Monday 31 May 2010

I've been Stalked!

Stalked!

Well it's back to the day job today, I have had a very creative week on my "holiday"... all together I have made 12 tweets, 5 teeny tweets, 1 giant moorhen, a voodoo doll, an alien and about 15 printed chicken lavender bags... I've made a huge mess of the flat too!
So today's blog is just to announce my solo exhibit and giveaway at Etsystalker. Head over to Beatrice and Violet's blog for a chance to win a teeny tweet and check out my little interview.
xx
mel

Sunday 30 May 2010

Blog a day 6 Some Days Require Pins!

You know those people who really annoy you? They make you angry and they break your heart? Or worse... they break your best friend's heart!Maybe it's not so dramatic as that... maybe they just talk too much, the eat the last cupcake, they step on your toes and don't apologise... maybe they are those people who are rude to you in shops, maybe they are those people who are rude to cashiers in shops, maybe they wear clompy heels and walk down the street behind you clomping away but not saying excuse me...Well those people... I have found a way to deal with those people. I keep my little voodoo doll in my pocket and while they aren't looking I stab it with pins!
They don't feel anything but I feel better!

Friday 28 May 2010

Blog A Day 5 Not Tweet or Hoot but Coot!


For a while now I have had a burning desire to make some life size or at least bigger sized birds. I have a real craving to make a large flamingo but I thought Maybe I should start with a less ambitious project!I started making a Raven but then decided against it as it would be BLACK and I doubt it would photograph well at all so the creature got longer and thinner and I remembered the Coots and Moorhens we used to see drift around Roundhay Park Lake in Leeds as a child, they had such fun characters and a funny bobby kind of walk!I have christened my coot Christopher... I don't know why I just have. Christopher is 6.5 inches tall and a little intimidating to the average tweet but he is a very friendly chap!
Now I am going to start on my flamingo... I really hope it works!

Thursday 27 May 2010

Blog A day 4 Take 2... Gloria to the Rescue


Phew... finally the plumber has gone and there I was getting annoyed cos I couldn't work! He's coming back tomorrow so I thought while I had the chance I would get a sneaky bit of work done.

I decided to make a chicken friend for Doris to stop her getting lonely, I called her Gloria... for a while she was called Florence but she had more of a Gloria feeling to her!

I took the opportunity to stamp several Gloria's on to cloth in prep for tomorrow so while the plumber man is finishing off my boiler I can sew some Gloria's together!

Blog A day 4 Doris saves the Day!!!

My fabric experiments yesterday were an over riding success with everyone agreeing that Chicken shaped lavender bags were the way to go so I have had a morning making more! My chicken has been christened Doris and Doris's are available to buy at Etsy Inkmeup http://www.etsy.com/shop/inkmeup and Folksy in Great British Pounds http://www.folksy.com/shops/Inkmeup
Ok and I know this is a bit of a cop out for my blog a day but I can't get anywhere near my work today cos there is a plumber ripping apart my kitchen and I don't want to get my work covered in plaster dust!
If he goes away I'll try and do a proper one later!
xx

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Blog A Day 3 Stamp Happy or Gocco Loco

I couldn't wait to try out my gocco stamp yesterday when it arrived, so many ideas were rushing around my head but I decided to start by using one of my existing screens to work out the principles of the stamp.The gocco stamp basically works with the screens you make with the gocco machine, so you still need a gocco to use it. It has a sticky pad on the base which attaches to the cover on the screen and plastic clip on bits which hold the screen above the fabric so you can position it correctly without getting ink everywhere. All in all it's a simple bit of kit

I stamped alot of chickens all over this lovely white cotton I bought, snipped them out and sewed them together with a ribbon hanging tag, I stuffed them with stuff, popped a little lavender sachet in each one.

I am totally in love with my gocco stamp... plans for future projects include tea towels and tote bags, draft excluders, aprons, mini plushies and Christmas decorations... squeeee... can't wait.

Chicken lavender bags will be available in Inkmeup very soon... just as soon as I decide which design I prefer square or chicken shaped! Which do you like best?

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Blog A Day 2- Free Shipping


As a special celebration for my holiday I am offering free shipping across my shop. The offer includes all full size tweets, real birds, pet birds, owls, cake toppers, pairs and families and runs for 5 days until sunday the 30th May (Offer does not include teeny tweets or hatchlings tho, cos our margin is very small on these guys!)I have even made a treasury of free shipping items to celebrate!
And look what came in the post today... my gocco stamp! Yay... it's a massive indulgence but means i can print on fabric and different surfaces! I hope I get to use it this week!

Monday 24 May 2010

A blog a day... Holiday Project

It's not often that an unexpected holiday falls in your lap! This week I checked my rota at work and found that I had been given a holiday to use up holiday hours... yay! Totally unplanned and I'm broke so I can't go anywhere... Oh no you might think... but you would be wrong!This little crafter is totally chuffed to have a week off and has major plans to work my butt off and do all those thing I would do if I didn't have to be a bookslave 20 hours of the week!Wren Notebooks
Starting Monday I plan to do a blog a day to motivate myself, monday is about sorting out so today I am cleaning the house, tidying my craft stuffs and I received a lovely delivery of ribbons and am wrapping all my notebooks for Inkmeup, I may even do some paper work!

Kingfisher notebooks
Keep your eyes peeled for Tuesday's blog... hopefully I'll have lot of interesting things to show you!

Friday 21 May 2010

Check out these Hooters!


As you may have noticed my blogging has been slightly irregular of late working a day job as a book slave and trying to run the businesses has been taking all my time and energy up so I thought it's about time I brought you all up to date with the goings on at the Menagerie.
What have I been up to? Well I have reopened my Folksy shop since the pound is so wobbly at the moment I thought my British customers would appreciate a shop in Great British Pounds. I also opened an Inkmeup on folksy.
I've been working on developing the Hoots range for the Menagerie since they are so much fun to make and very cute too! I'm loving my little grey owls and have redesigned my barn owl to match the new set... although I'm still kind of attached to the original owl design so maybe I'll have both!
I also promised you a blog giveaway when I hit 500 sales... well we are edging ever closer to the big 500 so watch this space. I'm still pondering what to give away... hmmmmmm...

Thursday 13 May 2010

Lucky Tweets

Are you feeling lucky punk? Just working on the new lucky tweets which seem to be very popular across the pond in the USA.
And wishing a happy birthday to my John who's fault it is that I haven't done a proper blog post this week!