LittleLetters

Snaps from the Studio

2012-02-01T22:15:00.000+11:00

A few snaps of my creative space....

Goodbye procrastination...Hello productivity!

2012-02-01T21:54:00.000+11:00

I have had a busy couple of days in my little creative haven down in the basement. I have been working on a couple of projects which may or may not come to something, watch this space! I also started a 6 week online Adobe Illustrator course in a bid to improve my self taught skills. I am only at lesson 3 and I am learning heaps already. I already knew the long way around many of the tasks but now I have been learning the shorter more efficient methods for getting there. This will improve productivity I hope, as more often than not I have a great idea just not quite sure how to do it. Which is when procrastination steps in and I end up giving up half way through and never going back to said idea! Just think of all those things I can revisit with my new found skills.

My fun mini shot is my assignment for the first lesson using Live Trace and Paint features. Basic stuff but good practice.

Side By Side Week 122 - Happy beer drinking day.....oops I mean Australia Day!

2012-02-01T21:37:00.002+11:00

Beers ready, BBQ sizzling, sun shining! Pretty much sums up Australia Day! Although I am not an Australian I do happily partake in a day off to enjoy all of the above!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog.

Side By Side Week 121 - 65 Years

2012-02-01T21:35:00.000+11:00

We had a family gathering for Shane's grandparents who have been married for 65years! WOWEE. They are still happy and she even sat on his lap for a photo...fun. Congrats to Vern and Joan!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Weekday Carnival and Varpunen =Love

2012-01-16T22:32:00.002+11:00

I was scrolling through the gorgeous images over at Weekday Carnival - always a joy I can tell you - and I stumbled upon some wonderful shots of her workspace. You can see her fresh, stylish space below and even more photos on her blog.

Workspace images above by Weekday Carnival

After I stopped drooling over how lovely this compact space was, I zoned in on the wonderful storage bags on the shelves. I am in love with these little beauties, don't you think these are great?

All images by Varpunen.

They are all the way from Helsinki, Finland and are the mastermind of Suki at Varpunen. Incidentally, she calls herself on her blog "Varpu's mother" which I thought was funny. They are made from printed PVC-laminated white polyester scrim and I want them all. Prices start at €22 for small and up to €52 for larger ones. They have so many uses, from the bathroom, kitchen or like Weekday Carnival has used them, in the office. I am off to make the difficult decision of which one I will buy.

Side By Side Week 120 - Sunflower envy!

2012-01-16T22:00:00.005+11:00

I posted a sunflower photo, nearly this time last year of some sunflowers Shane gave me for Valentines Day. You see I am a big fan of the sunny happy flowers and I have developed serious Sunflower envy. The house behind us has a wonderful crop of the beauties and I am always plotting ways to snaffle one. I know, I know I am not going to scale the fence to grab one in the dark of night. Or am I....???!!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side By Side Week 119 - Where Christmas trees go to die

2012-01-16T21:59:00.003+11:00

I kinda thought this was funny as our Christmas tree has been dumped at the bottom of the garden till we can get rid of it. I hate seeing my tree all dying and sad. Its so pretty when it's in its prime.

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side By Side Week 118 - Sparkler Fun

2012-01-16T21:58:00.001+11:00

Happy New Year, we said goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 in the mountains which was fantastic. Despite having a very quiet night I still managed to get the sparklers out to accompany glass of fizz. Here's to an awesome 2012.

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

A Little Letter for Little Letters.

2012-01-02T22:20:00.000+11:00

One of my lovely Christmas gifts from my Mum was a very cute and very apt necklace from the fantastic Victoria Mason. I spotted this a while ago, I think at the Melbourne Finders Keepers market in Melbourne last year. I added it to my Christmas wishlist (essentially my grown up Santa List) and my wish came true! I was thrilled to open up the tiny little package and find a piece of tiny jewellery sculpture perfection. So cute, there is even a stamp on the other side of the pendant. Love it. Thank you Mum!

My Mum also mentioned that Victoria was great and her communication made it super easy for her to buy from the UK and get it sent to me here in Oz. She even popped in a little hand written note to say who it was from. I mention this, because we had a not so happy experience with another Melbourne jeweller who will remain nameless last year. This was the exact opposite, I I hope to buy again soon. So thank you Victoria.
Check out her website here and her blog here.

Happy New Year - 2012!!!

2012-01-02T22:04:00.001+11:00

This year we decided to get away from things in Melbourne and clear our heads of Christmas fuzz and make a trip to the mountains to celebrate the arrival of the New Year We made our way up to Falls Creek in North East Victoria, to our new fave summer getaway.

During the Winter months, we travel up to Falls regularly on the weekends to indulge in our favourite pass time of snowboarding. However, last year we discovered what the mountains have to offer in Summer and we are now almost as hooked on Summer as we are of Winter. We stayed at the rather lovely Quay West Resort & Spa which is in a fabulous location and rather lux.

Our room had the most wonderful view (see above) which could be viewed from our balcony spa - I mean come on does it get better than this.

What is there to do up there if you can't ski? Well, quite a bit. One of the main chair lifts runs on selected days for just sightseeing if you want to stay mellow and relax. Alternatively, from the top you can take one the numerous walking trails and explore the area on foot, or get a bit more extreme and navigate your way down the hill on a mountain bike. We went the extreme route and bashed our way down the hills on our bikes - although I was a little more nervous of 'breaking' myself so took things a little slower. We tried to go kayaking on the Rocky Valley lake but sadly it wasn't running and we missed out. Had we been interested there are a heap of other things we could have done, fishing, horse riding but we decided to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Welcome 2012...I think it's going to be a good one. Best wishes everyone for a happy a healthy year.

All images by Leslie Clark (Little Letters)

Side By Side Week 117 - If I look cute, I won't get in trouble!

2011-12-28T12:57:00.004+11:00

Little Missy 'found' a Christmas tree bauble and was enjoying some frantic fun with it. I appeared in the living room to investigate what the noise was and she dropped and rolled into the "if I act cute, I won't get in trouble" pose! Too funny, although glass baubles do not mix with wooden floors and cat entertainment!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side By Side Week 116 - Joyeux Noel

2011-12-28T12:56:00.002+11:00

As part of my rustic and homemade theme I made these little tags for the wall. I also decided to go a little European with the lovely french version of Merry Christmas. Joyeux Noel everybody! Check out more here.

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

I think Mr. Postman played football with my parcel!

2011-12-28T12:51:00.000+11:00

My package from the lovely package exchange was the last in a frenzy of parcels from friends and family from all over before Christmas. This was The parcel was sitting at my front door and I picked it up with great excitement as I knew I was allowed to open this one before the 25th. When I picked it up I could hear some bells inside which were jingling as I walked inside. Hang on a moment....I can hear the bells tinkling but I can hear something else, I think its broken glass not so festive.

Sadly, I opened up my package and the jar which Carmen had used for part of the packaging had shattered in the box. All was not lots I managed to salvage everything which she sent and it was ok. These things happen and I just felt bad for poor Carmen as she was nervous about sending her package (as I was).

Anyway, she sent me some lovely handmade goodies, some Christmas tree decorations, crochet coasters, some cute bells (the ones that were jingling) and a one of her wonderful hand screen printed tea towels which I read about on her blog the other week. As a lover of screen printing myself this was perfect. She had printed using my fave coral colour and the subject was fab vending machines from Japan. Couldn't be better as I too was fascinated by them when I visited Japan last year. Thank you so much Carmen, I really do appreciate all your handmade goodies.

The exchange was such a cool thing to do, I loved it. Plus I think I have found a new blogger friend who shares my interests. Just a shame she is in Sydney and I am in Melbourne. I hope we will keep in touch and who knows we can maybe try the exchange next year - without any misshaps! ;-)

Neon and neutral package exchange

2011-12-26T21:29:00.000+11:00

I wrote a few weeks ago about a package exchange I had signed up for via the Oh Hello Friend Blog.

I had great plans and I think I actually managed to pull off my plans/ideas. For a while I have been seeing neon with neutrals and I love the look. I think Leslie Shewring showcased the neon/neutral look the best in her Tokyo and Neon post in August this year.

Photo: A Creative Mint

I found some great neon pink ribbon at Spotlight which was just what I was after - super vibrant and awesome. I decided I would use it with some brown kraft paper but it just wasn't quite enough, looked a little plain. After some messing around and trial and error I decided I wanted to add some interest to the paper. As a lover of all kinds of printing techniques, I decided I would carve out a snowflake motif and use that to stamp the kraft paper. It worked really well and just the pop that it needed.

I didn't manage to get a very good photo as it was late and there was no natural light. Still you get the idea.

Carmen my swap buddy took a MUCH better photo, check out her super lovely post about my package and gifts.All packaged up inside was a cool print from Dawn Tan, some tags from super ace new packaging company Blank (I bought a tonne of stuff from them at the Melbourne Design Market earlier this month). Oh and also a little pack of postcards from the awesome Yellow Owl Workshop which I got from Notemaker a while ago.

All in all my package was a hit Carmen LOVED it and I loved putting it together. I look forward to doing another one soon.

Joyeux Noel

2011-12-18T21:45:00.000+11:00

Pinterest it's a veritable feast of all things beautiful, clever, or just down right cute. At this time of year though its jam packed full of festive goodies, yummy food shots,sparkly dresses and my favourite, Christmas decorations! While I was scanning the pages I stopped on this shot which gave me an idea...

Source: tamalikainenparketti.blogspot.com via Leslie on Pinterest

I used Rosewood font and printed out the letters onto 250gsm off-white card. Then trimmed them up so that they were all an even size. I then used a fancy scalloped corner punch for the corners which add to the vintage feel. I strung them up using some mini pegs on a natural twine. Added a couple of calico stripey tape bows and threaded in some mini lights from IKEA to add some sparkle. The battery pack is cunningly hidden behind the L on the Noel so that I can switch them on/off easily.

Here it is for your viewing pleasure. I am particularly happy with it, hope you like it and the French vintage vibe I am aiming for.

Side By Side Week 115 - Handprinted wrapping paper

2011-12-18T21:29:00.005+11:00

I may be a little mad to even think about doing this BUT I did it anyway. I carved out a snowflake stamp and went to town with some white paint and a roll of brown kraft paper. I am pretty happy with the results.

Side By Side Week 114 - Tis the season

2011-12-18T21:27:00.003+11:00

I did take a shot last week similar to this but it was no good so I took another. The reindeer decoration from Ikea is my new favourite decoration, but the tartan bauble in the background is a close second. Yay....I love Christmas!!

Lovely Package Exchange

2011-12-01T21:17:00.001+11:00

Whilst cruising around the blogosphere - I do a lot of that don't you know! I stumbled upon yet another great little blog called Oh, Hello Friend. Now it seems Danni the author of this awesome looking blog is a big fan of thoughtful, beautiful packaging, as am I. So much so, that I often take more time to either decide on my wrapping of choice or physically wrapping the gift than I do buying it! So when I read that she was running a packaging exchange I jumped right in.

What is a package exchange I hear you ask! Firstly I had to sign up and answer a couple of 'about me' kinda questions. We were then partnered with another one of the willing participants from the same part of the world - quite the coordination effort on Oh, Hello Friend's part I think! From here the fun part starts. I have to buy a gift and parcel it up and send it to someone I have never met and I will receive a parcel back from my swap partner. The emphasis is on the packaging and it is important to put in some thought and effort into the package.

My swap buddy Carmen, is an Illustrator and Designer based in Sydney. She writes and illustrates about things in her day to day life including her funny cat Miso on her blog Forgotten Fancies. I am REALLY looking forward to seeing what we manage to come up with. It reminds me of writing to penpals when I was a kid. Just a bit of festive fun people!

Side By Side Week 113 - Rad

2011-12-01T21:12:00.001+11:00

I love the NGV Studio in Federation Square, it's an active little space focusing on 'youth' apparently! Currently there is an exhibition called Board which presents a collection of 1970s & 80s skateboards and ephemera from Tony Hallam’s (Australian Skateboarder) collection alongside contemporary decks created for the exhibition, it explores the evolution of board graphics and design. I have a blank deck of Shane's at home that I have been meaning to do something with...now I feel inspired.

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side By Side Week 112 - New Shoes!

2011-12-01T21:11:00.001+11:00

We had a wedding to attend this weekend and I decided on a very high (for me) pair of new shoes to finish off my outfit! Wowsers....they are my fabulous disco shoes! So I decided to add a crazy gold bokeh overlay for added effect!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side By Side Week 111 - Setting a Scene

2011-12-01T21:05:00.001+11:00

I have been messing around with some 'styling' for the first few of my prints I plan to post up in my online shop and I like how this looked...sunny and relaxing!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Gifted Magazine - Holiday Gift Guide 2011

2011-11-12T12:58:00.001+11:00

Yep, I am singing the praises of Creature Comforts again! Gifted Magazine- Holiday Gift Guide 2011 is out and bursting full of great Christmas gifts and ideas. I think most of these wonderful gifts are from US websites but with the US$ still sitting well in Australia at least it is doable and there is plenty of time to get some of these little goodies shipped before Christmas. So, get in a comfy chair and sneak a yummy treat and sit down to soak up all the fantastic products. Just don't break the bank balance ;-)

Side By Side Weeks 109-110

2011-11-10T21:43:00.004+11:00

Week 110 - Hailstorm

The weather has been crazy in Melbourne over the last few days...sunny then rain..sunny then rain! Tropical almost, which sucks cause my hair gets it's frizz on but its awesome because we get heaps of thunder and lightning storms. YAY. These gigantic hailstones were falling from the skies, awesome.

Week 109 - Letterpress

We had a sad week as we had to say goodbye to our little dog Zak after 18 years (I have only been around for 8 of them) so to take my mind of it I immersed myself in creative projects my first being setting some metal type and trying out my Letter press machine. Super exciting - it worked too. Some results to follow soon.

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Design Files Open House

2011-11-10T21:19:00.001+11:00

Photo: The Design Files

I am beyond excited about this. A few weeks ago Lucy over at one of my fave blogs The Design Files announced a very cool upcoming event - The Design Files Open House.

Today all the details (except for the address) have been unleashed to the design loving masses. Building on the current trend of Pop Up shops and events, but taking it a step further. For four days (1st -4th Dec), a beautiful home in Fitzroy, Melbourne will be transformed into a showroom of sorts, displaying a gorgeous array of Australian made and designed products. Each room will be filled with fabulous furniture, artworks and all sorts of homewares. Now here is the good bit, everything, yes everything in the house will be for sale over the four days. Some you will be able to take home on the day, and other larger items like furniture will be delivered at a later time. There will even be the new Mini Coupe on display for everyone to get a sneak peak of the new design in the garage. Amazing!

Check out the dedicated website for the event here at The Design Files Open House website. You can also download a store directory here and peruse the wonderful products which will be on show.

My diary is marked and I can't wait to walk around and pretend I can afford everything...see you all there!!

Amazing art.

2011-11-05T20:48:00.003+11:00

I spent my lazy Saturday indulging in one of my favourite passtimes, blog reading! I have a special bookmark folder of my favourites and Creature Comforts is right at the top. I just love everything that Ez does over there and I must confess I am almost a little obsessed with checking for new posts. One day I would love to have a blog half as great as what she has. Anyway, I will leave the fan love for another day.

Whilst checking out her latest posts I saw this and just had to share it (it's a one time story steal I promise)! It's the wonderful work of Chan Hwee Chong...who has created amazing pieces of art by working in a spiral motion and applying varying pressure to the Faber Castell pens used to create these unbelievably amazing images.

Check out the video below of Chan Hwee Chong in action. Awe inspiring don't you think?

Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo.

Some more of his work can be seen below and here. Now go get your pens out people!

(Long) Weekend Wishlist - Bright and Breezy!

2011-10-31T22:24:00.003+11:00

Summer is trying to break through in Melbourne, the sun and warm air is feeling great when it manages to make an appearance.

With the change in the weather, my mind appears to have taken on a lighter, more bright and breezy mood. As a result, my long weekend wish list is full of fresh finds.

Recently, I made a visit to South Melbourne and discovered a little pocket of great little shops on Coventry Street. I stumbled across Southwood Trading a wonderful fresh homewares store full of wonderful modern pieces. They stock products from one of my favourite Melbourne brands bonnie and neil. Bonnie Ashley and Neil Downie, create functional decorative pieces which are handmade and hand-printed in their Brunswick studio. Their current collection is inspired by native Australian flora and fauna. I have my eye on some of their wooden storage cubes

If you want to know even more about them, Lucy on The Design Files did a great feature on them back in June.

Moving on from a local bricks and mortar store to an international online store, Dahlhaus. Heather Braun-Dahl makes some great ceramic pieces in her studio in Vancouver, Canada. I have my eye on a one of the turquoise (10 o'clock position in the pic) vases...$46 US well spent in my opinion.

Last but not least is to attend one of the Panelpop workshops which are being held at the Fitzroy store/workshop. If you have not heard of Panelpop they are the brains behind an exciting new stone art medium which can be drawn on directly with pencil or charcoal. Or you can even work your magic with watercolour, oil or acrylics. If you are not feeling creative, you can upload one of your favourite photos which can be printed directly onto the surface. The framed piece is lightweight and UV stable which means you can even hang in outdoors if you want to. If that's not awesome enough, most of the materials used are salvaged or recycled which will also satisfy your carbon neutral needs.

I had one made a few months ago, using a photo of my dear cat Muffy (I know funny name - but I was 10 when we named her...give me a break!) who was with us for 20 years.

As I have already done a photo, I think I would like to try my hand drawing or painting on one so I think I might sign up for one of the last available spots for one of the workshops they have running this month and in December. Watch this space....

Side By Side Catch Up.

2011-10-31T20:35:00.001+11:00

Week 108 - Crazy Babies!

A parade of giant demonic babies engaged in a battle of good and evil have invaded central Melbourne as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Crazy babies alright!! It has caused quite the stir in Melbourne though...

Week 107 - Coffee Art

With my brother visiting over the last few weeks, we have been sampling the coffee delights of Melbourne. One of the best both in taste, and for the amazing Barista skills. The place is called Manchester Press named after the old printing press office that used to be in the building. It might be my fave place in Melb at the moment.

Week 106 - Modern History

It was my Birthday and I am now 33! Eek. One of my wonderful gifts was a refurbished 70s polariod SX-70 camera! Its fantastic...although I am a little scared to use it because the film costs so much! Also in the shot are some photos of me as a kid taken with our trusty polaroid. My Dad would get film from work and as a result a LOT of my old family photos are polaroids. You can just see my awesome birthday costume where I was dressed as a domino - I think I was 9 or so. Random!

Week 105 - Is that a Chicken?

I went to take some shots of these and it was too dark last week and I tried again the other day when we were visiting sadly its a phone shot! These are Japanese silky chickens! No I did not make that up and I also did not take a crap photo where you can't see any eyes or beaks etc this is what they look like. They freak me out because you can't tell what there are up to - they are like toilet brushes on legs! So funny!

Week 104 - Haste Ye Back

I have been working on a little Scottish print for my spare bedroom,which I have decided is going to have a bit of a flavour of home. Haste ye back is Doric for come back soon.
I have designed the whole print myself and after a lot of changes and layouts. I am super happy with it. I also got a modern deer head from Pulp to add to the 'theme'.

Week 103 - Primary Positive

Random photo alert. Shane is like a Womble and likes to re-purpose and recycle. Anyway, he has few car batteries ready to be taken to the recycling place and I was liking the colour and shapes of them all lines up. Primary colours a plenty.

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side by Side Week 102 - Chocolicious

2011-09-16T20:41:00.004+10:00

I made Molten Chocolate Puddings on the weekend - Yummers! This is typical of me, but the remaining chocolate that I didn't use has sat in the packet for the last few days and I don't have any inclination to eat it. Its a family joke that I could sit with an open packet of chocolate and not eat it - much to the dismay of my Mum and Bro. I look at it as one of my key skills in life, cause I reckon I would be a few kgs heavier if I didn't have it! :-)

Weekend Wishlist - Prints

2011-09-11T21:39:00.002+10:00

I have quite a bit of wall space in my house and much of it is just crying out for some colourful art to brighten up my neutral décor and add a bit more interest to some of the rooms.

I plan to frame some of my own photos and to make some prints of my own but here are a few odds and ends that have caught my over the last couple of weeks.

The first is City In Pink by Inaluxe

The next is a handmade silkscreen poster for a Feist concert in 2008 by Vahalla Studios posted on the Poster Cabaret website (where there are a whole heap of other awesome prints by other artists and design studios.)

I LOVE Melbourne artist Ghostpatrol and can only dream of owning one of his original pieces. Recently though, he collaborated with another of my faves Panelpop (a wonderful company who have come up with an innovative framed art surface which you can draw directly onto or have photos printed etc). This is his Fox Shadow illustration now I just need $180 to buy this little gem.

Last but not least is a 2012 Mountain Calendar by Palmostracco on Etsy.
It's a wonderful mountainscape (Did I just made up a new word?) and dates follow the mountain contours. So cool.

Hopefully a couple of these little beauties will be on their way to a new home - my home - soon.

Side By Side Week 101 - Spring has Sprung

2011-09-08T20:54:00.004+10:00

Week 101

The weather has been fantastic and it looks like Winter has gone and Spring is here. We have a big old fig tree in our back garden and the leaves and little figs are already popping out all over the tree. (oh and a little overlay action - Prismatic Paper 2 overlay from lostandtaken.com/ )

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog

Side By Side Week 98- 100!!

2011-09-03T12:12:00.000+10:00

Week 100 - X marks the spot!

X marks 100!! Wow we have been doing this for 100 weeks! That sounds nuts! This is a random metal 'thing' Shane found and thought I might like to paint it or something and turn into a door stop or the like. I do very much like it's industrial look and after a bit of filing and grinding (by Shane) it's had its first coat of white paint and is already looking better. A paper weight perhaps?

Week 99 - From the Shadows

We headed up to the snow this past weekend for some snowboarding! Its much like spring here which is WAY too early and it looks like the snow wont hang around this year sad :-( Still we had a great time with what is there and enjoyed the sunshine! Ooh and I got a new snowboard which was all kinds of awesome!!

Week 98 - A snails pace

I am kinda fascinated by snails in that they appear from dark damp places when the rain appears and slide around the back garden and then disappear again. Crazy crawlies!

Check out my photos Side by Side with my buddy Ross at the side by side blog....Happy 100th photo and yay to us for keeping at this for so long!

Weekend Wishlist

2011-08-28T17:26:00.008+10:00

I have been thinking of creating a regular feature here for a while . After a bit of thought I decided that I might write a little about the things I like and have on my wishlist to buy or at least dream of one day owning. I seem to bookmark more and more wonderful products every day whether from the newspaper, magazines and all the wonderful blogs and sites online.

This weeks wishlist has a few odds and ends that I have my eye on...
1. Hilary Grant - Mountain Cushions
These are just brilliant, I HAVE to have these. Not only because they are made from 100% pure Lambswool in my home country Scotland, but they appeal to my snowy/mountain love and therefore tick all the boxes for me. They will go just perfectly on my Eames eiffel chair in my bedroom!Hilary Grant is an independent knit and textile designer who in addition to creating these wonderful cushions makes scarves and mittens too.

2. Pony Rider - Swiss Alps Cushion
Following on with the mountain theme, I am loving this Swiss Alps cushion by Ponyrider which features a screen printed image of the Matterhorn with a little extra graphic touch to make it pop. I have singled this one out but I could quite easily buy one of everything in their shop. I don't think the bank balance could cope with that though (sadly)!
Pony Rider is a collaboration between Sydney friends Kelly Searl and Jacqui Lewis. Their textiles and soft furnishings are designed in house, and then hand screen printed and sewn in Sydney.

3. Gotye - Making Mirrors
Ok so this is no longer a wishlist item because I just bought it this afternoon (while writing this post), but it I think it should be on everyone else's list. A fantastic album...really brilliant - love the album cover artwork too. Check out the first song from the album below.

Look out for more goodies soon.

The Little Things!

2011-08-11T21:26:00.004+10:00

Life is busy and chaotic most of the time and I am a big believer in the taking time to make a little something or write a little note whenever the opportunity arises. Whatever it is it allows you to step back a bit from the day to day and immerse yourself in something creative or just downright fun even if its for 5mins!
I love to create on paper or with paper and do so whenever I get the chance, even if it's just wrapping a gift. When I received a little gift from friend and (former) work colleague on the day she left to say thanks for the support and just 'because' I was really thrilled. Jane who gave me the gift, presented my wee gift perfectly and I feel took the time and effort to make a small gesture wonderfully thoughtful. Not only was there a great little gift (a clever magnetic photo wire and a lovely scented candle) - perfect for 'Studio 2' - but it was the presentation that really was fab. The painted stripes simple and the colour perfectly picked to go with the blue gum leaves in the wee poesy of flowers she included.

Oh and I couldn't resist a little bit of creativity myself in the top photo. I added some of everyone's fave Japanese Masking tape to a humble jam jar. Hey presto cute flowers on display in my room! And so, you see its those little things.......

Side By Side - Week 97

2011-08-11T20:47:00.003+10:00

My job is a dull place these days with the many 'characters' shall we say moving on. I know you are there to work but a bit of fun never hurt anyone.
Anyway, Jane (or Jane-O/Janester as I call her) was my creative outlet in my otherwise dull day. She worked at reception and always happy to have a chat about some new idea or just bounce my artistic ideas off. She left last week and gave me the loveliest little gift to say thanks for supporting her and generally being crazy old me. With my wee pressie she picked a fresh poesy of spring (early) blossom and blue gum leaves. So great...THANK YOU JANE-O!!

Side by Side Catch up time...

2011-08-11T20:37:00.004+10:00

Behind again...no real excuse....laziness I guess!

Week 96 - Fruits of my labour.

Well a couple of weeks ago I posted a pic of my Lemon tree and this week I thought I would post a pic of my efforts using the yummy lemons. So I cheated a little and used a shop bought pastry case, mainly because I didn't have quite the right tin. The rest is all home made! Yummers.

Week 95 - Melbourne Institution

Victoria Bitter or VB is quite the institution in Melbourne and of course Victoria! I am not a huge fan myself but I am a fan of this sign which I see when I drive to the city! Normally I am driving and its a very busy road so stopping somewhere to snap it is always hard. However, on a Sunday jaunt with Shane into the city - I managed to think fast and snap this out of the window of the car. Yes the car was moving and I took 1 and only 1 photo. The vintage feel was all natural too just a grey dull day = this pic and I love it.

Week 94 - You know the score!

Last week was EXCITING - for me anyway! I went to watch my football team Celtic who had come all the way from Scotland to play Melbourne's 'soccer' team The Victory! My wonderful team won 1-0...phew I am glad because I was talking them up BIG time! ;-) I took a heap of photos but I really liked this which shows a bit of the awesome AAMI stadium, the crowd and you can just see the rain in the top right corner! Yeah the rain...that was a shame!

Check out the side by side blog here http://sidebysideatoppositeendsoftheworld.blogspot.com/

Side By Side - week 93 - A squeeze of lemon?

2011-07-14T21:52:00.001+10:00

After a quite a few years in Oz, I still get excited by having a lemon tree in my back garden! Winter is actually one of the biggest citrus growing seasons and luckily we have a very old established tree which just hangs with Lemons year round! Although, there is only so much you can do with lemons...its Lemon meringue pie this weekend I think ;-)

Side By Side - Week 92 A Double Pot of Gold Perhaps?

2011-07-14T21:38:00.004+10:00

Ahhh...what a wonderful sight on your way to work....brings a smile to anyone's face I think. It really does sum up Melbourne's weather, sunny one minute, raining the next! In this case both at the same time! I didn't react to the wonderful sight like this guy though!

Check out the side by side project blog for my shot next to my friend Ross' photo!

Side By Side - Week 91

2011-07-05T20:36:00.002+10:00

After a busy week of paper work for my other half and his business I had some time to sit down and do some creating of my own.

Well it has been a busy week or two, its the end of the tax year here and I have been taking care of some things here and there. When I wasn't doing that, I was mostly enjoying my newly renovated studio . Oh and I also bought a tonne of new books, of which these are a few which are waiting for some serious reading! This photo is really summing things up for me at the moment. Lost of ideas on the go - hopefully some that I will be sharing soon! ;-)

Side By Side Weeks 89 - 90

2011-06-27T20:29:00.006+10:00

I have done a tad better than of late, as I have managed to only post 2 of my side by side photos this time.

Week 90 - 99 Brunswick Street

I'm cheating a little this week as this is from the previous week, BUT I love everything about it and I couldn't let it slip by unnoticed. Plus with my Mum visiting and overall rubbish weather I never got that chance to get out and take some pics. Anyway, it's a small section from Window 99 Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Which is an installation space at you guessed it 99 Brunswick St. I love the liitle egg cup figure, the shoes in the picture, the cotton reels and also mostly loving the reflection of the building across the street in the glass of the window.

Week 89 - Hipster Crochet Bike

This was just some of the randomness that Melbourne is famous for. I was in the city over the weekend and we saw this random crochet covered bike in locked up against a lamp post. Not too sure what it was all about but they were doing a 12hr 'Knit In' in Federation Square so I can only presume it had something to do with that. Nonetheless super fun!

Check out the side by side blog here http://sidebysideatoppositeendsoftheworld.blogspot.com/

New space, new projects!

2011-06-13T22:16:00.014+10:00

My Side by Side post mentioned the fact that I have been SUPER busy lately, and I have been neglecting my wee Little Letters blog as a result! So the reason for my absence is due to a small renovation that Shane( Mr Little Letters) and I have been working on.

Our house is situated on a sloping block of land and as a result, there is almost a basement like area downstairs from the main part of the house. Up until now it was mostly used for storage and a laundry area. A year or so ago the son of the old owner was in the area and stopped by to wish us well and let us know that he thought what we had done a great job with our renovation of his old home. He also told me that one of the basement rooms was actually his old photography darkroom. I was thrilled that this little room had been a creative haven for someone in the past and I decided it should be my creative haven for the future.

With this in mind,we launched into yet more renovations. This one was small compared to other projects we have tackled but time consuming nonetheless (WAY more than I thought). Our house was built in the mid-50's and the colour scheme and finishes are still evident here and there, we even have some crazy psychedelic wallpaper in our laundry that is so old its almost cool! Paint colour scheme is also questionable, lots of pastels, old fittings which don't match regular modern measurements....you get the idea. Refer to the photos below for a peek at the before.

Note the wonderful use of green lino tiles and they also included that in the bench! Coupled with the peach coloured walls...quite the colour combo. As you can see there is little natural light (bummer really but you take what you can get), so I had to try and brighten the space as much as I could. I also HAD to get rid of the work bench and the shocking floor.

Several weeks later my new creative space is finished. Taa-daaa!

I will be posting some details and more info on my plans soon! Check back soon.

Side By Side - Week 81 - 88

2011-06-13T21:47:00.003+10:00

Hello there,
Well I am back after a bit of hiatus but I have been SUPER busy I promise. Currently, I have my Mum visiting which is great but busy! Before that I was working on a wee bit of home renovation and that has been taking a LOT of my free time on the weekends. In fact ALL my time on the weekends (that and the usual stuff). I also managed some time away over Easter which was ages ago now - and therefore quite embarrasing that it has taken me so long to update the blog.
However a change is about to take place here at Little Letters and I will be spending a LOT more time focusing. Stay tuned for my new update.

Ok on to Side By Side. Here we go....

Week 88 - Blast From The Past.

I went to a vintage market on the weekend and picked up some odds and ends. I have a collection of wooden rulers on the wall and these are more for the collection. Some vintage sizing tape from France, and some other stuff.

Week 87 - Life on the other side.

My cat Missy does not get out onto the street and has to stay behind the gate in our garden (1 part me being a worried owner and 1 part being the law in my area). She often stares out the the gate dreaming of the other side. So I had the idea of showing her staring out and what is on the other side.

Week 86 - By Candle Light

Average week for me. Winter is here with both it's damp yuk weather and its usual colds and flu! I have succumbed to a cold and have done nothing much more than stay warm indoors. So this is just a cozy photo from the week. Simple.

Week 85 - Evil Flower

This is a phone photo but I had to use it. Its a malformed Gerbera flower...with a mutation where one stem has tried to form two heads (they are a single headed flower). It looks Eeeeeviilllll! I thought this was brilliant.

Week 84 - Forever Temporary

The ever changing Hosier Lane in Melbourne is one of my favourite places to go. Something new every time you visit from something small to larger works like this one. Brilliant. Sadly, unlike the what it says it won't be forever and will most likely have developed into something completely different the next time I visit. Love it.

Week 83 - Abstract Glow

I got up early last Saturday and while sitting eating breakfast I saw the wonderful pattern the sun was making as it pushed through the blinds. The colour also just happened all by itself. I like the abstract Bokeh look.....

Week 82 - Sunny Skies and Lazy Days

We had an extra long Easter weekend here with a 5 day weekend. We headed for the hills and explored the mountains up at Falls Creek in Victoria. The cooler climate and mountain air brings the best out of the trees around this area and we saw a lovely array of reds, oranges and yellow. I took a heap of photos but this was my fave of the sun just peaking through the yellow leaves.

Week 81 - Autumnal Art

I was in the city on the weekend at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and while we were waiting to go into the show we saw people sticking stuff to a wall. Intrigued after the show we went over to the wall and could see that people had been picking up the Autumn leaves and sticking them to the wall. How I hear you say! Well the wall has a very thin flow of water running down it and the leaves were sticking to it without being flushed away. I am not sure if this was some sort of intentional installation or it just happened by chance. You never know in Melbourne.

Update complete for your viewing pleasure - bye for now!!

Modernised History.

2011-04-13T21:53:00.011+10:00

I have been searching for some new bedside tables for AGES. I have been lusting after some of the wonderful pieces at super cool Retro Modern,who specialise in refurbishing classic furniture pieces so you can bring some retro style into your modern life. Our house is a late 50's weather board house so I wanted this 60's build furniture so that I could keep some of the history of the original house with a 2011 twist.

Sadly, their pieces were WAY above our budget so I set about attempting to get a similar look at a half the price. Step 1 was was to try and find some classic 60's style bedside tables. The Danish style bedsides that I so desperately wanted, were wanted by everyone else too and I was outbid more than a few times on Ebay. After some exhaustive searching I found these two little beauties. Sorry the photo is not the best...these are from the website and I forgot to take a picture of them before I set about refurbishing.

So as this point I am sure you are thinking - Oooooo...kay...they look umm...old and retro! Where is the modern?

Here is where the magic happened....! Step 2 involved sanding the surfaces back, removing the handles and removing the legs and metal feet. The legs and feet were cleaned and polished. Next stop IKEA to pick up some new modern handles to bring a fresh up to date look, as always I found what I was after and picked up these GREJ handles ($10 a pair) with a brushed stainless finish. I removed the drawers, then painstakingly masked off the edges on the body as I planned to leave these with a smooth sanded lightly oiled finish and the rest of would be white. However, it was all down to how well the masking went. You all know that the paint can bleed through sometimes and I had a suspicion that this would be the case here. I was wrong and the masking was successful and I managed to get a really crisp edge. A few coats of regular satin finish oil paint and all done.

The finished product in place in our bedroom, set off rather nicely by my Orla Kiely bedspread if I do say so myself.

Side By Side - Weeks 76 - 80

2011-04-13T21:42:00.007+10:00

It's side by side catch up time again...so here we go. Remember you can see our photos side by side at the Side By Side blog...here

Week 76 - Old Man Zak

We got some sad news about our 17year old dog Zak the other day and we don't expect him to be around for too much longer. The vet found a tumour in his abdomen, for now he is all good and eating and jumping around like a fool when its time for a walk. It is to be expected I guess at his age. We are enjoying our time with him and spoiling him rotten for the time being. This week is dedicated to the old boy :-)

Week 77 - Thinking of Japan

I bought this Tokyo cut out postcard this time last year when I visited Japan, and I have been thinking a lot about the place. I really did fall in love with the country and the people and I feel so bad for those who lost their lives and/or homes. Anyway, I googled the Japanese flag and held the postcard up to the screen...ta da...this weeks pic.

Week 78 - Finders Keepers Market

I headed to the wonderful Finders Keepers craft market or should I say Indie craft market. A large shed or warehouse in Melbourne's Docklands crammed full of creative goodness. Needless to say I found and kept plenty of good stuff. Sadly not one of these retro lamps...they are super cool though.

Week 79 - The Beautiful Mundane

I had planned to shoot some photos in the city this weekend passed...alas housework and the like took over and I didn't quite make it. A good housework day is worth the effort, clean bed sheets rock!! You can also see a hint of my refurbished 60s bedside tables in the shot.

Week 80 - Can you see the man on the Moon?

There has been a beautiful crescent moon here for the last week or so and I set up the tripod and shot some pics out the back door of our house. It was a tough choice this week but the simple moon with a couple of stars won.

Until next time.

The Story of the Letterpress.

2011-03-12T08:43:00.008+11:00

I have resisted writing about this up until now, because quite honestly I did not want to make my blog a winge fest. I had hoped this weekend I would be writing about my new Adana 8 x 5 press which was going to be the start of my Letterpress adventure. I am writing about my new Adana, except it's more a nightmare than an adventure.

After missing out on several presses on Ebay, I ordered a refurbished Adana 8x5 last Sept from someone in the UK. Then the shenanigans began. I was supposed to get the press within a month and this did not happen, a catalogue of excuses ensued and promises of the press being sent etc etc. After an ultimatum at my end the press started to make its way from the UK to Australia.

A week of obsessive FedEx tracking later, it arrived on my doorstep! I rushed home last night from work, excited to see the press that I have been patiently waiting for. I moved it to its new home and was a little concerned that the box seemed a little worse for wear. I opened it and removed the poorly wrapped press to find that it had been badly damaged and it doesn't function as it should. In fact it does not function at all.

This is what my press should look like, the one shown below is a presses one of my fave letterpress bloggers, Small Caps .

Adana 8 x 5 Press - Photo from small caps

A couple of photos below show that this is what mine is like at the moment, the right side has been pushed in as you can see and it now does not move up and down because its hitting the section where the plate or type would be. The rollers etc are not installed but you can see on the left side they way it should be. Unfortunately the damaged part is cast metal and not so easy to bend back into shape. The supplier is going to check what he has as spare parts but not sure what's going to happen there.

The photo above shows the rod which attaches to the rollers has also been bent. A little easier to fix.

So for now I have to wait to see what FedEx will do regarding the damage, and hope that I can replace the damaged parts.

Sigh........

One for the Scots!

2011-03-10T20:33:00.009+11:00

I have been meaning to write about this for a while now - in fact definitely for the last 6months or so if not longer. What am I on about - Gillian Kyle that's what or should I say who! Gillian is a textile design graduate from Glasgow School of Art, who over dinner one night came up saluting some of Scotland's most iconic food and drink products. She launched her business in 2009 and appears to be going from strength to strength.
So my Scottish friends...I have got you thinking haven't I! Iconic foods from Scotland......Irn Bru perhaps, or maybe a Scotch Pie....what about the retro treat that is Creamola Foam - remember that people? Well she has thought of all of these and more and she has put together a fab range of products from aprons, mugs, bags all host to some images of all of these and more.

My brother Anson, sent me a bag year or so ago and that is what sparked my interest, so much so I requested a Tunnocks Teacake apron (that's it below) for the Christmas just passed. Creamola foam mugs are next ;-)

For all you expats or just those who love yourself a teacake..check out her site and online shop at www.gilliankyle.com

Autumn Sky - Week 75 Side By Side

2011-03-10T20:18:00.002+11:00

So summer has officially called time here in Australia - although warm days are still hanging in there. With Autumn weather comes awesome skies and after a failed attempt at photographing the 20+ dragonflies flying around the back garden (its freaky they are everywhere at the moment!), I spotted the wonderful clouds reflected in a window of my house. I did a little extra tweaking with some overlay action (Ink & Tea stained papers #5 - if you are interested) from Lost & Taken.

A Sea of Bikes - Week 74 of Side by Side project

2011-03-10T20:16:00.001+11:00

It was an early 5.30am wake up to go and support Shane do his 4th triathlon for the season. It was a very rainy morning and my camera had a few issues - so this is the best from the morning. The sea of bikes was impressive and well....here they are.

Lego fun - Side by Side week 73

2011-03-10T20:13:00.003+11:00

This is part of a little Lego themed project I have been working on...! I had the best time decorating and colouring the icing to just the right Lego tones! Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Side by Side catch up - No. 2

2011-02-22T21:34:00.005+11:00

Yet again I seem to have neglected my little blog but never fear (I am sure your weren't) that is about to change in the next week or so. I have a few wee exciting odds and ends coming your way real soon.

For now here is a catch up of my half of side by side for the last few weeks. Full pairs of my photos along side Ross's are posted up on the Side by Side blog

Week 69 - Waterpark Fun

We headed off for a family picnic in the sun to an 'adventure park' outside of Melbourne. I use the term adventure loosely, as it was more like 2 water slides, some other random water activities and mini golf type of establishment. Anyway it was a sunny day and it was more a catch up with Shane's family. This is just a shot of some kids playing in the water jets in the kids area...i like the shadow and reflections here.

Week 70 - A wee Burns Night dram

On Australia Day I made sure I didn't overlook Scottish celebrations and had a wee dram for the Baird himself....Robert Burns.

Week 71 - Will the rain stop

Australia, mostly in Queensland, was battered with flooding and Cyclone Yasi a couple of weeks ago. Melbourne luckily missed all that but the Yasi fall out meant it rained so hard from 5 - 11pm on Friday that the drains and gutters couldn't cope. Kids were playing out in the street in the stormwater floods....and our back garden was full of water. Up to the top of my wellies...!The following day everything was still sprinkled with what looked like little diamonds...sadly only rain droplets. ;-)

Week 72

I got some early Valentines Day flowers the Saturday before...perhaps my all time fave type - Sunflowers! Shane ordered them specially for me (via his Dad at the flower market) they came with the full stalk on so they were nearly as high as me! They are just so bright and happy looking flowers - I bet you have a smile on your face just looking at them. Haha

Its been a while....

2011-01-24T21:06:00.004+11:00

I had great plans to go all out and blog my little socks off over my LOOONNG Christmas break (a whole fat month off work). Instead I decided to step away from the computer a little and get out, take photos and generally give my brain and mainly my eyes a break - yep some new glasses are on the way ;-(
Anyway, I am back and full of blog ideas, however I will start with a Side By Side catch up. I have a whole 8 weeks to catch up on so here we go....

Week 61 - Hello Possum

Well this little man was curled up on the ground in our back garden. They are nocturnal so I think it was just curling up and trying to go to sleep after falling from a tree.

We saved it and put it back up in the tree...it scampered off to go back to sleep. Yay for us....we have some good karma today.

Week 62 - Retro Sunday

I was down at the Mordialloc beach on Sunday and this car was in the car park...wonderfully retro.

Week 63 - Candy Canes and Christmas Lights

Super late in posting this but I did take it last week. I love sugar canes for some reason - really festive I guess. So you can't beat a bit of Candy cane and bokeh action to capture the festive season.

Week 64 - A Time For Reflection

Well I'm super late this week....sadly I have been doing boring stuff like painting and that is why I took so long. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to include a photo of me (and my cat - can you see her?) for a change with a festive spin! Here it is my bauble reflection.

Week 65 - Boozalicious

Well this small collection of alcoholic beverages and related items sums up the last week or so. Festive cheer aplenty!

Week 66 - Last Sunrise of 2010

We headed to the mountains after Christmas for the first time in summer and were lucky enough to stay up on the mountain for a couple of nights. By chance, I woke up needing a glass of water and got up to see a beautiful subdued sunrise. The last for the year.

Week 67 - Summer Holidays

What a hard life, I spent last weekend relaxing down at the beach. This is me taking a break from reading the paper to look out at the beach from the deck of the boat shed where I sat.

Week 68 - Cabin Fever

This photo kinda sums up the week for me and the pets last week. It rained and rained and...um...rained. Although safe from the floods...the last week of my holidays were mostly spent cooped up at home and watching for a break in the rain to get outside and do something in the fresh air. My cat took up residence at the front door...staring at the deck in a trance like state hoping for the same break in the weather. This is Missy...waiting it out! She celebrated the end of the rain by sleeping outside all day in the back garden. ;-)

You can see all our side by side shots here at the Side By Side blog

Side By Side Project - Week 60

2010-11-25T18:12:00.003+11:00

I have been ill this last week or so and have had little energy for photography, or in fact anything! So this one is a slice of life really...with a tweak here and there to add a bit of interest. I used a texture overlay from Lost and Taken an awesome site with loads of free texture downloads...

Check out the other side by Ross on the Side by Side blog

Handmade Travel Diary for Elise

2010-11-25T17:37:00.003+11:00

My friend Elise headed off a few weeks ago to live in Hong Kong for a few months with her boyfriend, who is working there for a year or two. I wanted to give her a gift to use for her wonderful adventure so I decided to make her a travel diary.

I have made a few customised travel diaries in the past, as gifts for my family and for myself. See the diary I made for my brother a couple of years ago here. I use Moleskine diaries and print destination appropriate airport codes from baggage labels I have collected on the front. From there I add in extra little envelopes and labels etc throughout which can be used for keeping tickets or odds and ends found along the way.
Normally I print the using my Gocco printer but I ran out of time for this one and printed on some thick tracing paper to add a transparent feel to it and a some Japanese tape...and some extra bits and pieces and it was done.
I mailed it to her and she got it just in time (the day before!!!), and loved it. ;-)

Side By Side - Week 59

2010-11-25T16:05:00.005+11:00

My half of side by side last week (late I know) early morning shot of Melbourne from the beachy suburb of Brighton

Check out my shot together with Ross' pic on the Side By Side Blog

Killing two birds with one stone

2010-11-10T22:28:00.006+11:00

Here on Little Letters I like to write about paper, crafts, photography and anything art related...BUT my other BIG passion in life is Snowboarding.

I photographed the genius Shaun White
in action at the Winter Games last year in New Zealand.

I choose not to ramble about my snowy obsession here, I focus those thoughts elsewhere on women's snowboarding website www.powderroom.net. I have been involved with the site since the early days, almost right from the start when I wrote about my first (and only) full working snow season.
Anyway I digress, I have found a way to intertwine my snowboarding side with my artistic interests. I have started a series of stories on the artists and designers behind snowboard graphics and clothing design etc.
My first in the series is with the wonderful Amy Ruppel I think I may have first seen her work on Design*Sponge and headed to her site to see that she had actually done some design work for a couple of snowboard companies.

Amy's graphics for Burton Snowboards Lux Snowboard

Amy agreed to answer some of my questions and here is my article Artist Behind the Graphics Series for Powderroom.

Side By Side Photo Project Week 58

2010-11-10T21:25:00.002+11:00

My half of side by side this week...New Shoes. I am so in love with these...

I have been looking for these Jack Purcell Converse shoes for a while...and I found them in an outlet store this weekend for only $48...down from $139! Who doesn't love a bargain.

Check out both of our shots at our Side by Side blog

Side By Side Week 57

2010-11-10T19:16:00.003+11:00

A little late....but my side of my photo project with my friend Ross.

Halloween Cupcakes - Sadly, I wasn't dressing up for anything this year for Halloween but feeling like I needed to get into a spooky spirit I made some halloween themed cupcakes for some friends that came over.

Our photos side by side....fab autumn colours I thought. Ross captured the Angel of the Waters at the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park just right.

Check out our Side By Side Blog.

Side By Side - Week 56

2010-11-01T18:56:00.008+11:00

My side of photo project with my friend Ross..

Suburban Silhouettes - A view from my balcony across the rooftops...it's the time of year in Melbourne for awesome sunsets.

Both our photos side by side...awesome Halloween decorations on Brooklyn brownstone steps from Ross.

Blogged here

Once......Upon a Fold!!

2010-10-26T21:04:00.008+11:00

Way too much of my time is spent checking out other peoples blogs and wonderful websites. Not a bad thing really as it provides me with endless supplies of inspiration and ideas.
I am not exactly sure where I found these wonderful peeps....I think it may be via my new twitter obsession (I resisted for a long time but now I am hooked). Anyway, back to my new favourite find.. Upon a Fold.

Graphic designers, Justine and her husband Matt are paper lovers and you can tell. Justines childhood dream has become reality, where as she puts it we can "gleefully revel" in her passion for paper, and gleefully revel I did. Upon a Fold have a great online shop with so much paper goodness I can hear my credit card screaming at me already. Here is just a sneaky selection of the paper goodness on offer in their shop.
1. Message Burger 2. Blom Paper Flowers 3. Heart Popcard 4. Happy Memo Mountain

If you are a paper nerd like me....go check it out, I am just having a hard time deciding on what to buy!All i know is I gotta have the message burger.

Onwards and Upwards

2010-10-25T20:04:00.001+11:00

Yesterday was a big day for me. I decided it was about time I register my Little Letters name as my plans are progressing for a new venture and I didn't want anyone to steal my name.
I have to hear from the official peeps regarding the formalities BUT its done. Little Letters Photography and Design is finally entering the next phase of development.
Hope you will stay with me and see what comes next.

This little piggie went to market ... Part 2!

2010-10-23T19:03:00.012+11:00

So I followed up the Finders Keepers market the other week with a trip across to Malvern, to my first Magnolia Square Market (gotta love that name)! Some of the same faces were at this market and I even stopped by the Print Ink Studio stall to pick up another tea towel calendar.

Again I was overwhelmed by creative goodness. I picked up Rainbowland and Monster Playground prints from the lovely Nikki Catalano they are so delicate and lovely I have a perfect spot for them, I just need to get them framed.

I was tempted buy more prints from the Printspace but opted for some cards instead. For now at least.

I look forward to it being a regular market haunt.

This little piggie went to market.....part 1!

2010-10-23T16:38:00.015+11:00

Over the last few weeks Melbourne has been the host to a couple of awesome craft markets and I did a good job of contributing plenty of $$$$ to the crafty community in this time!
The first of my two recent market outings was the inaugural Finders Keeper Melbourne market Melbourne at Shed 4, Docklands. I was kinda intrigued about the location at first but it turned out to be a fab spot and with the sun shining plenty of market goers had made their way down to see what was on offer. As we walked down we passed the wonderful Beatbox Kitchen and were greeted by some great live music as we entered the 'shed'!

Well to say that we were excited...a host of creative goodness when we laid eyes on what was before us. Watch out wallet here I come.
My purchases from the day included some calendar tea towels from Tinker by Print Ink Studio such a great christmas gift I thought.

Wonderfully cute Reusable cupcake cases from The Cupcake Wrapper Co. I bought some Christmas ones this time around but I think I might be buying some others for other occasions online soon.

Also along the Christmas theme, I picked up some very beautiful letterpress tags made be Bespoke Letterpress Boutique from Brisbane. I am so in love with letterpress and actually have my own letterpress on the way to me as I type from the UK so I wrote off this purchase as being research...can I get away with that do you reckon??

Last but not least for the day was a beautiful ring from contemporary jeweller Kylie Gartside's Bent and Twisted collection..I was in love with this the minute I saw it and Kylie herself persuaded me with a drop in the listed price and the suggestion that I could wear it as a pendant too...multifunctional jewellery. I like it.

I picked up a heap of cards on my way around for reference later as my wallet was screaming by this stage - the wonder of online stores means I can visit at my leisure at a later date. I will be writing about these individually soon.

All in all a fantastic market by the Finders Keepers peeps...so great to see such a fantastic array of wonderful crafty folk...one day I might even make it there if I manage to actually get one of my ideas off the ground. Can't wait till the next one.
Check out The Finders Keepers Melbourne Wrap Up post on the website..and for further details of markets in Brisbane and Sydney.

Side by Side Project - Week 55

2010-10-22T16:57:00.004+11:00

L - On Your Bike - I was in the city this weekend supporting Shane who was doing a 100km cycle from the tip of the bay peninsula to the city. The weather was not on their side but the clouds did part in the afternoon when they crossed the line. These bikes are actually a new tourist initiative in the city, I think you put some money in the meter and off you go. They are not so popular mainly as helmets are compulsory in Oz but they have no way of supplying them with the bike.

R - Office Daydream - So this is the view from my office window, the photo doesn't really do it justice though. Where I work is really industrial with lots of factories and warehouses, but in the distance you can see all the sights of manhattan, it's really quite the view!

Side by Side Photo Project - Week 54

2010-10-15T17:42:00.005+11:00

Side by Side is a little late this week as my Side By Side buddy Ross moved from Washington DC to Brooklyn, NY....lucky him!
Anyway these are our two for this week...they complement each other well I think.

L - Holy Cow - Ha this is a fun sculpture in Melbourne's Docklands of a cow stuck in a tree (work that one out?!). We were hanging out at the wonderful Finders Keepers market and after some food and drinks we walked back along the wharf and the cow in a tree was looking just right at sunset. Fun.

R - Brownstone Stoops - I took this picture last night whilst out walking little D, we live on a lovely street of Brooklyn Brownstones and they all have stoops like these to hang out on.

Week 53 - Side by Side Project

2010-10-10T19:03:00.007+11:00

Week 53 signifies the start of year 2 of Side by Side and it also just so happens that it was also my birthday. Happy Birthday Me. Therefore my photo was heavy on the Birthday theme...

Side By Side Year 1 completed....Year 2 off and running.

2010-10-10T18:39:00.005+11:00

Well I have not done well with my aim of posting this weekly. I am already playing catch up. Anyway, I finished up with my first year of my Side By Side project with Ross at the end of September. Our final shots are below.

My weekend was spent enjoying the last of the spring snow at Falls Creek. An early birthday celebration for me as we stayed in luxurious on mountain accommodation right at the bottom of the main lift. Wonderful! Ross is moving to NYC from Washington DC and posted a pic of his parking permits which he had to apply for all the moving vehicle packing and parking shenanigans.

One year complete - here's to another 52 weeks of photo goodness.

Side by Side Photo Project

2010-09-28T21:11:00.007+10:00

This is the introduction to a new weekly photography feature, Side By Side.

My good friend Ross and I embarked on a little photography project nearly year ago to the day, inspired by two photography loving friends The Minty Forest who posted a photo everyday for a year. Its also not dissimilar to the 3191 girls who have brought us A Year Of Mornings where they took a picture every morning for a year, followed a year later by A Year Of Evenings.
Anyway, Ross and I decided we were unlikely to be able to commit to a photo every day (yeah I know we are scared of the challenge - well I am anyway - Ross managed a 365 portrait project last year!)
We decided to post one photo a week for a year and what makes it a little more interesting is we live in different hemispheres, Ross living in Washington D.C. while I was here in Melbourne. We wouldn't confer at all on what were were shooting through the week and the first time we see each others photo is when we post on Flickr at the end of the week. I just posted my week 52 today so I thought I would pick a few of my favourites from the year to share with you. Photos on the left are mine and Ross on the right and there is a description of what/where the photo is under each one.

Week 2

L - left hand side - I completed my first 5km run this weekend and this sums up my state of mind the last couple of days as I stressed about whether or not I could do it!! Needless to say I did and quite easily!!
R - right hand side - The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in front of the US Capitol (Artillery section)

Week 3

L - Ferris wheel at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne

R - Flags outside Union Station

Week 6

L - Spray Can - As i was taking photos some kid picked up these cans and left them on the bollards along Hoosier Lane, Melbourne as he walked by. The art and the tools!
R - Leaf prints - not your typical fall colours, but these prints on the sidewalk caught my eye on my daily walk to the metro

Week 10

L - We put up or Christmas tree this weekend and despite a small drawback when the tree fell down and broke some of my glass baubles, its now finished and looks beautiful!!

R - First snow of the season taken from the comfort of the sofa

Week 22

L - I see this everyday on my way home from work and I am intrigued....who loves Hannah?? Random...but cute.

R - I took this from the rooftop of my apartment building, it is the intersection of H St NE and 3rd St NE, not really on the tourist route, hence the empty bus. In the top left hand corner, you can see the liquor store I frequent, oh and I did a tilt-shift effect too for that toy model effect.

Week 28

L - One of many shots taken at the amazing Fushimi-Inari Taisha in Kyoto. The Shrine was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake in the 8th century but since it signifies success in businesses. A pathway lead 4km up the mountain and is lined with these glorious Tori gates most of the way. One of the highlights of my trip.

R - I take my camera out on the weekend mornings when I walk Diego, and snapped this just as we were coming back home. I took a few which were boring, but then took one on this angle and it's much more interesting.

We both have paths in our photos going in the same direction...!!

Week 31

L - The best of a bad bunch from my day of capturing water droplets...! The result was about 3 half decent photos and a LOT of water everywhere.

R - This is the view from the rooftop of my building looking east down H St towards downtown DC. You can also see the Washington Monument to the top left of the photo. I've wanted to take this for a while to give it as a gift to a friend so now that I've got a tripod I was finally able to capture it. Not super happy with it but it's a good intro into some long exposures. I'd like a few more cars for light trails, but it just wasn't happening.

Week 45

L - Ahh if you can't have powder, freshly groomed corduroy runs on a bluebird day are the next best thing. We had our first weekend at the snow for the season, we picked a good one. The sun shone and snow was crisp...nice.

R - Found this in an alley a few weeks ago whilst walking Diego, think it's been a while since a dog lived there.

You can see all of the photos we took here.

Year 2 starts next week - 04 October 2010!

Inspiration All Around

2010-09-21T18:31:00.010+10:00

As part of the BYW course mentioned in my previous post, we were set a project to create a mood/inspiration board which both defines our style and what we want our blog to focus on.
I have to say I had an absolute blast doing this and really it came very naturally to me which was kinda exciting. I have never done something like this before, I make lots of things and take lots of photos but never really thought of doing this. Anyway, I jumped straight in and it just all fell together I raided my collection of stationery and odds and ends and the colour palette also just kinda happened. I started with my gocco postcard which is a hint toward my developing print venture. I added in some of my photos from my files, some sketches, some of my favourite stationery from Poppies For Grace my Orla Kiely bedspread, a nod to one of my BIGGEST inspirations, Japanese artist Yashitomo Nara and some travel odds and ends. Oooh and my homemade mini bunting!!

I have received several great comments on Flickr about this photo and it has been really encouraging. It has even helped me make some decisions about what I will be doing with my blog and what sort of thing I plan to cover. More on that soon...watch this space.

Cute as a Button

2010-09-03T22:00:00.005+10:00

Well I am taking a online e-class on blogging called Blogging Your Way, which is run by the Holly Becker creator of one of my faves Decor8. Together with the inspiring Leslie Shewring who is the author of the Colour Me Pretty column and creator of A Creative Mint.
So I thought I might do a little catch up posting while I am in the mood. First off I thought I would post up a video I made for my Mum back in March for UK Mothers Day. I am in Australia and she is still back in my home country of Scotland so the fact I forgot to send a card in time was a little problematic. So I got my thinking cap on and thought of all the options I had to create something digitally...and well after a bit of messing around with ribbons and such like I spotted a BIG bag of buttons I have had for random craft projects...and used a stop motion photography technique to create a fun little short.It was a huge success and brought a tear to her eye apparently. (A tear of joy of course.) Watch with sound if possible cause the song really has to be heard with the motion.

Neverending story print

2009-06-25T20:17:00.005+10:00

I joined up for another swap a month or so ago....see my post below. I finally got going with my prints and got them sent off last week. I was too indecisive (as usual) and I could not decide if it was better as a print or cards so I did both. So those who are in my swap group got both.

Finished Cards

I decided on a repeating theme of the 'one' shape - my take on the theme. I used one screen but I cheated and used two colours. I am kinda happy with how it turned out. I had some issues with ink distribution. I guess that is part of the gocco charm...you are never quite sure how it will turn out and what you do produce has some character. Thats what I say anyway ;-)

Some pics showing my printing/packing process. Oh and I also made some little cards to include in the package stamped with one of my wooden letterpress blocks, like you can see in my blog header. (See the number one peeking through the packages in the pic at the top of the post.

Choosing the all important print colours

All inked up and ready to go

Prints ready to be sent in their little packages.

One-Gocco Swap

2009-05-07T20:59:00.004+10:00

I just read this over on Flickr. Another Gocco swap,fantastic. The theme this time is One. So that is one image, one screen, one colour, one word, how you interpret that is your choice.

A softie at heart!

2009-03-31T21:07:00.004+11:00

I finished my first softie the other day and I am pretty happy with it. I used it as a bit of a project to get myself sewing with my machine and by hand. It was great and very therapeutic. The cute great pattern was courtesy of the wonderful Revoluzza. There is such a great community of bloggers and crafters out there who are willing to share wonderful ideas and tutorials to help the less experienced i.e. me! So thanks to all of them - although not likely that any will be reading this!
Check out the little monster below...

Newly Framed Prints

2009-03-14T21:39:00.005+11:00

First is a gift from my friend Ross...a wonderful print from his artist friend Gregory Ferrand . The second was a gift from my brother and its a print of the University of Glasgow in amoungst the skyline, by the well known printmaker Harry Magee. Its particularly special, I spent 4 wonderful years at Glasgow University.

Left to Right: 1. My Daddy is Somebody - Gregory Ferrand 2. Landmark - Harry Magee

Friday Night Project

2009-03-14T12:11:00.009+11:00

I have been coveting some wonderful Lotta Jansdotter fabric that I bought AGES ago and it all just seemed too pretty to start cutting and sewing. Well I saw the light, why buy wonderful things and keep them hidden away in a drawer. Whilst sewing trousers and patching some other clothes for Shane, I was getting annoyed with having to dig around in the pin box and therefore I decided I will make...a pincushion.

Ok so I know, not very adventurous but you have to start small and work up.I'm happy with how it turned out...oh and the Lotta fabric looks great. Now...what can I make next?

New Projects

2009-01-30T19:57:00.002+11:00

So or should I say sew....(sorry I couldn't resist) I have a new toy and hopefully a whole heap of new projects. After some time spent dithering about which one to buy, I finally bought my first sewing machine! I also picked up a copy of Lotta Jansdotter's 'Simple Sewing' what a fantastic book. I know its probably old news but I wanted to wait till I had my own machine as I knew I would be dying to get stuck into the projects if her printing book was anything to go buy.

Anyway...I have to go I have a project to start!!

Did I hear...another swap!

2008-10-09T21:19:00.012+11:00

This time run buy Lisa from the Bunny Log. The task this time was to make 50+ postcards with no particular theme.
After a few weeks of being sick and not really feeling like printing.I was sitting on the phone at work and doodling on my notepad...and my scribbles turned into an idea and a few days later was being cranked out on the Gocco! Its a really simple clean design and I am quite happy with it.

Scribbles from my notepad!

Oh and I wanted to print the typical postcard printing on the back so a came up with a quick template for the back too.
Check out the pics below of my scribbles and what it all ended up looking like in the end. I do hope me fellow swappers will be happy with my offering. Can't wait to see what rest of the peeps have come up with.

Sketching some ideas...

Work in progress

Drying printed reverse side of postcard

Close up of reverse

The final product...

The day has finally come...

2008-09-24T20:15:00.006+10:00

A big day for me as I finally decided to add some cards to my etsy store..

After many people telling me to do it I finally took the plunge. I am sure that it will take some time to get going but I have a HEAP of ideas just waiting to come to fruition ...watch this space.

My travel diaries which I blogged about already are the next on my list, there will be some different colours and airport codes than what was shown below.

Gocco Swap

2008-08-20T20:56:00.009+10:00

Well...I was in a bit of a panic wondering what I would make for the clothpaperstring - Art of the Note Gocco swap (see post below) and after delving through some of my photos I came up with a few ideas... So here are my 'inspiration' photos and what I ended up with.

Some mail boxes I'm always drawn to when we pass them. I knew this pic would

come in useful one day.

You've Got Mail - Card

Work in Progress..

For the second set i found a photo in my deleted folder and after some photoshop tweaking I actually managed to come up with something to print. I was using some dark grey card which I thought would look good with some silver ink...turned out well I think. This doesn't bode well for my hoarding tendencies as I was going to delete this and look at what I did with it. Now I will keep all my 'bad' photos just incase!!

I think this card has a slightly eerie quality which I love...I am not sure if it would be the same in a different colour combination.

Overall I was pretty happy with the results and I managed to put together a nice set of cards to send off. I do hope my fellow swappers like them.

The finished product!

Not quite Lonely Planet Travel guide but......

2008-08-02T13:56:00.004+10:00

...rather cool nontheless. I just got news recently that one of my photos has been used on Schmap's online Melbourne city guide. It's in the Fitzroy section which the previous link should take you to...scroll through the photos to see mine.

My pic is of a typical eerie doorway in Fitzroy.

Interesting News

2008-07-28T20:57:00.006+10:00

Well... two of my fave bloggers Lara from Kirin Notebook and Bianca from Hollabee along with another friend of theirs Teegs have started a new venture..Ink and Spindle.

Ink and Spindle will be focused on creating a yardage screen printing business, with an environmentally friendly focus. Their aim is to be available to anyone who’s keen to have their own designs printed onto textiles, great news for wannabe fabric designers everywhere.

I look forward to following their porgress on the blog listed above!

Good Luck ladies..!

Gocco Swap!

2008-07-28T20:34:00.004+10:00

So I just got my group today for the Gocco Swap initiated by Sarah @ http://clothpaperstring.typepad.com/. With over 50 people involved, the aim is to split everyone into groups of 10 or so and each group exchange a set of gocco printed notecards! So good...! So in theory I should end up with 9 different notecard sets.

I have to go get working on some ideas, I am fairly new to Gocco, so it gives me an excuse to get creating!

I will be posting my attempts soon.

Travelling Gocco!

2008-07-07T20:38:00.006+10:00

Ok so I wanted to make something special and cool for my brother, who is about to embark on yet another 6 month travel adventure and I decided to combine my love for Gocco and Moleskins and make a set of Travel Diaries for him to take with him.

So this is what I came up with...rather pleased with the result as it was only my second gocco project- the first was a rather rushed 'can't wait to get stuck into it' attempt so I may refer to this as my first.

I save the barcode tags from all the places I have been and I always knew I would have a use for them one day!

2008-07-05T11:35:00.000+10:00

My first post on the new Little Letters blog...! So what is this about, after many years of procrastination I have decided to try and do something with all my crafty ideas. It will take a bit of time and experimentation to get there but it should be a bit of fun along the way. I plan to open an Etsy store at some stage when I come up with some things I think people might buy!

There will be some printing, photography and general craftiness popping up as well as some of my favourite crafty people.