Made my first Etsy Treasury today

Boy did that take a long time! Spent literally hours hunting out things in my chosen green leafy theme. There's just so much stuff on there its a very slow process to find the photos you want to include.
Check out my "New Shoots" treasury here.
Let me know what you think! It was fun to put together, though I probably should have been tidying the house before going back to work tomorrow. Ah well...

More wallpaper clocks are almost done!

 

Well, I've had a productive Sunday painting, gluing and varnishing my latest batch of wallpaper clocks. I'm loving them! I should have some clock movements waiting for me at the post office tomorrow, so they'll be completed in no time... then for some photos and straight onto etsy. Now if they would just start selling. I'll be taking them all along to my upcoming markets in May (Handmade Hobart) and July (The Market). I've had a really good response on etsy and have been included in a couple of treasuries, one of which neeeearly got me on the front page (I was a "reserve"). 

Taking photos at this time of year is getting to be difficult, with the daylight ending so early. I work fulltime (plus some) and am never home before the light fades. Very frustrating having to wait for the weekend to take photos. My other task iver the next few weeks is to get together a really good looking display set up for my craft fair stall. My mannequin head will be great, but I need some kind of shelves to give the display some height. Will try and find some groovy vintage stuff.

The first of the wallpaper clocks have made it to my Etsy shop!

 

I've started listing my wallpaper clocks on the etsy shop . I have high hopes for them. I've also received notification in the last couple of days that I've been accepted by The Market Hobart (the one at the Masonic Temple) for the July 4 market, and by Handmade Hobart for the 15th and 16th of May. Can't wait. Must buy more supplies for clocks and fabric for some warm cosy little neckties for winter.

Some of my favourite things on Etsy

The Last Wallpaper Clock in Captivity

This was the last surviving clock following the Odd and Even Market of a few weeks back. I'm in the process of making another 9 with lots of wonderful old wallpaper which has recently arrived in the post. I've also sourced a small quantity of pizza boxes (wouldn't have had much use for an entire pallett!) which will make shipping them possible. They'll eventually appear on my etsy shop after much drilling, painting, glueing etc... and some postage quotes.

A lot of the older wallpapers have a lovely hand-printed quality to them, while the later 70s style papers have really incredible colours and prints. I'm getting impatient... so they should be done really soon!

The arrival of my fabulous mannequin

This lovely lady is going to make my life a lot easier. I'll have an attractive, willing and completely immobile model at my disposal whenever I desire. Her arrival this afternoon has already allowed me to photograph a batch of ladies' neckties which are available now on my etsy shop. She'll also be great for market stalls (when I get together enough stock to apply for the next ones!) More wallpaper and resin supplies also arrived today so I'll be kept busy for the next week or so. Also to come are a lot more scarves which are cut out but unassembelled. If only I didn't have a job to go to every day!

New brooches!

I've finally managed to get some new stock finished! Little batch of resin-filled silver-plated brooches containing clippings from old children's books and vintage wallpaper. I bought 2 old children's books from an etsy seller only to find that one of them, unbeknownst to me, is a copy of a book I owned when I was about three years old and still remember vividly. It is about animals and has lots of realistic illustrations and information about mostly North American woodland creatures. So cute! I'll photograph them individually and post them on my etsy shop really soon.

I've also sewn up a new batch of glamourous little neckerchiefs which need photographing... but that will have to wait for the arrival of my wonderful vintage-looking head and shoulders mannequin courtesy of ebay seller tianfashion. Can't wait!

Other projects on the go are my first attempts at casting resin rings. Theyre still in the silicone, but fingers crossed they cure fully and they're not full of bubbles. Also recently acquired some hat patterns from etsy at McHats. I might try out a prototype tomorrow.

Lovely things to be found in our bedroom

I love colour, but the bedroom is small and, by neccessity, contains many things... including 2 freestanding wardrobes... so a pale monochrome theme was the best option.

The wardrobes were originally a very dark timber veneer which overpowered the whole room, so I did my usual sand and paint job with a colour rather romantically labelled "white swan". The colour of the mantle and the wall behind the bedhead is rather unromantically called "hog bristle". Really nice neutral colour though, which also appears in the living room, but in a quarter tint.

The fire place is boarded over, but I love the look of the mantle, and am embarrassingly thrilled by the picture rails and high ceilings. The beautiful squirrel print on the mantle is by a pair of talented artists called Miso and Ghostpatrol and was a wonderful birthday present from the wonderful Peter.

The scalloped mirror replete with frosted antelope-type-creature is truly a wonder! Courtesy of the beatifully styled Store & Co on Macquarie St Hobart. Note also the $5 glass light shade from the South Hobart Tip Shop.

I love vintage glass!

I'm a casual collector of vintage glass from the 60's and 70's. I'm not fussy about exactly where it comes from or who made it, but I do have a particular liking for Scandinavian factory glass, particularly Riihimaki (think I spelled that right). I've sourced my pieces from all sorts of places - ebay, charity shops, tip shop, gifts etc. I'm limiting myself to three colour themes - purples, reds and greens - which is a good idea unless one has unlimited funds and display space. They look really good en masse, and if you have enough pieces together, you can get away with a bit of colour variation within the theme, along with a lot of variation in quality. You could also display them with ceramics of the same colour as I have with the Scheurich (West German) vase with the red band amongst the red glass.

Vintage finds in my living room

My week off work comes to an end, and I've taken a little time to get the living room in order, including the restoration of an old sideboard (from Macquarie Antiques in South Hobart) that has been residing in the carport for over a month. Restoration is probably too strong a word... it's not a valuable piece of quality timber, but a cheap, shabby little cabinet in Tasmanian Oak and plywood  that was covered in horrible flaking dark brown varnish. I stripped the varnish and gave it all a clean and sand, then painted the drawer fronts and sides a nice ivory colour, then oiled the unpainted parts.

Looks quite lovely! Not at all neat and perfect, but charming I think. Its given a new home to my squirrel lamp which was another inexpensive local vintage find.

More vintage timber furniture from around Hobart...

A hexagonal art nouveau-style table with tulip cut-outs on the three legs, and a mis-matched couple of old dining chairs. I left these in their original painted, battered state, but teamed them with matching chairpads from Ikea.

The cutest lamp in the world

I don't think this little fella requires any further explanation!

Craft Zines... are Kiwis just more organised than Aussies?

Is there an Aussie indi crafter's magazine as lovely as those produced by our NZ cousins at World Sweet World and Extra Curricular? Perhaps there is and I simply don't know where to find it. Let me know if you are aware of such a beastie! These zines are beautifully styled, full of practical projects, recipes, profiles etc... These are both available from Lark online store, which is a treasure trove of miscellaneous lovely things.

My other favourite things from Lark are...

This series of books by Edition Paumes... the text is all in Japanese but these books are really about the beautiful and inspiring photos. This is the issue I have, which is page after page of beautiful little apartments in Paris, creatively styled by their mostly-designer inhabitants. These eclectic, vintage, crafty interiors are just the kind of thing I aspire to in my own home. I've only been here for a few months so the journey is only beginning! My partner Peter and I now own a cute 1900 weatherboard cottage which has some nice features for me to work with and add to. I'll post my renovation and restoration projects on here as they progress.