#NatStatWeek Day 5 - SallyMakesArt

Sally Makes Art is featured on Day 5 of my National Stationery Week feature. I'm a massive fan of simple but gorgeous cards and love the plain backgrounds and pops of wonderful colour on Sally's work. Sally is an art graduate who hoards pretty paper. Luckily, she does not hoard what she makes because then the world would be without such wonderful cards as this "I Love You To Pieces" card 

 

 

and these amazing envelopes. Can you imagine getting post in that?! A whole new meaning to Happy Mail.

 

Sally's are blank for any occasion. There's an "I Heart Westminster" card that I'll be getting for a colleague who's leaving our office to be London based for a while.

 

 

It's gorgeous and features a cut out of a 1996 road map showing Westminster. I really like how the brown of the card brings out the yellows, greens and blues we all remember from those pre-SatNav days when you nervously read the map for your dad while he was driving you.

Excitingly, Sally Makes Art is undergoing a massive re-stock so there will be more wonderful cards appearing online very soon. In the meantime, I've become uncommonly obsessed with pegs...and I am a bit blaming Sally. Look at these!

 

 

They'd definitely make dashing outside to get the washing in when it's just started to rain much more festive.

 

I hope you've enjoyed my featured makers this week - there'll be a post over the weekend on my favourite organising blogs and links so you can use your stationery ideas to organise your life!

#NatStatWeek Day 4 - Oh Squirrel

 

 

For Day 4 of National Stationery Week, I'm focussing on Katie from Oh Squirrel. Katie's range of greetings cards, badges, pencils and gifts have a vintage feel with a modern twist. There's also a card for every occasion, including one I should buy in bulk reading "Sorry for being a crap friend & forgetting your birthday".

I love a mix of textures in basically anything, so these cards with photos stitched to the front is really appealing. Hopefully, I can get more organised and start sending the "Happy Birthday Bestie" card instead.

Getting organised obviously needs a new notebook (who else keeps theirs for best?!) and this "I Bloody Love A Good List" notebook could have been made for me.

And who remembers those pencils you used to get in your Christmas stocking with your name embossed in gold? Surely it was not just me. Katie has the answer for this nostalgia with some gorgeous pencils with more grown up writing on them. The "I Am Working Very Hard" pencil in this set would be very well used by me...

What I love most about Oh Squirrel is the mix of nostalgia with modern. The range of badges is completely beautiful - polka dots and zig zag lines and swirly script - and I'd want to wear one everyday. I'll probably settle for just one on my birthday though, and this "Birthday Girl" badge is right up my street.

All pictures courtesy of the Oh Squirrel Etsy shop.

#NatStatWeek Day 3 - Inky Collective

I'm really excited about this, Day 3 of National Stationery Week. The wonderful Jen from Inky Collective has shared some excellent 'behind the scenes' photos (come on, I'm not the only nosey person here am I?!) and, if that wasn't enough, she's answered some of my nosey questions too. What a star!

 

At the Craft Fox Market in London

 

 

So, let's meet Jen:

I'm Jen and I design and hand print cheeky letterpress stationery, with an antique press, on recycled card, in London. I started printing last year after my daft husband bought me an Adana 8x5 for Christmas (2013). I ran my first workshop last August and started selling around the same time. This year I have started working with a Vicobold Press, which can print much larger areas and is slightly less exhausting as it's motorised. 

I also write a blog for creatives, interviewing designer-makers, reviewing workshops and generally hoping to inspire people to "find creative adventure"!

 

The Adana (top) and Vicobold (bottom) presses. Supercool!

 

 

What is your favourite thing about stationery?

Oh my goodness, where to start. My favourite thing, I suppose, is that it's a very hands on, tactile thing. Even with the convenience of Google Calendar and all those memo apps and what not, there is no comparison with a beautiful paper diary or journal. My desk is absolutely chocker with paper, inks, pens, rulers, post its, washi tapes, and I own more pairs of scissors than any one person really needs. But that's not going to stop me filling my boots next time I'm in a stationery shop!

 

 

What is the best piece of stationery you ever owned and how did you end up using it?

As a printer I am very fond of paper and ink, so from that perspective the best piece I owned was some 100% cotton, 600gsm card. I bought it to print my own business cards, and I used the offcuts to make bookmarks, so nothing went to waste. I was quite pleased with myself about that!

The other thing is probably washi tape. I use it on everything! To add detail to gift tags and envelopes, as props in my photos, and even to help keep things where they should be during the printing process!

What is your favourite part of the designing/making process?

My favourite part (and I think other printers will agree with this) is when, after several practice prints, you get everything lined up right, and a perfect impression. Letterpress is a laborious and fiddly process but it means it's all the more satisfying when a print comes out just right.

 

 

 

 

Jen has an absolutely gorgeous range of wonderful products. AND they're currently on sale at her Etsy store. And that includes this rather fitting card (which, I suspect might be a bit of a lie for some people sending it, but shh!)

 

 

There really does seem to be something for everyone - with bookmarks, sensible cards for your mum, business cards for new ventures and wonderful cards for everyone you know.

Miss Maguire Goes To York

This weekend was the Festival of Vintage at York Racecourse. The lovely Caroline from Sew La Di Da Vintage was there, and I offered to come and help out. It meant I could stroke her lovely fabrics all day, and impart some of my enthusiasm for her patterns to the vintage fair goers. Don't worry, I've saved some of the enthusiasm for here!

For the event, Caroline kindly gifted me her latest pattern, the Miss Maguire three piece set. It's a wonderful A-Line skirt (with those all important pockets), a gorgeous little crop top and a lace swing top. She also sent this incredible rose print fabric, which is truly adorable.

I have previously made the French Gypsy Dress by Sew La Di Da, and this outfit sewed up just as easily with comprehensive instructions complete with photographs. I was also able to insert my invisible zip perfectly on the first attempt, which was worthy enough of a photo in itself:

 

 

The only adjustments I made was to add a lining to the skirt to prevent that terrible sticking to tights issue. Other than that, it was straight out the envelope, two darts, some straight seams, a couple of button holes and a hem. The added skills here with the button holes are ideal for someone who's looking to step things up a notch but still have a really well-fitting and excellent outfit at the end of it.

 

Caroline has also persuaded me (it wasn't difficult) to go on her Body Blue Print class. Perfect excuse for a summer holiday to Lyme Regis. I do not think I'll bring the Mr.

 

Excitingly, I've also got some more fabric - possibly the best fabric I've seen - and her Audrey dress to make, so keep your eyes open for that post.

 

P.S. I got to sell fabric to customers, which meant ripping lengths of cotton. Possibly the most fun I've ever had. But I think I managed to play it cool...

Judy's Vintage Fair...in LEEDS!

I have moved house! Twice, actually, since my last post August. I now, very much permanently, live in Leeds. And I love it.
Although I've been a number of times before (obviously) I'm really enjoying exploring the city, our new village and the surrounding area. Today has been no exception and we went to Judy's Vintage Fair at the Corn Exchange. I've been to these fairs before in Spitalfields in London, and to be fair, it's much the same - vintage clothes and accessories and vintage style clothes and accessories. I bought some vintage-style sunglasses for £5, even though the Lovely Mister said they were too big for my head (he thinks everything is too big for my head, mostly because I have a small head).

The Fair was also a perfect excuse to use my new bag! I made this!

Not the tote bag, actually; I bought that and all the ingredients to make this and some other projects from this month's Mollie Makes magazine from Cloud Crafts. I've only just discovered this supplier and I shall definitely be using them again - my parcel arrived super quickly, and it is an absolute treasure trove of goodies for all kinds of crafts.

Lunch was courtesy of Crowd of Favours, my favourite place to eat in the centre (we've been there twice already and we've been here six weeks) and had burns night food (game pie for me!) and a shot of Laphroaig (which I obviously pointed to on the menu). Usually, I like a bourbon but this was super tasty - smokey AND peaty. I even had it without a mixer, which pleased the Mister no end (I once poured Co-Op own brand coke at 79p for 2 litres into a thirty year old Jura. I thought he was about to have a stroke).
Things are still pretty busy for me, but it's so good to be out doing things and making stuff again. I really missed it!