Just to say…

that I’m selling  my Etsy stock at half price to clear the shelves so if there is anything you particularly liked, now’s the time to pick it up at a bargain price…

Not Just For Fish And Chips

I think it’s pretty clear that I have a passion for paper.  It took me a long time to realise it is the paper I really love and not  just the drawing or the writing or the art that it was used for.  I’m one of those people who walks into a good stationers or an art store and  feels truly overwhelmed by the range of lovely papers on display.  Asking me to choose just one or two items will result in tears – you have been warned!

So what is it about paper?  The best answer I can offer is that paper has amazing potential.  Some people are daunted by a blank page, intimidated by an empty book but not me.  I love single sheets but I’m even more addicted to notebooks of every kind and my shelves have lots – some partly used, some totally pristine.  And many that are full of notes, drawings, clippings from magazines or things I’ve found.  Sometimes I buy the book because I like the cover or the way it feels in my hand or the texture of the paper.  And this can be the same for a pre-printed book … which is why I suspect I will never fall in love with the Kindle or it’s kind.  And  my passion extends to all the uses that paper can be put to…paper ephemera, artwork, historical documents, greetings cards, Christmas decorations, paper decorations for the home…the list is endless.

I play with paper – fold it, cut it, paint it, draw on it, decorate it, write on it, stick things to it, wrap things in it … I’m sure there are many more ways I use paper these days but I take it all for granted.  I know I recycle as much as possible either by throwing it into the pink plastic sacks that my council collects each week or by making something else out of it for my own use.  This weekend I used recycled paper and some left over felt and an old button to create yet another pocket notebook:

It will sit on  my shelf being admired until I decide what project it is perfect for or someone else takes a fancy to it … it doesn’t matter, I enjoyed making it and I love picking it up and leafing through the pages now and again!

I also used some lovely butterfly paper and black card left over from a bigger project to create a concertina  album for a special set of photographs.  This little album flip flaps from one end to the other and then back again as photographs can be stuck on to both sides of the page.

 

What I do with paper is very, very basic and I make no claim to artistic skill.  But if you would like to be amazed by what real paper-sculptors can do drop by this website.  I particularly like the colourful work of Helen Musselwhite and Jolis Poans, whose  amazing paper dress sculpture from the pages of a telephone book is featured.

Image Is Everything…

…well, that’s what my mum used to say!  This week I’ve been taking a fresh look at some of my own photographic images and using them to create a series of photo card sets.  I’m rather pleased to find a way to show off a few of my favourite photographs.  There are six sets in all and so far three are available at Etsy-Waggledance:

These were taken in Provence, France.

And these on the coast in Cornwall and Suffolk.

And these are whimsies that caught my eye.

At the same time I’ve printed a selection of postcards.  Yes, I know, they’re an old-fashioned kind of idea but I live in hope that such lovely things as postcards and letters will become popular once again.  By coincidence I saw a TV programme about postcards last night.  It seems that with up to seven postal deliveries a day the postcard was the text of the early 20th century!  Would you believe that in some towns it was possible to post a card in the morning to make arrangements for that same evening!  Can you believe it!!!  So with this lovely thought in mind I’ve decided to do my bit to create a postcard revival and will be sending some to friends …

I have no idea if my photographs are technically adequate or conform to accepted artistic standards.  That’s not important.  I like them and hope that others will too.  It was enjoyable taking the original photographs and fun creating the cards and postcards.  That’s the important thing …

Catching Up

Another week has slipped by – where do they go?  This week has been full of good intentions and minor detours, but in a nice way…

I set out looking for some wheat paste powder and headed for an art shop in Cambridge.  I knew this wasn’t going to be a quick trip because this shop is one of those that is stocked to the rafters with lovely things to look at and every item demands a lot of attention.  I couldn’t find the powder but I did leave with some new pens.  They weren’t particularly special nor where they expensive but they were 0.3 pigment liners and for some reason helped me overcome my disappointment at not finding the wheat powder paste.  That’s the thing with pens…they might just be pens to some people but to others, like me, they mean so much more…  which is why I really enjoy this short promo film for Faber-Castell, the ultimate luxury pen company… if you are a pen-lover enjoy the few minutes that it takes to go through the process of making one of these beautiful pens and savour the attention to detail…sigh!

The wheat paste powder was intended for more notebooks and photo albums. I’ve always used other adhesives but Alisa Golden, my favourite book artist, uses this so what’s good for Alisa…  But I ploughed on with my plans anyway and created another photo album and a lovely, unusual notebook but I’m dithering about covers.  The photo album will eventually hold some family photos and the notebook is destined for my own desk so I want to choose covers that I can live with.  In the meantime I’ve been distracted by sifting through my zillions of photographs and created a series of photo cards that I rather like:

There are three photos and a selection of captions here that I thought might cover the range of circumstances these cards might be suitable for.  I’ll be adding more photo cards over the next few weeks and the range will be a pick and mix collection…

And talking of photos, you might notice I’ve done a bit of housekeeping here.   Instead of poppies at the top of my blog I’ve added my Waggledance shop banner.  I thought it was time to make the final link.  In addition,  I’ve added a different selection of my favourite personal photographs on the Photo Gallery page and will be adding and changing these from time to time.  I hope you’ll find a moment or two to take a look and perhaps to let me know which you like and why…

 

Playing with Buttons

Took a bit of a breather from specific tasks yesterday.  I like being busy and I like being busy with a purpose even more.  But it’s also nice to step back for a while and to take stock.  And for me that meant checking on all the little bits and pieces of paper and card and ribbon and all manner of other things that have been thrown to one side…and once I had done that I couldn’t resist playing, of course!

I rather love the idea of shapes cut from printed matter – magazines, newspapers, maps, novels.  It’s very popular right now but I’ve never given it a go so yesterday was perfect.  Flower shapes call out for middles and the right middle is an old button … so out came the old button tin that I wrote about a while  back.  Now, I don’t know how other card-makers come up with their designs but I must start with a card (a paper substitute really won’t do, the texture and colour of the card is all part of the design) and if I’m lucky the end result will be a success.  But if it’s not, then I deconstruct and add what’s left to my stash of off-cuts, left-overs etc.  Playing around is fun but it also has heart-stopping moments…the design looks good but… so another little bit is added and … guess what?  It doesn’t work… Or it does!  And you decide to stop right there…before you go too far.  Or you suddenly discover a glaring(?) mistake and have to find a way to retrieve the whole thing, if you can…

Yesterday I had one instant success and two others that involved a tweak-too-far and a ‘blast! Why didn’t I notice that?’  So what do you think?  Can you can tell which is which?

 

 

It’s great to find a use for these buttons at last…I have hundreds that my mum, her mum and other ladies in our family have hoarded away for future use.  I never seem to need a button that matches any in my tin so I’m glad to have another way of using them.  Bet my great-grandma never imagined her buttons would be fixed to a greeting card!

 

 

Butterflies

I was going to write a rant about the rise of software that lets you pretend you are writing on paper by uploading pages that are lined like notepads or pretty stationery, but I decided not to!  I just don’t see the point – if you want to use paper just use paper, don’t try to fool yourself or anyone else.  Paper is paper and cyberspace is well…  (OK, got my point in anyway!!!)

Instead I’m going to show these lovelies…

These are a pair of A4 photo albums that I’ve just completed for a friend.  Inside are 24 black pages each handstamped with a gold butterfly motif just to carry on the theme…hope she likes them!  These were a special request and I enjoyed making them.  In the next few days I’ll be adding several more photo albums to my Folksy and Etsy shops but I’m always happy to try to create something more personal …

Time Lapse

Time!  It’s a weird thing.  Not so long ago I was bemoaning the fact that I had far too much time on my hands and didn’t know what to do with it.  I can honestly remember days when I sat and stared out of the window, wondering how the heck anyone could ever complain about not having enough of the darned stuff!  Funny how things turn on a sixpence, isn’t it!

These days I don’t have enough time to do all the things I want to do.  My lovely mum said, not long after she retired, that she didn’t know how she had ever found the time to go to work and although we all laughed with her I think I understand what she means now!  I set out with a plan in my head every week, and every day and if I get some of my plan ticked off I consider I’ve done well.  Everything takes so looooooong!  I’m not moaning, just laughing at the evidence of the universal law that states the task expands to fill the time allocated!  Sooooooo true.

The clever Agnes Coy has written about this on her lovely blog but she has a good excuse – a new baby!  I too have a new baby, a beautiful grand-daughter who lights up my life.  When she is around time stands still and nothing else matters.  But between visits the time must whizz by because she is growing and learning so much, so fast.  It doesn’t seem much more than the blink of an eye since she arrived and here she is, seven months old, sitting up and delighting her audience, using a cheeky, toothy grin to charm us all. Ah well, I guess like Agnes, I’m not complaining…

BTW:  I’m in the process of setting up at Folksy which is the UK equivalent of Etsy…early days but I hope to have a full range of items available in the next couple of weeks so I hope you’ll drop by and take a look…

End Of Summer Sale

 

Just a quick announcement:  I’m having an End of Summer sale over at my etsy shop and by using the coupon code  WAGGLE001  at the checkout you can get 25% off!  Sale lasts until the end of August so why not take a look?

Exam Results!

It’s that time again… A level results are out!  Next week the GCSE results will be published.  How did they do?  Very well, I hope.  It’s an exciting time, a scary time … it must feel as if the results are the key to the future and so they have to be exactly right.  But we older ones know that isn’t the case…there is always another way, another option, if the first path seems blocked.  So even if the results aren’t exactly what was hoped for, why not celebrate the success anyway?  Mark  the moment with a card

or

A pat on the back is just a passing moment but a card, or a letter, can be kept to be looked at again and again… go on, tell someone you’re proud of them today…

Off to Vietnam!

Not me!  But one of my notebooks!  I hardly ever know who will be the end recipient for any of my items but I’m glad to say that I do know where this little red notebook is headed…Vietnam and Cambodia!

The lovely lady who bought this is taking up the challenge of a 400km bicycle ride through Vietnam and Cambodia raising money for Women For Women – Genesis Research Trust through sponsorship.   It’s a good cause and one that I’ve supported so if you would like to know more and perhaps make a donation (every little helps) then click here www.justgiving.com/kim-and​-katrina.   The notebook will be used as a travel journal – how exciting!

I’ve been busy all week playing with paint but not in the way you might think!  I’m currently the designated painter and decorator in our house and although the tin said ‘non drip’ it does!  So, if you see me wandering around with white paint in my hair or elsewhere (particularly my feet but don’t ask, it’s a long story) there’s no need to tell me, I already know thanks…

Some new items over at Waggledance this week:

The first two are notelets and come in packs of five with decorated envelopes while the last item is a blank card and is currently selling singly.  Waggledance has a selection of cards, notelets, notebooks and stationery on offer with more being added every week.  A range of Christmas items will be added at the beginning of September (I know, I know, I know…).  I’m happy to discuss personalised or special orders so feel free to contact me.

OK, back to the paint pot…