It’s a small, small world…

I recently heard about what must be the most exciting discovery in the back of an old wardrobe since, well, Narnia! 

Crafting on a rainy afternoon

Britta (see JaguarSnail section of the TangleStore) popped round yesterday on another miserable, rainy day, which we brightened up with lots of junk food & an afternoon of crafting.  Britta made (almost) the teeniest tiniest envelopes imaginable, measuring just 1″ x 1.5″ and embellished with a handcarved stamp of even teenier tinier faux postage, postmark & ‘handwritten’ address (she also made pandalopes from a poster salvaged from her erstwhile teenage bedroom).

Meanwhile, I collaged 2 postcards which will be hopping into a postbox near me today.  The colours used for the postcards were based on the preferences of the individual recipients, and blue is not my favourite colour, so I struggled with that one a little bit.  (Only peach is worse.  Peach literally makes me shudder!)  After a bit of a false start & a composition which did nothing for me at all, I started again, this time mixing in some teal and turquoise (the acceptable face of blue for me!), and all was well. 🙂  And it turns out I love the combination of both postcards together, like a wet, sandy beach leading into the sea, or beneath a summer sky (which was especially cheering given the damp & dismal weather outside)…

Handwoven faux postage #2

In a recent post, I claimed that the stamp woven in the corner of this ‘letter’ was my first handwoven faux postage.  Who knew?  Turns out I was wrong…!  I just re-discovered an old post of mine from 2010 in which I wove a postage stamp on a tiny matchbox loom!

I had completely forgotten about this, but really need to try it again – it would totally be possible to embroider a little detail onto the surface of this tiny weaving…  

Ironically, this miniature weaving probably took as long to complete as the handwoven postcards I have talked about recently, due to the fine embroidery threads used instead of bulkier knitting wools.  It would be possible to weave a quicker stamp using a bulkier yarn or thread, though – it would just afford less opportunity for adding finer detail.

See the original post for further details.

The (temporary) return of TangleCrafts

Has it really been 3 months since I last posted?  Guess so!  Well, after a much appreciated summer break, my muse has returned with the autumn weather.  There are new items in both the TangleCrafts and E.T.Printworks Etsy Stores, including zine bundles, mini notecards, a return to TangleCrafts’ roots (sort of) with the WeaveWorld Mini Manual of Weaving (for Novice Weavers with Imperial Aspirations), and possibly my favourite addition which is currently only in the E.T.Printworks store, the Light of my Life Matchbox.

Why is this only a temporary return?  Well, guess what?  TangleCrafts is moving house, yet again!  (Hence the Random Craft Clearout which has appeared in the TangleStore.)  Not until the first months of the New Year, so I will be around until Christmas; but then there will be another hiatus for a couple of months while everything (and we have a lot of stuff!) gets packed, unpacked, and settled in again.  At least this time it will have been 2 years since the last move, and please join me in  hoping that this time we have found somewhere we can actually settle!

The next small thing!

We all know that often the best things come in small packages, so to celebrate the long-awaited launch of the Society for the Preservation of Borrowers, I have created an Etsy Treasury of all things Tiny!  There are some exceedingly cool (& tiny) things included (such as the wonderful miniature message embroideries from Of Little Consequence (right), so please take a look!

This month’s TangleClub freebie continues the Borrowers theme but moving away from miniatures and toward recycling,  with a set of printable envelope re-use labels & seals featuring the Borrowers Recycle! logo.  If you want to share the TangleClub freebie goodness, all you need to do is spend £5 or more in the TangleStore – Etsy, Folksy or Storenvy – and you will receive a free membership card plus password to access the TangleClub Archive of FREE projects & printables.

And on the subject of clubs, you are all hereby invited to join the Society for the Preservation of Borrowers!   Membership packets are now available from the TangleStores.  Each miniature manila envelope includes:

* a copy of the micro-zine Borrowed Time (you will need a magnifier to read this!)

* a membership card cut from discarded packaging

* and an upcycled pinback badge made using pages from a vintage copy of Mary Norton’s original ‘Borrowers’ book.  

The first 10 Membership Packets will be signed, numbered & dated.

Everyone knows that the Borrowers were the true pioneers of the upcycling movement, so SPoB is the ideal cause for crafters & literature lovers to support! 😉

TangleClub November Update

Yes, I know I’m a day late, but this time I have a good excuse…!
The latest TangleClub Freebie is a printable, customisable Booklet of Golden Tickets (both A4 & letter-size versions available) – all you need to do is print off the PDF, fill in the tickets with your own selection of special offers, and you have a unique gift/stocking stuffer for somebody special!  So why should this make me a day late with my post?  Well, today is my own somebody special’s birthday, and this very morning he was the ‘lucky’ recipient of my own Booklet of Golden Tickets.  I didn’t want to post the pic below yesterday as obviously that might have spoiled the surprise somewhat… 🙂

I had lots of fun with the tickets (which included a bottle of wine, a ‘decadent day of reading’, and a day trip, amongst other things), especially devising the Terms & Conditions, where the recipient was advised whether certain tickets could be used in conjunction with other offers & to contact his local Golden Ticket Representative to check available dates/pre-book certain options.  I feel I must confess at this juncture, however, that the impressive calligraphy on the tickets is not my own
but rather a free font.

The printable version of the Booklet for TangleClub members varies from the one shown above in some minor details but is essentially the same.  I thought with Christmas fast approaching, now would be an appropriate time to share!

If you are not currently a member of the TangleClub but want to share the monthly freebie-ness,  click here for all current membership options, and remember, if you spend £5 or more in the TangleStore or TangleStore UK you will qualify for TangleClub Basic membership absolutely free!  
You will see there is also the newly added option of a Bonus Bundle – a TangleCrafts ‘starter’ package for new members including a variety of mix & match options.  There is more new stuff in the pipeline, so as always,
watch this space for updates!

TangleClub September Update

Yes, it’s that time again, already!  I can’t quite believe it is suddenly September – where did summer go?  I don’t really mind, though, as autumn is my favourite season, and today is one of those beautiful bright, crisp September days that I love. 🙂

Back to business: TangleClub members will find the latest freebie now available over at the TangleClub Archive. This month, I’m offering an exclusive preview of a forthcoming zine called Borrowed Time.  Long-time followers of TangleCrafts might remember that one of my earliest zines was based on the classic children’s novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton.  That very zine has undergone a complete overhaul & re-design (including lots of additional content).  I’m still putting the finishing touches to it, but look out for the new version – complete with even more ‘added extras’ – sometime in the next month or so!

 If you are not currently a member of the TangleClub but want to share the monthly freebie goodness,  click here for all current membership options, and remember, if you spend £5 or more in the TangleStore or TangleStore UK you will qualify for TangleClub Basic membership absolutely free!

Handwoven faux postage!

Well, it could be.  I’ve been meaning to make a matchbox weaving loom ever since writing my Borrowers zine, and today, I finally got around to it, and I even remembered to scan each step of the way:

Cut down to basics, all you need to do is:

• Snip notches at approx. 3mm intervals along the short edges of a 32ct matchbox tray.  (My advice: mark it out first!  I ended up with 7 notches, but an even number will work better when it comes to ‘finishing’/removing from loom.)
• Warp loom.  I warped all the way from one end to the other, around the back of the loom and back to starting point.  See finishing tips below for how the way you warp will affect your options.
• Use matches woven under and over alternate threads to adjust tension, as required.  I removed the matchsticks as the weaving grew, so that I could weave all the way to the top of the loom.
• Weave!  I used a (hand-dyed) variegated perle 5 cotton to get a stripy effect without having to change threads too often.  Using a needle will help you when weaving.  I used the needle I use for bookbinding, because it happened to be to-hand; but the book-binding needle is a sharp, and a blunt-ended tapestry needle would be far better advised!  Visit my weaving freebies page for basic/additional weaving instructions.
• Removing your weaving from the loom will depend on how you have warped:

1. If you have an even number of warps and warped all around the outside of the matchbox tray, snip across the threads in the centre of the matchbox reverse.  Tie off warp threads in pairs, and trim to preferred length of fringe.
2. If you warped your loom back and forth around notches (across front of loom only), carefully nudge loops off notches and thread onto matchsticks for a miniature wall-hanging.

Well, it entertained me, so hope you will enjoy this little (no pun intended 😉 ) project, too.  Let me know if you try this out – would love to see pictures!

A House of Stamps!

Is this not the cutest/coolest thing you’ve ever seen?!
Visit Just Something I Made for free templates and tutorial for this gorgeous little House of Stamps.  In the version shown, a roll of US postage stamps sits inside the house, and is fed outwards through the ‘letterbox’.

Unfortunately, UK stamps (to my knowledge) are not available on a roll; however, it has set me thinking about a new format for my next set of artistamps.  Hmm…

Actually, I’ve created 2 new artistamp series’ recently, but have failed miserably in giving them any exposure due to time escaping me entirely throughout May (appropriate to the theme of one of said faux postage designs).  However, I will update with a little ‘album’ of my stamp designs so far, in the near future.

The Borrowers are back! (& tinier than ever!)

Check out the biggest tiny zine about Borrowers you will ever read. My A5/half-size Borrowers zine has been retired, and replaced by a 34 page accordion folded micro-zine, plus additional 8 page introduction. The text is equally tiny, hence the miniature magnifying glass included, which also fits into the box (while stocks last).  I thought the reduced scale was more appropriate to the subject matter!
Click here for more information & additional photos.

I have also added some special editions of Enchanted Times, with Intuition Doll kits in green or red, instead of the standard black & white.  There’s only one of each left (the blue was snapped up yesterday) so
click here now
for your chance to buy this limited edition version of E.T. #1.
Great colours for Christmas! 😉