Latest Hi-Jinx

It has been a wee while but finally life has settled down again and I am able to get caught up on things. ellaQuaint has been busy creating new designs for handmade cards. The 'Warm Fuzzy' range has expanded to include robins and cats.  They seem to resurge when the weather cools, something about the association of warmth that felt brings with it I think.

Some of these have been sent off already :)

Some fresh colours have been added to the ellaQuaint palette which has worked wonderfully with some old favourites. There is something rather meditative about the process of hand embroidering things and the contrast of the matt card against the lustre of embroidery silk is very effective.

Chevron Hearts in fresh hues.

Part of the reason I have been focusing so much upon cards lately, as well as the advent of Mother's Day is because I intend to put together a catalogue of some of my favourite designs and go and attempt to sell them to stores.

I love masking tape. 

Sometimes you have to fix or even remake old templates. Today I got to make some new ones which was exciting also. The perfect activity for the shocker of a day we have had in Auckland.

I really love masking tape.

The old maps that I use can be problematic to cut so lining them on the back with tape allows for a cleaner edge and makes them less likely to disintegrate.

A fresh design and one that I think is pretty special.

Maps are so evocative of travel and that sense of freedom and adventure that comes with it, which is why I have been so selective with the imagery that I have chosen to collage on the cards. Many folks think that it is bordering on madness to hand-cut such intricate designs but when you end up with a result that you are happy with and that people might treasure for sometime to come, then in my belief, it is worth it.

Two old trusty designs one of which has had a bit of a make over.

Some of these are already listed on ellaquaint on felt or ellaCute on etsy should you be interested in seeing the designs in better detail.

SALE!

This weekend there is a sale on Ella Thomas original acrylic paintings. It applies to lo-tech sales only I am afraid. You can check them out either at . . .

Silo Park Night Markets and Cinema
5-10pm
Silo Park
Corner of Beaumont and Jellicoe Sts


'Land of the Long White Cloud' is screening at 9pm

or the first fabulous

Handmade Titirangi Market
10-2pm Kaurilands Primary School
109 Atkinson Rd
Auckland

Sweden's Birds

Thanks to Wooster for this gorgeous collage of some of the images that were put up around the streets in Sweden.

Personally I think it is about making a statement about the lack of birdlife in urban spaces. Here in New Zealand we have issues with that ourselves, especially the lack of food bearing trees and green corridors for our native species. It would be fabulous if people would consider planting endemic plants that provide edible berries or nectar, our manu would benefit greatly from this and they would make our gardens even more enjoyable.

Follow the link to our favourite collective for the video footage by Jonas Nordborg. Wooster Collective

Blue Birds' Moon

Well I have completed a wee series of collages in photoshop based on blue, birds and moons. I think that they are tomtits, not bluebirds and they are not nocturnal . . . but hey.

There are so many amazing resources online that you can add to your own. I had just as much fun creating these images as I do with more lo-tech collage techniques, normally I dislike using the computer too much.

Vintage patterns have been brought into all of them, in some cases ever so subtly, which work wonderfully with the retro imagery. I think these will become a card pack as they lend themselves nicely to that format and are cute and chirpy.

Aviary Love

I hadn't checked out this site for a wee while, when I stumbled across this set. The wall-paper is just stunning and when you zoom in on it there are actual bird ornaments mounted on the wall also. The crazy hoarder in me can relate to the stack of old newspapers on the desk too!

Follow this link to Anthropologie to find more nature inspired gorgeousness.