NEW STUFF!

There's nothing like the excitement that comes with new stuff.  New stuff to look at, new stuff to read, new stuff to take home and guard jealously...my preeeeciooousssssss!

Miss RV's birthday was two weeks ago and as happens when you turn three, and you're a pretty little girl, the new stuff consisted largely of bling and toys!  Well, I can honestly say the arguments that have ensued since are almost enough to make this old mama cry!  Poor Master RV...all that pretty new stuff and he's not allowed to touch ANY of it!

Of course there is always one main point of contention in each birthday haul...meet Scoodles...



Poor Scoodles had no idea when he came to live at the RV household that he'd live exclusively in the armpit of...or under the sheets of...a small lady.  He is adored equally by both children of course, and Master RV might just get the chance to play with him when the gloss of the "new stuff" excitement wears off...maybe!  He can only live in hope.

The point of this blog? Yes there IS one... NEW STUFF!!!

The Oh, For Crafts' Sake! market place is open to applications at the moment and that means new stuff!  For me to drool over during the application process and for YOU to obsess over when you get it home to your place!  Wonder what will end up being hidden away from view in your house...???   My preeeeciooousssssss!

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Odd One Out Crafter Profile

I'm loving getting to know our girls more!  Today we're meeting Niki from Odd One Out...this is one very clever lady with an eclectic range of very kitsch products!  I LOVE THEM!!





Odd One Out eh? Who's the talent behind the name?
Odd One Out is me! - Niki. I am a bit of a 'jack of all crafts'. I like to experiment with a bit of everything - you never know what you might see from me next. Mr Odd One Out is roped in to help quite often and is a whizz with a spray can. The resident un-helper is our energetic nearly three year old!

Unhelper!  That cracked me up,  I have TWO of those!


Where does the inspiration come from for your fabulous creations?
I get inspiration from just about anywhere. I love reading design books and I am addicted to blogs and Pinterest. My products usually stem from something I would like to have for myself or my home and I just cant find anywhere else. Because I am a huge collector of stuff (bordering on the crazy kind of collector!) Ideas sometimes originate from something I have a lot of - my 'blankie lamps' for example stemmed from a huge collection of vintage wool blankets that I thought needed thinning out a bit! With all of my work it is important to me that I up-cycle as much as possible and many new pieces sort of grow organically from the original vintage piece.



What do you love most about your craft?
I love that it is ever evolving - I get really bored doing the same thing all the time so it's great that I make a range of product. I love coming up with new ideas and trying out new craft techniques. I especially love painting and find it really relaxing, so illustrating my painted plates is something I get excited about every day! Something I also love dearly is selling my work at markets - I love seeing and hearing peoples reactions to my products and catching up with other wonderful craftistas!


You've got an eclectic product range, so what's your most favourite thing you ever made?
That is a really hard question to answer! Generally my favourites are my latest designs and I always think they are my best work until something new springs to mind. I really love to paint custom plates and recently had a challenging one where I had to copy a rather detailed tattoo design onto a plate - it was very hard but I was so happy with how it turned out. Another was a very difficult and very large blankie lamp that I made - it was so curvy and scalloped and it was a nightmare to fit it correctly. I was so excited when I finished (and relieved!) So I guess my favourites tend to be the ones that challenge me the most.



This is FABULOUS!!!!!  I bet she was thrilled!

You had a big year last year, so whats in store for Odd One Out in 2012?
It was a very big year - it was my first! In 2012 i'm really excited to grow this business a bit more and hopefully find some more time to work on it. I have a notebook FULL of new ideas to try. I plan on blogging more, finding some new retail stores to sell in and making my products more available online - watch this space, i'm super excited!

Follow the Odd One Out Blog, check out her website and her fabulous products can be found on Toggle, Felt and of course Oh, For Crafts' Sake!!


Thanks Niki, I love your work (for those that don't know, a custom Odd One Out creation adorns RedVixxon's LiteraryEnds table at each market) and wish I could fill my walls with it!!!  Good luck for all your wonderful plans this year, can't wait to see what you have in line!

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AroundAHound Crafter Profile

This weeks profile is on the very busy Helen from AroundAHound...lover of all things poochy!  Find out all about her crafty journey!



AroundAHound...what an awesome name, tell us about yourself!


The name AroundAHound came about, as I was trying to think up something catchy, not too wordy, and that related to dogs wearing collars (the 'Around' bit), and at the time, specifically Sight Hounds (Greyhounds, Whippets etc), hence the 'Hound' bit!  The AroundAHound logo was created by a friend of mine, the dog's head in the logo is our old Greyhound, Arrow.

As for me, I'm Helen, I live with my husband in Auckland, with our cat Jerry, Snoopy the foxie x pointer (pictured below modelling one of her many collars), and our newest addition to our family is Rocky - he's a four month old puppy, of unknown breeding, a real 'South Auckland special'.  All three of our animals are rescued, and I work full time for the SPCA too.


*Snoopy is GORGEOUS Helen, we're so happy that the power of the internet brought her home to you!!!!  

What inspired you to craft for our Four Legged Friends?

AroundAHound began in September 2010, as we owned a Greyhound at the time, and I wasn't able to find a martingale collar in New Zealand for him, though there are thousands available overseas...  So I thought, why not have a go at making some myself, so I put my first order in for hardware and all the pieces I needed from the States.  To begin with I only made the 1.5" and 2" wide collars specifically for Greyhounds, they proved to be so popular though, so I started doing the smaller collars, and later on the tag collars and leads as well.
It's a lot of fun making collars and I love seeing pictures of my customers modeling their new attire!

What's your most favourite thing you ever made?
The favourite collar I've made, was a costume collar as a gift for a friend's dog.  It was a 2" wide collar made of royal blue Oriental silk for a Great Dane by the name of Honey, the collar was quite a challenge to make, the silk was slipping all over the show, and trying to get the piping in the right place was a fiddle.  Honey is a rather famous dog, she's even got her own website www.bighoneydog.com.  I've attached a photo of Honey modeling her collar.



What's new for 2012 for AroundAHound?
I'm in the process of brainstorming ideas for AroundAHound in 2012... I've got a couple up my sleeve, neither of which are collars, one is a summery idea and the other is definitely a wintery one... watch this space!


AroundAHounds nifty products are available through her website, her Facebook Page and of course through her Oh, For Crafts' Sake! Table!!!

Thanks Helen for sharing with us, its great to hear where people find their inspiration for their crafty journeys!


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Tiny Kiwi Crafter Profile


Today we hear from the lovely Emily from Tiny Kiwi...the craft bug well and truly bit this one hard!  She's the paper craft queen AND she sews!  Talented much???




So, tell me about Tiny Kiwi!
Tiny Kiwi came about quite by accident, as a by-product of my mother’s NZ Made clothing business.  She owns a factory here in Auckland, and a couple of years ago she launched her own range of ‘blank’ childrens clothing and I found myself on the receiving end of a huge pile of sample onesies and t-shirts.   I created a few cute appliquéd designs to put on them for my daughters to wear, and the next thing I knew I was taking orders from friends for unique designs for their kids and it has taken off from there.  These days, my mum holds the stock at her factory, and I place my orders with her for either a limited run of t-shirts such as my Summer Series Tees, or one-off made-to-order onesies and t-shirts in a huge range of colours, and all made from lovely stretch cotton and all made right here in NZ and decorated with a funky, colourful and exciting appliquéd design with a Kiwi flavour.

My true craft-love is card-making and scrapbooking, so last year I added unique homemade gift-cards to my range.  I have a selection of cards in stock to choose from, and I make-to-order as well.



I like to think that the appliquéd sewing work is of a similar “style” to my paper-craft, thereby tying the two together.

I occasionally make an appearance at Craft Markets, but mainly my business is conducted online (Tiny Kiwi on Facebook) and I have a blog at http://tinykiwicards.blogspot.com/

What do you love about your chosen craft?
I love the endless possibilities.  I love the huge range of options that are open in front of me, and narrowing down a theme, choosing co-ordinated colours, papers, buttons, ribbons and embellishments, and bringing it all together.  The result is different every time, and I never send out anything I’m not 100% happy with.  I love the challenge of creating something to meet somebody’s brief, and take satisfaction from delivering an end-product that makes someone happy.

I  L.O.V.E. shopping for supplies.  There is so much to choose from, and so much selection, its a daily struggle not to walk into the shop and buy one of everything!

How do you find the time for your craft when you're a full time mum as well?
With much difficulty!  Without a doubt, being a mum to young children is a 24/7 job.  Craft is something that I can do when they’re all tucked up in bed for the night, and I try to squeeze in a couple of hours each night, and keep my admin and web/email communications for during the daytime when the kids are napping or watching DVD’s or at kindy. 

They do like to come along and help me with shopping for supplies though!

What’s your most favourite thing you've ever made?
Oooh, thats a hard one! I don’t think I have a favourite, everything that leaves my desk is special to me, but for me personally its probably my cupboard full of scrapbook albums of my kids (which have been sadly neglected since I started this venture!).

If you could do any other craft, what would it be?
I would really love to be able to draw – I do a mean stick figure, but that’s as far as it goes. 

*I totally get this!  RedVixxon is HUGELY lacking in the artistic stakes...my sister got all those genes.  I can't even draw a stick figure, so you're one up on me!

What does 2012 hold for Tiny Kiwi?
For the past year I have been a member of a Stamp Club, where monthly I meet up with some other lovely ladies and spend an evening making fun projects and cards, and have a great night gossiping, drinking a wee glass of wine and munching out on yummy treats.  It’s the highlight of my month.  Our demonstrator is leaving town shortly, so this month I am signing up to become a demonstrator myself to take over the running of our Stamp Club, which means I will soon be able to offer in-home workshops for card-making and stamping to my lovely fellow crafters.  I have built up my own awesome collection of stock and supplies, so I look forward to being able to open up my goodie bag and let you all loose.  Of course there will be some fabulous stamping and card-making supplies available for purchase as well, and free gifts for the hostess when you host a workshop at your place.  Email me to find out more, on tinykiwi@vodafone.co.nz

*Ohhhhh!  Stamp Club sounds awesome!  Can't wait to share that with all our Oh, For Crafts' Sakers!!!

Thanks for sharing your crafty story with us, Emily!  

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Poppy&Bee Crafter Profile

Welcome to the first Oh, For Crafts' Sake! Crafter Profile!



Today we learn all about the fabulous crochet-artist, Poppy&Bee...RedVixxon put the hard questions to Natalie about her craft...here's what she has to say!



So, who IS Poppy&Bee?

Poppy&Bee is the hub of all things crochet-ey! My name is Natalie, and I’m addicted to all things crochet related. I sell my crocheted goodies, and also teach crochet classes. My business is named for my delightful children’s nicknames.

What do you love about your craft?

Oh, definitely the endlessnessnessness possibilities of what can be done with it! Someone once asked me what I could teach them, as wasn’t crochet just all about two stitches? So far from it – I just bought a stitch dictionary with 250 different styles of crochet stitch. And that’s not counting the variety of crochet techniques out there that I haven’t even learnt yet!

I love that it’s a little bit counter-cultural – knitting is what people know, and crochet seems to have some kind of an ‘edge’ in its 21st century revival. I like that.

Who taught you to Crochet?

I learnt the basics from my mother, and have in the last year taught myself the more complicated and intricate stuff. Thanks to the wonders of online bookstores I’ve been able to access texts from international crochet teachers and designers that were just not available before.

*RedVixxon LOVES that people learn their crafts from their mums!  What an awesome gift to give your kids!  

What’s the strangest place you've Crocheted???

Hehehe, there are some things that have to remain sacred. Bear in mind that nearly everything I make is to sell, I’m actually quite particular about where I ‘hook’. If you wouldn’t wear/use your crocheted item there, I won’t make it there. A clue to the most common places I crochet, they usually involve coffee.

I had a piece featured as part of a giant yarn bomb of the Devonport Wharf here in Auckland for the Rugby World Cup, The Woolly Walk Along – that was awesome. Got some more crochet graffiti planned for this year. But if I told you where it was I’d have to kill you.

What’s your most favourite thing you've ever made?

Wow. Good question. Each new thing I make that I’ve not done before has it’s moment of favouriteness. I was totally in love with my first ever earflaps hat that I made to sell. I had a very lovely lady commission matching hats for her and her wee daughter in lovely possum/merino/alpaca yarn – so special to make, and they looked even cuter on. I think they rank right up as my favourite sold item. Maybe my most satisfying thing was the Lavender Harvest Shawl I made for my great Aunty. It makes my heart sing when I see pictures of her in it.



So then, what does 2012 hold for Poppy&Bee?

Lots more classes – so many people have asked for classes to learn intermediate and advanced techniques, as well as wanting to learn to make specific things, such as Amigurumi, Granny Squares, garments and hats. I’m hoping to find a space in which to do more teaching, at this stage I’m going to people’s homes mostly. I’ve got an amazing circuit of handmade markets that I sell at, first up are the new Silo Markets at Wynyard Quarter, then starting in February my two favourites, Handmade Titirangi and Crafternoon-Tea. Oh, and a super wee online market, very chic - Oh, For Crafts’ Sake.



Natalie Ringland
Poppy&Bee Crochet Handcrafts


Poppy&Bee Online
Facebook for updates and news!
Poppy&Bee Blog

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And sew it begins.....

Welcome to Oh, For Crafts' Sake! - A Bloggers Tale...

Its a new year and time for new stuff...apparently, according to the Gods of Craft, that means it's time to BLOG!  So, RedVixxon is getting her Blog On and bringing you all the goss on our crafters and their wares!

Keep your eye out for our first crafter profile on the awesome Natalie from Poppy&Bee!!!

Yours Craftingly,

RedVixxon

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