The cat that got the... pipe?!

polish matchbox label

Originally uploaded by maraid

I'm happy as the cat that got the cream, really, but this pipe smoking cat looks pretty happy too! Who knew a job could bring such joy? Today I have been subtitling... EastEnders! I'm doing Friday's episode (can't reveal anything for fear I am found out and banned from doing any more!) and seriously could not keep the grin off my face as the theme tune kicked in. It was very embarrassing and I got serious face ache from trying to look serious. Even sadder (happier!) than that, was that I was dropping more stock off at the Made in the Shade Maisonette after work, so I had a bag under my desk full of EastEnders goodies while I was working on it - hardcore EastEnders loving, people! I love my new job!

One of the items I delivered to the Maisonette today was a brand new EastEnders product that I've been working away on this weekend - Dot and Pat lavender hanger thingummies to keep your clothes fresh and moth free! I dropped a handful of them off with a very excited Carrie (which was nice) about an hour ago and they are on sale there now! I will share some pictures of them here (and list them in the shop/shops) just as soon as I have enough daylight to take a photo of them. I will have them with me at the markets I'm doing at the weekend but if you just can't wait until then (and you're in or around Glasgow) then hot foot it down to the Maisonette this week for an exclusive sneak preview!

Do you pom pom?

Ha ha ha! Last night I made a pom pom wreath and I can't stop laughing at it. I think that's a good thing... but I'm not sure. Is the pom pom wreath totally great or just totally awful? The flash isn't flattering to it and I think that in real life it's great - very snuggly and, er, old school... I might take it to the markets I'm doing next weekend and see if anyone wants to pay a small price to adopt it. I think we probably only want one wreath in our house over the festive season and the gum drop wreath has become an annual tradition for us.

Markets next weekend, did you ask? Well, yes! I'm doing two. On Saturday December 5th you will find me at The Big Bang in Langside Hall from 12-4. This is an event that's being organised by a very nice glass artist called Keira McLean, who I met at the market I did at the start of October. There's fine art, photography, furniture, glass, performance poets... and me! It sounds like it will be really interesting so if you are south of the Clyde next weekend, do come along. On Sunday December 6th , I'm going to be at Say No To Plastic at Oran Mor from 12-5. I can hardly tell you how good the November Say No To Plastic was, with its fabulous array of vintage and handmade goods, and I'm hoping this Christmas one will be even better. And if you're a Londoner, then you might just get a chance to see/buy my wares at We Make on Saturday 5th December, too. Claire (Miso Funky) will be having a stall there and, if she can squeeze anything else into her already bulging suitcase, should be taking along a handful of things made by me too. What a weekend! That's why I've got to stop dilly dallying and actually make some stuff to sell. Eep!

I want to be in a girl group...

... preferably the Shangri-Las, but after my attempt at singing last night (don't ask, but let's just say the computer failing to save my "vocals" was a stroke of good fortune for one and all!) have realised once and for all that it just will not happen. But a girl can dream, right? So I am creating my own girl group/army from felt. These are the only two I have left just now (I sold the rest at Say No To Plastic before I could get a good photo of them) but there are more on the way. These two have been made into brooches but I actually have other plans for some of their friends, thanks to the genius of my sister. That plan will be unveiled soon, hopefully, but in the meantime I'm off to list these two little brooches in my new shop. I can still call it my new shop, yes? Especially since I haven't made a sale yet - ha! I will be working on that sorry situation soon... In the meantime, I've just got too many felty girl groups to form!

p.s. I think I was inspired to create these by one of my favourite bits of (long gone unless you look really closely) Glasgow graffiti. You can see a photo of it in my flickr.

p.p.s. Yes, they are rather like my chaise longue haired girl! She was a prototype who's since gone solo :)

how do you like your eggs in the morning?

Staying with the theme of cute painted wooden objects standing in a row, how do you like my new egg cups? My sister found them at a car boot sale and thought of me but also wanted to keep them. While she was deciding whether to be generous, she went to another car boot sale and found another five of them! Egg cups for everyone - problem solved! I think they are most adorable. I particularly like their blue eyelids - they would rival Pat Butcher in an eye shadow competition.

I had another good day at work today and am now subtitling for real. Woo hoo! My first subtitles will be on screen next week. Yay! It is actually surprisingly exciting, plus it is nice to be earning my keep rather than playing at subtitling. In other top but boring for you news, I made another two cushion covers tonight so we now have four matching cushions. Yahoo! We only just had enough material. And to think I nearly left one of the three pieces in the charity shop thinking I wouldn't need it...! Sheesh! I have really gone for it with the exclamations in this paragraph. Sorry. But isn't it great to have a job that affords you time to make cushion covers of an evening? :)

Can you really call them Russian?

They're not very Russian looking, really, but just how cute are these Russian dolls? I bought them at Say No To Plastic (the market I did a couple of weeks ago) for the princely sum of £2! I spotted them on the stall opposite mine (selling vintage and second hand goodies) while I was setting up and decided I loved them. I expected they would be on the expensive side but decided to torture myself with a closer look anyway. I was so delighted when I saw the teeny tiny price tag and snapped them up before the market had even opened! They remind me of Dick Bruna illustrations. I now have three sets of not very Russian Russian dolls, so I guess that is kind of a collection.

Blogging about this has made me realise that I never got round to posting a photo of my Say No To Plastic stall. Here it is! Not much different from the last market shot I posted but it is if you look closely, and there will be some close ups coming soon...

I should also mention the fabulous stall that was set up next to mine, selling cake stands made by the clever stall holder from vintage tea sets. Some of them even had a little tea cup at the top to put marshmallows (or whatever!) in. Sadly, my battery died, so no photos but check out their etsy shop - Truly Madly Sweetly.

I was a bit sneaky and took a lot of photos of different things this weekend (making the most of the rare daylight!) so that I could blog a bit more this week. I'll be back soon (hopefully tomorrow) with something else!

p.s. I made cushion covers tonight! They were not as straightforward as I had hoped but I think they have turned out quite well and they are making our sofa look a bit more snazzy. Right, off to recline with them :)

Crafters never have a dull moment

Now that this gift is safely with its intended recipient, I can share my recent foray into the world of cross stitching. My sister is an avid cross stitcher but I've never really been bitten by the bug and don't do it very often.

I made this as a combined thank you and get well present for Claire of Miso Funky. Anyone who is familiar with Claire's work (and if you're not then you should go and have a look now) will surely realise that she must be sick of the sight of cross stitching, since she spends every waking minute (well, apart from when she's holding down a full time job or getting her gall bladder popped out through her belly button) sewing cross stitch samplers for her demanding adoring public! I thought this would either be the perfect gift or the very thing to push her over the edge - she is very politely claiming it to be the former!

I actually pilfered this idea from a free postcard I picked up about ten years ago. I think the motto is very apt for anyone with a time consuming hobby, which embroidery (in all its guises) certainly is! The original postcard is framed and hanging on my wall of many wonders and it was quite exciting to finally get around to making a real life (i.e. stitched) version of it. When I'm not covered in hand cream, I will take it out of the frame to see whose brilliant idea it was originally.

foxy fox

Sweet Fox
Originally uploaded by Pin Pals
Have you seen the Pin Pals' blog post about the amazing vintage origami books they found? If not, you must go and look immediately! I am very jealous but so smitten with this little fox that I just can't feel bitter about it :)