Pussies Galore! Etsy treasury-west

I love cats. But I don't think I've ever done a feline-themed treasury... until now! Don't you think these are a bunch of cute kitties? This treasury on Etsy will be visible until Thursday, so go take a closer look now!

September Sunset Etsy Treasury

I'm back with the treasuries! A few nights ago there was a spectacular sunset, the sort which seem to be commoner in late summer, and it made me want to make a treasury of similar-coloured items. I like these things because they have something unusual or special about them. What do you think?

Sellers, left to right: dakota fire, Dotty Lotty, Apak, Leaves of Glass, Quercus Silver, Nonesuch Garden, Arts in RI, Lux Imagery, The Nebulous Kingdom, Bionic Unicorn, Jessica Doyle, Dirt Road South.

See you soon!

Joey x

A Bunny-centric Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday; it was a quiet but pleasant day, consisting of sewing, watching lots of episodes of Flight of the Conchords and eating naughty treats! But I thought I'd share with you some pictures of some of the lovely books I got for presents. Oh, and do you like the fantastic picture above? It's a portrait of me (uncanny likeness) drawn by my 7-year-old friend Elliot. It was drawn in pencil but I thought it'd look rather jolly in orange. It's brilliant, isn't it?! :D

I have been wanting "Fluffy" for ages since seeing another book called "Both" in the Sheffield Central Library, jointly drawn by the illustrating partners Simone Lia and Tom Gauld . Fluffy is a little boy bunny who lives with a single man. Michael, and Fluffy thinks that Michael is his daddy. But Michael tells Fluffy that he's not, even though he treats Fluffy with the same love and attention that a caring parent would show their own child. I haven't finished reading the book yet, but so far, it's an affectionate and funny story, beautifully drawn in Simone's simple and cute style.

I used to cut pictures out of books too. Did you? I think it's a natural thing to do, innocent and not naughty at all.

Fluffy is a an energetic and irrepressible bunny!

Like all bunnies, Fluffy leaves little presents everywhere. :-)

I hope this story doesn't have a sad ending...

Another book I've longed for, for a while is the Aranzi Aronzo book "Cute Stuff" in which a couple of very cute bunnies show us how to make various simple accessories and decorate them with cute appliqués. I think I really need to make something with the happy train appliqué...

Aranzi Aronzo is actually the collective/company name for a couple of very talented crafty ladies who write and illustrate all the Aranzi Aronzo books. Their catch phrase is "cute, strange, cool, silly, a little bit horrible, stupid and comfortable ARANZI ARONZO"! Visit their official website for more information: A Message From Mr. Aranzi and Mr. Aronzo

As well as very clear and engaging diagrams, there are photos of the finished projects, with large bunny toys modelling them with great style!

The bunnies are very knowledgeable and helpful!

Of course, all rabbits are ecological, but I think this bunny just wants to try to push the idea to humans. Reduce, reuse, recycle - it's the bunny way!

Yes, lets! I always take reusable shopping bags with me, but they are bought ones... maybe time for an Aranzi Aronzo bag!

Rabbits are gentle creatures, and always try to encourage and reassure you.

Bunnies don't make fun of anyone. They have a high level of emotional intelligence, you see.

Crafty friends!

Mathew got me this Grange Hill annual from the Oxfam charity bookshop in Bradford. Thank you, Mathew! <3>This is Todd Carty (in the water-filled bin), who played everyone's favourite Tucker Jenkins, in comic strip form! I think they've drawn him a bit curmudgeonly... if I were Todd Carty, I think I'd be rather annoyed! He's not THAT funny-looking!

Oh, but here's a very young Todd Carty (he's the one wearing the blue jumper I think) in a Green Cross Code public information film with Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who). So remember... SPLINK!

Etsy in Wonderland Part Two - Treasury

I promised there would be another Alice in Wonderland-themed treasury, so here it is! The amount of beautiful handmade things inspired by Alice in Wonderland is amazing. I've chosen a mix of obvious Alice things and other things which I love, and remind me of the motifs from the story. Here's the list of sellers so you can explore their other wares, from left to right:

Nu Nuveau, Elsita, Migoto Chou, Sugar and Flour, SAEE Designs, Naokosstoop, Fathom Glass, The Nebulous Kingdom, Tsuru Bride, Sarah Maloney, Starving Art Student, Frog With Wings.

This will be my last treasury for a while, maybe until September as I've got a few big projects that I have to pull my finger out to complete! Unfortunately, procrastination is my forte, so the less distractions, the better.

I hope you've enjoyed exploring Etsy's many, many talented artists through my treasuries! I'll be back to them soon, so watch this space!

Joey xx

Etsy in Wonderland - Treasury

The treasury I made last night was inspired by themes from Alice In Wonderland.

Etsy sellers, from left to right: The Nebulous Kingdom, Apak, Andy's House, Niko Art, Little Elfs Toyshop, Wakuseiya, Just Be Designs, Darkling Woods, Lilla Lotta, Another Feather, Elsita, Naokosstoop.

There are so many lovely handmade items on Etsy which have been inspired by Alice in Wonderland, I will be doing another treasury with the same theme... so watch this space if you like this!

I did read the book many many years ago when I was a nipper, but about 15 years ago (when I was a very moody teenager) I came across and became a big fan of Jan Svankmajer's "Alice". If you haven't heard of it, you really need to watch it (see below, first of nine parts). It's a fantastically imaginiative, dark and memorable stop-motion film based on Alice in Wonderland. In my opinion, it's the best version in film, both for children and adults alike.

Joey x

Bunnigami! Simple Origami with Bunnies Part 5

Hello! As always, bunnigami is just slightly late... whoops! This time, you can learn how to make a crane. This is perhaps the most widely-recognised origami model, and there is a tradition in Japan that if you make a thousand cranes, you will be granted a wish.

You will need to know how to make the preliminary base first; this is covered in the instructions on how to make the waterbomb.

Click on the two pictures below to make them larger.

Now you've made one crane, you only have another 999 to make until your wish can be granted...

Good luck and happy folding!

Joey x

Camera Camaraderie: Treasury

Last week we went to the National Media Museum (NMM) in Bradford, which has inspired this treasury.

Sellers above , from left to right: Majesty Inc, Yaelfran, Japonicas, Ura Star House, CB78, Little Big Pants, Two Guitars, Moy Toys, Vivienne Strauss, Artsy, Sewn by Blythe, Roberta Grove.

Don't read the next paragraph if you would rather not read about morbid things. Just skip to the next paragraph after the photo of the television.

I had been to the museum before about 13 years ago, when it was still known as the National Photography, Film and Television Museum. The main thing I can remember from that first visit was a special exhibition of Victorian photographs of the recently deceased. It was very moving, although more than a little disturbing to me and others I was with, as this isn't a concept we're used to these days. Even though we hear about violence and death all the time through television, internet and the press, we aren't generally shown dead people because it's considered in bad taste to do so, therefore I found it quite surprising to see such a large collection of "death portraits" (often babies and children in their parents arms or in coffins, as if peacefully sleeping) from a time I perceived to have far more taboos about death than we have today. Seeing those photographs made me feel sad, not just because they commemorated the death rather than life of that person, but also because their family wanted to remember the moment of their death, and that they will keep that photograph to look at again.

Anyway, the NMM these days has a variety of interactive displays to entertain children and extensive collections of photographic and televisual equipment and memorabilia for all us geeks! I really enjoyed looking at vintage and antique camera designs, and I took quite a lot of pictures which you can see on my flickr stream: pictures of National Media Museum. I particularly liked the tiny Sony portable television which comes in it's very own cute little case! How cool is that? I really like it's minimal design, sleek but clunky at the same time. And I just happen to have a photograph of an advert for this exact model, which was in an early 1970s tourist guide to Japan.

Cheers for reading!

Joey :-)