Packages part one

Oh deary me...I feel like some party bore who, after several glasses of wine, has done little but drone on about fungus and letter press tags for hours, while people politely yawn and try to shuffle away discreetly. It's over. Never again will I ever go about a job in such a cockeyed way. Everything I did was wrong, from the inks used, to hand cutting 400-odd different sized tags by hand, with Stanley knife, hand rolling each block at a time, and then trim, corner punch, and thread up. Not to mention packaging the wretched things. Twenty five packs...

And all entirely my own fault for rushing headfirst into something I was only dabbling in at the time. I am simply relieved and somewhat amazed that they finished up looking alright. Lessons learned, solutions found, move on. And open presents. That'd be the Hallowe'en box I've been hoarding for weeks - someone who did not leave a name, but who knew me very well indeed...Arthur Rackham on the front...

Victoriana fairy on the back...

Horribly realistic, almost untouchable spider lurking inside with beautifully wrapped packages - autumnal pages from Country Living magazine. By now my attena are twitching...

Well worth the wait, the most beautiful autumnal box, so thoughtfully put together; and everything that I like from preserved leaves, an amusing article on vintage childrens fiction, to wild cherry tea and vegetable transfers. And a sweetly messaged but anonymous card - a red squirrel (only found in a handful of places in the UK) - twitch twitch...hmmm.

Gorgeous cards, laid out with suitably warming soup recipes...and this, which sealed my suspicions...

I have only encountered this delicous substance once in my life - tablet. The Scottish form of fudge - hard and sweet, and tasting distinctly of black treacle. And given to me by the same person; I might possibly be wrong, but I think - I think my secret fairy is a certain Border Tart. Correct me if I'm wrong. But whoever it was, thank you for such an amazing box, which has given me enormous orangey-warm pleasure on this grey, mizzly morning. When all has been consumed and stashed away, it is just the right size for storing letter press blocks in...no, shut me up now, before I get started again.
However, Emma, our latest admin fairy who has been wonderfully holding the Secret Fairy fort, has set up a Christmas SOSF event. Skates on, as last post dates are nearing and the closing date is 30th November!

Oh, for those who asked, I do have some spare packs of tags which will be in my Etsy shop, (alongside my pathetically small selection of Christmas cards) so if you wanted some, I aim to get them in by Thursday. Now I've told y'all what a bodge job it was, I'm sure you are tempted.

I'll shut up now. About tags and letter press and all that. Hic. Falls asleep on sofa, quietly drooling...to everyones' relief.

Inning and outing

Greetings from Planet Head Cold where I have been marooned for what seems a lifetime - but is in fact only a week. A week in which things have come and things have gone. With a delightful accompaniment of sniffs, snuffles and pathetic coughing.

IN - A lovely bracelet from Etsy jewellery seller Definitely Different Designs, calling up images of the sea in autumn; dull green seaweedy stones and pebbly stone/red jasper beads, set in silver plate. Yep, I got suckered by the sea thing again...call me weak willed.

IN - I inadvertently won a draw on the lovely Vintage Pleasure blog; 'Something to Do', a Puffin book from the Seventies, when it was not beyond the realms of imagination that children should occupy themselves cooking, sewing, bird watching and crafting. Most of it without the aid of an adult and blissfully lacking in 21st century health and safety warnings ("please be aware that making hand shadows can result in a sprained finger...") I do so love getting beautifully wrapped things and this is a fantastic book - thank you Kirsty!

IN - my SOSF Tea Party from Tara of the Silver Apples blog, who also packs a pretty - and generous - parcel. Herbal teabags from her own garden, lemon geranium sugar tea, a tub tea bath bag and other wholesome goodies - thank you Tara, the herbals are just what I need to flush the darned cold out of my system.

IN and OUT - In from the library and out again for someone else to enjoy - The Lock by Frank Egerton. I used to review books for a specialist magazine, and while I read some darned good stuff, I also read some unutterable tripe. The worst offender was a nauseatingly cosy pot boiler penned by a well known TV personality. So I felt obliged to give the drivel a halfway positive review, even though it deserved to be dipped in watery porridge and fed to the birds. With a certain High Street book chain gripping the book industry in an iron fist, small, quality publishers need all the help they can get. What follows is not a book review; I have lost my book review skills, or at least they don't work on Planet head Cold...this is my opinion.

Suffice to say that this is an Oxfordshire writer, and the Lock is set in and around Oxford, which is given its full share of attention, and described with love and knowledge. But the main story - the straying off the marital path of a middle aged Oxford don, and the consequences of his actions on his family and friends - is cleverly and thoughtfully written. Egerton has the rare gift - in a male author - of being able to write strong female characters realistically, making each one individual and interesting - sometimes even infuriating. Any fan of Oxford and its university scene will love reading this; the detail of the city and its inhabitants is true to life and hugely enjoyable. If I had to be so crass as to give it a catchey genre, it would be (highly) superior Joanne Trollope. For while it concerns itself with similar themes - middle class affairs/guilt/angst - it is so intelligently written that it is a joy to read, the more obvious subject matter belying Egertons sophisticated language skills - this is no mere 'Aga saga'. It has had a shining review from John Bailey, the late Iris Murdoch's husband. Get your library to order it in, read it and savour it. Or even buy it - let's give small publishers like Smaller Sky a fighting chance, God knows they need it.

OUT - the hope engendered by my recent London trip. (The so-called new dawn as optimistically mentioned in my fortieth birthday post.). Not wishing to go into details, let's just say it was like being invited out by the School Hunk. At first you can't believe he really wants to see a little mouse like you. Then you spend days fretting and sorting out what to wear. You buy a dress you can't afford and dream of being Mrs School Hunk, having little School Hunk babies. You draw hearts in biro in the back of your exercise book with your initials entwined. The big day arrives and with trembling fingers you apply the last coat of lip gloss, heading off with beating heart to your dinner date. But when you arrive it appears you are not the only chosen one - he has several candidates for the prized position, who he is also wining and dining for suitability. And you know - you know - that they are prettier, slimmer, sexier than you. And so does he. He lets you down gently, and tells you that you have a nice smile. You crawl under the duvet and cry. You wake up the next day and realise that you didn't want to be Mrs School Hunk anyway. Or so you tell yourself. And life goes on.

so we won't be eating here just yet...

OUT - I finally got my Robert Snow snowflake finished and whizzed off to America. Each snowflake is decorated by a published artist and is auctioned after exhibition. This raises money for the Dana-Farber cancer Institute. It's not well known in the UK, so I do suggest going to have a look at the Robert Snow site, as it is a remarkable and touching story and I was proud to be able to contribute.


front back

OUT - My first repeat order for the Lost Toys cards, from Pad in Manchester. I've managed to get a few gorgeous shops to stock them (see the list on the left) but they are also available from my Etsy shop, from where they have been going nicely. I am printing off various designs in small numbers, just to road test them - the first being this ginger cat cat design from the very first incarnation of Red Flannel Elephant cards. (another story, another time). Available in packs of six, so that's one to keep and five to send. Right, that's my feeble energy used up, I wonder if I can summon the strength to do Illustration Friday - the theme is 'Moon' and I am sorely tempted...

Laid low and listless

Oh me, oh my. What a difference one small, sweaty pork pie can make. We are laid low with the collywobbles, and it is not a pretty sight. And of course, the Gods like to tweak our tails when things are at their worst. After a dreadful, unspeakable morning, feeling pathetic and floppy, I was (almost) happily sat with my sketchbook watching a Cirque de Soleil dvd. I've yearned to see them ever since they first came on the UK scene, but live shows being beyond my meagre pocket I've had to content myself with collecting cuttings from the papers. Sad but true.

Then the other week Andy came back from work with four borrowed four dvds and I've been so busy with one thing or another that I haven't watched any of them. It has taken a tummy bug to allow me the time to indulge; thank you tummy bug. So there I was, being quite overwhelmed by the visual cornucopia of Varekai, in pathetic artist-y tears at the exquisite beauty of it all, and almost forgetting my Condition, when I heard a splashing coming from our tiny kitchen next door, and there was water dripping down into the sink from the bathroom; the toilet was leaking again. Pause dvd. Shake my puny fist at the Gods. This fine specimen of seventies plumbing has leaked several times in the last five years and our landlord has had various bodged solutions to the problem, none of which include actually replacing the darned thing and strengthening the floor. Now the panels have been soaked so many times they are rotten and bulging between the beams below, which is the kitchen ceiling. So in optimistic anticipation of a visit from one of the workmen, we heaved our sorry selves up and had a major house tidy. But our landlord was out for the day, so we have been drifting about the Hovel sighing and sleeping and generally being unbearable. But there are more important things going on than my dicky stomach.
My paper cutting mentor has gifted me his vintage Ulano swivel knife. As you can see, (or maybe not), it has a teeny tiny blade a few millimetres long, and apparently needs sharpening with an oil stone (none of yer wasteful disposable nonsense). I am hoping to be able to get better detail in my paper cuts. Thank you Reg, you are a star.

Now you may have noticed the lovely jazzy decoration on the package it arrived in. That is a sample of Reg's paper cutting. We first came into contact nearly a decade ago, when I was printing these little things -

Shop display unit, the very height of sophistication. With tabs!

The entire back catalogue of the Pocket Magic series...

...reproduced in glorious monochrome.

My macro-publishing company had just had a mention in the Country Living 'Emporium' pages and I had several mail order enquiries, one of whom was Reg (another was Lindsay of Border Tart) and it turned out (as far as I can remember) that he liked the scraperboard illustrations because they reminded him of paper cuts, which was his field. And so I was introduced to the world of paper cutting. Ever since, our families - well, his family and we two, have exchanged Christmas cards and in every box of treasured cards I have, there is one of his lovely designs. Now, afer a bit of nagging from me, he has set up his own blog, Paper Tiger, cataloguing his work. He hasn't started writing yet, but I live in hope, because he can be very funny. More importantly, there aren't a right lot of paper cutting blogs around, they are a rare species. Go and look, and enjoy some lovely scherenschnitte.

Oh, my feeble fingers can barely type anymore; I am weak, I am overflowing with self pity and general waffiness. I can just muster the last of my ebbing energy to inform you all of a SOSF event, generously hosted by my very busy fellow admin fairy Tara. It's a tea party!

This event's theme is "Handmade card, favorite tea and a treat"! (One of each.) To keep mailing costs low, be creative with light-weight, flattish items that you personally enjoy and will fit into a small, padded envelope. For example- a couple of packets of your favorite tea, with your great-aunt Tursell's recipe for scones or petit-fours tucked into a beautiful handmade card in which you write your own tea rituals to share with your recipient. Add a wrapped piece of gourmet chocolate or biscotti, or something non-edible, but tea-themed as a *treat* and you will be set! This is just one possibility - use your creativity and love of sharing tea with friends.

To take part, you need to visit her blog, Silver Apples or the official Society of Secret Fairies site where you will find contact details and guidelines. These are Important. Very Important.

I can feel a faintness coming over me, it's all too much...au revoir!

The Postman rings (more than) twice

...and he brought - another lovely Goddess doll from dear Ms Robyn...like the last one, she must have taken a detour in her travels, as she was supposed to arrive in time for Christmas, but arrived safely in January. Here she is sat with Duncan, waiting for the 2007 festivities.

...bizarre yet scrummy chocolate mushroooms from the Laundry Fairy, these are the last survivors saved specially for the photo...

...and the strangest taste experience I have had in 2007, Hot and Sour soup - I am not sure how something which set my mouth on fire could taste so delicious. By the end of the bowl my lips felt as if they had had a triple injection of collagen. But it was definitely worth the pain...

...and on Valentine's Day, from the Queen of SOSF, the ever generous Tara of SIlver Apples...her own delightful handmade soaps (WHERE does she find the time!) and general hearty-loving-goodies...all packed beautifully as always...

...incuding this hot chocolate kit, with a frighteningly large dried chilli - just look at the size of it - it could serve a pillow for a newborn baby! I am somewhat in awe of it, and prod it from time to time to see if it is alive...


(There was something else especially wonderful in this parcel, but I don't think I can show it yet, suffice to say that Tara, you are amazing, and everyone is going to love it when you can spill the beans!)

...and finally, my copies of 'Pinwheel Days', which has finally hit all good USA bookshops everywhere, but especially your local Amazon. I am finally published!

Catching up with P's and Q's

Before I revert back to rambling on about the small things of country life and my faltering illustration career, (anyone want to buy a used paintbrush? One careful lady owner?) I'd like to publicly thank some lovely people who have sent me equally lovely things - apologies if this sounds like a great big gloat-fest, but mother taught me that it's kindly good manners to say thank you - and even more so if they are over due.

There were a couple of bad experiences with the mail in 2006. My end of a vintage book exchange vanished into the ether between the USA and here. But amazingly, Vintage Chica persevered and sent me out another, which arrived almost smothering our poor Posty, a small pair of legs disappearing under a large box. This contained my wonderful classic book - 'Little House on the Prairie', by Laura Ingalls Wilder which all good American girls know (and quite a lot over here). I can remember my mum finding 'Little House in the Big Woods' in the public library, and suggesting I read it. At the age of 8 or so, and having a very sheltered TV-less life, I didn't want to read about other children in that far off place, America, (where?) which was simply a distant name to me - insular child that I was. But within the first chapter, I was hooked, and swiftly devoured it and the rest of the series - all borrowed from the libray, so I have no copies of my own. Until now...

Of course, it is illustrated by the amazing Garth Williams. I immediately curled up with it and yet again was transported far away and long ago. The magic of the author's writing still encaptivated me and I have been loving re-reading it again.




To accompany it, some domestic delights - a jar of red currant sauce, a darling little apron, and best of all a vintage rolling pin, (I have a weakness for old rolling pins) which has joined my collection. It will be put into pastry action, as I like to use all my pins; it seems so sad to let them get dusty and unused simply because they are 'collectable'. Thank you Vintage Chica, not only for putting together such a thoughtful box, but for having the generosity to send a second one to replace the 'vanished' one.

The second mishap, post-wise, was my SOSF gift from Ms Robyn. It went missing and we had both given it up for lost. In the meantime, she sent me an enchanting bundle of delicate gifts...



...but at last, the missing parcel turned up, safe and sound. Two months later. It was a handcrafted Goddess doll, one of Ms Robyns finest. Where she had been and what adventures she had been through, she would not say. But here she is, on the wall, as enigmatic as a Goddess should be. Thank you Robyn!

And thank you to Maya and Tara for your everlasting kindness, but most of all for your friendship and support over the last year and beyond.

Edibles and herbal goodness from Tara's garden (no prizes for guessing which idiot made a jug of herbal tea from the 'tub-tea-bags' and drank it...not realising they were for bath soaking purposes...country bumpkin strikes again).

To all my artist, crafting and illustrator friends, whose personal cards and 'bits' always have pride of place, and their own exhibition space -


and to Gail, for this little fellow...

and huge hugs to my dear non-blogging-but-still-precious friend 'nursie', who sent me this treasure trove of trinkets from a Christmas market...incuding tiny toadstools which will keep all year round.



You are all prime examples of what the SOSF is all about - that it is better to give than to receive. To give because the other person will get pleasure from the gift, and not simply to get something back. That is why we think of ourselves as a friendship network, not a 'swop' group. Somehow it's nicer that way.

( I have been rubbish at gifting recently and mean to improve on this in 2007!)

Fairy Valentine

My lovely friend and fellow admin-fairy Tara (Silver Apples of the Moon ) is hosting a SOSF Valentine event; send a scrummy chocolatey gift and a handmade friendship card to your secret fairy match-up. (Just in case there's anyone out there who hasn't eaten enough chocolate this Christmas!) Any applications to be made to Tara through the SOSF website.
You do need to have a blog to take part though, which is a painless and free procedure available to anyone with an internet connection. Can you resist this gorgeous invitation?

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.

Cards in particular

Many months ago, when this blog was cutting its first teeth and dribbling down its bib, I was working on a commission from Disney UK which, for confidentiality reasons I wasn't able to write about. This is how slowly these things can take. It is a year and a half since I was summoned, half quaking, half thrilled, to their offices in London, and only this week have I been sent the first cards, designed and printed by the card company - Gemma International - who licensed my designs. As I was working under the stern pencil of the chief 'Pooh' artist, most of the work was not my own. But hopefully the flavour of my style has crept through - that was the idea, anyway. I believe they are now on sale at all good branches of Woolworths and 'other outlets'. Possibly supermarket sections. Ah well, it's it's all gravy, as Andy likes to say.

Moving way down the greetings card foodchain, I have finished the last two designs for the first Red Flannel Elephant Christmas range. Many, many thanks to my blog friends at 'Magpie Magic', 'On the Blossom Trail' and 'Natural Attrill' for plugging them so wonderfully and linking to the site. Now I am waiting for the first printed batches to come thudding on the doorstep.

'Three French Hens'

'Elebauble'

Another card of a more ethereal nature has popped into my inbox - another Society Of Secret Fairies event, with the most gorgeous invitation by my lovely friend Maya, who is the acting admin fairy for this one. To apply, please visit the SOSF blog. This does not signify the absolute end of the autumn event, and we hope that if you and your fairy match liked each other you will continue to keep in contact.