by Gabriela | Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | inspiration
I spent a Friday in Hastings a couple of weeks ago and was intending to write a post about the whole visit when I realised that the highlight of the day, apart from a very good lunch at St Clement’s Restaurant, was yet another visit to A.G. Hendy’s Home...
by Gabriela | Tuesday, January 9, 2018 | events, inspiration, reviews
The current Jewish Museum Exhibition “Designs on Britain” (on until 15 April 2018, admission £8.50) features the work of several pioneering Jewish émigré designers who arrived in this country from continental Europe in the first half of the twentieth...
by Gabriela | Monday, December 18, 2017 | inspiration, tutorials
I recently discovered the iconic collages of graphic designer Dorrit Dekk, whose work features in the current Jewish Museum Exhibition “Designs on Britain” (on until 15 April 2018, admission £8.50). Her work is charming and humorous as well as deceptively...
by Gabriela | Friday, August 25, 2017 | decoupage, inspiration
Last month I had the pleasure of hosting a lovely hen party at the studio. I had been approached by two friends of the bride who wanted to do something really special for her, and after meeting for a chat I offered them a tailored glass decoupage workshop to create a...
by Gabriela | Monday, May 8, 2017 | inspiration, reviews
I must confess that I knew nothing about American artist Fred Tomaselli before I stepped down to the imposing space that is the basement of the Mayfair branch of White Cube gallery. My interest in him was because he was billed as a mixed-media artist, and I’m...
by Gabriela | Saturday, April 29, 2017 | inspiration, reviews
This is the third and last post on my recent visit to Casa Azul, the building in Coyoacán that was Frida Kalho’s home from birth till death, and is now a museum devoted to her life and art. Two weeks ago I wrote about Frida’s studio and last time I showed you part of...
by Gabriela | Thursday, April 20, 2017 | inspiration
This is the second post of a short series on my recent visit to Casa Azul, the building in Coyoacán that was Frida Kalho’s home from birth till death. Last week I wrote about Frida’s studio; this time I want to show you some of her ex-votos. The term...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, April 12, 2017 | inspiration, reviews
One of the main highlights of my recent visit to Mexico city was spending a whole afternoon wandering round Casa Azul, the building in Coyoacán where Frida Kalho was born and and lived until her death at 47. Frida’s extraordinary life is captured within the...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, March 29, 2017 | inspiration
This is a mostly visual post, where I just want to share some images with you. I recently spent a few days in a very beautiful country house, and was captivated by some of the objects found in and around different rooms, as I felt these reflected the stillness of the...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, February 15, 2017 | inspiration, reviews
On a grey February day, the unabashed colours and energetic shapes that characterise Josef Frank’s patterns provided a welcome contrast with the outside, and it was a pleasure to walk into the Fashion and Textile Museum to visit this compact showcase of...
by Gabriela | Monday, January 23, 2017 | inspiration, new work
My sketchbooks are where I play and try out ideas that may later find their way into my work. I often refer back to them no matter how long ago they were completed, and always find some inspiration – or even surprises and insights. The pages you can see here...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, January 11, 2017 | inspiration
I am often asked how I use my inspiration. This partly depends where I am or what time of the day it is – I often get flashes of inspiration just as I’m about to fall asleep, or in my dreams! When that happens, I know I’ll remember them when I wake up and...
by Gabriela | Sunday, November 20, 2016 | decoupage, inspiration, new work
In this post I will show you how to transform a wooden Bekvam stool from Ikea into your own unique creation using just paint, paper and glue. This is a very easy project that can be done in an afternoon. Here is what you’ll need:Bekvam stool, £13A tester pot of...
by Gabriela | Monday, August 22, 2016 | inspiration
This is my third and final post about prized objects: the ones I couldn’t live without and would want to save from a fire. It was quite difficult to choose these three knowing they were the last ones; I kept telling myself they are just the last ones for...
by Gabriela | Thursday, August 11, 2016 | inspiration
In last week’s post I wrote about the first three objects I wouldn’t want to lose, the ones I would save from a fire. Today I share with you another three of my prized posessions: things I love for their intrinsic qualities and also as memory-holders. The...
by Gabriela | Thursday, August 4, 2016 | inspiration
A lot of my work is inspired by memories, and I see prized objects as memory-holders. Every once in a while I wonder which are the ones I couldn’t live without, the ones I would want to save from a fire. Without much premeditation I settled on nine, and today I...
by Gabriela | Monday, July 18, 2016 | decoupage, inspiration, new work
In this post I want to share with you my biggest decoupage project to date: creating “wallpaper” from the pages of an old Larousse dictionary for a feature wall I moved house last year, and had been toying with the idea of creating a decoupage...
by Gabriela | Tuesday, July 12, 2016 | decoupage, inspiration, tutorials
In recent weeks I showed you how I upcycle simple items from Ikea using just paper and glue. Other places where you can find interesting things to transform are the “pound shops” found in most high streets. I recently started teaching reverse decoupage on...
by Gabriela | Tuesday, July 5, 2016 | decoupage, inspiration, tutorials
This is the second of two posts on furniture hacks where I share transformations of simple items from Ikea using just paper and glue. Last time, in the first of my furniture hacks, I showed you how I upcycled a Hemnes bedside table; this time it’s different...
by Gabriela | Friday, July 1, 2016 | decoupage, inspiration, tutorials
In this post I share the transformation of a simple item from Ikea using just paper and glue. This time I want to show you the first of two furniture hacks. Ikea furniture is very affordable and even more so if you buy second-hand. There is often a good selection...
by Gabriela | Monday, June 27, 2016 | decoupage, inspiration, tutorials
This is the third post in my series on Ikea hacks: transformations of simple items from Ikea using just paper and glue. In this post I’ll show you how to add interest to Papaja plant pots, which range in price from £1 to £5.50. I chose a tall white pot in one of the...
by Gabriela | Friday, January 22, 2016 | inspiration
First of all, let me own up and tell you that the gorgeous picture you see above is not mine: it’s a collage on canvas that was created in just one day by a participant in my very first mixed-media workshop. I have been teaching decoupage for a while, which is...
by Gabriela | Saturday, November 14, 2015 | decoupage, inspiration
I have been using both collage and decoupage in my work for a long time now, but only discovered that there was more to decoupage last year. The turning point came when I was shown how to decoupage the boots you see above, which were scuffed and worn but otherwise...
by Gabriela | Sunday, May 10, 2015 | inspiration
Today I want to share a whole sketchbook with you, all 42 pages of it – I hope you can take a few minutes to look through as I think you’ll enjoy it . My sketchbooks are where I play and work through ideas that later may find their way into my work. I keep...
