News from Elsewhere

Beth of Felting in Fibrespace has been kind enough to give me this Arte y Pico award (thank you Beth!). I'd like to pass it on to five textile artists who produce unique, quality work. Last time I got this I was a bit foggy about the rules, but apparently they are thus -

1) Pick 5 blogs who deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and who also contribute to the blogging community no matter what language.
2) Each award must have the name of the author and also a link to their blog.
3) Each award winner must show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award winner and the one who has given the prize must show the link of the “Arte y pico“ blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Show these rules.





So there we are. I'm choosing -

Kay Petal, of Feltnalaska whose video I used when making my first, tentative steps in needlefelting. What Kay can't do with a felting needle isn't worth doing; she makes utterly brilliant and sometimes downright scary characters with more personality then some humans I know.

Lindsay of Tart's Tales, wonderful supplier of handspun yarns, rovings and creator of many lovely crafted goodies.

Merry Moon Designs, who makes gorgeous cupcakes of the inedible-but-seriously-gorgeous-eye-candy kind.

Nicky of Green Phoenix, really special papier mache dolls and sculptures.

Oohh, who to have next, I read at least 200 blogs and I love (nearly) them all. (Some I read just because they wind me up in kind of 'scratching a scab' way). Let's see...

Ingermaaike of Daily Felt, a felt maker in the Netherlands who makes amazing organic creations, mainly with wet felt - she often shows projects step-by-step, and it is incredible what she creates.

While I'm here, a special thank you to Sooz and Miss V. Not only the lovely purchasers of Eloise, who was welcomed to her new home with much love and kissing but generous benefactors to the studio chocolate stash.




I ate the chocolates. Well...you have to really - it's a hard job, but someone's got to do it. I am just embarking on the chocolate Chukar cherries and I am making a supreme sacrifice, and using the dried cherries in Andy's next cake. As I get so many generous gifts, it seems fair to pass the love on.

And much gratitude and smiles to Miss V in particular, a creator of beautiful and too-be-kept-forever cards. I'm one of those sentimental hoarders who keeps ephemera treasures in special boxes, and I was in need of a new one, so the now-sadly-empty chocolate box has arrived just in time.




My toys are spreading to all the corners of the globe - Egg Nest travelled a little nearer home, it's owner, Puddock, of Two and a Half Acres blog kindly sent me this photo of the birds taking a short vacation and enjoying clean, Scottish air, Now where better for an egg, than in a tree?



Speaking of which, toys kind of slowed down recently, due to multiple factors - not least of which was my Epson printer dying, so that I couldn't print my toy tags out. I've had many enquiries about 'where I get them printed' and without wishing to give away the secret of how I saw the lady in half, the simply answer is that like most of my stuff, they are homemade; I couldn't afford to get them professionally done. They're just typeset in Quark and punched out. Nothing fancy. Without a printer I'm stuffed, so I forgot about my overdraft and found a cheap Canon. (Sorry Epson, your inks are just too expensive and the cartridges can't be recycled. And your printers die too quickly). Normal service is now resumed. I'll be putting two more toys up for sale on Friday, when this wretched snail is finished...



It's kind of ironic that Synthia the Snail has progressed at, well, a snail's pace. She seems to have taken forever. I'm not sure if I entirely like her; she is more decorative than characterful. I am also working on a special and lovely custom order for my old blog-chum Stephanie, and to my complete amazement and delight it looks as if I have a new illustration job, hopefully my first British book - all to myself. Not allowed to say any more; as with all publishing jobs, it's top secret. Great fun though, hugely enjoyable and it's good to be back in the saddle. Oh yes, and there's the little matter of a cupboard full of letterpress equipment I'm rescuing at the weekend...

How not to set up a business

Sometimes I think my brain should be replaced by a large spongoid fungus...perhaps a giant puffball, or a morel...just lift this one out, it doesn't function very well, especially not nowadays, and pop t'other in. You can recycle the old one, if the council men will take it.
I am not very good at business-like-things. Dang me, it's not as if I had oodles of money to waste on stupid mistakes. I thought it was all going so well...my new cards uploaded to my printers and winging their way back to me, ready to be packed up and sent to happy customers everywhere. The first boxes arrived - very pleased. Very nice repro. Good colour matching. Glad I chose that font, it looks just right. The next batch arrived - very pleased. Very nice repro. Good colour matching. Glad I - oh. Bugger. Double bugger. Triple bugger in a marmalade sandwich. How the Devil did I manage to do that...

This finding coincided with a small painting commission, which just about covered the cost of reprinting the offending articles. Never let it be said that I aim to make profit where breaking even can be achieved. Now, knowing how popular the 'Three Kings' design is, I thought I'd be show some business savvy and splash my last pennies on getting 250 printed. We are talking very small print runs here, you won't find RFE cards in Clintons. And just 100 of Nellliephant, play it safe. Good, that's that sorted. I was a bit puzzled though, when only 100 'Kings' arrived, a week later. Maybe they were sending them in batches? Then a box of 250 'Kings' arrived too...I had of course, reordered the 'Kings' twice. Time to reorder. Again. So now I am just waiting for 'Nelliephant' mark 3 to come trumpety trumping through the jungle, as it were. How do I manage it? Am I some kind of genius?

"I know I left it here somewhere..."

So, as usual, my cash flow is pretty much stuffed, and we are foraging in the woods for firewood until my last cheque gets here, then I can buy a proper load from the men who cut down trees. Ah well, it gets us out of the house; we LIKE the woods, hurrah! But I am about to sacrifice my best paintbrush to the Gods of illustration in the hopes they will send me a job.

Moaning aside, there have been some lovely pink fluffy moments...not least a kind fairy godmother putting in a large card order today, which has helped enormously. (THANK YOU!) Times like this you realise who your friends are, and one day, with luck, I'll be able to see this as just a learning curve.

At last, after much mutual worrying, some SOSF booty has arrived...belated but enchanting, these teeny tiny origami cards, a little late for Hallowe'en, but it does not matter one bit. They are mind bogglingly bijou...

(Sooz, confess, you are only inches high, aren't you? How else could you get those little folds so perfectly creased?)

And after many weeks swimming their way round the globe, beautiful cards and fairy dust from sweet Miss Robyn, (you can breathe easy now MR, it arrived safely after all!)

So in the grand tradition of 'if life gives you lemons, make lemonade', I am off to make - appropriately enough - fairy cakes. With rainbow sprinkles. Next week is shiny new and waiting to be filled. Watch this space.