honey design

Poo Bum

2012-01-14T23:31:00.000-08:00

I was dropping of some stock to The Garden Party in Ponsonby today (they sell my cards) and this book caught my eye.

I have a habit of saying poo bum! Especially at work when my computer decides to spontaneously turn off.

The story is about a little rabbit who whenever he is asked a question, he answers very rudely.

In the morning his mother would say,
"Time to get up, my little rabbit!"
He'd reply: "Poo bum!"

At lunchtime his father would say,
"Eat your spinach, my little rabbit!"
He'd reply: "Poo bum!"

Then one day the little rabbit meets a hungry wolf.

Will his potty-mouth get him into trouble? (Yes.)

Will he learn his lesson once and for all? (Perhaps. Read it to find out!)

Would I read it to the youngest nephew who's two and three-quarters? (Probably not.)

Fantail Journal

2012-01-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

Last year (doesn't 2011 already feel like a distant memory) I tried to teach myself a little bit about making jewellery. I decided to make some charms, like this fantail one, to use on journals. I bought all the bits and pieces needed and watched a few youtube tutorials and it all looked easy as pie. How wrong I was!

Firstly, and I know this from previous experiences, the things that pop up to the top of google searches, and also the youtube tutorials that are most watched, do not necessarily give the best advice. So once I'd tried some methods of attaching the image to the charm base and having many problems I bought yet more materials and kept persevering.

And eventually (I think) the method I was using was correct but the problem I had was air bubbles. I still haven't worked out how to solve that little problem. Everything would look great and then the next day when I would check the charms they were ruined by little trapped air bubbles. So I think I learnt that jewellery making is not for me. This fantail journal is the ONLY successful charm I made :)

Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast

2012-01-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Breakfast kiwi summer style: pancakes w fresh berries and champagne. Yum!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! I can't believe it's been a month since I've checked in here. November and December flew past for me. I started a new job and then Felt and the Auckland Art and Craft Fair kept me busy in December. And now I have time for a short and sweet holiday.

Thanks to everyone who has supported Honey Design in 2011. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and here’s to a fabulous year in 2012!

Thinking green

2011-11-26T21:23:00.001-08:00

Two new notebooks with thanks to Kermit and Dr Suess!

Hello

2011-11-14T22:01:00.001-08:00

I've been busy making cards. Here's a few newbies that I will have with me at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair in 4 weeks time.

Chance

2011-11-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

I'm changing jobs in a week and this is my favourite client at my current job. Chance is an Ambassadog for the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust. I will very much miss his visits to the office. On Friday I took some photos of Chance for some promotional things.

Wearing is new black jacket

Opening Doors

And pressing the pedestrian button

The crazy tongue photo

I've been trying to convince my mother (aka Mrs Dolittle) to become a puppy-raiser!

The Takapuna b-sides

2011-10-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I prefer the out-takes better when taking photos, especially when there's a runaway toddler in the mix. These photos are of my six nephews and one and only niece on Takapuna Beach (apart from Rob who is trying to wrangle the kids together in the top two photos), taken by me for my dad's birthday. I did manage to get a good photo in the end.

Run Noah run!

Fun with tea cups

2011-10-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today for my day job I've been designing tea cups for a client! How fun is that. Here is my inspiration board.

The cup shape they've chosen is more retro than vintage, similar to the photo in the middle second from top. I can't wait to see what design they go with.

Postscript: these are the designs they went with

The travel album

2011-10-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

I have catch-up that I need to do with photographing and updating my store. I get so excited when I make something new but if I don't take photos straight away then it falls into the 'must get around to it' category. And lately, I don't get around to it! So here is one newbie. I will definitely make a bigger effort after I finish a few custom orders this week. One of which is for my sister and she's been waiting since August. Bad Lisa!

More fun with world maps.

A perfect travel quote printed on the first page.

Sadly New Zealand ended up tucked under the edge.

"No one needs a holiday so much as the person who has just had one"

2011-10-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday this week and I went on holiday to Uluru.

Two mornings in a row we got up before dawn to watch the sunrise. First over Uluru and the next day over Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). Both mornings were so cold.

We bumped into Happy Feet sitting by a waterhole at the base of Uluru

I ate dinner under the stars at the 'Sounds of Silence' dinner. (I didn't take any photos at dinner, this is from the Ayers Rock Resort website).

Leaving Uluru

Back in Sydney…

The last hotel we stayed in was down an alley with a large inflatable artwork suspended over the entrance. Everyone seemed to be taking photos of the art, so like a sheep, I did too. Don't be fooled into thinking we were slumming it, the hotel was very nice indeed.

It's business time

2011-09-26T01:39:00.000-07:00

Do you like my pencils? I bought these with the plan to have them on my table at We Can Create but they arrived a day too late. They are by Earmark Social Paper Goods and I love them. It also gives me the excuse to post this video for a bit of Monday happiness.

I'm away on holidays tomorrow. Man the stress I've caused myself by planning such a last minute holiday! I must be getting old as I'm only going to Oz. But NRL finals are causing a stress (I'm not going for the league). I hope to be back here soon. I've been making a few things but just haven't taken any photos yet. But yah for daylight saving which means it's still light when I get home.

A recipe book

2011-09-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

This recipe book was request from one of my sisters who has been on holiday in New Zealand for the last few weeks. She's on her long trip back to her other home in Antigua today. It's based on the one that I made for my mother a few months back.

The souvenir teaspoon is from a little vintage goods store in St Kevin's Arcade on K'Rd. I was really happy the day I found it as I'd been looking for a souvenir spoon for my mother's book and couldn't find them anywhere and this one is a Dunedin spoon. Dunedin is where my family is from and also where my sister went to university so it was perfect!

I've been steadily going through my special stash of world maps at the moment. I've been finding it incredibly difficult to feature New Zealand because of its position at the bottom of the world it always seems to be cut-off or hiding on the edge.

But this map worked perfectly. It had New Zealand on the inside front cover and Karen's other home on the Caribbean on the inside back. Yah!

dear blank please blank

2011-08-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm always fond of letterpress. Dear blank, please blank has teamed up with the Sapling Press to make these amusing letterpress cards.

I'm having one of those Wednesdays when you look in the mirror at midday and realise you forgot to put make-up on before leaving for work, scary...

We Can Create

2011-08-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while but I'm heading to market soon. I will be at the Foxes indie-design market on Saturday 27 August 12noon - 6pm at the Aotea Centre.

The market is a side event of We Can Create, New Zealand's biggest art and creative industries showcase. It's being run by The Church who ran Semi-permanent for the last few years. We Can Create is their new, Kiwi-owned venture, SP being Australian owned.

A New York Moment

2011-07-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine left for New York at the weekend for a month (maybe more) holiday. Jealous me? Yes quite a lot actually.

I did plan to make a journal using a New York street map for the cover and also for some of the internal pages, so you would have sections of neighbourhoods to help navigate (maybe). But sadly the map never arrived in the post.

So plan b was a world map in my 'special' paper stash, which I just couldn't bring myself to cut up before now.

It took me ages to make-up the boarding pass and immigration stamp (in photoshop). What was I thinking?

These photos were very hastily taken while it was still work in progress and before it got dark. Another last minute project…

The moose and the owl

2011-07-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to de-stash although some what unsuccessfully. There are some papers in my stash that are destined to stay there forever, the one-offs and favourites that I can't bring myself to use until I have the right project. But I also have a relatively small pile of hardcover notebooks and journals that I had acquired over time but had no use for. So they've been in the 'do something with them one day' pile. And two lucky books have made out of the pile and have been re-invented.

The Moose Notebook

And the Owl Journal

The owl journal started life as a blank A5 visual diary. When I removed the cover it turned out the original journal was really poorly made. Nothing beats a hand-bound book! The pages were glued instead of stitched. As much as a tried to reinforce the spine with a book band and more glue, pages started to fall out. So in the end I made the internal pages again from scratch, stitched this time.

The moose notebook was well made but oh so ugly to start with.

It feels like these took me ages to make but that may be because of the start, stop, start, stop process they went through. Sadly I lost my bone folder midway through making them which still hasn't turned up a week later. It was there one minute and gone the next and my hands were holding gluey paper. I hadn't realised what an essential tool it is and the replacement is plastic (not so fantastic).

Etsy homepage

2011-07-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

I was on the Etsy homepage yesterday! Saturday morning EST which I guess was Saturday afternoon in NZ. Of course I didn't see it live (that would've been very funny) but when I just logged onto Etsy to check on an order I noticed a large number of people had 'favourited' items in my store all at the same time yesterday so I did search and there I am, top left.

Rocky Road

2011-07-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't turning into a cooking blog. I'm off to see Harry Potter with the nephews x 4 and taking this rocky road with me. Instead of finishing the mostly finished books I've been working on. Tomorrow maybe? And now I am really running late...

Honeycomb rocky road
600g milk chocolate
3 x 50g chocolate coated honeycomb (crunchies)
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. Place the honeycomb pieces, marshmallows and coconut in a large bowl. Pour over the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Spoon into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm tin lined with baking paper and refrigerate until set. Cut into triangles to serve.

Recipe by Donna Hay

Happy Week. Happy Feet.

2011-07-07T02:33:00.001-07:00

Did you know that you can watch a live stream of Happy Feet in recovery here? The first time I looked at the live stream Happy Feet was asleep but today when I looked he was awake, doing his calisthenics and talking away (it's a shame there's no audio). I hope he doesn't have to live in that freezer for too much longer.

I took this photo above at the weekend which is on the wall by my local dairy. I think it's a little blue not an emperor penguin. Still cute!

-----
a quick postscript for those of you not in New Zealand... Happy Feet is the nickname of an emperor penguin who swam from Antartica to a beach on the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand. It was too warm for him so he ate sand, mistaking it for snow, to cool down. He was then taken to Wellington Zoo and has under gone three operations to remove the sand from his stomach and is now recoprerating. Hopefully soon they will release him back to the sea.

The Feather Journal

2011-07-03T00:23:00.000-07:00

Another newbie for Sunday.

That's a bronze feather on the front. I keep thinking it's a leaf. The cover is linen and I've made a few journals now using the same material. The linen has the most divine smell. Kinda like sack cloth. Perhaps not everyone's idea of a nice smell but it's good to me!

The Key Journal

2011-06-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like the slowest book maker in the world! I dream that one day I will have more than one or two hand-bound journals listed on my Felt and Etsy stores. But in the meantime here is a new addition.

New Old School Notebooks

2011-06-19T00:17:00.000-07:00

Here are few pics of my new notebooks. And my amusing attempt at using props in the photos. They are all vintage illustrations (and not a deer or bunny in sight).

I've used my favourite stash of recycled paper for the covers. Sadly it has been discontinued and I've been saving the last of the paper I have. It has little flecky bits in the paper which you can see in this butterfly notebook photo.

I'm finding it challenging to get anything photographed at the moment. Monday to Friday are out, it's not bright enough in the morning and completely dark when I get home which leaves me the weekend which also has it's challenges! These photos were taken on the porch in the rain. Still it's the shortest day this week so summer is just around the corner...

Old School Notebooks

2011-06-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some new notebooks and here is a sneak peek. I've been fussing over images, paper stock and even the thread to bind them with but I'm finally happy. I will post some more photos tomorrow. I've been calling them my 'old school notebooks' which really isn't a very catchy title (but may have stuck) and I never had such cool notebooks when I went to school.

Awwww Doggy

2011-06-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Just cos it's Friday and lunchtime. Here is a photo of Wilson doing his best 'can I share your lunch' look.

Book Plate Download

2011-05-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling organised after two weeks of catch up. So today I have a free download. I was asked if I made book stickers about a year ago. I think it might have been the March Craft 2.0. So here are some... finally. They don't need to be printed onto stickers, a more cost effective method is to print them onto paper or card and glue them. You could also use photo corners or photo stickers to attach them.

Download the PDF here.

Autumn

2011-05-20T02:26:00.000-07:00

Noah and his Nana going to look at the 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 sheep (because that's how a 2 year-old counts)

Well Autumn is definitely here this week, brrrrr. This was taken last week when the family went for brunch at Cornwall Park Restaurant for Mother's Day. This is just outside the restaurant. It has to be one of the most beautiful locations for a restaurant in Auckland.

My Felt shop is taking a break until the end of May while I catch up on a number of orders. And I've nearly caught up which is a good feeling :)

“Life itself is the proper binge.” ~ Julia Child

2011-05-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

This was a special request from my mother. She liked the recipe book I posted here and asked for a similar one. The request was a little late in arriving so it was a rush to get it ready in time for Mother's Day. There were a few things I would've changed, time allowing, but overall I'm very happy with it.

“Learn to cook – try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless,

and above all have fun.”
~ Julia Child (My Life in France)

One park bench, one day

2011-05-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

8.30am, Thursday 5 May 2011

1.00pm, Thursday 5 May 2011

5.30pm, Thursday 5 May 2011

These photos taken at St Heliers today show the amazing disappearing (or maybe appearing) Rangitoto. I think today is the first foggy day of the year(?), the first one I can remember anyway. It's often foggy at home in winter but it doesn't normally follow me all the way to work. Crazy Auckland and it's crazy weather this week.

Yes I am still alive. Just busy working and sick mother, sick cat, then sick me. I hate that winter is nearly here especially the dark. I wish we had daylight saving all year round. Promise to be back soon.

Comic Sans – a World of Creative Possibilites

2011-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't the world be a boring place if we all were carbon copies of each other with the same likes and dislikes. I have previously mentioned that I'm not fond of the font Comic Sans but I understand that a lot of people are. This very limited edition of 1/1 notebook is for my sister who send me the note below :)

Weekend albums

2011-03-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is what I got up to for my weekend (well not the whole weekend but a good slice of it). That's a pile of 5 photo albums and I have another 5 to make this coming weekend.

The albums are a custom order and are a different size than I normally make and I bound them differently. I've been making albums for years now so it's good doing things differently now and then, it gives my brain a bit of a work-out rather than being in auto-pilot mode.

I'm using slotted screws now, instead of the screws with a coin edge. I'm sure that is probably a boring detail to most people but I was really excited when I bought these screws!

The paper is folded inwards along the spine so there is a spacer between each page. This stops the album from bulging when it is filled with photos. I've always used spacers but I've never tried folding the paper before. I like the clean edge you get but it's time consuming and I like the other method I use also. I think I'll mix and match which method I use from now on. Happy Wednesday!

Trinity Roots - Home, Land & Sea

2011-03-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

I had a bit of a stressful day today and this made me feel better so thought I'd share.

I've just bought the live version of Home, Land and Sea. There live album has been getting a lot of air play this week thanks to a phenomenal live performance at Womad last weekend. Not that I was there but a number of dj's have been raving. It makes me feel proud to be a kiwi.

The 'X' Typewriter Journal

2011-03-22T01:43:00.002-07:00

A new journal for Tuesday. Chocolate brown vegan suede cover with a typewriter key on the front.

Walking around

2011-03-17T01:52:00.000-07:00

It feels like the world has gone mad and that's made me feel melancholy and not like talking, blogging or making things. So this week I've been walking. I work in Saint Heliers Bay which really is a beautiful part of Auckland.

I grew up on the North Shore of Auckland and when I first started working in St Heliers I found the view of Rangitoto so strange. It looks so close that you could swim there. The view from the North Shore, that I grew up with is very different, much farther away and the view of the crater is a more classical volcano shape.

I only sometimes walk along Tamaki Drive after work. I think the thing that bothers me is having to walk in a line and then turning around and walking back again along the same route. I prefer a circuit!

But it's a gorgeous walk along the waterfront. The light is so bright and low in the sky after work at the moment.

Tonight I took Wilson out for a walk, not so peaceful I discovered. Of course he wanted to make friends with every dog we came across. And most mistook his teenage enthusiasm as a threat. He dragged me all the way to the beach and then I had to drag him up the hill home.

Solvitur ambulando (To solve a problem, walk around) ~ St. Jerome

A Recipe Journal

2011-02-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

I've been busy for the last several weeks working on a variety of custom orders. I'm feeling guilty for not updating my shop in a long time but I hope I will get back to it soon.

This is one of the commisions. It's a recipe book which is something I've been wanting to make for a long time so I was very happy to get a request for one. It was a present for a man so the brief was 'something manly'. It's my very first vegan leather journal. I can hear my mother saying "Lisa all cows are vegan!" but this leather isn't from a cow at all or any animal for that matter :)

I love the torn pages.

Torn pages are something I used to do with my photo albums many years ago and then I decided I liked a clean sharp edge to the paper. So I guess I've gone full circle and the circle has taken about 15 years.

****

I really couldn't find the words to write here last week. My heart goes out to everyone in Christchurch and all those effected by the earthquake.

The Bread and Butter Letter update

2011-02-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

I dropped off some more notebooks to The Bread and Butter Letter yesterday. There are lots of lovely things to be tempted by in store and for me especially, lots of gorgeous handmade paper products.

These photos are from The Bread and Butter Letter's blog.

Life is too short to be small

2011-02-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

Fun (or is it terror) with bubbles at Noah's 2nd Birthday Party on Saturday

I bought an electric paper drill at the weekend which is something I've wanted for ages. I expected to be so excited when I picked it up but when I saw it all I thought was how ugly it was! I live in a villa that has virtually no storage. I have no idea were am I going to hide this (it's big) so I can use it when I need to but I don't have to look at on a daily basis. At the moment it is sitting abandoned in the hallway and even my cat walks past it with consternation.

Doesn't Felt look all nice, bright and shiny new!

Wilson smiles on the inside

2011-02-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

I am very lucky to have a dog at my day job. He is always happy to see you in the morning and doubly so if it's Monday and he hasn't seen you in days. If you go away for a week (Melbounre) or more than a week (Christmas) he whimpers with joy to see you!

Brunswick Street

2011-02-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

I'm back from Melbourne and day dreaming about moving there. I'm not sure if I'd cope with the crazy Melbourne weather, it was 40ºC on Monday!

For someone who loves photography I'm not and never will be snap happy. Especially when I'm on holiday or traveling, it just takes you out of the moment. Sometimes when I feel I should record but don't really want to I just snap and hope, sometimes without looking through the view finder. Here are a few snaps from my favourite Brunswick Street in Fitzroy.

Zetta Florence is a store I first came across several years back. It is filled with beautiful paper, cards, notebooks, journals, portfolios and so much more than you will see on their website. Perfect for someone like me who loves paper and things made from paper.

A few doors down from Zetta Florence is Kami (meaning paper in Japanese), also a lovely paper store but a little pricey. The japanese paper was beautiful but $25 a sheet.

Other Brunswick Street highlights were Wilkins and Kent at 230 Brunswick Street which sells furniture (a bit hard to ship home) and lots of gorgeous homewares. T2 at 340 Brunswick Street for everything tea related; teapots, infusers, cups and saucers and boxes full of yummy tea to take home.

And lastly to Little Creatures Dining Hall for lunch if you don't mind a bit of noise while you eat.

We had a short time to explore Fitzroy. It definitely has a nice vibe. Nearby Smith Street is on the list for my next visit to Melbourne. And Ok Ok, which I thought was in Brunswick Street but is in Sydney Road in Brunswick, for some Melissa Shoes.

P.S. I didn't know about Smith Street until I came across this article when I got back to NZ, saying Brunswick Street is so 2008!

The Wilderness Downtown

2011-01-25T00:55:00.000-08:00

I'm completely in love with this website just the kind of inspiration I need on a Tuesday that's actually my Friday since I'm off to Melbourne for a few days with some tennis loving folk!

P.S. there's more after the postcard so be patient.

Bunny Diary

2011-01-18T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is my diary (or day planner) for 2011. I did have plans to make a number of diaries last year but it was one of those jobs that I started and never got around to finishing. Partially because I use to have a job that involved creating calendars and diaries every year (typesetting the internal pages) and those are days that I'd rather not remember! So this is the only diary that I typeset, printed and hand bound.

My diary from last year is covered in coffee stains and the inside pages are swollen from being in my bag with a leaking water bottle so I knew this one had to be more robust thus the black book cloth for the cover which will hide stains but is also wipeable!

The bunny image is a postcard by Hunter Gatherer that I bought from the Auckland Art and Craft Fair in December. I'd already chosen the image before I realised that 2011 was the Year of the Rabbit.

I didn't want to cut the postcard so I cut a window in the cover and attached the image to the first page.

I really love the result and I keep positioning it at the end of my desk hoping it gets an admiring glance from someone but no comments yet...

The Bread and Butter Letter

2011-01-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

The Bread and Butter Letter is a new vintage clothing store opening next Wednesday in Auckland. It will also be selling a selection of New Zealand crafty goodness. I do plan to have some of my books and things for sale if I could just stop enjoying it being summer holiday time (I'm actually back at my day job but Auckland still has a very holiday feel with only some of us lucky people back at work). So if you are in Auckland pop in for a look and a cup of tea. The Bread and Butter Letter is open Wednesday to Saturday at 66 New North Road.

I discovered that a bread and butter letter is “A short, hand-written communication to thank someone who has recently provided you with hospitality, usually dinner or an overnight visit.” Don't you just love getting a real letter in the post.

The New Year Peacock Journal

2011-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! This is my first journal for 2011.

People seem to be drifting back in to town from their holidays. I have another week before I go back to work. I'm trying to organise my crafting area to start the year with a bit more order. I still have a way to go. I'm sure the more storage I get the more things I store!

Franklin Road

2010-12-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

A few snaps from Franklin and Ponsonby Roads last night. Every year the residents of Franklin Road in Auckland's Freeman's Bay pull out all the stops, putting on a spectacular lightshow.

Merry Christmas! Back in the new year.

Birds of a feather

2010-12-15T01:25:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited that two of my journals were featured in Viva today! I know that Viva will mean nothing to anyone who doesn't live in Auckland but Viva is a design/foodie magazine published in the New Zealand Herald on Wednesdays.

Auckland Art and Craft Fair

2010-12-09T22:42:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the Auckland Art and Craft Fair at the Aotea Centre in Auckland and it's the last fair for me this year. I've been sick so productivity has been slow! But I'm pleased to have the summer cold over and done with before holiday time. Here are a few new things I'll be taking along tomorrow...

Hase mit Hörnern

Meet the Gasser Journal

And this one has finally made it out of the nearly made pile.

Winter blues

2010-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

A few Etsy treasuries that have featured my photo albums in the last couple of weeks, all blue and wintery.

Summer reds

2010-12-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

Summer is here and I needed an excuse to post a photo of these delicious strawberries. I'm sure they had been injected with growth hormone they were so large! I'm soooo looking forward to holiday time and feeling lucky that there's no need for Winter blues.

Congratulations to Emma from Freedom Creative who won my giveaway. Yah!

Work in progress

2010-11-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

I've been really busy with orders and enquiries about this and that for the last couple of weeks. And I've also been working on some new covers that I've been really trying to finish but they are still work in progress. Well two are finished and two are still waiting. So here's a sneak peek.

There seems to be a bird and deer theme happening which wasn't really a conscious thing but birds and deer do seem to have featured on my photo album covers for a while now.

Sunday icks

2010-11-21T01:19:00.000-08:00

Today Noah taught me a new word - ick. Ick refers to biscuits (he has one in his hand in this photo) or cakes. And normally according to his mother ick is followed by nana as in "ick, nana". Because his nana is a baker of cakes and biscuits :)

I was trying to take a photo with Pinnonchio but I wasn't quick enough, he was off to explore something else.

Marmals and a giveaway!

2010-11-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I had my 100th sale on Felt so to celebrate I'm going to give something away, I'm not sure what but an album or a journal. To be in the running just leave a comment here or email me, there's a link to my email on the profile page. And I'll leave the Great Honey Design Giveaway open until the the end of November to give people time to pop by here.

I have a funny story to tell from Craft 2.0. A boy of about 10 or 11 bowled up to my table and said "you know how when life gives you a lemon you make lemonade. If life gives you a marmal do you make marmalade?" I wasn't quick witted enough to think of a response, I'll blame that on the 5am start, so I asked what a marmal was. To which he answered (this may not be verbatim) "a small woodland creature similar to an elf." Mmmmm. So the answer was no from me, being a vegetarian and all I would not make marmalade. I did wonder if the boy was going from table to table asking the same thing or whether I was *special*.

Halloween

2010-11-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we gathered at my sister's house to celebrate my nephew Liam's birthday. Their neighbours transform their house into a haunted house for Halloween complete with a graveyard on the front lawn, evil looking clowns to greet you at the door, smoke bubble blowing vampires, screaming hands and a very scary child with a revolving head and glowing eyes.

Ollie wasn't very happy to pose by the clown

The trick or treaters returning from the Haunted House.

I love this photo of Liam knocking on the door. His hood cast a sinister shadow.

Weekend journals

2010-10-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

These soft cover linen journals are the last thing I made during the weekend and therefore my favourites! I have been playing around with this style of journal for a while and have had a few teething problems like cutting the fabric the wrong size, buying faux 'gator' leather that was soooo ugly when it arrived in the post (since I don't use leather and wanted to make vegan leather journals, really I should post a photo it was that awful). But I'm really happy with how these turned out.

And how cute are my owl bookends?

I have a habit of buying really heavy upholstery fabric which is near impossible to wrap around cardboard for hardcover journals, so I was really happy to be able to choose the thickest linen fabric I could find to make these.

The paper is hand torn.

And I've left the edges of the fabric natural and frayed. The cotton ties are tea stained.

The Return of the Brain

2010-10-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

Yah for long weekends! Lots to get done in time for next Saturday's Craft 2.0 and I will be cutting, sticking, folding, punching and sewing my way through the weekend.

Just finished this journal. It's the second comic journal I've made and I bought a bunch more vintage comics this week.

love u long time

2010-10-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

Today I had designers block at work and flicking through the latest Communication Arts Design Annual I came across these ads for the Dragon Noodle Co. in Las Vegas. It wasn't quite the creative help I was looking for but made me laugh to think of me hoisting my feast pants! It also reminded me of monsoon poon.

Advertising Agency: David&Goliath, Los Angeles, USA
Executive Creative Director: Colin Jeffery
Chief Creative Officer: David Angelo
Creative Director / Art Director: John Kieselhorst
Copywriter: Greg Szmurlo

“So many books, so little time.” Frank Zappa

2010-10-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

My Monday inspiration is from the The Shop House. I found this bookmobile thanks to the wonderful ever changing Etsy homepage which is always a source of inspiration.

I'm recovering from an exceptionally busy week that was all about work, work, work. I was holding the fort while the big kids were on holiday. Sunday's attempts at bookmaking ended up in the recycling bin. Just too tired to enjoy crafting and the rainy, windy weather didn't help. So I packed everything away and headed out to Bellota to celebrate my mothers birthday. It was hard work finding anything open on a Sunday night (yes really!) but Bellota didn't disappoint, yummy tapas, vino and a cosy little hideaway to enjoy them.

Tea staining

2010-10-04T01:41:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic Birthday weekend starting on Friday night (Birthday eves are on the up according to the Sunday Star yesterday) and I managed to continue the Birthday celebrations until Sunday. I didn't receive anything from my Birthday hints list as the present buyers do not read my blog regularly! I politely suggested they might like to before Christmas arrives.

Yesterday I tea stained some paper, this photo was taken at 6pm, don't you love daylight saving. I've never stained paper before. I brewed a very strong pot of French Earl Grey but was worried that the staining would be too light. You really couldn't tell until the paper was dry but it worked perfectly. My technique was a little haphazard as I wanted to have some drip marks and even drizzled extra tea on the pages while they were pegged on the line to dry. So I now have a pile of tea stained paper to add to my list of partially made books. I am trying to get organised for Craft 2.0 at the end of October which will be hear in a flash I'm sure.

Birthday hints – part 2

2010-09-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Less than a week to go. I'm stoked that I got asked how old I was buying wine on Friday! I was so shocked that I accidentally rounded up my age.

Typewriter Key Ring by Misst

Custom brooch by Devon Smith

mini teardrop candles by Rose in Thorns

Hasu pants from we'ar

Scrabble Tile Pendant by Freedom Creative

These are a few of my favourite things

2010-09-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

It's my Birthday soon…

Big octopus with a pearl by Exter

Two Fatty Birds - Wall Decal by Vinyl Wall design

Sheep profile by Sharon Montrose

Would have to do a series of these animal prints I think!

Lily bag in blue by KathrynBloom

Sleep is soooo for babies

2010-09-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

So it was party central at my house on Saturday night. I was looking after Noah and he really didn't feel the need to go to bed now he's all grown up and all! He found this hat and with no coercion from me was walking about with it on his head. Every time I went to take a photo he swiftly removed the hat. Too funny!

Felt Aid

2010-09-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

In the wake of the recent devastating Earthquake in Christchurch a number of Crafty minded entrepreneurs on Felt felt that we would like to help out in some way - Felt Aid and the accompanying blog Felt...like helping out is the result! Felt Aid is a store on Felt where donated items are for sale – the proceeds of which will be donated to the rebuilding and clean-up of Christchurch. So head over to the store and get shopping!

Taking time out to eat more fresh vegies

2010-09-01T00:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a bad vegetarian and haven't been eating enough vegies lately. So I've been taking a break from books to have more time to cook and eat fresh (not frozen, canned or freeze-dried!) vegies and I am feeling much better for it. Thankfully I live very near to Harvest Wholefoods so if I don't have time to cook I can pick up a yummy meal from Kokako. Their eggplant parmigiana is to die for.

Today I came across this guide to Auckland on Design*Sponge. I've been reading Design*Sponge for a few years but hadn't popped by there for a while. The Auckland guide is a great read. It's has a lot of my favourites and some I haven't discovered yet like Freddino Café which is very close to my work and I have never noticed. And if Auckland doesn't interest you then they have guides for Christchurch and Wellington also.

Extra Curricular

2010-08-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

My kokako journal is in the new edition of the fantastic little magazine Extra Curricular. Thanks to Miss Ellie May for including me! Now back to my cup of tea…

The Poi Room

2010-08-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

I’m pleased to announce the newest stockist of my books today, The Poi Room in Newmarket. The Poi Room is one of my fav stores so I'm very happy to have my journals amongst the wonderful selection of New Zealand art and design.

The Poi Room – 17 Osborne Street, Newmarket, Auckland

More Wilson

2010-07-31T00:35:00.000-07:00

I have had such a busy week work wise I came straight home and went to bed on Friday. The Big Kids were away which left me holding the fort. It's a very small company. The up side was me and Wilson became besties. He's had a hair cut so you can see he has eyes now. The photo on the right is him running full tilt at me with his squeaky Teddy, too cute.

Oh, the thinks you can think up...

2010-07-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

These are some new notebooks I made last week. I love quotes so any excuse to use them. The quote top right is by Adam Savage and bottom right Dr Suess. I think that's from Cat in the Hat? The other two were just where my mind was at last week.

I'm no longer stitching the notebooks on my sewing machine, these are hand stitched. My poor sewing machine was protesting about stitching paper and card. The tension seems to be permanently out now so I'm going to have to get it repaired.

Saturday at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair was great! I really really wanted to buy some art but didn't. I was rushing around having a quick look while my friend Natalie watched my table and I just couldn't decide quickly. People congestion didn't help either.

An album, a journal and Polly

2010-07-18T00:45:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely day today. The sun shone. I had brunch at Richmond Road Café. I made it to the gym to burn off the calories I consumed ( I hope) and I had time to make things. Here are a few things I've been working on this weekend.

I've been working on incorporating photography onto the covers of my albums for a while but I've been having problems with the images cracking and flaking on the edges. So now I'm using a rather obnoxious smelling fixative but it seems to be working.

The cover of this journal is made from an 1975 comic. I have a real difficulty in cutting up books to re-use or up-cycle. I have some books that are completely falling apart that the only kind thing to do would be to reinvent them but I can't bring myself to do it! So I figure pulling apart and cutting up this comic may ease me into tackling some of the books soon.

And this is Polly. I made Polly last weekend for my sister's birthday. The pattern is from my much loved 'Softies' book and is by Carly Schwerdt at Nest Studio. My sister never got Polly because I decided she was odd looking. The Polly in the book is very retro chic but the jury is still out on my version.

Mister Wilson Hunter

2010-07-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

When it just seems so wrong to have to get out of bed and go to work on such a ghastly rainy winter Monday morning I have this little guy (aka Wilson) waiting at work to bring a smile to my face. Too cute. And getting bigger and hairier every day.

This is my latest weekend creation. I'd wanted to make some soft cover wrap around journals for a while. I had seen some that I really liked that just had raw edges (this owl journal is stitched) so I tried that method but really didn't like the edges, it didn't look finished. I'd also read how you could use fusible interfacing to adhere the cover fabric and inside fabric so I also tried that and it was a complete failure! The interfacing peeled off on places. So two prototypes down and I had to have an afternoon cat nap to gather my thoughts and feel a little annoyed with my failures... I then re-grouped and had success with version three. Phew! The cover is sewn on the sewing machine and the internal pages are hand stitched onto the cover. I think I will stick to what I know until after the Auckland Art and Craft Fair or I will have nothing to sell. Anyone interested in a very limited edition Owl journal?

Not my type

2010-06-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've checked in here. I've been enjoying a break from book making after Craft 2.0, the preparation for which was too much. Craft 2.0 was very busy with a huge number of people but for me it was not as successful as the March Fair. So sadly I had to bring things back to Auckland and I had a number of book causalities as a result. I had wrapped everything so carefully but not baggage handler proof!

I have ordered some supplies from Etsy so I'm looking forward to those arriving. I do feel guilty about my carbon footprint and ordering supplies from far away but I just couldn't find what I was looking for in NZ.

These t-shirts by Carolin Nagel made me smile today. They are called 'not my type'. Comic Sans has to be one of my most hated fonts. I'm not a lover of Arial or Times New Roman but I definetely feel a stronger dislike of Comic Sans. Reminds me when I was a newbie graphic designer and clients would ask for Comic Sans. It's ugly there is no excuse for it. My sister Michelle is a comic sans user. Maybe if she reads this she will desist. Or maybe I will need a hoddie as a gentle reminder :). The Arial t-shirt is written in Helvetica, Times New Roman uses The Antiqua and Comic Sans uses Dave Gibbons instead, just in case you think it doesn't look that bad.

My dreams are so boring

2010-06-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

With Craft 2.0 less than a week away I'm spending my long weekend making books. I don't much like making books when it's raining. The paper expands, you can't see it or feel it but things like brass screws no longer fit!

With Craft 2.0 and then the Auckland Art and Craft Fair coming up my dreams have become very craft related. I dreamed this week that I was in Paris in my favourite store (apparently) with my nephew Jamie and I bought one plastic dinosaur and fifteen pet rocks. One pet rock would be one to many I think. Then I had a dream about the most amazing seminar I went to on felt. Felt as in made from wool not the fabulous online store. Bla bla bla Lisa your dreams are so boring…

The illustration is by Claire Murray is an illustrator who runs a website (and writes books) called The Joy Of Hate.

The Workroom

2010-06-01T00:35:00.000-07:00

The fabulous Workroom is now stocking my journals and notebooks. The Workroom design and make furniture with a focus on sustainability and ecological practice. You can visit there store at 37 Main (Papakura/Clevedon) Road, Clevedon. Check out their blog here.

Vintage NZ linen journals

2010-05-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

I've been working on these two journals at the weekend. I did make the job difficult for myself. I really wanted to use a natural linen as the cover fabric so I went to the lovely Martha's to pick some up. But since Martha's specialise in upholstery fabric the linen I bought was really thick. And I do love the heaviness of upholstery fabric but it's probably not the best choice for making books as it's really difficult to turn over at the corners! I still need to stitch these two. At the moment they are adding to the mess of half made books lying about the house. The cover images are vintage New Zealand posters.

Antigua, Guatemela

2010-05-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

The last stop on my dad's trip is Antigua, Guatemala. Not to be confused with Antigua the island in the Caribbean. My sister Karen lives in Antigua in the Caribbean and my father who has tagged along with a friend of his on this trip mixed up the two Antigua's. Enough said as I think he wouldn't like me to put that in writing :)

My butterfly vase

2010-05-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

I had a swap with The Busy Finch and this gorgeous blue butterfly vase arrived this week. And I love it!

I had a look around the garden for some small flowers to put in it but didn't find anything. The garden is all green and leafy with nothing in flower. I nearly leaned over the fence to pick some flowers in the neighbours garden but changed my mind when I saw they were home...

Nicaragua

2010-05-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Days 15 and 16 of my father's trip – Granada, Léon and Managua in Nicaragua.

Granada

Léon

Managua

Searching on Flickr for photos of Managua and a lot of images are of children who live at the rubbish dump and others of men with machine guns. I bet he's missing the lazy boy, big screen tv and Sky Sport… Next stop the Bay Islands, Honduras.

Costa Rica

2010-05-09T00:21:00.000-07:00

An indulgent look at where my dad is on his Trip. He's currently in Costa Rica staying in a hotel on the mountainside of the active Arenal Volcano.

And he'll also be visiting the nearby Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. I hope he doesn't attempt the swing bridge! Next stop Nicaragua.

P.S. These photos are not taken by my father. He is fairly technologically challenged and doesn't to my knowledge own a digital camera. And much do his disappointment his mobile isn't working. Another strike for the XT network...

Red is the ultimate cure for sadness

2010-05-04T01:13:00.000-07:00

A new addition to my Felt store. A coptic stitched skull journal.

Only my cat understands me

2010-05-02T01:49:00.000-07:00

I bought myself this coaster from Iko Iko yesterday. It's not true, my cat does not understand me. He is the ultimate hunter/carnivore and I'm a herbivore by choice. I don't think he understands why I'm never happy with the 'presents' he brings inside the house that he left them (yes, more than one) on the lawn last week instead... Still it made me smile (the coaster not the presents) as I do completely dote on my cat and beats the CD cover I have been using as a coaster.

Fancy?

2010-04-29T00:29:00.000-07:00

Jess over at Bam Bam Creative spotted me on the very groovy New Zealand Design Blog. Which probably explains why I've had a number of enquiries about the journals featured this week. I'm always flattered when people feature my books, it still amazes me that people like what I do and even want to pay me for it! You can read the post here :)

Via Panama the shortest route to London

2010-04-26T02:28:00.000-07:00

When I found the vintage poster used on the cover of this journal it struck me as hilarious that in the not so distant past the shortest way to get to London was via Panama! It also caught my eye because my dad was planning a trip to Central America visiting Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Well, today he headed off on his adventure and should just about have reached Easter Island for the first few days of the trip. I hope he has a great (and safe) trip. It's not his usual choice of holiday which generally involves eating and drinking not jungles and leeches.

Auckland Art & Craft Fair

2010-04-25T02:04:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited by this! Kylie and Jess over at the Auckland Craft Collective have been busy organising a Art and Craft Fair, as you can see from the poster. I hope to be there in July.

I've been sewing today which I've really enjoyed. I did have some photo albums that I needed to make for an order but I forgot that a lot of shops were closed today for Anzac Day and I needed supplies... So since I had free time (yah!) I made a skirt. I never get around to sewing and I'm by no means a good sewer (maybe if I had more practice) but I do enjoy it, apart from zips... I would've posted a pic but it got dark so early and I had taking photos with flash. So a photo might have to wait until next weekend (sigh).

Crafternoon Tea this Saturday

2010-04-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

I'll be at Crafternon Tea this Saturday 17th of April, from 10am-3pm at the Trinity Methodist Church, Kingsland. See you there!

Time for a cuppa

2010-04-11T00:32:00.000-07:00

I've been busy this weekend designing. Graphic design is my day job and I had a few jobs to do, one for a client and one for my sister's mosaic business. I haven't been able to post my handy work on her blog as I can't work out how to add a PDF? She has been very patient as it's been with me for weeks. Anyways since I've had no time to make anything to show I thought I'd take a pic of my favourite thing this weekend – tea from the Tea Lady. The Easter Bunny made a very late delivery to my house yesterday and the Easter Bunny's helper gave me this tea. French Earl Grey is my favourite, yum! The Tea Lady is in Birkenhead Point and had been closed for a while but has re-opened. So if you fancy a nice cuppa tea and something sweet I definitely recommend it.

Felt like Good Friday

2010-04-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

I headed over to the Craft 2.0 blog yesterday to check out the new site and there I was featured on 'Felt like Friday'. So thanks to the lovely Marjorie of Whskr for choosing my White Rabbit Journal. And yes I'm heading back to Wellington for the June Craft 2.0. Yah!

Things are quiet at Honey Design Central. With everyone out of town for the long weekend I've been busy catching up on things, eating chocolate and making stock as my book cupboard was almost empty. And now that I'm back to regular 8.30 to 5 hours during the week it leaves less time for book making. What I really need to purchase, since daylight saving ends today, is a good desk lamp as the lighting over my work area is terrible. Well I'd better get back to it...

More weddingness

2010-03-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

These two were a commission, a matching wedding photo album and guest book. The wedding was on Saturday in Perth. The challenge was that they needed to be A4 in size but the paper only comes in small sheets so to extend them I used the reverse of the paper for the spine. The problem was that I constantly glued the wrong side of the paper when making the spine as I had to glue over the bird pattern and my brain kept telling me to glue the blue side and not the birds. But a few sheets of wasted paper later it all worked out ;)

I love the Cut Collective

2010-03-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered the cut collective who are an Auckland based art collective. I've photographed over the last year some of the artworks that are in my local area (not all of the photos in this collage are mine) but it wasn't until they collaborated with Tiger Beer on artwork for the Link buses last year that I found out that they were from the same collective.

Today I discovered Endemic World are selling artworks and tea towels from the cut collective. I recently saw 'false hope' on a wall outside my local dairy. The beautiful bird artworks are by Flox.

Mrs Ross

2010-03-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my friend Natalie's wedding. I thought I'd share one pic I took. She looks like she is sneaking up the side of the aisle shyly but this was taken after the ceremony when the photographer had called her to the front so the photos could begin. Natalie's watching her feet so she doesn't stand on her dress. I feel I need to explain as my sister Nicola will think it's another of my 'sad' photos but I think its beautiful!

I have a cold that started on Thursday (I can't believe it's my second one this year and cold season hasn't even begun) so was feeling a bit sorry for myself at the wedding... But better today, just full of snot!

Curious wrapping

2010-03-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

I'm so into making the most of my paper stash, finding a use for the smaller bits of paper and cardboard. Also when something doesn't go to plan I would in the past throw things away in a huff! Wrapped up in the parcel is one of my Alice journals that sold the other day on Felt. It was a present so I wrapped it up in some "curouiser and curiouser" paper. The paper is a back cover to a journal which didn't have a matching front (I suspect something must've gone wrong with the front but can't remember). So it is now out of my messy pile(s) of paper and re-invented as wrapping paper. I thought it looked lovely so took a photo :)

Pantone For Nails

2010-03-14T00:20:00.000-08:00

This is for all the graphic designer crafty types out there. I can't help but think my favourite Pantone colours wouldn't translate well to nail polish. Cool Grey 7? Maybe if it's a fancy dress party and you're going as a corpse...

But really this is an excuse to say that I went to 'Alice in Wonderland' this afternoon, with a trio of nephews and their Nan, aka my mum. I know a number of people have had negative things to say about it but what was not to like? It was a feast for the senses. I didn't realise how much the story deviated into "Through the Looking Glass'' but I very much enjoyed it!

Where's Wally?

2010-03-12T13:43:00.001-08:00

This the only proof that I was indeed at Craft 2.0 a week ago today. And no that's not my stand or me handing over the paper bag. That's Ruby in the Dust's beautiful stand, which was just next to mine. If you look just above the paper bag you can see my head. I look like I've got funny grin on my face but I think it's just the curve of the man's hand. Funny :). You can see some of the other photos from Craft 2.0 here. I don't think I'm hiding in any of them...

Craft 2.0

2010-03-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I flew down to Wellington for Craft 2.0. It was a busy day following a busy week (jury service Monday-Thursday and fitting in preparations for Craft 2.0). I flew down at 7.10am and back at 6.40pm. It was my first Craft 2.0 so I have nothing to compare it to but there was much talk about it being quieter than normal. If that was quiet I'd love to see it when it's busy... I had a fantastic day. The quality of the other stalls was amazing and lots of lovely people. It was great when people said they had bought something of me on Felt. Wellingtonians have always been fantastic customers for me on Felt so it really cemented in my mind what a cool crowd they are in the Capital. The only down-side was that I was soooo tired. I felt like I was at that point when you're so tired you can't string your sentences together properly*. Hopefully I managed to some of the time.

Since you always love the last thing you made here is a photo of the last thing I made.

*Actually I always have trouble with sentence construction so it was a double whammy being tired as well.

Wedding Guest Book

2010-02-27T23:24:00.001-08:00

I've have had a few requests for wedding guest books in the last few weeks. I made this one last week. The bride was a graphic designer so the guest book was based on her wedding invitation design.

I have jury duty this week. Fingers crossed I don't get picked tomorrow. I'm busy making things for Craft 2.0 on Saturday. I'd really like to fly down to Wellington on Friday but because I don't know whether I can because of jury service I haven't booked my flights! Never fear I will get there...

100 Percent Kiwi

2010-02-26T00:21:00.000-08:00

My kokako journal featured in this lovely collection of kiwiness on Etsy. Bibliographia one of my favourite sellers to gush over on Felt is also featured with a gorgeous kereru print.

Vintage Poster Coptic Journals

2010-02-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

I made these coptic-bound journals on Friday. The covers are made from a digital print of vintage posters as I needed to shrink them down to fit. My mum popped in to Crafternoon Tea yesterday and told me a very cute story about how she used to go to Reilly's with her mum when she was growing up in Dunedin. They used to buy a box of apples (or whatever else was in season) after the auctions had finished. She can't remember how they used to get the case home as they didn't have a car. Too cute!

Someone asked me yesterday if I taught book binding and since I don't I thought I'd share the best online tutorial I've found for coptic binding, it's by Volcano Arts. It uses the multiple needle technique which is way better than the single needle technique which I posted here. You can see in the bottom photo I was having a caffeine-free moment! The multiple needle method of coptic binding used PAIRS of needles, which means the chains stitches are also in PAIRS, 2, 4, 6, etc... For this one I decided I'd like three holes, which isn't a pair is it? I went to sew it together and realised I'd ruined the whole journal. So sadly this one is heading for the bin. But I will be making some more and I have some other posters as well. I will have the new batch ready for Craft 2.0 which is coming up too fast.

Tomorrow I'm starting a course called "Creative Futures". It's two days a weeks for seven weeks and it's about developing careers in the visual arts. I'm really looking forward to it. It's a mixture of talks by working artists, designers etc and practical aspects of running your own business. And with Wednesdays and Thursdays being my regular days as Noah's other mother my weeks are filling up fast.

Crafty Creations

2010-02-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I helped my sister Michelle set-up a blog for her new business Crafty Creations. As if she's not busy enough being mum to four boys she's freed up some time from her job and is spending the afternoons mosaicing. They're just about to start building a garden studio and Michelle plans to run classes when it's completed.

Pop! goes the weasel

2010-02-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling better today with more food in my belly. I still haven't sorted out my little book cover mistake from yesterday. I've been all over Auckland and haven't been able to find any more of the same paper. Big bummer! So I'm onto Plan B... I'm busy filling orders at the moment so haven't had time to make anything new to show so I thought I'd gush over someone else's work. I love this letterpress poster by Richard Ardagh of Elephant's Graveyard. Pop goes the weasel is one odd nursery rhyme! I love letterpress and it's on my wish list of things I'd like to learn. I also found Magpie Press yesterday who are an Auckland printing company who specialise in letterpress.

The belly rules the mind

2010-02-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

I've had a disastrous start to my crafting weekend. I was making a book cover and made two front covers instead of a front and a back. I can't use one of the front covers as a back because the pattern would be upside down. And I don't have any more of the paper. And it's a commission... I blame this detox I've been on for two weeks. Nothing but fresh fruit and veggies. My brain has been in a fog for days. Thankfully today is the last day. So I've stopped crafting and will pick it up tomorrow after eating loads of carbs first! I bet I dream about bread tonight as the thing I crave the most is a sandwich...

Paper shopping

2010-02-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went on a mission to Hamilton to pick up a guillotine I bought off Trade Me and on the way back I dropped into a Parnell paper shop and bought this poster. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet because it's too big to make into books. The shop that I bought it from is one I have regularly visited over the years and as much as I love paper stores it is my least favourite to shop at. The owner is a little eccentric and quite a lot snooty. Yesterday she really was only interested in continuing a conversation with a friend who was bemoaning the fact that since her husband had left her she was unable to maintain her lifestyle. I always find it interesting when people have such private conversations in public as it is just soooo the opposite of me. So I made my purchases and made a hasty exit. Enough of a moan I think.

Il Papiro, on the other hand, is a store that I always delight in visiting. Sadly the closest stores are in Sydney and Melbourne. Il Papiro's walls are filled with a large variety of paper, leather bound journals, boxes and inks. On the shelves are Venetian glass pens, wax seals, stamps and so much more. All stock is imported directly from Florence. So if you're visiting Melbourne or Sydney I'd recommend a visit. The Melbourne store is at Shop 5 Degraves Street, it's done a narrow little lane you could almost think you are in Venice. And the Sydney store is at 87A Macleay Street, Potts Point.

Plastic fantastic!

2010-02-06T19:05:00.001-08:00

Here is Noah's present. Who would've thought that a bucket of pegs would've entertained young and old for so many hours at Noah's birthday party yesterday. If only I had remembered to take my camera then I could've taken photos of killer bunnies, star trooper-like helmets, planes, crowns and many, many more creations made from these pegs.

As for me I was the ulimate party pooper. I'm currently on a food elmination/detox which means I can only eat fresh fruit and veges. Being at a party with lots of yummy food and drink was too much for me. Wish I could say I'm feeling fantastic and full of energy but I'm not yet but only another week to go!

Noah + Thunderbirds = FUN

2010-01-31T20:23:00.000-08:00

I've had a busy but very unbloggworthy week (did I just invent a new word). Starting with staring at a computer for many hours without a break and then for the latter part looking after Mister Noah Henry. This photo is for his mum who thinks he doesn't have fun when I look after him because he looks sad in the photos that I take (photo 1) but it's really that the fun photos are blurry (photo 3) as he is always on the move. I always pleased when I get a photo that is in focus!

Noah is turning one this week and I've been wracking my brain to think of something to make him for his birthday. He's too young for books and I don't think soft toys cut the mustard anymore either and that's about all I have in my crafty repertoire. Although today his mother and I agreed he would be very happy to get a bucket of clothes pegs for his birthday. Maybe I could do something with wooden pegs?