Weekend Wishlist

I have been thinking of creating a regular feature here for a while . After a bit of thought I decided that I might write a little about the things I like and have on my wishlist to buy or at least dream of one day owning. I seem to bookmark more and more wonderful products every day whether from the newspaper, magazines and all the wonderful blogs and sites online.

This weeks wishlist has a few odds and ends that I have my eye on...
1. Hilary Grant - Mountain Cushions
These are just brilliant, I HAVE to have these. Not only because they are made from 100% pure Lambswool in my home country Scotland, but they appeal to my snowy/mountain love and therefore tick all the boxes for me. They will go just perfectly on my Eames eiffel chair in my bedroom!Hilary Grant is an independent knit and textile designer who in addition to creating these wonderful cushions makes scarves and mittens too.

2. Pony Rider - Swiss Alps Cushion
Following on with the mountain theme, I am loving this Swiss Alps cushion by Ponyrider which features a screen printed image of the Matterhorn with a little extra graphic touch to make it pop. I have singled this one out but I could quite easily buy one of everything in their shop. I don't think the bank balance could cope with that though (sadly)!
Pony Rider is a collaboration between Sydney friends Kelly Searl and Jacqui Lewis. Their textiles and soft furnishings are designed in house, and then hand screen printed and sewn in Sydney.

3. Gotye - Making Mirrors
Ok so this is no longer a wishlist item because I just bought it this afternoon (while writing this post), but it I think it should be on everyone else's list. A fantastic album...really brilliant - love the album cover artwork too. Check out the first song from the album below.

Look out for more goodies soon.

The Little Things!

Life is busy and chaotic most of the time and I am a big believer in the taking time to make a little something or write a little note whenever the opportunity arises. Whatever it is it allows you to step back a bit from the day to day and immerse yourself in something creative or just downright fun even if its for 5mins!
I love to create on paper or with paper and do so whenever I get the chance, even if it's just wrapping a gift. When I received a little gift from friend and (former) work colleague on the day she left to say thanks for the support and just 'because' I was really thrilled. Jane who gave me the gift, presented my wee gift perfectly and I feel took the time and effort to make a small gesture wonderfully thoughtful. Not only was there a great little gift (a clever magnetic photo wire and a lovely scented candle) - perfect for 'Studio 2' - but it was the presentation that really was fab. The painted stripes simple and the colour perfectly picked to go with the blue gum leaves in the wee poesy of flowers she included.

Oh and I couldn't resist a little bit of creativity myself in the top photo. I added some of everyone's fave Japanese Masking tape to a humble jam jar. Hey presto cute flowers on display in my room! And so, you see its those little things.......

Side By Side - Week 97

My job is a dull place these days with the many 'characters' shall we say moving on. I know you are there to work but a bit of fun never hurt anyone.
Anyway, Jane (or Jane-O/Janester as I call her) was my creative outlet in my otherwise dull day. She worked at reception and always happy to have a chat about some new idea or just bounce my artistic ideas off. She left last week and gave me the loveliest little gift to say thanks for supporting her and generally being crazy old me. With my wee pressie she picked a fresh poesy of spring (early) blossom and blue gum leaves. So great...THANK YOU JANE-O!!

Side by Side Catch up time...

Behind again...no real excuse....laziness I guess!

Week 96 - Fruits of my labour.

Well a couple of weeks ago I posted a pic of my Lemon tree and this week I thought I would post a pic of my efforts using the yummy lemons. So I cheated a little and used a shop bought pastry case, mainly because I didn't have quite the right tin. The rest is all home made! Yummers.

Week 95 - Melbourne Institution

Victoria Bitter or VB is quite the institution in Melbourne and of course Victoria! I am not a huge fan myself but I am a fan of this sign which I see when I drive to the city! Normally I am driving and its a very busy road so stopping somewhere to snap it is always hard. However, on a Sunday jaunt with Shane into the city - I managed to think fast and snap this out of the window of the car. Yes the car was moving and I took 1 and only 1 photo. The vintage feel was all natural too just a grey dull day = this pic and I love it.

Week 94 - You know the score!

Last week was EXCITING - for me anyway! I went to watch my football team Celtic who had come all the way from Scotland to play Melbourne's 'soccer' team The Victory! My wonderful team won 1-0...phew I am glad because I was talking them up BIG time! ;-) I took a heap of photos but I really liked this which shows a bit of the awesome AAMI stadium, the crowd and you can just see the rain in the top right corner! Yeah the rain...that was a shame!

Check out the side by side blog here http://sidebysideatoppositeendsoftheworld.blogspot.com/

Side By Side - week 93 - A squeeze of lemon?

After a quite a few years in Oz, I still get excited by having a lemon tree in my back garden! Winter is actually one of the biggest citrus growing seasons and luckily we have a very old established tree which just hangs with Lemons year round! Although, there is only so much you can do with lemons...its Lemon meringue pie this weekend I think ;-)

Side By Side - Week 92 A Double Pot of Gold Perhaps?

Ahhh...what a wonderful sight on your way to work....brings a smile to anyone's face I think. It really does sum up Melbourne's weather, sunny one minute, raining the next! In this case both at the same time! I didn't react to the wonderful sight like this guy though!

Check out the side by side project blog for my shot next to my friend Ross' photo!

Side By Side - Week 91

After a busy week of paper work for my other half and his business I had some time to sit down and do some creating of my own.

Well it has been a busy week or two, its the end of the tax year here and I have been taking care of some things here and there. When I wasn't doing that, I was mostly enjoying my newly renovated studio . Oh and I also bought a tonne of new books, of which these are a few which are waiting for some serious reading! This photo is really summing things up for me at the moment. Lost of ideas on the go - hopefully some that I will be sharing soon! ;-)

Side By Side Weeks 89 - 90

I have done a tad better than of late, as I have managed to only post 2 of my side by side photos this time.

Week 90 - 99 Brunswick Street

I'm cheating a little this week as this is from the previous week, BUT I love everything about it and I couldn't let it slip by unnoticed. Plus with my Mum visiting and overall rubbish weather I never got that chance to get out and take some pics. Anyway, it's a small section from Window 99 Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Which is an installation space at you guessed it 99 Brunswick St. I love the liitle egg cup figure, the shoes in the picture, the cotton reels and also mostly loving the reflection of the building across the street in the glass of the window.

Week 89 - Hipster Crochet Bike

This was just some of the randomness that Melbourne is famous for. I was in the city over the weekend and we saw this random crochet covered bike in locked up against a lamp post. Not too sure what it was all about but they were doing a 12hr 'Knit In' in Federation Square so I can only presume it had something to do with that. Nonetheless super fun!

Check out the side by side blog here http://sidebysideatoppositeendsoftheworld.blogspot.com/

New space, new projects!

My Side by Side post mentioned the fact that I have been SUPER busy lately, and I have been neglecting my wee Little Letters blog as a result! So the reason for my absence is due to a small renovation that Shane( Mr Little Letters) and I have been working on.

Our house is situated on a sloping block of land and as a result, there is almost a basement like area downstairs from the main part of the house. Up until now it was mostly used for storage and a laundry area. A year or so ago the son of the old owner was in the area and stopped by to wish us well and let us know that he thought what we had done a great job with our renovation of his old home. He also told me that one of the basement rooms was actually his old photography darkroom. I was thrilled that this little room had been a creative haven for someone in the past and I decided it should be my creative haven for the future.

With this in mind,we launched into yet more renovations. This one was small compared to other projects we have tackled but time consuming nonetheless (WAY more than I thought). Our house was built in the mid-50's and the colour scheme and finishes are still evident here and there, we even have some crazy psychedelic wallpaper in our laundry that is so old its almost cool! Paint colour scheme is also questionable, lots of pastels, old fittings which don't match regular modern measurements....you get the idea. Refer to the photos below for a peek at the before.
 
Note the wonderful use of green lino tiles and they also included that in the bench! Coupled with the peach coloured walls...quite the colour combo. As you can see there is little natural light (bummer really but you take what you can get), so I had to try and brighten the space as much as I could. I also HAD to get rid of the work bench and the shocking floor.

Several weeks later my new creative space is finished. Taa-daaa!
 
I will be posting some details and more info on my plans soon! Check back soon.

Side By Side - Week 81 - 88

Hello there,
Well I am back after a bit of hiatus but I have been SUPER busy I promise. Currently, I have my Mum visiting which is great but busy! Before that I was working on a wee bit of home renovation and that has been taking a LOT of my free time on the weekends. In fact ALL my time on the weekends (that and the usual stuff). I also managed some time away over Easter which was ages ago now - and therefore quite embarrasing that it has taken me so long to update the blog.
However a change is about to take place here at Little Letters and I will be spending a LOT more time focusing. Stay tuned for my new update.

Ok on to Side By Side. Here we go....

Week 88 - Blast From The Past.

I went to a vintage market on the weekend and picked up some odds and ends. I have a collection of wooden rulers on the wall and these are more for the collection. Some vintage sizing tape from France, and some other stuff.

Week 87 - Life on the other side.

My cat Missy does not get out onto the street and has to stay behind the gate in our garden (1 part me being a worried owner and 1 part being the law in my area). She often stares out the the gate dreaming of the other side. So I had the idea of showing her staring out and what is on the other side.

Week 86 - By Candle Light

Average week for me. Winter is here with both it's damp yuk weather and its usual colds and flu! I have succumbed to a cold and have done nothing much more than stay warm indoors. So this is just a cozy photo from the week. Simple.

Week 85 - Evil Flower

This is a phone photo but I had to use it. Its a malformed Gerbera flower...with a mutation where one stem has tried to form two heads (they are a single headed flower). It looks Eeeeeviilllll! I thought this was brilliant.


Week 84 - Forever Temporary

The ever changing Hosier Lane in Melbourne is one of my favourite places to go. Something new every time you visit from something small to larger works like this one. Brilliant. Sadly, unlike the what it says it won't be forever and will most likely have developed into something completely different the next time I visit. Love it.

Week 83 - Abstract Glow

I got up early last Saturday and while sitting eating breakfast I saw the wonderful pattern the sun was making as it pushed through the blinds. The colour also just happened all by itself. I like the abstract Bokeh look.....

Week 82 - Sunny Skies and Lazy Days

We had an extra long Easter weekend here with a 5 day weekend. We headed for the hills and explored the mountains up at Falls Creek in Victoria. The cooler climate and mountain air brings the best out of the trees around this area and we saw a lovely array of reds, oranges and yellow. I took a heap of photos but this was my fave of the sun just peaking through the yellow leaves.

Week 81 - Autumnal Art

I was in the city on the weekend at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and while we were waiting to go into the show we saw people sticking stuff to a wall. Intrigued after the show we went over to the wall and could see that people had been picking up the Autumn leaves and sticking them to the wall. How I hear you say! Well the wall has a very thin flow of water running down it and the leaves were sticking to it without being flushed away. I am not sure if this was some sort of intentional installation or it just happened by chance. You never know in Melbourne.

Update complete for your viewing pleasure - bye for now!!

Modernised History.

I have been searching for some new bedside tables for AGES. I have been lusting after some of the wonderful pieces at super cool Retro Modern,who specialise in refurbishing classic furniture pieces so you can bring some retro style into your modern life. Our house is a late 50's weather board house so I wanted this 60's build furniture so that I could keep some of the history of the original house with a 2011 twist.

Sadly, their pieces were WAY above our budget so I set about attempting to get a similar look at a half the price. Step 1 was was to try and find some classic 60's style bedside tables. The Danish style bedsides that I so desperately wanted, were wanted by everyone else too and I was outbid more than a few times on Ebay. After some exhaustive searching I found these two little beauties. Sorry the photo is not the best...these are from the website and I forgot to take a picture of them before I set about refurbishing.


So as this point I am sure you are thinking - Oooooo...kay...they look umm...old and retro! Where is the modern?

Here is where the magic happened....! Step 2 involved sanding the surfaces back, removing the handles and removing the legs and metal feet. The legs and feet were cleaned and polished. Next stop IKEA to pick up some new modern handles to bring a fresh up to date look, as always I found what I was after and picked up these GREJ handles ($10 a pair) with a brushed stainless finish. I removed the drawers, then painstakingly masked off the edges on the body as I planned to leave these with a smooth sanded lightly oiled finish and the rest of would be white. However, it was all down to how well the masking went. You all know that the paint can bleed through sometimes and I had a suspicion that this would be the case here. I was wrong and the masking was successful and I managed to get a really crisp edge. A few coats of regular satin finish oil paint and all done.

The finished product in place in our bedroom, set off rather nicely by my Orla Kiely bedspread if I do say so myself.

Side By Side - Weeks 76 - 80

It's side by side catch up time again...so here we go. Remember you can see our photos side by side at the Side By Side blog...here

Week 76 - Old Man Zak

We got some sad news about our 17year old dog Zak the other day and we don't expect him to be around for too much longer. The vet found a tumour in his abdomen, for now he is all good and eating and jumping around like a fool when its time for a walk. It is to be expected I guess at his age. We are enjoying our time with him and spoiling him rotten for the time being. This week is dedicated to the old boy :-)

Week 77 - Thinking of Japan

I bought this Tokyo cut out postcard this time last year when I visited Japan, and I have been thinking a lot about the place. I really did fall in love with the country and the people and I feel so bad for those who lost their lives and/or homes. Anyway, I googled the Japanese flag and held the postcard up to the screen...ta da...this weeks pic.

Week 78 - Finders Keepers Market

I headed to the wonderful Finders Keepers craft market or should I say Indie craft market. A large shed or warehouse in Melbourne's Docklands crammed full of creative goodness. Needless to say I found and kept plenty of good stuff. Sadly not one of these retro lamps...they are super cool though.

Week 79 - The Beautiful Mundane

I had planned to shoot some photos in the city this weekend passed...alas housework and the like took over and I didn't quite make it. A good housework day is worth the effort, clean bed sheets rock!! You can also see a hint of my refurbished 60s bedside tables in the shot.

Week 80 - Can you see the man on the Moon?

There has been a beautiful crescent moon here for the last week or so and I set up the tripod and shot some pics out the back door of our house. It was a tough choice this week but the simple moon with a couple of stars won.

Until next time.

The Story of the Letterpress.

I have resisted writing about this up until now, because quite honestly I did not want to make my blog a winge fest. I had hoped this weekend I would be writing about my new Adana 8 x 5 press which was going to be the start of my Letterpress adventure. I am writing about my new Adana, except it's more a nightmare than an adventure.

After missing out on several presses on Ebay, I ordered a refurbished Adana 8x5 last Sept from someone in the UK. Then the shenanigans began. I was supposed to get the press within a month and this did not happen, a catalogue of excuses ensued and promises of the press being sent etc etc. After an ultimatum at my end the press started to make its way from the UK to Australia.

A week of obsessive FedEx tracking later, it arrived on my doorstep! I rushed home last night from work, excited to see the press that I have been patiently waiting for. I moved it to its new home and was a little concerned that the box seemed a little worse for wear. I opened it and removed the poorly wrapped press to find that it had been badly damaged and it doesn't function as it should. In fact it does not function at all.

This is what my press should look like, the one shown below is a presses one of my fave letterpress bloggers, Small Caps .

Adana 8 x 5 Press - Photo from small caps

A couple of photos below show that this is what mine is like at the moment, the right side has been pushed in as you can see and it now does not move up and down because its hitting the section where the plate or type would be. The rollers etc are not installed but you can see on the left side they way it should be. Unfortunately the damaged part is cast metal and not so easy to bend back into shape. The supplier is going to check what he has as spare parts but not sure what's going to happen there.


The photo above shows the rod which attaches to the rollers has also been bent. A little easier to fix.

So for now I have to wait to see what FedEx will do regarding the damage, and hope that I can replace the damaged parts.

Sigh........

One for the Scots!

I have been meaning to write about this for a while now - in fact definitely for the last 6months or so if not longer. What am I on about - Gillian Kyle that's what or should I say who! Gillian is a textile design graduate from Glasgow School of Art, who over dinner one night came up saluting some of Scotland's most iconic food and drink products. She launched her business in 2009 and appears to be going from strength to strength.
So my Scottish friends...I have got you thinking haven't I! Iconic foods from Scotland......Irn Bru perhaps, or maybe a Scotch Pie....what about the retro treat that is Creamola Foam - remember that people? Well she has thought of all of these and more and she has put together a fab range of products from aprons, mugs, bags all host to some images of all of these and more.

My brother Anson, sent me a bag year or so ago and that is what sparked my interest, so much so I requested a Tunnocks Teacake apron (that's it below) for the Christmas just passed. Creamola foam mugs are next ;-)

For all you expats or just those who love yourself a teacake..check out her site and online shop at www.gilliankyle.com

Autumn Sky - Week 75 Side By Side

So summer has officially called time here in Australia - although warm days are still hanging in there. With Autumn weather comes awesome skies and after a failed attempt at photographing the 20+ dragonflies flying around the back garden (its freaky they are everywhere at the moment!), I spotted the wonderful clouds reflected in a window of my house. I did a little extra tweaking with some overlay action (Ink & Tea stained papers #5 - if you are interested) from Lost & Taken.

A Sea of Bikes - Week 74 of Side by Side project

It was an early 5.30am wake up to go and support Shane do his 4th triathlon for the season. It was a very rainy morning and my camera had a few issues - so this is the best from the morning. The sea of bikes was impressive and well....here they are.

Lego fun - Side by Side week 73

This is part of a little Lego themed project I have been working on...! I had the best time decorating and colouring the icing to just the right Lego tones! Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Side by Side catch up - No. 2

Yet again I seem to have neglected my little blog but never fear (I am sure your weren't) that is about to change in the next week or so. I have a few wee exciting odds and ends coming your way real soon.

For now here is a catch up of my half of side by side for the last few weeks. Full pairs of my photos along side Ross's are posted up on the Side by Side blog

Week 69 - Waterpark Fun

We headed off for a family picnic in the sun to an 'adventure park' outside of Melbourne. I use the term adventure loosely, as it was more like 2 water slides, some other random water activities and mini golf type of establishment. Anyway it was a sunny day and it was more a catch up with Shane's family. This is just a shot of some kids playing in the water jets in the kids area...i like the shadow and reflections here.

Week 70 - A wee Burns Night dram

On Australia Day I made sure I didn't overlook Scottish celebrations and had a wee dram for the Baird himself....Robert Burns.

Week 71 - Will the rain stop

Australia, mostly in Queensland, was battered with flooding and Cyclone Yasi a couple of weeks ago. Melbourne luckily missed all that but the Yasi fall out meant it rained so hard from 5 - 11pm on Friday that the drains and gutters couldn't cope. Kids were playing out in the street in the stormwater floods....and our back garden was full of water. Up to the top of my wellies...!The following day everything was still sprinkled with what looked like little diamonds...sadly only rain droplets. ;-)

Week 72

I got some early Valentines Day flowers the Saturday before...perhaps my all time fave type - Sunflowers! Shane ordered them specially for me (via his Dad at the flower market) they came with the full stalk on so they were nearly as high as me! They are just so bright and happy looking flowers - I bet you have a smile on your face just looking at them. Haha

Its been a while....

I had great plans to go all out and blog my little socks off over my LOOONNG Christmas break (a whole fat month off work). Instead I decided to step away from the computer a little and get out, take photos and generally give my brain and mainly my eyes a break - yep some new glasses are on the way ;-(
Anyway, I am back and full of blog ideas, however I will start with a Side By Side catch up. I have a whole 8 weeks to catch up on so here we go....

Week 61 - Hello Possum

Well this little man was curled up on the ground in our back garden. They are nocturnal so I think it was just curling up and trying to go to sleep after falling from a tree.

We saved it and put it back up in the tree...it scampered off to go back to sleep. Yay for us....we have some good karma today.

Week 62 - Retro Sunday

I was down at the Mordialloc beach on Sunday and this car was in the car park...wonderfully retro.

Week 63 - Candy Canes and Christmas Lights

Super late in posting this but I did take it last week. I love sugar canes for some reason - really festive I guess. So you can't beat a bit of Candy cane and bokeh action to capture the festive season.

Week 64 - A Time For Reflection

Well I'm super late this week....sadly I have been doing boring stuff like painting and that is why I took so long. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to include a photo of me (and my cat - can you see her?) for a change with a festive spin! Here it is my bauble reflection.

Week 65 - Boozalicious

Well this small collection of alcoholic beverages and related items sums up the last week or so. Festive cheer aplenty!

Week 66 - Last Sunrise of 2010

We headed to the mountains after Christmas for the first time in summer and were lucky enough to stay up on the mountain for a couple of nights. By chance, I woke up needing a glass of water and got up to see a beautiful subdued sunrise. The last for the year.

Week 67 - Summer Holidays

What a hard life, I spent last weekend relaxing down at the beach. This is me taking a break from reading the paper to look out at the beach from the deck of the boat shed where I sat.

Week 68 - Cabin Fever

This photo kinda sums up the week for me and the pets last week. It rained and rained and...um...rained. Although safe from the floods...the last week of my holidays were mostly spent cooped up at home and watching for a break in the rain to get outside and do something in the fresh air. My cat took up residence at the front door...staring at the deck in a trance like state hoping for the same break in the weather. This is Missy...waiting it out! She celebrated the end of the rain by sleeping outside all day in the back garden. ;-)

You can see all our side by side shots here at the Side By Side blog

Side By Side Project - Week 60

I have been ill this last week or so and have had little energy for photography, or in fact anything! So this one is a slice of life really...with a tweak here and there to add a bit of interest. I used a texture overlay from Lost and Taken an awesome site with loads of free texture downloads...

Check out the other side by Ross on the Side by Side blog