princessotako

i play dressups with actors and do the occasional darning of socks during performances. my other projects have seen me refurbish character heads and use truck loads of glitter for large headpieces. i have a fiesty cat where we listen to planes flying overhead. i can grow geraniums really well but haven't been so lucky with african violets. i love cooking - but my oven has only one temperature (she's old) so i love the challenge of baking and not burning!

â—˜ amateur photographs, animals, amber, art galleries
â—˜ browsing through book stores, botanical drawings, beetroot salads, buttons, brooches, bookmarks, my banjolele, burlesque, books

â—˜ chinese wall hangings, colour combinations (orange/brown/cream is my favourite at the moment), crochet, craft items (but not paper), crockery - especially mismatched pieces, circus posters (older styles), crochet hooks - where do they go?
â—˜ drawings, day of the dead dioramas, doodling, day dreaming, dinosaurs, doing the robot whilst dancing, dodos

â—˜ embroidery, espresso in the morning, etsy
â—˜ felt food, frida kahlo, fibre or mixed media artworks, fake beards and moustaches, fridge magnets, fabric (what's not to love?)

â—˜ google searches, gargoyles, ginger, gumboots (i have a few)
â—˜ hello kitty, hats, historical biographies, horror films (nothing scarier than a zombie doberman) , heraldry images, handmade objects

â—˜ indian jewellery, inspiration books (generally any collection of photos, paintings, sayings, how to instructions etc..)
â—˜ japanese craft books, jazz, art by j w waterhouse

â—˜ kooky toys, korean pojagi (patchwork)
â—˜ lithographs, locational snowglobes, lomography, lychees, lipbalms

â—˜ mark ryden paintings, my nanna's stuffed clothes hangers, mangoes, music, my stash of fabrics, metallic looking beetles, matryoshka dolls (russian dolls), millinery books (of course supplies), the photography of man ray
â—˜ nanna naps, nightime, ninja movies, not using capitals when writing

â—˜ old crochet patterns and their outcomes, owls - the 1970's style is my favourite
â—˜ pretty pictures, postcards, pin up glamours - think 1950's here, photos - street scenes are a favourite, power puff girls

â—˜ robots, red, rasberries, rainbows, rockabilly, rings - big and flat is good, recipes
â—˜ selvedge magazine, sweet breads (babka is my favourite), stories, sparkly jewellery, stuffies, street art, steampunk, snow flakes, salvador dahli, souvenir spoons

◘ the toy society, tim tam slams, tartans, tea cosies, tarte tatins - i ♥ beetroot versions
â—˜ vintage fashion plates, versions of songs in languages other than english, vampire films/novels (not twilight though), victorian images and clothing patterns

â—˜ wallpaper - textured and older designs, watermelon, walks around the harbour â—˜ zombie films, zebras, zippers that work

when i need to whip something up quickly i always resort to crochet (have any retro/vintage/interesting patterns? i'm always looking for more). i love that amigurumi and tawashi (facecloths) ideas and patterns are more widely available. i have some great reliable patterns for head/body that in a bind i always go back to.

other wise in the world of craft i am mainly a materials girl. i enjoy hand sewing as i can take projects with me when i travel.

stuffies with moustaches are my new obsession, otherwise i also enjoy making sock kittens (only need one sock) or the occasional sock zombie. i love the idea of getting better at embroidery and beading - it's just a matter of practice.

i do like story boards (college sheets/post cards) and silk screen printing, i have some very large screens which have lovely victorian patterns on them. i also have a small collection of very old wooden printing blocks and two tjaps (copper blocks for printing batik).

i've made the leap into the world of knitting - after getting lessons from galinda (well the actress was in costume). the first scarf went well - as did the several neck scarves that were such a breeze to make. i am now in the process of making my first jumper - which has been an exercise in basic maths and patience (had to restart it twice). my gauge quilt is also coming along nicely!

home country crafts - the kitchy door hangers aren't my cup of tea. not that it's craft related but i also don't really get into heavy thrash music or pineapple.

oh and i've recently found out that i'm allergic to soy. which is a shame.... i love edamame beans and miso.

i thought i'd add this section after being inspired by other people's pledges.

i will send out swaps. if they are going to be sent late i will message you. sometimes it just isn't possible to leave sets to post items (wish the post office had extended business hours).

your swap will also be personalized, i read the profiles of my swap partner so i can send out something you like. if you don't - it's ok to pass it on.

when sending me a swap - if you are stuck about what to send. don't be! if it's handmade i'm going to love it. if it's quirky i will love it. if it's not a bill in the mail... boy am i going to love it.

♥ i would like to thank lostdawill for being an angel for the sock monkey swap. she was wonderful enough to make me possibly the best sock monkey ever! ...he has a cape.... and a mask. he rocks.