Leopard print and Hello Sandwich

I love receiving packages in the mail-it’s the best part of shopping on the internet.  Recently my one-and-only handbag broke so I had to buy a new one.  I decided I wanted something a bit different but one that will still go with everything.  I found this leopard print Kate Spade bag and I was sold.  It was a great deal and the print is even better in real life.

I’m loving my new bag

The other purchase that arrived in the mail is the gorgeous new book from Hello Sandwich.  There’s so much inspiration in this book, it’s a welcome addition to my japanese book collection!

The author is an aussie living in Japan, and I love how she uses washi tape and Martha Stewart punches!  I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss out so I ordered my copy from Ebony’s website and it came personally signed!

It’s so fun and colourful-the pictures and layouts are inspirational too.  Now I just have to pull out my supplies and get crafting!

Thanks for checking out my latest purchases,

Anthea.

 

Japanese Craft Books

Hello hello! I was very happy to receive my new Japanese craft books in the mail yesterday.    I like the way these books are so visual that I don’t need to worry about reading the words.  I did learn Japanese in high school, but I’ve forgotten it now.  Anyway, I have a feeling I will be buying more of these books soon.  To begin with I bought these four:

They’re all about scrapbooking, collage and washi tape-all good things in my opinion     I can’t wait to look at them properly and try out some ideas.

Anthea.

Some recent purchases

Hello!  Tonight I’m sharing pictures of some lovely things I’ve bought recently.  I caught the train to Melbourne one day last week to visit some shops I had been wanting to see for awhile.  I’ve bought some other things locally this week as well so I gathered them together for pics.

•  I went to the new Swanston St Daiso and I loved it!  I bought a lot at Daiso, including the pens, flower punch, printed gift bags and dot stickers you see here.  I also bought some button covering kits in different sizes which I will use to make brads.
• Around the corner was Tokuya, with more Japanese cuteness.  I bought the neon dot stickers and floral ribbon here.  I wish we had stores like Tokuya and Daiso in Geelong - I would visit them all the time!
• If you love beauty products you will love Cosmetics Fragrance Direct.  We used to have one in Torquay and I was so disappointed when it closed because they sell brands like MOR at a fraction of the price.  I bought the MOR handcream and body lotion here, as well as the China Glaze nail polish.
• A lot closer to home there is a fantastic shop called Goose that has the most gorgeous stuff.  I bought the two rolls of MT tape here – how cool is that label roll?
• Lastly, I bought the latest copy of Frankie magazine – always inspirational.

That’s all for now (until I find another excuse to visit Melbourne…)  Have a great weekend,

Anthea.

My new Ikea Raskog trolley

Hello hello!  Tonight I’m sharing with you my latest crafty purchase-my turquoise Raskog trolley from Ikea.  I was happy to buy one of these, because they are so popular that they were nearly all gone.  I decided I wanted one because I knew it would be perfect for my scrapbooking supplies.  I wanted something that is portable as well as taking up little room because I don’t have a designated space for my creating.  The fact that I can now see everything and it is one of my favourite colours meant I had to have it.  My dad helped me put it together as soon as I got home and I transferred my supplies straightaway.  It’s amazing how much fits in this small trolley-here’s what I have done with it so far:

I’ll probably move things around sometimes, and the middle shelf is adjustable.  I had a great time, because it was my very first trip to Ikea.  I’ve been  reading for years about it but the nearest Ikea is at least an hour away so I had never got around to going before.  I don’t think anything could have prepared me for just how massive a place it is-truly overwhelming.  I now see why people say you can spend a whole day there.  I only had a couple of hours, but I will definitely be going back to look more thoroughly.  I particularly liked all the storage solutions-I can see why they make their way into many scrapbook rooms.

I’m rather impressed with my new trolley-no more boring black storage for me

Anthea.

Tonight I am…

Watching:  AFL 360 on Fox Footy

Eating: Stewed apples and ice cream (I stewed the apples this afternoon)

Drinking: Diet Coke

Wearing: Trakkies, a hoodie and Emu uggboots

Feeling: Grateful for central heating

Weather: Cold and windy – love winter!

Wanting: To find a way to work from home

Needing: Chocolate

Thinking: About what I will make next

Enjoying: Reading the latest issues of Frankie and Real Living magazines

Have a good night,

Anthea.

Some recent crafty purchases

Hello!  Today I’m sharing pictures of some lovely things I’ve bought recently.  Firstly, these cool border stamps from Kikki K:

I like the scandanavian inspired designs of Kikki K products; I really needed to find another stationery shop with cool products…   I can’t wait to use these stamps on a layout.

I also took advantage of the Making Memories online sale and bought more design cards for my Slice.

Here’s my pile of Slice design cards-I now have 15.  They were a really good sale, which makes me think they might be discontinued soon.  Even if they are discontinued I will still use my Slice-I love the designs.

I’ve become interested in all things kawaii / Japanese inspired lately (you have to check out the Hello Sandwich blog), so I ordered this book online:

It’s a great book with lots of ideas for making stationery and using recycled papers-very inspiring!

Thanks for looking at my ‘Show and Tell’,

Anthea.

Pom poms & neon washi tape!

Good evening!  I have a few recent pics to share.  A present I wrapped last week:

I decorated the kraft gift bag with neon dots (love all the neon around now ), and I made the pom poms from neon yarn.  I hadn’t made pom poms in years, but I’ll definitely be making more soon!

I also purchased some more washi tape for my growing collection.  I love all these colours, especially the neon tapes; I can’t wait to use them!

That’s all my pics for now, I’m actually working on some writing ideas and trying to get into some scrapbooking with the lovely new supplies I’ve bought recently.  So thanks for dropping by,

Anthea.

Washi Tape Storage

Hello hello!  Did you miss me?  I didn’t intentionally go this long without blogging, I guess I just didn’t have anything worth saying…  Tonight I’m enjoying the wintry weather and organising some craft supplies.  I love organising and purging, I do it all the time and it inspires me to create new things

I’m loving my washi tape at the moment (I know I’m not alone there), so I have a couple of washi photos for you.  Here’s a package I posted to an etsy customer yesterday:

I like wrapping my packages in graph paper and creating washi tape patterns on top.  I crocheted the green motif too.

My washi collection has grown so I’ve been looking on the net for storage ideas for all my tape.  I saw lots of cool things, but for me my storage needs to be compact, portable and provide easy access to my tapes.  I was happy to find the perfect thing at a Salvo’s the other day for $1!  My Dad adjusted it for me and here’s my washi collection now:

I think this stand used to be a toilet roll holder, but it is now the base of my ‘tower of tape’.  I love it!  The only thing is that it’s full already, and I might need another one for my future tape purchases…

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,

Anthea.

For the love of paper…

Good morning!  I love paper; stationery, notepads, grid paper, vintage papers, etc.  Here are some pictures of notebooks I’ve bought over the last few months.  I haven’t set out to collect any, but they were bargains, and I just had to have them!

Firstly, I bought some Rhodia notepads and a Moleskine notebook on special when Borders was closing down.  I like the Rhodia range because I can treat them badly without the covers being wrecked, and I use moleskines as my ‘inspiration’ books, where I keep all my crafty ideas.

Then I discovered Typo.  I don’t know why it took me so long to discover this great aussie stationery shop, but I am now a fan.  I bought my diary for 2012 from Typo and it is navy leather.  You know how I love navy…  I’ve also bought some stamps and scrapbooking paper from Typo, so I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

To top it all off, I discovered lots of Paperways products on sale recently at fantastic prices, so I have bought a lot of these too.  Paperways is a Korean stationery brand with lots of cool products I had seen on the internet, so I was happy to find them on sale.

These are just some of my papers; I haven’t pictured my vintage papers, but I have them too!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend,

Anthea.

 

 

Scrappy stuff…

Just in case, you were wondering, yes-I am still into cardmaking, scrapbooking, etc. and this week I bought something that will hopefully help my papercrafting mojo:

A Making Memories Slice!  I resisted the world of electronic die-cutters for a long time, as I didn’t really like the cartridge designs, and they were too cumbersome for my space anyway.  Then I began looking more closely at the Slice (probably because it’s smaller!) and liked the look of the design cards too.  So I was presented with the chance to buy a used one in excellent condition, and bought it!  I’ve already had a play with the design card it came with, and now I’m just waiting for the cards I’ve bought online to arrive-I can’t wait!

In other scrapbooking news, it’s that time of year again-CHA is just around the corner and the previews are coming thick and fast.  A website I like to use as my ‘base’ for sneak peeks is scrapbook update.  It’s a list that is constantly updated with all the products as they’re revealed on blogs and websites.  Already a couple have caught my eye, including this one:

Source: Teresa Collins blog 

So when you have a few minutes spare, pop in and have a look-because you need more for your stash, right?

Have a great day,

Anthea