In which it is Craft it Forward time

I am offering a chance for free things. Not something I do often here, but this will be special handmade stuff!

So ages ago I won a hat via blog movement called Craft it Forward from the blog Gypsy in Jasper. 

Me with my delightful hat.

The basic idea is that I offer 5 people and handmade gift and each of those winners 5 offer handmade niceties to their followers until handmade things are flying everywhere. Oh and the gifts are a mystery! I will give you a clue but you won't know what it is till the package gets there.

If you are one of the 5 to get something - no pressure in doing this on your blog. You can if you want, but it's about passing on joy not guilt, so do what you would like. 

I am very delayed in responding to it - but I feel that the spirit of the thing is not to feel pressured, so I am doing it in my own time.

I used to run a jewellery business called Eccentric Accessories and I made hairbands, necklaces, earrings and bracelets so I shall make you one of those type things. If you search the jewellery tag you can find some awkward and ancient posts - but with pictures of the kinds of things I like to make.

To win you must comment below and just leave a method for me to get in contact with you for your address. The first five people to comment will get a handmade gift.
If you are one of the first five to comment and win I will try and make sure that what you get suits you - if you have a fashion blog and I can suss it out from there!

I'm off for the weekend to do wedding things with both sets of parents (so scheduling this whilst I am away). Hopefully lots and lots will get done because there are now so many decisions involved!

In which I come clean about blogging

I have had an awkward guilt-ridden relationship with my blog at times and I have decided to come clean.

I started this blog to do Something Original On The Internet.

A grand aim in our open information age.

I was going to write an entire blog from the perspective of Origami Girl.

Origami Girl is my alter ego. The girl I would be if I had super powers. She makes things out of origami and they come to life. I wrote some short stories about her and know her inside and out. My boyfriend and I made up little tales where we were both superheroes and we would go on fantastical dates together, like he would make a boat out of ice and I would give it paper sails and it wouldn’t be a problem that I can’t swim. My alter-ego probably can swim pretty well actually, but the water makes her washi-paper wet. Not that I am hung up on my poor swimming ability; it’s completely incidental and never an issue. So… firstly I wanted the blog to be a ‘creative writing exercise’. A test of my skill if you will.

However, I also wanted it to promote my jewellery business. I was going to make origami-themed jewellery and other great things and people would love the character and associate it with my Eccentric Accessories. The thing is it didn’t work like that. I wanted to write a blog that I would want to read and in general I find craft blogs boring and self-absorbed[1]. Harsh, but self-promotion isn’t interesting. Second of all, the origami jewellery? Not actually my forte it turns out. Some people do it much better. I make things out of buttons and toys, with Operation charms and dominos –but not so much the origami.

Don’t get me wrong –I tried self-promotion. I really wanted to make money from selling monopoly house earrings and I STILL DO[2]. I just want the blog to be more than that now.

The creative writing was its own issue. If I want to take the self-deprecating angle I can say it was because I am not a good enough writer or not determined. Pretending to be someone else all the time is hard. So I watered down that idea a little bit and let the fashion encroach, whilst keeping sly references to saving the world, origami and a secret identity (ie. the not-showing-my-face thing). Over time Origami Girl has just slipped away from the internet and back into my subconscious.

I like blogging for itself. I love clothes and fashion in ways I never expected. I like to write. I also like me. I would like to be free to talk about toys and tulips and the TARDIS without worrying about how my alter-ego would phrase them. 

I still love origami. I still make origami, but I can’t be Origami Girl any more[3].

The blog is actually going to keep going the way it has been for the last six months, but if I want to put up a little creative writing it might not be in the character of origami girl. If I want to put up fashion photography I want to be free to show my face. I hope those of you who read it at the start enjoyed reading my little tales, and I hope you enjoy what the blog has become and will be. Thanks.

High quality origami jewellery made from folded silver. It blows my mind. Found on etsy.com

The kind of jewellery I actually make. Monopoly dog pendant. Available from me/Eccentric Accessories.

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[1] Like all things there are some wonderful exceptions. I would recommend Scientific Culture for one.

[2] Although the business is currently on hiatus as a result of moving house.

[3] But the blog domain name and banner are staying for now. Afterall, I am into origami –I just haven’t yet figured out how to save the world with it.  

In which I have a birthday (almost)

When I went to Edinburgh I persuaded my boyfriend to take some pictures of my outfits. However he kept taking pictures of my face instead, forgetting the point that it is supposed to be a secret identity. However I have a couple of redeemable photos.

I mostly wanted to show off this skirt. I feel that at the moment I wear the same thing every day. I love this skirt and wear it all the time. It is really comfortable and I love the shape and it goes with pretty much everything. It also looks fairly plain but has just a little bit of detail to make it feel special. Hope you guys like it.

2 Outfit possibilities. The skirt was a charity shop find. Both tops are actually from Dorothy Perkins.

Oh and tomorrow is my birthday! However I had a mini-birthday today. Well basically my family celebrated it with me with the traditional lasagne dinner and I opened my presents. I always have lasgane on my birthday. For as long as I can remember it has been my favourite thing. Anyhow, it’s pretty much like today is my birthday, apart from the fact that it isn’t. I got some pretty sweet things that epitomise my mix of girly and geeky. My boyfriend got me all the Step Up dvds (girly, but we both love dancing so also romantic) and the Bleach films (geeky). My brother got me Fable (geeky) and my parents got me orange nail varnish! Woop. This is exciting because I specifically asked for it when they asked what I wanted and am happy even if it is one tiny thing. They also got me some tea bowls and are getting me a mini-photography studio. Not a room. It’s like a white tent with bright lights. Hard to explain but it will allow me to take more photos like this:

I haven’t been able to take bright crisp photos for a while because I actually did it by borrowing my friend’s lightbox. Soon I will have my own! I will be able to take photos of everything, so long as it is small. I will take my mum’s cakes and my sister’s lego and I will photograph it all. Mwahaha. Ok, photography isn’t evil, but you get the sentiment.

Oh and this doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be any better at outfit posts, but Dad also found a tripod when I mentioned that it would be useful. He was all “Oh I’m sure we have several.” I mentioned it before. My family are hoarders.

In which I offer some bows

I thought it was perhaps time to mention my creative outlet of jewellery0making partly because it has been a while and also because I had an idea.

I know that not a lot of people read this so doing a giveaway might just fall on deaf ears, however if you do and are quick it makes you a lot more likely to get free stuff than if this was a blog with hundreds of followers.

Anyway. This is how it is. I became obsessed with making bows not so long ago. I made so many sitting at my desk all day stitching pretty buttons onto them. I made a blue one with a whale sewn on and dropped a tiny piece of glue on it by accident. I washed it and scraped it off so you can hardly see it is there. Trust me, if you were wearing this no one would see. However it is not good enough quality to sell and shows up a little in photos (see below). So. I could either keep it for myself (but I have lots of bows) or give it away.

It has a barrette clip on the back that is 2” long. You will not be able to get all your hair in this but it is good for half up/half down or just putting a little up on the side.

I also have another one. A green bow with a button with a smiling bee on it. I really like this one and am loathe to let it go. However as I said, I have lots of bows and lots of buttons. I must look away from the happy bee and not be tempted by his innocent smile!

The problem with this one is that I attached 2 other bits of ribbon to the bottom of it but they have started to fray. I’m not sure how to stop the fraying, I think it is because of the way I cut the ribbon. I learnt my lesson for the next one. Again, this is still wearable but I don’t believe it is sellable.

It has the same style barrette clip on the back.

Anyway. If you would like either of these bows please email me at ruthcoustick@gmail.com

(which is obviously not my real name) with your interest and address. First come first served.

I actually made tons of bows and have put some of the good ones up on ebay and some others are going to an exhibition in Birmingham for Living Hope with a percentage of the sale going to the charity. So yeah, if you live in the midlands you should go to the event because another friend of mine is doing performance art there. Follow above link.

See bows!

I’ve put links to my etsy shop underneath just in case you fancied paying money for them…

Lime Green BowChecked Bow

Dotted Bow

Sunflower Bow

P.S. At update time (20/8/11) I have sent off the whale hair slide but I still haven't given away the happy bee if you would like it.

In which I get obsessed with Monopoly (again)

I promise I will go back to talking about heroics and world-saving origami again soon. I do it all so often it has become a little mundane for me. I like to tell you guys when there are interesting things happening. I have, by the way, been attempting to spy on my nemesis. The work is slow going because they are ever-so evasive. I have been sending paper monkeys out to scout the forests for weird happenings but I only seem to find little clues.

In the mean time I have some good news on the jewellery front. I made a really unusual charm bracelet out of Operation bones, I was going to advertise it here first but I sold it within hours of putting it up! I think that shows that it was definitely a good idea and I will have to make one again.

I also have one of my supplies orders arrive! Still waiting for my Cluedo pieces to come, but I got a whole bunch of Monopoly items this week. I went a little Monopoly crazy. I have made some more playing pieced pendants but you won't be excited by that. I know that you can be all 'meh, she does those all the time.' However I have a new idea! I made some paper beads out of vintage Monopoly money! I then made them into a bracelet. I took a photograph of the beads when they were drying from the varnish because the little pins I was using to hold them in, mixed with the beads looked like a strange sculpture: The finished bracelet:

I like the bracelet especially because it does with the aesthetic I am aiming for in my jewellery. There are loads of people out there making kitsch things with toys that match the Lolita trend. I like some of that stuff but I don't really like looking like a 6 year old. I wanted to make items that are playful and nostalgic without being childish. I hope that the things I have put up today work with that.

What do you think?

In which I squee about a pretty dress

Do you ever wear an outfit that makes you completely happy and skippy all day?
This is my such outfit.

I was a little sad that no one noticed its perfection even when I shoved it in their face 'look at me look at me!' I said. 'My ring perfectly matches my outfit!'
And no one cared.
So I was driven to the internet to explain in full detail.

See -the ring has a turquoise button (like my tights) with a navy blue button (like the dress) that has a gold trim (like the dress) and white thread (like the spots) Marvel in its awesomeness!

Also, I like these shoes. :)

Oh and if you like the ring you can buy one just like it from me...
That was a completely shameless plug just then, in case you missed it.

In other news for Valentine's day me and John took down a viscious group who were breeding half-human, half-cat creatures to be future spies. That had been a great plan but we didn't think about what baby/kitten crossovers would be like... too cute to destroy is the answer!
So we handed them over to some motherly aliens we know to look after.

In which I play dominos

I think I might explain who John is this time. He's a superhero too, but he doesn't really care if I let you know his name because he doesn't really have or need an alias, although if he used one it would be Glacier. You see, he lives in the Himalayas so he doesn't get bothered by paparazzi because they just won't make that sort of an effort for a story. As for villains interrupting his private life? He's just pretty confident he can take them down when he's not living in a mountain.
He's the kind of guy who has the opposite take from me on fighting crime. He sees crime rings and petty thieves as already being sorted out by the police, other heroes... and me. He just waits for world threatening things to come along. That makes him sound pretty arrogant and he is a little bit, but it is also mostly justified. He has power controlling ice. There's a lot you can do with that. Giant ice sword or ice beam to freeze someone completely, attacking them with multiple walls of ice. It's all pretty full on stuff (and showy) which is also why he likes to fight in wild locations for the space.
However he can be really sweet. Once we went on holiday in a boat made of ice with washi paper sails. As I said about our Edinburgh holiday we can also have normal fun times. He likes pie.

I might tell you the story of how me and John first met next time. Trust me it wasn't on friendly terms. There was a tiger involved.


There isn't a lot on there at the moment but I'm in a bit of jewellery buzz at the moment. The crime levels in my area are really low at the moment. Probably because I put most of them in prison. I'm thinking of moving from my current location in a years time. Perhaps go to Japan again and study origami.
Anyhow I have been having some free time to play games and feeling that as everyone loves games I would make some related things. This time with mini dominoes!
Here are a couple of examples!

I am not putting them up on eBay this time but Etsy instead as I think the shop looks better.
I've been learning how to use Gimp (that's a software program, with a dodgy name) and I am so proud of my banner. Heh.
Hope you like them. :)


So here is the Etsy shop I set up in my free time:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EccentricAccessories

Also if you are on DA I have an account there too:
http://nesient.deviantart.com/

Have a good week.
Origami Girl