Crackerland

Introducing Second Chance Sally

2012-02-09T10:03:00.003+11:00

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know about a little side-project of mine called Second Chance Sally. If you love all things vintage, retro and kitsch, then you'll love my new Etsy shop launching on Friday 10th February at 8.30pm (Melbourne time).

Second Chance Sally has grown from a love of thrifting and wanting to share my finds with others, as I can't possibly keep them all to myself. You'll understand what I mean when the shop launches and see how much stuff I have on offer...I just can't leave these things behind in op shops gathering dust!

You can also join Sally's Facebook page to hear about all of the new stock before it's uploaded to the shop, as well as lots of talk about vintage, retro and thrifting in general.

So come and join the fun! :o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 21

2012-01-23T17:30:00.002+11:00

"Cloudy Afternoon" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 20

2012-01-23T17:21:00.002+11:00

I feel like I've lost my drawing mojo a little over the last few days, and haven't really had the time or inclination to just sit down and draw. So today, even though I'm feeling a little flat, I've made some time to have a doodle around.

Here's a drawing for Day 20 (a few days late!)

"Vines" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 18 and 19

2012-01-19T16:17:00.002+11:00

Well, my drawing time today has been taken over by a little boy requesting sketches of Thomas trains to colour in. So I thought it was apt to post a couple of these images as today's drawings for Day 18 and 19, since that's what my drawing time has been devoted to. I know one little guy who's very happy that's the case!

On a side note, two minutes after this was taken, Harvey split the seams of his cute little Lightning McQueen overalls. Devo. Not even these drawings can cheer him up now...

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 13-17

2012-01-19T12:09:00.003+11:00

I had a very enjoyable time last night playing catch-up with my drawing challenge. Here's the results!

I am aware that it's actually Day 19 today and I'm only caught up as far as Day 17. But have no fear! There are plenty more drawing ideas queuing up inside my noggin, just waiting for their moment to be translated onto paper.

You'll see a bit of a 'garden' theme running through some of the drawings today.

Enjoy!

"Little Pot Of Love" by Sarah Epstein

"Reading Nook" by Sarah Epstein

"Watering Can" by Sarah Epstein

"Flowerpots" by Sarah Epstein

"Freshly Brewed" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 11 and 12

2012-01-12T17:38:00.001+11:00

Two drawings today...one for yesterday and one for today.

"The Arbour" by Sarah Epstein

And this one was snaffled by Harvey before the ink was dry!
I didn't even get a pic of it before he started making improvements. :o)

Another one tomorrow!
'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 10

2012-01-11T17:47:00.001+11:00

So, here's Day 10 (a day late) and Day 11 will be coming later tonight!

"Carrot-flavoured Marshmallows" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 9

2012-01-09T18:44:00.002+11:00

Here's today's drawing. I think there's a bit of unintentional M.C. Escher action going on in this one!

"Chandelier" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 8

2012-01-08T20:37:00.002+11:00

I've hardly sat down today, so my drawing is simple and sweet. Hope everyone's had a lovely weekend!

"Somebody's Best Friend" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 7

2012-01-07T17:00:00.002+11:00

After completing this drawing, I realised it could work even better if Misery's face looked more like Kathy Bates and all the other heads looked like James Caan. Oh well....you doodle and learn.

"Misery Loves Company" by Sarah Epstein.

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 6

2012-01-06T17:15:00.002+11:00

Today's drawing was inspired by my family's road trip to Sydney over Christmas. On our way home, we pulled off the highway into a small town called Gunning to use the loo and stretch our legs. There's a free camp ground for caravans by the creek in a lovely shady spot, and I imagined how nice it would be to pull up your little retro caravan and tune out for a couple of days.

We don't have a caravan, retro or otherwise, but I fancy one of those little silver numbers with a pink flamingo out the front.

Better put my thinking cap on now for tomorrow's drawing!

"Roadside Stop" by Sarah Epstein.

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 5

2012-01-05T13:19:00.002+11:00

Here's my drawing for today. :o)

"A Quiet Spot in the Garden" by Sarah Epstein

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 1 - 4

2012-01-04T22:21:00.002+11:00

Okay, so here it is. A fun new challenge for the first month of 2012!

I'm running a few days behind and starting this challenge on Day 4, but I will show four drawings in this post that I've done since January 1st to catch up. Then from tomorrow onwards, I'll create a new drawing every day for the rest of January!

These first four came about on New Year's Day when I was plopped in front of the TV and just randomly doodling. I've always had a fondness for folksy-style naive art, and these came to me so easily it's not funny. I didn't even sketch these in pencil first - I just threw myself in and put felt pen to paper. They are first-and-only drafts and I really enjoyed the process of just drawing with no plan. Making it up as you go along is where the fun is at!

"Apple Tree Hill" by Sarah Epstein

"Glum at Dinner" by Sarah Epstein

"View From the Front Gate" by Sarah Epstein

"The Awkward Twins" by Sarah Epstein

Check in again tomorrow!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Finding Fun Again - The Year of Living Creatively

2012-01-02T12:53:00.001+11:00

That's what 2012 is all about for me.

Some might say I live every day creatively, what with my graphic design business and all. But for me there's a big difference in the kind of creativity I put into my commissioned design work, and the artwork I do just for fun. Namely, the stress factor. There's no doubt I can produce some great work when I'm on deadline, under the pump, sucking back caffeine, and on four hours' sleep. But there's a distinct lack of fun with the whole process. I want to find that again. Fun.

I keep thinking back to the 16-year-old me who was still in high school and thinking about what she wanted to do with her life. I had two passions (well, three if you count my River Phoenix obsession)...creating art and writing.

I used to sit with a black Artline pen and white bond paper and doodle all day long, thinking about the characters and stories I would scribble about in notebooks later that night. I don't even know where all of it is anymore. I suspect I threw most of it away, being my toughest critic and all. I distinctly remember tearing up pages of handwritten stories because I was embarrassed about how bad I thought they were, or that someone might get hold of them and read my work. Countless drawings were tossed out, and half-finished canvases painted over, because I always thought I could do better. The ones I loved I usually gave away to friends.

I miss her -- the 16-year-old me. I feel like I owe her. She had a creative brain that was bursting at the seams, and even though some might argue she's very much alive and present in the 37-year-old me, it's just not the same. I used to create with no agenda...just because I could. I used to let my mind wander and as quickly as the ideas popped into my head, I'd try to get them all down on paper. It was like a spontaneous springboard: one idea led to another, which led to another, and so on and so forth until my room was filled with pages of creative brain explosion.

Yeah. I wanna do that again.

Last night, the first day of 2012, I did just that. I sat with a black felt pen and pages of blank paper and just created. And it was fun. I feel like I have my 16-year-old creative mojo back again.

Now, if I could just figure out how to get my 16-year-old figure back as well... Meh. Baby steps. ;o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

2011 - The Year in Logos

2011-11-07T11:01:00.004+11:00

Now that my gap year is in full effect (...well, almost), I've been reflecting on 2011 and what a busy year it's been for Crackers Art. I've worked with some fabulous clients this year who I sincerely hope to work with again in the future. In amongst the variety of design jobs, I've had the opportunity to help some clients create an identity for their new business, or completely rebrand existing ones. I thought I'd show off their logo designs one more time because I absolutely LOVED working on them.

It's an eclectic bunch! Just like my clients. And I look forward to creating many more fabulous, funky and fresh logos when I kickstart again in late 2012.

Enjoy!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Crackers Art is going on a 'gap year'!

2011-09-29T15:08:00.002+10:00

Yes, it's true. I have made rather a large decision to step away from Crackers Art for 12 months -- a 'gap year' or 'sabbatical' some might call it.

I will be finishing up on 31st October 2011 and will be reopening for business again in late 2012, with a view to working 5 days a week in 2013 when both of my children are at school.

I have spent most of 2011 juggling all of my commitments and the time has come for me to make a decision about what I intend to achieve in the next 12 months. This includes some extra study, dedicated time to other pursuits, and more time with my family. My intention has always been to be work in Crackers Art full-time when both of my children are at school, and I have decided to take a step back now and assess what I want to do in the next 12 months before that happens. I’m sure some of you can understand and you perhaps feel a little tugged in that direction yourself. It’s always hard to be running a business while you are raising small children, and free time to do anything else becomes non-existent.

But, of course, I will still be around the place. I'll regularly update my Crackers Art Facebook page and keep you posted with what I'm doing (especially with how my handmade Christmas pressies are going!).

It's certainly not the last you'll be hearing of Crackers Art! I will still here, creating in some form or another, and back on board with my graphic design service in 12 months' time. I will still update this blog with my creative projects, snippets about graphic design, and anything else artsy-fartsy.

So, it's goodbye for now. Sort of. :o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

What is a custom logo design?

2011-08-19T15:02:00.006+10:00

I read an interesting article during the week about do-it-yourself logos (you can read it here). It basically talks about websites you can visit and create yourself a cheap little logo by mixing and matching a graphic image and a typeface, add your own business name and 'Viola!' - you have an instant logo with enough change left in your pocket to splash out on a pizza for dinner (with extra olives even! Yeah, that's how cashed up you're feeling, baby).

But there's just one small catch: these websites are using blatant knock-offs of logos created by other designers that already exist out there in the big bad world. So it actually goes one step further than the cheap clip-art style of logo, in that you could very well be creating an identity for yourself based entirely on someone else's existing branding. Like Worldwide Fund For Nature or Time Warner. And yeah, that lawsuit is gonna hurt, people. It's going to make that $69.00 the worst chump change you ever spent. And you can forget about pizza for the foreseeable future too.

A custom logo design is not about grabbing some random clip-art image off the web and whacking your business name underneath it before professing to the world that you're a genius and "What the hell are all these graphic designers on about? Dude, this stuff is easy!" It's about having something crafted for you from scratch that speaks about your business, your products, what you want your business to stand for, and how you want to be perceived by your customers.

To that effect, I thought I'd show the evolution of another logo design I created for one of my lovely clients - Krystie from By Women.

Krystie was rebranding her business and wanted something "natural, fun loving, simple & friendly" that didn't box her into just women's clothing or just kids clothing, and made her stand out from every other handmade clothing business out there. After taking some time to research her products and the kind of fabrics she uses in her beautifully handcrafted clothing, I knew I need to created something feminine (but not too girly), simple and fresh (without being boring), some kind of natural elements (without being clichéd), and something colourful (without being gaudy).

So I got to sketching (which is one of my favourite parts of logo design). Nothing like a good brainstorming session!

I came with all sorts of little graphic elements that I hoped I could somehow compose into an eye-catching graphic image.

I started playing around with composition of these elements and how I could pull them together with colour. Things always get crazy-messy at this part until some ideas start to present themselves (or the chocolate starts to kick in properly!)

Then some concepts started to come together and I presented them all to Krystie. I was a bit obsessed with a particular colour scheme (as you'll see in the examples below) as I had spotted something similar in a few of the fabrics Krystie used in her designs, and I thought they looked funky and fresh together.

Then I received some lovely feedback from Krystie:
"AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. Did I say AWESOME?"

and she picked the one she thought was the most...well...AWESOME :o)

And here it is...

And that's how we design logos in downtown Crackerland, ya'll!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A quick and easy project anyone can do!

2011-06-13T15:47:00.001+10:00

So, my 6-year-old was totally sweet the other day and came home from school with a drawing for his little brother. Considering they seem to fight 24/7 these days, it's nice to see that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. A few hours away from each other managed to cast Harvey in a favourable enough light that Hugo wanted to create something special to give him at school pickup time.

I found the whole thing so adorable, I decided to frame it for posterity in case it never happens again (and by the way they're behaving like two caged animals over this long weekend, I'd say it's highly likely it never will).

This was literally a 10-minute project (in fact, probably more like 6 or 7 minutes) because I did it just before I ran out the door for the following day's school pickup.

1. Materials - the masterpiece in question (already skilfully cut by Hugo into a fabulous blobby shape); gluestick; scissors; a piece of A4 red card; and a $6.00 white timber frame from my local discount store.

2. Trimming. I laid the paper insert from the picture frame on top of my red card and trimmed the red card to the same size, which sits nice and neat under the cream mounting board. I laid the mounting board on top of the red card and figured out where I wanted to position the artwork, and then simply glued it in place with the gluestick. (FYI - gluesticks are perfect for this kind of thing, because wet glues make the paper bubble and buckle, and double-sided tape yellows over time and will be seen through the white paper in a couple of years).

3. Signing. Just before I popped it all back into the frame, I quickly signed and dated the artwork on Hugo's behalf (he was at school and I was making it as a surprise for both boys).

4. Complete! In around 6 minutes.

5. Happy recipient. Harvey is pleased and secure in the knowledge that his big brother loves him (sometimes).

Easy! Go on...now you have a go!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Graphic Designers: How to spot a good one in the wild

2011-06-09T21:45:00.006+10:00

Over the last few years, I've done quite a bit of work for people who had been elsewhere first and had a less-than-satisfactory experience with their original designer. Issues vary from lack of communication by the designer, to their designer just not understanding the brief, and in some cases the designer being so stubborn and pig-headed about what they want to provide the client, that the client ends up paying a fortune for something they strongly dislike or can't even use.

Working with a designer should never ever be like this, and if any of this is sounding familiar, I urge you to hit the eject button right now! Run, while there's still time!

A great designer doesn't want you to just like your logo, brochure or business card (or at worst, simply tolerate it). They want you to Love. It. To. Bits. They want you to keep nipping back to your computer to have another look because, just quietly, you can't get enough of it! You can't contain that goofy grin that creeps across your face every time you look at, because it's your business identity and you had direct input into how it was shaped especially for you.

So if you're hoping to experience something in the love-it-to-bits ballpark, and you're hunting down a graphic designer to start this happy journey, how do you spot a good one?

It's not always easy. It's a bit like being at a fruit stand with your hand on a grapefruit and trying to make decision based on appearances. Just say you've never tried grapefruit before. Some people rave about grapefruits in general, so you decide to give it a try. But how do you know you've got a good one? From the outside it's really hard to tell what you're getting. I mean, it looks okay. It feels kinda right. Other people are buying them. But it's not until you get it home, peel off the skin and sink your teeth into it that you find out you don't really care for this particular grapefruit at all. In fact, you pretty much hate it. You wonder, 'Geez, is this what ALL grapefruits are like? 'Cos if this is what grapefruit's all about, I am steering clear of it for the rest of my natural life! And then some.' How could you possibly know up front whether or not you had a good one?

Unless you do a bit of homework on graphic designers, you could pick up the world's biggest sour dud and then feel you need to follow through with the damn thing because you already forked out the money to pay for it. But how could you know? What could you have done differently?

I won't pretend to be an expert on, well, anything really. But I can give you some tips on what I would do if I was hunting for a graphic designer. And this information is based on a wonderful network of designers I know who are not only lovely and crazy-talented, but highly professional and original in their work (y'all know who you are!).

So here's some tips if you're out there and looking (no carnations or blind dates required)...

Word-of-mouth recommendations
Easily the best way of finding a great designer. Just ask around - you'll soon hear about who had a great experience, and who is still suffering post-traumatic stress disorder in a padded room somewhere. Ask on forums, Facebook, real-life networking, the hairdressers, the pub, anywhere! People who have had a great experience are usually very forthcoming and want to recommend their designer on as another way of saying thanks for a job well done.

Contact other businesses whose branding appeals to you
Be upfront and contact another business asking for their designer's details. If you're feeling brave, ask your competitors too (although they may not want to share their designer with you!) Or if you're feeling shy, check out the websites you admire for a link to their designer somewhere on their site, or perhaps a plug or mention on their Facebook page.

Look through a designer's body of work
You know that saying: 'Variety is the spice of life' ? It couldn't be more important when it comes to a designer's portfolio. Check out what they've done recently. Are they versatile? Scroll through their logo designs, and if you start to see a pattern – a recurrence of similar fonts, characters, graphics, and colours – in every single logo, it's a bit of a warning sign that they aren't very versatile and yours could end up looking similar to a whole bunch of other businesses out there. It could also mean that particular designer will probably do what they want for your logo, instead of what you want. Find someone with a varied portfolio of high quality work, because it demonstrates they are capable of tailoring their ideas to individual clients' needs.

Ask up front what you will get for your money
Enquire with designers about their terms, how many concepts and revisions you'll get for your money, and if an extra fee is charged for work above and beyond this. It's also worth asking about turnaround times and start dates in case you book in and pay a deposit, and then find out your designer can look at your logo concepts shortly after hell freezes over.

How do they communicate?
Do they respond to your enquiries in a timely manner? (Bearing in mind that designers, like everyone else, enjoy family time on weekends). Do you have to follow up every single email or chase them constantly for responses? How do they communicate on their Facebook business page? Do they respond to enquiries on their page and interact with clients? Do you feel comfortable in your correspondence with them, or like you'd rather stab yourself in the eyeball with a dirty pen? Communication is the key when it comes to the designer/client relationship, so if it feels stunted and painful from the get-go, chances are it ain't gonna improve much!

In the words of Dennis Denuto: 'It's the vibe of the thing'.

If things are feeling awkward (and they never should be AT ALL), then you should probably save yourself the trouble and get out while you can. You want to be thrilled with what your designer comes up with so you can be excited about your business and move forwards with confidence.

Hopefully this will go some ways into helping you pick a sweetie from a sour dud. Good luck out there in the crazy big fruit stand that is the online business world!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Incapacitated = Inspired

2011-06-01T21:38:00.001+10:00

So, today I had kind of a 'lost day'.

I hurt my back yesterday picking up my four-year-old, and an annoying twinge turned into a shrieking back pain overnight. When I tried to roll out of bed this morning, I soon realised I was going to spend most of my day shuffling around like Frankenstein with a hot wheat cushion shoved down the back of my tracky dacks, sucking back Panadol, and slathering myself in anti-inflammatory gel. Yeah...fun. And glamorous.

Luckily for me, my hubby is off work on sick leave for a couple of days (feeling run-down and his asthma is flaring up), but since he can actually still, you know, walk, he had the pleasure of doing the school runs and picking up anything for me that was below waist level.

I blame this guy...

...with his pleading eyes and his murmurs of "I'm tired, Mum. Carry me..." Sound familiar? Yes indeedy. And if that wasn't enough to put a crick my back, he then had the audacity to crawl out of bed in the middle of the night and make camp behind his bedroom door, so that when I came in to check on the kids before I went to bed, I had to peel the little blighter up off the floor with my already-buggered back. (Yeah, I know - next time I'll leave him there. I hear ya).

So, today I did very little. I did the bare minimum in caring for the kids. I did a lot of sitting awkwardly on the couch or lying even more awkwardly in bed. I dozed. I flipped through magazines. I had a very long, very skin-melting hot shower. And I daydreamed a little bit. I don't really get much time to really think, let alone daydream, so I indulged myself in a bit of it and started planning out all the things I hope to achieve before this year is over.

How often do we really sit down in a quiet space and let ourselves just daydream? Or plan? Or plot out how we're going to fix some of those things we always intend to fix, but never really get the time to figure out how? Today really helped me assess what I've got going on in my life at the moment and put it into a bit of a priority list in my mind. Instead of being all go-go-GO, I really enjoyed pulling up in front of an enforced red STOP sign.

The upshot of it all, is I am feeling a little bit refreshed and a lot more inspired. My back feels a lot better (thankyou wheat cushion - how I love thee...), I have almost forgiven my crazy red-haired child because he covered me in blankets all day and gave me his teddies to snuggle, and tomorrow is a new day.

And I think I'm going to schedule in more of these 'rest' days. Seriously...try one! Just set aside a day where you're going to get away from the computer, sit out in the garden with a cuppa, and just think.

In the end, my 'lost day' turned into something quite the opposite!

The Importance of Being Original...

2011-05-27T12:19:00.004+10:00

...or 'The Evolution of a Logo'

The whole issue about having a logo custom-designed for your business is an interesting one. I'm hearing a lot lately about people purchasing a logo for cheap-as-chips, and scratching their heads as to why someone else would fork out a larger amount of money for their custom-designed logo with a different designer.

It's a simple as this: Not all logos (or their designers) are created equal.

So you have to ask yourself what you're really paying for. You'll find plenty of information on the internet about what you need your logo to 'do', but why is it that some designers charge more than others? How is it that you can find a designer charging as little as $50 for a logo? Seems like a no-brainer to get a logo done by them, right?

Wrong.

Many of these designers use cheap clip art to knock out their logos, and repeat the same kind of design over and over again with multiple clients. You end up receiving an unoriginal, uninspiring logo that only succeeds in letting your business drown in a sea of similar unoriginal designs. Don't you want to stand out? Don't you want to leave your mark on the world? Isn't all the blood, sweat and tears you're putting into your business worth more than a cheapo $50 logo?

I can only use myself as an example here to show the evolution of one of my logo designs, to give you some insight into what goes into making an original design. I can guarantee all of the other talented, reputable designers out there go through a similar process, because we are all about listening to your needs, finding out about your business and how you want to market yourself, and coming up with something eye-catching and original to set you apart from your competitors.

Here's a recent logo design I did for Wee Willie Winkie. All of my logos start out with a brainstorming session with pencil and paper. I scribbled out a few different concepts for this logo, including this one which formed the basis of the final logo. It's a very simple, rudimentary sketch, but you can see the way my mind was working and how I pictured the energy and basic elements of the final logo:

After deciding on the overall theme of the logo, I went about sketching the Wee Willie character in finer detail. I doodled him a number of times until I was happy with his overall shape (he only had one leg! LOL. But I happily gave him a second one when redrawing him on the computer). You can see the evolution of the character below, from the initial sketch to the redrawing process on the computer:

I then set about drawing the backdrop to my character based on my original sketch. I came up with multiple concepts revolving around the same theme so I could see which one was working the best:

When my client chose the concept she loved the most, we moved onto refining it for her and changing some elements that better reflected how she wanted her business to be branded. You'll see we changed the Wee Willie character and also the backdrop to give it a more modern and contemporary feel, and reverted to a colour scheme closer to the previous branding so customers could relate to it:

It looks like a simple process here, but what it really involves is lots of questions, loads of emails back and forth, coming up with and then scrapping lots of concepts that aren't working, listening to a client's needs, understanding their business and what they need from their logo, and hours and hours of dedicated work. (It also involves copious amounts of tea and chocolate and butting your head against the desk when you can't get any ideas working...but that's beside the point).

THIS is what you are paying more money for a talented designer to do. Hence why not all designers are created equal, and some are totally worth their asking price (and probably more...)

I hope this gives some insight as to what is involved in creating a logo. Go forth and be original, people! Thanks for reading :o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

A Crackers Giveaway!

2011-05-09T10:31:00.002+10:00

500 Facebook likers = goodies giveaway!

How To Enter:

1. Simply 'like' Crackers Art on Facebook

2. Use my Facebook page's Contact Tab to enter your full name, email address, and the following in the message field: 'Enter me 500'.

3. As soon as the Crackers Art Facebook page hits 500 likers, the prize will be drawn!

Terms and Conditions:

1. You must be a liker of the Crackers Art Facebook page to be eligible to enter.

2. Giveaway is open to international entries.

3. Winner's name will be drawn once the Crackers Art Facebook page achieves 500 likers.

4. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator at www.random.org.

5. Winner will choose one (1) prize only from the two (2) on offer - a pop art goodies prize pack (as shown above - value $AUD32.00) OR a single-sided business card design (value $AUD130.00).

6. Pop art goodies prize includes postage to anywhere in the world. Business card design prize includes 2 concepts and 2 rounds of revisions, and final artwork will be supplied via email. Business card prize is for design only and does not include printing. Business card prize can be upsized to a double-sided card design for an extra $30.00.

7. Prizes are not transferable for cash.

8. Winner will be notified by the email address provided via the contact form.

9. If winner is not contactable or does not respond within five (5) days of prize draw, there will be a redraw.

10. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You are providing your information to Crackers Art and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for notifying the winner, and will not be stored or used after the winner has been successfully notified.

Gotta be in it to win it! Enter now!

Hugo's 6th Birthday Party - Soccer Theme

2011-04-19T17:24:00.001+10:00

My big boy Hugo turned six yesterday, and we had a soccer-themed birthday party for him at home on Sunday.

Originally we were going to choose a park or play-centre to host the party due to the number of guests and the smallish size of our house, but for sentimental reasons we changed our minds and held it at home instead. This is the last kids party we'll have in this house before we move and Hugo really wanted something at home, so I put my party-planning hat on again and tried to figure out how to have a soccer party when there's not actually any room to play soccer.

So, with soccer balls and green grass spinning around in my head, the colour theme of black, white and green was a no-brainer, and quite the opposite of what I did for Harvey's red, white and blue space party a month ago. Before the brain cogs really started turning on menu and decorations, I had to get the invitations out. I decided on the KISS principle - keep it simple, stupid! So I came up with these very simple double-sided soccer balls, folded across the top with a green insert:

Once the invitations were posted, I turned my attention to pulling together a menu and figured out how I wanted to present the party buffet table. Again, the decorations were very simple - some handcut double-sided soccer balls hanging from the downlights, some green, black and white balloons, and some revamped paper bunting originally purchased for Harvey's party (I just added the lettering myself). I also cut out my own mini soccer balls to decorate some green lolly bags.

After looking into a few talented cookie and cupcake decorators and some magnificent cake makers, I decided on making my own. It was a cost issue more than anything, as well as a secret challenge to myself to see if I could actually pull off anything half-decent! But I was very happy with the result, even though it was rather time-consuming to make them myself (with my limited baking skills!)

Anyway, here's how it all panned out....enjoy!

The cake! Made by me :o)

One of the games we played was 'Kick the Soccer Ball into the Goal' (the soccer version of 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey'). I simply purchased a stock photo illustration online and printed it on my home printer....viola! Instant party game.

One very happy birthday boy!

Best bargain buys for the day:

- Again, I was delighted with the fabric I found at Spotlight for around $6.99 per metre. I purchased the black with white polka dots for the front of the table, and the gorgeous green and white stripes for the top of the table. Both of these will be upcycled into something else too - probably plushies!

- The soccer ball foiled-wrapped chocolate balls were purchased from my local confectionery store for only $2.00 per bag of approx 15. Awesome.

- The green grass placemats were purchased on eBay, and I think they worked out much better than my original idea of using astro-turf from Bunnings (although, that would have looked cool too).

- My bunting was upcycled from the packet I already purchased for Harvey's party - I just added the letters myself.

All-in-all, loads of fun and a nice little send-off to our lovely little house. :o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Apple & Pear-licious

2011-04-14T17:40:00.001+10:00

Finished and on the wall!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Impromptu painting is coming along nicely!

2011-04-14T13:09:00.004+10:00

Here's a bit of progress on some paintings I mentioned on my Facebook page.

We are putting our house on the market soon and I have a wall to fill in my newly decluttered office, so I raided the cupboards to see what I could find. I am a bit of a hoarder of canvases (always purchased with the intention of doing something with them THAT weekend...only to be stored away for another 12 months), and of course, I always have my collection of trusty acrylics and brushes at the ready.

I decided to 'freehand it' and see what I came up with, as I wanted something a bit organic and not too rigid to give my office a bit of a relaxed air. It also had to fit in with an existing green wall, which is a lovely warm retro shade of green, so I thought back to my recent purchase of some retro apple cushion covers and used this as inspiration for the design*.

Anyway, here's the progress so far. I am hoping to finish them up today and photograph them on the wall...we'll see if my cabin-fever kids are receptive to that idea!

*Important note - I am trying to inject as much of my own originality as possible into the paintings and they are for my own personal use only. I do not intend to resell or replicate such a design for financial gain, and I do not advocate people infringing other people's copyright. Just so we're straight. :o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

The short answer is, I'm a bit of a freak

2011-04-01T12:21:00.002+11:00

For those of you who know me well, you know I have quite a bit going on. I am a graphic designer, a crafter, a writer, a mum, and a business owner.

I am constantly being asked how I 'do it all' and how I manage to get so many things done in any given week, month or year. So, I thought I would share a bit of an insight into my life and personality. But there are a couple of key things you should know about me before you read this list:

A. I have type-A personality.

B. I do not advocate what I do as being healthy or sane for anyone else.

C. I thrive off constantly doing SOMETHING. It's just how I roll.

D. I don't get nearly as much done as I wish I did.

So now that we have that out of the way, here's some techniques I use in any given day to be productive.

1. Be organised. I have lists and post-it notes hanging from every available surface in my house. I use my diary constantly and I leave myself reminders for all the important stuff. Even then, I still drop the ball, but a significant number less balls than if I didn't have any lists, post-its or reminders.

2. Progress everything forward. Something my hubby taught me to do is to break up my work time into one-hour pockets. Work on one task for an hour and as soon as that hour ticks over, move onto another task. It means you get to move a lot of things forward instead of just one or two, and when you revisit the tasks the next day, they are surprisingly easier to finish up than if you'd simply put them off until you had 'more time'.

3. Pepsi Max. The nectar of the gods. Caffiene is, and always will be, my friend.

4. Pick your battles. It's no good for me to keep butting my head against a brick wall if something isn't working. I need to suck it up and move on. Procrastinating about something only slows me down. Yes, I still do procrastinate about things...but if I catch myself doing it, I give myself a jolly good talking to.

5. Do the hardest thing first. Get it out of the way! It's amazing how you'll float through your other tasks once the big, fat ogre of a job is off your plate.

6. Work to music you enjoy. Do not work to talkback radio. You will only feel like smashing things.

7. Work in a cooler room. Warm and stuffy rooms slow me down and make me lazy.

But the number one reason I get so much done will be depressing for the majority of you to hear...

8. Sleep less. I get a helluva lot less sleep than most of you. I average about 5 hours sleep a night most nights, with a bit of a catchup sleep-in on a Saturday or Sunday morning if my family will let me. Most of my work is done between the hours of 8.00pm and 2.00am because I generally do not do any work during the day while my young children are around. (Repeating my disclaimer: I am not saying it's healthy! It's just the way I am).

So there's no big secret, like locking my kids in a dungeon so I can work, or employing an army of Fraggle Rock Doozers to help me complete my tasks (although, that would actually be pretty cool). I am a control freak, a workaholic, and a creative nut. And I am determined to leave my mark on the world in some way, shape or form. That sort of thing doesn't happen by sitting idle.

The End.

And now here's some of these guys...

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Just so we're clear.... :o)

2011-03-22T14:42:00.001+11:00

Harvey's 4th Birthday Party - Space Theme

2011-03-14T00:36:00.001+11:00

It was my youngest son's 4th birthday yesterday, so we celebrated with a space-themed party.

It was my first attempt at creating a 'candy buffet' table, and even though I ran out of time to create all the little food signs to decorate the table, I was very happy with how it all turned out. Due to time restraints, I ended up buying pre-printed space invitations with a red, white and blue colour scheme, and then simply carried those colours through everything else at the party. Even the guests came dressed in a combination of red, white and blue -- very festive!

I created a space rocket cake (thankyou Women's Weekly cake book!) complete with sparklers for 'lift off'. We had a couple of space-themed activities for the kids, as well as a round of pass-the-parcel to the tune of The Wiggles 'Space Dancing' DVD. There were star-shaped cookies, space jelly, red and blue cupcakes, and yummy popcorn which was very popular.

A good time was had by all -- especially my happy little birthday boy!

Best bargain buys for the day:

- The red, white and blue striped fabric I used for the tablecloth was only $6.00 per metre at Spotlight. I fell in love with it on sight.

- The little space robot colour-in stickers were $2.00 for a pack-of-four at my local discount shop. They made a great activity for the kids, and they got to take them home with them.

- The paper lantern 'planets' hanging above the table were a bargain buy off eBay -- only $1.00 each. And they are so awesome, I think I want to keep them up forever!

Here's a few more party pics....enjoy!

A very happy birthday boy!

Simple colouring-in activity using washable markers and the space-themed sticker sheets from my local discount store

Always popular...Lego! We sorted the pieces into red, white and blue so the kids could build their own space vehicles

Rocket cake!

And here it is with the candles and sparklers lit.

3, 2, 1....Happy Birthday Harvey!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

These are a few of my favourite things...

2011-03-05T23:29:00.001+11:00

Check out this little bit of cool I've found this fine Saturday evening...

This fan-made video combines three of my favourite things:

1. Ben Folds
2. Typography
3. Bright colours
oh yeah...and...
4. My name

Enjoy!

New plushies on the way!

2011-02-23T20:30:00.004+11:00

I absolutely love receiving my packages from Spoonflower, but I never get a chance to get stuck into using my printed fabrics straight away. It's a massive tease when the parcel arrives, because it's usually weeks before I get to transform the contents into fab little goodies.

Anyhoo, here's a sneaky peek of what's on its way. I will be creating lots of gorgeous plushies from these, and there are new designs in notebooks and magnets coming soon to my Etsy shop as well. I just have to find the time to complete everything, photograph and list. Will keep you posted of when I do!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

I love everything about this

2011-02-12T16:54:00.000+11:00

e v e r y t h i n g, I tells ya.

Necessity is the mother of invention

2011-02-10T11:14:00.001+11:00

My 5-year-old started school this week, and for someone who prides themselves on being organised, I've proven to be quite the scatterbrain-newbie-school-mum. Mixed up drop-off times, forgotten information....it really should have come as no surprise that I'd also neglected to organise Hugo a library bag.

So yesterday I did the mad scramble, searching high and low in my house for something that resembled a library bag that wasn't quite as embarrassing as a green grocery bag or scummy old pillowcase.

Luckily, being a total craft nerd means I am a massive hoarder of all sorts of bits and pieces that I pick up on my travels (with the intention of using it *one day*). So, after managing to locate an old promotional tote bag to up-cycle, I was on the hunt for something to patch over the top of it. Then I remembered some awesome patches I bought from Etsian Jodie Flowers a couple of years ago, but hadn't got around to doing anything with yet.

So with supplies in hand, I got started...

Luckily the promo area on the tote bag was only small, and the round patch fit perfectly over the top. And just so it's not misleading, I didn't end up using the Sharpie pen as shown in the above pic, because it bled like a stuck pig on the fabric (I did a little test on the inside of the bag - Sharpies and fabric don't mix!)

I started by handsewing the patch in place. The instructions that came with it mentioned using a ziz-zag machine stitch around the edge a few times to prevent fraying. But since I am sewing-machine-challenged, I just went with a simple hand-stitch a couple of times around the edge.

Simple letters drawn in pencil for a guide...

...and then painted with some acrylic paints. I couldn't find my fabric paints, so I used acrylic, which are generally fairly waterproof once ironed. I'll only spot clean the library bag anyway, rather than chucking it in the washing machine, so the acrylic paint should survive.

Letters outlined in black paint to make them POP. I was going to use the Sharpie pen for this part, until the unfortunate bleeding incident (always do a test first!)

Viola! The finished product. Hugo is happy, I didn't spend a cent, and the best part is I look like a mum with my act together (kind of) :o)

Shopolat is here!

2010-03-07T15:29:00.001+11:00

Well, I am happy to announce that the first issue of the Shopolat online shopping catalogue has been printed and delivered and is being distributed to subscribers all over the place as we speak! *happy dance*

This was one huge design job! Twenty different businesses appear in the catalogue spread out over 32 pages, so it was quite an organisational challenge as well. But I am thrilled with the result. The print job is fantastic - the colours are rich and vibrant and the quality of the stock and printing is perfect.

Shopolat is the brainchild of Kathryn from Charlipop Kids, who wanted to help businesses find a way to promote their online shops and services, and help build confidence for those customers who are new to online shopping. Kat and I had a lot of fun devising the look and feel of the catalogue and we really hope everyone enjoys the result! We are already in the planning stages of the June issue, which is going to be even bigger and better than the original.

Here's a sneak peek of the cover of the inaugural Feb 2010 issue:

It's not too late to sign up here for a copy and get on the mailing list for the next issue! And for those who have already subscribed...it's on its way! Enjoy! :o)

And just for some photographic proof, here's a photo Kat took of the catalogues as soon as they landed on her doorstep...yes, we are both a bit excited ;o)

New plushies on the way...

2010-01-31T00:09:00.001+11:00

I am going to give my Etsy Shop some love soon - I promise! Here's evidence. I finished up these plushies recently and have a few more to sew before I start listing.

Sammy the Robot plushie

Lionel the Robot plushie

Pedro the Pig plushie

Owl plushie

See, I have been doing stuff :o)

Space Invaders Awesomeness

2010-01-14T12:24:00.002+11:00

I was just searching for some images for a client and stumbled across this brilliant Space Invaders vid.

Enjoy!

Robot Love

2010-01-08T19:47:00.004+11:00

I've just found out that We've Got Paper have kindly included me in their fabulous blog post about Robot stationery.

Check out the other gorgeous robot designs from some fabulous Etsy sellers...uh-oh, I feel the shopping itch coming on! LOL. I am such a sucker for buying stationery - especially if they've been created by an Etsian.

Robot Stationery Finds

Thanks so much Julie - I love your blog! :o)

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

Twenty Ten

2010-01-03T00:05:00.003+11:00

Hello? Is there anybody out there? *...tumbleweed rolls past...*

It is really so truly hard to believe I managed one post - ONE POST! - in 2009. And it was almost exactly year ago today, so that's one post in 12 months folks. You may all take turns in slapping me on the wrist or across the face even (is anyone else picturing that long queue of people on Flying High lining up to slap that hysterical woman across the face?)

Well, it's 2010 and I decided it was time to reboot the old blogarooni. And one post in 12 months will give you an indication of what life in Crackerland has been like - crazy, crazy and a little bit crazy. 2009 saw me going back to my roots of graphic design and I relaunched the business to include my design services. This actually resulted in an absolute flood of design work that subsequently left me with little to no time to actually create artwork for my Etsy shop. One could say, life has been Mucho Hectic.

But now I'm back with an updated website - www.crackersart.com.au - and I have been dabbling in some new handmade goodies for the shoppe. I even have photographic evidence! (as soon as I find the darn USB cable for the camera).

Anyway, it feels good to be back. Stay tuned! Stuff's a-comin'!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

HALF PRICE ETSY SALE!

2009-01-04T21:26:00.000+11:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd come back BIG and LOUD with a HALF PRICE SALE in my Etsy shop!

Absolutely everything in my shop has been reduced by 50%!

Prices are as marked (they have already been reduced) so all you have to do is shop to your heart's content :o)

www.crackersart.etsy.com

The sale is for a limited time only. I haven't decided when I am going to end it - it could be any time! So HURRY! Shop now so you don't miss out.

Ekidna Kidswear

2008-11-28T20:29:00.000+11:00

Check out this gorgeous online store, run by a fellow work-at-home mum Joanne Parfitt.
www.ekidnakids.com.au

Joanne explains on her site that "Ekidna Kidswear was born from the desire to have the convenience of purchasing online coupled with high quality fashion at our fingertips".

And the range of items she has in her store are not only gorgeous and high quality, but really unique! Look at these great little finds:

Paper Eskimo Baby Shower Invitations

Trunki Towgo suitcase on wheels

Striped Rainbow BabyLegs

Ekidna Kidswear has a fabulous Christmas stocking stuffer special where you can buy 2 pairs of BabyLegs and get 1 free! What a great gift idea!

I'm off to do some more browsing.... :o)

Free Christmas Gift!

2008-11-22T22:19:00.000+11:00

In celebration of the festive season kicking off, I am going to give away a free gift with every purchase over $20.00 (excluding postage) from my website!

The gift is a gorgeous Owl Mini Notebook and matching Bookmark (total value $8.50).

The offer is valid until 15th December 2008 so hurry, hurry!

(one free gift per customer only).

Ho, ho ho!

Santa's Sleigh Chase

2008-11-14T20:34:00.000+11:00

Well, I don't know about you but I'm getting all ready to jingle those bells and deck those halls!

I do love Christmas and I get totally sucked into the whole thing - carols playing in the shopping centres, visiting Christmas shops to browse all of the pretty baubles and little ornate ceramic Christmas scenes with twinkling lights. And not to mention watching every single show and movie with a Christmas theme leading up to the Big Day (sad I know).

I've even promised my 3.5 year old that I will make him a gingerbread house, complete with lots of lolly decorations. Not because he wants one, but because I do!

On the slightly more professional side of things, I am very excited to announce Crackers Art will be taking part in Blue Zamboo's Santa's Sleigh Chase!

Santa's Sleigh Chase is a virtual shopping tour and will be an interactive week of chasing reindeer, finding presents and packing Santa's Sleigh (oh not to mention getting all the Christmas shopping over with without leaving your chair)!

It is set to take place between the 25th and 28th of November so if you would like to become a "chaser" click here to register! And get ready to get festive!

Ruffian Industries

2008-11-12T14:37:00.000+11:00

I absolutely love browsing sites of small business creative types and just have to share with you some of the gorgeous designs to be found at Ruffian Industries.

Amanda at Ruffian Industries creates fabulous t-shirt designs for boys aged 2-7 and every design is so unique and different. I fell in love with this one instantly:

and just love this guy:

and this is the one I secretly want for me (I mean, who doesn't fantasize about a massive crowd erupting with applause, cheers and wolf whistles when they come into a room?!):

What I love about Amanda's designs are that they are so different to one another and anything else that's out there for boys. Her illustrative talents are amazing (I'm jealous!).

Also check out the Ruffian Industries website, which is not only gorgeously designed, but super-easy to navigate and find what you're looking for. I'm a little embarrassed to say I have visited it about 50 times! :-p Well done Amanda!

Give me some Space!

2008-11-01T14:50:00.000+11:00

It's okay - I'm not having a meltdown (well, today anyway).

I just wanted to introduce some new mini notebooks which all have a space theme! I've just listed them in my shop...

These are really cute little pocket-size notebooks that are super handy for handbags, the car, work bags and your back pocket! They contain around 100 lined pages that are double-sided so there's plenty of room for your important scribbles, shopping lists and love letters :o)

Check them out here!

For those who have read back further in this blog, you may have seen these designs pop up before. I actually designed these characters years ago and have always regretted not doing enough with them. The characters' names are Orbit (the space dude), Stellar (the space gal) and HyperSpace (the space dawg) and I absolutely love them to bits. I designed a whole range of super cute greeting cards for kids with these characters on them as well and got them into a few shops but found it nigh impossible to compete with the likes of Hallmark, John Sands etc in the retail world.

I am hoping to somehow revamp that card range for sale in my Etsy shop, and I also have some adorable bookmarks with these characters on which I am going to list shortly.

Freebies are FUN

2008-10-30T11:23:00.000+11:00

I really enjoyed giving away some freebies last week to some wonderful new Etsy customers and I'm already cooking up my next freebie promotion! I can see me getting addicted to creating little promotions because there is no better feeling than giving away stuff for free! :o)

So watch this space...

Crackers Website Updated!

2008-10-30T11:09:00.000+11:00

I have just updated my website and I'm pretty darn happy with it...for now. :o)

It's one of those things that I just can't stop fiddling with but I just want to make it a fun and energetic place to visit, as well as streamline it so it's a pleasant experience for my visitors.
I have been to some websites that look absolutely gorgeous but I end up getting completely "lost" whilst looking around, or I can't seem to find the one thing I am looking for.

I'm hoping to add lots more to my site between now and Christmas, but for now it's back into the art of getting my hands dirty! I've got lots of paintings and plushies calling my name...

FREEBIES FREEBIES FREEBIES

2008-10-22T14:36:00.000+11:00

Celebrate every little milestone I say!

I am giving away some cute freebies to whoever gives me my 50th sale in my Etsy shop.

I was inspired to do this as I was recently another wonderful Etsy seller's 700th sale, and to celebrate she sent me lots of cute freebies with my order. I thought it was such a great idea, that I wanted to celebrate my 50th sale by giving away some cute free stuff!

I'm already at 49, so you know you're a shoe-in if you buy something now!

And so people don't miss out, I will also give away some freebies for my 51st sale through to my 55th sale as well! Have a browse in my shop and I'll start putting together some free goodies!

ps: I am dreaming of the day I can be doing this with my 700th sale too! ;o)

New notebooks in my shop now!

2008-10-22T00:54:00.001+11:00

Here's some new notebooks I have just listed in my Etsy shop. These are square spiral-bound notebooks, and they make fabulous gift ideas and stocking stuffers if you're thinking about Christmas yet ;o)

I also have a cute owl design on the way (which reminds me...I'd better chase up the printer on that one). Also, some cute mini pocket notebooks are currently being assembled and should be in the shop very soon.

Etsy Treasury

2008-10-20T10:31:00.000+11:00

Yippee! I've just been featured in an awesome Etsy Treasury...it's all about rockets!

Check it out here (it will expire in a couple of days):
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=15821

Work-in-progress

2008-10-17T10:28:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I had a really productive day. I love those kind of days - when your head hits the pillow at night you feel a great sense of achievement.

I had both kids in daycare for 3 hours in the morning (the first time I have even had them both in daycare at the same time - it was the first time 18-month-old Harvey has even been!) and in that stretch of time I managed to get a whole bunch of new notebooks collated, holepunched and ready for binding. I still have to guillotine some plastic covers for them, hopefully this weekend. And then I'll list some in my Etsy shop. I haven't had any of my spiral-bound notebooks in there up until now.

I also finished painting up some Robot plushies, and even sewed and stuffed one last night watching the Amazing Race (my favourite TV show!) The reason why it took me nearly a whole episode to do this is because I completely sew them by hand. I am yet to acquire a sewing machine but think it may be on the cards soon. My hubby says Santa may bring me one for Christmas, but I'm not big on appliances as presents. It seems so cold and sterile and it means my hubby doesn't have to work very hard in thinking up a creative present idea! ;op

Here's some work-in-progress Robot plushies:

While the kids napped in the afternoon after a busy morning at daycare, I did a bit of cutting out of some cute faces I am going to put on gorgeous little greeting cards.

All of this buzz of activity should mean there will be lots of new things added to the shop in the next couple of weeks!

Robot Plushies Revisited

2008-10-12T14:29:00.000+11:00

I was just scrolling back through my blog and realised that I never got around to posting a picture of how Sammy the Robot plushie turned out. I couldn't remember why I hadn't posted a pic, since I had already done posts about Marvin and Lionel.

And then I remembered it was because Sammy didn't quite make it into my Etsy shop - he was sold prior along with another Lionel. So I only have one photo of him about to be wrapped up and sent off to his new home!

I am endeavouring to make more of these gorgeous plushies - in fact, some have actually been started. They are a labour of love because they are all painted and sewn by hand. But I think the result is worth it.

Phew!

2008-10-12T11:53:00.000+11:00

My customer in the US received her twins' Monkey Painting safe and sound and with no damage. I'm so relieved! It was quite a large canvas to send overseas and you should've seen the amount of bubblewrap I used on it. I felt so guilty at the amount of plastic I used to package it up that I asked my client if she could please reuse it wherever possible (of course, she happily obliged). So everybody's happy :o)

I've been doing a bit more listing in my Etsy shop, including some of my new stuff:

I also have some gorgeous Robot and Owl notebooks and bookmarks on the way, as well as more cards and gift tags. I'm a bit crazy for these little guys at the moment!

Splash

2008-09-26T22:58:00.001+10:00

I thought I'd show you another custom artwork I created in recent times. This particular client found me from a random Google search (how good is that?!) and was after someone to create a custom artwork to hang in a space in his newly decorated "minimalist modern" living room.

He requested a very large painting of a big silver splash on an orange background.

My first thought was "I've never done anything like this before...can I actually do this?" but then I started to visualise what I thought he meant and then had to set about how I was going to get that image down on canvas.

It was certainly a challenge. And it was a biggun'! I'm talking 2 metres wide x 1 metre high spread over three separate canvases. Take a look at the finished result:

I actually used silver paint so the splash has a lovely shimmery quality that looks different depending on which way the light hits it. The client loved it and I was happy (and relieved) that I managed to give him just what he was envisaging!

I'm Back!

2008-09-26T22:15:00.000+10:00

Wow, it's really been a long time since I updated my little art blog here. I am feeling extremely guilty about that!

I got a bit side-tracked there for a minute with quite a few other things going on, but the upshot of it is that I'm back, I'm painting and creating again, and I'm loving it!

I've just finished a custom painting for a lovely customer in Florida USA. She found me through my Etsy shop and has bought a few other paintings from me (all in the jungle animals theme) for her twin boys' room. This was lots of fun to work on and has reminded me how much I enjoy the whole process of creating an artwork, especially for kids.

This painting is a nice, large piece - around 50cm(h) x 60cm(w) - so it will hopefully make a great impact on the twins' bedroom wall!

HALF PRICE SALE in my ETSY SHOP!

2008-05-25T00:32:00.000+10:00

Everything in my Etsy Shop has been genuinely reduced by 50%! WOW!

Go and take a look! Quick, hurry, scoot! :o)
Sale finishes on 31st May.

More handpainted plushies finished!

2008-04-17T16:19:00.000+10:00

I finished Lionel the Robot and he was for sale in my Etsy shop, but I have since sold him as part of a trade with a fellow Etsy seller.

Here he is:

And Manuel the Turtle is finished too and currently for sale in my Etsy shop.

I am just putting the finishing touches to Sammy the Robot, so hopefully a photo soon!

Etsy Trades

2008-04-17T16:03:00.000+10:00

I've just done some trades with some wonderfully talented laydeez on Etsy (ie: I've purchased some things from their shops and in kind, they have purchased from me to the same value).

I love these two sellers and had already bought from Jodie and was planning on buying something from Rosie very soon. So that worked out brilliantly!

Here's my goodies from jodieflowers.etsy.com:

And my goodies from rosieok.etsy.com (a fellow Aussie Etsian):

I can't wait for them to arrive!

New Plushies!

2008-04-09T23:21:00.000+10:00

Well I have finally finished some of my new plushies! Yay.

These are some of my characters that have been handpainted onto cotton drill fabric and handsewn and stuffed. I absolutely LOVE making them and have a few made and plans for many, many more.

This is one of my robots called Marvin, and he was snapped up from my Etsy shop within a couple of hours of being listed:

I also have two more robot companions for Marvin called Lionel and Sammy (both yet to be photographed).

I have just listed Edie the Elephant plushie in my Etsy shop and have Manuel the Turtle to list too. I'll post more photos here as soon as I have them all photographed.

It is so much fun to combine painting with a bit of sewing to create something more three-dimensional and tangible than a flat painting. It is so satisfying when I get to the stuffing part to see the whole little character come alive. So. Much. Fun.

Watch this space (and my Etsy shop) as I guarantee there'll be many more.

Busy Busy Busy

2008-04-04T21:29:00.000+11:00

This is what my work table looks like tonight:

Yikes! I'd better get stuck into it...

Now on OZeBaby!

2008-04-02T21:37:00.000+11:00

Crackers Art now has a shop on the OZeBaby website!

OZeBaby is a website showcasing businesses that are run by Aussie work-at-home mums and dads (or small family-run businesses). There's all sorts of goodies on there, so check it out!

A Lull

2008-03-21T21:07:00.000+11:00

Well, I haven't picked up my brushes in a while and I'm not exactly sure why. It's a combination of being too busy with other life and family things, and also because I've been itching to do some new little arty projects that don't involve canvases.

I'm very excited about creating some new little handpainted and handsewn plush toys. I've just started on them and I really, really hope they turn out okay. So far they are looking good and I am actually looking forward to the handsewing and stuffing part! Probably because I haven't sewn anything by hand, with a machine or otherwise for something like 15 years! I don't even darn socks! So it will be a big learning curve and really fun to do something different.

Okay, I'm going to get back to it. Watch this space (and my Etsy shop) for some new little friends very soon...

Australiana

2008-03-03T15:55:00.000+11:00

A few years back when my business primarily revolved around stationery products (like notebooks and greeting cards) I created a range of Australiana-based designs. I got as far as designing some Australian flora ones and some Australian birds.

I came across a bunch of supplies the other day for some handmade greeting cards from this range that never quite got finished, so I decided to complete them and add them to my Etsy shop.

And while I was doing this, I absolutely fell in love with my designs all over again and have decided to look into getting some fine art archival-quality prints done of them for my own pleasure, as well as to put in my Etsy shop and on my website.

My mind is starting to tick over with new designs to add to the range as well. Now, just need to find some time to do them...

Busy

2008-03-03T15:33:00.000+11:00

Well, I have been keeping myself busy with a few bits and pieces. Here's the evidence...

I have been trying to add items to my Etsy shop on a regular basis as I've heard it's a good way to keep oneself visible on there and then there's more likelihood of being noticed.

So I am trying to list every day or every second day but I'm not really sure how long I'll be able to keep that up. I guess I'm just trying it out at the moment to see if it makes any difference. I'm also trying to post regularly in the forums as this is also another good way to get people into your shops. Plus, I do like a chat :o)

NEW Gift Boxes just arrived!

2008-02-13T16:22:00.000+11:00

Yay, my first lot of gift boxes have been created and added to my website, available for purchase online!

Crackers Art gift boxes are individually created with a lot of time and love, so no two gift boxes are alike and they all have a very personal touch.

Each gift box contains an original Crackers handpainted artwork to hang on the wall. A gorgeous gift idea and an affordable way to spoil your friends and family!

All gift boxes are finished with brightly coloured tissue paper and ribbons and wrapped in clear cellophane.

Shipping of gift boxes: Gift boxes can be shipped directly to your recipient with a gift card containing your own personal message!

Check them out here.

Work-At-Home-Mums magnets

2008-02-13T16:12:00.000+11:00

I thought I would create some magnets for the 'sisterhood' of mums out there that are caring for kids, working from home and trying to run the household at the same time!

Well, they make laugh anyway...

They're available to purchase in my online store!

NEW listings on eBay right now!

2008-02-01T15:36:00.000+11:00

I'm happy to announce I have some new paintings up for auction on eBay right now, with some more being added shortly.

I list my artwork on eBay for cheaper prices than on my website, so you could pick up a real bargain! Check it all out here:

Crackers eBay listings

Shop online now! Visit my revamped website!

2008-01-26T23:56:00.000+11:00

Well it's been a long, hard road filled with many a sleepless night, but I have finally finished the new Crackers website! And I'm very happy with the results.

Crackers has had a facelift and now looks "rested" and "refreshed" :o)

Some features of the new site:

- NEW shopping cart facility...shop online NOW! (go on, you know you want too...heh, heh)
- NEW 'On Sale' page for current specials
- NEW products coming very soon, such as framed prints and gorgeous gift boxes

Enjoy browsing and don't forget to email me if you have any comments, feedback or questions!

Shopping cart feature coming to my website!

2008-01-06T15:53:00.000+11:00

Otherwise known as shopping "trolley" down in these parts anyway... (heh, heh).

Yes, I am very happy to announce that I will be finally adding a shopping cart feature to my website so shoppers can buy online directly from me, using a credit card. It should all be up and running in the next couple of weeks.

As well as my own website, I will still be selling my artwork through Etsy and eBay and I am also currently looking into one other avenue.

So there will be plenty of places to find me and my artwork!

A sneak peek @ new products

2008-01-04T15:48:00.000+11:00

Okay, here's a little teaser about some new products I am currently developing. I am very excited about it to say the least :o)

Not giving much away at this stage, but just wanted to show you these cute little guys!

These new products will be included on my website as part of the Crackers New Year Sale, just as soon as I get them finished!

Wahmtastic Prize Hunt

2008-01-04T15:01:00.001+11:00

Back In November, my website took part in the first Wahmtastic Prize Hunt.

The participating websites hide an icon on their site and have clues scattered around the site for the prize hunters to follow and locate the icon. They collect all the icons from the different websites and whoever collects them all first wins!

I was honoured to have my business included in the First Prize pack, and I chose to donate a $50 gift voucher for a custom artwork.

I was so happy to paint a red rocket artwork for the lovely winner. Here it is below (sized at 36cm x 46cm).

The next Prize Hunt is running from the 10th-23rd February, so everybody get in now and register! It's lots of fun, anybody can take part, it's FREE and there are really fabulous prizes to win!

Having a wild time!

2008-01-04T00:42:00.000+11:00

Here are three custom paintings I finished and shipped before Christmas, each measuring 36cm x 46cm (ie: lovely and LARGE!). They looked fantastic when they were finished and I was a bit sorry to see them go (although my client loves them, so I know they have gone to a good home).

These are part of the series of jungle/wild/African animals I have been developing and I have more going up onto eBay very soon.

I think I might have to do a set for my kids' bedrooms too, as I absolutely love them and how they work so well together hung in a group.

Craft Show photos

2008-01-04T00:18:00.001+11:00

Before I forget, here's some photos of my display stand at the recent local Art & Craft Show I did before Christmas.

By the time I arrived to set up, both stalls on either side of me had set their stalls up all the way to one side and all the way to the other, leaving the equivalent of three stall spaces for me.

So instead of my little ol' stall floating in this big expanse, I decided to s p r e a d o u t !

I rustled up some chairs to prop paintings up on and believe I made quite a bit more impact than I otherwise would have! :o)

Unfortunately for myself and the other stall-holders, nobody seemed keen to part with their money that day which was a surprise considering it was so close to Christmas (perhaps this was working against us?) There was quite a crowd early on too, but it died down around dinner-time and never quite recovered.

I still enjoyed myself chatting to passersby and other stall-holders about my artwork and theirs. But it did remind me of why I got out of the market stall game a few years back and have been concentrating on internet-based selling instead. A lot of effort goes into setting up and packing up a physical stall, as well as a lot of standing around for hours on end which may or may not result in sales. Plus the organisation around my family commitments etc etc.

And also the fact that I always end up spending more at markets than I earn! For instance at this market I came away with 2 x $50 massage vouchers for me and my hubby, so all was not a complete loss!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-01-03T23:48:00.000+11:00

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year and suddenly it's 2008.

Wow...where did 2007 go?

I am busily getting organised for the Crackers New Year Sale, which will include:

- Half price paintings!

- 99 cent eBay auctions!

- Special introductory prices on NEW products!

I'm so excited about my new products and will give a sneak peek in another post.

Here's my little 'Happy New Year' Ad I created for my MySpace friends...

I'm looking forward to 2008 being an exciting year for my little art business and can't wait to get stuck into it!

Christmas Twilight Market

2007-12-05T15:00:00.001+11:00

Well, time has been marching on and I have been a bit slack in updating what I have been up to on the arty front.

I am currently preparing for a Christmas Twilight Art & Craft Fair (wow, what a mouthful) where I am having a stall. I am looking forward to taking along all sorts of stuff like:

Mirrors

Magnets

Notecard Sets

Xmas Gift Stickers

and of course, lots of paintings. I'm also going to take along a folio of past artwork designs for people to browse through.

I'll try to remember to take some photos of my display to post on here.

Hey, if anyone's in the area, come and say hello! :o)
Christmas Art & Craft Fair
Mordialloc Community Centre
Warren Road, Mordialloc
Sunday 9th December
4.00-8.00pm

Wahmtastic

2007-11-15T16:52:00.000+11:00

I am so happy to be associated with a new website for work-at-home-mums called Wahmtastic (the banner is on my page here on the right hand side ---->).

It was created by another WAHM called Maren Williams who has set up a site for WAHMs with websites to get their products reviewed, and the reviews are published on the site for all to read.

I have two reviews written by two wonderful clients, which you can read here.

Basically the idea is to create awareness of online stores run by WAHMs, and to take the wariness out of buying via the web, by publishing trusted reviews of products for potential customers to read.

So far my whole Wahmtastic experience has been fantastic and we have a lovely little supportive community going on.

So be sure to visit the site and some of the WAHM stores when doing your Christmas shopping this year!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

2007-11-06T23:50:00.000+11:00

C H R I S T M A S !

Yay! I love Christmas. Always have, always will.

When I was growing up, my family always unashamedly indulged in the festive side of Christmas - tinsel in every corner of the room, hundreds of fairy lights on the tree, presents in all colours of the rainbow, Christmas carols on the CD player, stockings stuffed with chocolate. In fact, not much has changed except that over the years my parents have gone just a little more low key in the decorating department.

Now I am happily keeping up the tradition with my own little family and have almost managed to exorcise all of the the Scroogey-ness out of my hubby! He's quite excited about seeing how our 2.5 year old son reacts to it all this year, as he is just at that age now where he is starting to get enchanted by things, and his little face just lights up when he sees all the decorations in the shops! Plus it will be our almost-8-month-old's first Christmas, so that makes it super special! :o)

So I have started to get all Christmassy on my website, and have created a 'Christmas Crackers' section with some lovely little Christmas gift ideas. I keep adding to it all the time, so check it out!

Oooohhh, I wish it could be Christmas all year round...

Jungle Mania

2007-11-06T23:28:00.000+11:00

I'm getting very excited about my new range of jungle characters that I am currently working on.

Here's some of my original sketches:

I can't wait to paint them up!

Incidentally, do you know how many times I drew that lion before I got it right? I just couldn't put my finger on what didn't look right, until I Googled some lion images and realised it was the nose. My originals were just not very cat-like (see a small sample of the reject drawings below).

Finally getting it right:

It's amazing what a difference one small detail makes!

Four old friends

2007-11-06T23:04:00.000+11:00

Here's a pic of some magnets that are currently at the printers, and I should have them in my hot little hands this week:

These little guys have been with me for the longest time. They first appeared on a set of handmade cards I used to sell into a small handful of baby shops, circa 1999-2000.

Since then they reappeared in a set of printed greeting cards and gift tags that I sold in 2003-2004 and then made it onto canvases as kid's paintings in 2006 (see below).

I have also just added their monikers to some cute little pocket mirrors which should be arriving from the US supplier this week. They will look very much like this:

It's true - I can't get enough of them!

I'm also receiving a sample this week of the piggy's face on a baby t-shirt, so I can't wait to see how that looks and get the ball rolling on some more of those.

One these days I'll add to the little family, but so far these four little faces have been all I've ever needed. Most people fall in love with at least one of the characters and have never asked me for anything different.

I think they'll be with me for a long time to come, turning up here and there...

Lovely Larry notepad/postcard set

2007-10-30T00:02:00.000+11:00

Here's a lovely notepad & postcard set featuring the adorable Larry the Lamb. It contains one notepad and 10 postcards.

I scanned my original artwork and I had to fiddle around a bit in Photoshop to get the colours back to their original vibrant state. When these arrived back from the printers, I noticed Larry was a little more pink than my original but other than that, the colours came up really well!

Anyway I really like how this has come together and think this would make a really lovely little gift or stocking stuffer.

I think I'll put a few more of these together for the Christmas Art & Craft market I am going to exhibit at in December!

ps: available in my shop!

Cute magnet sets - now available!

2007-10-29T23:49:00.000+11:00

Here's what the magnets look like in little sets of 6. Now available in my Etsy shop.

Caaaaa-ute!

Some new artworks just completed!

2007-10-23T22:11:00.001+10:00

I've just finished up these artworks and have started listing them on Etsy today!

Custom works-in-progress Pt 2

2007-10-23T22:03:00.000+10:00

I've got a bit further with the current custom orders I am working on, and I am working some more on them tonight (note to self - get off the computer! ha, ha).

I love these planes. I first created artwork for these back in 2000 when they featured as an illustration on some hand-made cards.

New Wall Art in progress

2007-10-23T21:50:00.000+10:00

I've found some really cute shapes made out of MDF wood that will be perfect to paint some characters on. They can attach easily to any wall with Blu-Tac.

I'm thinking of rockets and UFO's on the star shapes and maybe some cute insect ones on the flowers.

New Fridge Magnets!

2007-10-11T20:57:00.000+10:00

Here's some new fridge magnets I've had printed - Manuel the Turtle and Larry the Lamb.

These will go into some cute little packs of 6 or 8 assorted magnets and will be for sale in my Etsy store, as well as for free giveaways to my customers.

Custom works-in-progress

2007-10-08T21:45:00.000+10:00

I'm now busy getting stuck into some custom works, which I am doing all at once in a "painting frenzy"! :o)

They are all boy's paintings, which I really enjoy creating due to fact that I've got two of 'em myself. Lots of planes, trains and boats. Yay!

Anyway, here's where I've made a start on them. I'm doing more work on these every night this week, so I am hoping they will be almost complete by the weekend!

Hey Diddle Diddle!

2007-10-08T16:02:00.001+10:00

It's finished! Well, almost...I just need to add a coat of gloss and some picture wire on the back. And I might change the colour of the cat's nose. But other than that...

The coat of gloss will enhance the colours further, but here's some pics of the almost-finished product:

Here's some pics of the animals up close. Can I just say, I LOVE the Dish and the Spoon! They're my favourites! :o)

Work-in-progress

2007-10-06T14:31:00.000+10:00

I have been trying to finish off lots of work to get listing some items in my new Etsy shop. Getting the whole website thing up and running took up quite a bit of precious painting time, so I am now returning to finish off a bunch of paintings that were pushed aside for a few weeks.

My easel has been hijacked for the longest time by this painting (see below) that I'm doing for my 7-month-old son Harvey. It is titled "Hey Diddle Diddle" and as you can see it involves all the usual suspects from that particular nursery rhyme. Except it isn't quite finished yet and still lacks a laughing dog, a fiddle and half a cat! And a whole bunch of stars!

I will post some more photos of this artwork once it's finished. I am looking into getting this professionally printed so I can sell framed prints of it in my Esty shop. I won't be creating any duplicates of it at this stage because it's taken me long enough to get around to finishing this original! But as you can see from my pile of work-in-progress artworks, I have created some smaller 'Cow jumping the Moon' paintings which will be available on Etsy very soon!

My website is finished!

2007-10-02T15:54:00.000+10:00

Yay! You can check it out here:

www.crackersart.com.au

I am currently getting a whole bunch of new artworks completed to start listing in my Etsy shop, which will link directly to my website under the column 'Currently For Sale'.

It's so fabulous to finally have a website up and running. Now to just keep it stocked up with artworks...

Art Clusters

2007-10-02T15:38:00.000+10:00

I really love hanging pictures, paintings and photos around my house in little clusters.

The canvases or pictures can be in all different shapes and sizes, different themes or frames, but hung together in a little family. I just think it's a really nice way to hang art, rather than one little picture on an expansive plain wall...very lonely!

Here's an example of a wall in my bedroom (see below). I actually painted all of these paintings at the same time and in the same limited colour palette so they could hang together as a "family", even though they are all completely different themes.

Anyway, I've decided to create some art clusters for kid's rooms using my animal paintings and sell them in groups of 3 or 4. I think they will look adorable!

I also like hanging paintings of the same theme en masse to create a bold impact. For instance these paintings hung in my son Hugo's room, which are all animal-themed and part of the same collection. It looks so much better than if just one of these paintings was hanging by its lonesome in the middle of the wall!

FREEBIES on my MySpace page!

2007-09-24T14:38:00.001+10:00

I've managed to put together a MySpace page for Crackers, which you can check out here.

And I have a special offer for FREEBIES for MySpace friends!

If you purchase any of my products and you are in my MySpace friends list, you will receive some lovely FREEBIES! I will include a little pack of freebies with your order that could contain anything from stickers, fridge magnets, notebooks, greeting cards or even an original mini artwork! All designed and created by me!

You simply need to mention to me when purchasing that you are in my MySpace Friends list and you'll receive your surprise freebies with your order. Yay!

So get onto the Crackers Art website now and see what's currently for sale!

The website's ALMOST finished...

2007-09-24T14:31:00.000+10:00

Yes, I am getting closer and closer to finishing my website.

It's not a complicated website by any means but it has taken me so long to get organised with it and find some extra time in an already chock-a-block schedule to work on it.

And while it sounds like I am whinging about it, I've actually had a lot of fun putting it together. Just not much sleep, that's all.

Anyway, stay tuned! Won't be long now...

A Flurry of Activity

2007-09-20T23:43:00.001+10:00

I have been busy, busy, busy around here trying to get all of my new characters onto paper in preparation for getting them onto canvases.

Here's the results of a bit of recent creative outpouring:

And here's where they start to migrate onto canvases:

Look for the finished artworks for sale in my Etsy shop!

Crackers: The life and times (and changing products!)

2007-09-20T22:48:00.001+10:00

As mentioned in my previous post, Crackers started out as a small handpainted gifts business in 1998. I used to sell my wares at craft markets and street fairs in Sydney and remember fondly the excitement and satisfaction of my first few sales. How lovely it was to get something I had created with my bare hands into the hands of someone who actually wanted it and was actually willing to pay money for it!

Here's a pic of what some of my products looked like back then:

I worked a full-time graphic design job and used to create all of my products after hours and late into the night. I remember shooting out of the office at 5.30pm on the dot, as I would have a full evening's worth of painting ahead of me, much to the disgust of my boss at the time (who evidently noticed I had better things to do than work overtime for him...ha, ha).

In 1999 I relocated to Melbourne and I continued to do the rounds of craft markets on the weekends. I also branched into handcrafted wedding stationery for my friend's wedding photography business. Here's an example:

Around 2002-2003 I started getting interested in more stationery products, namely notebooks and greeting cards with my characters and designs on them, and my business underwent a name change (see my previous post for details on that). Here's a sample of some of the products that came out of that period:

By this stage I dropped the wedding stationery and handpainted products choosing to concentrate solely on the stationery goods. In hindsight, this was a mistake for a girl who likes to get her hands dirty! I really missed painting!

It wasn't until the birth of my first little fella, Hugo, that I picked up the paintbrushes again and started creating artworks for his bedroom. And once I started, I couldn't stop! Here's one of the first paintings I did for him:

So many little characters and ideas are jostling for room in my head and I can't get them down onto the canvas fast enough. Once my sons were born, I suddenly had someone to paint them for and so I do - every chance I get!

So that, in a nutshell, is the life and times of Crackers to date.
But stay tuned, as there's plenty more to come yet!

'Til next time,
Sarah :o)

What's in a name?

2007-09-13T14:47:00.001+10:00

Way back in the day (1998 to be precise) I started my little foray into the business world in Sydney with a little market stall selling handpainted gifts. My business name was Crackers Design, which suited my products (and myself) down to the ground. It always had a fabulous multi-level meaning - ie: "what a little cracker" (something good and feisty); "absolutely crackers" (stark-raving mad); "cream-crackered" (knackered, which is how I feel most days! ha, ha). Here's what my original logo looked like:

Anywho, I LOVED that business name. It came to me so easily one day and was my calling card for many years. I moved into handmade cards and handcrafted wedding stationery, and in 2002 I spruced the logo up a little to look like this:

In 2003 I started creating notebooks and other stationery items and wanted to trademark my business name, which is when I hit a snag. An American company had trademarked "Animal Crackers" internationally for stationery products, so my application for Crackers Design was rejected. I swapped my business name to Rocketstar Studio and created this logo:

It was soooo hard coming up with a new business name! Anything I could think of to describe my quirky style was already taken or trademarked. In the end and after much deliberation, I decided on Rocketstar Studio and got on with things. Do you know how many times people referred to me as "Rockstar Studios"? Even with a little red rocket logo staring them in the face! :o) I even had one courier dropping off a parcel at the front door saying "So what are you? An agent for musicians?" and peering inside in the hope of catching a glimpse of someone famous. Now that would be cool! But alas, no, I was just a little creative-type trying desperately to find my niche in the big bad world.

Since becoming a stay-at-home mum, my business evolved again when I picked up the paintbrushes and started creating artworks for kids. I realised that the name Rocketstar Studio needed to be laid to rest, so that Crackers Art & Design could be reborn!

And so here I am today, resplendent under the banner of Crackers again! I have made my logo energetic and fun (in keeping with my artworks), but also not too slick and over-stylised so I seem approachable and friendly...which I am! :o)

Crackerland

Introducing Second Chance Sally

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 21

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 20

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 18 and 19

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 13-17

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 11 and 12

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 10

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 9

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 8

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 7

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 6

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Day 5

A Drawing A Day Challenge: Days 1 - 4

Finding Fun Again - The Year of Living Creatively

2011 - The Year in Logos

Crackers Art is going on a 'gap year'!

What is a custom logo design?

A quick and easy project anyone can do!

Graphic Designers: How to spot a good one in the wild

Incapacitated = Inspired

The Importance of Being Original...

A Crackers Giveaway!

Hugo's 6th Birthday Party - Soccer Theme

Apple & Pear-licious

Impromptu painting is coming along nicely!

The short answer is, I'm a bit of a freak

Just so we're clear.... :o)

Harvey's 4th Birthday Party - Space Theme

These are a few of my favourite things...

Check out this little bit of cool I've found this fine Saturday evening...

This fan-made video combines three of my favourite things:1. Ben Folds2. Typography3. Bright coloursoh yeah...and...4. My nameEnjoy!

New plushies on the way!

I love everything about this

Necessity is the mother of invention

Shopolat is here!

New plushies on the way...

Space Invaders Awesomeness

Robot Love

Twenty Ten

HALF PRICE ETSY SALE!

Ekidna Kidswear

Free Christmas Gift!

Santa's Sleigh Chase

Ruffian Industries

Give me some Space!

Freebies are FUN

Crackers Website Updated!

FREEBIES FREEBIES FREEBIES

New notebooks in my shop now!

Etsy Treasury

Work-in-progress

Robot Plushies Revisited

Phew!

Splash

I'm Back!

HALF PRICE SALE in my ETSY SHOP!

More handpainted plushies finished!

Etsy Trades

New Plushies!

Busy Busy Busy

Now on OZeBaby!

A Lull

Australiana

Busy

NEW Gift Boxes just arrived!

Work-At-Home-Mums magnets

NEW listings on eBay right now!

Shop online now! Visit my revamped website!

Shopping cart feature coming to my website!

A sneak peek @ new products

Wahmtastic Prize Hunt

Having a wild time!

Craft Show photos

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas Twilight Market

Wahmtastic

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Jungle Mania

Four old friends

This fan-made video combines three of my favourite things:

1. Ben Folds
2. Typography
3. Bright colours
oh yeah...and...
4. My name

Enjoy!