Merry Xmas

Happy Xmas to one and all!

School Nativity 2008

LOVE her drawings

Iris draws ALL OF THE TIME.She is 5.This is her design for a doll she would like me to make.I love that she draws...

Coin Purses

some more purses...on their way to Cornwall.I will come back later, need to get off the internet as my husband wants to play online on his playstation! 

Come and Play

I've been busy...actually that's an understatement. For the past 2 months I haven't stopped making.And everything is selling so fast I don't even have excess stock for my Etsy Shop.Fairies, hairbands, bags, purses, Luno's.I had another order last week from a lovely fairtrade shop in Cornwall, Uneeka. I've sent off 10 'Luno' monsters,100 hairbands,20 lavender hearts, 20 cinnamon hearts, 35 purses and pencil cases.See Esthers tutorial at LondonMummy.I adapted it a little.You should check out her wonderful inspiring blog. I love it.I still have to make another 40 make up bags / coin purses to be posted asap.And typically my sewing machine is playing up. First the zipper foot spring flew off midway through sewing.Then I broke about 5 needles.Now its making a very strange clattering sound. SIGH!

In the morning I'm going to my old School to give a talk to the 6th form Art students, show them my work (mainly photography but a few handmade things too) and get intimidated by a bunch of 17 year olds.I'm sure they will all be lovely and enthusiastic. As major backup I'm taking Greg, my very talented friend and husband to one of my best friends,and he is bringing a dvd.Apparently he rambles, his words not mine, so thats surely a good thing.I'll just talk for the first 5 minutes and then hand the conversation over to him!...

Romeo and Juliet

I went to the RSC Courtyard Theatre (once known as The Other Place)this evening.A friend got us free tickets for the Romeo and Juliet press night.Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhh the pain of Romeo and Juliet.The lighting was amazing, so many moments longing I had my camera (although I wouldn't have been allowed to use it, RSC and all that).It was a 3 hour 15 minute production. I love going to the theatre but I must admit towards the end I was getting more than a little bit restless. Restless because i knew that i needed to make Iris her penguin costume for the school play (deadline: the morning) and O hasn't got antlers yet for her part (prancer) and then there's the 75 purses which need making for a shop order by the weekend...and so many other things on my mind which I won't go into here.LIFE IS TREMENDOUS.
All sorted now.Costumes are done.Will worry about the purses in the morning, after my regular morning cuppa (with lots of digestive biscuits may i add) at Lucys after school drop off :) and the large sum of money I paid into my mortgage account didn't disappear into the ether after all so I am breathing calmly...is it too late for jam doughnuts?

Juno

I love this film

I love this film because the girl reminds me so much of my daughter O.

Happy Birthday

My big girl O was 11 a few hours ago. I baked cakes and took her out for pizza with 9 friends (and i'm not on valium!) and then she had a party at the local LUSH shop.They all had a great time. The boys emerged with mohicans (great! i'll be popular with the parents who don't bath their kids daily!) and blue glitter.The girls looked like they did when I left them at Lush, except for O who was SHINING and covered in blue glitter, her hair looked like she had literally slapped a jar of gel onto it.Thats my girl...always was fond of lotions and potions.I caught her 3 times with my Lancome glitter aged 3.not putting it on (too cool to be girlie), just randomly pouring it on the bathroom floor.At least she has taste, why use the bog standard glitter when there is Lancome in the house?

O never wants anything much for her birthday.this year she asked for a Rubik's cube and a mobile phone.I have refused point blank to get her a mobile phone for the past 2 years,all her friends have them (some of her classmates have had them since they were 7...what is wrong with parents these days?why do they give in to their kids so easily?) She's always with us and therefore does not need a mobile phone but she's growing up...FAST, and next year she goes to BIG school and will walk there and I will have to let her go and if she has a mobile well i could install that tracking device i was reading about....

I feel really aaarrgggghhhhhhh about it but we gave in. Partly because I think she'll get bored of it but also because when i do let my first baby out into the big wide world, to walk to the corner shop perhaps, I can contact her to check she's ok (every 5 minutes or so).....SIGH! perhaps we'll move to Alcatraz?...

just quickly...

I have been averaging 4 hours sleep a night for the past 2 months.My house is trashed.Tomorrow I am doing a Christmas Fair and I am seriously concerned about my stock levels.But anyway here are some of the fairies and Luna's (Iris named them) that I will be selling. ( also cards, hearts, tutus, a rabbit, a rat, tote bags, sequinned trees)

Paris was wonderful but I could do with going again this weekend! alone so I can go back to the ribbon shop and buy all of their stock. In Paris I did see some silver knee high socks that I fell in love with.I didn't buy them because they were ridiculously expensive but I couldn't stop thinking about them (I know RIDICULOUS) anyway luckily for me my friend Lou went to Paris this weekend and I sent her to the shop HOME AUTOUR DU MONDE on Rue Francs Bourgeouis and now they are mine and I LOVE them. they are even better than i remember.and my husband would normally be pretty unhappy with my executive decision (men don't seem to understand why anyone would want to spend that much on those socks) HOWEVER in two days it is my birthday :) so I have got away with it this time! Fingers crossed I sell loads tomorrow!

I ♥ Paris

It was great. even when it rained.and i'd like to write more but i'm soooooo busy its not funny.

Faeries

I posted 15 of these last Friday morning.I was quite sad to see them go but plan on making more.Although fast running out of time. Having to do my tax return tonight then I have 2 nights left of sewing for the Christmas Fair (and its half term this week) before we leave on Wednesday night to stay in London with friends... because on Thursday morning we are catching the Eurostar to Paris.I am sooooooooo excited. I cannot wait to meet up with Polaroid friend Tod Brilliant and his wife and then in the evening more polaroid people are partying.But most of all I am looking forward to taking photo's and chilling in Paris and eating beautiful food at La Divette du Moulin in Montmatre, a place we found when we took the children to Paris in 2007.

Nearly Finished...

...almost done with my huge order. just waiting for more lavender to arrive so I can fill the last two and post to Uneeka.Off to Paris next week for 3 days with my holga and polaroid cameras to meet up with Tod Brilliant and CarmenDeVos and various other polanoiders.Exciting and a much needed break after a month of 5 hours a night sleep (and sometimes even 4 hours).

My Day Trip

I took a day off and went to London to meet an old friend,to look around the Frieze Art Fair and to see the wonderful Annie Liebowitz exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.Then saw more friends.coffee and cake.then home...back to work! :)

Handlebars

One of my favourite Etsy Shops at the moment is rarrarpress.

I LOVE her postcards.Yesterday I ordered 5.One of which I will frame for my brother's birthday gift,he has grown a handlebar style moustache lately! He's in India at the moment with his moustache.

Love

her art always makes me smile.

Making Cider

The weather was amazing today. My old school friend Jez was having a cider making weekend. (most weekends at this time of year he makes cider because thats what he does for his job, alongside organic farming).So off we went to help collect apples and press them and sample the goods. I had a 'kier rural' ,like a champagne (but cider) with blackcurrant cordial.

The children loved it, not the cider (!) but the rural adventure.The weather couldn't have been more perfect.We would've stayed for the veg stew around the campfire but Iris was SO HUNGRY and the food was still an hour and a half away at 6pm.I'm sure we could be persuaded to volunteer again... 

The Mop

and to finish off the day on a much happier lighter note the MOP (as we know it) is in town.

disappointed

i've just had some of my images printed as cards for a shop.Because it was a small print run I couldn't afford to do litho prints and had to go for digital...which you'd think would be good enough.The printers (lets name and shame because i am annoyed - VLM.com) firstly sent my 300 cards 4 days late.but thats ok. I'm a tolerant person.HOWEVER they arrived looking like they'd been lying around in a stock room for 3 years.They had bleached out and marked YELLOW borders (even though we'd given them an extra 0.5 cm bleed on the crop)...thats not all, they also had marks on every one, upturned corners, hairs on the images,look like they've been cut with a blunt blade, ink coming away at the fold...IN FACT they are totally unsaleable.Anyone who knows me knows if it ain't perfect I won't sell it, and these had my name on the back.300 UNSALEABLE cards (i'll cut them up into gift tags) SO THEN I phoned the printers politely.They,politely, agreed to reprint with a matt laminate coating free of charge (that's good of them) and I received the new batch today.Yes they are much better quality BUT yet again i'll be calling them on Monday.The fold is 2mm out...which matters when it leaves a white line next to the black border of the image.arrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Morello Living

Christmas is at our house already! These will soon be available at Morello Living.

Sunday

I'm still manically sewing away. 50 little robins at the moment.Have finished making the Morello Living order,just needing to photograph the items for their website / catalogue.Ophelia took her 11+ exam yesterday.Fingers firmly crossed...quick update but must go and make...