When life hands you lemons...

A new-ish treasury

Really?

I just found this in my husband's study and had to share. Boys, eh?

Lots of news!

What a busy weekend! We got the keys to our new house on Friday, so I was pretty quiet over the weekend while I cleaned and prepped our new kitchen/diner/living space for painting. Mr P had the luxury of going up the ladders and getting up close and personal with the paint can. In the midst of all the activity, I managed to distribute subscription copies of the latest issue of Answers on a Postcard, which is available for purchase in the zines section of my Etsy shop. Contributors, as ever, can get a copy by clicking here.

I had a good response to my blog contest and now have a collection of new questions to ask contributors. I’ll be writing out to you once I’m all set up in my new attic craft room. Pictures to follow sometime in June when we officially move in, I want to get it just so before I share some photos! The lucky winner of the contest is Bronwyn, with her excellent question "what's your favourite tool/material/supply and how do you use it"

Thank you to everyone who took part, both posting on the blog and by emailing me directly. Bronwyn is a local crafter based in Glasgow and a fellow Glasgow Craft Mafia member. She makes some lovely things from found objects under the temptingly tasty name of Rhubarb Crumble and I’m always envious that she has managed to whip her sewing machine into serious good shape. If you’re already here, I know you’ll appreciate her upcycled treasures, so have a look at her shop on Folksy, and her tutorial-packed blog, too:

Commiserations to Marceline but all is not lost as she wins the pleasure of my company this weekend when we drive out to the countryside to set up stall at a craft fair in the beautiful Botanic Garden at Benmore, on the Argyll Peninsula. If you can’t make it (or want to make a shopping list before you set out), visit Asking for Trouble and Girl Industries to stock up online. Marceline is a huge supporter of the Answers on a Postcard zine and has copies available in her shop. She's currently running a special offer, too, so take a look. Also, now the Icelandic ash cloud is rearing it's gritty grey head again, take a look at the selection of products on Zazzle.com which Marceline has designed. I have a tote bag on its way to me as we speak!

Benmore Open Day & Craft Fair
Benmore Botanic Garden
Free entry to Garden all day, regular trips aboard the Benmore Explorer, guided tours of the garden including the restored Benmore Fernery, Chainsaw Carving and a marquee shall host Tombola, Preserves, Cake & Candy Stall and our annual Craft Fair.

Date: 9 May 2010
Time: 12:00-17:00
More info

This is your last chance to shop Girl Industries in person this summer, as I’m having a baby! All being well, I’ll be back in time for the autumn market season in October, with all the new goodies I’ve been planning for ages, including some brilliant collaboration opportunities with some of my favourite crafters. I have to apologise in advance for any baby-themed shopping features over the next couple of months as I sloooooowly get sucked in to the lovely handmade and very much non-essential baby things on offer around the internets. Between the house move and the new arrival, I’ll be closing my shop periodically from now until September. If you have custom orders for envelopes, please let me know as soon as you can, so I can schedule them around my other commitments. And I’d like to reassure everyone that normal Answers on a Postcard service will continue as planned, with subscribers’ copies out on time and new issues uploaded to the shop every month as usual. Hurray!

6.45pm update

I have messed about on the internet, played a bit with photoshop, chopped up some carrots and onion, eaten an apple turnover and located the yarns in my stash to remake the thing that went missing. Now I have to find my 'ideas' notebook with my notes of how to make it and then I'm all set.

With ten friends/family weddings ahead of me in 2010, I am very tempted to sit and make more confetti. Must resist urge...

Dinner - a delicious pork casserole is in the oven and almost DONE!

I have also had a glass of lovely Italian red wine.

4.30pm update

Package etsy orders - DONE!

Clean kitchen and bathroom, the two rooms with least stuff in them! - Kitchen DONE!

Go to Post Office and shops (got a couple of things to buy, a couple of things to return) - Post Office DONE! It was full of drunk/drugged people (well, it is a Tuesday) and a man who passed wind loudly and then informed everyone that it was all down to last night's Chicken Bhuna.

I failed to buy new pyjamas for my husband at the M&S clearance store, Asda, Next Clearance, Burton or River Island. They either didn't have any in stock, or the ones they had did not have pockets. Husband wants them with pockets. I'm thinking of treating him to a CK pair from Frasers or the CK shop in Glasgow once the sales madness goes away. I don't mind paying extra if it means I stay out of jail for not attacking ignorant shop zombies.

I also learned that most places now don't do exchanges/credit notes/refunds without a gift receipt. And I've had a very patronising explanation of what a gift receipt is, which would have been useful to me if a) I had no common sense whatsoever, b) I bought my own presents, and specifically chose things I didn't like but wilfully refused to take a gift receipt or c) hadn't spent six years working on a returns counter and later going on to manage what was at the time the largest shop in Scotland. Having never shopped at the place I was trying to return something to (they had a reputation when I was growing up for selling counterfeit goods), I'm certainly not going to spend any money there in future. Poor customer service is usually all down to poor manners, and I'm a total manners snob. Not in a 'you're using the wrong fork' kind of a way but more in a 'let's all treat each other like human beings' kind of a way. This is why I don't usually bother with the shops until February. Staff are angry and take it out on customers, which means we get angry and take it out on the internet. Grrrr!

While I'm at the PO, request yet another lost package form - DONE! Sort of. Would you believe I have a supply of them in my stationery box, so I decided to make things easier on the poor guy helping me in the Post Office and stock up another time.

Dig out relevant proof of posting sheet and complete claim form - DONE! Luckily I had kept all my proof of postings in my wallet from last month and this month, so it was easy enough to find. Now I need to print off my correspondence as proof that the item wasn't received, and keep my fingers crossed that I actually do get a refund. Last time, I didn't. And I lost a weekend of my time, a sixty dollar payment, and fifteen pounds worth of supplies. Oooh, I can feel myself getting angry again.

Make dinner - meat defrosting in the kitchen for a lovely pork and apple casserole. Hmmm, wish I'd picked up some cider now....

Getting organised

I love this time of year, all relaxed in the post-Christmas glow, but with ideas and thoughts and plans whirring around in my mind.

Unfortunately, this being me, it also leads to procrastination - what to do first? My flat looks like a bombsite, I have partially completed projects everywhere (including the Pay It Forward challenge), I'm supposed to be writing my MSc dissertation, but I have orders to send out (and one to remake from scratch as it disappeared in the post), I've been chasing up submissions for my Answers on a Postcard project - still time to take part - email me if you're interested - and I'm due back at my day job in less than a week!

So, inspired by the beautiful organiser above from the wonderfully tidy Sewing Momma, I've come up with a list to get me through today. Tomorrow I would like to start on my dissertation work in earnest, as I've kind of written it off for today.

So today's list is:

• Package etsy orders


• Clean kitchen and bathroom, the two rooms with least stuff in them!


• Go to Post Office and shops (got a couple of things to buy, a couple of things to return)


• While I'm at the PO, request yet another lost package form


• Dig out relevant proof of posting sheet and complete claim form


• Replenish stock of security envelopes from where they are hiding ALL OVER THE FLAT


• Make dinner


• Remake lost order - this will be lovely and relaxing so I don't mind


• Two book reviews for the first issue of the Answers on a Postcard zine - due out at the end of January


• Make another batch of thank you cards, as the flurry of etsy orders this week has almost used up my stash
  

And I'll try to put thoughts of new products out of my mind until I've cleared out my shop a little more. Have you seen the bargains to be had?

Getting carried away with fabric transfers

I've been customising t-shirts for my niece and couldn't resist 'updating' a few hankies for my husband.

What do you think?

Recommended reading

Search out your odd socks and raid your button stash, because Sarah from The Other Mousie, has contributed a fun tutorial to a great little magazine, which is free to read online and available here.

I'm addicted to reading about the goings on in *that* London and drooling over food, cocktails and great design over at Domestic Sluttery. I love the girls' outlook on life and the fact that it's updated at regular intervals during the day - and they have great giveaways too.

Speaking of giveaways, I'm delighted to have won a beautiful bracelet over at Crystal Velvet Weddings. I'm not quite sure I have the brass neck to walk down the aisle to this, but I do have a talented Clarsach player lined up for my big entrance, so maybe it would be appropriate! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives in time for my big day. Yippee. And I'm reading the site avidly for all things weddingy. It's better than a bridal magazine!

Speaking of wedding reading, my wedding zine should be ready in just a couple of months' time, once we're back from honeymoon, and I'm working hard on the first issue of my craft inspiration zine, Answers on a Postcard, but still need interviewees, so email me at Katy [at] girlindustries [dot] com if you would like to find out more about taking part. If you're already signed up, enjoy mulling over your questions!

Getting things done - the round up!

Did you see me over on the McEtsy blog? I'm also featured by Domestic Sluttery as part of her feature on The Oriental Magpie, a new Girl Industries stockist.

So July was a month for getting things done... So how did I do?

I'm up to date with wedding crafts having completed all my button hearts for our pew ends during the ceremony. I've even gone a step further and having picked out our menu for the wedding breakfast, I've printed up some nice menu cards using the same font as our invitations. I'm looking forward to receiving my fantastic handmade favours from The Other Mousie, and spending an afternoon packaging them up with love and neat handwriting with my matron of honour, Suzie.

I finally submitted my Rhonda's Recycled Challenge piece, right down to the wire due to procrastination and a hangover. Shame on me. I think my problem was that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but then couldn't get around to making it for real, in case it turned out totally differently. I'm happy with the way it turned out, in the end.

I'll be stepping down from my events organising duties over at the Glasgow Craft Mafia as things get more hectic around the wedding. In the meantime, I'll be keeping up to date with the mafia via the awesome forum (worth the membership fees alone, but good for browsing the public sections, too) and the blog.

Today is a day for getting things done!

I have a big long to-do list for today, and I'm going to check back in later to let you know how I get on. July is going to be my month for being a completer. And here's my list for today:

• Download the photos on my camera 4.30pm update: DONE!
• Upload photos taken yesterday of our outing to the countryside with Marceline, of Asking for Trouble onto the Glasgow Craft Mafia flickr member pages 5pm update: DONE!
• Organise my own flickr and get rid of some conference photos from work that I had been saving in there 5.15pm update: DONE!
• Finish a tutorial I've been working on for ages by remaking the item, retaking my photos and downloading the photos and making them look good 2pm update: DONE!
• Make my entry for Rhonda's recycling contest, take a photo of it and submit said photo to the relevant flickr pool which I haven't even looked at yet, either (anyone noticing a theme here?) 11pm update NOT DONE
• Sew up the pockets on a baby cardigan I've had in my 'to finish' box for ages 11pm update NOT DONE
• Sew up the TP in the Park brooches I've made 6.30pm update: DONE!
• Sew up the knitted snakes I've been making out of oddments of wool 11pm update NOT DONE
• Make another 3 button heart decorations for the wedding so that part of the decorating is done 11pm update only managed to get 2 DONE!
• Finish sending out the daytime invitations for my wedding to my 5 friends who have recently moved houses (this involves trimming the invitations to size, making the envelopes, putting friends' new addresses into my address book and taking a note in my wedding notebook) 3pm update: DONE! Just off to post them!

Phew! Well I think that's quite enough for now, and I'll be back later to let you know how I've been getting on.

Updated at bedtime... I think I was maybe being a bit ambitious with everything I had to do, but definitely having my readers on board to help me along the way helped out. I can head off to Aberdeen tomorrow knowing everything at home is under control! And I still managed to have fun while I was getting stuff done, too, so it didn't feel like a chore at any time.

Productive day

From this:

To this:

Makes me happy.

(no it's not all shoved inside the box, either)

Smile!

The other day I was in the mood for a right good cheering up, but with it still being before payday, I had to content myself with window shopping. Here's what I found...

Naughty Bertram, by Hardyharhar

Pretty much all of Blancucha's work captures the colour and vibrancy of one my favourite places to visit, Spain.

And on a writing tip, the descriptions in this shop (Mixed Species) made me chuckle to myself. Good work!

'Music too cool for monetary exchange' is much more positive than, you know, what they're really saying. And they upcycle!

I also heard about this crafty event, and wished for a nanosecond that I was in Toronto tomorrow. Then I remembered that I'm off to Edinburgh for a hot date with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at Taste of Edinburgh tomorrow evening, and the Handmade Haven at the Buff Club on Saturday here in Glasgow.

I now consider my frown turned upside down.

New! Required reading!

In between my preparations for the Glasgow Craft Mafia market tomorrow, I've been procrastinating by hanging out online and helping my fiance put in our new kitchen (oooh!). I've decided to round up a few new-t0-me blogs that I can totally recommend (and not just because they've featured my stuff, although that helps):

http://www.make.peazyshop.co.uk/ is a great website with all kinds of fun ideas on the cheap. They are big on repurposing and upcycling, so it's not surprising that they enjoyed my envelopes. Thanks guys!

On to the lovely Miss Crafty next. Now I'm cheating a little here, because Miss Crafty is a friend of the Glasgow Craft Mafia and I've been peeking at her blog for a little while now, but I only recently met her in the flesh, so she technically counts as new to me. I hope you will enjoy her blog, which is a great read, and is about to get even more exciting as she takes on a huge handmade project.

I'm pleased to report that I am in the middle of making something very special for the market tomorrow, and I'll be posting a tutorial on it as soon as I can write it up, so all you crafty souls with craft markets coming up, stay tuned to this blog for a tutorial on something you can't do without at your next market. In the meantime, you might want to check Miso Funky's market tips over on the Glasgow Craft Mafia website just now.

Ever struggled to find the right gift for the right person? Or do you share my obsession with coloured pencils (this site has pretty much my favourite banner ever)? Check out problem presents for lots of gift ideas!

Keeping it green in the UK is the Green Familia. They have lots of ideas for things to do with your security envelopes, or if you like, my security envelopes. Take a swatch here for more ideas.

If you'd like to treat yourself, head on over to the Lazy Giraffe. Her stunning jewellery makes me almost tempted to pierce my ears, it strikes the right balance for me between delicate and eyecatchingly bold. Deepa, from the Lazy Giraffe, came to my attention when I was, ahem, googling myself, and found this lovely mention of my envelopes. Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't done it, too?

Here's a pair of earrings from the Lazy Giraffe in my favourite colour:

Oh, and one last thing before I dash off. Laura, of Lupin Handmade, is running a giveaway on one of my favourite blogs Bugs and Fishes. It closes tonight, so dash over there RIGHT NOW if you want to win one of her star products! If you're too late, you can always pick up a craft pack in her Etsy store.

Just like the Lazy Giraffe, I have a stationery addiction going on, and check out these stunning notecards. Trees? Check! Baker's twine? Check! Roundy corners? Check! A lot of my favourite stuff is going on with these cards! Head over to the Lemon Drop Blog for an awesome giveaway where you can win this very set.

Whatever you're doing, have a great weekend!

Procrastinators contest

Now hold on a second there, you need to head over to Toronto Craft Alert to take part. You need to do things to get entries, and it involves unfinished craft projects.

The prize is just spectacular, and you can go straight to the relevant page of the website by clicking here. You have until the middle of March to get your act together, so take a snoop around the rest of their site first. You also don't need to be in Toronto (or even Canada) to take part, so that helps, too.

Now what to pick, between my jumper that I didn't have enough wool to finish the roll neck three years ago, or the chocolate tin of unfinished animal parts... Or even the bag of partially started (not even partially finished) felt brooches I just bought over on Etsy (I know, I know, the ladies from Hoarders Unite will be on to me again!)

I'm going to finish here before this list of unfinished items goes into double figures. But go and take a look, and enter the contest, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Fish and penguin

I'm making my dinner and planning to update you later on what's been going on over the last week. But in the meantime, here's a shot of what I'm cooking, it's so cute I couldn't resist!

All change!

Well, it seems like just yesterday I was blogging about my awesome Alchemy find. However, if I'd found my new stamps today, I'd be blogging about my cool-i-o Custom find. Because Etsy.com have changed the name of the darn thing. So if you're not an Etsy regular and head on over there and wonder what the heck this Alchemy talk is all about - it's now called Custom on your front page, but Alchemy when you find it.

Mugdock Makkers Christmas Fair

Now I've been on my hols and due back to the day job tomorrow, it feels like it'll be whooosh downhill all the way to the end of the year. I've prepared a to-do list, and being a bit of a procrastinator, coloured it in and taken a photo of it. Much more constructive is the application I've just filled in to take part in the Mugdock Makkers Christmas Fair.

The one I'll be at takes place on 13th and 14th December, in a marquee in the main park's courtyard, and I'll be selling edited highlights from the Girl Industries range, with a predominantly homewares theme, all made from upcycled materials to keep your home looking pretty and your conscience clear.

I'll look forward to seeing you there! I'll also be attending their next fair, on 18th and 19th October, as I've never been before and love meeting other sellers, too.

London Town

I've been away in London to bid a fond 'au revoir' to a friend who is off to Nepal for a good six months. Being in travel mode, we were at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden and I got slightly obsessed with the old fashioned posters.

This one, in particular, struck a chord...

Mmm stationery good

Today was tax return day – I took the day off to get a few things checked off the ‘home admin’ list. My return is due in September so I decided not to procrastinate any further. I also took steps to register Girl Industries and find an ‘accounts’ book from my supply of lovely notebooks.

There’s nothing more satisfying than a crisp new notebook to start a new project with. Next time I’m in the market for a new one, I’ll be sure to check out lolaandemilin, katysshop and pumpkinsputnik on etsy.com. Lovely!

Where to start?

I've been wanting to start this whole 'girl industries' thing for ages, but I'm a world class procrastinator and I genuinely didn't know where to begin.

I'm a big reader, and I've attended enough English classes to know about beginning with a significant event. But that doesn't translate suitably to something I've been doing for more than 25 years. I've gradually become more crafty this year, as my day job workload has decreased I've become better at managing my study time. This coincided with the start of a project to transfer all the family video tapes to DVD. Naturally I found myself knitting more and more, you can't beat a vintage BBC serial or television play and the old needles and wool for an hour of relaxation.

But back to the question, beginnings, and how does one go about them? Having graduated in Lit some 8 years ago, I'm on my way to starting a PhD, and what has preparing for this taught me... do your research!

So I hopped on the internet to take a look at some of my daily must-reads. Usually I take a look when I need colour, trend or technique inspiration. If I'm super-busy I like to do a quick tour of my favourite blogs just to feel creative or crafty without having to pick up needle or scissors. Today I'm looking at their first ever posts to see how they did it...