my dream room

I have recently discovered my new favourite illustrator, S. Britt. I came across him when Drawn featured his Flickr set detailing the transformation of his work room into the best room I have ever seen. Seriously, if there is a heaven, it will look like this for me. And I will sit at the desk and be able to draw like S. Britt.

badges!!!

My 1-inch badges arrived! I've made them into sets and put them in my etsy shop. Some of them are also available as single badges.

I'm so happy with the way these turned out, they look so cute and the colours are really vibrant. I sliced up big sheets of card using the guillotine at work (shh!) and stamped the pieces with my old school letter stamp set and my home-made bird stamp. I think they look pretty good!

Best Hat Ever

Last night I got a package in the mail: my hand-knitted hat from Christabel, aka Craft Punk, aka cseneque!



I was wary about buying a hat online. I seem to have an unusually shaped head, and hats almost always look awful on me. Most commercially-produced beanies seem to be made for someone with a very long, thin head, and I guess I have a round one. I have a fringe, so it looks awful when a hat is too long and squishes my hair down to my eyes. Anyway, I convoed Christabel (who was lovely) and decided to go for it. I couldn't resist bunnies!

It came last night in a package with a bunch of goodies. It was like having a birthday! I was so grumpy and tired and it was just the thing I needed. And the hat fits like a dream! I am generally pretty critical of my appearance, but I have to say: THIS HAT MAKES ME LOOK CUTE AS A BUTTON. It is a lovely shape, not too long (it even looks fine with my fringe!) and perfectly fitted. The knitting is fantastic quality and the yarn is soft, high-quality pure wool. There is even a knitted cotton lining around the edge (behind the part covered by the bunnies) to protect sensitive skin from the wool! It's so comfy and warm, I love it. I wore it out to dinner then all night while we sat and drew at the table. I wore it on the bus this morning (I was so nice and warm!) and I wish I could wear it at my desk!

Christabel has a bunch more lovely hats as well as cuffs, crocheted jewellery and hand-painted yarn in her etsy shop. I am in love with the squirrel hat and this lovely fir hat, but I've already broken my "no Etsy presents for myself" rule this month, so I'll leave them for you.

Brooches

I've been making felt brooches with little bits of my precious Japanese fabrics. They sold very well at the Made on the Left market so I've put a few up in my Etsy store.



The fabric on this one is from one of my favourite fabrics, with Little Red Riding Hood on it. Part of me wishes I hadn't cut it up, but apart from simply framing all of these fabrics, I don't know what to do with them except use them!



I love the shades of pink and brown in this fabric, they make me so happy!



This was one of my favourites from the lot I made for MOTL. I was sure it would be one of the first to sell, but it was one of the few that was left over at the end of the day! I guess my sugar-sweet tastes aren't shared by everyone.

There are more in my shop if you want to take a look!

Made on the Left: Success!

The craft fair was a great success! Thank you to everyone who came down, it was lovely to see you all. I was so happy with what I sold, and I feel like I learned a lot about what people want to buy.



I made these brooches from felt and Japanese fabric for the fair, and they sold really well. I was a little surprised that the more conservative ones sold before the cuter ones-- I guess not everyone loved the sugar overload like I do! I'll be making more for my etsy store soon.

Photos by the lovely Lisa Max, who had a stall next to me. She sold stuff like crazy, people love her designs (for obvious reasons!)

Stamping is awesome

I carved my first stamp! It is a little bird. It came out a bit wonky but I prefer to think of it as rustic!



I just used an eraser and a craft knife, although I've just bought some carving tools which will hopefully help me make the next one a bit more polished. It's so much fun, I can't wait to make more!

Made on the Left

I will have a stall this Saturday (12 July) at Made on the Left, a craft market showcasing Western Australian talent. It will be held at the Hyde Park Hotel, 331 Bulwer St North Perth, from 11am to 4pm. Entry is free and there are going to be lots of very talented people selling their stuff, so if you live in Perth, come and check it out! I will have comics, badges and stuffed Space Rabbits for sale, and I am frantically working on a new item, felt brooches. I have so much to do and so little time!