kitten & bunny

Have spent the last few days down the Mornington Peninsula at lovely Blairgowrie for Chris's birthday. Swimming, yummy food, lazing around, and some fine op shopping... Hooray!

Proper update soon! For now, here's a couple of little things I've been working on - I found these TINY frames at an op shop while we were away - they really are tiny, only about 5cm across, 7cm high. Good thing I like to draw little things...

Will add these along with some other little things to my shop soon (whenever it's not too rainy for good photos, come on Melbourne weather).

"carrot"...

...is what this rabbit is saying.

Am waiting for a screen of this to be made for me. Hurrah!

gift tags!

It's starting to feel like Christmas! This is probably the most Christmassy that Pocket Carnival will get this year, but that's just fine with me.

I got my new paper puncher today and couldn't wait to try it out! I'm waiting for some recycled card, so for now I have just one type (Christmas tags) in my shop. When I get my 100% recycled card and have fiddled around with the print quality I'll add some more tags (for now they're bargain price!) I had fun drawing all these tags, I first came up with the idea back in August when I couldn't stop drawing the little people with trees on their heads!

These are the originals of some of the designs... little monkey is my favourite.

mail!

Oh, and, yay! Look what arrived in the mail just now! From Fancyweaver, in case you need some yourself.

short shorts and summer skirts

Have been a bit absentee again, but this time it's all for good things. I have made myself a page-long 'to do' list, the likes of which I haven't really written since I was at uni. I've got some awesome new projects in the works. From my sketchbook for something I'm working on...

I also had time to make myself a cute new wrap-around skirt. I bought this fabric over a year ago, so am glad have finally done it!

This is me with the skirt, and a huge bag of denim offcuts. I took some more things in to Hunter Gatherer on Brunswick Street last week, and found that they had a new rack of denim short shorts, just in time for Summer. They make the short shorts themselves out of funny-lookin' jeans, so lovely Mel saved me the denim from the knees to the ground to make them some lovely clutches. Better get sewing.

And this is something else I'm working on. I found some little frames in an op shop, and lovely Chris has washed them and painted them, so I just need something to go inside them! Will be ready very soon.

winners & grandpas

Annnnddd... the winner is Emerald Arts! I did the old fashioned name out of a hat (Chris picked the name) and Emma from Emerald Arts won. Congrats! I like the suggestion zippered pouch of awesomeness but I think I'm going with long pouch. For everyone else, I'll add the rest of the pouches to my etsy (hopefully tomorrow). Thanks all so much for your helpful suggestions!!

As a special thankyou discount to everyone that happens to read this blog, if you happen to purchase a long pouch from now until midnight 22nd November (that's 2008, just to be clear) and enter the code zippered pouch of awesomeness in the notes section when you check out, I'll give you a 25% discount. Just wait for an adjusted Paypal invoice/contact from me.

So that's: 25% discount on long pouches only with the code entered at checkout. Hurrah!

Have been busy (again) and hopefully will have some stuff to show next week. For now, a new grandpa coinpurse on Etsy.

Have been cleaning, look what I found! Some cute crochet flowers from an op shop, and some recycled sari silk yarn. Pretty.

I've got the hiccups. Dang. I hate hiccups.

help + incentive (giveaway!)

I need your help! And I have an incentive (it's a giveaway!)...

Edit: the giveaway is now closed!! Thanks for your comments!

I made these long pouches as pencil cases.


But I want to know...


What would you use them for? Pencilcase, makeup bag, rubber band collection, perhaps you like to feed ducks and need to keep birdseed somewhere?

They are:
19 cm/ 7.5 inches wide
9 cm / 3.5 inches tall

They fit standard length pencils in very snugly (but not too snugly!)


If you saw this and it was called Monkey Pencil Case would you think of using it as a makeup bag or for some other purpose? Or would you think 'Pencil Case... not for me, I already have one'.

Basically I want your advice on what I should name these little cuties.

- The giveaway part -

To inspire your thoughts, I will be giving away one of these pencil cases to someone. All you have to do is leave a comment with your suggestions, and by Thursday (13th Nov) 5pm AEST I will randomly choose one person. You'll then get to pick one of these pouches which I will send you. Easy! (Just don't leave your comment anonymously, then I won't know who you are.)

Edit: the giveaway is now closed!! Thanks for your comments!

red & cake

Some new red pouches...

When I make the patchwork things I find it a lot easier to make several of the same colourings at once. I'm getting a bit low on my stash of offcuts and little bits and pieces, so I noticed I had heaps of red in there. Voila! The front pouch has little bits of silk too, I think it's lovely. I've just popped the back one into my shop.

And I made this lovely banana cake to take for afternoon tea today for my Grandf'thers 85th birthday... the cake was good but they were the best strawberries I've had all year!

And I know I said a few days ago I'd be back with a question & a giveaway... things got a bit busy but I'm thinking tomorrow.

brown

I've been a little absent lately, have just been working on a few things and whatnot.

These are two little clutches I've made today, with some birdie love. Sometimes my mum visits Patchwork on Central Park and finds a nice little scrap of fabric in their remnant tub - this is one of those scraps. So cute! Just big enough for the flap on the bird clutch and a little bit of patchworking.

I'm having one of those weeks where I've run out of most of my things and have also run out of the bits and pieces I make them from - usually I've got a little pile of illustrated calico, half made clutches on the go, but now I'm starting up again! Lots of red things which is nice.

And, also, way to go U.S.A.! Enough of those Republicans, hurrah!

little purse

I recently bought a few supplies from Nicole Mallalieu Designs, (including some supplies for a weddingy purse for my cousins wedding - more soon).




I've been wanting to try and make little frame coinpurses for awhile, so took a stab at making one last night. Not too shabby! I think the template I made must've been a bit wonky as the purse is slightly lopsided. I haven't made one before and wasn't too sure about attaching the fabric to the frame, but I took it out for a test run today and all went well. If it holds up over the next couple of weeks I will maybe make some to sell! Maybe illustrated ones would be cute. The one above is made of the sweetest fabric, no? It's from an old bag of quilting scraps my grandma found in her cupboard and kindly donated. Thanks!