E T S Y a g a i n . . . .

What kind of doofus tells everyone about their etsy shop but doesn't give a link?! Um, me. So let's try that again....

I've just set up my etsy shop, and you can check it out here....

Anonymous postcard....

Here's the second of my fortnightly anonymous postcard drops. I stuffed it in the shop formerly known as MIA's door at about 7.30am this morning on my way to work, so fingers crossed it made it safely inside. Again, this is just a photo of the postcard I fabricated from their freebie postcards, and unfortunately it's not the greatest photo (and nor is this photo of the photo for that matter). Basically, I cut 2 postcards (a grey and a lilac) into strips and wove them back together. it turned out well and feels really lovely.

I haven't been into the shop since I dropped the first postcard off 2 weeks ago, so have no idea if it's on display or if I'll ever be privy to the owner's reaction. But I guess that's part of the fun, isn't it?....

**I've had to stop referring to the shop by name so am using it's former name. I was turning up in a google search of the actual shop name and we can't have that now, can we?

E T S Y . . . .

Golly, how exciting. This week's project was setting up my etsy shop. At this stage, it features a collection of 'Best in Show' brooches, but I'll be adding more creations as time goes on. My real passion is homewares, so i'll probably be moving in that direction with some really beautiful cushions in the not too distant future.

So for any fellow etsians out there, feel free to drop by and take a look. These's even a shot of me modelling one! (For anyone who's interested in what I look like. Hang on, as my mum is probably my most avid reader, that might not be of too much interest - unless you want a glimpse of my new hair cut, mum!).

Tune in tomorrow for the second anonymous postcard drop....

The friday letter....A....

Check me out! - I'm posting my Friday letter at a reasonable time for a change! I have a nerd to thank for that. I finally got one to come and fix my laptop. Yay for geeknerds!!

I used to drive past this A on my way to wine appreciation class every week and always told myself that 'next week' I'd bring my camera and get a photo. Well my classes finished so took a drive last night to get this shot. I found the carpark gates closed so I had to trespass to get it. I was hoping to be stopped by the cops or at least security so I had a story to tell, (and to see their reaction when I told them it was in the name of 'art') but alas nothing. It's turned out much blurrier than I realised at the time, but I kind of like that. Maybe my hands were trembling in anticipation of getting sprung. I think it must be about 2m tall, so perhaps I was zooming AND shaking which can't help.

I've got my letter up before Jen this week (as should be the case considering I have Friday a day before she does!!), so I'll add a link to hers later.

Ohh! Jen got in early! Here's her T. An orange capital T. On a black background. I'm getting shivers.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Post note....

Haha, what a title....

Anyhoo, I'm sure many of you are wondering whatever happened to the missing postcards (ok, the ones I sent to the wrong address). Well, I sent a handmade postcard to the accidental address explaining my mistake and letting them know that if they still had the postcards, it would be much appreciated if they could pop across the road and give them to Elly. I added my email address too. Their response? NOTHING. Unlucky for them I know where they live. When I'm back in Perth and visit Elly, I'm going to give them the nastiest look ever!!

Grrr.

the post age returneth (no. 4+5+6)....

Ah, here we are again.... I really do enjoy the Monday postcard antics. This week is postcard swap Monday (as opposed to anonymous postcard drop Monday), which is a little project I've got going on with my friend Elly in Perth. Basically, we send each other handmade postcards every second Monday. I’ve been patiently waiting for the time to come when I could report on the last few postcards Elly and I have sent each other and now that day has arrived!!

Unfortunately, I’ve come to the conclusion that Elly has a fear of postboxes. How she’s managed to keep this from me for the past 18 years, I just don’t know. Due to this infliction, I only have 2 postcards from her to show off. (Hopefully she’s posting 3 today so she’ll be up to date).

Unfortunately this postcard was de-beaded in transit. Elly posted it in an envelope so I was able to reattach the beads that had fallen off, but I don’t know how she did such a good job of attaching them in the first place! You can see the bits I repaired – they’re evident by the visible glue blobs. Oh, and Elly stuck the black beads on in perfect lines while I struggled to glue them on even remotely attractively!

The colour difference between the two papers in this one is beautifully subtle. I really love this one for that reason. Ooh! I think I just figured out where Elly got the papers from!! Very clever, young El. Strangely, I’ve done something similar for an upcoming anonymous postcard drop! What serendipity.

And look at clever little me – I remembered to photograph my postcards to Elly before posting them! And here they are:

This one is made from a sample of vinyl and cut paper. The picture of the air filter is from an old catalogue I found at work (and so is the vinyl). I’m really happy with this one, partially because I just love the bright shiny red.

This one is made from a paper pie bag that I fleeced from the supermarket, and embellished with a bit of paper, stitching and what I assume are bindis. I found a packet of then in my local craft shop and had to have them. I knew they’d find a purpose.

Now this one I’m not so happy with. It’s made from another sample I found in the archives at work. I called it “things on my desk at work” and was horrified to watch the ink bleed into the parachute-type fabric. But there was no turning back.

I posted postcard number 7 today and look forward to reporting back on it and the subsequent two. And with any luck, Elly will have sought professional help to overcome her phobia. With the love and support of those around her, I know she’ll make it.

If you’re interested in the earlier postcards, you can take a look here.

And if anyone wants to get involved in a postcard swap, perhaps this will satisfy your cravings. (Thanks to painted fish studio for alerting me to this one!). It’s a really cool idea, but for the time being, I think I have enough postcarding going on!

The friday letter....P....

Golly, I'm pushing it with my timing again. I really must get my laptop fixed so I don't have to wait for a gap in my partner's study to get online. Anyhoo, leaving the excuses behind and getting back to matters at hand....

While I prefer not to divulge much about the complete sign, in this case I have to let you know that it's from Paxie's Cafe in Napier. It's actually a cafe on one side and a collectables shop on the other. From what I've heard, Paxie's is, or was, an institution. It was open when we first moved to Napier about two and a half years ago but closed not long after when the owner (who I guess is Paxie?) died. It opened again about a month ago, but only the junk shop side and only for a few days.

Now Jen over at painted fish studio is trying to trump me with an ampersand! Cheeky! Get your own letter Jen! Haha.

Until next time....

The other post age....

As you know (if you’re a regular in these parts), my best buddy Elly and I have a postcard project going on which involves sending each other a handmade postcard every second monday. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’ve devised another postcard project for the ‘other’ mondays. Now here’s the deal....

You remember I mentioned a local store a few posts back? The one formerly known as MIA which sells divine clothes, art and homewares which I can’t afford on my meager part time salary? Anyhoo, whenever I’m in there they give out their postcards so I had a little collection of them sitting around the house. I’m not sure what kicked it off, but I started playing around with them and have come up with some rather lovely results (if I do say so myself). I thought the shop might like a look-see, but I’m hardly going to wander on in with some craft. So here’s the thing: every ‘other’ monday I will deliver a photo of one of the postcards anonymously before they open for business. He, he. Sneaky, sneaky.

Here’s the one I delivered today:

The store has no mail slot so I just jammed it in the door. I hope it didn’t go astray before they opened. The flower stems are made from folding 2 thin strips of paper together (remember doing that as a kid? I think I do) and the flowers are cut from paper. As you can see, I stitched an envelope to deliver it in. I wonder what will become of it all. Perhaps nothing that I hear about, but I know that if I had a shop and started getting photos of my postcards, I’d enjoy the intrigue. (What am I talking about?! It’d drive me crazy!!).

Now, I know I’ve given you the name of the store, and you could email them and blow my cover, but I’m hoping you won’t go spoiling my fun (Oh good Lord, has my ‘fun’ become sending postcards anonymously?! Is that sad?! I’ve got to get out more!!)

Until next time....

Postnote! - I've deleted the shop name because it turned out my blog was turning up on google when a search of the shop was done! And we can't have that....

Let the catch up begin!

Ah, finally I find the time (and motivation) to give an update for anyone who’s interested (hello out there?) on what I’ve been up to behind the scenes. Take a look below for a bundle of posts on the goings on. Hopefully some of it’s interesting!

In other news, I have some exciting postcards to share from my postcard swap with my best buddy Elly. (And probably a rant about those missing postcards – see my last postcard post for the background story – if you’re bored). I’m going to hold out until next Monday to show them to you, but, as Elly and I swap postcards fortnightly, I’ve devised a sneaky little project for the ‘other’ mondays. More about that tomorrow (which is the ‘other’ monday). I bet you can’t wait!

Until then....

Best in show....

After getting over my snowboarding addiction (and bruising), I realised that being complimented on my Best in Show brooch was all good and fine (and flattering!), but I really needed to take the next step and make some to supply to the admirer to sell. It had been a couple of weeks (pre-snowboarding) since that aforementioned compliment so I popped down to Port o’ Call (I can’t believe there’s no website for me to direct you to!) to make sure she was still interested (and serious!). Thankfully she remembered me and was definitely keen. I spent the last couple of days whipping up a batch and delivered them today. How exciting! It was such a lovely day today that I stopped at the botanical gardens (conveniently at the end of our street) for a photoshoot. As fun as they are to photograph, none of the shots turned out particularly well. The sun was too bright (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!). (But if you do want to see some more, take a look at the flickr group I’ve created).

Now, you people who make and sell stuff for a living, tell me this: does it always feel strange to handover your handmades? Or do you get over it after a while? I just can’t believe they’re gone for good! Having said that, maybe they won’t sell and I’ll get them all back! No surprises on Christmas presents then! On the other hand, if they do sell like hotcakes, I might just open a little etsy shop and then you can all have one.

Hey, we can all dream....

Last week’s sunday project....

....didn’t get written up. Oops! I blame the fact that I still haven’t got my laptop fixed and don’t want to go and sit in the study on the annoying computer. In other words, I was feeling a tad lazy.

‘An address book?’ you say. Well no. It’s actually a wine journal. I just bought an indexed note book and covered it. I jot down (very basic) tasting notes (recorded by winery name) so I have a record of wines I enjoy (and one’s I don’t) which makes shopping for bottles easier. Ingenious! Ok, so this might seem a little OTT to some people, but as I’ve just done an introductory wine appreciation course (pfft! As if I don’t appreciate wine already!) and my partner is on his way to becoming a winemaker (assuming he passes all his exams in a couple of months!) I figure it’s time to get serious (ie. drunk). Anyway, back to the sunday project....
Do you recognise the fabric? I received it from Janine at four walls design in Jesse’s fabric swap. I lurve it so I’m glad it’s been put to use. I think it works well with the pinstripes I used on the inside cover. Truth be told, I don’t really have any experience with book covering, so it could’ve been done better, but I’ve learnt some things for next time. I've labelled this post 'bookbinding' as I hope to do some of that at some point.

Hmm, I’m feeling a little parched. Drink anyone?

;)

Postcard painting....

Well I mentioned a while back that I loved one of the postcards I’d made for Elly for our monday postcard swap. Loved it so much in fact that I recreated it as a painting. And here it is!

(What a terrible photo! Moving on….) Truth be told, it works much better as a postcard, but it was fun to do. Did I say fun? Hmm, I did get sick of dealing with all those little squares (8x8mm!) which are stuck on. So sick of them in fact, that you may notice that the painting isn’t quite finished. It’s on the list of things to do….

The friday letter....@....

Hmm, the sunday project seems to be morphing into the friday letter. I assure you - there's plenty going on here in the crafty background. So much in fact that I haven't found the time to share any of it with you. I shall endeavour to make amends.

Back to matters at hand.... I had decided I'd like to include an ampersand (that's the '@' sign, people) in the friday letter and have spent the past few weeks looking out for a suitably worthy one. In that time I've spotted ONE. And it was void of any design merit. I was about to give up when on Thursday I met a friend for coffee. I was mid sentence when I spotted this one right behind her! Such timing....

Meanwhile, over at painted fish studio, Jen has found this fantastic 'x' on a sandwich board. Before I read where she found it, I assumes it was from a sex shop - that hot pink certainly gives that impression! Now I'm thinking maybe it's just the letter 'x' that screams sex. Anyone follow?

Enjoy!

The friday letter....N....

Ah, it's nice to be home after my time in the snow. It gives me a chance to nurse my extremely bruised arse.

This week's letter comes thanks to Napier Port. I was lounging about having a coffee at a cafe on the water (as you do) when this ship headed in with it's load of containers. How could I resist such a bold N?! Check out Jen's friday letter here. It is super cool! I'm loving the shaddows.

In other news, I've returned home with plenty of ideas to put into action. I must get onto those Best in Show brooches, plus postcard monday is only a few days away, then there's a couple of other things on the go which I'll hopefully show off on Suday. Busy, busy!

Until Sunday....