Animal Refuge Kansai

I saw a tweet by oh, danger! (@ohdangershop on twitter) about postcards for sale to raise money for animals in Japan.  So of course I bought some, and you can too, by clicking here.

Image of the postcards from the sale page.

After buying four sets of these adorable postcards, I proceeded to do some more research into the organisation the money was going to.

ARK, or Animal Refuge Kansai, is a Japanese based animal refuge.  They try to find homes for unwanted and homeless animals.  At the moment, with all the disasters happening in Japan, they are experiencing an influx of homeless animals.  So I, too, have decided to help!

I will be running an auction on my Facebook page and I am opening it up to anyone who wants to contribute.  Photographers, crafters, illustrators, ANYONE.  This is going to rely a lot on people such as yourselves spreading the word.  I'm doing as much as I can but I do need your help!

The auction album can be found here.

I've currently got four of my own soft toys up for auction worth $100.  It'd be great if I can get people bidding that high and it would be great to get other people contributing, so off you go, spread the word! ;)

Creator Profile - Hungry Designs

I recently got to interview the brains behind the beautiful creations at Hungry Designs.  I somehow found her on Facebook a few months ago and I've been envying her talent.  After seeing her items for sale at the Bleeding Heart Gallery Gift Shop, I just had to get in contact with her.  Read ahead to learn more about this talented artist and don't forget to check out her Facebook page :).

 Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Amanda Whitelaw and I own and run Hungry Designs, a small business that specialises in drawing, designing and creating wearable art.  I have a full time job working in Brisbane but actually live on the Gold Coast.  I'm 25 (soon to be 26) and live in a lovely home with my partner, Colin, and our 2 guinea pigs, Bud Lucky and Champ Kind.  I'm a BIG comic book collector and have a huge collection.  I'm a self confessed geek and a gamer and I LOVE to bake!

Button Shortbread

What do you create?

I make and sell wearable art.  I hand draw illustrations that I then digitally colour.  From there I then laser cut them from wood or cut them from plastic.

Derby Necklace

How long have you been making things?

I recently moved back to Australia after studying Illustration & Printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Scotland.  Originally I started Hungry Designs in Scotland but since moving back here it was really like starting again and it's a completely different beast.  Making wearable art and accessories is completely new since moving back to Australia.  
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Day of the Dead Interchangeable Lockets

What was the first thing you made?

The first design that I ever had from the wearable art range was my Zombie Girl.  Although she's not for everyone and is a little grim, the response to her was wonderful and that sparked the new look for Hungry Designs.  The biggest seller for Hungry Designs was the A Little Rain - Red brooch.  She was drawn on a whim and I didn't particularly like her.  She's still a favourite with my customers. 

A Little Rain - Green

Where do you get your inspiration?

Because I'm such a massive comic book collector, a lot of my inspiration comes from the comic books I read.  I am also hugely inspired by fairy tales, whimsy and romantic sentiments and my family and friends.  

Pirate Illustration

How can people contact you? 

I attend a lot of markets every month.  The regular events I attend are:

The Village Markets - 1st Sunday of the Month

The Marky Markets - 3rd Sunday of the Month

The Sun State Roller Girls Bouts - Seasonal (roughly every 6 weeks)

The BrisStyle Twilight Markets - Seasonally on a Friday evening.

The BrisStyle Indie Designers Markets - Seasonally on a Saturday 

Website:  www.hungrydesigns.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/hungrydesigns

Blog:  blog.hungrydesigns.com

Email:  amanda.whitelaw@me.com

February Donation - UPROAR

This month, I decided to donate 10% of my sales to UPROAR.

Picture from their website

UPROAR stands for United Protection and Rescue Organisation for Animal Rights.  They use the money raised to promote awareness about animal rights issues.  They also perform rescues and investigations.  I'm glad to say that I have helped them out a little bit this month.

Check out their Facebook page here.

This month a total of $39.80 was raised to help them out :).

Stylish Blogger Award

Stuff About Stuff was nice enough to tag me for a Stylish Blogger Award (thank you!).  Now I have to figure out 7 facts about myself to share with you.  Luckily no one said they had to be interesting ;).

Also check out the list of 7 people I have chosen for a Stylish Blogger Award :).

1.  I'm a vegan.  This means I don't eat/wear/use any animal products.

2.  I love baking.  Chocolate cake, brownies, cupcakes, jam donuts, rainbow cake, jam drops, gingerbread cookies, rum balls...  Yummy!

3.  I have done three 1st years of different university degrees; Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science.

4.  I never thought I could sew well enough to sell anything.  Kommoner was just a Facebook experiment.

5.  I've owned a guitar, keyboard and violin but can't play any of them.

6.  My favourite comic is Transmetropolitan.  I don't own/know of very many though.

7.  I donate to/loan through Kiva, Uproar!, Buy This Satellite, Oxfam, RSPCA and The Wilderness Society sporadically.  I also try to donate items to any auctions that are around to raise money for a good cause.

Well, that's me!  Now the following 7 people have been chosen - go check them out :).

Pannikin
Kyla Does Stuff
Manx Minx
Sienna May
Cupcake Kitteh
Esberts Collection
Hungry Designs

Creeper Tutorial

Completed Creeper

The Creeper is a 'character' from the game Minecraft, which is a game that a lot of my friends play.  Basically you run around building things then whamo!  A creeper appears "Sssssssss" and explodes behind you, destroying everything you've built.

Below is one of the images I was given to work from.  It's a lot more detailed than the one from the game (everything is square and pixelated) but it gave me something to work from.

I then got to deconstructing it.  How many pieces would I need to do the head?  What size were the leg pieces, underneath piece, side bits...  I think I ended up forgetting underneath the head until I was actually constructing it, not to mention underneath the body haha.

Deconstructing the Creeper

I'll list the pieces here for you so that you can try it at home if you'd like, or just so you can tremble in awe at the sheer number of pieces.  Although, it didn't have as many pieces as the police box (tutorial).

Creeper Pieces

Green felt

• 4 head pieces - 8cm x 8cm
• 8 top and bottom of leg pieces - 2.5cm x 3cm
• 1 under head piece - 8cm x 8cm with 5.5cm x 4.5cm hole cut in it
• 4 fronts of leg pieces - 2.5cm x 5.5cm
• 4 inside of leg pieces - 3cm x 5.5cm
• 4 under body leg pieces - 3.5cm x 2.5cm
• 1 under body piece - 4.5cm x 5.5cm
• 2 side body + leg pieces (see picture above - second piece down shaped like a spanner-ish)
• 2 body pieces, front and back (see above pic - shaped like a rectangle with a tiny piece sticking out)

Black felt

• 2 eye pieces
• 1 mouth piece

After cutting out the 30 body pieces...

...I set about sewing them together.  As I wanted it to look 'boxy' I sewed it up on the outside.  Normally I sew it up in reverse, then flip it inside out and stuff it.  Although, for the edges that weren't poking out (under the head, inbetween the legs, etc), I sewed them on the inside.  It's all quite fiddly but totally worth it for the end result.  In the below pictures you can just see that hte top of the legs, where they join to the body, are sewn up on the inside.

It took a while to get it all sewn up, as there were a lot of pieces.  I left one of the body sides at the back slightly open to stuff him.

Ssssssssss

Bleeding Heart Gallery

I have a lot of respect for the Bleeding Heart Cafe & Art Gallery.  They are the sort of business that I could be happy working for (as opposed to horrible things like Myer *shudder*).  The Bleeding Heart Gallery puts the money that you give them into " funding charitable and community enterprise".  Isn't that great?

I've only been there a couple of times myself; for a friend's exhibition, for fun and to check out their gift shop.  It is a really nice place and the people there are really friendly.  Hopefully I get the time to hang out there more often (and maybe meet some more awesome people *hint hint*).

Which brings me to my point.  The gift shop.  They have various little boxes for $60 per month (if I remember correctly) where you can find things that have been made by local crafters.  While I was checking it out for myself, I found things by Hungry Designs, ReClaimed Records and other crafty folk I've seen on Facebook and at the Suitcase Rummage.

If you have a chance, go check them out and have a beer knowing that your money is going to a far better cause than if you were drinking at the local pub.

University is Coming!

So there are now only about two weeks until I am back at Uni.  I'm on probation due to failing and not attending last semester.  Let's just say I wasn't in a good place mentally haha.  Science is just so boring!

Anywho, this year I will be doing a second year (finally; I've done three first years!) in a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Sociology.  I get to do subjects like Moral Philosophy and Thinking Ethically and Culture & Lifestyles.  They all sound really interesting and I cannot wait!

How does this relate to Kommoner?  Well Kommoner will have to take a back seat as I need to try and get HDs and As again (I remember the good old days of being a straight A student lol) so sewing will not be my first priority.

Although I am addicted to it all now, so I will definitely still be doing it as a sort of stress relief haha.

Stencil Card Making

I've been making cards using felt.  You may have seen this one [see below] on my Facebook page.

I thought it was time to try something new though and my inspiration came from nowhere (seriously, I'll be slipping off to sleep when I'm hit with an idea.  Good thing I have paper and pen beside my bed!).

Stencil cards!  Not something I've seen before and it means I can do all sorts of different shapes.  I'm not the best drawer/painter/designer but stencils give me a fighting chance haha.  So here are some photos of the step by step process of making one of the stencils, and the end result :).

Drawing it out on a piece of card, shading the bits to cut out.

Got sick of shading; dodgy tetris piece drawings.

Cut out all the tetris pieces with my handy stanley knife.

Yay!  Tetris heart Valentine's card!

50% to the RSPCA Flood Appeal

For the month of January I will be donating 50% of all sales made through Kommoner to the RSPCA Flood Appeal.

The RSPCA will be using these donations to rebuild shelters, purchase equipment and help out all the animals that have been lost and displaced due to the QLD floods.

Crazy Eye - $15.00; $7.50 to RSPCA

Although, if you are able to make a straight donation, then please do.  They really need the money to help out the animals that have been displaced.

TOMG's Flood Appeal Auction

The Oz Material Girls (TOMG's for short) are a mother and daughter duo who I first found out about here when I was surfing the net for fabrics.

They are currently running an auction here to raise money for the Premier's Flood Relief.

Kindly Donated by : So Lilly
www.facebook.com/solilly.baby

Many crafters, photographers, designers, hairdressers and others from around Australia have donated literally HUNDREDS of different of items to the auction.

Kindly Donate by : SofiBOO
www.facebook.com/mySofiBOO

 
TOMG's have already raised over $16,000 just from the kindness of the people who have donated items and the people who are bidding.

Kindly Donated by : Kreated By Kel
http://www.facebook.com/KreatedByKel

The auction ends on Monday January 24th 8:30PM Sydney time, so get in and place a bid while you can!

Creator Profile - Sienna May

I recently interviewed (read emailed) the lovely crafter behind the works of Sienna May.  Read ahead to learn more about this local talent.

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Kim and I am a fabric - a  - holic !!  I am based in Brisbane, Queensland.

I just adore bright, funky fabrics and creating gorgeous items from it...  

I love having market stalls to get out from behind the sewing machine and computer and meet all of my beautiful customers & other stall holders......and I am obsessed with facebook! 

I get a big thrill out of interacting with my beautiful customers each day and I get so excited when I see lovely comments and feedback from them.. It is wonderful when they post pictures of their items when they arrive to them.. *gushes*

What do you create?

 

At Sienna May, you will find lovingly hand made toys for babies & toddlers, dolls, and hand made home decor items.

My creations are a wonderful addition to the toy collection of babies, toddlers, grown ups and anyone in between!

My homewear items look fantastic in book shelves, on a bedroom dressing table or anywhere in your home that needs brightening up!

My dolls  like to have loads of cuddles and love...

I also would like to mention that all of my fabrics are pre-washed to be safe and clean for children, and all of my items are made in my clean, smoke-free environment.

I love making them and I hope they make you smile.

How long have you been making things?  What was the first thing you made?

     

I have been creating my items for around 8 months now, however, prior to what I create now, I was sewing handbags and make up pouches. ...

The very first thing that I made was an Oswald Owl Cuddle pillow [see photo below] for a friends little girl, and then a made a jingle ball and  I saw how much joy my hand made toys gave her, my heart melted and I just wanted to keep making them and share the smiles with as many people as possible.. 

 

It makes me happy to see the little ones (and the adults !!) with a smile when they see my items at markets.  I know that when my babies get to their new homes, they are given lots of love!

Where do you get your inspiration?

I dream things, you know?

You might think that is a little bit of madness but when I do, I make them up and I always have an official "tester" for my items when I complete my first off production, to see what they think of it...

Some ideas don't work out when i make them and they just kind of sit in my sewing room to keep me company, but then others do work out and I share them for everyone to see..

I have been through lots of trial and error, but I have found what I like to create and I kind of stick to that now.

How can people contact you?

People can contact me via email, or find me on my Facebook page and I also have a blog.

I am always happy to do custom orders for people also, check out my Facebook page for further info.

Market dates that I attend are always listed on my blog, and advertised on face book also so follow me to keep updated with goings on at Sienna May.

Recycled Price Tags

I've been trying to slowly make my items look more presentable for markets; making multiples of the same things; making signs that are all rather uniform; decreasing clutter...  I've now decided that I need price tags.  Instead of paying for them I've decided to make them myself from cardboard boxes from around the house.

It's very simple.  Cut out one to be your template, then trace around it multiple times and cut out your tags!

I still need to buy a hole puncher to put holes in the ends but I think they're pretty rad.  All you need then is some string and you can put a price tag on just about any of your crafty creations!  Sure beats the masking tape method I was using haha.

Selling earrings?  Make them larger and paint them or glue fabric on them!  Cut them out in chess shapes, make space invaders...  The possibilities are endless.

Thank you for a great 2010

My facebook page (link) first started as a site for me to sell vegan baked goods to friends through facebook.

Then I made my first soft toy (a pokeball) on October 6th, for fun.

Since then I have:
*Donated $117.85 to Uproar!
*Raised $6.50 for Movember
*Attended two Suitcase Rummages
*Given $45.00 worth of plushies to the MCG
*Gotten 200+ wonderful fans

Thank you all for the encouragement.  I'm amazed that this hobby has become such a big thing.
It's been great being able to make all sorts of new things and getting feedback from people I've never met.  This has to be one of the strangest and best things to happen to me in the past few years.

Thank you all so much and have a great holiday season wherever you are :).

Suitcase Rummage - December 2010

My second Suitcase Rummage!

I almost killed myself lugging my suitcase around this time; adding wheels next time!  It is a very sexy suitcase though.

Unfortunately I only sold four plushies again this time.  There was a lot of interest in the tardis plushie and the rubik's cube that I made for friends.  However, none of the people who grabbed a business card have followed through with an order (yet).

I'm hoping that once I have a sewing machine I can focus on more complicated things like dinosaurs!  I'm also going to make some more big squids to have for sale and start experimenting with fabric and cross stitching some nerdy things for keyrings/wall hangings :).

So many plans and it has only been two months!  MLIA!

Travelling Police Box Plushie

I realised yesterday that I have a large amount of blue felt.  What should I make?...  A tardis!

Doctor Who Tardis Plushie Tutorial

The pieces needed are:
*4 large blue panels 10 x 19 cm
*23 small blue panels 3.6 x 4 cm
*9 small white panels 3.6 x 4 cm
*4 black strips 1.3 x 9 cm
*1 blue base panel 10 x 10 cm
*4 blue equilateral triangles - 10cm long sides (according to a Google calculator it should be 8.66 cm high)  --> I actually cut the tops of these when they got to 6cm wide and also made a 6x6 panel to go on top, otherwise the police box looks like a house!
*3 white bits for light - I guesstimated ~ 2 cm tall, 1.5 cm wide, triangle-ish shaped.

You also need blue thread, white thread, black thread and brown thread.

1.  Sew 6 small blue panels on to 3 of the large blue panels and 5 on to the last large blue panel.

2.  Using doubled up black thread, sew lines on to 8 of the small white panels and a few lines on to one of them (I used single black thread to make it look like bold writing on top and normal writing underneath on the 'notice').  These will be the windows and the notice (refer to photos).

3.  Sew these white panels on (windows are the top two, notice fills the last blank spot -this will be the door).

4.  Sew the black strips on along the tops.

5.  Using doubled up brown thread, sew the door handles on (refer to photos).

6.  Sew the large blue panels together.

7.  Sew the three white bits together to make the light on top, flip right side out.

8.  Sew the blue triangles together, making sure to leave a small gap at the top to sew the white light in.  Remember to think before you sew and make sure that it will all end up right side out!

9.  Sew the top on to your tardis.  Have the 'body' inside out and the 'lid' inverted into it to sew it on.  Again, think about how it will end up when you turn it right side out!

10.  Sew the base on, leaving a small gap to turn right side out and stuff.

11.  Turn right side out, stuff and voila!  A tardis plushie!

Creation of the Kommoner Blog

I've decided to create this seperate blog for my crafting side :).  On here I shall be posting updates about things I've made, how I've made them, links to tutorials and all sorts of fun things like that :).