't even really have a clear idea of what I was going to exhibit, except that it would be made of paper! paper cuts? cards? paper clay bowls? paper jewellery? layered paper maps? paper Christmas ornaments and decorations? I'm not sure if I was full of confidence or just delusional, but it's amazing how a looming deadline, panic and the idea of failure sharpen and focus the mind!

 

Taking part in Perthshire Open Studios pushed me way out of my comfort zone, mostly because it made me put my work in front of people and what did I get in return?  It gave me a local group of fellow artists and craftspeople, working by yourself can be a lonely business sometimes!  Confidence, in myself and in my work, the kind that can only be found by showing your work and chatting about it with over 100 visitors! A wide and varied (mostly!) new audience for my work many of whom have gone on to be loyal customers.  It also gave me a much clearer idea of what I wanted to make and where I wanted my business to be, it gave me the push I needed to get where I am today. 

So a huge thank you to the Perthshire Open Studios committee who devote hours and hours of their time (unpaid) to organise and run the event.  Thank you to the other artists and craftspeople who open their studios and make the event what it is and lastly a big thank you to the lovely visitors who come to visit us all because with out you it would just be 220+ people sitting,  by themselves,  in studios and sheds all over Perthshire! 

And here is the fabulous video that sparked the whole realisation off!

Perthshire Artists at Work from Dave Hunt on Vimeo.

{ this moment } Perthshire Open Studios is looming!

Starting to get the bombsite in order for all you lovely visitors!

{ this moment } boy no 3 arrives!

Inspired by the fabulous SouleMama

 

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.

A single photo - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savour and remember

 

 

Daniel Richard Hannay 30/6/14

 

I love this photo of the boys.

Danny at the still, sleeping, contented centre and his big brothers struggling to sit still, as a blur of intense, busy energy.

 

{ Sneaky Peek } - to see her is to love her......

I've got a bit further with this cut now, and I can't wait to see it finished!

{ Sneaky Peek } A Diamond Anniversary card

I was commissioned to make a paper cut card for a very special couple celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary, 60 years, something to truly be celebrated.

Where to start with a commission, the awful prospect of a blank sheet of paper!

The commissioner had seen my work before and liked the idea of having two birds, a heart and leaves, so to the scribbles. 

I start with a few thumbnail sketches to get the idea fixed on paper, to try out a few of ideas, get the major components in the right places and the overall proportion and composition "right"!

At this point I tend to walk away and let the ideas circle through my sub conscious and thought for the rest of the day.  Somehow this "sets" the idea of how I should cut the piece and I can develop the design a bit further.

And then BINGO! It all clicks into place and the design flows from the pencil onto the paper.

A bit of time and patience and here it is, all cut out.

I backed the paper cut with a lovely matt gold paper which gave the card a lovely glow and I'm told the special couple were delighted with their card.

{ this moment } A special birthday

Inspired by the fabulous SouleMama

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.

A single photo - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savour and remember

 

 

If you're a farmer and it's one of those "special" birthdays how do you spend your afternoon? Indulging yourself, eating cake and drinking bubbly?

 

Err no!

 

You spend a glorious, early spring afternoon here.  High on a beautiful Highland Perthshire hill side hanging a shiny new gate with your nearest and dearest,

 

Happy Birthday Dad, hope you had a lovely day!

xxx



 

{ this moment } 14th February - Valentines Day

Inspired by the fabulous SouleMama

 

 

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.

A single photo - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

 

 

 

I've found more and more lately that my happiness isn't about expensive one off

purchases or gestures;

it's about the simple, everyday things,

 

turns our Valentines Day isn't any different!

 

Press and features

I've been really lucky to have had some lovely press and features, here they are.........

February 2014
Lonny: Our Top Etsy Valentine's Day Finds
http://www.lonny.com/Our+Top+Etsy+Valentine's+Day+Finds/articles

November 2013
Country Living Magazine Blog : Editor's Choice Award, Glasgow
http://countrylivinged.com/uncategorized/join-us-at-the-country-living-christmas-fair

May 2013
The Art Markets:  Louise McLaren - paper artist
http://theartsmarket.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/louise-mclaren-paper-artist.html

April 2013
Miss Magpie Designs:  Sitting down with......CraftyLou
http://missmagpiedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sitting-down-withcrafty-lou.html?showComment=1365623546575

February 2013
Amelia's Magazine: Valentines Day 2013: Card Ideas and Prints for Gifts
http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/art/valentines-day-2013-card-ideas-and-prints-for-gifts/2013/02/05/

January 2013
Creative Boom: Louise McLaren
http://creativeboom.co.uk/inspiration/louise-mclaren/

All things paper : Romantic paper cuttings - Louise McLaren
http://www.allthingspaper.net/2013/01/romantic-paper-cuttings-louise-mclaren.html

This year I will.......................................

Well howdy doody folks! It's a little but belated but I hope you all had a fabulous festive period filled with whatever and whomever makes you very happy!

We all had a good time, this year was the first the Johnny (who is 4....and a half!) has really been properly excited about Christmas, the "How many sleeps is it now Mummy?" "Is it Christmas Eve today?" type questions started as soon as the first window in the advent calendar (Lego Starwars, shared between them both!) was opened! The lead up to the big day was filled with Nativity plays, Christmas parties, visiting friend and relations to deliver and collect present, last minute shopping and then..........all too soon it was time for the decorations to come down and "real life" to return!

 

No more long(ish) lies in, no more lounging in jimjams until lunch time, no more chocolate for breakfast and the seemingly endless rain we had at the start of the month, days and days filled with rain, not even drizzle but proper, persistent rain.....bleurgh!

 

So my plan to have my word for the year picked and settled by the time "real life" returned stalled slightly in the stark face of grey January reality and I've only now got it settled in my mind. 

 

Last year I was inspired to pick a word for the year rather than making those vague "get fit and be more organised" type resolutions that I always had done before.  You can have a look at last years word and the thinking behind my choice here http://craftylou2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/this-year-i-willt-h-r-i-v-e.html  

 

Choosing a word certainly helped me keep a sense of perspective and a focus on how I wanted the year to develop for me and so to this years choice.................................................................*drumroll*

 

 

This year I will....................................SHINE!

I will excel, I will improve upon and I will accomplish.  And not in a flash (oh no!) in a radiant, glimmering, gleaming, shimmering, sparkle of  flair and talent!

 

And now because I've written it down and all of you know, I'll have to!

 

 

 

 

Where did October and November go?!

In some ways I can't believe it's been more than two months since I last posted in here!  Then I think about what I've been up to and realise why!

I signed up to exhibit at the Country Living Christmas Fair in Glasgow way back in April and as soon as POS was out of the way it was full steam ahead with the preparations! As well as cutting, printing, proofing and approving like a banshee, I spent a bit of time designing the layout of my stand.  I had a 1m deep and 2m wide stand so it was quite a tight squeeze to fit all my work in.

I hate to think how long I spent on Pinterest looking at shop fittings, trade show booths and craft fair displays! Once I'd got a few ideas fixed and being an Architect by trade, I dug out my scale rule and made a model of my stand and all the fittings and pictures that I wanted to fit in. And here's the finished stand in all its glory!

 

 

And boy, did all that time pay off, I was totally amazed and very excited to win the Editor's Choice Award!  It was the icing on the cake of a very busy, hectic and worthwhile weekend. There's even a wee feature about me on the Country Living blog.

I met some long time designer/crafter hero's of mine.  The lovely Kat Goldin, the fantabulous crochet designer and blogger of Slugs on the Refrigerator.  The super talented Susan MacGill of Susan McGill Designs.  The fabby Victoria who IS Hipster Spinster.  The lovely Emily Notman whose work is just breathtakingly beautiful and delicate and last, but by no means least, Flossie Teacake who in the strictest sense I didn't ACTUALLY meet. Every time I popped past her stand to say hello she was busy chatting with people! The fantastic Molly Ginnelly was visiting the fair and stopped for a chat, I kept thinking I knew her from somewhere but couldn't place her face, until about 2 hours later!