Decision-making

On Thursday night I was at the Lighthouse to hear the decision on the redesign of George Square. It's the main civic square in Glasgow, I work two streets away from it and walk through it every morning. A number of new designs had been tendered to a poor response from the general public, and luckily these were all rejected in favour of a postponement and a bit of a rethink. A mocked-up "option 7" currently doing the rounds harks back to the historic layout of the square, which is more reflective of Glasgow's motto, "dear green place". For now, the square remains the same as it's been since I first visited the city in the mid-90s.

Glasgow International Artists Bookfair

Or, what I did at the weekend

I stopped off at the Pushpin Zines table and treated myself to some classic zines from Marceline's collection, and a new bookmark from Pushpin's artist series. 

Little Birds Market, this coming Sunday!

You'll find me upstairs at Sloan's on Sunday for the next Little Birds Market - look! There are my hand-stitched cards in the flyer!

If you can't make it on Sunday (come in through the entrance in Argyle Arcade, you'll find me there from 12-5pm), you can always pick up a set of cards from my Etsy shop.

Ooh, have a look at Cuteable!  My cards were featured there yesterday as well.

Little Birds Market - Sunday 11 September

I'll be making my return to craft markets at the Little Birds event on Sunday 11 September. You'll find me upstairs in Sloans, with a new selection of Girl Industries products, some of which you won't find online, so it's well worth dropping in!

I'll update you nearer the time as a little nudge. Hope to see you then!

Look what we made!

With the help of Vonnie, at the Life Craft, Amelia took part in her first ever bit of crafting! Like mother like daughter, she likes a bit of stamping, but in Amelia's case, she is so resourceful (and doesn't get spending money yet), she has resorted to using her hands and feet as stamps!



We came away with some lovely grandparent gifts - the ones in the traditional colours - and a lovely teal version for Amelia's newly-painted green and teal bedroom. If you haven't had the chance to get along to the Life Craft yet and you're anywhere near Glasgow, do get yourself or the kids along for some crafting, cake and coffee. It's on Great Western Road next to the Post Office, just a hop, skip and a jump from the Botanic Gardens, on the same side of the road as Oran Mor. As well as drop in pottery painting, a great selection of crafting supplies and of course, amazing home baking, you can get booked on a range of different crafting courses all taught by local experts.

Postcard pals

I took part in a really cool snail mail swap organised by Claire of Miso Funky last month. I was so excited when my post card arrived! Molly sent me a tea and flowers themed card - you can never have enough of either tea or flowers in my opinion, so I was delighted to receive it and will be putting it up in my craft room to remind me to take a break now and again.

I also made a new Twitter friend when Liz, cake maker extraordinaire, received my geeky Popeye fold and mail notelet, too. I used to love sending letters to my penfriends Martine, Elin and Olivia when I was a teenager - although I cringe to think what I must have written. Yikes! Luckily I'm still in touch with them via Facebook so it can't have been that bad :)

I hope Claire does another swap soon - I still have a huge postcard and notepaper collection that I'd love to put to good use. Not too mention a good few upcycled envelopes... You can find one or two of my favourites in each of my paper destash boxes. It's all good stuff in there!

Pushpin Publishing goes live!

My answers on a postcard zines are now also available from new Glasgow-based zine distro Pushpinzines.co.uk. Pushpin is brought to you by the talented designer behind Asking for Trouble and stocks a range of zines from around the world. There's a section for reader reviews, and I'm hoping readers have kind things to say about my attempts at zine-making!

There's a fab travel section on the website and I immediately ordered up this zine about Portland, OR, where Phil and I spent a few days on honeymoon. If I ever visit again, I think I'll do a ton more research before we go, as we didn't really make the most of the places we could have gone to, and didn't enjoy nearly as many of the microbrewed local craft beers as we should have. We did have the most amazing time at the zoo, though, and my husband got to ride on a yellow school bus for the first time - between the offsite car park and the zoo itself - which was one of his highlights of the whole trip. Yes really. Sigh... Anyway, I digress, but I am looking forward to reading the zine and also posting a review. Hurray!

One of the things that makes Pushpin such a great website is that support is also offered should you want to get into making your own zine. A bespoke service is available, to help you with all the design and layout issues of making a zine, amongst other things which you can ask Marceline all about, or if you just want to dip in a toe, you can invest in Marceline's Let's Make Zines minizine, which is a bargain at just a pound. After being involved in writing, design and making zines for oooh, about 20 years at a guess, there is a wealth of knowledge contained in this little zine. In fact, I defy you not to find something you love on this website. Happy shopping!

Back in Business

Wow, where did that month go? I've been busy getting my flat in Glasgow ready to go on the market, and of course, most days are taken up with counting blocks, supervising the jumperoo and ensuring that all the scissors are out of reach. Why does crafting have to involve so many pointy and/or sharp implements?

But I recently made my first sale on Etsy in ages, so that means I'm very much back on track to start making and participating in all things crafty once again. At the moment everything in the shop is in stock and ready to ship, because I've been working on a huge custom order for my good friend Julie, who is getting married in just a few weeks.

Next on the slate is to finally finish off the series of craft zines that I've been working on for ooh, nearly two years now. If I've asked you for answers and you haven't had time to get back to me yet, now is the time to do it! I'm hoping to pull all the remaining issues together between now and the end of May, so I would love your input. If you haven't taken part and want a questions list, hit me up at katy girlindustries.com right now and get involved. There's room for everyone!

Gift wrapping hints and tips - recycled!

Can you believe it's been a year since I was on TV showing how to decorate your parcels the upcycled way? Here's a timely reminder of my ten top tips, originally published on the Glasgow Craft Mafia blog last year, with my apologies for the dark photos:


1) Do your maths!

If you measure the longest side of your parcel, you need seven times this measurement in ribbon to create that wrapped finish – measuring before you start means you only cut off what you need each time.

2) Use your odds and ends

You can dress a plain box with that annoying last strip of paper from the roll that otherwise would go straight into the recycling. Or use your odds and ends, a couple of dabs of glue and some plain card to make a co-ordinating gift tag.

3) Think outside the box

Present too difficult/fiddly/awkward a shape to wrap? Stick it in a bag, pop a glittery bow on top, job done. Life’s too short to wrestle sticky tape.

4) Raid your tree

A teeny little bauble, felt stocking or even a handknit ornament look cute and pretty on top of your packages. And the recipient can pop them on their own tree, instead of in the bin, once the presents are all opened on Christmas morning. Or how about using mini tinsel instead of ribbon?




5) If you aren’t artistic – cheat!

There’s no shame in not being able to draw – I was kicked out of art classes at school and still managed to make a bit of a career of it! My top tip for Christmassy themed tags is to use Christmas cookie cutters as a template – just draw the outline onto a sheet of double-sided card (plain one side, patterned the other), cut out, punch a hole and you’re away.

6) You don’t need to buy fancy materials

See those cookie cutter tags I just mentioned – you don’t even need to buy the card. Use pretty packaging from toiletries or chocolates, pick up some vintage packaging from eBay, or do what we all did when we were little, use last years Christmas cards!

7) Shop from your sewing box

Great alternatives to ribbon can be found in your sewing box, or your local haberdashers. Lace trim, embroidery thread, bakers twine, even fancy yarn can make a cost-effective and visually interesting alternative to expensive glossy ribbon.

8) Use what you have

As well as re-purposing or upcycling other materials, don’t forget all those bits and pieces you have stashed away from last year. A fresh glance might inspire you to add a different type of ribbon, trim down your tags into another shape, or pop your gifts straight into the kids’ stockings, to cut down on the sheer amount of waste Christmas time can generate.

9) Do away with gift tags

You can pick up loads of letter stickers and other embellishments from shops which specialize in scrapbooking, card making or journaling. Think about adding the gift recipient name to the side of your package in stickers, or you can even cut letters out of the newspaper and stick them to the side of your gift, ransom note stylee. This is especially good for Secret Santa presents, where no-one needs to know who it’s from!

10) Have fun

Get together with friends for a gift wrapping party – a couple of glasses of something merry, a cheesy Christmas soundtrack, enough scissors and tape to go around and all your crafty ideas for making your presents stand out should make for a very festive evening. Pooling your resources will help your supplies (and your money) go a lot further!

Hop on over to my Flickr for more inspiration and lots of lovely brown parcel paper! It seems I've found a kindred spirit in a guest post over on Lupin's Bugs and Fishes blog - brown paper, check! Raid the Christmas tree, check! Use your crafting supplies, check! Good to know I'm still on trend this Christmas, too. I'll be wrapping and uploading some new photos of this year's gifts, both in their packaging, in the next few weeks, and out, once the 25th has passed.

Happy wrapping!

Butcher Boy's Christmas Fayre

Are you in Glasgow and free on Saturday 11 December? Beat the usual festive rush at the shops AND get to see one of Glasgow's finest acts at the gorgeous surroundings of the Mitchell Library.

My friend (and former DJing partner in crime, fact fans) Alison has organised this event showcasing her band at the Mitchell in a couple of weeks. I'm going to try and make it over there, snowfall permitting, and the full details are as follows, below.



Time Saturday, December 11 · 11:00am - 4:00pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location The Mitchell Library
North Street
Glasgow, United Kingdom

Join us in the beautiful Jeffrey Hall (top floor) for arts and crafts, home baking, face painting, raffles, and music from Butcher Boy and the Power Cut Choir.

The Fayre runs from 11am til 3pm.

Butcher Boy will play from 3pm til 4pm.

Entry is £1 for the Fayre only or £5 for the Fayre including the gig. Under-10s get in free!

All proceeds will go to the Beatson Institute and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice.

Supermercado

I was so excited to go to the launch of Supermercado yesterday, bundling Amelia into the car in the hopes of catching up with some familiar faces and getting a head start on the Christmas shopping, too. Sadly it wasn't to be, and turned into a bit of a catalogue of disasters.

We set off on our girly shopping trip and headed for Glasgow's East End - I wanted to nip into our flat, and also had to visit a shopping centre to pick up a specific thing I'd meant to get on Tuesday and totally forgot. We checked the weather forecast and the football schedule before setting off at noon - kick off was 3pm and and it was supposed to be dry. The plan was - flat, shopping centre, park up at Glasgow Green and hit the Barras.

Halfway towards Glasgow, the rain started to descend by the bucket load, and I decided it was going to be too much of a pain to nip and in out of the flat - a five minute job had turned into a twenty minute pushchair/car seat rigmarole. So we headed straight for the shopping centre, did what we needed to and hit the road again. We eventually got parked up at the partially flooded Glasgow Green and right on cue, the rain started to let up a bit and I grabbed the baby backpack to save putting up the pushchair again. And then Amelia did a major technicolour yawn all over her clothes. There was no way we could continue shopping, and I learned a valuable lesson about keeping a spare change of clothes in the car for in future.

I briefly toyed with the idea of heading back to the shopping centre to pick up a spare outfit for Amelia, but it was five to three at this point, so instead of having a lovely walk and shop while the traffic cleared away, we ended up heading in the opposite direction, back onto the motorway and decided to make the trip to Supermercado another day. Possibly with back up in the form of Daddy, as our former local, West, is only across the way.

For more information on Supermercado, check out the Made in the Shade website, or visit the Barras!

All about zines

And the July issue of Answers on a Postcard is here - pick up your copy in my Etsy shop quick sticks!

If you've ever wanted to put together your own zine, but weren't sure where to start, there's a great opportunity to learn the basics and get some pointers on where to find out more taking place in Glasgow this week. Fellow Glasgow Craft Mafia member, and long-time zine maker and collector, Marceline Smith, will be on hand this Sunday to speak about all things ziney. Alongside Jen Collins of Hello Jenuine, at the new-ish Glasgow crafts and art outlet Welcome Home, the zine workshop will take place this coming Sunday, from 2-4pm.

I'm so gutted that I'm too enormous with child to make it along, and hope that Marceline and Jen might consider re-running the session in future. I understand that a zine to accompany the day is being produced as I type, which you should be able to find alongside issues of Answers on a Postcard in the Asking for Trouble Shop.

Of course the quickest way to get involved in making a zine is to join in the with the Answers on a Postcard project. There are four issues remaining, and it's not too late to answer one or more questions in order to take part. All you have to do is drop me an email at katy [at] girlindustries [dot] com - I've skipped the punctuation here to avoid receiving lots of spam email automatically generated by machines - but just chuck an @ and a . in there to get your mail to the right place. Or leave a comment here and I'll be in touch!

Hello new readers!

I'm really excited to have been featured in two different places this week, Popular Crafts magazine, and the blog of Answers on a Postcard zine contributor, and card maker extraordinaire, Konnie Kapow!

Konnie's work is so original and creative, and she's a local Glasgow crafter, too. You can find her interview with me here, and her Etsy and folksy shops are just a click away.

Welcome to all my new readers, no matter how you found me, I hope you'll stick around and say hello.

Volcano!

Here's another shot of me, this time me and the bump are modelling my new constant companion, an Asking for Trouble shopper, which I bought on Zazzle.com. I bought the organic shopper version, but there are bookbag versions and allsorts, or you can even buy the design on a t-shirt.

I also picked up some cards with the same design, which are now available directly from the Asking for Trouble website shop. They make a great alternative to a postcard if you're having a staycation this year!

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!

Remember to take part in my contest

Which closes in just a couple of days!





In the meantime, have a look at these little notebooks I made, when I recently attended an introductory course on bookbinding.

It's really addictive, and the repetitive nature of cutting pages and sewing bindings is very relaxing. I'm looking forward to getting my own awl and doing a lot more practice. If you're based in the central belt, and fancy learning a new skill, then have a think about the lessons at the Owl and Lion Gallery in Edinburgh. Attendees at the taster session (including new Glasgow Craft Mafia member Frayed at the Edges) were warned that their courses are for learning and working, not drinking tea, eating cake and having a bit of a try at something. So your money will be well spent. And as they are based in the lovely Grassmarket, you can always go for cake and tea, or something a little stronger, afterwards!

Since attending that one session I've been experimenting with colours, papers, and threads for binding. I can't wait to learn more!

Last minute market news!

I’m delighted to have been accepted as a vendor at this weekend’s Charity Spring Fayre in Bearsden. The charity in question is Concern Worldwide, and they have been doing sterling work in aid of the people of Haiti and Bangladesh, supporting the humanitarian relief effort in the aftermath of catastrophic natural disasters.

With homebaking, facepainting, crafts for kids, as well as hand crafted jewellery and gifts for sale, this promises to be a fun Saturday morning for everyone involved. Entry is a donation of £2.50 (adults) or 50p (kids) and this includes tea/coffee and a slice of cake. There will also be a raffle during the day, with prizes including a week’s accommodation in Nice and a night out in a top Glasgow restaurant with travel by limo. I’ll be there with a kid-friendly selection of my homewares, knits and gifts, and I’m wondering if I can get away with turning up to my bookbinding class in the afternoon with a tiger face on!

Come one, come all this Saturday morning from 10-12 at Bearsden Baptist Church, 14 Roman Road, Bearsden G61 2SL. If you can’t make it along on the day, you can also make a donation to this worthwhile cause at www.justgiving.com/charityspringfayre

And keep your eyes peeled for a Toyota-driving tiger loose in central Glasgow later on in the afternoon!

500 things in 50 days challenge update

Wow! I'm more than halfway through my personal challenge to get rid of 500 things out of my house in 50 days and thought it was high time for an update.


One of my most successful destashes so far has been creating these gloves. Alright, so I was already onto a flyer when I made three new things out of four old things - but the good news is that one of them sold the minute I finished stitching it up, at last month's Handmade Haven organised by the Glasgow Craft Mafia.

I did pretty well at the market and said goodbye to 71 things. Although I am being a pedant as 50 or so of those things accounted for buttons from my button pick'n'mix. Thank you to Rhubarb Crumble for all the lovely photos!

I've also been keenly destashing my bathroom and using up my travel sizes, samples and partially finished toiletries and cosmetics (another 23 things, gone, and my skin and hair is looking pretty good, so I'm glad I made the effort to pamper myself!). I've also destashed a fair few untouched or lightly tested items on eBay.

I've now sold 58 lots on eBay, and that actually accounts for 95 things. I also used up two boxes full of pre-used packaging materials, only having to buy 25 new bubble mailers - success! As far as this post goes, that's a total of: 28 + 95 + 23 + 71 + 1, or 218 more things. I think I might be in some danger of hitting my target at the end of this month. In the meantime, we are still waiting for the purchase of our new place to be confirmed, but I'm not going to let that slow me down.

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday on Monday, so I've decided to celebrate with 10% off all items in my shop. Just convo me BEFORE you buy and make sure you wish me a happy birthday. I'll set you up with a custom listing, including your discount.

Also, because I'll be out enjoying myself for at least some of the day on Monday, I'll honour your birthday wishes whenever I hear from you - right up to 5am BST Tuesday, so that's midnight Etsy time. But I'll probably process the sale on the following day. Afternoon. Once I get back from the spa!

As an added bonus, the person who purchases item number 100 from my shop will get an extra little present from me, too.

And why the envelopes? Well, I've finally managed to organise myself into updating my flickr! You can see the full set of all the wallpaper envelopes I currently have in stock here.

Market day

Today's the day - remember the clocks have gone forward!



If you forget, never fear, there's another Mafia event tomorrow - called Trade Secrets. Mafia members and local crafters alike will be getting together at Creation Studios to swap skills, tricks of the trade, and have a good old chinwag in this creative hotspot right in the heart of Glasgow. It's at 16 Trongate, just along from the old clock tower. It all kicks off at 7pm, and promises to be a fantastic evening! Click here for a taster of some of the kind of discussions we're hoping to have.