gingerandgeorge

Palette Pingpong (No.33)

It's not often I impress myself. Being overly self-critical is something plenty of us are guilty of, but once in a while, it's nice to be able to say 'damn, i'm good' and feel ok about it. Today is one of those 'once in a while' days, and I'd like to tell you I did a frankly marvellous job of picking out a Palette Pingpong picture for Miss Gabrielle.

See?

Not only is the content entirely wonderful (vintage pyrex, diner-style table, retro wallpaper - yes, please) but the colours, oh the colours! They surely have to make the prettiest of palettes. I haven't seen it yet, but I know Gabrielle has a fun freebie to go along with her swatch, and you can find both, ready and waiting over at her blog, the green gal.

The image itself is by See Margaret on Flickr and if, like me, you're a fan of the vintage pyrex in general, you really need to visit her Pyrex Heart set. It will make you drool, then turn a dozen shades of pyrex green.

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Epistolary Larks

So, a few weeks ago, my lovely friend, Julie NotesOnPaper (yep, that's her name), sent me a message about her new blog series, Going Postal. It sounded pretty fantastic from the outset, but then she used the words 'epistolary' and 'larks', and I was sold. 

I've got two postal-themed posts planned between now and the middle of August. The second will be along next week, but for today I have what might be the world's easiest DIY project.

Up until now, my love of security envelopes has been something of a secret shame, but it's time to come clean.

My name is Kirsty and I am obsessed with turning envelopes inside out.

When I get a bill, it goes something like this:  You want to charge me how much, now? Oh, but look! Pretty grey houndstooth inside the envelope, and it's A5 size, too. Score.

If you recognise yourself in this little situation, welcome to the Club of Shame. If you don't, congratulations. But seriously, look inside the occasional envelope and find yourself some free patterned paper. You can use it for all sorts of things, like making strips of super-useful deco tape. 

Here you go with the very simple how-to: 

1. Open out a security envelope and place on a cutting mat, patterned side facing down.

2. Cut a length of double-sided sticky tape in a width of your choice.

3. Press the tape down onto the white (plain) side of your envelope. 

4. Cut along the edges of the tape with a craft knife. You can use scissors if you prefer.

5. Trim ends to neaten, and then turn over to admire your finished strip of tape.

6. Make as many as you like. Keep them stored together so they're ready whenever you need a fancy-but-useful piece of tape.

Use it to fix down paper scraps or details . . .

. . . as a closure on parcels and gift bags . . .

. . . or fold around a cocktail stick to make tiny flags.

If you're feeling really perverse, you could even use a strip to seal the envelope next time you pay your phone bill. 

For lots more postally-inspired projects, ideas and giveaways, head to Julie's blog (I'm especially in love with her postage-stamp cards) or the Going Postal Pinterest board. You can also find out how to take part yourself, even if it's just by posting a picture of how you used your DIY deco-tape, or writing a blog post about how some pestilential woman told you to start looking at the inside of envelopes and now you can't stop.

I'll be over any day now to apologise. 

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(Please note: no cupcakes were harmed in the making of this blog post. In order to avoid any 'cake, meet hideous amount of unknown post-office germs' situation, the paper strips wrapped around the cupcakes above were cut from brand new, straight-out-of-a-sealed-packet envelopes.) 

 

A meme is a terrible thing to waste

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but the sun is shining and I'm feeling rash. This particular A-Z has been doing the blog-rounds for ages, but I can't remember where I last saw it. If you've posted it recently, it was probably on your blog. Thanks for the inspo - you're a doll and a treasure.

So, here you go - 26 things you absolutely didn't need to know about me, arranged in pleasing alphabetical order. 

Awesome.

A is for Age: Guess (I dare you). 

B is for Bed Size: King. Changing the duvet's a bastard, but I love it.

C is for Chore you hate: Who likes chores? I am especially useless with a broom, though. 

D is for Dogs: ...and also dog-phobia. 

E is for Essential start to your day: Cereal, fruit and water. 

F is for Favorite Colour: (Nearly) all of them. 

G is for Gold or Silver: I'm not much of a jewellery-wearer, but probably silver.

H is for Height: A mostly-in-my-legs five-feet-seven-inches.

I is for Instruments you play: Piano, flute, violin - but none of them very well these days. 

J is for Job Title: Writer and Designer-Maker. 

K is for Kids: Two beautiful boys, borrowed as often as possible.

Lis for Live: (Very far) South East (but still just about) London 

M is for Mother's Name:  Mum. (Duh.)

N is for Nicknames: My nephews call me Flossie. Don't try it unless you are one of them. 

O is for Overnight hospital stays: Stubbornness and luck mean none so far, thankfully.

P is for Pet peeves: Rudeness, nail-biting, drivers who don't know how to turn right at a crossroads and too-short trousers (mine or anyone else's).

Q is for Quote from a movie: "It's not how long you wait, it's who you're waiting for." (Some Like It Hot)

 R is for Right or left handed: Right(ish)

S is for Siblings: One small, feisty, beautiful sister.  

T is for Time you wake up: 5.30 a.m. on weekdays, thankfully a little later at the weekend.  

U is for Underwear: Always.

V is for Vegetables you don't like: Potatoes, sweetcorn, sprouts, cabbage, onion, and although they're technically a fruit, the evil tomato.

W is for What makes you run late: Genetics. 

X is for X-Rays you've had: Teeth, eyes and lungs (good, feeble and permanently scarred).

Y is for Yummy food you make: Pizza-from-scratch, and borrowed-from-Sarah chocolate and raspberry brownies.

Z is for Zoo Animal favourites: Giraffes, although preferably not in zoos. 

 

There's no handing over of the meme baton to anyone in particular, but if you want to give it a shot on your own blog, do leave a comment below so I can come and have a look. Because, random fact number 27, I'm nosy like that.

x 

Veggies, you're so pretty

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Planning ahead

Pssst. 

Which, as everyone knows, is code for 'I have beans to spill'. Namely, an upcoming project in which I'm very happy to be involved. 

GIRL is a Custom Planner featuring illustrations by around 60 different Etsy artists. The fact there are so many amazing people taking part made me (a) wonder if they really meant it when I was asked to join in, and (b) say yes in a heartbeat. You can find out much more about the project here, and enjoy a couple of sneaky previews below:

I've also put together an Etsy treasury of illustrations by some of the other contributors, just because I think they're quite marvellous.

In other news, you can find the original illustrated Florence (my contribution to the project), lurking in the aisle of le shop, along with two more Little Clementines, who I somehow managed to overlook when I listed the initial set. These are the final few from my first batch of originals, but there are more on the way very soon.

Have a happy weekend.

x 

Palette Pingpong (No.32)

I'm keeping this short and sweet today, in light of the fact I'm off to have belated birthday cake and much good conversation with my sweet palette-y pal, Gabrielle, in just a little while.

You can see the picture she set as this week's colour challenge (and possibly leave her some extra birthday wishes) over at the green gal, and this is the palette it inspired. 

Not exactly what I was expecting, but I really like it. 

Inspired yet again by Miss Gabs, I've also borrowed her idea from last week and used the palette to pull out a few new Pinterest favourites. Searching by colour is a great way to stumble across images you might not otherwise have found. 

 

(Ludwigwest, via Ashley Spirals)

(via Laura Grai)

(tinywhitedaisies, via Larkin)

(via Sabrina)

(Future Wedding, via Mary Galloway)

(Nora Aoyagi, via Iveth Morales) 

(A Creative Mint, via Katie Jones)

 

Until next time, Pingpong-ettes. 

x

The outer limits of multi-tasking

So, apparently it's not possible to work, meet deadlines, keep house, look after a feisty pensioner with a broken hip and blog at the same time. Not for me anyway. Working, blogging mothers (and full-time parent-sitters) - you have my utmost respect and admiration once again. 

The good news is that (a) Mr P's mother is recovering at the kind of speed many British Olypmians can only dream of, and (b) I have a little pre-prepared blog project to fill the posting gap.

You can find step-by-step tutorials to make both t-shirts here, or use the flower and pirate templates to decorate just about anything else that takes your fancy (personal use only, thank you very kindly).

And if you like the appliqué idea, but want an alternative design, you could always try a smartly-dressed rabbit... 

x

 

The Hood

Robin, that is. 

If you found your way here via a Google search and were hoping for something cooler and more street, I'm sorry. We're all about the finger puppets round here. 

Made for the summer issue of Aquila magazine, I think they're kind of hilarious. Here at Casa G+G, we've decided Robin looks a little keener on Will than he does on Marian, and that Friar Tuck's cheeks suggest he might well need to visit an entirely different kind of Priory. 

Should you (or your favourite child) feel inclined to make up a set (straight, sober or otherwise) the magazine includes all the templates and instructions you'll need, plus plenty of other holiday features and activities. They're the nicest of clients, and if you like the idea of a children's magazine which features something other than celebrity culture, TV shows, plastic covermounts and brands galore, it's well worth a look.

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