Deck the Halls

Without filling this already image-heavy post with too many words, let me finally introduce my Christmas goodies for 2013. As many of you on Instagram will know, I have been cutting, stitching, attaching, painting and crocheting these beauties for a little while now, and I think that finally people are ready to hear about them!

I've taken many studio shots on the iphone, but also got some great photos taken by Natalie Jeffcott, and you can tell she is super talented and knows her schizz. Thanks Nat!

I have both an Etsy store, and one over at Bigcartel, possibly confusing but best to spread the eggs into many baskets. The entire range is also available at Craft Victoria, they have the wreaths, as do Klopper in South Melbourne Market. I am not selling wreaths online as the postage is a bit crazy, plus they are rather fragile.

 Christmas Bunting is my version of tinsel, a generous 3metres of red satin bias binding, with either gold or silver leather flags. Drape it around your Christmas tree, or pin to a mantelpiece or wall, to bring instant joy to your home.

 The Gift Cards feature festive postage stamps from all over the world, and are a gorgeous decorative touch to add to any gift. They are sold in packs of 10. I have been making these since January!

 

The wreaths are 30mtrs of rope, crocheted around a polystyrene core. They measure approx 45cm across, so are rather large, and have been a lot of fun to make! Instore at Craft and Klopper.

Finally the decorations, in four designs: bird, snowflake, present and Christmas stocking. These are made from robust kid leather, in the traditional colours of red and white, and feature a silver charm on satin ribbon. These decorations are set to become modern heirlooms, to be cherished by generations and remembered fondly each festive season.

I'm also doing the next Craft Hatch market from 11-4 this Saturday 30th November, at 1000 Pound Bend, 361 Little Lonsdale St in the city, all these goodies will be there, and a whole lot more!

And if that wasn't enough, Craft Vic will be selling this range at their stall at the Big Design Market Dec 6, 7 and 8, at the REB in Carlton.

Go forth!

Deck the halls

Did you notice that it's November? In other words next month is December, which means that my 6 year old is already counting down to Christmas. We do love a festive occasion, and all the trimmings, accoutrements and doo-dads that go along with it. Even though we live in a place that is often so darn HOT at the end of the year, we still love all the traditional imagery that is normally associated with a Northern hemisphere Christmas.

In the spirit of things, I have been madly making my Christmas range since July, I am honestly almost sick of it. Time in the studio is hard to find, as my 7 month old sidekick is a bit too young for glue-sniffing. I have discovered that a shoehorn will only hold her attention for 2 minutes, a leather keyring for an additional 3 mins, and alas, the flickering light through the whirly roof ventilator is only a passing attraction.

Evenings have been spent watching TV while wielding my glue stick (hard to say fast), organising my ebay-ed stamp collection into gift tags. I LOVE THESE! They come in small or large, and each tag features a well-travelled Christmas postage stamp. I have been collecting them from many different countries and adore seeing the ways in which Christmas is celebrated
worldwide. The selection includes traditional festive, religious and contemporary themes.

Small tags - 10 for $12 here.

Large tags 10 for $15 here.

In addition to jazzing up the prezzies, I have also got the tree covered. Behold my awesome blurb as seen on my promotional material...

"The leather Christmas decorations come in three designs; Tree, Owl, and Bauble. Each design is made from kid leather, the Trees and Baubles are top stitched and adorned with Swarovski crystals, and the Owls feature overlaid details and eyelets. Available in gold, metallic red, forest green, pewter, and pearl white, these are a tactile treat for the tree or home."

Resist that if you dare!

If you are in Brisbane, get thee to Artisan, if in Cairns make a bee-line for the Cairns Regional Gallery, Craft Vic have a selection too, or if US dollars are your preferred currency (not that there's much difference at the mo) find them at etsy.

Listening to: Janelle Monae - Tightrope

Brand spanking new

Medium - Leafy Sea Dragon in Chocolate Brown leather.


Medium - Mixed International stamps in burgundy and grey, in burgundy leather.

The belts have been going gangbusters since the piece in the Age, so I've updated the Shoppe with these new beauties! Yay commerce!

New Belts

Four new belts over at Etsy.

Love love love these and hope that you do too.

Anyone in your world need a present?


Navy blue with birds, insects and flowers, Medium.


Pebble-textured white with military medals and awards, Large.


Navy blue with a color spectrum of flowers, Medium.

Chocolate brown with birds, insects and flowers, Medium.

Showing off

'Once upon a time, there was a Princess who set out for a walk in early spring. She wore her handmade Printemps shoes, which came with beautifully embroidered spats to keep her shins warm. How pretty she looked as she made her way down through meadows still covered with snow, to the glade where the first spring flowers had made their appearance. As the day warmed she took off her spats and walked in her shoes, thinking about how lucky she was to have such options.'

Sharing the love.

ON SALE!

Yes indeed lovelies, all my keyrings are on sale in the etsy shop. I've decided to stop making them, and so I'm hoping that they all find good homes. If you've had your eye on any, please snap them up before it's too late!

Deck the halls.....or at least make a plan to

Beloved folks, if you haven't already noticed, it's that time of year again. At our house we have not yet applied festive bits to the front door etc, but we did get all the decorations out to see what makes the grade this year.

We have plans to make a tree from some huge cardboard boxes, a slot together arrangement methinks. Although I love the smell of a fresh tree, I can't bear the waste of watering it, sweeping up all the needles, and then throwing it out.


So I have done another run of these cheery ornaments, both etsy and the shoppe have them in stock, and they will be winging their way to Craft Vic and maybe some other places in the coming weeks.

In contrast to last year, they have been blinged up with Swarovski crystals, and I am rather fond of them!

Listening to: Funkadelic - Icka Prick

Little Gems

My first Military pin was made back in 2004, before my son was born. (That's my benchmark - before or after Leo, and it makes me feel rather productive to think I have made many more things since his birth.)
Anyway, I love these little gems, and for a time there I was thinking that accessories had to be seasonal, and therefore with each new collection I had to leave the old designs behind.
However, I decided that certain designs should live on eternally, damn these quick, fickle trends, and so the Mini Fringe Pin, as it is officially deemed, lives on.

I was lucky to get this project in Pip's delicious book, so the virtues of these pins is spreading far and wide, and they are listed not only in my shoppe, but also on etsy. Jackets love them, lapels particularly so, waistcoats too, I even have a whole posse of them on a smart blazer.


Unisex, yes; versatile, yes; colourful, of course; well made, ahem, thanks for noticing!

Listening to: Hard Knock Life - Jay Z turn it up y'all!

In the Shoppe

Mother's Day is coming folks, I know this because I've put a reminder on the fridge about the present I would like to receive, and also I've entered an 8km run on the very day.

If gifts of precious jewellery are out of your recession struck budget then consider this - a fabulous Postage Belt showing Australian gemstones stamps. There is one available in the shoppe, and there's even free postage within Aust. Woohoo!
Spend some more Ruddy $.
Cross that pressie off your list.

In other news I cannot stop looking at the BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) website, my Adelaide peeps have alerted me to a huge amount of rain on the way, and I just can't resist a radar image. Have positioned water holding receptacles under downpipes etc, and did some serious laundry today in anticipation of a cold, wet weekend. Here's to pots of soup.

Listening to: Bob James - Nautilus remixed by Nicolay

Finally a shopfront!

Well, after much data entry and resizing of images, I am ever so proud to announce that the emerge shoppe is open for business!
Cue the trumpets and streamers!

It has taken me a while to sort out, as I am a bit of a perfectionist, but I hope that it meets your exacting standards. Bear in mind that it's all in its infancy, and that some things may need ironing out a bit.

I'll also need your help to spread the word, something like - 'oh have you been to that a fab new online shoppe which sells an assortment of delicious leather goods? yes indeed, it's called emerge shoppe, I can't believe you haven't heard, where have you been?'

Or you could just link me! Come over and visit, let me know what you think of the decorating.

Listening to: Cornelius - New Music Machine live in Japan