Paper and Pins... my handmade journey

A cabinet of...

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:04:00 +0000

1. T-rex skull brooch from O My Clumsy Heart
2. Vintage glass bottle with parrot feathers from Earth Sea Warrior
3. Antique pottery shards from the Thames from Fagin's Daughter
4. Tasmanian tiger pull toy from Lilli Piri
5. Vintage bisque dolls legs from Shaving Kit Supplies
6. Scarab Beetle necklace from A Different Place
7. Vintage metal drawer from Hindsvik
8. Crochet jellyfish ornament from Lazymuse Productions
9. Human tooth earrings by Polly Van Der Glas

Something special to share

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:07:00 +0000

How lovely is this letter I came across recently. I just had to share it.

Dated May 23, 1905 it is addressed to Mrs Clara M Spaulding and reads:

"Dear Madam, I received your letter a few days ago with money order enclosed (thanks). The orchard is looking well at the present time, the olives are full of bloom. I had to prune them pretty heavy, as they certainly have been badly neglected in this respect. The trees that bore fruit are all on the low land.

There will be some apricots to pick this season. I will look after them if you wish. You can let me know by return mail, and you can send the bal. due as per contract at the same time ($13.00). The pare (sic) trees are not of much consequence, there are a couple of rows left. They have had very bad care evidently in the past, it is the same with the whole orchard for that matter.

There are quite a number of dead trees and vacant places in the apricot orchard, but the remaining trees are looking first rate. If all the vacant ground on the south side of the creek was planted to more peaches it would be worth something some day. But the outlook is not very encouraging as it is, not least as I look at it.

Yours resp.
L R Freeman."

I love this little window to another time. When was the last time you wrote a letter? Why not make a committment to write to a friend each month for a year - even if you have nothing to say. Write about what you made for dinner last night. Write about that funny thing your kid said. Write about your fruit trees. It doesn't matter - just write!

Hey paper lovers... spread the (printed) word...

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:32:00 +0000

Join the movement - supported the printed word!

READ THE PRINTED WORD is an organisation dedicated to ensuring tangible books will never be replaced by e-readers:

"We support the printed word in all its forms: newspapers, magazines, and of course books. We think reading on computers or phones or whatever is fine, but it cannot replace the experience of reading words printed on paper. We pledge to continue reading the printed word in the digital era and beyond."

Visit readtheprintedword.org to get a button for your blog. Fight the power! :)

Incorporating vintage paper into your layouts, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:22:00 +0000

Following on from this post, I'm posting another page that features vintage paper.

I love this photo. It had taken me half an hour of coaxing to get Ty to climb this tree, and he was so chuffed with himself when he finally gave it a go.

In this layout I have used pages from a 1954 atlas as leaves for the tree, hand cutting each one and curling and inking them a little on the edges.

Again - I can't credit all the other things on the page due to my sieve-like memory, however I'm pretty sure the woodgrain paper is from October Afternoon, and the 'from' and 'things' alphas are Basic Grey.

Have you used any old maps in your layouts?

Eye candy: Pom poms!

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:42:00 +0000

Source: blueeyedyonder.blogspot.com via Leonie on Pinterest

I adore these soft colours, even though they make me think of granny knickers! :)

Incorporating vintage paper into your layouts

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:02:00 +0000

On the rare occassion that I get a chance to scrap, I'll occasionally raid my shop supplies, so I thought I might share a few of my pages that feature the kind of vintage papers that can be found in the RaineCloud store.

In this little layout I've used a page from a children's book as a bit of a frame for a photo of Holly. Now, I must apologise for not crediting sources of anything else on this page as I am hopeless at remembering what's what, plus I like to take all my embellishments out of their packets to store them and I never remember what brand anything is, hence the reason for me never submitting layouts to magazines that require a materials list!

Having said that, I'm pretty sure the gold patterned paper (and the fairy in the mini cluster) is a Graphic 45 paper. Other than that, I got nothin'.

Have you completed many layouts or projects using vintage paper? I'd love to see some! Post links if you like. I will post more of my pages in the coming weeks.

Happy crafting!

Eye candy: Quill & ink

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:05:00 +0000

Source: wwwinspiration.tumblr.com via Leonie on Pinterest

Swoon... I'd love to get my hands on those books!

Have a fantastic Australia Day,

Sunbeams and wings...

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:46:00 +0000

1. Trio of glass inkwells from Jersey Ice Cream Co
2. Intertwined print from Ground Work
3. Lovebird soaps from Bubble Lane Handmade Soap
4. Bee watercolour print from SplodgePodge
5. Fluttery breath of life organza necklace from JewelEra
6. Birdcage air plant garden from Earth Sea Warrior
7. Crinoline Chandelier from Saffron Coloured Pony
8. Giant moth photograph by Carl Christensen
9. Cranberry glass suncatcher from Marble City Glassworks

Giant sandwich cake!

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:30:00 +0000

Ty really wanted a giant sandwich for his 4th birthday. It was my first time working with fondant but I think it turned out pretty well! Only a few little cracks in the 'cheese' from the substantial weight of the top layer, other than that it held together well on the way to the bowling alley for his party.

I used two packs of Betty Crocker chocolate cake (ugh I hate cheating with packet mix, but I figured I'd have enough trouble with the decorating), plus nearly a whole can of ready made vanilla frosting, some of which I coloured brown for the crust and 'BBQ sauce' filling. The white top is fondant with sesame seeds to make it look extra authentic!

I made the ham and salad pieces by hand from fondant coloured with Wilton gel colours. It was my first time using these colours too, hence my ham being a bit on the hot pink side. I made the pieces back in November and had them hardening in airtight containers in the cupboard which I think helped the cake to be a bit more robust - both of my kid's cakes need to withstand the heat, as they are both January babies (see Exhibit A - the bee with cellulite. Cake FAIL. It was about 40 degrees that day.).

One person's trash...

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:10:00 +0000

One of the most enjoyable things about trading in vintage papercraft goods is being able to justify regular day trips and local treasure hunts for old, long-forgotten paper ephemera - those newspapers, tickets, books, patterns, music, photos, packets, receipts, payslips, plans, and other everyday bits and pieces that help shape the lives of those that have gone before us.

Coming across someone's old holiday snaps, mail and collection of bus tickets is a wonderful feeling, but finding a handwritten letter just makes my day. I must admit that although these little missions - Sundays spent with bored husband in tow, to the tune of 'just one more shop' - are ostensibly to find stuff for my store, when I come across a fountain-penned letter written in a quavering looped hand, it won't often make it into my list of items for sale.

These flimsy little letters seem so incredibly special, like hidden treasure: sometimes lost or misplaced for nearly a century, uncovered within the pages of books, the bottom of boxes, and once, inside a well-worn shoe. Sometimes it doesn't seem right to part with them, and especially not to sell them.

I don't look at them often, lest they lose their magic - but they are close to me now, safe in a little box on my shelf. I love the mysteries within: who wrote these letters? Who were the people behind the handwriting? Would they be amused or appalled that I am reading their private thoughts? And how did they end up in my hands, sometimes half a world away from their original owners? Sometimes it makes me feel almost shamefully voyeuristic, sometimes incredibly thankful, and sometimes patriotically proud to read the stories of people long gone. And they nearly always makes me sad - sad that something beautiful and precious is being lost in this world of email and facebook and smart phones.

What will our grandchildren use as a window to our private selves? Sure we have our photos stored online, we keep the occasional email, and we can find all sorts of things when we Google ourselves. But the tactile, physical connection to our past, both within our families and as a link to our social history, is becoming more and more frail.

There is such a difference between reading an email on screen and holding a hand written letter in your hands. Even an email, printed out, holds more soul than pixels on an LCD screen. And one day, even our new, shiny, cheap, post-consumer recycled printer paper will be torn, softened, age-spotted; the pages will smell dusty and stale, and our quick, inconsequential note to a friend will fascinate another pack-rat collector fifty years from now.

Those of us that scrapbook know that feeling well and cling to our family's stories and histories with dogged determination. We will not lose the first lock of baby hair, the first merit award, the grand final tickets when our team won, the map from that special place. But what about the stories between the lines? The things that don't make it into our layout albums?

I have completed one layout about myself in five years of scrapping. It's a deeply personal one, admittedly, but it's only one tiny piece of the puzzle. I have albums full of my children, husband, family, birthdays, Christmases and our wedding - but the little stories between the lines are preserved in the bits and pieces we keep in drawers, boxes and filing cabinets.

I have a manilla folder full of letters between my friends and I in high school. The everyday dramas that I can't even comprehend now seem monumental when reading through these old notes, written furtively during maths class when Mr Uren wasn't looking. I have a little pile of cow pictures too. Nobody knows how much I used to love cows. I have teen angst poetry, and pages of poems about the ocean. I have pages torn from magazines of all my favourite painters and artists. Tickets to an art show I went to I was younger (that made me feel so trendy and cosmopolitan). And I have a hang tag from a troll doll owned by my primary school friend Katie. It fell off her new troll and landed under my bed during a play date one winter afternoon. A week later she was killed crossing the road after school.

These little things that we keep often say more about us than our lovely, glossy, beautifully presented albums. So please, think twice before you throw out that next letter, ticket, receipt. Your weekly return to Central might bring back fond memories one day - perhaps for someone you don't even know.

My crafty money box OTP project

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:02:00 +0000

Here's what I've been up to this week - making a little money box from a nice little hinged-lid tin I had handy - it originally housed some prickly pear taffy (of all things!), which my mum brought back from a recent trip to Vegas. The lid had a clear plastic insert under which I stuck some vintage paper and lace from Etsy seller Dishy Vintage, and a bit of blue bling.

Then the inside of the lid looked messy so I lined it with some paper from Kaisercraft's 'Homemade' collection in 'Warm Welcome'.

Then the base of the tin looked messy (where does it end?!) so I lined it with some camel coloured felt.

The outside is covered in the reverse of the same Warm Welcome paper, with some crochet cotton trim and a blue satin fleur de lys ribbons. The fluffy nude coloured trim around the top border is a lingerie elastic from Spotlight.

The top has some Tim Holtz Crowded Attic stickers, vintage tickets and a 7 gypsies skeleton key. The book page butterflies are from Etsy seller Cass King. I can't remember where the giant cream flower came from (possibly a stall at the Papercrafts expo in Penrith recently).

I've used some American Crafts Thickers and Basic Grey 'Life of the Party' micro alphas for the text.

I thought I'd reiterate on the inside of the box that this is for savings to spend on me, so that I don't do what I usually do - save up for something I really want, then when I go to buy it I can't justify the expense because 'I could be spending that money on bills or groceries' or something equally mundane. This time round I really would like to feel totally comfortable buying a few things without remorse, and am planning to blow whatever savings I have at the Little Scrapbook Shop retreat next year!

Hopefully I don't chicken out and bring any cash back home with me!

8 Beautiful Handmade Advent Calendars

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:55:00 +0000

1. White on White advent calendar fromTuuni
2. Advent calendar banner from Gray Sparrow
3. Magic advent calendar from Petit Pot
4. Cream and red pocket advent from Look Happy
5. Reindeer parade banner from Ahoi Meise
6. Tea advent calendar from Red Red Completely Red
7. Amsterdam advent calendar by Noveau Designs
8. Advent calendar from Pilosale

8 Sweet Christmas Gifts for Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:47:00 +0000

1. Pink cake pops from Popular Treats
2. Duck organic cotton cushion from Greener Grass Design
3. Maiden & Bird pencil case from O-Check
4. Orange car designed by Patrick Colello
5. European children's wooden scooters from Three Potato Four
6. Tweeter Marmalade cot set from Printink
7. Trolley car tin toy from the Tin Toy Arcade
8. Felt cookies with bead sprinkles from Lollie Blossom

Beautiful Diaries for 2012...

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:52:00 +0000

Is it just me, or does everyone get excited at the thought of buying a new diary? All those blank pages to fill! A new year ahead, full of possibilities! And, best of all, you get to use your best handwriting and your special nice pens....

Here's my picks for the new year's best diaries:

Weekly planner from Little Otsu

Illustrated Diary from Minasmoke

Undated Diary from O-Check

And my personal favourite (of which I have bought many over the years) - the Master Plan from Milestone Press. A perfect A5 package, week to an opening, with enough space for all the family's activities, and best of all it runs for a year and a half, so you can buy your new diary in September and start using it straight away :)

Need more choice? You can't go past a Moleskine, complete with a turquoise leather cover.

Handmade gifts for the family oddballs

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:48:00 +0000

My sister in law likes tea. Earl Grey, specifically. Not so much your average cup of Bushells. Deb likes to pack a little stash of teabags wherever she goes in case of emergencies (that is, emergencies of the English Breakfast variety).

So I thought I'd make her a little tea pouch to keep in her bag.

A bit of grey wool, some velcro, a scrap of bias tape left over from a doily garland and a little bit of stamped twill tape, and I had a cute little pouch that holds about 6 tea bags.

Hey Deb - if you're reading this - surprise!

My mum is also a huge fan of tea, and considering she's off travelling for nearly 6 months of the year, she's also one to pack her own stash of home comforts. When I asked her roughly how many tea bags she'd take on an average trip, she replied 'a couple of handfuls of teabags, a tube of vegemite, and some press-seal plastic bags to put biscuits in. That's all we ever take.' Like that's a perfectly normal assortment of things to pack for a holiday.

So, after getting over my disgust in realising that vegemite comes in a tube, which just seems wrong, I spent half an hour that evening trying to work out how to make a little carry-all wallet for those three essentials.

It was tricky - three very different shapes and sizes aren't so easy to work into a neat little package.

But I think it turned out quite nicely. I used some sweet co-ordinating travel-themed quilting cotton that I'd bought a while ago with mum in mind.

Some stamped twill labels for the vegemite, twill tape and bikkie bags, and another for the velcro closure tab, and mum's survival kit was finished.

Are you planning to make some handmade gifts this Christmas? (Planning being the key word... actually getting time to do so is another matter!)

Paper love: Japanese Katazome-shi

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:52:00 +0000

Katazome-shi means, literally, stencil-dyed papers (also referred to as Wazome). Based on traditional kimono-printing techniques, these beautifully patterned papers were developed in the 20^th century. Producing these special papers is extremely time-consuming and a true art.

Katagami, the Japanese art of making paper stencils, is utilized to cut the pattern from persimmon-dyed kozo (a plant used to make Japanese tissue). The paper is hand cut with a combination of knives and punches and the resulting patterns are often extremely intricate and consequently quite fragile. To stabilize the stencils and prevent them from tearing, a fine silk mesh is attached to the back. The stencil is placed over a sheet of washi (which I always thought was rice paper, but Wikipedia tells me is any traditionally made plant-based paper) and a paste resist is brushed through the stencil to define the pattern.

Wherever the paste sticks to the paper, it will resist, or prevent, any colour that is subsequently applied. Multiple alignments of the stencil are made with different colours of pigment applied at each stage. The pigments are allowed to dry thoroughly and the paste is washed off, allowing the beauty and craftsmanship to be revealed.

This labour-intensive process results in a paper that has timeless appeal, long-lasting vibrant colour and the unmistakable look of a print truly made by hand.

There's a wee bit of Katazome-shi in this little paper pack in the RaineCloud store. Whats your favourite specialty paper?

Info via The Paper Place. Image credits 1 2 3 (via here), 4

Nanna style: 3 lovely gift ideas for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:04:00 +0000

Vintage doily garlands - ready to ship in mint stripe, blues and pinks or green and chocolate.

Or, if you get in very soon with an order, I can make you a customised garland in time for Christmas.

This lovely set of four vintage hand cross-stitched napkins - so neatly worked with love and care. Available here.

And finally, a little frou-frou flowery inspiration kit with Nanna written all over it - the Peach & Plum vintage paper craft kit is available here.

The Christmas countdown is officially on (51 sleeps to go, to be exact)!

Handmade Christmas Part 1: Shabby Rag Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:02:00 +0000

Confession: I have too many wreaths. About six at last count, yet I only have one front door. However, that's not going to deter me from making yet another one.

I've had some simple bamboo hoops laying around for ages which I intended to turn into more dream hoops but never quite got around to it. So I figured, because I really need another wreath, to turn one into a shabby rag wreath. Here's how to do it:

I found some Christmassy fabrics in my stash (red striped ticking, calico and a pretty fleur-de-lys voile plus some other scraps) and cut them into a big pile of 1 x 6 inch strips (a rotary cutter comes in handy for this). Then, you might want to put something good on telly because tying them all on can be a little brain-numbing.

I gave my fabric strips a haircut when I was finished because it looked a bit like a shaggy dog with lots of uneven straggly bits. Then I found some glittery gold ribbon and wrapped it loosely round the wreath with a loop at the top.

Now comes the fun bit - I had a MDF star shape in my box of tricks (that was meant to be turned into a door hanger for Holly's room, but that never happened either) so I covered it with lots of PVA glue and strips of old sewing pattern. Once it had dried I layered it with red ink, vintage photo distress stain, black cherry glimmermist, silver glimmermist and gold ink until my hands were so red and sparkly I looked like I'd just murdered an elf.

I found a little iron-on applique to glue to the middle of the star, glued the whole thing together and gave it all a liberal spray of silver glimmermist. Voila!

Now I just need another door to hang it on...

A Very Vintage Tea Party

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:15:00 +0000

1. Vintage doily garland from Pork Chop
2. Blue fairy flower tea cups from Sushipot Parts
3. Tin teacup collection from Sushipot Parts
4. Vintage silhouette tea set from Beca Runs
5. Rustic white stool from Tearing Up Houses
6. Felt cherry bakewell tart from British Cream Tea

Upcycled bag: Boring to awesome in 5 easy steps

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:19:00 +0000

A few weeks back, one of my work colleagues gave me a stack of advertising leaflets he'd picked up at a recent firefighting industry expo. This little mound of assorted paperwork was handed to me by Nick inside a simple black shoulder bag, with the expo logo emblazoned on the front. It had little pen pockets and nice long straps and was made of sturdy cotton drill... and it was big enough to fit all my usual necessities plus nappies plus a million kid-sized snacks... the perfect bag! But how to make it less ugly?

1. My initial thoughts were to sew a few crocheted doilies over the logo - but then again, sticking a doily on it is my solution to a lot of things. A large hot pink lace doily, a small green one and a cross stitched napkin fitted over the logo perfectly. But it was a bit too frou-frou frilly, and I was intending to use it for work, so I kept looking for something a bit more modern, but still pretty.

1. At the bottom of my fabric box, I found this little Apple & Bee cotton drawstring bag which was a freebie giveaway with a magazine years ago. It fitted perfectly over the screenprinted fire logo, so I sewed it on with contrasting red thread. Then I realised I needed to add velcro to the inside, as the pocket gaped open and wasn't very practical.

3. The back had great pockets but was pretty dull, so I added a little ribbon pull tab and some velcro to the main pocket.

4. So I had a front pocket for my Moleskine and my diary, a back pocket for my keys, but where do I put my phone? A bit of salvaged navy cotton drill from my hubby's old work pants made a neat little inner pocket. I also put a strip of velcro along the top of the bag itself, in between the handles for extra security.

5. A bit of dangly stuff on the front pocket - a jump ring from my scrapbooking stash, an old skeleton key and some pretty blue cotton ribbon - and I've got a great little bag that suits my work gear during the week and comfortably holds all the kiddy junk on weekends!

What kind of things have you turned from drab to fab?

Sneak peek...

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 02:15:00 +0000

Look what I've been making... lots and LOTS of lotus flowers!

I love making these, folding paper repetitively is very therapeutic. Plus, they are my own little design, discovered whilst fiddling with paper shapes in front of the telly one evening!

Many different packs to be listed in the RaineCloud store soon.

Enjoy the remaining hours of your long weekend!

A fresh start!

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:23:00 +0000

As you will note from the date of my last post, my blog has been somwhat neglected of late. In fact, the last time I posted was on my 30th birthday, so this could be some kind of age-related re-evaluation crisis / rethink of priorities, or maybe I just need a broader canvas for everything that wants to tumble out of my brain.

Anyway - onward and upward! This fresh new look is a mash up of my personal craft and scrapbooking projects, as well as representing my two online stores, RaineCloud (for vintage papercrafty goodness) and Porkchop (for baby gear, funky gifts, and doily garlands).

Love to hear your comments as always!

Love Lace Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:09:00 +0000

Sydney's Powerhouse Museum is holding an amazing exhibition of ultra modern and traditional lace techniques as interpreted by artists from around the world, as part of it's international lace award.

Love Lace features works ranging from bold large-scale installations and sculptures to intricate textiles and jewellery. Materials include gold and silver wire, linen and silk as well as mulberry paper, tapa cloth, horse hair, titanium and optical fibre.

You've got plenty of time to see it - the exhibit opens 30th July 2011 and runs right through to April next year. See all the finalists and get more details here.

Support cancer patients - shelve your drinks for a month

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:46:00 +0000

Get on board with this great cause during July! No drinks for a month will help make a difference to people living with cancer. I'm not a big drinker, so it seems easy, right? Time will tell! Now that I've signed up I guess I won't be partaking on my 30th birthday!

To donate and help cancer patients at Penrith Hospital, visit dryjuly.com

Swap it... swap it good

noreply@blogger.com (Leonie Waldron) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:07:00 +0000

A little while back I signed up for my first craft swap, this one being hosted by the Contemporary Handmade Alliance. I hope my swap partner Helen likes her garland! What have you done lately to share the crafty love? :)

30th September 2011 EDIT: And here's the wrap-up. I received a beautiful bottlecap brooch and funky doily necklace, thanks so much! xo