farewell 2009 :: bring on 2010

 Image courtesy of SoulLostAtSea

Curlypops put together a great post today about her 2009 and is hosting a linky if you'd like to join in. Cam (aka Curlypops) is a real gem, and features at some fairly momentus times in my crafting year. Anyway, lets begin at the start, in March (obviously!) ...

March :: I had a spare day up my sleeve one Wednesday, so thought I would go and have a look at the Stitches & Craft Show that was on at the Melbourne Showgrounds. I went with low expectations, after having been to one at Caulfield years before, but thought it might be interesting ... it sure was. The Incubator was a light bulb moment! I was lucky enough to go to Bianca's session on starting a craft business, and a seed was sewn. When I arrived home that afternoon full of new enthusiasm, I found the screenprinting books I had ordered weeks before waiting for me. It felt right.

April to June :: We had a big push to finish the major parts of the house renovation, amongst other things like Little Mister in hospital with pnemonia. In between, I was filling a sketchbook with ideas, thinking of business names and getting up the courage to start something.

July :: After reading other peoples blogs for months, I finally started my own and published my first post. Curlypops was the first person to comment on my blog - thanks Cam, you have no idea how exciting that was! At the same time, my partner in craft (lovely Pam) started her own blog too - thanks for being such a wonderful blog buddy Pam, and for all of your encouragement this year. I have really appeciated it.

August to September :: These two months were all about learning the blogging ropes, and being involved with wonderful people and ideas like Kirsty's "my creative space" and The Quilt Project, and Megan's "a photo a day in August". Pam and I also ventured to the open studio day at Ironside Studios in Kensington - we both dreamed of maybe having a studio one day ...

October :: And so it began ... I registered Yardage Design as a business, leased a studio at Ironside and started testing designs remember tram roll menu and artichoke back then? The Quilt Project was also launched, providing a unique opportunity to see the magificent results of a creative lot of people, but also to meet fellow bloggers in real life. Giggles all round - it was a wonderful night and a credit to Kirsty who made ALL of it happen - you are an amazing woman.

November :: Was all about decorating the studio and preparing for my first print run! It was exhilarating to say the least, and I still get a buzz when I smell the ink, drag the squeegee over the screen and see the print for the first time - that feeling never gets old!

December :: What a month! I opened my etsy store and made my first sale to ... you guessed it ... Curlypops! Cam - thanks again for your support! We were so excited here that we opened a bottle of champagne!! Mr Yardage was so proud - it was a great moment! I was also lucky enough to have the opportunity show my tea towels to Allison at Lark, who then bought some for her lovely store! The other milestone this month could not have been achieved without the extremely generous help of Kelly from 74 Lime Lane. Kelly kindly developed my website for me in exchange for some of my tea towels. I am totally thrilled with the result - thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Kelly!

An that's really been my year as Yardage Girl. The journey has been such fun - especially sharing it with you all. The support, encourgaement, generosity and ideas from fellow bloggers never ceases to amaze me.

I wish you all a wonderfully creative 2010!

We're off to watch the fireworks in the city. Enjoy your new year's eve where-ever you may be!
Nic xx

goodies

A quick trip to the city for lunch resulted in some nice goodies ...

... lovely pencils from Little Misters fave toy store in the Royal Arcade (these babies cost a fortune - for mummies, not kiddies!), and some beautiful shell buttons from Clegs waiting to adorn some red linen I printed a while ago.

... and who can resist cherries! Hope you're having a good day ...

r + r

Our visitors have gone home and we're in full-on relax mode here. This morning we all went to the Collingwood Childrens Farm - an oasis in the city ... you could literally "feel the serenity" ...

... I couldn't resist a quick snap of this old buidling with its vintage signage ...

Hope you're enjoying your break too. Some level of creativity should resume here in the next week or so!

merry + happy wishes

The madness has set in here ... so not much blogging for a while! Thanks to everyone who reads my blog for your wonderful support during the last six months - it's really been the best.

Have a wonderful, happy and safe christmas break and a great new year. Enjoy yourselves, and I'll see you back here soon!

Love, Nic xx

mr yardage gets creative

Mr Yardage doesn't think of himself as much of a creative type, but I disagree. Yesterday, we decided that we needed to temporarily weatherproof the path from the gate to the front door as we have lots of visitors coming over the Christmas break and they probably wouldn't appreciate walking through dirt/mud (our front garden is awaiting an extreme makeover - not gonna happen until next year!). Anyway, Mr Yardage happily trundled off to Bunnings and came home with some pebbles to go around the old concrete pavers we saved from a few months ago. This is what he came up with ...

Mr Yardage reckons it looks very festive - "almost like snow"! I like the addition of the red and green bonsai pebbles - genius! Anyhow, it was a bit of fun and practical! Now we're all set to welcome our visitors ...

Have a great Sunday!

ETSY excitement!!

Vic emailed me this morning to let me know that one of my tea towels was ON THE FRONT PAGE OF ETSY! I was a little excited to say the least, and just wanted to record and share this moment!

Thanks for letting me know, Vic - you made my day! How excellent is the blogger grapevine! Have a great weekend! Exclamation points all round!!

recycled paper wreath

I completely loved the paper wreaths that Midge and Judy showed on her blog last week. Lucky for me, she also included a tutorial on how to make them, so I did ...

I used a page out of the Qantas AIR magazine - totally useless magazine, but printed on really nice quality paper ;o)

I'll definately be making more of these - very theraputic!

Enjoy your Thursday - it is strange not having Kirsty's my creative space today ... there in spirit!

new mags!

I was in the city the other day and stopped in at mag nation (my reading material mecca!) and found these two gems ...

extra curricular is another great little craft mag from New Zealand. It's packed full of brilliant interviews with crafters of all sorts - really interesting and practical stuff. Beautifully photographed too. This is one of my new faves! You can check out their lovely blog here.

My other find was It's nice that, which is a magazine version of a UK design blog - lots of illustrators and other interesting artists. I really enjoy reading about other people talents and inpirations. Love this one too!

Aside from a bit of reading, it's all been about packaging up Christmas orders from my shop and presents - this is a job I really enjoy - super satisfying!

Have a great Tuesday!

we have winners!

Thanks to all who entered my giveaway and gave some great feedback on my website - it was gratefully received! After consulting Mr Random Integer Generator, the following two entries were selected ...

Which means the winners are .....

Gina from clutterpunk :: signature circles print

Casie from RosieCasie :: potholder

Thanks again, and have a great Monday!!

sunshine after the rain ...

I love my garden ... it's very small, but I love trying to grow things and make the space lovely ... here are some shots after the rain ...

P.S. My giveaway closes tonight at midnight - take a look here!

why it's good to have business insurance ...

... incase a burst water main floods the building where your studio is located ...

No real damage in my studio, and lucky my floors are uneven, so only water in one half. An early morning visit to clean up after last nights minor disaster left me thinking that I'm glad I have business insurance if I need it. If you don't have any for your business (however small), get some! It's pretty inexpensive, and worth it if something terrible happens. Lots of cleaning up to do this weekend ...! Hope yours is less eventful!

100 = www + giveaway x 2

Hmmm ... it looks complicated, but this it what it all means ... this is my 100th blog post. How the time flies in blogland!

I'm celebrating this milestone in two ways ... first I'm sharing my new website with you ...

I was lucky enough to have the very talented Kellie from 74 Lime Lane set this up for me. I am so pleased with the outcome - thankyou Kellie for all of your help! You can visit Kellie's very beautiful blog here, and you can now buy her gorgeous photo's at her new store here. Her work is amazing!

OK, the second part of the celebration is all about you ... and your chance to win a giveaway (or two). I was overwhelmed with the response to my simple potholder yesterday (thanks!), so I made another one to give away ...

... the potholder is sitting on a test print of signature circles in red, which I'm also giving away for someone to make something out of. So, there will be two lucky winners! To throw your hat in the ring, just leave me a comment on this post and let me know two things: what you think of my website and which giveaway you would prefer (if you have a preference). Entries close midnight on Sunday (AEDST) and is open to everyone from everywhere! I will draw the lucky winners on Monday morning.

Thanks again for all of your support. I've said it before, but I'll say it again ...

Blogland is a lovely place to be!

my creative space ... scraps for pots

I have a lot of test prints and a few bloopers from a few weeks ago when I started printing - most on calico. I couldn't bear to throw them away, so I thought I could chop them up and make something. The first thing that came to mind was a pot holder as I don't have any, and they would be very useful on roast night around here! So I started cutting up and sewing back together ...

Then I added some wadding and a couple more scraps, cut to size to ensure it was heat resistant ...

 

A quick sew up this morning while Little Mister ate his toast, and voila!

I really enjoyed making this - it was fast and resulted in something really useful.

I just noticed that this was my 99th blog post ... I can feel a giveaway coming on for my 100th post. Check back tomorrow!

For more creative spaces, or to join in, visit Kootoyoo.

news and new colours ...

It was another "first" day today - I shipped my first order of tea towels ...

... this means that later this week, my tea towels will be available to buy at the Lark store in Daylesford - yahoo!

I have also just added some new colours to the shop ...

... trio of artichokes in deep green ...

... ARTichokes in teal blue ...

... and tram roll menu in teal blue and black!

Enjoy!

a spot of typography ...

for yardage ... these letters are so lovely and you can download lots of them for free at this blog.I think they might look nice on some homemade christmas cards ... enjoy your Saturday.

friday afternoon giggle ...

I just found this t-shirt and it made me giggle - some people are very clever with words ...

... I'm sure the people at Abercrombie & Fitch aren't impressed, but that just makes it more amusing to me!

It's been a huge week for me - thanks for all of your kind comments and support. Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

shop now open!

Phew! It's finally happened ... I have an etsy shop, and I'm open for business!

(image sourced from www.smallcompanybigimage.com)

Click here to for a browse around my new store.

More colourways to be listed over the next day or two.

FREE POSTAGE for all Australian orders during December.

Enjoy!

my creative space ...

... is completely surrounded by enemy forces ...

... OK, not really enemies ... more like everything out of Little Misters room! We've (finally) had carpet laid in the bedrooms and family room this week - it's so wonderful to have carpet again after 2 years!! The other good news is that it means we're nearly at the end of our renovations - a few more dabs of paint and a bit of landscaping and we're clear!  So that's it here - I hope you've enjoyed my designs this week, and stay tuned for the final post later today.

In other creativity - like my new header? It is the work of the most talented and lovely Kellie at 74 Lime Lane - thankyou so much Kellie! Kellie has a truly beautiful blog and is now selling her photographs - check out her new store here (and don't for get to enter her giveaway).

For a peek at far more organised and productive creative spaces, visit Kootoyoo.

a design a day ... four

This it is .. the last design for this week. Previously unseen, this design is a hybrid (and a happy "mistake") - arty artichokes, or ARTichokes as I like to call it ...

 

Thanks for the support this week - I've had fun sharing my designs, and I hope you've enjoyed looking too! If you are at all interested in buying a tea towel with one of my designs, I will post shop details shortly.

a design a day ... three

Hello again ... welcome to the third instalment of a design a day. One more sleep until the final design and then details of where you can buy!

Today's design draws on my love of vintage typography - inspired by old bus/train/tram rolls like this one from years ago ...

(photo courtesy of: benrincebobsherhair.blogspot.com)

It's not an orginal design idea, but I wanted to add my spin to it ... and make it more "foodie" oriented. After a bit of experimenting with words and styles, I came up with this ...

... which I then turned into a double ended tea towel, so it sits nicely over any rail ...

 

Thanks for visiting, and see you tomorrow for the finale!

a design a day ... two

Welcome back to my journey of designs this week ... today is all about artichokes!

Part of my motivation for creating designs for homewares was to deck out my newly renovated kitchen with things I liked. I'm lucky enough to live within walking distance of a lovely fresh food market (Camberwell) and am constantly inspired by the seasons. A couple of months ago, I was hugely inspired by fresh Victorian artichokes ...

Some drawing and playing on the computer followed ...

Until I ended up with this ...

 

... another tea towel design is born! I really enjoyed creating the colours for this print too - I chose a dark green and a burnt orange.

Thanks to all those who left such encourgaing comments yesterday - it really made my day! Hope to see you here again tomorrow for the next instalment!

a design a day ... one

OK ... I'm ready to (nervously) show and tell what I've been designing and making ...

There have been snippets here and there over the past weeks, but over the next few days, I want to share my first commercial designs with you - one at a time.

But first - a little scene setting ... I am one of the many crafters who went to this years Stitches & Craft show in Melbourne, and came away inspired, renewed and excited. I thought about it for many months, and then decided to put my creative passion for design and fabric into practice and have a go at making it my "job". And so, yardage design was born - a business name and a goal in one - the goal is to print my own yardage fabric one day. For now, though, I'm printing onto tea towels. Everyone needs to start somewhere, and this product is a great stepping off point for anyone starting out small. After testing lots of fabrics, I'm using a hemp/organic cotton blend basecloth. I think it prints really nicely, has better sustainability credentials than many other fabrics, and works extremely well as a tea towel - which is really important to me. I sew them up myself too, which is quite theraputic (glass half full) or a little sweatshoppy (glass half empty) depending on how I'm feeling!

Moving right along ... today, it's my first design - what I call my signature circles. It was the design that inspired the business name, actually. These circles are my version of the end of a bolt of fabric.

 

I love this design, and can't wait to print some yardage fabric using these ... hopefully in the new year.

I hope you've enjoyed this little window into my design world. Tune in tomorrow for the next design in the series ... we're building to a finale later in the week!

Have a great Monday!

swap-o-licious!

My first blog-swap arrived in the post ... a beautiful button bracelet designed and made by Kylie.

I spotted this bracelet on Kylie's "my creative space" post last week and, voila!, a swap was hatched.

I loved the little bag it came in, and the hand-painted card - what a clever girl!

Thanks, Kylie - I love it. Your package is on it's way!