handmade in tasmania

i recently ventured down south to spend a relaxing week with family. during my visit i checked out some of launceston's finest shops. the highlight of my trip was a visit to cocoon. this gorgeous little store is filled with homewares, jewelry, books, paper goods...and twine!

you could easily buy everything in this store. i walked out with some delicious drinking chocolate packaged in a yellow retro container and a bookmark card.

not only is cocoon a lovely shop, the owner is absolutely gorgeous. she very kindly gave me a pair of her stud earrings which she sells in the store. she certainly is a talented lady with an eye for style...and generous to boot!

if you are in launceston don't leave without a visit to cocoon. also worth checking out is homebody, content and cocobean (no stationery but lots of lovely chocolate).

[ cocoon: 109 george street, launceston  homebody: 68 charles street, launceston  content: 63 brisbane street, launceston  cocobean: 82 george street, launceston ]

upon a fold

my lovely friend roxy sent me a link to this great online store and blog. i could spend a small fortune on upon a fold. particularly love the mobile. i recommend a visit.

bob the builder

children's birthday cards can be...well...a bit gaudy. for my husband's godson i wanted to make a birthday card that was a bit different. he LOVES bob the builder so i decided to do a pinprick image of bob.

the instructions on how to make a pinprick card can be found here. so easy to do and the end result is pretty special.

i also did a pinprick label for the envelope.

for his birthday present we bought 'the story of the little mole' ... a wonderful poo whodunit! i wrapped it in white paper with brown string. i decorated the wrapping with a decorative teddy bear which i saved from a gift given to our little boy.

this was my first try at a pinprick card and now i'm a little obsessed. no doubt more pinprick cards to follow.

amanda's market bag

it has been a busy time for birthdays. lucky for me a fabulous new store has opened up just around the corner. maker handmade is located in park street, south melbourne. the store is filled with beautiful local handmade items.

i bought the birthday girl a market bag with a screenprinted artichoke on it from melbourne designers yardage design. as their website states, all yardage design products are hand screen-printed using water-based inks onto natural fibre base cloths (organic cotton, linen, hemp).

i made a card for amanda out of brown paper. on the front i stuck a gift tag with a little bird stamp. the present was wrapped in recycled bronze paper with a brown and white stripped ribbon.

amanda, i hope you fill your bag with lots of treasures when you next visit the market.

and the owner of maker handmade, rachael, blogs here. a lovely little blog to match her lovely little shop.

strictly not stationery but..

chocolate is my one vice. i love it just as much as stationery.

this week i was lucky enough to receive some ridiculously yummy chocolates. they were heidel chocolates.

it is true that these little blocks of creamy chocolatey goodness have nothing to do with paper, cards or stationery but the packaging was beautiful and i had to share it with you.

stunning packaging, scrumptious chocolates.

baby thank you notes

as i previously mentioned, i have just had a baby boy. the cute little munchkin has been spoiled rotten with lots of gorgeous gifts. while he enjoys his presents, i have been toiling away writing thank you notes.

the thank you cards were relatively simple to make and a much cheaper alternative to bought cards. i cut 300gsm white card, which i bought from paperpoint, to match the same size as the polaroid picture i was sending with the notes.

the front of the card featured a deer stamp, which i bought from corrabelle's store on etsy, and the cavallini & co thank you stamp. the heart and 'to' stamp are also from cavallini & co.

the first batch of kraft envelopes were from rock paper scissors. when i ran out of them i started using recycled brown paper envelopes from paperpoint.

sixty-six thank you notes and counting...

peace, love and letterpress

my friends recently gave me a beautiful card for my birthday. it is made by Peace, Love and Letterpress. you can buy these cards and more at Sassica + Salter in Geelong.

the lovely lady behind Peace, Love & Letterpress blogs at Hippie at Heart. worth a look.