Skipapple

A big blog post that's long overdue!

2010-04-18T17:02:00.001+12:00

My gosh, it has been well over a month since my last blog post! There has been so many changes in my life recently that I literally haven't had the time to sit down and write a post. But things are finally starting to fall back into place and settle down so I am back on board and ready to get into the swing of things.

Some of you may already know, but I am now a full time employee again. After being self employed for 9 long months, I am now back into a 40 working week (not that I didn't work hard when I worked for myself!) I took on some temp work back in March that was supposed to be only for a month or 2, but they offered me a full time role in my first week and it was too good to turn down. That doesn't mean that any of my other ventures are being put to rest however — I just need to find some extra hours each day to squeeze them in. Funnily enough though, I have started becoming more productive and my time management has improved immensely. Who would have thought? Yay to working again!

So here is a brief overview of the last month for me. Shortly after Craft 2.0 it was my birthday :) I had some lovely celebratory drinks in Takapuna at the new Irish Pub.

One of my best friends, Hayley, and I on my 24th Birthday.

A few days later followed the first Auckland Craft Collective evening. It was on "Online Marketing" and was a huge success. We had 2 fabulous guest speakers — Esther from Toggle.co.nz and Elliot from Endemicworld.com. I learnt so much from this evening and am currently working on lots of changes for Skipapple as a result (new blog post on these soon!). You can check out the 10 Top Tips from the evening on our blog.

The lovely location of our Auckland Craft Collective evenings — Ponsonby Community Centre

The next week was Crafternoon Tea. It was a lovely day with lots of craft goodness (as always!). I was sat next to a fabulous new up and coming baby clothing label, Bubbarino. They have the most adorable childrens clothing.

The gorgeous childrens clothing by Bubbarino

Then the following week I attended my first Kraftbomb. As I imagined (and as it has been every time I have gone along as a shopper) it was buzzing with people. I had a lovely time sitting next to the delightful Desiree of Flossys Fancy (I hope I spelt that right!). I only had a half table of goodies for sale that day, but it was still great to be able to be there. I'm going to apply every 3 months, and *fingers crossed* will get to see what each season is like at Kraftbomb :)

Also on the same day as Kraftbomb, two of my best friends from back home (Perth), Caitlyn and Liam, had a gorgeous baby girl, Hudson Olivia and I think that one of those dresses from Bubbarino (above) would look absolutely gorgeous on her.

Left: Mine and Desiree's tables at Kraftbomb.

Right: My Antique Bronze Pendants

I had a rather relaxing long weekend, with nothing exciting to report! I caught up housework, paperwork and me time. It was so nice to be able to relax. I also managed to get the time to sew a little present for my best friends new little girl. You'll have to excuse the quality of the photos — I took them just before I wrapped it up and took it the post office :) I even did my first ever bit of embroidery with her name and date of birth. I was pretty chuffed with how it came out — not too shabby for a first attempt! The blanket is made from baby pink and white chenille, the back is lined with baby pink flannelette and I put some cute stain blanket binding around the edge to finish it.

A cuddly baby blanket for little Husdon Olivia :)

Devonport Craft Market and Crafternoon Tea were both fabulous for me this month. It was lovely to see some more punters at the Devonport market, it was noticeably busier there this month which is great. There was also lots of new seller which I love to see. Unfortunately forgot to take some photos though. I did get some time to have a browse around Crafternoon Tea however and made a few purchases & swaps and also got a few snaps of some fellow stallholders.

Some of the April Crafternoon Tea stallholders

Skipapple goodies for sale

Phew.... what a big overview of the last month! Of course, there was also the Auckland Craft Collective "Book-Keeping" evening last week which was another great success. You can check out the top tips for evening over at the blog.

Now I have lots of work to do on a couple of exciting things coming up (it's a secret for now... but you'll know soon enough!) so I had better get back to it.

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend.

Chat again soon x

Craft 2.0 Goodness

2010-03-07T18:52:00.001+13:00

Phew... what a jam-packed few days it's been. After weeks of anticipation and excitement, Jess (Bam Bam Creative) and I were up in the early hours of Friday morning — 4.30am wake ups aren't what I'd call fun — and were headed for the airport. We were greeted by an absolutely stunning Wellington day (which from previous visits, I wasn't sure existed!) and whilst it was a busy day, we still had a chance to enjoy the sunshine.

The lovely view of the Harbour

After a relaxing lunch in the sun and a visit to Madame Fancy Pants store on Cuba St, the ever lovely Sue Tyler (Of Supervery and Craft 2.0 fame) and her equally lovely Mum picked us up and took us out to the New Dowse to set up. The New Dowse is such a perfect venue — I loved the crisp clean, open feel it had. Jess and I unpacked our strategically sorted suitcases that resembled a sort of Jigsaw Puzzle that all fit together perfectly, and began to set up our tables.

Before and After shot of my table

We headed back to our Hostel, enjoyed some dinner and watched a play that was showing in the Fringe Festival and headed back to our room to try and get some sleep to prepare ourselves for the next day. We were up early the next morning and were lucky enough to score a lift to Craft 2.0 with Heleen (Ruby in the Dust) and her sister.

It was a fabulous day, and although it was said to have been a slow day in Craft 2.0 standards it still had a constant flow of browsers and shoppers all day, which was nice. Lots of Skipapple goodies found their way to new homes and it was really good to meet some new crafters and to catch up with ones I have met previously. I would have liked some more time to get around and see other stalls, but there was no real opportunity to sneak away from my table.

Before we knew it we were packing up, heading to the airport and flying home again. Wellington gave us a lovely view as we departed, and for that last little bit of happiness and sunshine, I was very grateful!
Here is a lovely snap that Jess took of the view from the plane (she nabbed the window seat... so I've shotgun for the next trip down! hehe)

The amazing view as we departed Wellington. Great photography Jess :)

After arriving home, tired and exhausted from what felt like DAYS away (it was literally only about 36 hours) I had a cuppa and a brief Facebook check, before heading to bed for a nice long sleep. As much as I enjoyed my trip — with all the rushing around and busyness — it was good to be home!

I'm really looking forward to heading down for the next Craft 2.0 (fingers crossed I get in!) and I've already started researching flights and accommodation.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that the Devonport Craft Market was fruitful today for all it's lovely store holders.

xxx

Okay... so it's been a while!

2010-02-15T17:13:00.000+13:00

I know, I know... my online presence recently has been somewhat lacking. I have been so busy with all the markets in February and March to prepare for, that typing a blog post has been the last thing on my mind!
I have sat down 3 times in the last week to work on a new blog template, but every time I get half way through it, I decide it's not what I want so I scrap it and start again. My aim is to have a new one completed by the end of March. I figured it is better to set a more realistic deadline ;)

This weekend just gone I was at the Devonport Craft Market . It was a bit of a muggy day, with bouts of rain here and there, but all things considered I had a great day. It was lovely to see lots of new faces around the market and it will be fabulous to see those crafty people back again :) Next weekend I will be heading along to Crafternoon Tea and I am really looking forward to it. Check out the fabulous flyer that the ever clever Olivia made for it.

I am really hoping that things will settle down after the super exciting Craft 2.0 in March. I am getting so excited about it, but also a little bit stressed, wondering whether I have enough stock to take down? I have put in my order for some more supplies to make pendants, so the next few weeks are going to be busy, busy, busy!

I can't believe we are half way through February already. Please Mr 2010, slow down a little so I can enjoy each day a bit more :)

xx

Making and Markets...

2010-01-28T10:58:00.001+13:00

As you may have noticed, I've been a little bit quiet on the blogging front recently. It's been because of a combination between being really busy and not having anything super exciting to blog about! But this week has been pretty exciting for me — I've been booking flights to Wellington for March and will be attending the amazing Craft 2.0 in Lower Hutt on the 6th March! I am really looking forward to meeting more crafty peeps. Plus, I'm not heading down there alone... Jess from Bam Bam Creative will be going too! Not to mention the lovely Heleen from Ruby in the Dust will be there aswell :)

So as you can imagine, I am now busy working out what I need to organise between now and then — don't want to arrive unprepared! I've got a couple of new items I plan to launch at Craft 2.0 so the next month is going to be a busy one.

In other non-Skipapple news I went to the movies the other night to see the pre-screening of "I'm Not Harry Jenson" which is officially being released in selected cinemas tonight around NZ. It was the second time I had watched it (it was also in the NZ Film Festival last year) and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. If you get a chance I highly recommend seeing this fabulous Kiwi film. It was made a on very low budget and set in the Waitakere Ranges, but features an awesome cast with lots of twists and turns in the plot.
And if you've seen my facebook name recently (Harry Jenson) you may have heard about their awesome marketing campaign. Anyway... definitely head along and check it out soon (before it finishes at the cinemas).

Click on the poster above to see if it's playing near you

I'm busy packaging up beads and findings today, which I am popping on Trademe on sale so I'd better get back to it ;)

Getting Sorted

2010-01-17T16:56:00.000+13:00

The start of this year has been so busy that I haven't really had a proper chance to sit down and assess what my plans and goals are for this year. Of course I already have a general idea in my head about what they are — but I am a "list" person and feel much more organised and motivated once I have everything down on paper. Now I am not one for "New Years Resolutions" because let's be honest, who actually sticks to them? But I've decided that I am going to take some time out this week to get my metaphorical crap sorted and work out a plan of attack. So if I appear to go into hiding for a few days, don't panic... I'll just be hidden under the piles of stuff that I am sorting through in my office and bead storage room!

In other news, things have been progressing really well with the Auckland Craft Collective and I am getting more and more excited about the pending launch in March. Jess and I have been working tirelessly on securing some fabulous Guest Speakers, designing and making our website, booking a venue and designing our flyers and brochures ready for print. You may have noticed that our blog and twitter page have both had a make over to align with our new branding. The website is all on target to go live this evening, so come Monday morning we'll be online and you'll be able to check it out and subscribe to our mailiing list.

Yesterday was Crafternoon Tea — the first craft market for 2010. It was the first time I had attended the market at it's wonderful location in Kingsland, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met some lovely new people and got a chance to have a good chat to many crafters. It's a lovely hall and Luisa and Trent have set it up really well. I'm really looking forward to the next one. It was a little on the quiet side, but I still had a pretty successful day all things considered! I took a couple of snaps when I first set up, but got sidetracked for the rest of the market and forgot to take some more. I think Jess remembered too, so I'll link to them when she puts them up :)

It's been such a beautiful, warm weekend — I think I might head out into the garden for a couple of hours to read a book and soak up some Vitamin D.

Chat again soon x

It's Tea time again...

2010-01-13T16:45:00.001+13:00

That's right... Crafternoon Tea is on this Saturday! And of course, I will be there along with many other talented crafty peeps.

It is back at it's fabulous regular location — the Holy Trinity Church in Kingsland from 10am til 3pm.

I'll have some more bags available aswell as my collection of pendants, card wallets, coffee cup sleeves, belts and more.

Hope to see you there xx

Time Flies

2010-01-10T12:50:00.002+13:00

I cannot believe that we are nearing the middle of January already — where has all this time gone? I guess I should firstly wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, as I just realised it has been almost a month since I last blogged!It feels so strange (and perhaps a little difficult too) getting back into the swing of things after a lovely break over the festive season, but I am very excited about what this year will bring.

The end of 2009 was a quiet one for me, with Love Handmade market being the last crafty event for me for the year. Unfortunately it was not very fruitful, but as always, it was lovely to chat to fellow crafters.

L to R: My Table, the lovely Bronwyn from R.W.Scissors

and the ever sweet Jess from Bam Bam Creative.

Christmas was very low key for me — I only managed to take 3 photos the entire couple of days surrounding Christmas! Although it was a quiet one, it was very enjoyable and it was nice to be able to relax. Over New Years I went away camping with a big group of friends for a few days out at Murawai. It was a fab few days and I managed to soak up lots of Vitamin D (possibly a little too much on the first day!).

Left: The view from our campsite.

Right: A pretty 2010 dusk sky.

(Photography by one of my best friends... the talented Miss Baines!)

So far 2010 has been busy with lots of planning being done for Skipapple and lots of work and planning being done on the Auckland Craft Collective. Jess and I decided the old look of Auckland Craft just wasn't quite fitting, so we have had a revamp ready for the New Year.We re-did our logo and have just about finished the website. All we need to do is put in some finishing touches, and it will be online and live this week! I've also surprised myself this weekend and gotten pretty savvy with Blogger by creating a new blog template for the Auckland Craft blog so that it ties in nicely with the new website. Of course it's not up just yet, but will be up at the same time as our new website.

As for the plans for Skipapple... you'll just have to wait and see! I'm designing a pattern for a new product at the moment, and am deciding on another style of bag to make. I've also got a couple of other accessories lined up to add to the label, but I plan on trying to only work on one thing at a time this year (we'll see how that goes!)

xx

Felt Christmas Gift Guide - Issue 3

2009-12-16T11:34:00.002+13:00

This is likely to be the last one of my Christmas Gift Guides, but I don't see why I can't continue these Gift Guides next year. It is a great excuse for me to browse through the Felt website and drool over all the goodies I want!

So here it is folks, my last Christmas Gift Guide for the year :)

I couldn't decide on just 6 this time... so popped in a few extras for a last little burst of Christmas Spirit :)

Happy Shopping x

Sawing, sanding and a broken camera

2009-12-14T20:08:00.001+13:00

Okay, so although the title suggest my broken camera was something to do with my own doing, that is not the case at all ;) Last week was a crazily busy week preparing for the Crafternoon Tea market (as I am sure it was for many people) and thinking that I had all the time in the world to prepare, I decided one of my first projects would be a couple more displays for my pendants. My first was another smaller version of my earlier created display and the other was the snazzy creation pictured below. Such a cheap but rather effective display (if I don't say so myself). I wanted to add more depth to my market display and make it more visually interesting so I decided to create a display for the pendants without them being on individual cards.

I had some left over board from my first display so decided to put it to good use. I purchased some wood for the legs, a couple of hinges and then a stack of self tapping eyelet thingamajigs (yes, that's their technical name) and got to work. I actually cut this board using a stanley knife as although it takes longer, I find it gives a much cleaner cut than using a saw. Plus it means a LOT less sanding once you've cut it. My main aim when creating displays (apart from them displaying the product well of course) is to make them easily portable which is why I put the legs on hinges and the crossbar bits with hooks so they can unhook and fold flat. I am really happy with how it turned out, and it not only saved me a lot of room on my table, it looked pretty effective too. AND it only cost me about $9 in materials. It was wins all round really ;)

My snazzy new pendant display

So as you can tell, no cameras were harmed in the making of this display. However my camera did leave us last week, on the day that I planned to photograph all my completed pendants, and a day before the Crafternoon Tea — typical. I was more angry than sad about it dying, as I wasn't overly attached to my 18 month old Fujifilm (NEVER buy a Fujifilm, they are rubbish!). It was only a cheapy at the time so I shouldn't really be surprised that it just stopped working one day, but still... it was rather inconvenient! On the bright side however, I managed to use my FlyBuys points to score myself a really snazzy compact Olympus in a sexy Pearl White colour. She's such a little gem and I'm looking forward to using her!

Anyway, Crafternoon Tea on Saturday was a fabulous market and I really loved the Mt Eden Normal Primary School hall. It had a lovely vibe to it and felt very welcoming. Although it was a fairly quiet day I think Luisa and Trent did a fabulous job advertising it as best they could — Kudos! I had a wonderful day chatting with my fellow crafty peeps such as the lovely Jess and Bronwyn and to top it all off it was a successful market for me. I am really looking forward to the next one in January, back at it's regular Kingsland location.

My table with my new displays at Crafternoon Tea

I've cut 3 more bags ready to sew for this weekends Love Handmade market, and I have cut out 6 *new product alert* 'Obi style Belts' which I will be launching this Saturday — exciting stuff! I'm also getting ready to snap (with my sexy new camera) all of my pendants and start uploading them to my Felt shop over the next week.

Chat soon x

Loving the Sunshine

2009-12-09T20:09:00.000+13:00

How awesome is this weather? I am completely loving it. Summer just puts me in an extra good mood and helps motivate me to get things done. And that is exactly what I have been doing this week — getting lots done! (Warning: The Chrissy Decorations that I made for my ornament swap are in this post... so don't scroll down too far if you don't want to see them!)

Over the weekend I was lucky enough to get along and see the Dalai Lama talk in Auckland. Whilst he isn't a public speaker as such, he is an amazingly insightful and down to earth guy. His philosophies are truely wonderful, yet are so simple. I left the talk feeling very enlightened and positive, so it was a lovely start to the weekend.

The wonderful Dalai Lama

You may have seen my blog last week about my little melt down I had, when my 160 pendants that I had coated with my new brand of lacquer failed to set, leaving me with 160 unusable pendants. I was worried that they wouldn't be able to be saved BUT yippeee... they have :) I was frantically researching alternative products to use to make the pendants completely waterproof rather than just splashproof. I came up with a couple of options and reluctantly decided to give resin a go. I am very pleased with the result and although they are still drying, I am confident that they will all be completely set and sealed by Friday (just in time for Crafternoon Tea on Saturday!) I had heard some really scary stories about resin like the toxic fumes, making sure the mix was accurate and thoroughly mixed and also about the bubbles it is prone to getting. Thankfully aside from being a bit of a messy exercise to begin with, I eventually got the hang of it and spent quite a few hours carefully coating my pendants. I'm very excited that they are now waterproof too :)

I was very excited to receive another Christmas decoration in the post yesterday. It was a lovely beaded snowflake (I think!) with a sweet little angel hanging below made by Helene of Mira Design. It's going to look great on my Chrissy Tree.

Thanks Helene - it's lovely :)

As I mentioned at the top of this post, I finally managed to get my decorations finished today and in the post. They took me ages, as they are all hand sewn, but I am pretty chuffed with how they turned out. I used a variety of materials to make them — fabric, ribbon, buttons and freshwater coin pearl. I made a couple of extras for a gift and for my own tree. Here they are...

Little Handmade Tree Angels

Another busy night tonight as I am cutting out fabric ready for assembly tomorrow. Want to make sure I have my new products ready for Crafternoon Tea this weekend. Very excited about it — it's going to be a blast. Looking forward to seeing all my crafty buddies and selling lots of goodies to Christmas punters :)

Enjoy your evening x

Felt Christmas Gift Guide - Issue 2

2009-12-09T19:06:00.005+13:00

Wow - it's Wednesday again already! How quickly time flies... Here are my Felt picks for this week :)

Hope everyones Christmas preparations are coming along nicely xx

Crafternoon Tea is near...

2009-12-03T10:22:00.002+13:00

And I will be there — Yippee. Third time lucky! I have sadly missed out on the last 2 but I vow to be present at all future ones :)

For December it'll be held at a different location than normal, so pop on down to the Mt Eden Normal Primary School on Sat 12th Dec from 10am-3pm. It was be a lovely day of crafty goodness and it'd be a shame if you missed out!

See you all there xxx

Click here to check out the Crafternoon Tea website

Shopping, Wine and Good Times

2009-12-02T23:25:00.002+13:00

This week has been a very crafty community week for me. On Sunday I popped on down to Kraftbomb with Jess to have a browse and do a spot of shopping. Of course, I was meant to be shopping for Chrissy pressies for friends and fam, but it ended up all being purchases for me. I picked myself up an adorable wee owl from Purrsie — I'd been eyeing these up for a while now and when she mentioned on her blog that stocks were low, I grabbed one quick smart! My other lil purchases were some super cute badges from Nut and Bee and an adorable little spotty ring by Leila Loves Handmade.

My wee purchases :)

On Tuesday night I was lucky enough to be able to head along to the Lucky Penny Crafty Club in the city. I was supposed to have my final class that night (I've just completed my Small Business Management Cert - Go Me!) but it got postponed until this evening, so my Tuesday was freed up. If you are ever free on the 1st Tuesday of the month, I highly recommend coming along to one of the Lucky Penny evenings. They are great fun, and a good excuse to drink wine, eat cake and talk craft (couldn't get any better really!). It was the first one I have been able to get along to, and it was great to meet some new crafty peeps. There were a few pics taken, but alas none by me, so hopefully they'll make their way to fellow crafters blogs soon.

This week I also received my first "Christmas Ornament Swap" in the mail. I just love getting packages in the post. It's a hand felted mini stocking with my name on it and was made by Peach of Twohand Jewelry.

I really need to get onto making my decorations to send out, I just can't decide what I want to make. Think that might be a Friday night project for me.

On a final note, I have been having a nightmare of a time with Pendants this week. The supposed "new and improved" lacquer I purchased to coat my pendants with has turned out to be far from that. So I've been frantically researching a better alternative to re-do them in time for Crafternoon Tea next weekend. Here I was thinking I was being super prepared getting them ready the last couple of weeks, only to discover a week before the market that they need fixing - eek! I'll be fine though, just maybe a tad busier next week than anticipated!

Hope everyone is getting themselves all prepared for Christmas... I know I'm not ;)

Felt Christmas Gift Guide - Issue 1

2009-12-02T17:20:00.002+13:00

If you have been checking out the Felt Forum recently you will have seen a very nifty idea by Supervery — Our own Gift Guides for Christmas. Here are just 6 of my Christmas Pressie recommendations from Felt for this year.

Of course, I wanted to put WAY more items in here, but 6 a week will have to suffice.

Happy Christmas Shopping x

The First Handbag :)

2009-11-27T15:01:00.001+13:00

I plan on continuing to expand my range, to give myself a new challenge and to always have something fresh to offer my customers. I'd been hunting around for inspiration recently and decided that handbags will be my first addition to my collection. I sketched out a few rough plans for one style of bag and proceeded to cut. I know now why they always say measure twice, cut once. After a few hiccups, and a couple of miscuts later I have made my first prototype.

I've picked out the colour combinations for another 4 'Sweetpea Bags', and will be launching them for sale for the first time at Crafternoon Tea on the 12th December. These are super cute and I can't wait to make more.

Am working on another new product to add to the range this weekend too, so will put a blog up once the prototype is complete!

Mairuru - An inspiring blog

2009-11-21T22:59:00.001+13:00

Recently I happened upon a lovely blog called Mairuru which is written by a Japanese girl named Mai. I am absolutely hooked. It is clear that English is not her first language, but that is one of the things I love most about the blog — the style in which she writes. I find her blogs fascinating and once I start reading I find it difficult to stop.

She is a very unique crafter that literally hand sews everything. Her patience must be amazing, as the detail and work that goes into each item she makes is impeccable.

I'd love to post some pictures of her creations, but wouldn't want to do that without her permission so you'll need to check out her blog. She also sells on Etsy, so you can check out some of her items on there.

As well as blogging about her crafts and love of craft, she also blogs about her day — often including what she has cooked that day. She looks like a fantastic cook and reading about her yummy Japanese lunches that she makes always makes me hungry. I also particularly love the photos of her neighbourhood and the beautiful local dog she passes most days in her travels, Bo-chan.

Her blog includes many tutorials for the neat things she makes and I could honestly sit and read it all day. People like Mai inspire me.

Definitely a blog to check out!

Crafternoon Tea is Tomorrow

2009-11-20T22:06:00.000+13:00

And although I won't be attending this one, I highly recommend you pop along to do some chrissy shopping. There is going to be loads of talented crafty peeps there selling their wares, and you are sure to find the perfect gift for just about everyone. My pal Jess is debuting her absolutely gorgeous new cushions and I am sure there will be lots more new goodies available from plenty of stall holders.

As it says in the poster above, it's at the Trinity Methodist Church Hall in Kingsland from 10am to 2pm. So go grab a coffee or brunch at one of the Kingsland Cafe's and then mosey on down to the Crafternoon Tea.

It's sure to be fabulous.

Cupcakes and a Cute Magazine

2009-11-20T10:11:00.003+13:00

I popped along to the launch party for Extra Curricular last night — and it was FABULOUS. I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy so I made sure that was the first thing I did. It was lucky that I did, because I managed to score myself the very first copy off the printer. That's gotta be worth something one day.

Check it out - Print Run 1 of 500!!!

There was a fabulous turn out, with plenty of fellow crafty peeps coming along. The lovely Olivia was there, as was Anna, Heleen, Luisa and I also spotted Rachel and Jamie there too. Of course, I knew that Heleen would be there, due to her now being famous and all ;) Here is a snap of her great article in the mag...

The lovely Heleen... in a magazine!

Now I am trying my best not to devour the magazine and read it cover to cover straight away, as I tend to do with great mags like this. I plan to savour the articles and read them over at least a couple of days ;)

I cannot wait for the next issue to come out... even though I know it'll be a while off yet. Well done to Ellie for producing such a quality magazine that is full of interesting articles and inspiration. I particularly love the beautiful way it was finished... especially the cute round corners on the pages!

I'll be treasuring my copy for years to come x

Extra Curricular Launch Party

2009-11-18T13:38:00.001+13:00

I'll be heading along to the Launch Party for the fabulous new magazine especially crafted for crafty peeps, Extra Curricular (See what I did there?!). The magazine is put together by the talented Ellie of Miss Ellie May. I am extra excited about finally being able to get my hot little hands on a copy. They are on sale on the night for $12 a pop, and you'll be one of the very first people in NZ to own it. Doesn't the cover just make you want one?

The launch party is being held at DOC on K' Rd at 7pm tomorrow night (Thursday 19th Nov) so if you haven't already made plans it'd be great to see you there.

(Rumour has it there will be cupcakes there too...)

xxx

Pendant Assembly Line

2009-11-18T12:24:00.002+13:00

What a crazily busy weekend it was! On Friday night I was up late, making sure I was all set for the Love Handmade market on Saturday morning. I honestly can't remember the last time I was up before 7.30am on a weekend! But although it was an early start, I am really impressed with the amount of people that came through the doors throughout the morning. Although it wasn't super busy, for a first market it was a fairly successful day. Not to mention it was a fabulous location... nice and sunny, room to move and very comfy chairs ;) Fingers crossed I get to sit up in the same spot next time! I also got to chat to lots of lovely crafters that were there such as Podgy Panda, Books by Rachel, Ferrit and my girl Jess. Of course there was loads more people there so big apologies to anyone I didn't mention — everyones crafts looked fabulous and it was hard to restrain myself from dipping into my sales money!

Here is mine and Jess' tables all setup first thing in the morning. My pendant display worked a treat!

Jess looking all sweet at her stall. Who could say no to that face?

I couldn't resist purchasing a couple of cute Gingerbread men though, for Jess and I from Gretel's Gingerbread and I have to shamefully admit that it was indeed my breakfast! (But what a tasty breakfast it was!) I am really looking forward to the next Love Handmade market which will be at the same lovely location and at a even more lovely time of 10am-1pm. It'll be on Saturday 19th December, so mark that in your diaries!

Late Saturday evening I got a surprise message from Sarah from the Devonport Craft Market saying that there was one last little spot left at the markets if I was still keen. So I quickly nabbed it and re-packed all my market stuff into it's box ready for the next morning.

The Christmas Spectacular was exactly that... very spectacular! I had a fabulous day at the markets and although it tends to quieten down for the last 2 hours, it was a busy day overall with about 450-500 people through the doors. The first hour saw 110 people come through and by lunchtime there was nearly 300 shoppers that had come through! Not a bad effort for a market on a weekend that was in addition to it's regular weekend! The Sarah's did a fab job promoting the market and I loved the big banner outside. It definitely made us easier for shoppers to find, and a lot harder for them to resist a gander! I was also stoked with my little calendar — I've already gone through and marked it with the application close dates too.

I was far too busy on Sunday to get any pics, but again there was lots of talented people at the market. Unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to pop around and see everyone this time, so will have to make sure I make time, next market.

After a successful weekend of sales, my stock has depleted so it'll be a busy couple of weeks ahead of me preparing for Crafternoon Tea and Love Handmade in December. I have already prepped and started assembling over 160 pendants — how good am I? hehe. I also have some plans for some new products to launch then... so time permitting, there will be some new goodies on offer in December.

Will keep you posted x

Pendant Market Display

2009-11-12T16:19:00.003+13:00

As I mentioned in my last blog, I purchased supplies to make myself a display for my pendants to sit on at the markets. Well today was such a glorious day outside, I decided the get all my materials and head out side in the sunshine for some sawing and sanding.

Supplies for my pendant display

Now I am in no way a green thumb, but I do really appreciate gardens. The place that I recently moved into has no shortage of gardens and flowers and whilst it may not be my particular taste in garden style, there is undoubtedly a lot of pretty colours and flowers amongst it. This was bits of my scenery whilst I was at work creating a display.

Some of the pretty flowers in my garden

So after taking some snaps of some pretty flowers, I got to business and cut, sanded and assembled my display. I am pretty stoked with how it looks, and it works really well so it was a successful venture :)

Left: My finished display

Right: A couple of Pendant cards positioned, to make sure it fits nicely!

I am still in two minds about whether or not I will cover it in Brown Paper, as I had originally planned. I quite like the natural wood look, but I think natural brown kraft paper stuck on with Mod Podge might look quite cool too. What do you think?

Anyway, I am looking forward to testing it out at Love Handmade on Saturday morning. Hope you are all coming along to say hello and check out all the talented peeps at the market :) Will be fab to see you there x

My Market Travel Case

2009-11-09T10:50:00.003+13:00

I had a right pain in the butt of a time trying to get all my pendants to stay upright in a box and not get all messed up everytime I picked it up last week, so my weekend endeavour was to create a carry case for all my market stock. I had an idea in my head on how I thought it should work, so it was off to the Stationery place, the Warehouse and Mitre 10 for supplies.

Supplies

I picked up a pretty pink patterned box for the Warehouse for about $20 to use as the case, and purchased some heavy black corrugated plastic for the dividers. I carefully measured it all out and began cutting.

Cutting and Measuring... it's getting there!

It took me WAY longer than I anticipated, and there was a couple of minor design glitches along the way (the long dividers started to bow with the more dividers I added) but all in all I am very stoked with how it turned out!

The finished case :)

It fits all of my current pendants, as you can see, and has plenty of room for all the news ones I am busy making! My final touch was to put a dividing piece of plastic along the top, so that I could sit all the rest of my other stock, such as headbands and coffee cup sleeves on the top.

When I was out getting materials to make this carry case, it also dawned on me that my current market display needed some refining, so I also picked up some bits to make a pendant display. It's nothing super fancy, but it'll make it all a bit easier! Will be making that this week so will post another blog about that once it's done!

K x

My First Skipapple Market

2009-11-02T14:16:00.008+13:00

I decided to do this as a separate post, as there is a few piccies and let's be honest — it deserves it's own post!

After weeks of planning, creating and preparations I finally attended my first ever market under my label, Skipapple! The morning started wonderfully with goodies selling left, right and centre, but unfortunately it got pretty quiet after lunch. Perhaps it was due to the fact the Auckland Marathon was on? Nevertheless I had a good day.

Goodies at my stall

Top: A snap of the market from my table... it was a bit quiet as you can see.

Middle: The lovely Jess and her stall

Bottom: My sweetheart of a stall neighbour, Olivia, and a shopper admiring her creations.

My lovely boyfriend came along to bring me some lunch and took this pic of me at my stall

Lucy from Felt and Mel from Black Swan Designs were there, so it was great to meet them and put faces to names/brands. Luisa from Crafternoon Tea also popped along and introduced herself so it was great to get to meet her too. I love finally being able to meet all these wonderful people in person... chatting on Twitter and Facebook just isn't the same!

So all in all I had a GREAT day and I cannot wait to get along to the Love Handmade market on the 14th of this month. I also have my fingers crossed for the November Crafternoon Tea market and the December Devonport Craft market too!

Chat to you all soon xx

Long Weekend and a long short week!

2009-11-02T13:46:00.004+13:00

I have been busting to write a blog for over a week now, since the long weekend, but I have been so busy getting ready for the markets that I literally haven't had time! So this will be an overview of the last week and a half.

My long weekend was absolutely delightful. I went away with my partner and his family for a relaxing few days in the Coromandel. It was really nice being away from internet, computers and phones for a change. I am technology fiend (and a slight workaholic) and usually feel really lost without it, but it's nice every once in a while to be forced to actually relax. We stayed in a lovely bach just north of Whitianga, and the weather was divine.

The sunset on the drive there and the lovely beach we were staying on

We were lucky enough to be there on the day of the market, and there was some great stalls there. One that I particularly loved was a very talented crafter that made things out of cutlery. There was jewellery, modified cutlery and little critters. They were absolutely delightful and I just had to get a picture to show you all.

Some clever creations by a gentleman named Martin Jakowitsch

I also scored myself some gorgeous fabric that I will be turning into some new designs very soon :)

Stunning satin and some lovely 100% cotton

Once I was back in Auckland, it was back to the grindstone getting ready for my first market — the Devonport Craft Market. Because it was my first market, as you can imagine, there was LOADS of preparation that needed to be done. I had to organise everything from packaging, to displays to my float. Not to mention I needed to make sure I had enough stock! In the end it all came together and I was ready for the market (at 1.30am the morning of the market!?!)

A sneak peak on what was for sale... and my packaging

Never moving house again

2009-10-20T23:35:00.002+13:00

I'm finally all moved into my new place, and just today finished all my unpacking. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and say that I never want to do that again. Mind you, I do love new houses... I just don't like the moving process. It always takes way longer than you anticipate.

It has been an eventful last week with a bit of beading, a bit of sewing, a lot of packing and a lot of cleaning. A couple of weeks ago my now ex-flatmate commissioned me to make some watches for her family and friends as gifts for Christmas. It was quite fun playing with beads again for a change. I think of how many hours I used to spend a day creating jewellery, and how now I am surrounded by an endless choice of beads and I barely make anything. I've made a promise to myself that I will make one new piece of jewellery a week for the rest of the year — and I will post a pic each week :)

One of the watches with its little black organza gift bag

There has been one little guy who has been absolutely loving that we have moved into a new house, with so much more room and a lovely garden to explore. Buddha has spent hours entertaining himself with empty boxes that are lying around the new house. It's hilarious to watch him jumping in and out and throwing himself around inside them! He also has loved the fab window sills that he can lie on to soak up some rays.

My new business cards arrived this week aswell, which is very exciting! Looking forward to being able to hand them out at the Devonport Craft Markets on Sunday Nov 1st.

My snazzy new business cards

Had a bit of an urge to crank up my sewing machine this evening and make a couple of new little bits for my new place. I had nowhere to put my plastic bags so I made a little bag holder to hang in the cupboard. I also altered a couple of tea towels that I picked up from Briscoes on the weekend for 50c (Bargain!) and made them into handtowels with buttons tabs to attach them to the cupboard handles.

So after a busy week and little sleep, I now feel ready to get crafty again. I have bought myself a table to use as my sewing desk, that I pick up on Thursday night and once I have that all setup my office/craft room will be complete. Can't wait!

K x

A busy week ahead

2009-10-11T19:34:00.001+13:00

It's been a fabulous weekend that started with a fun night out in West Auckland for my BFF's birthday (continued on from her lunch on Tuesday) on Friday. It was my first night out, out West and what an eventful evening it was. We weren't allowed to leave the bar when we wanted to because there had been a supposed armed robbery. So for our own safety we had to stay until the police gave everyone clearance to leave. It my have just been a ploy to keep the numbers up at the bar, but either way, it made my first "westie" experience a memorable one.

Me with three of my best girls

I was so excited to receive my email in my inbox last night letting me know that I had been accepted into the Devonport Craft Market on Nov 1st. It'll be my first market I've attended for Skipapple so it's going to be great fun. Hopefully I do well, but I am just looking forward to getting back into the markets again. It'd be fabulous if you would all come along and say hello, and what better place to do some of your Christmas shopping? There will be loads of fabulous stalls full of clever crafty creations, so there will be no shortage of choice.

In other big news, I am moving house this week and I am definitely not looking forward to all the packing! I have started, but there is still so much to do. Thankfully I am not moving too far, so a few trips backwards and forwards in the car isn't too bigger deal. Some of you may already know, but to those who don't, I also have my own online beading supplies business which I am currently re-structuring and clearing a lot of current stock from. So as you can imagine, I have A LOT of stock that needs to be shifted from my current place to my new place. I've tried to clear some of it off on Trademe recently, and whilst I've been selling a lot, it's barely made a dent in my stock. That is the bit I am dreading moving the most.

One thing I haven't packed is my sewing machine (who is back home and all better now) and I have an urge to crank her up tonight and make some more goodies in preparation for the Devo markets. On that note... I am signing off.

Speak to you all soon enough xx

Sewing Machine to A&E

2009-10-07T00:08:00.001+13:00

Wow, this is the longest I have gone between blog posts... and I'm sure you are all distraught (hehe) so here is an update of the last few days.

Saturday I finally signed the lease for a new rental. Very exciting. Moving next week — which is a little more stressful than it is exciting. Have started packing, but there is so much I don't want to pack "just incase" I need it between now and next weekend. On Sunday I took a lovely drive down to Devonport to drop some Auckland Craft Collective flyers to Jess (who had her lovely Bam Bam Creative stall there, absolutely chockers with new goodies) and to also have a look at all the clever crafty creations that were there this month. I honestly think the quality and assortment just gets better and better every month. Well done to everyone at the Devonport Craft Market!

Today I had a particularly busy day and it felt like I spent all day driving backwards and forwards. My lovely BFF celebrated her 25th Birthday today so I went to join her and a few of her other close friends for lunch in the city. We had a delish lunch at the Belgium Beer Cafe and lots of laughs.

My Gorgeous BFF

Since I had launched Skipapple, I thought I should probably make her a little something for her birthday. I was going to make her a pendant, but she received a beautiful necklace from her boyfriend so I didn't want to make her choose which necklace she would wear ;) She had dropped a subtle hint that she would like a pencil case so I cranked the sewing machine this morning and made her one from a pattern that Jess had posted a link to on her blog a few weeks back. This is the result...

The Birthday Pressie!

For a first attempt I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. There is a few little things that need improving on the next one that I make, but all-in-all it was a success and Hayley seemed to like it (or she's a very good actress! Oh hang on, she is a good actress. Damn! hehe)

Sadly this afternoon my poor little sewing machine had a break down and needed to go to Sewing Machine A&E. I was happily winding a bobbin when all of a sudden it stopped turning. I opened her up to have a squiz (no idea what I thought I would be able to do, mind you) and saw the broken belt. And just incase you were wondering what the inside of an old sewing machine looked like, I kindly took a photo for you all to see ;)

It's not the best photo, but you get the idea! Lots of cogs, rods and turning pieces! I was lucky enough to find a man that repairs sewing machines, that isn't too far from where I live which was great news. Plus, he said he can even probably get it finished tomorrow so I should have my baby home to me by tomorrow evening. Fingers crossed!

I've been busy working with Jess on the Auckland Craft Collective and things are progressing really nicely. We've come up with a website design and have just about finished nutting out all the details and we are really stoked with how it's coming along. It should be up in the next couple of weeks, but you can follow our progress on our blog.

Another busy day ahead tomorrow, so I should probably try get to sleep now. Hope you are all having a fabulous week so far.
xx

Preparations

2009-10-01T22:12:00.001+13:00

I managed to sneak in an hour or so of photography in this morning before going to catch up with Jess for our Auckland Craft Collective meeting. I'm planning on getting a lot done tomorrow, to continue my super productive week, but for now here is a snap of a few of my completed headbands.

I am going to finally get myself sorted and get my Etsy shop loaded with some products this weekend. Wish me luck x

The Auckland Craft Collective is here

2009-10-01T18:39:00.001+13:00

After much anticipation (okay, so perhaps just from Jess and myself, but still!) the Auckland Craft Collective is finally born.

What began as a discussion with Jessica of Bam Bam Creative about the Auckland crafty community and a couple of suggestions for ways to help bring it together, ended with the creation of this fabulous idea. It had been Jess' intention for quite a few months to try to connect all the craft peeps of Auckland together to form a support group. Okay so perhaps not in the "I need help" sense, but more in the "I'm sure there is ways we can help each other" sense. And for me — anything that involves craft and business, you count me in!

So we've had a very busy and productive time putting our plans on paper and deciding what it is exactly that will be offered. We are super excited about it and hope that you all will be too. Our mission is to provide practical business support to the Auckland craft community. We 110% welcome suggestions, feedback and ideas, as the Auckland Craft Collective is about everyone in the crafting community — and that includes YOU!

You can read up on what it's all about on the blog and keep updated with all the happenings by following on Twitter and becoming a fan on Facebook. That way you are sure to not miss out on any progress!

xx

What a score!

2009-09-29T13:03:00.002+13:00

My lovely flatmate Mel is getting all sorted for her big move back down the South Island and has been a very good girl and vigilantly chucking (or donating to charity should I say) a lot of her clothes and accessories. Before she could even walk out the door I was sifting through her bags to nab any goodies that could be recycled into something new and exciting. I found the coolest old school evening dresses made from a really good quality satin that is going to make a lovely clutch purse (or a few!). But my fave score from her discard pile was this brown genuine leather laptop bag. It is so cool, and I am so stoked she no longer wanted it!!!

It needs a bit of a clean up and some polish but this is going to be one stylish accessory! All I need now is a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches and a grandpa hat ;)

Vintage and Sunshine

2009-09-27T16:53:00.004+13:00

Today was the last day of the super sales at Spotlight, and I couldn't resist going back to stock up on a few of my fave fabrics that I have picked up over the last couple of weeks, and to also grab a little bit of some new fabrics. Here is a sneak peak at some of the gorgeous vintage and assorted printed fabrics I have acquired over the last 4 or 5 days.

I have an idea on what I would like to do with some of them, but most likely they will be turned into an array of accessories such as headbands, business card wallets, lining for handbags and clutches and reusable bags. I'm looking forward to making lots of goodies, but I think it may have to all be put on hold for a few weeks as I have found a new place to live :) Yay! I am going to be moving in only 3 weeks, and you would not believe the amount of packing I have to do! It is super exciting though, because my new house will have room specifically dedicated to crafting! Extra space is just what I have needed and can see myself becoming much more productive once the new room is all setup and ready to go. I'm also feeling a Spring clean coming up... which is appropriate, seeing as it is infact spring!

Bummed I missed out on going and checking out Kraftbomb this morning, but finding a place to live has become a priority recently (as it would be!). I'll hopefully get along to the Devonport Craft Market next weekend for a squiz.

Just realised I actually will need to pre-wash some of the fabric I am about to sew or else the first time someone washes their double sided red print with white fabric backing, the under side will undoubtedly become pink! Glad I thought of it before I started sewing! Best do a bulk wash of all red things now :)

Chat to you all later x

Thank god for Seam Rippers!

2009-09-24T23:23:00.004+12:00

I've had yet another fantastically productive couple of days, and am feeling really good about where things are headed. My initial plan was to work on one project at a time, but as you can tell, I haven't really done that. I've got so many things I want to make, that once I have made one prototype I have the urge to go onto the next. But today I was a good girl! Apart from stopping in at Spotlight on my way home (and getting some bargains!) I managed to stick to my plan and get a heap of headbands done. I've altered their shape slightly, as the first one I did was a bit too wide at the base and stuck out a little bit when you wore it. I'm really happy with the new style :) Due to the time, I have had to put the sewing machine to sleep, as I don't want to iritate my flatmates until the early hours of the morning, so I am just going to spend a bit more time cutting and prepping them ready for assembly in the morning.

I had a bit of a crabby evening on the sewing machine yesterday arvo, because I was working on my sandwich bag and snack bag prototype and the damned thing just wouldn't go together how I wanted it to. My seam ripper got one hell of a work out! I ended up scrapping in my original design, and creating a new more sewing machine friendly one. Once I have completed a collection of headbands, I'll get to work on getting the re-usable bags done.

When I was at Spotlight today I picked up so much fabulous material, but there was one in particular that I love to bits. As I have no doubt mentioned previously, Green is most absolute favourite colour, but I am also very partial to Brown. The material is a lush brown with blue and yellowy green flowers and patterns on it and I am dying to use it as a lining to one of my handbags that are in planning. I am thinking about getting some beige or natural coloured fabric for the exterior of the bag, but haven't completely decided yet. I'm going to try and avoid Spotlight for at least 3 days so that I can use up the materials that I already have. Will see how that plan goes ;)

My fave fabric at the mo!

Another bit of exciting news (for me anyway!) is that my glass bits and pieces arrived for my other pendant range I am doing. I've put them aside for now though whilst I am on a mad sewing buzz and will probably pull them out next week to have a play.

One last little note before I get back to cutting and hopefully sleeping at some point, is that I am very excited to learn about a new craft market that is starting in Bayswater. You can never have too many craft markets so I wish them all the best and hope it is a success, so that they continue them. The market is called Love Handmade and is starting up in November. I'll definitely be getting in an application for that! I'm also going to apply for Kraftbomb and the Devonport Craft Markets in their next open applications so wish me luck :)

Evening all x

Tidying and Sorting Day

2009-09-22T16:36:00.001+12:00

Over the last week or so, I had managed to make my office a right disorderly mess! So, today I decided it had to be tidied. I feel so much better now that I have organised my craft stuff, it actually makes me want to get it all out again and start making new things. But I am going to be good and have the afternoon off. I am about to head to the post office to pick up a mystery package that has arrived for me. Okay, so it's hardly a mystery when I am expecting 3 deliveries.... but which one will it be?!? hehe I will be sure to let you all know in the morning.

Last night, well past my bed time I finished another sample of a different style of business card wallet that I am going to be making and selling.

This one is probably going to end up on my keyring, as it's my fave colour and pretty gosh darn cute!

I have cut out a some fabric ready to create a couple of other things, but as the day has completely gotten away from me they will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm off to my course now, so I hope everyone enjoys their afternoon :)

A productive afternoon :)

2009-09-21T16:55:00.000+12:00

What better way to spend a windy, grey, miserable day, than to be inside cutting and sewing? I personally can't think of anything better! I am testing out the templates that I have made up, and I am pretty pleased with how they have turned out. There was a few little hiccups incurred that will need to be rectified in the next ones I make, but for a first attempt they're not too shabby.
Of course, the headband is such a basic design it'd be pretty poor of me to stuff that up. So here we have one of the styles of headbands I am going to be making.

This style headband is fairly wide, and is reversible. It has some pretty ribbon to tie it nicely at the back. My initial plan was to sew the ribbon right across the outside of the headband, but I completely forgot that I needed to do that before I stitched the two sides together! My bad. Oh well, I will try that idea out next time.

I saw some neat business card wallets when I was in Melbourne last year and I just had to try making them for myself. You could even use it as a mini wallet for when you go out, with your ATM cards and ID in it.

I also picked up a little bit more fabric on my way home this morning (just couldn't resist stopping at Spotlight!) and when I got home I discovered that it was actually cheaper than I thought. Here I was thinking I was paying about $18 or $20 a metre for fabric, and it actually was only about half that. Score! I am glad that I didn't know that until I got home, or I would have certainly spent more money and time getting more. hehe

Now I am trying to decide on what to make next... so will get back to it, and post another blog soon x

Sunshine and Beach walks

2009-09-20T23:54:00.002+12:00

Spring is definitely, by far, my most favourite time of year. I absolutely love the warm sunshine and cool breeze. Today was one of those glorious days!

This morning I managed to find a tyre place that is actually open on a Sunday (Kudos to Archers Tyres in Glenfield!) so I could put my embarrassing yellow space saver, back into its hidden compartment in my boot. I then made my way to Takapuna for a lovely walk down to the beach, along the beach to the cafe at the boat ramp for a coffee, and back again. It's a nice decent walk, and I was able to get a decent dose of Vitamin D along the way. Walking is a great way to think about things. I spent my walk planning out what designs I am going to work on next, and which prototypes I am going to make tomorrow. I've spent the last month or so compiling a list of ideas and designs of things I would like to make, and have had a few suggestions from friends as to what they would like, so I am certainly not short on inspiration at the moment.

This afternoon I made templates and sketches for some headbands, business card wallets, clutches and a few other goodies, so I am keen to start testing them out of my sewing machine tomorrow. I very much doubt I will get all the prototypes made, but I'll give it my best shot!

Yikes, look at the time! I think I need to get some shut eye so I can be bright as a button in the morning for an early productive start. Night all :)

Views, Displays and Pendants!

2009-09-20T10:10:00.002+12:00

Good Morning all :) What a lovely, but windy, day it is today. I can hear the ferns and trees that are close to the house, scratching against the walls. It sounds eerie at night time but I quite like the sound during the day. Look at the gorgeous view I am able to look at everyday from one of my office windows.

I am pretty lucky where I am currently living, it's so lovely and peaceful out here. I have to move in a couple of months though, unfortunately, and I just hope that I can get somewhere that is just as nice :) I thought I should try and take some more pictures before we have to move, for memories sake.

This morning when I got up I managed to take a semi-decent pic of my jewellery display. The sun doesn't hit my side of the house early in the day, so it's still not the best photo, but it'll give you an idea as to what it looks like.

As you can see, the display is pretty chockablock with earrings, so a larger one is definitely needed! But nevertheless, I will soon be offering these for sale. Not sure whether or not they will be made to order, or if I'll make a heap up yet or not... but you too, will soon be able to get your hands on one of these beauties ;) hehe

I'm heading out for the afternoon, so my pendants should all be dry and ready for their second coat tomorrow. Getting excited about having them all finished :) For some odd reason though, on a couple of them, the paper has cracked underneath. It looks quite cool, but I'll need to work out why that's happening so it doesn't do it in the future!

Here they are, drying on my desk. I seriously need a bigger desk!

The chores aren't doing themselves this weekend (no matter how hard I wish!) so it's off to do that for a couple of hours before heading out to enjoy the fresh air. Enjoy your Sunday x

Where did the Sunshine go?

2009-09-19T19:07:00.007+12:00

I got up this morning with my day all planned out... and it turned out to be just one of "those" days! After the rain started, there was a trip to the vet with a sick pussy cat, then a few hours waiting to pick him up, then a flat tyre on the way home. Then, I also discover that my spare has deflated from a long time of non-use. Typical! AND to top it all off, this all happens at quarter past 4 on a Saturday afternoon, just after all the tyre places have shut up shop for the rest of the weekend. So now I have the joy of driving around with a sexy space saver tyre until Monday morning. Hot! :) hehe Oh, and did I mention that it's also YELLOW!

But kitty cat and car dramas aside, it is the weekend so that's always a plus. I managed to finish my jewellery display last night and I am quite pleased with it. It is, however, no way near big enough for all of my earrings so the next prototype will definitely be upsized. As expected, a few construction glitches came up along the way but all in all it was a successful project. I love it when you design and make something for the first time. It is so rewarding when you see it all come together. It's also very cool when you continue to develop it and have it to compare to once you have perfected your technique! There is a couple of minor things that I am going to alter in the next version, so will let you all know how that goes. I wanted to take some pictures to put up, but the photos tend to come out grainy at night for some reason, so I will wait until I get some daylight tomorrow morning.

But speaking of pictures... I just can't resist posting a picture of my SERIOUSLY retro and awesomely cool sewing machine.

How cute is she? I was the happiest girl in the world when I managed to bag this bargain on Trademe a few months ago. A 1970 Husqvarna! It is the exact same model that I learnt on when I was a young girl, except in way funkier colours. I am pretty certain my Mum still has her machine actually - so we now have matching ones :) There is just something about old, reliable, basic machines. Whilst I admire all the functionality the new machines have, you just can't beat a machine that just does what it is supposed to do... sew!

The other really cool thing about this little baby, is that she has a little table attachment that clips on to give you more control over your work, and her own hardcover that slides over and clips into place. What's best is that the pedal, bobbin box and table all jigsaw together with the machine, under the cover. Too cool for school! Here are some pics to show you exactly what I mean.

I really hate packing her away though. She looks so cute all setup and ready to sew. I am moving house in a couple of months and my one prerequisite of a house is that it has a room big enough for ALL of my design and creating materials to be set up all the time. That way when ever I am in the mood to be creative, it's a matter of going into the room and just getting into it. How cool that would be!

Anyway, I have about 65 pendants prepped and ready to coat, so I am going to get onto that. Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend so far :)

K x

Win your own Babe in the Wood!

2009-09-18T23:01:00.001+12:00

One of my favourite blogs, from a fellow creative and super cool chick, has a competition going at the moment. You can check it out here - Bam Bam Creative.

But you'll need to be quick... competition closes on Sunday at 5pm NZ time :)

Goodies to make Goodies!

2009-09-18T18:04:00.001+12:00

Well I am back from my shopping trip with lots of new supplies :) It's actually quite an exhausting experience... but I love every minute of it! Here is a little sneak peak at some of the goodies I purchased this afternoon.

Yes, that is indeed a staple gun in the picture! It's (possibly) to help me make my jewellery display. I've measured, cut and sanded my pieces of wood (all by hand!) ready to go and am now trying to work out the logistics of actually assembling it! hehe. I have no doubt that it will be absolutely fabulous when I am finished though ;)

I have also spent a bit of time today working on my collection of wooden pendants. They are coming along really nicely, I am very pleased. The round ones are proving a slight challenge, so I am thinking of investing in a paper punch to aid in making them! I will post some pictures once they are nearer to completion.

Phew, what a busy week it has been. I doubt it will be a restful weekend, as I have so many new goodies that I will want to keep creating! It is going to be a GREAT weekend :)

Bed is a creative thinking place

2009-09-18T11:30:00.001+12:00

I love that section of time from the point of opening your eyes in the morning, to the point where you actually get up. I do alot of thinking in that space. This morning I was lying in bed looking at my dismal attempt of making an earring display on the wall (I didn't have the right materials when I made it, so I just botched something together!) and started brainstorming on ways I could improve it. A friend of mine has made some really cool earring displays and he was trying to think of a solution with being able to get them small enough to be able to post. I think I may have just come up with a solution!

I grabbed my notepad which was sitting by my bed (I always keep it handy, you never know when an idea will strike!) and did a little rough sketch of my idea. Had a brief think about how I will put it together and possible problems I may face, and I have now compiled a list of materials needed. I intend on being completely prepared for construction this time!

Supplies shopping is usually a day long affair for me, so I ALWAYS make sure I bring a little list along to ensure I get all of the bits and pieces I need. Of course, there is always truck loads of extras added whilst I am browsing and becoming inspired, but a list is always a good place to start. Don't you hate it when you go and get all (or what you think is all) the bits and pieces you need to make something, get home, start creating, only to discover you have indeed missed a vital component. Frustrating as ever!

On that note, I am just revising my shopping list and am about to head out for the day. I'll be sure to post some piccies on my return xx

A beautiful day for making things

2009-09-16T11:58:00.003+12:00

Well my first lot of supplies arrived in the post yesterday afternoon, how exciting! It was a good thing that I had my course to go to last night or else I would have sat up all hours playing with them. Anyway, I got up reasonably early and after checking emails and Facebook (priorities people! hehe) I have now started working on the first of my pendants. I have been wanting to make these for so long now and am really pleased to have had such a creative burst this last couple of months. It has definitely spurred me on to get back into it.

Here is a little picture of my wee workstation (I really need a bigger designing space!).

I have had my selection of gorgeous scrapbooking paper (after my lil shopping spree at NZ Scrapbook last week) just sitting here, waiting to be turned into something. I can tell that my obsession with paper is only going to get worse over the coming months as I start to work on all my different product ranges.

The warm sun beaming through my window is just delightful this morning, so I think I will trim these pendants and then go and make a coffee and soak up some rays. Best make the most of it before the unpredictable kiwi weather decides it's had enough sunshine for the day and becomes overcast.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous day :)

My super cute banner

2009-09-14T16:49:00.002+12:00

Just wanted to share with you all, my new banner that I have done for my Etsy shop. I am chuffed with it and hope you like it too.

After going through this little process, it has just confirmed to me that graphic design is definitely something I want to study at some point... along with web design, writing and interior design. At the rate I add things to my to do list, I am going to have to live forever :P

And I have a logo!

2009-09-14T15:14:00.000+12:00

Yippee! After much playing around with Illustrator (I am getting pretty good at it, if I don't say so myself) I have finally come up with a logo that I am pretty stoked with.

Yes, I know, it's at the top of my blog! But I just wanted to post it here to show you again ;)
I managed to happily incorporate some cute little buttons, because as you will soon learn, I LOVE buttons.

All in all, a great days work I would say. Now I can start to work on some proper branding... a website, prettying up my blog, and ordering some business cards. Exciting stuff.

A coffee would go down a treat right now, chat to you all later x

Introducing... a name!

2009-09-13T18:46:00.003+12:00

Yes, I finally decided on a name for my crafty label. It was a big decision and not everyone will like it, but 'Skipapple' is fitting for me. 'Skip' derives from my Aussie heritage (as in a Kangaroo!), and is one of the nicknames that I have been given since arriving in New Zealand. 'Apple' comes from the little South Western Australian town called Donnybrook that I lived in for a long time and made some of the best friends in world there. Not to mention my mum, nanna and brother are living there. It is indeed an apple town :)

So until I come up with a colour scheme (which will definitely incorporate my favourite colour, green) and logo my blog will continue to look a little bare. But bear with me as I prettify it!

Can't wait to share all my thoughts with you x