A-Z

I was over at Veronica Darling's blog and saw she had an ABC of websites visited via the web browser and thought I would have a go. I've put up an old old photo from photobucket. Maybe from 2006 when Gareth was my model!

Here is what you do:

"So what you have to do is type each letter of the alphabet one by one into the URL line of your browser. This will bring up your most visited site of this letter, or the letter being used within the address. Use the first site that comes up, or the second if you have privacy/security issues. It's like a little outline of your favourite web sites!"

A. Able and Game. Taking up all my time at the moment.
B. Babelfish. For converting text into other languages.
C. Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
D. Dictionary.com for checking my words.
E. Etsy. I thought it would be that.
F. Flickr. Photos!
G. Go Fug Yourself. The late night I'm bored and need a quick fix read.
H. artsHub. A great resource.
I. I can has cheezburger. I'm not ashamed to say it is my favourite.
J. Jhoanna from One Red Robin on Twitter. We are run buddies!
K. Kitty's Kaboodle. I was reading about Kitty in Mix Tape Zine on the weekend actually.
L. LeeLoo. A great online shop for Australian made.
M. Metlink Melbourne. I love public transport.
N. Guy Bourdin at NGV. This is OLD, from when I did my DipEd in 2004!
O. Officeworks. Looking for opening hours I think.
P. Prince Ballroom. Went and saw TZU with Hollie and Mikey a few months back.
Q. Not Quite Nigella. Food blogs are good and this one is a great read.
R. Rose Street Artist Market. How I spend my Saturdays.
S. Survey Monkey. I made one up for the cards a while back.
T. The Age. I used to get it delivered, this saves on messy papers everywhere.
U. Urban Dictionary. Same as Veronica Darling!
V. Vegan and Vintage. Hollie!
W. Webflicks. We get our films in the mail. It makes me happy.
X. Xe. For money stuffs.
Y. Youtube. Lately it has been Nevermind the Buzzcocks. I love that show.
Z. Zip Code Search. Helps with getting packages to the US quicker.

Lions

Last year at Christmas time I was on the hunt for cute little presents to send over to Gareth's family. He has two nephews and a neice all under 5 so buying presents for them is actually loads of fun. I got a little softie like the one above from my friend Alice's stall at the Northcote Night Market and she said it was made by Myf, who I knew via email. The softies are made with recycled blankets and are so cute I almost didn't want to post it over to Scotland. You can get the one above and a few others from Myf's shop, Fontok and she also has a blog.

So you're having a baby?

I thought I would put up some of the Able and Game baby cards we have available. We have a few more in the works including the bun in the oven card, but with the bun out of the oven. I've been having a lot of fun drawing the cards, although sometimes it can be hard. Anyone who does any kind of illustration will know what I am talking about, it's a love hate relationship sometimes. Gareth and I are also super excited because we have booked into Design Made Trade in July. It will be open to the trade for the first two days, on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th of July, and then open to the public on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th of July.

Run Melbourne - Makers Team

The Age is presenting a fun run event on June 28th called Run Melbourne. After hearing about Jhoanna from One Red Robin running in the Mother's Day Fun Run event I thought it might be nice to get a group art artists/crafters and makers together to do the run.

The event is held on Sunday 28th June at Fed Square in Melbourne and the event caters for different fitness levels starting from a 5km walk right up to a half marathon.

You can sign up on the website here, make sure you do so before June 12th to take advantage of the cheaper registration fee. Once you register you can set up your fundraising page, nominate a charity and start receiving donations. You can then email me your details and I will include them on this blog post and then all you need to do is start training!

Melbourne Makers - Run Melbourne

Jhohanna Monte Aranez from One Red Robin
Sponsor Page
Money going to: Mirabel Foundation
Website: One Red Robin
Twitter: One Red Robin

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Anna Blandford from Able and Game
Sponsor Page
Money going to: Breast Cancer Australia
Website: Able and Game
Twitter: Able and Game

This made my day today

One of my most favourite people in the world, Aisha, lives over in London. Living in London isn't something I've ever really had any desire to do, until she shifted there a few years ago. Lucky we can play google street view together and I can have a look around where she lives. Aisha and her busband Ben are both very talented, particularly with words, music and film and this clip above is for one of Ben's song called When I Fell Over In The City. If it sounds familiar, that is because we used it in our Able and Game Mother's Day film. They also star in the film, you need to wait till the end to see Aisha, but it is worth it, in a eek eek eek kind of way.

Roflcopter

I was reading an old copy of Frankie from July 2007 and it had a funny interview with Bob Evans. He said his ideal Saturday night is staying home with his wife, cooking dinner, drinking three bottles of plonk and getting "plastered" then watching her dance and maybe dancing if he was plonked enough. It made me laugh because it was probably my ideal Saturday night, particularly if the wife got up and danced to Beck.

Oh if you have ever hung out in the Etsy forums then you might get a laugh at this post by Jodie, which made me laugh just as much as this new card Gareth came up with.

And finally, the drawing above is available as a print from Able and Game and is listed as an A5 print in the Etsy shop. We also have some new listings if you're wanting multiple cards and want to save a few bucks.

Studio

I had to set up some studio shots today to use for an interview, some with me in them, but I had nobody to help me. Lucky my camera has that 10 second delay and I have a little tripod making the whole thing not too painful. Although with the blinds open people walking along the street could have seen me looking awkwardly at the camera trying to look natural. I sent some to Gareth as a proof and he said the smile looked a bit forced and suggested putting some 30 Rock on to help out.

Wildflowers

I've put some more items for sale over in my Etsy shop, and there is still free shipping for Australian shoppers, so if you're wanting a bit of a bargain then this is the place. The grey and red pouch has been screenprinted with a wildflower design and features boxed edges so it can stand upright. The yellow brooch is machine stitched and features vintage fabric and hand screenprinted fabrics. It is quite large, about 7cm/2.75" at its widest point.

Oh and I forgot to write about Able and Game's feature in The Age. I was up at 7am to run to the newsagents, onto to find they didn't open till 7.30am but were unpacking all the papers. I had my market float on me that I grabbed on my way out and gave him exact change so I could get a copy. He wasn't impressed but I wasn't waiting 30 minutes in the cold. I was looking through my flickr photos the other day and found my version of the card below.

Sale!

I'm putting some older stock in my Etsy shop at sale prices over the next few weeks. Today I put four small tote bags up, they all feature handcut screenprints and are big enough to fit all the essential items with a strap long enough to go over your arm and sit just underneath.

Gareth and I had a busy weekend with our Able and Game Mother's Day cards and I was lucky enough to have him helping me at Rose Street. Thanks to all the people to supported us by purchasing our cards online, at the market or via our stockists. The next big event is Father's Day next month for the US, Canada and UK on June 21st so I think tonight will be spent in front of the heater drawing.

An Able and Game Film - Mother's Day Cards

Gareth and I made a short film about the making of one of our Mother's Day cards for Able and Game. The process involved drawing a design in pen and ink and filming it, then it was sped up and a few fancy graphics added. The design was then scanned and made into an Able and Game card and is available for sale on Etsy.

Now I know what you're thinking, that music in this film is pretty cool, I want to know more, who made it and how can I get to one of his gigs? Well if you live in London then you're super lucky because you have a greater chance of seeing Mr. Benjamin Shaw than we do. Gareth and I have been lucky enough to see him a few times before in Melbourne and we both agree he is as talented as he is lovely. This little blurb from his myspace page made me laugh:

After a year in Melbourne, playing gaggles of shows and being involved in some frightfully hot bondings with the hip and dandies of Melbourne, Ben returned to Engerland with a wife and a woollen sock full of new songs and recordings.

Now living in the woods of North London, Ben has recently been seen playing all the main dives you've never heard of, and continues to be making mountains of his molehill recordings.