Handmade Travel Diary for Elise

My friend Elise headed off a few weeks ago to live in Hong Kong for a few months with her boyfriend, who is working there for a year or two. I wanted to give her a gift to use for her wonderful adventure so I decided to make her a travel diary.

I have made a few customised travel diaries in the past, as gifts for my family and for myself. See the diary I made for my brother a couple of years ago here. I use Moleskine diaries and print destination appropriate airport codes from baggage labels I have collected on the front. From there I add in extra little envelopes and labels etc throughout which can be used for keeping tickets or odds and ends found along the way.
Normally I print the using my Gocco printer but I ran out of time for this one and printed on some thick tracing paper to add a transparent feel to it and a some Japanese tape...and some extra bits and pieces and it was done.
I mailed it to her and she got it just in time (the day before!!!), and loved it. ;-)

Side By Side - Week 59

My half of side by side last week (late I know) early morning shot of Melbourne from the beachy suburb of Brighton

Check out my shot together with Ross' pic on the Side By Side Blog

Killing two birds with one stone

Here on Little Letters I like to write about paper, crafts, photography and anything art related...BUT my other BIG passion in life is Snowboarding.

I photographed the genius Shaun White
in action at the Winter Games last year in New Zealand.

I choose not to ramble about my snowy obsession here, I focus those thoughts elsewhere on women's snowboarding website www.powderroom.net. I have been involved with the site since the early days, almost right from the start when I wrote about my first (and only) full working snow season.
Anyway I digress, I have found a way to intertwine my snowboarding side with my artistic interests. I have started a series of stories on the artists and designers behind snowboard graphics and clothing design etc.
My first in the series is with the wonderful Amy Ruppel I think I may have first seen her work on Design*Sponge and headed to her site to see that she had actually done some design work for a couple of snowboard companies.

Amy's graphics for Burton Snowboards Lux Snowboard

Amy agreed to answer some of my questions and here is my article Artist Behind the Graphics Series for Powderroom.

Side By Side Photo Project Week 58

My half of side by side this week...New Shoes. I am so in love with these...



I have been looking for these Jack Purcell Converse shoes for a while...and I found them in an outlet store this weekend for only $48...down from $139! Who doesn't love a bargain.

Check out both of our shots at our Side by Side blog

Side By Side Week 57

A little late....but my side of my photo project with my friend Ross.



Halloween Cupcakes - Sadly, I wasn't dressing up for anything this year for Halloween but feeling like I needed to get into a spooky spirit I made some halloween themed cupcakes for some friends that came over.

Our photos side by side....fab autumn colours I thought. Ross captured the Angel of the Waters at the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park just right.


Check out our Side By Side Blog.

Side By Side - Week 56

My side of photo project with my friend Ross..

Suburban Silhouettes - A view from my balcony across the rooftops...it's the time of year in Melbourne for awesome sunsets.

Both our photos side by side...awesome Halloween decorations on Brooklyn brownstone steps from Ross.



Blogged here

Once......Upon a Fold!!

Way too much of my time is spent checking out other peoples blogs and wonderful websites. Not a bad thing really as it provides me with endless supplies of inspiration and ideas.
I am not exactly sure where I found these wonderful peeps....I think it may be via my new twitter obsession (I resisted for a long time but now I am hooked). Anyway, back to my new favourite find.. Upon a Fold.

Graphic designers, Justine and her husband Matt are paper lovers and you can tell. Justines childhood dream has become reality, where as she puts it we can "gleefully revel" in her passion for paper, and gleefully revel I did. Upon a Fold have a great online shop with so much paper goodness I can hear my credit card screaming at me already. Here is just a sneaky selection of the paper goodness on offer in their shop.
1. Message Burger 2. Blom Paper Flowers 3. Heart Popcard 4. Happy Memo Mountain

If you are a paper nerd like me....go check it out, I am just having a hard time deciding on what to buy!All i know is I gotta have the message burger.

Onwards and Upwards

Yesterday was a big day for me. I decided it was about time I register my Little Letters name as my plans are progressing for a new venture and I didn't want anyone to steal my name.
I have to hear from the official peeps regarding the formalities BUT its done. Little Letters Photography and Design is finally entering the next phase of development.
Hope you will stay with me and see what comes next.

This little piggie went to market ... Part 2!

So I followed up the Finders Keepers market the other week with a trip across to Malvern, to my first Magnolia Square Market (gotta love that name)! Some of the same faces were at this market and I even stopped by the Print Ink Studio stall to pick up another tea towel calendar.

Again I was overwhelmed by creative goodness. I picked up Rainbowland and Monster Playground prints from the lovely Nikki Catalano they are so delicate and lovely I have a perfect spot for them, I just need to get them framed.

I was tempted buy more prints from the Printspace but opted for some cards instead. For now at least.

I look forward to it being a regular market haunt.

This little piggie went to market.....part 1!

Over the last few weeks Melbourne has been the host to a couple of awesome craft markets and I did a good job of contributing plenty of $$$$ to the crafty community in this time!
The first of my two recent market outings was the inaugural Finders Keeper Melbourne market Melbourne at Shed 4, Docklands. I was kinda intrigued about the location at first but it turned out to be a fab spot and with the sun shining plenty of market goers had made their way down to see what was on offer. As we walked down we passed the wonderful Beatbox Kitchen and were greeted by some great live music as we entered the 'shed'!

Well to say that we were excited...a host of creative goodness when we laid eyes on what was before us. Watch out wallet here I come.
My purchases from the day included some calendar tea towels from Tinker by Print Ink Studio such a great christmas gift I thought.


Wonderfully cute Reusable cupcake cases from The Cupcake Wrapper Co. I bought some Christmas ones this time around but I think I might be buying some others for other occasions online soon.


Also along the Christmas theme, I picked up some very beautiful letterpress tags made be Bespoke Letterpress Boutique from Brisbane. I am so in love with letterpress and actually have my own letterpress on the way to me as I type from the UK so I wrote off this purchase as being research...can I get away with that do you reckon??

Last but not least for the day was a beautiful ring from contemporary jeweller Kylie Gartside's Bent and Twisted collection..I was in love with this the minute I saw it and Kylie herself persuaded me with a drop in the listed price and the suggestion that I could wear it as a pendant too...multifunctional jewellery. I like it.

I picked up a heap of cards on my way around for reference later as my wallet was screaming by this stage - the wonder of online stores means I can visit at my leisure at a later date. I will be writing about these individually soon.

All in all a fantastic market by the Finders Keepers peeps...so great to see such a fantastic array of wonderful crafty folk...one day I might even make it there if I manage to actually get one of my ideas off the ground. Can't wait till the next one.
Check out The Finders Keepers Melbourne Wrap Up post on the website..and for further details of markets in Brisbane and Sydney.

Side by Side Project - Week 55

L - On Your Bike - I was in the city this weekend supporting Shane who was doing a 100km cycle from the tip of the bay peninsula to the city. The weather was not on their side but the clouds did part in the afternoon when they crossed the line. These bikes are actually a new tourist initiative in the city, I think you put some money in the meter and off you go. They are not so popular mainly as helmets are compulsory in Oz but they have no way of supplying them with the bike.

R - Office Daydream - So this is the view from my office window, the photo doesn't really do it justice though. Where I work is really industrial with lots of factories and warehouses, but in the distance you can see all the sights of manhattan, it's really quite the view!

Side by Side Photo Project - Week 54

Side by Side is a little late this week as my Side By Side buddy Ross moved from Washington DC to Brooklyn, NY....lucky him!
Anyway these are our two for this week...they complement each other well I think.



L - Holy Cow - Ha this is a fun sculpture in Melbourne's Docklands of a cow stuck in a tree (work that one out?!). We were hanging out at the wonderful Finders Keepers market and after some food and drinks we walked back along the wharf and the cow in a tree was looking just right at sunset. Fun.

R - Brownstone Stoops - I took this picture last night whilst out walking little D, we live on a lovely street of Brooklyn Brownstones and they all have stoops like these to hang out on.

Week 53 - Side by Side Project

Week 53 signifies the start of year 2 of Side by Side and it also just so happens that it was also my birthday. Happy Birthday Me. Therefore my photo was heavy on the Birthday theme...

Side By Side Year 1 completed....Year 2 off and running.

Well I have not done well with my aim of posting this weekly. I am already playing catch up. Anyway, I finished up with my first year of my Side By Side project with Ross at the end of September. Our final shots are below.



My weekend was spent enjoying the last of the spring snow at Falls Creek. An early birthday celebration for me as we stayed in luxurious on mountain accommodation right at the bottom of the main lift. Wonderful! Ross is moving to NYC from Washington DC and posted a pic of his parking permits which he had to apply for all the moving vehicle packing and parking shenanigans.

One year complete - here's to another 52 weeks of photo goodness.

Side by Side Photo Project

This is the introduction to a new weekly photography feature, Side By Side.

My good friend Ross and I embarked on a little photography project nearly year ago to the day, inspired by two photography loving friends The Minty Forest who posted a photo everyday for a year. Its also not dissimilar to the 3191 girls who have brought us A Year Of Mornings where they took a picture every morning for a year, followed a year later by A Year Of Evenings.
Anyway, Ross and I decided we were unlikely to be able to commit to a photo every day (yeah I know we are scared of the challenge - well I am anyway - Ross managed a 365 portrait project last year!)
We decided to post one photo a week for a year and what makes it a little more interesting is we live in different hemispheres, Ross living in Washington D.C. while I was here in Melbourne. We wouldn't confer at all on what were were shooting through the week and the first time we see each others photo is when we post on Flickr at the end of the week. I just posted my week 52 today so I thought I would pick a few of my favourites from the year to share with you. Photos on the left are mine and Ross on the right and there is a description of what/where the photo is under each one.

Week 2


L - left hand side - I completed my first 5km run this weekend and this sums up my state of mind the last couple of days as I stressed about whether or not I could do it!! Needless to say I did and quite easily!!
R - right hand side - The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in front of the US Capitol (Artillery section)

Week 3

L - Ferris wheel at Birrarung Marr, Melbourne

R - Flags outside Union Station

Week 6

L - Spray Can - As i was taking photos some kid picked up these cans and left them on the bollards along Hoosier Lane, Melbourne as he walked by. The art and the tools!
R - Leaf prints - not your typical fall colours, but these prints on the sidewalk caught my eye on my daily walk to the metro

Week 10

L - We put up or Christmas tree this weekend and despite a small drawback when the tree fell down and broke some of my glass baubles, its now finished and looks beautiful!!

R - First snow of the season taken from the comfort of the sofa

Week 22

L - I see this everyday on my way home from work and I am intrigued....who loves Hannah?? Random...but cute.

R - I took this from the rooftop of my apartment building, it is the intersection of H St NE and 3rd St NE, not really on the tourist route, hence the empty bus. In the top left hand corner, you can see the liquor store I frequent, oh and I did a tilt-shift effect too for that toy model effect.

Week 28

L - One of many shots taken at the amazing Fushimi-Inari Taisha in Kyoto. The Shrine was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake in the 8th century but since it signifies success in businesses. A pathway lead 4km up the mountain and is lined with these glorious Tori gates most of the way. One of the highlights of my trip.

R - I take my camera out on the weekend mornings when I walk Diego, and snapped this just as we were coming back home. I took a few which were boring, but then took one on this angle and it's much more interesting.

We both have paths in our photos going in the same direction...!!

Week 31

L - The best of a bad bunch from my day of capturing water droplets...! The result was about 3 half decent photos and a LOT of water everywhere.

R - This is the view from the rooftop of my building looking east down H St towards downtown DC. You can also see the Washington Monument to the top left of the photo. I've wanted to take this for a while to give it as a gift to a friend so now that I've got a tripod I was finally able to capture it. Not super happy with it but it's a good intro into some long exposures. I'd like a few more cars for light trails, but it just wasn't happening.

Week 45

L - Ahh if you can't have powder, freshly groomed corduroy runs on a bluebird day are the next best thing. We had our first weekend at the snow for the season, we picked a good one. The sun shone and snow was crisp...nice.

R - Found this in an alley a few weeks ago whilst walking Diego, think it's been a while since a dog lived there.

You can see all of the photos we took here.

Year 2 starts next week - 04 October 2010!

Inspiration All Around

As part of the BYW course mentioned in my previous post, we were set a project to create a mood/inspiration board which both defines our style and what we want our blog to focus on.
I have to say I had an absolute blast doing this and really it came very naturally to me which was kinda exciting. I have never done something like this before, I make lots of things and take lots of photos but never really thought of doing this. Anyway, I jumped straight in and it just all fell together I raided my collection of stationery and odds and ends and the colour palette also just kinda happened. I started with my gocco postcard which is a hint toward my developing print venture. I added in some of my photos from my files, some sketches, some of my favourite stationery from Poppies For Grace my Orla Kiely bedspread, a nod to one of my BIGGEST inspirations, Japanese artist Yashitomo Nara and some travel odds and ends. Oooh and my homemade mini bunting!!



I have received several great comments on Flickr about this photo and it has been really encouraging. It has even helped me make some decisions about what I will be doing with my blog and what sort of thing I plan to cover. More on that soon...watch this space.

Cute as a Button

Well I am taking a online e-class on blogging called Blogging Your Way, which is run by the Holly Becker creator of one of my faves Decor8. Together with the inspiring Leslie Shewring who is the author of the Colour Me Pretty column and creator of A Creative Mint.
So I thought I might do a little catch up posting while I am in the mood. First off I thought I would post up a video I made for my Mum back in March for UK Mothers Day. I am in Australia and she is still back in my home country of Scotland so the fact I forgot to send a card in time was a little problematic. So I got my thinking cap on and thought of all the options I had to create something digitally...and well after a bit of messing around with ribbons and such like I spotted a BIG bag of buttons I have had for random craft projects...and used a stop motion photography technique to create a fun little short.It was a huge success and brought a tear to her eye apparently. (A tear of joy of course.) Watch with sound if possible cause the song really has to be heard with the motion.

Neverending story print

I joined up for another swap a month or so ago....see my post below. I finally got going with my prints and got them sent off last week. I was too indecisive (as usual) and I could not decide if it was better as a print or cards so I did both. So those who are in my swap group got both.

Finished Cards

I decided on a repeating theme of the 'one' shape - my take on the theme. I used one screen but I cheated and used two colours. I am kinda happy with how it turned out. I had some issues with ink distribution. I guess that is part of the gocco charm...you are never quite sure how it will turn out and what you do produce has some character. Thats what I say anyway ;-)

Some pics showing my printing/packing process. Oh and I also made some little cards to include in the package stamped with one of my wooden letterpress blocks, like you can see in my blog header. (See the number one peeking through the packages in the pic at the top of the post.

Choosing the all important print colours

All inked up and ready to go

Prints ready to be sent in their little packages.

One-Gocco Swap

I just read this over on Flickr. Another Gocco swap,fantastic. The theme this time is One. So that is one image, one screen, one colour, one word, how you interpret that is your choice.

A softie at heart!

I finished my first softie the other day and I am pretty happy with it. I used it as a bit of a project to get myself sewing with my machine and by hand. It was great and very therapeutic. The cute great pattern was courtesy of the wonderful Revoluzza. There is such a great community of bloggers and crafters out there who are willing to share wonderful ideas and tutorials to help the less experienced i.e. me! So thanks to all of them - although not likely that any will be reading this!
Check out the little monster below...