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| This is my new home on the Blogisphers Since I haven't been selling on Etsy for nearly a year now I have severely neglected this blog....sorry. However I opened a new shop on Madeit called Red Punch Buggy and just today created a Blog to share the Red Punch Buggy journey. I'd love for you to come on over and be a part of that journey with me. Thank you lovely members for being so encouraging and supportive of re:deem designs I have loved your comments and would love to see you over at Red Punch Buggy. You can find me Oh and did I mention......I'm having a GIVEAWAY just to say Welcome :) Hope to see you there. xx Vicki |
1/24/12
I've moved - please come on over and visit.
8/26/10
Things made of Paper
I love paper!! I am a paperophile!!! Even in this age of technology with my trusty Macbook at my side I will turn to paper and pen to write down my ideas and thoughts or when I need to plan or program something. I need the physical tactile paper and pen process to help it flow. This paper dependency is part of the motivation (read most) behind the creation of my journals from recycled vintage books.
As part of my exploration of the crafting world I am going to do a series of Things made of..... It begs the question how many different things can 'things' be made from?
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| Tiny Stars by Rach of Missisaau. I think they would look great scattered amongst candles as a table decoration |
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| Dress made from a phone book. Check out the rest of these on Flickr jolispaons |
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| These lights are fantastic! I want one or two by tesselight |
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| I recently had the pleasure of winning this gorgeous print by Narelle of ruby victoria. So here I am boasting :) |
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| The detail in this paper sculpture by Allen and Petty Eckman is breathtaking. They have a whole series of Native American pieces. |
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| I'm thinking of these for my daughters 21st... they are so beautiful - by prosttothehost |
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| I found this company for Paper Party goods that are also eco friendly. How yummy are these cupcake wrappers by green party goods |
The possibilities with paper are endless. It's one of the most versatile mediums around and I would have a reeeeeaaallly long blog post if I tried to do it justice. I did really control myself and not just include lots and lots of stationery to which I am addicted and there are obviously lots of talented and creative people who produce amazing stationery.
What should I investigate next time???
8/17/10
The wonderful world of shrink plastic.
I recently rediscovered something that I couldn't resist playing with again - shrink plastic! Remember Shrinky Dinks??? Or for those who couldn't afford Shrinky Dinks the 'old chip packet in the oven' then made into earrings phase.
Whilst browsing around blog land I discovered this cute tutorial by Cathe Holden over at Just something I made on how to make a customised shrink plastic ring.. Instantly, my brain was filled with shrink plastic possibilities. Thanks to the www and online shopping I soon had my own pack of inkjet printable shrink plastic which I immediately had to play with. (patience is not a virtue)
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| 3 easy steps. Print, Cut and Bake. |
Here are my 1st attempts with shrink plastic. I printed out some pretty lace doilies to make buttons with. A Mr Phrenology Head for a ring and necklace. And the VW Bugs because I am opening a new shop 'red punch buggy' and I thought I could make badges or magnets as thank you gifts.
The 1st batch are ok I was fairly pleased with the outcome but I need to play with the cooking time to eliminate the slight buckle in the pieces. It says they are maleable for a little while when they come out of the oven but you have to move quick (and I'm not quick enough juggling hot things). I gave them a quick sand and then used a paint on acrylic gloss to seal them which made the ink bleed a little so the next batch will get a spray on coat instead. I don't know if this batch will become what they were intended for as I'm a bit of a perfectionist and these are practice pieces but I have a few ideas that I cant wait to try out next.
If all goes to plan I will have a shrink plastic range of goodies in my new store. If is doesn't work out then at least I've had fun reliving past fun times.
8/5/10
Go grab a cuppa and let's catch up....
So much has happened over the last month, I though I would take a couple of moments to catch up.
Firstly, congrats to Verity of Joie de Tea for winning my giveaway. Her vintage book choice was The Philosophers Notebook and here is how it looks as a journal.
I think it turned out great and Verity was very happy too!! I must say thank you to everyone who entered and especially those who now follow, like and twitter re:deem.
There was a mutual admiration week with Blog features, mine being on the lovely Samara from Maddabling you can read about her here. And she in turn did a feature on me!!! What an honour to be considered and as always Samara is very generous and kind. You can find it here why not give Samara a little blog love while you're there.
re:deem has now expanded into a new line since I got my act together and put the discarded pages from my vintage books into use. Even though most of my books have been rescued from becoming landfill or from their 'sick book' status, I still could not bring myself to throw out the pages once they had been converted into journals. There are so many lovely pieces that I have put together vintage ephemera packs and with the text and music started making layered paper posies. There is nothing quite like the look and texture of vintage paper. I'm secretly obsessed with the posies they are going everywhere cards, parcels. Verity confided to me that she copied the one I gave her and used them as table decorations for her 'Christmas in July' party....wonderful!I'm also investigating opening a new store....what???? The ethic behind re:deem is to use recycled, upcycled, and vintage elements. However, there are so any other things I want to explore that don't quite fit with this ethos. So, filled with enthusiasim and the confidence and knowledge I've picked up in my year on Etsy I've begun dreaming of a new store...somebody slap me....please. :)
On a personal note, I've completed and sent off all my documentation to apply for R.P.L. (recognised prior learning) on my course, fingers crossed it knocks off a big chunk. Knuckling down to study this month has been hard I really did need to take a break between finishing work and starting study.
Our youngest turned 16...yikes. I guess that makes me positively middle aged now that I have 3 adult children and only 1 child. He only wanted XBox related gear but I did some window shopping on Etsy ...as you do, looking for what they have to offer a teenage boy. Here's a few items I found....in case you have a teenage male that isn't XBox obsessed to buy for.
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| Need I say more??? from queensspoof |
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| From the TheShirtDudes |
And since he spends most of his time killing zombies i though he might need one of these.
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| from CraftieRobot |
Virtual shopping is so much fun!!.
Well enough chatting about me, what's going on in your world???
7/23/10
Crafters with Heart - Maddo (Maddabling)
Crafters with Heart is going to be a regular feature. The idea behind it is to spotlight crafters, their philanthropic passions and what that looks like in their world......<3
When it comes to spreading the love there's none better than Samara from Maddo - Maddabling. I am starting this new feature on my Blog with Samara because not only did she kick me off with my first sale on Etsy but she has consistently gone out of her way to encourage fellow crafters with either her mad shopping skills or her enthusiastic promotional campaigns.
This is Samara's story.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself
I work full time – creating is my sanity. I have a loving husband, creative friends and am “mum” to the sweetest pair of scallywags Keshi dog and Neko cat.
I love to cook, create, garden, read, adore listening to music, watching indie or foreign films and participate in the DUST team forum whenever I can.
2. What words would you use to describe your craft style
Eclectic, Unusual, Bold, Made with Love
3. What do you enjoy most about the creative process
Having an idea that consumes you, that you just have to make it right now because you are so impatient that you can’t wait to see how it turns out !
Oh and creating a lovely big mess hehehe !
4 How did Maddabling come to be?
Honestly, it just kind of happened. One day a friend said to me – you should do a market stall, so I did. Then I encouraged Del at DELiciousDesignz to open an ETSY store and she encouraged me to join the DUST team and to open my own store. I have many supportive and creative friends – I am self taught and found that people like what I create. I love being able to bring a little bit of joy in this crazy world through my creations.
Honestly, it just kind of happened. One day a friend said to me – you should do a market stall, so I did. Then I encouraged Del at DELiciousDesignz to open an ETSY store and she encouraged me to join the DUST team and to open my own store. I have many supportive and creative friends – I am self taught and found that people like what I create. I love being able to bring a little bit of joy in this crazy world through my creations.
5. Are there any causes, aid projects that you are passionate about and why
RSPCA - I feel very strongly about the work that the RSPCA do as they look after those creatures that are neglected, abused or abandoned that don’t have a voice of their own. They provide a second chance and new hope for all creatures great and small – a cliché I know but a fitting one. The job the RSPCA does not always have a happy ending and I have a great deal of respect for those involved as it must be absolutely heartbreaking at times.
6. Have you been involved in any causes/aid projects lately. And how were you involved
Around 12 months ago, we adopted a kitten from the RSPCA. He is very much a part of our family, spoiled rotten and well loved !
I have also been involved in a facebook charity auction for the Slammers Online Relay for Life Page which was raising funds for Cancer. I donated a custom pink themed kilt pin brooch and encouraged many others to donate/bid as well through my fanpage.
7 If you could give 1 piece of advice to someone wanting to sell their craft what would it be.
Never ever give up ! Believe in yourself and what you do, don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things, be ready to learn new techniques and be ever evolving in your creative pursuits. Remember that you are unique and that each piece you create has a little piece of you in it – figuratively of course, not literally !
8 Ok this is Samara's top 5
Favourite music/band/singer
I really really love music – so it’s really really hard to narrow this down to just
One artist etc.
Music – anything from Trip Hop to Johnny Cash to Indie to World Music to
Hip Hop to Blues & Roots and everything in between
Band - currently – The Drums, Doves, Pink Floyd, Bank Holidays, The Pixies
Singer – currently Camille, Sally Seltman, Nick Cave, Dave Mann, Sia
Favourite movie – currently it’s a split between My Lovely Bones, Whip It or Cashback. Of all time – Breakfast at Tiffanys or Donny Darko or Life of Brian
Favourite item in you wardrobe – any of my several pairs of I Love Billy Shoes or boots and anything that I have sourced from ETSY – there are sooooooh many things !
Favourite Blog
Favourite Etsy/craft shop.
My current favourites would have to be these etsy shops :
Juror2, redeemdesigns, LAGlass, DELiciousDesignz, Attiladesign, InnerEarthSoaps and NewEarthSoaps, LittleGallery
There are so so many more but I can’t list them all here !
I want to thank Samara for being my 1st Crafter with Heart I hope you have learned a little more about this lovely lady. You can connect with Samara here:
7/10/10
Celebrate with me! - There's a fab journal to be won.
I am so excited to be at this point 1 year down the track.. There are so many kind and generous spirited crafters and customers who have helped get me here I wish I could do an honor roll for you all but I would most certainly forget some....well... perhaps a lot, but that happen now and then :P (to me it does)
So I say a big heartfelt, hugs and kisses THANK YOU. To everyone who well, firstly chatted to me. It was so nerve wracking walking into my 1st ever forum and saying Hi. To those who answered my many questions with patience, who offered tips and critiques (invaluable). To those who commented followed, tweeted and fb'd and of course finally to those of you who actually bought something from my shop and brought a warm glow to the heart of a nervous crafter. Hey if that's you MWAH. I loves ya.
So what do we do to celebrate this momentous occasion? Well I took a poll and it seems all of you would like one of my journals. (it was a short poll and not many took it but hey they all wanted journals)
To give it a twist I'm going to let you decide your choice out of 3 vintage books you would like to have as a OOAK journal
Here's how to play "Happy Etsyversary re:deem"
To enter:
Become a FOLLOWER of my Blog or LIKE my facebook. Leave a comment here to tell me and don't forget to say which book you would like as a journal (please leave me a way on contacting you eg email)
For additional entries:
Become a follower of my blog or a liker of my FB page which ever you didn't do in step 1 (leave a comment)
Go to my shop and let me know what item you like the best (leave a comment)
Twitter about this giveaway (leave a comment)
Facebook about this giveaway (leave a comment)
Blog about this giveaway (leave a comment)
Easy peasy :)
Your book choices from left to right (original pages from these books will be included in the journal)
A) - The Philosopher's Notebook by Monty Blandford pub 1952 ( a collection of poetry)
B) - The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley pub circa 1970 (children's classic)
C) - Curtain of Fear by Dennis Wheatley pub 1974 (fiction story based on the iron curtain/cold war)
This giveaway will only be open for my Etsyversary week (not like my birthday month haha) so closes
Sat 17th July at 10pm AEST.
Ok, now its time for cake and balloons! Good Luck everyone.
6/16/10
The fork in the road.
The last few months have been huge!!!! There has been no time for facebook, twitter, my etsy shop and definitely no time to BLOG. At the ripe old age of 46 I have decided to quit the day job, leave behind the corporate world and go back to school.
It's taken a great deal of introspection soul searching and long late night chats with my lovely supportive husband. The budget has been worked and reworked turned upside down and reworked again and after some massive belt tightening we decided it was time for me to quit my part time job as a Library technician to concentrate on study and developing the hobby business into something a little more serious.
I've had a few moments of the collie wobbles, tears and wildly euphoric feelings contemplating all the major changes. I intend to keep this blog updated on all the pivotal 'fork in the road' moments. But I have previously procrastinated big time in regards to this blog so here's hoping my new found freedom will turn my intentions into reality.
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