Tuesday 24 June 2014

Geeky craft swap: June

I enjoyed the Dainty and Ivory craft swap so much last month that I couldn't wait to take part again for June. This month had a "geeky" theme, and being a complete geek myself, this appealed to me immensely! We were all matched up at random, and I was assigned Hannah as my recipient. She told me a few facts about herself and her geeky loves, and from there I set about putting together a geeky package for her. 

Hand-beaded dragon bookmark
What I sent: 

Hannah loves reading, especially fantasy and fairytales, and one of her favourite mystical creatures is a dragon. I found this beautiful dragon bookmark, and customised it by beading it in her favourite colours- greens, blues and golds. 

One of her geeky loves is the book 'A Song of Ice and Fire', now Game of Thrones... a geeky interest we have in common! I spent the best part of a year reading all the books, but I actually prefer the TV show... which doesn't happen often! Since Game of Thrones is a show I love as well, I thought I would make Hannah two types of brooch. The kilt pin represents 3 of the main families battling it out for the throne- the Starks, the Lannisters and the Targaryens. The fabric brooch is a more subtle nod, with the coveted crown in the centre. 
Stark, Lannister and Targaryen kilt pin
Game of Thrones fabric brooch
Star Wars made Hannah's list of geeky loves, and I wanted to make something a bit different. I took a classic quote from Han Solo to Princess Leia, and made it into a blank greetings card: 
Greetings card inspired by a classic Star Wars quote! 
As per the rules of the craft swap, all participants must include a little bought gift in the parcel as well. I'd never heard of Studio Ghibli, but Hannah likes it... and a little search on Etsy revealed this cute unicorn pin as a Studio Ghibli character. I thought he was perfect, as she also told me she loves pastel colours (check!) and another of her favourite mystical creatures is the unicorn (check!)
Studio Ghibli pin
What I received: 

My geeky gift-giver was Joanne Burgess. When signing up to the craft swap this month, I confessed to my complete geekery, and listed some of my indulgences as reading, writing and TV shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire and Game of Thrones. 

The package I received from Jo was delightful! First, I opened a letter with numbered clues as to what my parcel contained. Since I make no secret of the fact I enjoy a freebie, Jo sent me a "bonus" gift of a kilt pin finding. I can't wait to make something pretty from that! 

Jo doesn't watch Game of Thrones, but she did her research and made me this stunning 3D beaded dragon. I can tell that he was made lovingly and took a lot of time- and now he is right at home nestled in my geeky study next to my George R.R. Martin collection. 
Danaerys Targaryen's dragon
Keeping with the Game of Thrones theme, I also got a beautiful handmade necklace, inspired by a dragon's egg. It was also very thoughtfully made in my favourite colours. A cheeky bonus of dragon-shaped jelly sweets was also very welcome! 
Pretty dragon egg necklace
I was lucky enough to receive a couple of lovely "bought" gifts too. In my opinion, nothing beats the feeling of opening a new, crisp writing set or notebook. Since drinking tea is one of my favourite pastimes, this writing set was made for me! 
The macaroons look divine!
A fellow Breaking Bad fan, Jo confessed to actually wanting to keep my final gift... I don't blame her, and I can't believe I've never seen this around before. It's a wooden spoon, stamped with Heisenberg's face! I now want to run out and buy one for all my friends who share my love of Walter White. Definitely a wooden spoon for displaying proudly in my kitchen. 
Heisenberg spoon... just, wow!

Friday 6 June 2014

A lovely, kind gesture- Golden Peacock is mine!

I had a lovely experience recently when I was on the receiving end of an unexpected act of kindness by a fellow member of our creative blogging community. A couple of weeks ago, I posted about how I had been drooling over Jo Conlon's Golden Peacock painting on Etsy for well over a year, but could never seem to get the money together to buy him (read the previous post here). 

Jo read my post, and got in contact to say that she really wanted Golden Peacock to belong to someone who appreciated him, and that was more important to her than the cost. So... she offered to sell him to me for considerably less money, putting him within my reach! 
Hanging proudly in his new home!
He has now safely arrived in his new home, and doesn't he look great?! I think the colours complement my living room decor perfectly, and the gold in the painting shimmers beautifully in the light from the big windows. 

It's situations like this that remind me how lovely it is to be part of a creative community, where appreciation of crafts and talents outweigh everything else! I am very grateful for Jo's kind gesture, and I am delighted to have this stunning new addition to my home. My little girl approves too- here she is checking him out, and saying "awwwwwwww!" 
Awwwww... a beautiful peacock!