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...
by Gabriela | Friday, January 23, 2015 | inspiration
I love the way street art adds colour to the city – you turn round a corner and suddenly there’s a giant bird, a face, or even a wave inspired by a 19th century Japanese wood block print . Yesterday I came across Camberwell’s Hokusai Wave, a...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | inspiration
… I add colour inside, and as my kitchen is the first place I go to every morning, it needs to be particularly bright. A combination of “The driving lesson” on the main wall, cupboards with turquoise doors and a table cover with a profusion of red...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, October 29, 2014 | decoupage, inspiration
I love pattern, as those of you familiar with my work may have noticed. Recently I have been playing with decoupage, and used this technique to add a touch of colour to a couple of chairs I found in a skip some years ago. I think they fit in well with...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, October 15, 2014 | inspiration, reviews
A short while ago I visited the Turner Contemporary for the first time – a stunning interior full of art and flooded with coastal light. It’s the perfect setting for “Atmosphere”, the Edmund de Waal exhibition which runs until February...
by Gabriela | Wednesday, September 24, 2014 | inspiration, reviews
I often use images of phrenology heads in my work so I was delighted to discover this rather fabulous one at an exhibition called “An idiosyncratic A to Z of the human condition”, on at the Wellcome Collection until 12 October and well worth seeing. Many...
by Gabriela | Friday, September 19, 2014 | inspiration
I spent a couple of enchanting hours at the workshop-cum-showroom of talented designer Celedonio Lohidoy on a recent visit to Argentina. Everything Celedonio makes is touched by magic, and this magic is transferred to whoever is lucky enough to wear one of his...
