plush you!

(all photos via Schmancy)

Plush You! is an annual exhibition of plush toys, curated by the ace Kristen Rask of Schmancy Toys in Seattle (You may also recognize the name from the book they brought out a few years back). I was super-excited to be part of this years show with my bearded men!

I've had a look on the interwebs (alas I did not fly to the US for the show. Woulda been nice.) at some of the artists, and good heavens. This gal is my fav, methinks. Although it's very very hard to choose. You can see a bit about it here on Unanimous Craft, or you can read my interview with Kirsten on the Schmancy blog over here along with a whole lotta interviews from plush artists and links to their work.

Yay!

new stockists! hooray!

Shorties
537 King St,
Newtown, Sydney

A gorgeous mix of whimsical fairytale, hipster fashion and uber-trendy, with lots of handmade and uniqueness. The kind of store that makes you want to go and procreate, to justify buying half the stock. Yes.

Spacebar Gallery
Studio 021 (off Woobys Lne)
Salamanca Arts Centre
77 Salamanca Place
Hobart TAS 7000

a retail gallery in the thriving art community of Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart; with local and interstate designers of fashion, jewellery, accessories, home wares and visual art. Spacebar Gallery also showcases exhibitions, installations, events and fashion shows in it's beautiful historical building.

Im Wunderland
244 Hyde St
Bellingen NSW

A shop full of surprises, from swedish wool throws to rare books and local artisans goodies. There is a homebrew beer corner and antique linen from glory boxes and homemade home wares. Something for everyone, and in a swell place like Bellingen too.


These guys have stocked Pepper Stitches for a little while, but I've just gotten around to sharing their awesomeness with you! Hooray for awesomeness!

You can see all of my stockists here.

'Holy Dooley I'm In a Book' Giveaway!

A while back, I made some cushions for a book project and yesterday in the mail came the book! (Reason #128 I love my mailman)

Compiled by Kathreen from Whipup, Kids Crafternoon: Sewing is full of simple sewing projects for kids from crafters around the world; and there is my pocket cushion project, on page 94! Sewing is the first of four great titles in Kathreen's Kids' Crafternoon series. Papercraft, Felting and Beading are due for release in November 2011. Yay!

I have a copy of Kids Crafternoon: Sewing to give away (thanks to the lovely folk at Hardie Grant).

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post by 10pm Tuesday 12th July.

Yay Again!

what I did yesterday

Made a little guitar for a custom order. Not finished yet, I will add the strings and a little guitar strap too.

in the mail

Letter and postcard from old housemates in Germany and France, a Japanese book and cars print fabric, and some salt and pepper shakers from the U.S. for my collection (donkeys! and bears!)



I love my mail man.

new stockist! Mr Sparrow

(Anna and Mr Sparrow in Frankie)

You can now find Pepper Stitches in the gorgeous Mr Sparrow, in Perth, Australia. Now you can find Pepper Stiches in 4 States! How exciting!

If you are over that way, Mr Sparrow stocks oh-so-many-delightful things. Anna, the owner, is delightful too. How do I know? Well she's lovely. And there is an online shop. I have seen it and lusted mightily. I know.

new stockists! Georgie Love, Breathing Colours Gallery, Meet Me at Mikes

You can now find Pepper Stitches at Georgie Love, an online store of handmade pleasures. There are lots of lovely things there, really truly. Be warned, your morning might slip away while you peek at the shelves.

You can also find Pepper Stitches at Breathing Colours Gallery (top photo) @ 446 Darling St, Balmain, Sydney 2041, and some bearded folk men dolls have made their way to the Meet Me At Mikes shop @ 63 Brunswick St, Fitzroy Melbourne 3065.

Meanwhile, it is a misty cool morning, and I'm going to go make some more tea and start sewing some teddy bear super-hero capes. I might listen to the Audreys.

Happy Monday everyone!

PepperStitches Pocket Cushions Project in Kids Crafternoon

I have been invited to participate by the lovely Kathreen from Whip Up in a sewing book for kids called 'Kids Crafternoon'. How exciting! Hooray! These are the samples of my sewing project in the book, a 'Pocket Cushion' that reuses pockets from old clothes and are perfect for hiding secret treasures in. The book is due for publishing in July next year, I'll be showing you then anyway!
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I am very excited, yes?

plushie palooza @ Kid Independent

I'm very excited to be a part of Plushie Palooza at KidIndependent, a blog of lovely handmade indie loveliness for kids and mums. Plushie Palooza is a month full of handmade plushies so cute you’ll want to squeeze them till their stuffing pops out; a toy festival and swag bonanza celebrating the handmade toy.

Every day an ace plush will be featured on the blog, until 30 November, 2010. You can vote on your favourites by adding a comment to the corresponding post. There will be a few spot prizes along the way, so be sure to drop by daily. At the end of the festival, the plushie with the most votes will win the Golden Plushie award!

My antler girl will be featured on November 16th, feel free to drop by and vote for me! Hooray!

And OHMYGOODNESS you can win ALL thirty of the featured plushies! (enter the prize draw here ) what an awesome giant bag of awsomeness! What would you do with 30 plushies? And just before Christmas! (if you can bear to give them away. No pun intended)

Good luck!

(text excerpts and banner image via KIDIndependent)

my (two weeks) in pictures

no internet= guilt free (ish) cafe visits. I mean I have to check emails, right? This is a baked egg quesadilla. For breakfast. With pear chutney. Yum.

Matching pajamas. Yes, I know it's cheesy. But lovely too.

It was the Boys birthday, I blew up 100 balloons with a fact in each one. All factual, some more.. personal.. than others.

Watched the Tigers play with the Boys family. Wore a fan scarf and jumped up and down a bit. Go Tigers.

Uurgh I don't want to see another one of these for some time. K? Thnx.

Spanish Omelette with chorizo and avocado salsa. Just a regular breakfast, really. (Oh and I wasn't actually reading 'Business Day', it fell out of the paper while I was looking for my horoscope, or the comics or something. I prefer my information irrational. Doesn't it make me look a bit of a toff though?)

(Please excuse the Boy's gesture there. How rude.)

This protest march appeared out of nowhere and chanted down the street, delaying me and my taxi a good ten minutes. I didn't mind, at the risk of turning political here I do think gay people should be allowed to get married. You found someone you can love/annoy for the rest of your life, go for it.

Ooh and I won this lovely book from this lovely gal!

Is it cheeky to post retrospectively? I'm not sure. This blog is like my journal though, and I like reading through old posts and seeing what I got up to, so I reckon it's okay every now and then, when time has slipped by and I didn't have the chance. Yep.

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Hope your two weeks have been lovely too!

deer little antler creatures!

Oooh here are my antler boys featured on an ace blog for styley cute things for kids- minimusthave! Yay!

gratitude

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Firstly thanks so much for your words and thoughts, they help more than you know.

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On blog rounds I have also been inspired by 31 experiment who is doing a series of posts on gratitude, and ShineaLittleLight's post about thankfulness, which got me onto this super little blog thxthxthx which features a thank you note a day. Like the ones above.

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I also read this week that a study found that after writing down things they were grateful for, after a few weeks people were 25% happier. TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT people!

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So I have a little red notebook, and I will start a thank you list, a bit like 1000 awesome things, every day write a few more in until I get to one thousand. Every day has things in it that I am thankful for, even if they've happen a thousand times before. Every day is full of things I am thankful for, if I look for them, and I will write them down.

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Number one is going to be you.

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winner for you, winner for me

and the winner of my vintage pattern giveaway, to celebrate my 300th post (drawn lucky-dip from the teapot) is...

The super nice Kylie from 3 Sheets and Scissors & Paper Rock! Email me your address and I'll have these posted to you in a jiffy!

Sorry it's a bit late, it's been a bit hectic over here, but here we go! There's still lost of vintage patterns up in my etsy store if you missed out, for children, maternity, evening wear, well; almost everything.

In the last week I have had several lovely surprises in the mailbox (I tend to forget things, so packages are always a bit of a mystery to me, but the best kind)

I was given the gorgeous clutch and green rose earrings from Pass It On from Bec at Red Chocolate (check out that clutch! She made it herself, from the MeetMeAtMike's Craft Book!)

and I won the scrabble nerd brooch from the ace Julianne from Chasing Snails & Unique Scrapbooking. Also a prize arrived from Amelie and Atticus for my photos! (not pictured)

Thanks everyone, I love them!

seven things about me you may not know

1) I don't usually eat breakfast. (Wow this is going to be a goldmine of fascinating information for you, reader!) with the exception of sunday breakfasts, which should be big, eaten around noon and with multiple cups of tea and the paper.

2) My first job was at a butcher. I have also worked in a school, clothes store, bowling alley, hairdressing studio, childcare centre, community garden, music store, selling encyclopedias door to door and as a mime artist.

3) Growing up I read more than I spoke, so I read words much more than I heard them, leading to the notion that 'island' was pronounced 'is-land'. Don't get me started on 'drought'.

4) I don't like cauliflower (and the intriguing revelations continue..) I think it is humiliated broccolli.

5) My favourite flower is the flannel flower, it's an Australian native and grows wild in the mountains. It looks a bit like a daisy, but its petals feel like flannelette sheets!

6) I am sometimes frightened of buses, lifts, waiting rooms and planes. This is not.helpful.

7) I have never seen snow, been on a rollarcoaster or eaten lobster

So why am i sharing this fascinating information? Well the lovely Jayne, of the Little Passenger has nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger award, oh yay! Thanks Jayne! Her blog is swell and you really ought to go and have a peek if you haven't already. Actually even if you have, go. there. now.

According to the rules, I must:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might not know,
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

So I nominate:

Banana smoothies for strawberry sundays

Shayla shut your eyes

M*

Through lemongrass eyes

(sshh, I know it's only 4, but some of my favs already got the award, m-kay?)

holy dooley I won

the monthly photography competition over at Amelie & Atticus, remember when I mentioned it here? and I get a prize!! Woot!

I'm stoked. When you think you're pretty mediocre at something but someone says your pretty good, actually; it's very darn encouraging!

Thanks to everyone who voted, and if you want to play along, the first theme of this month is 'eyes shut..'

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(edit) I'm all encouraged now and I do love to take photos, so I've just registered for EOS Photo5, an annual creative photography competition which all begins with a brown box. Inside there are 5 items that are separate photographic briefs to be incorporated or inspire your photos. Last year there were; umbrella, bubbles, crayon, tealight and ribbon (click to see last years finalists).

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It sounds like heaps of fun, I'll let you know when it arrives! Can't wait to see what's in it!

hurrah! opening night! Leon loved! custom order!

These guys waiting patiently in the art gallery for the opening night of this exhibition.

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and here they are! So many creative peeps and artists!

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and breakdancers! How impossibly trendy is that?

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and HURRAH! Leon found a home before the exhibition started! He was snatched up here in the arms of the lovely Tobiah who was one of the exhibition organizers, and is Liquorice Tree. She makes amazing and.a.bit.creepy.but.in.a.good.way felted creatures, see them here!
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Tobiah is creating her nursery and has placed a custom order for a girl 'Leon', to sit on each side and guard her baby's crib! The nursery will be featured in a design magazine too! Wow!

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Can you tell I'm excited? I think the exclamation marks are giving me away! And then there's the book! I think I'm going to go and lie down!

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(all image credited to Tobiah's flickr stream) You can see more photos of the exhibition & opening night here.

Holy Toledo Batman!

I'm in! an actual exhibition, and a book! Remember way back when I thought this was a cool idea?
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I spent last night drawing up creatures to join Melancholy Monster & The Three Bears across the sea. There's a monster impostor, a bunny in a straitjacket, and a sad bird creature with a tail.

The challenge is now:

- in order to get my work to the States by Friday the 3rd July, I need to post on Monday.That leaves 2 days to create a collection worthy of my first exhibition (oh and in between completing a weeks worth of Uni work)

- Oh and MY SEWING MACHINE JUST DIED last night. It just.won't.go.

Which brings me to the part where I say Holy Toledo Batman! How will I get this done?
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(You can see more about the exhibition here, and here, and here! You can also see some of the entries and works in this Flickr Pool. All the work looks really great!
Also some blog friends are on the exhibitors list, like Melissa from art=love=life who makes amazing creatures)

the-sweetest-thing

Jayne from The Little Passenger has made me a mix cd! What an awesomely sweet thing to do! I am so excited! Look at this supremely awesome goodness! (can you tell that I am excited?! Is it the liberal use of exclamation marks that gives it away?!)

. image credit

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the pepper compilation

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(1) "i love you, awesome" - the phoenix foundation

(2) "funny shadow" - age pryor & tessa rain

(3) "blood and peanut butter" - bc camplight

(4) "parentheses" - the blow

(5) "emmawood" - buildings breeding

(6) "bruises" - chairlift

(7) "it's my own cheating heart that makes me cry" - glasvegas

(8) "you and i" - ingrid michaelson

(9) "you are the light {by which i travel i travel into this and that}" - jens lekman

(10) "cha cha cha" - the little ones

(11) "daylight" - matt & kim

(12) "little drummer girl" - buildings breeding

(13) "all the wine" - the national

(14) "people got a lotta nerve" - neko case

(15) "calling and not calling my ex" - okkervil river

(16) "life on a chain" - pete yorn

(17) "apples and tangerines" - the phoenix foundation

(18) "sentimental heart" - she & him

(19) "awkward kisser" - telekinesis

(20) "this is the one" - the stone roses

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An unexpected bonus of this blogging business, reading inspiring stories and meeting such incredible people that just make my day! Thank you so much Jayne, I can't wait to lie upside down with a glass of wine and listen to this baby.

woohoo!

image credit

This morning I am sitting snugly with my cup of tea, having arrived cheerfully and earlier than I expected because I got every green light! And intersection! All the way to work! I glided here on my bike like a freakin’ superstar.

This phenomenon is known all around the world. My sister likes to call it ‘Running the Gauntlet’ down a particular stretch of road in Brisbane littered with lights. Also known as ‘The Green Mile’, or ‘Green Run’, or just plain ‘Miraculous’.

No matter where you are, getting to where you’re going unencumbered is like winning a victory. You smile, you punch the air, you feel, well, victorious!

When was your last perfect run? (and what do you call it?) Do tell!

OMG!

I just checked out the anti-valentine day comp at dabbled, and although I didn't win, I am up as a FINALIST for the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD!! So still excited! head over to dabbled.org and have a squiz at the finalists, there's some cute-as stuff. You can vote for your favourite (I won't mind if it's not mine, honest!) Mine is the skeleton at the very bottom, if you missed my previous post.
Go on, have a look! (and vote for me! no, don't.. but do!)