April Round Up - DIYs, Features, Inspiration & Fun!

After such an awesome month on the blog, we thought it would be nice to have a monthly round up of all the things we've been posting about to make sure you've not missed out on any of the best bits :D 

 

We've been sharing our 'behind the scenes' photographs on our Wordless Wednesday posts. These ones are our personal favorites... so many to choose from!

 

We got to interview some fabulous designers and get a peek into their practice for our Feature posts. Get an insite into the world of:

Listiques, a crafty n cute jewellery designer

Blue Jaracanda, a screen printing queen

 Misanthropy Creates, a retro n alternative jewellery designer

Windy City Knits a designer of wooly wonders!

 

We fell in love with Caine's Arcade, a movie about the boy who built his own arcade entirely out of cardbord. It's the best short film we've seen this year... And we can't get enough of Lori Nix's dioramas. Her work has made us look at bad weather in a whole new light! 

  

Our tutorials included how to repurpose your pencils and erasers for National Stationery Day, how to customise your tights, and how to up-cycle your pretty handkerchiefs! 

 

We introduced ourselves after 2 years of running the blog (I'm quite shy so that was a big step!) , showed you our favorite outfit, hosted our first ever giveaway, got featured on Mollie Makes blog and on AvocadoSweet.com, held our first ever stall and created new products to introduce into our etsy boutique including our British Biscuit Ornaments and our Illustrated Cards!

Crikey!

Summing everything up like that makes us realise how epic April has really been!

We hope you're enjoying our blog, we're working hard at improving it all the time. 

If you have anything you would like to see more of or anything you think we should start including we'd love to hear your comments! 

Bring on MAY :D

xox

Last Call For Giveaway Goodies! *CLOSED*

That's right folks!
Today is the final day for entering our giveaway...

To get your mitts on all these goodies, get in there quickly and enter here

Competition closes at midnight and the winner will be emailed tomorrow!

Good luck

This giveaway has now closed!
Please follow our blog for updates of our next one - it's happening very soon :D
Thanks to everyone who entered, we will be announcing the winner on Twitter today!

Our First Stall!

Hooray!We just held our first ever market stall on Saturday and it was a success!We thought we would share our little set up with you so you can see how it all looked...
 
We had an hour to set up before the event, which you'd think would be plenty of time, but I'd say it was just the right amount... With so many different things to put on our table it can take some time to get on top of - I'm glad we did a trial run first! 
 
We came super prepared with lots of snacks, change, business cards and sign up sheets, and managed to persuade my mum who popped in to see how we were getting on to get us frappicinos too. If you're going to do your first ever stall, we recommend getting someone you know pop in through the day who is happy to bring you supplies! 
 
It was great to meet so many lovely people and to see people's reaction to what we make and do. Having only run our etsy boutique before today, it was really lovely to see people laugh and smile and get involved. It is a long day and a lot of work goes into it behind the scenes, but it is definitely worth the extra effort :) 
 
The only down side to working a market is wanting to buy everyone else's stuff! I think next time I'm going to give myself a budget for a treat - it's very easy to spend everything you make at these events :D

Thanks to everyone who made it and supported us throughout the day!

We've already booked up our next event and are thinking of switching up our set up a little...
For our first attempt we think it was looking pretty sharp!
We'd love to hear you think :) 

Also, we are delighted to have been featured on A Blackbird's Epiphany today too, so if you would like to know even more about us and how we work, make sure you pop in for a visit!

AvocadoSweet.com & The Market

Check out our feature on avocadosweet.com!

Based in Scotland, this magazine covers everything from high brow art to low brow cravings; a shot of culture delivered straight into your inbox with dashes of great writing, film and music... To be featured on such an amazing website is quite the honour! Thank you for the support everyone, we're delighted to be included with so much awesome stuff :D

Check out our feature here and make sure you sign up for your daily doze of what's hot in Scotland right now! 

AAAAAAAnd if you are in Edinburgh on Saturday, you can meet us in person!

Yep, we will be holding our first ever stall at The Market, which will be brimming with the best local designers and the most sought after goodies in town... It's going to blow your socks off!

Make sure you pop over and say hi if you make it, we would love to meet you :D

Wish us luck & HAPPY FRIDAY!

xox

Featured: Windy City Knits

This week we are getting cozy and hanging out with Angela, the crafter and designer behind Windy City Knits. We love nothing more than accessorising our outfits with some wooly goodness. Come rain or shine, Scotland always has a little nip in the air... but with beatiuful items like these, we don't need an excuse to want all of these!

Knitted Hat

Tell us a bit about yourself...

I am a wife and mom and have been knitting for over a decade. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and I am an avid cook and baker. I am a city and beach loving girl, yet I have to drive a bit to get to both, I love espresso way too much, I would eat pasta everyday if I could, I love watching old 1980’s movies, my favorite time of year is Summer.

cozy cowl scarf

Are the items you sell inspired by what is currently popular or based more on your personal style and interests?

My items are inspired by my own style. I really love to create pieces that I would love to wear. 

What has been your biggest challenge so far?

My biggest challenge so far has been the realization of how much work it is to promote myself. I'm not a business minded person by nature, but I quickly learned to be when I started my Etsy shop.

Fingerless Gloves

When you're having a crap day, what do you find motivates you?

A hug from my love makes everything perfect, but if he's not available I find a quiet place and a warm cup of tea to just sit and calm my mind. 

What have you found to be the best piece of advice given to you?
The best piece of advice has been to know my worth when it comes to pricing my pieces. 

Cabled Cowl

How can we find you?

(click the links) 

shop

blog

facebook

twitter

Tell us what your guilty pleasure is?

Chocolate....in all forms. :)

Chocolate makes everything better!

We agree that promoting and pricing is the hardest part of opening your own etsy store; it's good to know we are not alone! We think it's good that you can tweak prices as you go along on etsy, as it  means you can see what appeals more to buyers as you go along. We would pay a lot of money for a beautiful scarf like the one above :D As for promoting, we think it's just about putting the time in. Start small and work your way up - it will become easier the more you work at it...

Check out Angela's blog for inspiration and giveaways. To get your mitts on her lovely mitts make sure to visit her shop too!

Thanks Angela!

If you have any suggestions on a good way to work out pricing or have any tips on self promotion we would love to hear it!

Wrap up warm and happy Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday

  

New Cards For National Stationery Day

Being stationery nuts, we couldn't resist releasing our new line of cards on National Stationery Day!

As you well know, we love sending and receiving post and have a full blown addiction to pencils and paper. I'm not sure where we would be without the internet and emails and mobile phones and all of the other ways we have to communicate in the world today, but there is something so special about the ol' snail mail. Even if it means spending more money and time trying to get your message to someone, it always brings a bigger smile and a lasting thought that none of the others can contend with.

So for our new set of cards we decided to illustrate our favorite things which we felt also get over looked and have been sadly forgotten about with time...

 Marshmallow Fluff

I don't know about you, but I cant get enough of this white stuff. I use it for whoopie pies and for making the biggest mess in the kitchen known to man. Even looking at this jar gets me excited! There really is no substitute for Marshmallow Fluff. Come famous fudge or hot chocolate fun, you just can't beat it. We hope it makes the comeback it deserves!

Birthday Card

We love these little birthday candles. I remember them so prominently from my youth and have such great memories from the parties that would come with them. They're still around, but we think they just don't get the recognition they should...

If I could, I would have hundreds of these decorating my bedroom!

Birthdays can be a lot of fun, but we got a bit tired of seeing the same old boring cards. We love to pull people's legs and a little bit of cheeky teasing is always good fun :D We created this "We Lost Count" card because we really think it doesn't matter what the number is... and often, we genuinely can't remember it! Haha!

Garden Party Flamingos

If I had a garden, the first thing I would do is put a couple of these amazing pink plastic flamingos in it. They're super kitsch and always bring a big smile to my face. Nothing says summer cocktails like these guys! In fact, the two flamingos illustrated here were actually hanging outside the caravan park by the Heartbreak Hotel in Memphis. That's right, they're Elvis fans too! If that's not a rock n roll accessory I don't know what is.

 Clock Radio

We love to collect random vintage items as we like to wonder about the stories that go with them.  We found this beautiful clock radio in America and fell in love with it - and it's not hard to see why! Not only will I never sleep in or wake up to the worlds most hateful beep in the morning. I think we need a National Clock Radio Day next!

Retro Salon 

Finally, like diners, we love to find vintage and retro hair salons. Not the ones that have been re-decorated to look like they are 'old school', but the ones that have opened in the 50s and haven't been decorated since. Oh boy! It melts my heart! If only I could cut hair... I tried that once, but the result was laughable :S Can you imagine the colossal amount of gossip in those walls? The lives changed by some peroxide and a few snips of some scissors? These old salons should be treasured and turned into some kind of Beauty Sanctuaries. Frenchie would be proud!

  

...and what makes this card EXTRA special is that it is officially the 100th listing in our Etsy Boutique!

Yup, our new cards are the beginning of a whole new decimal point; how exciting!

We are so proud of ourselves as creating so many different kinds of items can be quite the challenge.
We hope you like them as much as we do!

DIY: Repurposed Stationery! Pencil Brooch & Eraser Stamp for National Stationery Day!

Happy National Stationery Day! 

Today we thought we would go all out and celebrate the big day in style by repurposing our favorite things: a pencil and eraser of course! 

We never leave the house without our trusty friends with us at all times, so we thought we should give them a little make over for todays tutorial... 

Being in love with our Words Are For Nerds pencil, naturally we thought we should turn it into a badge. Who doesn't want a pencil brooch?! All you need to do it take your pencil, shave a little of wood off the back, cut in a key (hatch cut the wood so the glue has something to grip into) and glue on your brooch backing. Awesome! Now we will never loose our pencils in the bottomless pit that is my handbag ever again! It may be simple, but it is SUPER practical :D 

Next up, we're making a stamp out of our eraser!
I would refer to it as a rubber, which I normally do, but the phrase has been somewhat tainted from my youth! Hee hee! So, to make a super quick and easy stamp, all you need to do is draw your favorite thing on the end of your eraser. I chose a heart because I LOVE National Stationery Day! Next, carefully cut around it with a scalpel so it sticks out by a few millimeters. Then all you need to do is stamp it into some ink and away you go!

I love this diy as it can be great for making your own gift wrap and you can always just cut off the end of your eraser and start again when you want a new shape or if it goes wrong.... This has saved me a fortune in fun printing!

For those of you too lazy to make a pencil brooch or a rubber stamp for National Stationery Day you can always participate but making yourself some paper clip jewelry... 

It only comes by once a year so it would be rude not to! Hee hee :D
Looking for more stationery celebrations? Pop over to Molly & The Princess  and join the party...

Happy National Stationery Day

We hope you enjoy customising your favorite tools!

The Market: Art & Design Market In Edinburgh

We are really excited to announce that we will be holding our first ever market stall this Saturday!

The Market is a new design and craft market with a whole host of amazing artists attending. We are pretty nervous but really looking forward to seeing what people really think of what we make and do!  We will be selling our geek stationery, illustrated prints, incredible tote bags and amazing new biscuit ornaments... Our table will be jam packed full of goodness!

 So, if you are about between 11am and 5pm on the 28th of April, be sure to come up to the castle and say hi :) We would love to meet you in person!

If you have any advice or words of wisdom for us first time stall holders, we would love to hear it!

Hope to meet you then...

xox

Style Me Friday...

Sit On It!

Dorothy Perkins Dress                                                    Fred Perry & Amy Winehouse Cardigan

River Island Sunglasses                                                   Motel66 Ring

MAC lipstick in Brave Red                                              Barry M Nail Polish

Cry Baby DVD                                                             Urbanears Headphones

This week's collection is all about the 50s. 

Mix up your good gal look with a few killer accessories to make sure you snag that bad boy! 

Catch you at the diner on Saturday Night...

Happy Weekend

xox

Product Packaging: Which Do You Prefer?

Hello lovelies!

Today we are asking for your help...

Last week we introduced you to our new biscuit ornaments. Made out of plaster and displayed on raffia, our afternoon treats seem to have gone down well... However, we can't quite decide which packaging we prefer. So we thought we would open up our discussion to our favorite people...  You of course! 

Your thoughts and opinions are really important to us and we were hoping you would be able to help us finish off this product properly :)

So, simply put, which packaging is your favorite?

Is it the white Chinese take out box? We like it because it is so clean and simple; really minimalist and playful. It is easy to pack up and hand out (very market stall friendly) and we love it's kitsch factor. The surprise you get when opening it up is awesome too :)

Or is it the 1/2 pint berry box? This beautiful teal box is super farmers market chique... It is eco friendly as it is made from recycled pulp and it is so perfect and pretty you could put it straight on your  dresser :) But as it is so open, packaging this one up at a market would prove quite the challenge at speed..

Or perhaps you think we should only sell take out boxes at markets and berry boxes online?

As you can see, we are in quite the pickle over this one... they're both pretty cool and we just can't make up our minds!

What would you do?

Thanks for your time and help peeps!

Featured: Misanthropy Creations Jewelry

Today we are joined by the lovely Michelle of Misanthropy Creations.

If you are looking for some beautiful modern jewelry with a retro and b-movie twist then this is the boutique to go to!

Brass Feather Necklace

Tell us a bit about your blog & business

When I look for jewelry I can never really find anything I like. I grew up on scary movies and watching the X-files so some might call me a bit weird. I know my taste isn't like everyone else's that is for sure! I started my shop on Etsy for girls like me. Who like to feel pretty but at the same time have a nerd interest in the zany and sometimes morbid. My blog has featured artist interviews, DYI's, Treasuries, and more fun new topics coming! I recently teamed up with 2 other lovely ladies that will be guest writing to make the blog more dynamic and interesting!

What A Hoot Owl Ring

Are the items you sell inspired by what is currently popular or based more on your personal style and interests? 

My items are definitely inspired by my own personal style and my interests with a splash of what is popular. Everything in my shop I would wear myself.

Vintage Pearl Earrings

What has been your biggest challenge so far? 

Going overboard. I love what I do. I'm surprised I haven't skipped my day job yet and just stayed home and continued all day long. Most days I don't want to go to work, I just want to stay home and craft! That and I tend to purchase lots of supplies with no where to store them! Sometimes I have too many ideas and they get lost in the shuffle.

Vintage Teal & Yellow Necklace

When you're having a crap day, what do you find motivates you? 

Relaxing. We all need a break every now and then. I work full time and then come home and make jewelry or am on my computer all night. Every now and then I take a break if I need it. I always have a book I'm reading as well!

What have you found to be the best piece of advice you've been given? 

My dad has always said to me "Do what ever it is that makes you happy and don't worry about what anyone else thinks or says." It's true too. I think he knew I was an odd nut and inspired me to be who I am.

Clipper Sailing Ship Ring

How can we find you?

(click the links)

Shop    Blog    Etsy Blog Team    Twitter    Facebook    Stumble Upon    Pinterest  

The Misanthropy Creations Gazette    WeHeartThis

Tell us what your guilty pleasure is? 

Cheesecake. I like cheesecake too much and I'm not even a really big fan of sweets. I also love to just do nothing, just be lazy and sit on the couch and watch tv all day. But I try to always keep myself busy as much as I can. Also, SLEEP. I love to sleep! I could sleep 12 - 14 hours a day!

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to hang out with us today Michelle! We love that you're creating for a more alternative market. We think your jewlery is awesome!

And your dad has some cracking advice we should all listen to as well :)

Snap up your favorite piece from Misanthropy Creations here and check out her blog for some cute diys, treasuries and a very special artist interview...

We hope you guys found todays feature as inspiring as we did :D

Happy Thursday...

Wordless Wednesday

DIY: Customized Tights! How To Create Your Own Tattoo Tights...

My latest obsession is tights... coupled with a love of tattoos, it was natural that I became OBSESSED with illustrated tights! Unfortunately the really fun and unusual ones are painfully expensive, and being the ragamuffin that I am, they aren't worth the investment as I can put a hole in tights quicker than you can work out what's coming next...

That's right, I decided to make my own and share it with you!

Yup, with just a sharpie marker, a pair of cheapo tights, a bit of cardboard and a little imagination you can make your own. And you can add in as much as you want. Winner!

So, just get your piece of cardboard and draw out the pattern you want. I'm feeling a little Bonnie & Clyde so today I thought I would draw up a pair of holster tights. I started by drawing out my gun and garter with a thin pen. When I go over it with the marker I will be able to see what part I've done already. I've also decided to keep it really simple as I love line drawings, but you can get into some really cool detail if you want to.

Try on your tights and work out where you want your illustration to go, then swap your leg with your lovely bit of cardboard. Be careful not to rip them in the process (trust me, it is possible). Then using your sharpie, go over the lines. The best way to do so is to 'dot it on' - you'll see quite quickly that tights are a little bit fiddly. Take your time and think of all the money you will save!

Go over it a couple of times to make your illustration nice and dark. The way the tights are threaded, the more stretched they are, the darker the lines will be when it is no longer stretched. If you can, stretch them out a little when you're drawing on them. Once you're all done you will need to wait a couple of hours for them to dry out. You will think they are dry straight away, but trust me, you will have black legs if you don't give them a chance... overnight is best, but I'm too impatient for that!

*Ta*Da*

Now all we need is a getaway car!

There is so many possibilities with this project it's unreal. Coloured tights and different coloured pens here we come! Costume party? Sorted... Gee, you could even make your own seamed stockings if you had a good eye. Brilliant! So next time you are looking for a little accessory to mix up your outfit you know what to do...

We hope you have a lot of fun customizing your pins... 

We'd love to hear what you would draw :D

Happy doodling lovelies!