Simone Quentin de Manson

I have moved into a new place in the last two weeks. It was an epic effort of moving alot of stuff. I used to live in a house I rented, furnished and stocked with kitchen stuff including a dedicated studio. To ONE room in a friends place, with the idea of doing the house thing again in a year or so. Lets just say, it involves storage and alot of effort and organising. I could not of done it without Kylie and help from friends with larger vehicles But i still sit behind the computer most of my days and occasionally see lovely links and tutorials that i think.. “must blog about that”.

Here are a few..

• Craft 2.0 coming to christchurch! Yay yay. Now I hope to give you guys a sneak preview of some friends work, so stay tuned.
• Clever Bastards, a New Zealand based online shop selling handmade nz artist’s goods! Don’t forget Felt for that too, sell your own things, has the etsy feel to it
• Studio Home, A blog I am loving for its NZ flavour and delightful posts
• Wardrobe Refashion: I have asked to post here and got accepted! I have yet to write a post as the acceptance came mid move. Will be thinking about it this weekend. But basically you choose time where you will buy nothing more new clothing wise and you adjust/work with what you have already got. YIKES! But I thought this would be a great motivation and learning curve to get comfy and happy in sewing again.. i used to do quite a bit without thinking about when i was growing up, but now i’m grown up, I’m all scared to experiment!

Right thats me! Enough blabbling! Sorry no piccies today…

Been madly busy this week, on purpose because the boy has left to work overseas. I get him back next Friday or Saturday for week! Already looking forward to it. FINALLY I have let myself look at crafty fun sites for some light relief. Here are some picks of the bunch.

First its a sandwich wrap! From the thesmallobject PERFECT for me. I have re-used plastic bags up until now. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this. I think if the trial one works. I might make a dozen of them.

Second is this funky idea for distilling your own plants to create fragrances… from seanmichaelragan. I think this could be one my boy might like to get involved with… seems sufficiently mad scientist for him.

The Beautiful: http://www.jumnakao.com.br/ci_colecao.htm

The Funny (really only for web geeks): http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2008/04/01/chuck-lewis-seo-rapp

I want to do that too!: http://www.ponoko.com

Do you have some hand crafted items you wouldn’t mind selling to some well paid (usually) computer geeks? Some very famous and very cool geeks are coming down to run some workshops with the Christchurch people on Monday and Tuesday (so excitied.. hope i can go!) then the seminar section (where craft stock have tables) is on Tuesday evening.

Webstock is a web geeky conference thingie. The actual one (instead of a mini one) is held in Wellington is is always booked out. Webstock Mini Christchurch is bringing down Craft 2.0 with them to host some tables at the tuesday evening conference, this has been advertised so people will hopefully be bringing cash. If you would like in on the tables, put some pictures together of your work and email them to Sue at Craft 2.0. The tables cost nothing and no-one takes any cuts.

Ok so heres so motivational speak… Christchurch craftsters have to represent! Our stuff is awesome so no telling yourself its not good enough. Its all about handmade man! Its the new cool… web stockers know it. nuf said.

I have recently developed a website for a local Apaca Farm, I got this job because my mum saw an alpaca farm sign on a main road outside of christchurch saying “Styx River Farm, Alpacas and Alpaca Products” so she took me along with her to investigate. We found a fabulous couple, had a cuppa tea and left with some bags of carded fleece for us to start spinning with (we had just started together, since then i am still spinning my first batch and mum has gotten on to her 5th I think?) and a website job.

When I went to their place again to finalise some website bits n bobs I asked to see their alpacas and new babies. Here are some of those!

Alpaca Yarn is so soft and and wonderful to knit and spin. The next planned project is to dye some merino (managed to pick up about 1kg for only $25!) out of this I want to get some white alpaca and start dying that and seeing how I go combining it. Here are some links that have inspired my spinning, dying and knitting.

Apaca with a Twist

Craft Sanity Podcast interview with the pluckfluff creator Lexi Boeger

HOW exciting.

While I am fighting to keep up with the pears and apples dropping in the garden I look at this lovely purse and think of how fruit inspires many such designs and colours, not only are they visually inspiring they are also tasty! I was given this for my birthday from Katy, a lovely lady that goes to the craft group on thursdays.

Her stuff is sold at Cherry Blossom on Tuam Street.

Happy Valentines Everyone! I am feel O so domestic when I look at these, but I just canna help thinking they are very cool.

The Saturday one is very appropriate to me, because I love sitting in bed sipping away at my coffee. I do love the look of my Coffee espresso jug, but too many burnt coffees out of her has converted me to the plunger (thats gets a cupboard space for its ugly sins)

I suppose its because I have the embroidery bug in me after seeing Jessicah embroider her Christmas decorations at craft group. I am off to my mums to pull out the old box of embroidery things this weekend. Thanks craftzine for the link!

When one looks to start making a wee bit of extra money to start funding your craft/art it can get a little dis-heartning to actually do the maths, or try to care. REALLY the point is, you would do it anyway right? But its always nice to see an article like this one to help organise things and present yourself to the wide world. Thanks greenbaby art! Check out her illustrations and interviews. Fabulous! (I got the link from craftzine )

Around the back of Christchurch at the base of the port hills is a wee place called “Creative Junk” some of you may have heard about it before, basically its a place for “trash” to be turned into materials kids can turn into something else. But its good for us big kids aswell. Carpet and fabric off cuts, cardboard tubes, old office stationary items, books, foamy, crackly, silvery, marg containers and LOADS more. They also have a shop area with new things. Like paint, paper, glitter and the list goes on. All ya need is an open mind and some imagination. I over heard a lady once saying her and her kids used veneer offcuts for gift tags.. how coool!

Check out the link if you have kids you want stuff for, they have memberships and hire equipment, anything creative and fun!

see comments for address

I have a small room that I have used previously for my web and graphic design work. Now that I am employed I want to convert that space so its not so computer orientated. This is a slow process as I am busy with lots of things and this means the studio gets a thing added now and then. Now I am up to sorting out storage and shelves! After finally going through the images I have saved when I see them I have made up some photo montages. I’m hopeless and still have not sorted out my method of saving the images original URL. BUT i will post a list of all my favorite sites for this sort of thing.

This one says “crates” because, one idea I have seen somewhere but cannot find you an image, is beer crates stacked and possibly painted to make shelves. Slightly restricted in how they are sized tho.

I also really love these:

As found on the you grow girl website.

Favorite idea-gathering Websites

• http://www.yougrowgirl.com/
• http://www.decor8.blogspot.com/
• http://bloesem.blogs.com/bloesem/
• http://www.designspongeonline.com/
• http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/
• http://blog.modishhandmade.com/modish/