R.W. Scissors

you know i can't grab your ghost chips!

2011-10-30T08:31:00.000+13:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. Very sorry! Planet R.W. is experiencing a lot of upheaval (mostly good though). Come and tell me a scary story at Kraftbomb today. I have treats and a few tricks up my sleeve...

papa aroha, april 29 - may 1

2011-06-28T00:27:00.001+12:00

We stayed here.

it's my pleasure

2011-04-12T22:30:00.000+12:00

House of Hedone (a gallery at 5B High St, Auckland City) is having its first ever 'Underground After Hours' market tomorrow, from 5-8pm. HoH is a new-ish gallery, incorporating painting, fashion, sculpture, design, and even an espresso bar. It's a nice space: underground but not dim, and clean but not austere.

Sculpture at HoH (sorry, artist unknown)

I'll be at the market tomorrow with R.W. Scissors crafts, of course, but also a rail of vintage and designer clothing and accessories from the bulging closet I refer to as High Fashion Mountain. The latter includes wearable and collectible items from Helmut Lang, Zambesi, Margiela, Nom D, Dries van Noten, and Y's by Yohji Yamamoto, among others (Don't be intimidated, though; my prices aren't horrible).

The market promises wine and snacks, live music, a designer sample sale, vintage clothing, jewellery and craft. I like the different kind of atmosphere you get at evening markets - they remind me of R.W's beginnings at Craftwerk years ago - so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens Underground.

'Hedone' in the gallery's name refers to 'the quest for pleasure that only has good consequences' - by my logic, this means there can be no guilt from purchases made on the night.

canterbury earthquake help

2011-02-28T16:03:00.007+13:00

Photo of a damaged Canterbury home from the guardian.co.uk website

UPDATE: I've added to the list and will continue to add more links as I find them. If you have links to share, please leave me a comment below with the details.

As you are all well aware, recently the people of Canterbury, New Zealand suffered another devastating earthquake, this one even worse than the last. I've put together some links of ways to donate and contribute to relief efforts in the region. I hope you will take the time to read through these links and think about doing something; there are so many official appeals going, and lots of craft-related auction and sales to choose from - hopefully one or more of these links will appeal to you. Even if you can't afford much, remember: everything helps.

Earthquake Appeals Online:

NZ Government Official Appeal
The Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal
Fundraise Online (also for the Red Cross)
The Salvation Army
GrabOne 'Buy A Brick', for the (Anglican) Bishop's Earthquake Appeal Fund
Christchurch City Mission
Paw Justice
SPCA Canterbury is also running an appeal, although the link I have for them is not currently working.

Donating by Text Message:

NZ Govt appeal: Text 'CHCH' to 933 to donate $3
Vodafone users: Text 'QUAKE' to 333 to donate $3, or to 555 to donate $5
Paw Justice: Text 'HELP' or 'FOOD' to 4662 to donate $3

Donating Pet Food:
Paw Justice are accepting donations of pet food to be shipped from Auckland to Christchurch. The drop-off point is Storage King in St Lukes. Their Facebook page has the full details.

Art and Craft Community Initiatives (click on pictures to go to the relevant pages):

Foxes is running an online auction via their Facebook page, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross earthquake appeal. Here you can bid on beautiful items from Foxes artists including Ruby in the Dust, Victoria n' Bird, Sarah McNeil, Dear Colleen and more (including me).

Trixie Delicious is auctioning one of her fabulous 'Motherf**ker' plates .

The talented Henrietta Harris is auctioning an original watercolour painting, "Life Will Get Better Some Day".

Li'l Magoolie, a Christchurch resident herself, is currently organising the Li'l Quake Appeal.

Handmade for Christchurch started as a Facebook page and is now auctioning items here.

Sarah from Songbird Designs is donating 100% of the purchase price from sales in her shop to the earthquake appeal, until the 11th of March.

Cat Taylor is also donating all of the proceeds from sales in her shop to the earthquake appeal, until the 4th of March.

Emma Makes is selling sets of 'Unforgettable That's What You Are' gold pencils - 100% of the purchase price of these will go to the earthquake appeal. Emma will also donate the postage cost for sales from these pencils for those shipping to Chch addresses. Until the end of March, or until the pencils sell out.

The lovely Emily, a.k.a. Millicent Crow, is donating all proceeds from sales in her Felt shop to the Red Cross earthquake appeal, until the end of March.

For my part, I pledged to donate 100% of the purchase price from R.W. Scissors sales at Kraftbomb yesterday, and have consequently been able to make a modest donation to the Red Cross Earthquake appeal. I'm also personally bidding on a very cute Sarah McNeil brooch in the Foxes auction.

The Christchurch-based The Felt...like something different Facebook page is another good place to find links to charitable crafters, as is the Felt... like helping out page.

season's eatings

2010-12-23T20:54:00.000+13:00

I didn't die of a thousand paper cuts from making all those bows, I sold a heap of them (and other things) instead - a great finish to my crafty year. Now that the markets are done for 2010 and the season of eat-drink-eat-lie down has begun, I find myself wanting to make food-y things.

Limoncello

Vanilla sugar

Both have a day or so and a couple more steps to go before they're ready, but if they turn out well (all signs point to holyshitthat'sdelicious), I'll post instructions. If you want them?

cut to ribbons

2010-12-18T22:08:00.001+13:00

bow down

Glue + tape + scissors + paper + knife + glue + tape + scissors + paper + knife... I've made stacks of gift bow/ribbon/rosette things to pop atop Christmas presents: knits ones, Jane Fonda ones, 2000 A.D. & Judge Dredd ones... you name it, I've turned it into a bow.

Many times I've had to hold a roll of tape in my left hand, a knife in my right - pointed menacingly at both a wrist (nice juicy veins in there) and a thigh (some fairly large and important arteries in there, too) - while cutting firmly into and around the roll. And no injuries have been sustained. Yet this afternoon when I dropped my tape, I reached down to catch it and cut the back of my hand open on a cutting mat (a CUTTING MAT, people - plastic and soft). It's a dangerous business being R.W. Scissors.

See you at Kraftbomb tomorrow, I hope! It's the last one of the year, and perfectly timed for last-second Christmas shopping. If I can survive until then.. dun-dun-dunnnn.

smash palace

2010-12-02T12:03:00.000+13:00

Crowd shot

You may have read over at Supermarketo that I'm going to be at the First Thursdays relaunch tonight. As part of the event there's going to be a market in St Kevin's Arcade, K-Rd (from 6-9pm), where I'll be selling some R.W. Scissors bits and pieces, as well as introducing Supermarketo to the real world! The picture above is a hint at what I'll have for sale (I really hope my table doesn't have wobbly legs). For those of you not in Auckland, anything which doesn't sell tonight will be listed on Supermarketo at the weekend.

the society of brilliant ideas

2010-11-08T17:48:00.000+13:00

"The Society of Brilliant Ideas is an arts and crafts collective focussed on the process of MAKING. Our goal is to provide the kind of facilities and making space to crafters and artists that will amplify their motivation, inspiration and production."

I'm hoping to observe some of the marvelous creatures above in their natural habitat at the Society of Brilliant Ideas Open Studio Exhibition and Night Market, on tonight as part of Art Week Auckland.

Come and visit me, Ferrit, and others from 6.30pm - 8.30pm at Level 6, 35 High Street (above Rakinos).

hallow again

2010-10-30T21:23:00.001+13:00

I've made some Halloween-themed thank you cards on my Gocco, which I'll be taking along to Kraftbomb tomorrow. You can't really tell from the photo, but the cards are printed on very nice textured watercolour card. Oh and I made postcards, too. Kraftbomb plus Halloween is a great combination. Now I have to come up with a costume worthy of the occasion.

R.W. Scissorhands, perhaps?

sale

2010-10-14T20:15:00.000+13:00

I'm having a mini-sale in my Felt shop: all badges are half-price until midnight Sunday. Free shipping within NZ, and cheap shipping without NZ! Magic!!

pigeon post

2010-10-04T18:24:00.001+13:00

These beautiful cards from Birdspoke arrived in the post last week. I bought them from the Felt Aid shop. Some of the badges I donated have sold too, hooray! I love Birdspoke things: everything is so interesting, full of little details and obviously made with care. I'd like to buy some Lavender birds next. I envy anyone who has a 'thing' - something they focus on, a recurring theme. What's my thing, I wonder? Wondering what my thing is, I suppose - I'm brilliant at that!

space is the place

2010-09-26T17:16:00.000+13:00

Here's a new drawing I did last night; another for the "will it become a print?" category.

quakers

2010-09-22T18:12:00.000+12:00

Some R.W. Scissors badges are for sale here, and you should buy them. It's for a good cause (an actual good cause, not just a 'coffee money for R.W.' type-of-cause, worthy as that is). Felt Aid is a temporary shop, organised by crafters Ana and Sarah and run in conjunction with Felt, to help raise money for people affected by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake which hit Christchurch earlier this month. The shop has had an amazing response, receiving dozens of donations of handmade items from people all around the country, and reaching nearly 100 sales in the short time it has been open. Every cent raised by Felt Aid will go directly to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal. Felt Aid is open until the end of October, so there is still plenty of time to donate work and/or go shopping.

Links for more information:

Felt Aid store

Felt Aid blog

The New Zealand Red Cross

Christchurch Quake Map

Felt Aid on Facebook

The forum thread which started it all

looking up

2010-08-22T18:59:00.001+12:00

Sometimes, getting up at an unreasonable hour to go to work has its benefits.

a century

2010-07-29T14:51:00.000+12:00

This is my 100th post and I, along with my sister and dad, am about to leave for Canada to say goodbye to my grandmother, who lived to the formidable age of one hundred. A few months ago our family went over to celebrate that milestone with her. Really glad to have gone on that trip.

While we're in B.C. I think a visit to this place for some cheer-me-up op-shopping might be a good idea. Fellow thrift-seekers will understand the thrilling promise of a window like this. Both times I've been it has contained even more treasures than the window hints at.
See you all in a week or so.

good work, 99

2010-07-29T14:14:00.000+12:00

My 99th post and I used a Get Smart quote on #98. Oh well. I love Maxwell and 99 so much I named my cats after them...

sorry about that, chief

2010-07-29T14:01:00.000+12:00

I wasn't as organised as I thought. My shop update didn't happen last night, and now won't happen for a week or two. Feel free to shop, though! Any purchases from my Felt store between now and the 8th of August will be posted on the 9th.

purls before swine

2010-07-28T12:50:00.000+12:00

Pig out

My new 'Purls Before Swine' badges ('For women expert in withering glances, wearing hats & gliding through doorways') made a successful debut at the fair on Saturday and will be available in my Felt shop from tonight.

the big picture

2010-07-22T16:08:00.002+12:00

At lunchtime today I logged in to Twitter to see what was happening in the wwworld, saw a tweet from Frankie Magazine reminding people about the Auckland Art and Craft Fair, clicked on the link and what did I see?

R.W. Scissors knits badges on the Frankie homepage! R.W. Scissors - that's me!! I die.

pop quiz

2010-07-19T18:57:00.000+12:00

As everyone who's done an interview knows, it can be hard to talk or write about yourself, even though you know the subject better than anyone! With that in mind, I will now direct you to the artist Q&A with world-renowned R.W. Scissors expert, R.W. Scissors, which has been posted on the Auckland Art and Craft Fair blog today.

learn your lines

2010-07-18T19:38:00.001+12:00

Newspaper hats, nautical stars and a jumble of other shapes. I'm working on turning this drawing I did last night into a print, maybe a postcard. So far, so headache-inducing. But I'll keep trying, because I like the original.
Funny how I don't think of myself as particularly girly but my drawings are usually quite feminine. They're almost always of cute girls and/or clothing designs. I am a girl though, so I guess acting like it occasionally is allowed...

business time

2010-07-17T16:41:00.000+12:00

My first gocco print with a screen burned from an inkjet print. It isn't 100% perfect, but I'm still reasonably pleased with how clear it is (the black text in particular). The imperfections may be more to do with the screens I'm using, as I'm still working my way through my stockpile of the older, fabric-y kind, instead of the plastic mesh ones I prefer. Anyway, it's always fun to experiment with this strange little machine.
I have so much to do in the next week, but I'm still sick and finding it hard to get anything finished. All I want to do is crawl back under my blanket on the couch and watch scary movies.

because I felt like it

2010-07-12T17:44:00.000+12:00

I opened a Felt shop!

http://rwscissors.felt.co.nz

There are knits badges for everyone. These sets in different colourways will also be available at Foxes.co.nz very soon.

I registered as a Felt seller ages ago but in typical non-go-getter fashion took months to list anything. I was needlessly nervous about opening my shop; but what's the worst that can happen?

I'll be listing gift tags and other things too, but have to get over some clichéd wintery germs first (Dear Universe, being called Bron and getting bronchitis is a bit stink) and - more importantly - finish preparing for the Auckland Art and Craft Fair and Kraftbomb (both at the end of this month).

PS: Thanks Marjorie from Whskr for the nice mention of me and Foxes shop!

a skulk, an earth and a troop of foxes

2010-06-07T19:05:00.000+12:00

Beautiful Fennec foxes courtesy of floridapfe on flickr

There's a new online shop opening soon by the name of Foxes, and I'm happy to announce that they're going to be stocking R.W. Scissors! It's all a bit mysterious at the moment, but that's part of the fun. You can sign up to the mailing list on their website, foxes.co.nz, or visit their (nice woodgrain) blog to find out more.

follow the signs

2010-06-01T22:47:00.001+12:00

Blame Canada

Some photos of signs and things which caught my eye while I was wandering around Victoria, B.C., Canada (on the big-little trip I took last month) with my family.

A Gentle Man: A tribute to a local homeless man by other residents of his neighbourhood

(Click on the image to enlarge it and read the text)

Inukshuk

They have a blog! But I don't think they work internationally...

Everything I look for in a chocolate shop: Diabetic-friendly, and with hedgehogs

The prettiest roadworks I've ever seen. More like party decorations than warning signs.

And finally, some words to live by:

21st

2010-05-30T10:16:00.000+12:00

It's Kraftbomb's 21st today! Come along and celebrate. There probably won't be any yard-drinking, but there might be a key or two. I have lots of new matchbox scenes to show you, so make sure you drop by my table and have a look.

the cat's out of the bag

2010-05-25T16:40:00.001+12:00

Trust no one

The Auckland Art and Craft Fair - I'm in! I had no idea if I would be selected or not, so I was surprised and pleased when I found out. Meanwhile, I'm sick - maybe it's a furball.

matchy-matchy

2010-05-12T07:54:00.001+12:00

Just in case you haven't seen these over at my Facebook page, here are some more of the matchbox scenes I made recently. There are images on both sides, so each pair of photos is both sides of a set.

fair crack of the whip

2010-05-11T09:09:00.002+12:00

Hello New Zealand! I decided to come back from my holiday (my bank balance and ticket actually decided for me). I had a few days at home to readjust to real life, but now I'm cracking on again with craft and work. I've just sent my application away for this, the first Auckland Art and Craft Fair.

This is an Auckland Craft Collective project which Jess and Kylie have been working really hard to put together, securing big sponsors including Frankie Magazine and Base FM and getting the word out. I'm looking forward to it and crossing my fingers (toes, eyes) that I get in. If you haven't heard about this already and do want to apply, you only have a couple more days: head to http://aucklandfair.blogspot.com/ for the information you'll need. If you're planning on attending as a shopper, then you have lots of time to save up and get ready to spend on July the 24th!

little boxes

2010-04-25T00:18:00.001+12:00

I've been in a matchbox-making frenzy this week. Here are some of the results:

More pictures can be found on my Facebook page, here.

The matchboxes and all your other favourite R.W. Scissors treats will be available at Kraftbomb today, so make sure you come along (and remember to buy a Mother's Day gift for your mum)! Two hours after the market finishes I'll be running off to the airport for a short trip to my homeland, so please wish me un bon voyage! I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

boxing clever

2010-04-10T17:23:00.001+12:00

The April NZ Yarn Sampler Boxes are about to go on sale in T-minus 60 minutes or so (synchronise your watches!), and I've contributed these (not-so-) plain knits badges from R.W. Scissors. Thanks to Blendy for a great write-up on the blog, by the way!

I'm pretty excited to send these out into the world in their brand-new packaging. I only had the idea for the cards yesterday afternoon and finished making them up a few hours later (it seemed like a lengthy design process, anyway...). The illustration is one you may have seen before, of course, and was just going to be the basis of a new flyer; but as soon as I realised the badges would make excellent bow centres, it was action stations!

Good luck if you're on-lining up to buy boxes on Felt or Etsy tonight/tomorrow - you're going to need it!

grand opening

2010-04-08T19:22:00.000+12:00

Photo from here.

Hello! I have decided to open an online store named Supermarketo, to make some pocket money and a little space. There will be everything from a plastic Re-Ment King Crab to a porcelain Beswick Cat. I hope you find something you like.

fat boy on a diet

2010-03-28T02:25:00.003+13:00

I've baked a fresh batch of badge sets, made from the pages of a 1964 cookbook. Each set comprises of part of a recipe and an accompanying illustration. I'll have them on the table 11 a.m. sharp today at Kraftbomb.

Don't you just love the whimsical pictures? They're done in such a classic 60s illustration style. I have a duplicate copy of this cookbook (if I didn't, you wouldn't be reading about these badges right now) and am dying to try the Individual Brownie Alaskas. Although I won't be eating Chicken Caruso anytime soon, the recipe makes for an interesting read!

As always, if you can't make it to Kraftbomb but would like to purchase something from R.W. Scissors, just send me an email (the link's in the sidebar). I post to anywhere in the whole wide world.

Auckland people, by now I hope you know the details, but in case you're new to town or only just out of prison...

new moon

2010-02-28T02:46:00.001+13:00

Sorry it's been so long, folks. I haven't forgotten you. Come to Kraftbomb for a catch-up? I'll be there, along with some lovely ladies...

R.W. Scissors confetti, made from late 1960s/early 1970s Playboy magazines.
Discreetly packaged in black organza bags for the shy!

Playboys from this era are so interesting, with articles by guest writers like Roald Dahl and Arthur C. Clarke, amusingly dated ads for Wrangler flares and 8-track tapes, and classic Vargas Girl illustrations. The Playmates themselves are fresh-faced, girl-next-door types, with tan lines and unenhanced bustlines. I have a small collection of these publications - some of these I'll share with you, in confetti form, but the rest are for keeping!

See you all later?

hands full

2009-12-22T11:58:00.005+13:00

Here's one of my ornaments for the swap: a pair of tiny mittens, complete with string (to stop the wearer from losing one). They go nicely with my old Bakelite 'Ice Follie' pin, I think.

To make the mittens, I felted pieces of a woollen sweater by boiling them with laundry detergent on our stove then drying them in the dryer until they shrank (I had to repeat the whole process a couple of times to get the wool to shrink enough and felt). This made our kitchen smell a bit strange, although not unpleasant. Then I cut out little mitten shapes using a pattern I'd drawn, stitched them together and embroidered them with hearts and blanket stitch edging.

The mittens are open at the wrists so can be worn by dolls as well as hung on a Christmas tree. My original pattern involved snowflakes not hearts, but I quickly discovered that was a bit ambitious for a beginner's project. This was my first ever attempt at felting as well as the first time in years that I've done any hand sewing or embroidery, so I hope my group liked them!

If any of you would like a proper tutorial, with the boiling... and the shrinking... let me know and I'll post one. I've really enjoyed participating in the swap again this year, and will post photos of what I received as soon as my tree is up and I've got the pine needles out of my eyes.

gratis

2009-12-20T00:07:00.003+13:00

Love Handmade was fun. Although it was a little quiet for R.W. Scissors, the time flew by and I did get free coffee, cookies and shortbread so I'm definitely not complaining! I also got some amazing tiny little cheese and crackers (doll food) in a swap with Vanessa. If I can get the macro to work on my camera I'll take a photo, but the crackers are miniscule so no guarantees. The Rose Centre is a nice venue and the sun was streaming in all day - lovely. Here are a couple of snaps of my half table. I think I did pretty well with the layout - it was nice to have a change, anyway.

It's a very busy weekend for me. Tonight I baked two huge bacon and egg pies (I'm still a vegetarian but will cook non-veg for others when I have to) and now I'm getting ready for Kraftbomb and my mum's 60th birthday party (hence the baking), which is on right after the market.

Another thing I've been busy with is making badges for the NZ Yarn Sampler Boxes. They have now arrived at Blendy H.Q. and this weekend there's a competition on the blog to win some of my stuff! There are two prizes of two badges each and the competition closes tomorrow. Get emailing! While you're at it, take a look at the Christmas Wish List Belinda has kindly put together, featuring items from NZ Yarn Sampler Box contributors. My Braille gift tags are among those listed: I am so flattered.

My samples, before they were sent out into the world

This reminds me: I keep meaning to give you more information about how/where to buy R.W. Scissors products.

Bricks and Mortar store: La Dolce Vita, Shop 608, Level 1 (opposite Whitcoulls), Westfield St Lukes, Auckland - For gun and heart earrings, anchor and heart earrings, chocolate earrings, little black cat earrings
Online: Toggle.co.nz - For 'Moving Stationery' Braille gift tags, 'My Ears Are Burning' convertible earring sets
Markets: Kraftbomb (tomorrow), on the last Sunday of every month - For everything I have in stock!
Other: If you would like to purchase anything you've seen on the blog or elsewhere and can't make it to a market, just email me (see the sidebar) or message me through my Facebook or Twitter pages. Please don't feel like you can only email me if you're planning to buy; there's no obligation! I'm always happy to answer questions about prices, custom orders... coconut ice recipes... 1930s screwball comedies... whatever.

luv

2009-12-19T09:14:00.001+13:00

I'm looking forward to my first Love Handmade market today! See the sidebar for details. I'll be representing R.W. Scissors from a half table instead of a full one for the first time since... um, dunno (I thought it would be nice to have a change and yes, save a bit of money), so last night I worked out a couple of simple display ideas for the smaller space. Half table or not, I will have plenty of stock with me: badges, cards, so many matchboxes and Gift tags! Gift tags! Gift tags! in the Golden Book, Braille, Jane Fonda and of course, Doily varieties for all the lovely presents you will want to buy from me and my comrades in craft.

I'm personally looking forward to gingerbread for breakfast courtesy of Gretel's Gingerbread. It's so good. It puts my meagre attempts at gingerbread-baking to shame!

kilisimasi, part 1... part 2

2009-12-16T17:10:00.002+13:00

Here's a colour-coordinated post about Crafternoon Tea last week to make up for the rather clashy previous one...
The Mt Eden Normal Primary School hall is a nice venue for a market: the school grounds are quite pretty and although the foot traffic was probably not that high on market day (blame the rain more than the location), the layout made for a welcoming atmosphere and good 'flow'. I and a couple of other vendors didn't sell much, but then several others did extremely well - you never know. Many thanks to the anonymous people who did buy from R.W. Scissors, as well as fellow crafty types Boe and Luisa, who bought R.W. Scissors matches and doily gift tags respectively!
The stallholders either side of me were cool and the lovely assistant stuck around for most of the day, which helped during the quieter times. I enjoyed talking to Erin from Ferrit - it turns out we're neighbours! Well, neighbourhood-neighbours, anyway - and we did a huge swap of things at the end of the day.

Not Home Brand! Red and white still life on my sewing cabinet.

Had I been richer I would gladly have bought everything else on Erin's table as well, but I 'made do' with the several beautiful handmade, screenprinted Christmas crackers - complete with real cracking action and corny jokes! - and "Hello my name is..." gift tags I got in our swap.
I also made a few purchases: Sarah saved Auckland from my humidity-related frizz with a pair of her sweet little black flower hairpins (dahlias?), and Alida's new wild cat necklaces are awesome so I got one of those as well.

Meow. The other clip is in my hair again today.

For the tree we haven't bought yet, I picked up one of Jess's Christmas pudding rabbit decorations, and she kindly gave me a neat little pencil and notepad set which had been part of her work for design school (stationery is always a good present for me - just thought I'd mention that...).
And I musn't forget: the vendor goodie bags from Felt.co.nz were a nice touch (thanks Lucy!)... who doesn't like free fudge?

kilisimasi, part 1

2009-12-12T09:20:00.003+13:00

I am just heading out the door to the December Crafternoon Tea at Mt Eden Normal Primary School - I hope you are too!

I have lots of new R.W. Scissors things for sale today, like candy cane-coloured doily tags...

and a heap of lovely new badges...

Yours for a song*.
*Not an actual song; I hate all Christmas songs except Mele Kalikimaka, and I only really accept money as payment. Or kittens.

the hard word

2009-11-30T21:30:00.001+13:00

Kraftbomb was awesome on Sunday. Quote of the day?

Cheery Older Lady #1: Ninja Christmas decorations!

Cheery Older Lady #2: It's a sign of what our world has become.

darn it, i've got knits

2009-11-30T16:51:00.002+13:00

I present to you the newest R.W. Scissors products: knitting-themed "Darn It" badges. They were well-received at yesterday's (extremely busy!) Kraftbomb, so they're off to a good start.

Also knitting-related and very exciting is the NZ Yarn Sampler Box project, which is being run by a smart local knitter by the name of Belinda Hope-Too, aka Blendy. Lots of NZ (and a few international) suppliers are providing samples of yarn, knitting accessories, knit-themed products and other things (like Comvita manuka honey skincare products - not knitting-related, but lovely!), which will then be organised into boxes and sold early next year. I'm thrilled to have been asked by Belinda to get involved, and for my part will be providing a heap of large "I've Got Knits" badges (Nut and Bee and Songbird Designs are also contributing). From a supplier's perspective, the sampler boxes are a great way to show one's products to a wider audience, and from a consumer's perspective, it's a fun thing to look forward to receiving in the post! Belinda is working like mad to promote the Sampler Boxes, on loads of sites, including:

Ravelry
Blendy's Etsy shop
Her website: http://www.blendy.co.nz/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/blendy
and her blog, http://www.nzyarnsampler.blogspot.com/.

All the information you need about supplying and or purchasing is available on blendy.co.nz. There are frequent awesome giveaways on the blog, so make sure to check it out. Two close today! Quicklyyy...!

so's your face

2009-11-21T17:00:00.000+13:00

You may have noticed in the blog sidebar a link to a Facebook page for R.W. Scissors. See it there? It's just small. Put your glasses on. Yes, that's the one. I set it up this week, not just so that I can be a fan of myself... I lie - that's totally the reason. Anyway, I'm still writing captions for all the photos and figuring out how everything works, but in the meantime why don't you have a look and become a 'fan' of R.W. Scissors? A girl can never have too many fans.

r.w. scissors in the land of kings

2009-11-21T09:09:00.002+13:00

R.W. Scissors will be at the second Crafternoon Tea today, on from 10am until 2pm at the Trinity Church Hall, Kingsland (whoop! 2 minutes travel time, alriiight). It's at the corner of Sandringham and New North Roads, next to Atomic cafe, which does delicious and fancy giant sandwiches. I had a stall at the first one and it was a cracker, and I'm looking forward to this one - with double the stallholders and space - even more. Come and visit! I have loads of new I've Got Knits badges in lovely patterns and knit-themed matchboxes for you to look at - and maybe even buy (if you're good... and give me money).

skullduggery

2009-11-04T20:57:00.001+13:00

A couple of weeks ago my friend Yvon invited me over to her place to make papier mache skulls for Halloween. Sounded good to me: I like to make a mess, uh, 'create art', and I'm more likely to finish a project like this if I'm working with someone else. Are you like that too?
Using an ornament of Yvon's as a reference, we made our skulls out of the usual papier mache materials: newspaper, wallpaper paste and a balloon - no need for a tutorial. The 'jaw' on mine was made by cutting two narrow trapezoid shapes out of a cardboard box, shaping each into a 'U' and taping them to the knotted end of the balloon. We used book tape, which is good because you can reposition it - but only if you shut your eyes, wince and pull the tape off the balloon very slowly.
Did I mention there was cake and beer at Yvon's? There was cake and beer. Anyway, after a few layers of paper and a few days spent drying out in the hot water cupboard (the skull, that is - I only had the one drink), here is the finished product.

Alas, poor Yorick! I glued him, Horatio.

When I say 'finished'... I probably won't end up sanding the little bumps out of Yorick and haven't decided how/if I'll paint him. The pastel colours of the newspaper are pretty nice. Although I do have glitter and glow-in-the-dark Mod Podge at home...

To read Yvon's post about her finished Skully and the spectacular cardboard haunted house she just made, go here. And for answers to the questions you probably have about the birds on my head, go here.

art deco

2009-11-02T20:31:00.003+13:00

Louise from the great Twenty Cent Mixture blog is holding another handmade Christmas Ornament Swap. I participated in the first one last year and really enjoyed it. I received about half a dozen cool handmade ornaments, all different and all lovely. Plus it's always so nice to get mystery presents in the mail!
This was my contribution, fabric pompoms/pompons. Each of them was escorted to their new home by an R.W. Scissors ninja gift tag (for security).

The last day to sign up is this Friday (the 6th), so if you're keen check out the Flickr pool and then take a look here for instructions. I've already signed up... now what to make?!

the handmade's tale II

2009-10-27T22:42:00.002+13:00

Photo borrowed from buyolympia.com.

I am emerging from my cave to tell you the great documentary Handmade Nation I saw back in August is now out on dvd! It's available from Amazon or buyolympia.com (WARNING: Both sites - especially Buy Olympia - are extremely addictive and should be approached with caution). The dvd is in NTSC format, but region-free, which makes it potentially less annoying than some international dvd purchases. I'll be ordering it as soon as my next handful of magic beans appears in the old bank account.

snooze

2009-10-09T00:42:00.001+13:00

Barbara Harris (rules) in Freaky Friday (1976)

There are lots of new crafty things going on around the town so I've plenty to read and write about, but instead I'm going to take a short break from blogland - a week or so maybe. As some of you guys know, I'm very run down at the moment and therefore a bit prone to rambling. Obviously this doesn't make for great reading or conversation! I'm sure my tweets and tales of insomnia must be a big yawn (pun intended) for everyone who has been subjected to them. Anyway, R.W. Scissors will continue to run in the background and normal programming will resume shortly!

it's toasted

2009-09-29T19:08:00.000+13:00

Just wanted to show you all the clever new purse I bought from the lovely Karen of Luxford St on Sunday. It's toast!

Total genius, I love it. Now where's my coffee?

updato

2009-09-28T16:53:00.001+13:00

Anyway, I'll tell you all what I know you really want to hear about - the potatoes! 21 days after the cages were set up, they looked like this:

Lots of lovely lush green growth!... which unfortunately had to be covered up immediately with more dirt and more straw. The idea is that the potato plant stems are kept in the dark so they will set tubers and also so the spuds themselves won't turn green and therefore inedible (sunlight is what makes them green - that's why you store them in the kitchen pantry). This is also the reason behind the 'nests' - the potatoes are only planted in the centre of the cages because if they were planted right to the edges any potatoes growing there would be spoiled by the sun.

I heaped another layer each of dirt and pea straw to cover the new growth, pushing it down to fill any big air pockets around the stalks. The leaves don't have to be covered, just the stalks. Now the nests look more like filled cakes or hamburgers. Mmm, cakes and hamburgers...

r.w. huh?

2009-09-28T16:31:00.002+13:00

I had marginally better sales at Kraftbomb yesterday than at the last couple of markets - still nothing near what I was making last year though. (In case you were wondering, the response to the goofy pink cards was one of - mild interest. One sale. Thanks Heleen!)

With summer - and dare I say it, Christmas - approaching things should pick up, but by how much? In the winter months I accept that slower market sales are par for the course - there aren't any major holidays in the middle of the year, and customers understandably don't want to leave the house in bad weather unless they have to.

Several months of extremely low sales for R.W. Scissors at Devonport Craft Market was very depressing, though. It got to the point where I was losing money. Sitting at my table while people walked past peering and frowning at my matchboxes and confetti - or occasionally even saying things like, "A dollar for a box of matches! That's too much!", or even "What a waste of books!" (I got that one a few times) - was bad for my little ego. Hecklers I can handle, but a bunch of them combined with no money was, well, horrible. I made the decision not to sell at DCM anymore, except for the odd market here and there. Please note: I'm not saying anything bad about the organisers or the market itself at all. But the people of Devonport spoke, and what they said was 'thanks but no thanks' to R.W. Scissors.

I make a huge variety of things as R.W. Scissors: confetti, gift tags, printed cards, collaged cards, earrings, rings, necklaces, covered matchboxes, notepads, Christmas decorations, bookmarks, badges, brooches, fridge magnets... and other things I may have forgotten about. I like making all kinds of things. I've had several people ask me if I'm part of a collective, because they find it hard to believe one person could make so much stuff! Maybe that works against me - my 'signature' if I have one is perhaps harder to discern than someone with a smaller variety of products.

Because nothing I make usually costs more than $20 (the average is more like $5), that also makes it difficult to make a lot of money... but I never had any trouble before. That might sound egotistical, but it's true. There was never the feeling before that people thought my work was total crap.

People do have less money to spend these days and I'm not the only crafty person experiencing low or patchy sales, but combined with a rejection from another market (which admittedly wasn't one I expected would like me), it has me wondering: am I out of favour with the general public? Are my salad days of big-small money at every market over? It does make me wonder what the heck I'm doing wrong.

the girl who thinks for herself, part II

2009-09-26T00:41:00.007+12:00

Tonight in an unexpected bout of productivity I burned a gocco screen for the sketch I mentioned earlier, inked it up and printed 30 cards.

I used beige recycled cards and fluorescent pink ink, which I had modified slightly with a touch of red and a dab of blue. I think the combination of very plain and super-bright works well.

Some of the finer details were lost in printing - the mesh bow behind the fabric one and the shine on the glasses frames, for example - but I used the original sketch to make the master and it was quite small. Rather than driving myself mad by trying to use less ink in some parts of the design (which I'm not sure would work that well anyway), next time I'll just enlarge the design slightly on a photocopier first and see if that makes a difference. Overall I'm still really happy with how the cards turned out, and think the spirit of the drawing is still very much there.

I could have printed a lot more cards but decided to re-ink with a different colour. The screen must have become too sodden with ink though, as it ripped before I had a chance to clean it. Not a problem. I still have plenty of supplies and the original drawing to burn a new master screen.

First things first - I have to sell some of these cards! Hopefully people will like them as much as I do.

the girl who thinks for herself

2009-09-25T10:42:00.000+12:00

Here's a sketch I did this morning around 2 a.m. Not sleeping so well lately.

Happy to be over the drawing block though. Blog-willing this will be gocco-printed onto greeting cards in time for Kraftbomb this weekend.

I spent about half an hour on the drawing. After it was done, I realised who it reminds me of: Anastasia Krupnik!

When searching for the above image I was surprised to learn some of the stories in the Anastasia series have previously been banned or challenged in American schools and libraries (there's more info about that on Anastasia's Wikipedia page). I loved these books when I was younger. A highly recommended read from R.W. Scissors... and when have I ever lead you astray?

Anyway, this girl who thinks for herself will be at Kraftbomb on Sunday, hopefully with some cards to sell at last!

off topic

2009-09-22T23:45:00.003+12:00

Oops, I started another blog! However did that happen... It's called High Fashion Mountain, the logo has a nun and an iron lung in it, and it's about clothes. I've just given you four good reasons to read it, so off you go!

spud lite

2009-09-15T11:08:00.032+12:00

WARNING:

This post contains information and images to do with growing potatoes. Readers with a pacemaker, weak heart or any nervous condition may wish to turn away.

Yes that's right; I'm going to show you how to grow potatoes. Brace yourselves!

Since moving house in February I've missed the crazy green explosion that was our previous garden.

Everywhere you looked were plants we'd put in, most of them edible. Well, I suppose all plants are edible if you know the number of the National Poisons Centre. (FYI: it's 0800 764 766. Don't eat those orange berries). We even grew enough for a fortnightly stall at the Oratia farmer's market! Our stall name was the Burbs and the Bees (tm).

At this house we have the same amount of yard space - a huge amount for an Auckland city-fringe suburb - but not the same free rein to dig up and plant where we choose, so everything is in pots or bins. For months the lovely assistant has been doing most of the gardening as there hasn’t been anything I really wanted to grow, but as we (ok, mostly not me) had such success with Agria potatoes last year in the vege patch, I’ve decided to have a crack, unassisted, at growing some spuds.

Right now it’s early(ish) crop season, which means potatoes grown at this time tend to be smaller, faster-growing, waxy varieties. I’m growing Heather, a blue/purple potato which is supposedly a prolific grower and sounds like it will look interesting (as much as a potato can), and Liseta, a yellow/white sort which I’ve never heard of before. With luck they should be ready around December (SPOILER ALERT: everyone I know is getting individually-wrapped potatoes for Christmas). In a couple of months I’ll plant Agria (my favourite, very tasty and great for roasting) as a main crop.

Because our lawn can’t be hacked up with reckless abandon (god knows why; it’s 50% onion weed) I had to come up with an above-ground/ no-dig method. It had to be something recycled or at least cheap because… I’m a bit poor at the moment, I’m a bit cheap, all the time, and they’re potatoes, not orchids or something. The bottomless trash can we used successfully one year wasn’t going to hold all of the seed potatoes I bought, plus I wanted to keep the 2 varieties separate. Tyres were the next obvious choice, but not too inspiring. Paul offered to build a macrocarpa box for me with wood from a sawmill we’d recently visited on the Hibiscus Coast (we go on such romantic outings), but the price of the materials wasn’t right for my no-budget. Macrocarpa has a nice grain and colour - like desert landscapes or something. Maybe by Agria time I’ll have some more cash and will be able to take Paul up on his offer.

When in doubt, Google. I came across the ABC channel Gardening Australia page which had an article about growing large amounts of potatoes in small spaces by using cages built out of chicken wire. The article recommends sheep pellets, pea straw and potting mix, but I substituted here and there and got a result I'm pretty happy with. Here’s my tightwad interpretation.

Ingredients: One 6m roll of green plastic trellis and a handful of cable ties.

Measure and cut the trellis into 4 equal pieces and shape the pieces into cylinders. Use the cable ties to hold the cylinders together, leaving the ends untrimmed so they’re easily visible. Use different coloured ties for each variety you plant (my Liseta cages have yellow ties and the Heather have blue) and they’ll be easier to identify.

First into the cages goes a layer of rotted-down (i.e. no longer smelly) cow manure and hay (courtesy of the calves I posted about in August), to a depth of about 10-15 cm. If you don't know any cows, a several handfuls of sheep pellets work just as well. Then cover with a layer of pea straw, about the same depth as the manure & hay layer.

Make a ‘nest’ in the pea straw and fill with potting mix or garden centre bagged compost (don’t use compost from your bin as it might burn the potatoes), then place the seed potatoes, shoot-sides up, into that. Note: the potatoes had sat in a seed tray under the house for about 3 weeks beforehand to shoot. This is also called 'chitting' (have fun teaching that word to your neighbour's kids).

Don’t they look like eggs in a nest?

You should only really put about 4 seed potatoes to a cage this size, but I crammed in far too many, about 9 in each one. Out of control!

Add 5-10cm more compost to cover, then another 10-15cm layer of pea straw, and you’re done planting. The last step is to generously feed with potato food (blood and bone is also good, but I’m not feeling that) and water in.

Now we wait…

the doily grind

2009-09-08T23:12:00.004+12:00

I was feeling all sad and sorry for myself because the pretty & popular (don't hate them because they're beautiful) R.W. Scissors doily gift tags sold out a couple of months ago, the mountain of Golden Book puzzle confetti was nearly gone, and all of my punches were too blunt to use. Then at Devo. last week brainy Heleen told me to sharpen the blades by punching tinfoil with them! Then Paul said he knew that trick already and it works well for scissors too! So I thought I should share the knowledge. You knew that already though, didn't you. Smart kid.

technotronic

2009-09-07T23:48:00.006+12:00

I went a bit crazy at an electronics store recently - don't remember why I was there - and came home with handfuls of various audio-visual and electronics components which seemed like they might be adaptable for my evil purposes. I don't know exactly what any of the things are called or what they're meant to do, but they look like future jewellery to me. So far I've made these earrings.

As mentioned in my previous post, these made their debut at the last Kraftbomb. I got a lot of good feedback (no pun intended, but I'll take what I can get) about them and sold a pair of green ones. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to the lab.

h.b, kb

2009-08-30T09:25:00.003+12:00

Happy Birthday to Kraftbomb! R.W. Scissors A.V. Technician earrings and plain Sweater Geek badges making their debut today!

many happy returns

2009-08-25T21:33:00.007+12:00

So many of my friends and family have August or September birthdays! Virgos a go-go. My sister's birthday was yesterday, mine is this Thursday (Keywords: margiela cash-money demeulemeester robots comme kaws puppies kittens balenciaga space travel rodarte beachfront property miu miu a golden palomino of my very own), the lovely assistant's is next Sunday... and Kraftbomb's first birthday is this Sunday.

Illustrations above and below are from "Mary at the Flower Festival", by Gilbert Delahaye & Marcel Marlier.

Note: For those of you who can't make the pilgrimage to my house on the day I will graciously accept belated birthday gifts and cards at the R.W. Scissors stall at Kraftbomb.

The line forms on the left.

why kick a moo-cow

2009-08-21T16:55:00.020+12:00

Last weekend Paul and I went to the countryside to visit his parents, who live on a small farm just north of Auckland. Going to the country always puts me in a little panic because I start thinking about what might eventually happen to the animals grazing on the hillsides. Then I tell myself they're all healthy and happy and some of them are even destined to live out their days exactly where they are, and try and stick with that thought. Anyway, this post is about cute animals and interesting sights, not a lecture or debate (please no!) so here are some pictures solely intended for your aesthetic enjoyment.

For the record, Paul's parents' house is very nice, clean and not-at-all ramshackle, but as far as I'm concerned the most interesting bits of the property are outside.

Sage the dog, doing her best here to look tough and stoic in front of her cool house, shook all over with excitement when our car pulled into the driveway.

The lopsided lemon tree, laden down with fruit on one side but all leaves on the other. The polystyrene boxes contain dormant dahlia bulbs.

Still Life with Boat: assorted stuff, all of it with a purpose.

One of many nice green vistas.

These tractor remains look like a praying mantis.

Corrugated iron and other cool-looking stuff.

Orchard by the house, looking spooky without its summer decorations of kumi kumi (in the tyres) and peaches and apples (in the trees).

A well-behaved who cow posed nicely for me among the sheep... until the sheep took off.

One snuffly pig and two of the braver sheep. The thinner-looking one actually just has less wool - it's a of particular breed which moults and therefore doesn't need to be shorn. The tractor is not just a prop - much to everyone's surprise (disdain? concern?) it still goes.

These beautiful calves are only three or four weeks old, all long legs and big eyes. They really did gambol. There were also lots of new lambs, who we helped round up for their vaccinations. We got to see two-week-old piglets too, but only from the kitchen window. They move reeeally fast!

move it

2009-08-09T19:17:00.013+12:00

Here's a snap of the tiny stall I ran on behalf of the Devonport Craft Market on Tuesday night before the NZ premiere of Handmade Nation. I'm not exaggerating; the folding card table underneath all this was minuscule, which made setup a bit tricky but resulted in a bountiful little stall.

There was lots of crowd enthusiasm for the goods we had on display, and I made several sales, including a couple of packets of R.W. Scissors Golden Book confetti. I also gave away heaps of flyers for both the DCM and R.W. Scissors (Steve Martin's back, bigger and better than before - aren't you pleased?).

Helena and Wendy of Wellington Creative, who organised the screening, were so nice - really enthusiastic and friendly. The film itself was funnier than I expected and... interesting (I tried not to use the work 'quirky' here but it wasn't easy - especially with accordion and saw? Theremin? sounds which form part of the soundtrack).

The stop-motion opening title sequence is really neat.

The aforementioned soundtrack is really catchy, so I looked for more information about Noisola. Their website is clean and minimal, but with a sense of humour. Kind of like their music? I dunno. Clearly I have trouble describing music. It's cool. There are clips of compositions available for your listening pleasure. I especially like "Game Show", Loops" and "French Accordian".

The Noisola site prompted me into a little internet investigation (some might call it 'stalking') an hour or so on YouTube, The Onion, and various other sites of cultural significance. Last year the Onion A.V. Club interviewed Joseph Wong of Noisola fame (Fame other than the invaluable exposure that comes from a mention on the R.W. Scissors blog, I mean). Here's the link to that if you want to read it.

Handmade Nation doesn't seem to be out on dvd anywhere yet, but in the meantime you can watch a few snippets online and buy the book (which is also really good) from lots of places, including Amazon, of course.

The next/final NZ screenings are in Wellington this Wednesday at the Paramount (the Wellington Creative site has ticket and booking info). Take a look at the official website or filmmaker Faythe Levine's blog - indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com - for international screening dates and other tidbits.

After Handmade Nation, I headed down the road to meet the Lucky Penny gang. It was a fun, relaxed get-together. Everyone had lots of laughs and little stories to tell. Looking forward to the next one!

PS: What do you think of the new blog layout?

the handmade's tale

2009-08-04T12:51:00.011+12:00

I know, I know, I haven't updated my blog since June. Still busybusybusy (word to the wise - don't get a job or take up hobbies, and definitely don't volunteer for anything, ever). Sorry, chums. If you want to know about what I ate for dinner or what horror movies I watched this week, you can always follow me on Twitter - I'm a bit better at keeping up with that at the moment.

Well I just wanted to let you all know tonight i'm leaving the house (!!!111!11!1!!), because tonight is the Lucky Penny Crafty Club's first get-together as well as the Auckland screening of Handmade Nation. What a night for craft nerds (I'm going to both, of course)!

I'll be running the Devonport Craft Market stall at the pre/post screening market. It's at the Academy, Lorne St, under the city library. Stalls open from 5, the film's on at 6.30. Come say hi! And buy a badge?

the northern club

2009-06-14T09:37:00.024+12:00

Best poster ever

Devonport Craft Market was on again last week, again nothing much to report as far as sales for me, but a nice day and loads of good company to enjoy nonetheless. I was late to the market (Such bad form! I was really unimpressed with myself), arriving with the first customers of the day, but luckily things got better from there. Starting with hot pumpkin soup and a crusty bread roll - for $2! - a fundraiser for the community centre.

The Nice People I Chatted To List:
1) Cushion Lady, a neighbour at both Devo markets who makes, yes, cushions out of a dazzling array of prints and fabrics. I'm sure she has a real name and a far more creative business handle, but unfortunately I haven't learned either yet. I'll try and find out soon. In the meantime she remains... Cushion Lady!

2) Rodayo Busk, aka Boe Busch. Another nice neighbour and fellow Toggler who makes prints, bags and t-shirts, screenprinted with bright, clean graphics. The lion head tee in grey marle, maths tee in navy and C-90 cassette prints are all on my mental shopping list. Boe's website is here.

3) Songbird Designs. I stared at this table for ages, not just because it was nearly opposite mine, but because it looked so inviting! Have a look for yourself. Sarah has a blog here, it's pretty new I think, and deserves more followers!

4) TOTO: this is Sarah Bird's stall: she is the brains behind the Devonport Craft Market and a talented crafter as well. Hers was another great setup - pegging things to a clothesline is a great idea, and I loved the Teddy Bears' picnic. Sarah was having a sale so I snapped up the top ted in the pickinick basket and a tape measure rose brooch.

Photo taken during the day! Aah, winter.

5) Last but not least, the lovely Heleen of Ruby in the Dust. Her table always looks great, her work is sweet, and I love catching up with her at the various markets we both go to. She's good people.

I can't post very often as my life is extremely busy/crazy/stressful/etc lately. More so than usual, I mean. Hopefully the madness will be over soon. Maybe if you're lucky my next blog won't be in list form!

or
maybe
it
will

xo
RWS

coolness

2009-06-07T08:55:00.006+12:00

I didn't sell much at the May Kraftbomb last week, but it is getting cooler out there so I expect business to be a little slow for the next couple of months. Despite the low dough for R.W. Scissors, there were plenty of highlights.

1. I got that Red Bull breakfast cupcake, and my lovely assistant got a choc-raspberry one. Both = yum.

2. My neighbours to the right were Nut and Bee. I bought a cute and practical (Just like me! Why are you laughing) Grocery Bag shopping notepad from them to make up for not being able to get more of my favourite recipe cards (sadly discontinued due to printing issues). I'd show you but the notepad is in my bag, and if I take it out of my bag I will lose it. So much for practicality... lucky I'm still so darn cute. Ahem.

3. I'd been reading the blog of Jessica a.k.a. Bam Bam Creative the day before Kraftbomb but we hadn't talked 'in real life' so it was a funny coincidence that she was my other neighbour. She was great to chat to and I liked her stuff, especially a leopard-print deer wall decoration which I bought to spruce up my study door.

4. I got a gorgeous Hot Legs doorstop from Trixie Delicious. I've been admiring this one for ages so was really happy it was still available (somewhere in my mountain o' clothes I have a dress in the same print, but with blue roses). Trixie has other shapely limbs for sale in her Hot Legs Etsy shop, including my other favourite, the Vivienne Westwood leg. Cool.

tickety-boo

2009-05-31T09:29:00.003+12:00

R.W. Scissors is at Kraftbomb again today! 11am-2pm Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd (Auckland, New Zealand, Earth, The Universe... did you ever address a letter like that when you were a kid?).

New stuff...

Very old theatre tickets

New packaging

Golden Book confetti: stars, squares and puzzle pieces

Matchboxes: People at the beach and people with umbrellas outside a church

Due to popular demand, a new batch of Sooty and Sweep matchboxes

The weather is behaving so get your wallet and come buy some nice things from some nice people. At the very least I plan to buy a Red Bull cupcake (with Nerds sprinkles) from City the NZ Cupcake Queen - Mum says it's important to eat breakfast!

devo

2009-05-02T22:31:00.010+12:00

R.W. Scissors will be at the inaugural (surprised myself by not needing spellcheck for that one) Devonport Craft Market tomorrow at Devonport Community House, 32 Clarence Street (10am - 3pm). It's being run by a lady by the name of Sarah Bird, who I met a couple of months ago at Kraftbomb. There will be a lot of vendors there, some of whom you might know from Kraftbomb or Craftwerk, plus some new (to me) ones I'm keen to meet.

The market posters promise "Handmade, Vintage, Music, Fun", and I'm sure there will be all of that in spades! I'll be doing my part by selling loads of handmade R.W. Scissors jewellery and paper goods, as well a selection of vintage & antique dressmaking patterns (Paulette, Academy, etc), buttons, jewellery and other shiny things I've decided to part with. I will be contributing to the 'music' and 'fun' aspects by leaving the singing up to the professionals.

Devonport is always a nice place for a lazy stroll, and the weather should be good, so I'm looking forward to the trip across the harbour bridge. I still have a lot of preparation to do for tomorrow though, so I'll get back to it - might even post some pictures of what's for sale later if you're lucky (or I'm organised) enough...

april rools

2009-04-26T09:55:00.004+12:00

Slack blogger alert! This month's Kraftbomb is in T-minus 1 hour! Come down and support your friendly local craft nerds. I have some shiny Ran with Scissors hair badges for you, in all-new shades and textures. Don't let the rubbish weather stop you - I hear there are a few new vendors this time, so it should be a goody.

oggle

2009-04-16T21:53:00.009+12:00

Guess what?

R.W. Scissors is featured on the Toggle homepage this week - in good company I might add!
Here are a couple of close-ups of the Ran With Scissors "My Ears Are Burning" Convertible Earring Set, Black Tie Edition. This is how they work...

See? Mmm... converrrrtiblllle...

They're only $26 bucks from here. So cheap! And FDA approved!*

*not strictly accurate

left right march

2009-03-29T08:50:00.003+13:00

R.W. Scissors is back at Kraftbomb today (couldn't make it last time as I put my back out while moving house). I'm looking forward to catching up with everybody and have a lot of new stuff to show you: Miss Piggy cameo necklaces and rings! Doily gift tags! 1950s dexterity game fridge magnets and brooches! $5 earrings! Exclamation marks!! See you there.

that old chestnut

2009-03-18T20:31:00.009+13:00

Guy: Knock, knock.
Girl: Who's there?
Guy: Banana.
Girl: Banana who?
Guy: Knock, knock.
Girl: Who's there?
Guy: Banana.
Girl: Banana who?
Guy: Knock, knock.
Girl: (sigh) Who's there.
Guy: Orange.
Girl: (exasperated) Orange who?!
Guy: Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

it's a nice day to start again

2009-03-15T20:47:00.015+13:00

Why do people sell wedding dresses? Lost love? Bad memories? Or more pedestrian reasons: no space, no daughter to pass them on to, bought two and chose the more flattering to wear...

Wedding dresses make for interesting online auctions (at least to me) because of the 'why'. The photographs offer up a few clues, the description a few more, then you have to guess the rest.

Some of the photos become quite spooky once they've been recropped (to obscure the wearer's identity). The photo above and those below are some of my favourite wedding dress mysteries.

undead

2009-02-16T18:51:00.006+13:00

Happy New Year everyone! Yes, I know it's nearly the end of February... I haven't blogged for nearly two months, yet I've somehow managed to gain two more followers! Hello! That's great news, although it makes me feel even more guilty for not writing anything for so long. Sorry about that, chiefs. I'll try to make up for it over the next few days. I just moved house though, so I'm surrounded by chaos...Somewhere under all of this is my camera: when I find it I shall document the unpacking for your amusement. Talk to you again soon!

jingle bomb

2008-12-21T01:16:00.007+13:00

I've already written your shopping list for you, so you just need to show up!
[Note: For your shopping convenience, everything on the list may be purchased from R.W. Scissors. I'm thinking of you, friends.]

Ninja Xmas decos for the tree
I've Got Knits badge for Grandmama
Box of Spiderman matches for little Timmy
Apple earrings for Teacher
Gift tags for everyone!

$30 ought to cover it. See you at Kraftbomb!

gizit

2008-12-08T18:59:00.010+13:00

While browsing (a.k.a. nerding it up) Blog Networks on Facebook this afternoon, I came across a little post advertising a jewellery giveaway. I wasn't expecting anything too exciting (it's Monday so I'm feeling a bit cynical), but I was proven wrong.

The jeweller in question is Shelbi of ShopMarigold - check out her Etsy shop, or to enter the competition to win a free necklace (don't pretend you don't like free stuff, you're not fooling anyone) visit her blog, Keeper of the Chocolates.

You may be thinking, "What's in it for R.W. Scissors?". I'm so glad you're as cynical as me... yes, there is something, an extra draw entry or three, which you will see if you check out the giveaway terms and conditions. No hidden agendas here! Except the subliminal messages contained within this post, urging a reader, any reader, to buy me these earrings for Christmas. So pretty! They're only $19 USD, a small price to pay for Ran With Scissors' eternal gratitude. Just putting that out there.

super market

2008-12-05T17:55:00.003+13:00

Confirmed! R.W. Scissors will be selling at Craftwerk next week. Get there early to avoid the crowds!

craft on toast

2008-12-03T15:38:00.004+13:00

Happening soon...

Craftwerk! I'll let you know in a few days whether R.W. Scissors will be selling or shopping.

out of the closet

2008-12-01T23:35:00.016+13:00

I've been unsuccessfully trying to streamline my wardrobe for a really long time. I have a lot of clothes. No, a LOT. Imagine Imelda Marcos but with clothes, and paid for with her own money. I'm not a high-maintenance person, though - in fact most days I look like crap. You've seen the photos.

My (wardrobe-related) problems seem to be:

I'm a hoarder. I'm not at the floor-to-ceiling-newspaper-bundles stage, but I'm not a minimalist either. When you come to my house you will not be seated at a Ghost chair staring at a twig in a vase. Most likely you will be standing in the hallway for the duration of your visit, chatting to me next to a box of books.
I'm a crafter. I see potential in items of clothing the average person wouldn't clean their car with. Visions of deconstructed, upcycled and reworked sugar plums dance in my head.
I'm a collector. I like Margiela AIDS charity t-shirts (I have nine), secretary blouses (seven) and grey sweaters (lost count somewhere around 12).
1+2+3 = I'm confused about my personal style. Do I have one? What is it?

Number 4 is the biggest obstacle. Any clues/hints/tips?

The odds seems stacked against me, but all is not lost. Swap groups are helping me cut down.

I joined the Flickr group, Online Clothes Swap Shop - Aotearoa after seeing Kimberlee's post about it a few months ago. I made a rule for myself that I would give away more than I asked for, and so far I've stuck to it. I have received some gorgeous things, chatted with lovely people and made a small gap in the wardrobe. The group has been a little bit quiet recently - probably because it's nearly Christmas - so sign up and get swapping!

My customer appreciation photos: saying thanks for the goodies

The lilysmakebelieve girls & some friends are holding a brand-new, real-life swap event this weekend, in St Mary's Bay, Auckland. The event is called Swap-Away, and you can read about it here. I've got my stack of swaps ready and am really looking forward to it, especially since I got my amazing swap pack in the mail!

I love sherbet hearts.

The magnets meet the rest of the gang.

One last swap group I want to mention is the Kiwi Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap, organised by Louise of Twenty Cent Mixture. Here's her post about it. After seeing on Flickr what the other group members have made so far, I think I better step up my game!

with the civilians under our control, the facade is no longer needed

2008-12-01T21:12:00.006+13:00

Kraftbomb was... pretty lucrative! I made some cash money and had a good time chatting with customers. Two items even sold out - Golden Book gift tags and scissors earrings - which was an ego boost, especially as I had more stock of both this time round.
Here are a few pics of the new things I mentioned in my last post, for those of you who missed them yesterday.

My first go at greeting cards. The pictures are from a supercute vintage children's book called "Bunty Goes Exploring", and the Australian maps are from an old atlas Alida from Jellybones rescued and gave to me. I didn't sell any cards this time, but wasn't discouraged; I like them and I'm sure someone else will too! I think a couple of people were confused by the Australian 'theme'. Philistines.

Yesterday was also the debut of these covered matchboxes. I decorated new (full) boxes of matches with illustrations that caught my eye. This batch contained images from a Captain America comic (where this post's title comes from), a Sooty & Sweep annual, and a gardening book. I also made a panorama of a picture of an oil field over 4 boxes, like a jigsaw puzzle. I wasn't smart enough to take a photo, but was smart enough to sell it, so that's something. It's a very simple idea and I had no idea how it would be received. The answer is: extremely well! The picture above is all that was left after Kraftbomb - I sold 21 boxes! Thanks to all the people that liked them, and even more thanks to the buyers! From running with scissors to playing with matches. When will I learn.

Not new, but a fresh batch: the world-famous-in-R.W. Scissors'-mind "I've Got Knits" (sic) badges. They're a combination of two timeless things: knitting and cooties. What's not to love?

25 deg. C

2008-11-29T19:17:00.005+13:00

Sorry it's been awhile. Real life... taking... over... I've gots of things to blog about but have had no time to do it. I've also made some new things which I hope to show you soon.
Come to Kraftbomb tomorrow if you can; it's going to be great! The weather is beautiful and I'm looking forward to buying a LOT of little Fred's delish lemonade!

boo!

2008-10-31T17:15:00.002+13:00

Happy Halloween, everybody! Love from R.W. Scissors and cats xoxo

red or dead

2008-10-30T16:54:00.019+13:00

Here are a few pics of the R.W. Scissors table at Halloween-themed Kraftbomb, in case you missed us.

I was getting tired of my old table setup and decided to try to change it up for Halloween. I keep hearing how 'levels' are important in retail and at markets, and kept that in mind when I was working out how to display things differently. Hmm. Still needs work.

The shield-shaped plates are from $3 Japan Store, and I found the blood-red glass bowl at 2Cheap. The slasher sweatshirting is an 80s fabric remnant I scored last year on ye olde Trade Me. My sewing-related procrastinating is really working in my favour now that I regularly need large uncut pieces of fabric to cover market tables with.

I printed themed signs at work (shh don't tell) using my two new favourite fonts ("Bloody" and "Isle of the Dead"), found at Fontenstein. Fffff... I coloured the signs in with a red Sharpie and appropriately enough the ink bled everywhere.

Yes, I am inconsistent with the names... R.W. Scissors and Ran With Scissors both work for me, so I'm happy to have a name (R.W.) and an a.k.a (Ran). I like to have options! Which do you prefer?

The gingerbread mummies sold well, and we even got some repeat business!

The Hands of Fate: I haven't used these shop display hands before, but they fit the red, white & spooky colour scheme and I think they showed my plastic lock and key necklaces off nicely.

My 'lovely assistant' Paul was there again to help me out, getting coffee (a crucial role in R.W.S. operations), and making sales. One of our table neighbours was City the NZ Cupcake Queen, so we kept our energy up with a Mountain Dew & Nerds cupcake (me) and a Severed Finger cupcake (Paul).
I had time for a mini-shop right at the end, and bought a couple of things for myself which I'll show you later. Haven't taken photos yet.

Here's me looking dorky in my Halloween getup: R.W. Scissors earrings - scissors, of course! - and a skull-embroidered dress I bought at Superette a couple of years ago.
A photo of me wearing a dress? and smiling?? There aren't a lot of these about. If my family ever see this they'll fall down dead with shock.

This rare photo is borrowed from City's Flickr account.
Go here and check out the rest of the K-Bomb action!

oh SNAP

2008-10-27T19:12:00.008+13:00

I've had a hankering for nice "proper" soft gingerbread for ages and this week decided to track down a recipe and make some to sell at the Halloween-themed October Kraftbomb! Motivation! Do it! I found a recipe for gingerbread skeletons on epicurious.com which looked pretty good.

Epicurious is my favourite site for recipes, mainly because of the lack of bizarre and irrelevant ads/popups that appear with a huge number of so-called cooking websites. Finding long-lost classmates, taking herbal diet pills and obtaining perfect abs are not my mission when I google "stuffed pumpkin recipes", or "peanut butter frosting". You still have to put up with the odd advert on Epicurious too, of course, but the site's content makes up for it - they have cool guests like Ted Allen and Amy Sedaris create menus and give tips for entertaining.

Anyway, I mucked around with the gingerbread recipe a little bit, using half golden syrup and half molasses. The colour looked right and the mixture smelled great. Then I added way too much water and had to quadruple the recipe to make up for it...
An entire bag of flour later, Paul pointed out that having too many biscuits wasn't the worst thing that could happen, and we started cutting out the shapes. We made headless gingerbread men, designed to look as if their heads had already been bitten off, ghosts, skeletons, and a lot of mummies with icing 'bandages'.

Ginger-dead men, waiting to be iced.

Some mummies having a boogie on the bench.

I want my mummy!

The biscuits turned out pretty close to what I had in mind, and with a bit more experimentation could be it. But first there are about 4 dozen cookies in the kitchen which need eating...

spring chickens

2008-10-15T22:22:00.006+13:00

The apple tree at my house is showing off the latest accessories for Printemps/Eté 08/09.

And now, a poem:

Spring is sprung
Da grass is riz
I wonder where dem boidies iz
Da little boids is on da wing
Ain't dat absoid
Da little wings is on da boid

daisy chain

2008-10-13T22:21:00.003+13:00

In memory of Phyllis Smith, my grandma.
03/03/1919 - 07/10/2008.

cat on a hot park bench

2008-09-28T21:18:00.004+13:00

This sleepy cat was taking advantage of the first day of daylight savings. I saw him while walking home after Kraftbomb today. Dunno how he managed to sleep... the park bench was just a couple of metres back from a main road. I'd taken my camera to photograph my stall, etc, but this ended up being the best pic of the day. He graciously let us give him a little cuddle too - what a nice guy!

cut it out

2008-09-26T12:27:00.007+12:00

R.W. Scissors' favourite earrings are back!

Just in time for the next Kraftbomb! In case you're new to my blog or R.W. Scissors, these are earrings I haven't been able to make for awhile. The scissors are great because a) they open and close just like real ones, and b) they're a little bit stiff - so you can fix them in either position before putting them on and they'll usually stay that way until you move them again.
R.W.S. lock, key and heart earrings will also be making their return appearance on Sunday, along with some new friends... More hearts than you can shake an arrow at.

Hot damn! I need to do some work. But I'll be ready. Come say hi!

city of sales?

2008-09-17T14:59:00.004+12:00

I'm taking some samples into town this afternoon, to show to a potential stockist. Wish me luck!

yippeeEEEeee

2008-09-13T18:08:00.007+12:00

I won a prize!

deer you

2008-09-11T18:02:00.005+12:00

R.W. Scissors braille tags are now for sale on toggle.co.nz!
Here's a picture or two from the mini photo-shoot I did last night.

bombshell

2008-09-11T17:44:00.007+12:00

Hello, I'm back after a few days of being quiet and working hard. Enough seriousness for awhile.

Kraftbomb was great fun, and I can't wait for the next one. I got lots of really nice feedback from customers (and made a few sales as well). The braille and Jane Fonda tags were a hit! Here's a pic of the R.W. Scissors table, courtesy of the Kraftbomb organisers, City and Karla.

That's me on the right, taking care of bidness.
The fellow on the left is my "lovely assistant" Paul.

More pics can be seen via City's flickr, here.

blank

2008-09-03T18:20:00.002+12:00

Sunday was great fun. I heard some sad news yesterday though, so I'm feeling pretty flat. I'll post about the market in a few days when I'm feeling a bit more upbeat. Hope everyone's week is going well.

2000 years bc

2008-08-27T22:50:00.004+12:00

Happy birthday to meeEEEeeee! w00t.

more surprises

2008-08-22T16:46:00.001+12:00

Tomorrow night the Fleet Fm Art Auction is being held to raise some cash money for the station. R.W.S likes Fleet so donated this grab bag, which you should bid for:

It's too many fancy!

Close-up goodies

I can't stop making gift tags

Here's the poster. I can only hope the 3-D, join-the-dots, "Throw Momma from the Train" picture will be for sale. Que bonita!

kinder surprise

2008-08-21T20:49:00.001+12:00

Lately I've been thinking a lot about kid's stuff: reading books I liked as a child, baking sugary cupcakes and cookies, that kind of thing. It all started a couple of months ago when I woke up thinking for some reason about a cuckoo clock I had when I was little, and wondering whatever happened to it. Maybe it's because it's nearly my birthday and I'm regressing. Or maybe I just need a holiday. Whatever, I'm having fun with it. I bought the best photo ever, above, on Etsy.

'No Flying in the House', by Betty Brock, was a favourite book of mine when I was little. There's a really funny review of it here (scroll down a bit, it's about the 10th review on the page).

I was a bookish child (an understatement), so when my sister suggested I donate something toward the prizes for Just Read, a teen online book review competition put on by Auckland City Libraries, I was very happy to do so! Here's the goodie bag I put together for Mt Albert Library:

The prizes are being awarded sometime this week - I hope the winner enjoys their well-deserved R.W. Scissors goodies!

overwerked

2008-08-16T21:42:00.000+12:00

Boy, that was one busy Craftwerk on Thursday night! In between crowds and bidness dealings, it was nice to be able to chat briefly with some of my blog pals and fellow crafters, some of whom I hadn't met before.

Link alert! My table-neighbours were all lovely gals: Alida from Jellybones (thanks for the cupcake share!), Yvon from the Kingsland Sock Monkey Orphanage, and Esther and Shelley from Toggle. I also got to chat briefly with the lilysmakebelieve girls, Kimberlee & Lies from Anemone, City the Cupcake Queen, Karla from Geek Freeks... what a shocking name-dropper I am.

I made some purchases and did some swaps (can't show you yet because most are for a surprise *shhh*), and sales were good!

The amount of people was pretty overwhelming though (especially to someone who doesn't care for crowds) so I was a word-garbling, bumbling idiot by the end of the night.

I hope I didn't sound like too much of one.

This is what I felt like...
...if only I'd read this earlier!

poppin' tags

2008-08-11T17:50:00.000+12:00

There's a lot going on at Ran with Scissors H.Q. while I prepare for the upcoming markets. Here's a sneak peek!

Witness the Fitness: Gift tags made out of pages from the Jane Fonda Workout book. Check out the cool lady with the eyepatch!

A Row of Houses: More uses for my braille books.

The Great Cities: these tags are cut from 1970s books.

Tiny little people in London.

The Woodpile: these are made from old betting cards I found and an eraser I carved a wood grain pattern into. I stamped a few on the back, then realised the words look cool hidden within the wood pattern. If you look closely you can read some (Horse No., Amount, etc).

old news

2008-08-04T17:52:00.000+12:00

There's a lot of fun stuff coming up in August: a new craft market and the return of an old one, the Fleet Fm art auction, and more (including, later, the celebration of the hallowed day on which your humble author was born).

I'm making lots of new things for the aforementioned markets, but you'll have to wait a little while longer for more details. Here are some old pics though - of RWS & friends at the Te Tuhi/Craftwerk market - that I keep forgetting to post.

I often share a Craftwerk table with my friend Yvon, who makes all kinds of clever stuff, when she's not adopting sock monkey orphans out to good homes.

This is her pentopus, Clifford, atop some repurposed vintage books. The books have secret compartments for hiding stuff in, very sneaky!

The monkeys, waiting for their new parents to arrive,

with some pretty bags and glasses cases, also by Yvon.

Ran with Scissors: new notepads (every page is hand-stamped!),

scissors gift tags/bookmarks, and jewellery.

The Rules: I rescued these from an inorganics collection,

but it took me forever to decide what to do with them...

I took them apart and added extra blank paper in ice-cream colours,

to make shiny new notebooks. This took a very long time - I am not an expert.

It's much easier to make chocolate-wrapper badges.

Well, it's easier to eat the chocolates to get the wrappers...

Here's one I blogged about earlier.

Ok, dinner time! Bye!

shop tactics

2008-07-24T19:12:00.000+12:00

Hello! I've had the stupid flu so wasn't in the mood for writing. Several days of 6-hour daytime naps, Canada's Next Top Model on YouTube, Hong Kong action movies on dvd... actually it wasn't all bad.
I don't know if going to see [REC] was the smartest first step towards recovery, though. Awesome. Four stars. Unfortunately I only give the audience two stars. "Hey Owen!......OWENNN!!...OH F**K, IT IS SPANISH!" Not awesome.

Anyway, as promised, here are some pictures of RWS jewellery in my first ever retail stockist, La Dolce Vita.Stylish shopgirl (and sis), hard at work

The shop has a wide range of jewellery from around the world, as well as some great stuff by NZ designers (I don't just mean me!)

RWS chocolate love hearts, wafer biscuits and bonbons, displayed alongside a rainbow of Jellybones coloured pencils and gummis. Vanessa made the red licorice earrings, which always give me a craving for the real thing !

Ye olde anchors and guns, more bon bons, some tiny croissants, and the last ever pairs (boo!) of scaredy cats (the middle row of cute porcelain jewellery isn't RWS stuff). I like the tiki earrings!

Petit miam! My new favourite RWS earrings.
Buy them before I eat them.

pinkeye II: 2fast 2cheap

2008-07-22T20:01:00.000+12:00

I did make one thing while I had pinkeye...

...a pinkeye-themed sleep mask to replace my too-cheap one from 2Cheap, which broke
(it lasted quite a while, mind you).

It's made from a double layer of thick black sweatshirting (for effective light-blocking) sandwiched between 2 pieces of vintage flannelette (for effective fuzziness). The applique is made from the same fabric I used for the lining, and the ribbon is a bit I pinched from one of my handmade envelope packs. I couldn't be bothered doing it neatly (and therefore slowly). I didn't use a pattern, didn't finish any edges, handstitched everything, etc, etc.
Slap. Dash.
It's the best sleep mask I've ever owned.

The background is my 'classic' collection of retro cookbooks, a series of single-ingredient/theme books, each with around 250 recipes. There's "250 Ways to Serve Eggs", Candy, Poultry, you name it (poor old Luscious Refrigerator Desserts only made it to 150). Most of the books feature meat dishes on the cover - even the Salads one (a huge bowl of salmon, with a couple of bits of celery and a radish flower).

The "250 Ways to Serve..." books are worthy of a post all of their own, but I have a lot of catching up to do!

bacon

2008-07-13T10:05:00.000+12:00

Last week I made lemon meringue pie, which is my favourite thing to bake.

'Rustically' arranged pastry, in 3pm winter 'sunlight'.
(Note: it's pre-rolled pastry. Making pastry from scratch makes me angry).

I had to use brown and icing sugars instead of white, so the pie came out more golden-brown than usual.

I also used arrowroot instead of cornflour.We were running out of everything! It got to the point where I thought I was going to have to use turnips instead of lemons.

This week, after an extensive grocery shop, I thought I'd try baking cupcakes, which I haven't done since I was a kid.

I used a cupcake recipe from the Edmonds book (my old 80s copy doesn't have it, but the new ones do), and added more cocoa and milk, plus a few drops of red food colouring, as a nod to red velvet cake.

I put the cupcakes into a second case for the photo so you can see them better. They have bananas and cherries printed on them - so cute! Plus, fruit is healthy, y'know.

What isn't healthy is peanut butter buttercream icing.

Even with wholesome chopped up mixed nuts added, it's still the unhealthiest thing EVER. Not surprisingly, it's also really delicious. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Ta-da!

This is what I made with the leftover batter.

The tin is from $3 Japan store on Queen St in Ak. It has "Dear, My Sweet" embossed on it! Awww.

Today I should probably look for homemade insulin recipes.

pinkeye

2008-07-11T16:33:00.000+12:00

Pinkeye! Atch. No crafting this weekend; I'm going into hiding.I hope you all enjoyed Jennie's video!