Geseende Kersfees

This is 'merry Christmas' in Afrikaans, but literally means 'blessed Christmas', and is my wish to you. Hope you are blessed with good friends and family and peace and goodwill this Christmas. See you in the new year!

Loot

Look at all the goodies I got at Kraftbomb yesterday; I did a bit of Christmas shopping for myself. First up is the gorgeous t-shirt I've been lusting after since Craftwerk, it's screen-printed by Ellie Smith. I got myself one of Olivia's little owls in a trade, but it seems my youngest thinks it was a present for him! The covered matchbox is by Ran with Scissors, perfect for our temperamental gas stove, and the oilcloth-covered diary is by uhmmm, really can't remember... Have a look at this page if you want to see lots of photos of the market, it's by Sugar Lemon Sweetheart, who makes very cool kitschy stuff. If you look through them, you'll see a dorky pic of myself, with my lovely neighbour Anna the Collar-Maker.

I did really well yesterday; it seems my journals are becoming more popular, and I'm almost out of badges. Thanks so much if you bought something off me, you're a star! I also sold some stock to a very cute little shop in Swanson, right opposite the Swanson railway station. Check it out if you're going to Bethel's this summer, it's called 'Let's go retro'. It's full of kiwiana, collectables, buttons, and my books.

Now I can finally start thinking about my family's Christmas. I baked (no, slightly burnt) a fruit cake today, tomorrow it's tipsy tart (baked pud with brandy and vanilla sauce), and then it's Christmas Eve. And now it's bed. Goodnight to you.

Night owl

Craig was at a work party last night, so I stayed up until 12.30, happily making stuff. I love working at night when the house is quiet, but I don't normally do it, so last night I had a good chance to go all out. I made some stocking fillers - a few hairclips and a pompom necklace. I got the idea for the hairclips from this tutorial in Craftzine, and made the necklace from pom poms my sister sent me earlier in the year.

Santa's helper

Just made a few more Christmas pressies; one's a bag on order for a friend, two little birds for my smallest monkey, Joshua, and a few pouches for this Sunday's Kraftbomb.

The birds were a lot of fun, even though I had no idea what I was doing! I might do a bit of a tutorial about it in the new year so you too can make a t-shirt applique!! Are you as excited as I am? I hope so...

And here are my pouches, with a pen for size. A few people have been surprised about their size; thought they were much smaller. No, they're just right for pens, chocolate bars, cellphones, just not small dogs, ok.

New books, pt 2

Oh no, can't believe I forgot about this. Check out my favourite page from one of my new journals ('Woobinda, Animal Doctor'). It says 'Tiggy is bright, excels at most sports, wears modern clothes and likes to keep herself sun-tanned'. How cool, somebody just like me!!

New books

I haven't had time to post about my new notebooks yet, so here goes. Got 20 made last week, with some real classics like 'The little red caboose', 'The shy little kitten', 'Thumper' and heaps more. This time I've included a little pouch made from the title page of each book, so people can put all their little pieces of paper in there while checking who wrote and illustrated it, and when. Really, that's what I always do! They're for sale on endemic, or see me at Kraftbomb this Sunday.

underpants and anniversaries

Last night was great!! It was my most successful market so far (don't know if everybody was just in frantic Christmas shopping mode or not!), and I almost sold out of pouches and stickers, also had lots of badge sales. So if you bought something from me last night, bless you and thanks so much :)

It was also a very special night; Craig and I realised earlier this week that it's our 9th wedding anniversary yesterday. He joined me at my stall, and we had a very crafty celebration of sorts; it was so nice to have him see my other world. He never gets a chance to come to Kraftbomb with me, because somebody has to look after the kids! Thanks Craig for being such a great guy; 9 years have really flown by :)

I also realised that this time last year I had just started making softies and peg-doll Christmas decorations, and started looking at selling at markets. A year on, I feel so lucky to have the chance to be a non-stop creative (can't call it a full-time job now, can we?), and am wondering where to go with Ruby in the Dust. Retail shops have such high mark-ups that handmade products end up being too expensive, and Etsy isn't doing much for me. Pricing things in US$ just doesn't seem fair to the NZ buyer, so I'm thinking about our equivalent, Felt. I think I'll continue with the markets and maybe a couple of online shops; I really enjoy the sense of community at a craft market.

Speaking of community, my neighbours last night were really cool. Ran with Scissors (love that name!) on one side and Sarah from the Sustainable Business Network (?) selling very popular undies made from fabric remnants on the other. OK, gotta go, hopefully I'll be at Kraftbomb next Sunday, so there's a lot of things to get sewn before then...

Yes Craftwerk!

OK, so I'm in. That means no more blogging; only crafting for the next week. Maybe also some cooking and eating, but definitely no cleaning or tidying. So if you see some very dirty little boys this week, they may be mine! See you at Craftwerk on Thursday night, St Kevin's Arcade, K'Rd, 6-10. Here's some more pouches I managed to finish this weekend: Adios amigos.

Craftwerk? Please?

Hoping to get into the next Craftwerk (in a week's time), but then I'll have to work more than a bit this weekend! Made a start today and finished four little embroidered pouches with contrasting backs. Really love the little orange flowers; it's so fresh and springy (is that even a word?).I've also developed a new satchel pattern, and might make a few of them. This one's made out of a woollen blanket and lined with a sheet, a bit like a bed in a bag, you know. I might use this green tape as a strap; will have to see tomorrow.

Just a quick link before I forget: I've just stumbled upon another great craft site called Craftzine. It's full of great ideas and things to make; a site you can waste a whole evening on, if you're anything like me... Projects seem quite easy, except for the knitted horse head (!). This looks like a bit of me:

More about Kraftbomb

I think that last post ended a bit abruptly; forgot to finish it off after adding the pics! Just wanted to say that I was told about a coming craft/art exhibition that sounds really cool. It's on Saturday the 13th, at the Royal Horticultural Society Hall (opposite the Auckland Zoo and MOTAT). I can't find these guys online at all; have looked in the past, but it's organised by Edward & Sons. Very mysterious people. I think we'll be there, I love crafty art. And arty craft.

Speaking of that, I love these tiles by Anmea Hoskin (littleladies). She was at Kraftbomb yesterday, and her stall was gorgeous. She prints her 50's style paintings on tiles, and giftwraps it very nicely in vintage wallpaper. Look at her work here.

Great weekend!

Best bits of this weekend:

1. camping at Muriwai under a BIG pohutukawa tree


2. hanging out with friends in the sun


3. black sand between your toes


4. meeting Tracey Williams at Kraftbomb


5. selling lots of goodies at K'bomb

Here's a couple of pictures of my latest creations I didn't have time to post last week. The birds were photographed in another Pohutukawa, very close to flowering. I had so much fun making them, and wonder whether they would do well as craft kits. I might try to make a few packs for the next market, so people can make their own little birdies.

These pouches were made from vintage embroidery fabric I had left over from my badges, or bigger pieces that weren't suitable for badges. I sold three of them yesterday.

Oh yes, and here's a picture of my stall. It was very full, maybe a bit too much, but I managed to fit everything in. Kraftbomb really went off yesterday; it was so busy, with everybody trying to get their shopping done before Christmas. Once again, I had so much fun meeting buyers and crafters, and was so impressed with all the great work out there. It's very interesting to see how many of us like the same materials, but use them in such different ways. My neighbours this time were Louise, who makes very lovely necklaces from old teaspoons, and Saira from Paper Fish, whose shark softies are really adorable.

I started chatting with Tracey Williams, a very talented local artist, while she was looking at my journals. She creates very delicate images with household objects used in a new context, very gothic NZ.