etc magazine, coffee and dreaming of zines

etc magazine

This afternoon my friend Claire popped by for coffee, gossip and to bring me my very one brown paper wrapped copy of etc magazine. Claire wrote, edited, and photographed the magazine along with Deb of Fabulous Places. We drank coffee, attempted to sit in the garden for all of 2 minutes before the cold breeze drove us to huddle on the sofa gossiping and dreaming. I flipped through the magazine cooing over photos, places and food while we chatted. The magazine is lovely Claire did a brilliant job, I do think I should probably have gotten her to sign it for me before she had to trundle off to fetch her son from school.

brown paper parcel tied up with ribbon

and paper straws

We had a great chat about the magazine, about the desire to do something just a little bit more than what we both do now. I tried to convince her to start writing a book or the next issue of the magazine, to include a few tutorials for crafting, gardening, and woodworking, etc. I talked of my desire to do more writing and wish to if not write a book than to have my crafts and stories included in book, magazine or zine form. I showed Claire the zine book that arrived in the post minutes before she arrived. It's been a dream of mine for awhile to turn my little stories into a little booklet/zine but I had difficulty wrapping my brain around the idea and quickly went on to other things.

doodle of Merle the Ghost Boy

(he's a typography nut you know)

Talking with Claire has made me think again that I want to do a little bit more that what I am doing and that I want to try to make a zine and if possible submit some writing somewhere. I'm not sure where yet, but I will think about it and in the mean time I'm going to draw more and write more too. Yesterday I drew Merle the ghost boy on a book page and thought that perhaps I should doodle all of the dolls I have made recently. Perhaps they would make nice post cards with the stories on the back? Or just the illustrations to their stories if I turn them into a little zine. What do you think lovely readers? If I made a little zine would you buy it from me? Would you like me to write you a story or blog post for your blog? Am I just dreaming?

I may not be dreaming right now, my tea is cold and my biscuit is long gone.

jelly bean paper parcels

Its half term so that means making a few things with Harrison. If I can tear him away from the DSi or his lego to craft with me. I have tried to get him to bake some cakes, colour, and go for walks. He said no to everything until I said we should make something with jelly beans. That got his attention... bribery always works.

So we used a few pages of my much abused French copy of Lord of the Rings that I found on our last trip to Paris a year and a half ago..or is that two years? We made a simple square pouch first. I folded a sheet of paper in half then Harrison carefully placed the jelly beans inside before I finished sewing the last edge together. Feeling more confident we decided to make something with a slightly more difficult shape. But what could we make? A marshmallow bunny shaped peep! It was a quick fun craft that I had been wanting to try for ages and Harrison loved helping and eating the jelly beans of course.

May the Geek be With You II

Harrison and I made a few more Star Wars pin badges and I have popped them in my little etsy shop. Just three to start off with but if they sell I will make some more to add to the shop while I still have the badge machine on loan from a truly fantastic friend.

candy corn stamp and jam jar tealights

Probably the Worst Candy Corn

Rubber Stamp in the World TM

I sat down last night and doodled a little candy corn and set to work carving an eraser into a stamp. Its not brilliant but it was fun to do an I think I will have another go at stamp carving later today. I found the eraser much easier to carve than previous fights with lino tiles, resulting in plaster/band-aid covered fingers.

This morning's crafting was making tea-light holders from various jars and scraps of vintage book paper and music sheets. I made some DIY Mod Podge glue (which is white craft glue mixed with a few spoons of warm water).

I'm off to play with my copy of Wreck This Journal .. I'm going to be brave and crack the spine... I may have to cry, as to me that's one of the worst things you can ever do to a book ... *ignores the various book paper related crafts i have made from damaged books*... ;o)

a little giveaway

"masked" vintage book page illustration

I know I keep promising to do a giveaway and I keep forgetting and forgetting to but this time I mean it. The giveaway is the above original illustration on a vintage book page, the book was a tattered and torn copy of Alice Through the Looking-Glass. It would look lovely in a little frame, and is much nicer in reality, as the light is poor and my photography skills are hit and miss at the best of times.

All you need do is leave a comment telling me something amusing about yourself, and I will draw names out of a bowl this Friday (21st)... or call on the very helpful random number generator. And this little piece of art could be yours.

p.s. there is still time to sign up for the 80's Fantasy Movie Craft Swap on the post below this!

from tin can to penholder

pen holder

behold a little pen holder, my brain possibly may have ran away at the time of its creation the other day, but I think it's turned out rather nice and functional too. Its a small coffee tin (Waitrose espresso) covered with a vintage dictionary page that I sewed three fabric tear shapes onto, and stamped the words "...three tears like bitter jewels..." I'm not entirely sure why but that's what popped into my brain when I dragged my stamps out, so that is what I stamped. Its glued to the can with some multipurpose glue

pen, scissors, knitting needle,and random twig holder might be more appropriate name

Ahem..... anyway it works

the 50's B Movie Swap (what I sent)

vampire kit needle book

My partner for the 50's B Movie Craft Swap was Juanita who is utterly fabulous and I was in a terrible tizzy over what to make her for the swap. I was full of ideas and inspiration, and the swap was my idea in the first place so I wanted to make something that was fantastic. OK maybe not fantastic but something that Juanita would be happy to own and not hide away in a dark corner with only a 5 legged spider, a dead fly, and a dustbunny for company.

inside the needle book

Ok I probably made up that last bit about the dustbunny. I doodled in my sketchbook, and decided to make a needle book with a vampire theme, I sat down and figured out what I wanted to do and then I made the needle book, its a bit wonky (mostly the stamped words are too far to the left to be perfect) but I loved the wonky black lines and the gingham drop of blood. I really wanted to keep it for myself, and I may just have to make another one for my etsy shop (do you think you might be interested in that dear readers?) The next thing I made was a painted page of a B-Movie Scream Queen, the illustration turned out better than I dreamed it would.

B- Movie Scream Queen

And because I'm a dunce I forgot to photograph the the third thing I sent, a little felt alien head pin that I stuck on a headband/alice band. That little alien was a complete bugger to get made as I had never really used felt before and it is rather small, but the hairband was simple to make, its really just a piece of ribbon sewn together with a hair tie. I may have to make another one or at least a little tutorial, but I'm all out of ribbon at the moment.

everything I sent Juanita
(I forgot to take pictures so snagged this from her blog)

I'll show you what Juanita sent me tomorrow as the pictures I took don't do it justice, but if you can't wait you can have a snoop on the flickr group for the swap.

The Button Thief

button thief illustration on vintage book paper

The Button Thief
by Apryl Lowe

Once there was a pair of blackbirds, with shiny black wings and a beautiful song in the hearts. They had a little nest swaying high in a willow tree. Inside the nest, a pale blue egg the colour of the summer sky.

The egg soon hatched a tiny little bird, as blue as the sky. Mother Blackbird kept her warm in the nest, and Father Blackbird found a button to give his lovely daughter.

A fledgling bird Skye learned to fly, but fell to the ground. A woman dressed in Sunday best, with red buttons on her coat, rescued poor the poor little bird. The little chirped and hopped on the woman’s hand, she pulled a shiny red button from the woman’s coat and flew off into the willow tree.

One little bird feathers bright as the midday sky, she found a wee mask and became a thief.


The button thief she stole a button shining silver in the sun.

Then she stole more, and more, from the men, women and children that walked in the park, from the shops in the town, a treasure trove in the haberdashery.

Round buttons, square buttons, wooden buttons, shell buttons, plastic buttons, metal buttons, cloth buttons, none were safe from the Button Thief.
.
Red ones and blue ones, yellow ones and orange ones, shining pearl and carved oak, bright silver, tarnished brass, each shining, button a new treasure to steal.

She sat and preened up high in the willow tree, and admired the beautiful buttons in her nest. Her eyes were keen on the ground, and on the people all around, for the beautiful buttons they might wear.

The end


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the button thief illustration is on a vintage book page from a battered copy of Alice through the Looking-glass, black tea, acrylic paint, and ink were used in the illustration, along with one vintage red button. The light was a bit off when I took the photo but paint shop helped to some degree, I will attempt to photograph the illustration again when it has finished drying and flattening.

a little birdie

a little birdie in a tree

vintage book page illustration for Gloria. The birdie has been a little doodle in my sketch book for ages and until yesterday when I prepped some pages of Alice through the Looking-Glass with black tea and decided to make Gloria a little painting to go along with the bracelet she bought from my etsy shop. I didn't know what to draw but the little birdie called to me so I just had to paint her. Cute isn't she? I have a few more book pages in the works at the moment and I will try to get them finished tomorrow.

One Red Tear

Today I have been messing about with different vintage book paper, scraps of fabric,lace, pen, pencil, and a small bit of embroidery too. It went a bit funny along the top and I'm not sure I like it but it is something creative right? I may leave it alone for a day or two and then look at it again and see how I feel, I do like the different textures of fabric and paper, so it definitely merits another go at mixed media some time soon, and its been ages since I did any book page paintings.

There is still time to sign up for the Attack of the 50's B-Movie Swap so please sign up, you know you want to!

Ali forgot to poison the tea

"Ali forgot to poison the tea"

I finished this card earlier today, made from a vintage book illustration from a girls annual from the 1950's, rustically hand stamped (that translates as crapily hand stamped by me). I started the card a few days ago when I realized I forgot a friend's birthday, well I knew it was near mine but with the jet lag and unpacking I forgot to send her a present. I'm supposed to meet her tomorrow for a coffee and will give her the card and a little present before M takes me to see the new Wolverine flick and out to dinner for my birthday.

What else is new? well seeing as I got a huge phone bill for the time I was away visiting my parents I have knocked down the price of jewellery and art in my etsy shop and added the vintage doily scarf. In the hopes that a few things will sell and I will not get glowered at for texting, emailing, and twittering from my phone. I shall be adding and making more items for the shop soon, but not tomorrow, its my birthday so I won't be doing anything but enjoying the day...

back home and back dated crafts

tea towel drawn by H and hand stamped with a little help

Were back from our holiday to visit my parents in Idaho, jet lagged all to hell and H currently having a major hissy fit as there is cheese on his sandwich...? We had a great time, though not enough of it and I will blog pictures later on in the week when I have stolen them from M, and can be bothered to sort them out. For now I will show you a few things I made the week before going away and didn't have a chance to blog.

lavender and rice warm bags hand stamped with Pappy and Grammy

H helped sew the lavender and rice bags, picked out the fabrics himself, and filled them with the aforementioned dried lavender and rice, then together we stamped the ribbon with "PAPPY" and "GRAMMY" least they forget, as well as getting him to draw a picture to trace onto a simple cotton tea towel from ikea, and then stamped it with my alphabet stamps and fabric ink.

a slightly better picture of the warmbag for my Mother

A few days before heading to the airport was my friend Flamesparrow's birthday, so in an effort to cheer her up I sent her a parcel of books, with a homemade card (which I think is one of the best I have ever done) and a small faceted onyx bracelet. The parcel didn't arrive until we were at our airport hotel so i never blogged about them either. I suppose I could have set the posts to post at certain dates then things would have been secret until my creations were in the hands of who there were meant for but the week before going away was chaotic to say the least.

onyx bracelet for flame

I know in my last post I promised a giveaway, but you will have to give me a few days as I have nothing made to actually giveaway. I did buy some crafty treats, fabric and stamps while away so I do have supplies to make some lovely things, and hopefully inspiration to get them made as well. And I have a lot of writing to do to, somebody kick me up the backside please, in a day or two though when I'm not so lethargic and jetlagged.

Flamesparrow's birthday card