Ask Alice Stationery

Angus, Julia & Alice

2012-01-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

Late last year I was approached with a proposal to create a stationery range for Angus and Julia Stone. I was delighted to be involved so jumped on board and created a range of paper products which are now complete and available through the Angus & Julia Stone online shop. My criteria for the project was to illustrate Julia as a cat and Angus as a fox. Here are some pictures of my paper cuts, some pictures of the finished products, an Angus & Julia Stone music video and a link to the Angus & Julia Stone online shop....

You can find the new Angus & Julia Stone Stationery here.

The Calendars Have Arrived!

2011-10-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

It felt like Christmas today when I receive an email saying the "Happy New Year Japan" calendars were ready! I got straight in my car, zipped out to Heidelberg to collect them, zipped back to my studio and popped them on my online shop. I couldn't be happier with how they have turned out. They really look rad! See for yourself...

I owe the follow great people a big thanks for their generous donations to the project:

Nat from Arthurs Circus

Soy Panday

TwoOne

And I also owe a big thanks to the best printers in Melbourne - Bambra and the best paper company Australia has to offer - K. W. Doggett

Get your paws on the Happy New Year Japan Calendar HERE!

Dreaming Up a Dream Home

2011-10-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in house hunting mode which has got me day dreaming about my ideal home. I still haven't worked out whether my dream home is a house boat, an A-frame house amongst the trees, a caravan or a converted warehouse. I'll probably be living in a ghetto apartment for the next few years - but it's nice to dream about the possibilities.

S C H W I M M • H A U S • B O O T

I'm such a fan of the Schwimm Haus Boot. http://www.schwimmhausboot.de/

C A R A V A N S

http://chroniclesofdolliedaydream.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seantubridy/3991075001/in/faves-girlhula/

http://bubbledesigns.wordpress.com/

H O U S E • P L A N S

I have never thought about building my own home but after looking through house plans available on the internet, I got excited about the possibilities. I like the style of the illustrations too....

You can find the plans for these houses here:

http://www.homeplans.com/

http://www.houseplans.com/

I'm going to Adelaide!

2011-10-06T00:27:00.001-07:00

I'll be a first timer at this years Bowerbird Bazaar in Adelaide!

I love Lindsey!

2011-10-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I felt so lucky when my lovely intern Lindsey gave me a suuuuuper cute paper cut which she made especially for me to hang on my wall! Lindsey has been working at Ask Alice since June and yesterday was sadly her last day. She is going to be missed! Lindsey has some big plans for a very cute stationery label. I can't wait to see what she comes up with, no doubt it will be awesome! I will be sure to share it on my blog when it's released. Thank you Lindsey! I miss you already!! xoxo

Upon a Fold

2011-09-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

It's been a little while since I visited my favourite online shop - Upon a Fold. My visit today left me feeling all excited about spring! Look at all the pretty colours and all the pretty things!

Free Shipping is nice!

2011-09-23T02:48:00.000-07:00

I made a little change on my online shop to make the shopping process a little nicer. If you live in Australia, then your online order will be posted to you, free of charge. Hooray!

Happy New Year Japan

2011-09-23T02:40:00.000-07:00

About to hit the print press is a 2012 Calendar created by me and 11 artists! We will be selling this calendar and donating it's proceeds to a charity who is assisting our friends in Japan in their recovery after one very tough year. It's going to be a super calendar and will be available via my online shop. I'll keep y'all posted on it's progress!

It's been a while!

2011-08-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

After a very busy few months, I have finally found a spare 5 minutes to do a mini post! I decided to spend my 5 minutes introducing the new love of Dee's life, Bella....

One very cute phone cover

2011-06-09T21:39:00.001-07:00

Look what I just saw on ebay! How cute is that?! I wish I was ok with spending $40 on a phone cover. If you're ok with it, then I think you should totally buy one. You will find them here.

New Studio

2011-06-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

We are back from Holidays and we have a new studio! Here is one picture of our new space. Little Dee seems to be settling in very well indeed. I will post some more pictures once we are a little more set up.

Thanks for having me KL

2011-05-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

I had a very nice 6 days in Malaysia. Most of my time was spent in KL. I was lucky enough to have a friend in KL who gave me a place to stay and took the entire 6 days off work to hang out and show me around his home town! I thought I would share with you my 4 favourite things about KL.

...NUMBER ONE : WONDERMILK...

Wondermilk is not your typical Malaysian cafe, in fact if I didn't know where it was located, I would have guessed some little side street in Tokyo. It's suuuuper cute.

I giggled my way through their menu as they have named their dishes with the best names ever, like "Mr. Egghead", "Say Cheese", "Turkey Love Affair", "Hot Diggity Dog" and "Mr Beefstake"!

They also have a big selection of mini cupcakes and a variety of cute brick-a-brac for sale. My kind of place indeed!

I bought a cute little pencil case from Wondermilk and some nice envelopes too. I took a picture of them on my sisters chalk board. POW... heheh....

...NUMBER TWO : PIPIT ZAKKA STORE...

Super nice shop run by super nice people. Jam packed with all kinds of tiny goods, I was tempted to buy just about everything in Pipit Zakka Store, instead I bought their in house magazine "Pipit International Creative" (seriously lovely magazine), a camping cup, a matchbook sized notebook and a bag of ace stickers! One of my favourite things about the shop is the fact that customers are invited to contribute. There is a wall of drawnings and a table with paper and pens. I drew a wonky drawning and pegged it on display. There is also a nice display of polaroids, the owner Mike took a polaroid of me and my friend Shawn to add to the collection. They also have an exhibition space and a lomo shop downstairs. What a great shop!

...NUMBER THREE : BANANA ROTTI...

Of all the amazing food I ate, my favourite was the roti bread that has sliced banana inside. I love cooked banana. I was having my roti with "milo ice" every chance I got..... YUM!

...LUCKY LAST : NUMBER FOUR : SWING CLASSES...

Fancy a bit of lindy hop, a bit of shim sham a bit of boogie woogie? I had my first swing class in KL and it was so much fun! If you ever travel to KL on your own, I highly recommend rocking up to this class. The people are lovely and will be so excited to have you join them for the evening. It's a great way to meet people and shake your tail feather. They go slow for the beginners too. You'll find them here.

And here's a bit of Shim Sham for you....

New Socks

2011-05-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

Do you like my new socks? I think they will bring some fun to my winter mornings. I found them in a shop here in Barcelona for 4 euros... not to bad at all!

Holidays

2011-05-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

Posts have been few and far between for one very good reason.... it's holiday time at Ask Alice!

My holiday started with 6 days in Malaysia visiting my friend Shawn from Pancake Zoo (and his cat Maki). I managed to turn each day in Malaysia into an eating marathon. The food was just soooo good! Then from Malaysia to Portugal and Portugal to Spain. And now I am enjoying ice creams in Barcelona. I have lots of photos to sort through and post. It will be fun to document the trip and share some of my favourite spots with you. I'll be sure to post them soon! xo

I found a bear

2011-04-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went for a walk to Prahran Markets to pick up some.... well, some pig skin actually. It sounds a bit horrible, but Charley is learning to tattoo at the moment so pig skin is the first step, then he'll probably move on to his own skin and then other peoples skin! Anyway, on my trip I found this great little black bear on the footpath. I consider this a very lucky find!

Autumn Market Finds

2011-04-07T23:35:00.001-07:00

Ooh my! Almost a week has past and I still haven't shared my Camberwell Market finds from last weekend! I spent $28 in total and picked up a cute dress, a lovely Autumn cardigan, a cuckoo clock and 6 pieces of excellent japanese "log-handled" cutlery.

Staffy Rescue

2011-04-02T04:29:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest video I have watched on Youtube in a long time! I'm a bit of a sucker for doggy rescue stories! Adopting my staffy from Staffy Rescue here in Victoria was one of the best things I ever did! They get lots of doggies at the Staffy Rescue, it breaks my heart. They have a lovely bunch of staffys at the moment. My dog Dee would be very upset with me if I adopted another dog. If it was up to me though, I would bring Yoda home to live with us....

He had a cute wonky tooth, but they had to take it out because it was hurting his lip. Are you looking for a new family member? I think you should consider Yoda. You can read more about him and his friends at Staffy Rescue here. Or if you live in Sydney, you can visit your local Staffy Rescue here.

Finders Keepers! This Weekend!

2011-03-25T01:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Nicey blog followers!

Here is a little invite for you. If you will be in the Melbourne area this weekend, then I think you should come on down to the Finders Keepers market and say hello. I would love to meet you! You can even have a taco from the new Taco Truck - brother to Beat Box Kitchen! More details here.

My Sunday Morning at Camberwell

2011-03-13T01:12:00.000-08:00

Next month I will start a 5 week French course. This book can help get me ready for school! $8.

This here is my find of the day! I love it! A $5 Snowy Mountains tea towel! I grew up in Canberra with an Uncle in Jindabyne and many a ski trips to Perisha and thredbo. Now my Dad lives in Thredbo and I know the Snowy country well. The tea towel even has Canberra up in the top corner! There are lots of spots on this "tea towel map" that bring back nice memories. This fella is going to hang proudly on my wall.

A $3 tin for my short bread! I've been making short bread lately and have been putting the freshly baked biscuits into a chocolate tin. This tin is much better suited to the job.

My sister lives in Barcelona, but still has the odd bit of mail delivered to my house. The mail tends to get a little muddled with all my clutter, so this is my solution. $5 bought me a nice old tin for Aimee's letters!

Oh yes! This fella gets a big tick. I have been looking for the perfect bread keeper for aaaaages! I had trouble photographing the colour accurately. It's a really nice retro pink. The kind of pink you would find in an art deco bathroom. It did set me back $20, but I am ok with that. I think it was worth it.

A $5 picnic set, which I wont actually use as a picnic set. The plates are cute and I'm going to use them at home for sandwiches or salads. I think I will use the basket to store my scarfs in the summer and my swimmers in the winter.

Ooh and these are three really tiny Japanese whistles. They are super cute and just $2.

Experiments Around the House

2011-03-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, I love Lullatone. So naturally I giggled my way through this video they posted on their website...

Cuckoo O'Clock

2011-03-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

Last year I was outbid on an amazing little cuckoo clock on ebay. It was a handcrafted cuckoo version of the Hansel and Gretel house with a black cat on the roof. It was a very cool cuckoo clock indeed. Then on Christmas eve I was given a fantastic Cuckoo clock in excellent condition by my brother and his lady. I am saving the christmas clock for my new house though, so decided I will be needing a second cuckoo clock for my studio. I found a very nice one on etsy and bought it for $25 from Vintage Modern.

Good Luck Elephant

2011-03-03T03:53:00.001-08:00

Recently Mel Stringer did a portrait of my friend Gemma... See it here. Today I purchased a teeny tiny elephant on an Etsy store. After I bought it, I recieved an email notification and noticed that it was Mel Stringer who made this little Ele-fella! (How I missed that major detail, I am not sure?) It was a nice surprise. I bought him for my sister as a birthday present. She lives in Spain so he will be travelling a long way to his new home. I highly recommend having a look at Mel Stringers Etsy shop. Well, time for bed! Night Night

Happy Doggy

2011-03-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

A night trip to Ikea led to the purchase of a new doona cover for little Dee. It was $10 and he absolutely loves it!

Second Edition Sketchbooks

2011-02-28T18:32:00.001-08:00

I am very pleased with the new Ask Alice Sketchbooks! Perhaps you remember the first edition with the old comic book pages? Well, for the second edition, I used 2 old illustrated dictionaries. I picked them up at Camberwell markets. They weighed a tonne and until last week, I was using them to prop up my desk. They are now spread out across 1000 books, which means each sketchbook is unique and unlike the next. I was particularly happy with the first book I picked off the pile...

The Perfect Space

2011-02-27T14:02:00.000-08:00

Dearest Blog Followers,

Ask Alice is growing and no longer fits in the corner of my bedroom! I am on the hunt for the perfect studio space. I will be sharing the space with my friends at ZipZip. This is a little studio call out. If you know of a vacant space here in Melbourne and you don't want it for yourself, then would you be so kind as to send it my way? sass(at)askalicestationery.com. I can't wait to finally have a big space to stretch out in! I will be keeping you all posted on my studio hunt progress!

Have a happy week!

♥ Sass

Etsy Bears

2011-02-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

Today's rainy Sunday morning kept me cozy in bed instead of rummaging my way through Camberwell Markets. So I decided to pull my laptop onto the bed and hunt for vintage goodies on Etsy instead. Perhaps you remember my plastic bear that I found at the Coburg Market Last year (He's the bear above)? Well his name is Edgar and he was the bear who inspired me to add a bear to my range of cards...

While I was working on this card, I looked up lots of pictures of bears and became a little obsessed. So this morning, while digging around the vintage treasures that Etsy has to offer, I did a search for bears. Here's what I found...

This fella is a nicely sized (8" tall and 7" wide) anti freeze can. Very cute, but extra pricey at $45!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64509601/vintage-polar-bear-can?ref=sr_list_1&ga_search_query=bear+tin&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage

One very cute panda teddy who looks like he just woke up. He has glass eyes and suede paw pads! Also pretty spendy at $45!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67037467/antique-old-panda-teddy-bear-toy-was-55?ref=sr_gallery_40&ga_search_query=bear&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage

Panda head pillow?! Not to mention the lion and the bunny too! Not so keen on the clown.

This is an old sewing pattern which includes the patterns for all four pillows. Very cute and a pretty good price at $5.75. I like it!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/27104825/simplicity-3700-vintage-1950s-animal-and?ref=sr_list_20&ga_shopname=vintagescissors&ga_search_query=bear&ga_page=4&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage

My pick of the day!! I LOVE this guy. He is so damn cute. Perhaps I like him so much because he reminds me of my doggy, with his read lead and fat bottom. I found it hard to resist buying this fella, but at $25 plus $12 shipping, I am almost paying $40. I reckon if I keep an eye out, I will find another for a better price. I hope he finds himself a good home.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68781060/walkin-the-bear-vintage-stuffed-bear?ref=sr_list_22&ga_shopname=vintagescissors&ga_search_query=bear&ga_page=6&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage

And lastly, the one thing I did buy. A page from an old book on natural history. I paid $8 + $7 shipping. I think this bear will look very nice in one of my old brown wood frames which I picked up at Camberwell. I'll post a picture of him once he has been framed and he finds himself a spot on our wall.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59489654/antique-natural-history-chromolithograph

Coco Rosie

2011-02-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

My love for Coco Rosie multiplied last month after seeing them live at the Prince. Before seeing Coco Rosie, I only knew a handful of their songs and very little about the actual band. I went to the show with my sister, which turned out to be very fitting as Coco and Rosie are sisters too!

Two sisters on vocals and a variety of instruments including a harp, children's toy instruments and a snake charmers pipe, a pianist, a beatboxer and drummer too. It was a really great show. And I have been enjoyng lots of their new songs since the show. Here's a few of them for you to enjoy too.....

I included this version of Animals because it's nice to see them live in action, being the trippers that they are, but the original is a nicer version, I think.

Another nice live version of Animals here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPCsD7NNcWA&feature=related

Unfortunately the embebed code had been disabled so I couldn't include it.

So that's 3 songs of the week. I hope you enjoy!

Today at Camberwell

2011-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

The highlight of my morning! A kind stall-holder gave me this little handmade mouse. I called him "Beep". I am guessing that he was made in the 50s. He smells like a mix of women's perfume and dusty books. He is made of a nice thick felt and was constructed with some very nice needlework. He lost his tail somewhere along the way, so I made him a new one out of some twine. I can't work out why I think he is so great. I guess I just like wondering who made him and when. My doggy likes Beep just as much as I do and every time I hold my new mouse, Dee tries to take Beep out of my hand using his paw. Very cute!

Late last year I ventured to a different flea market - Wantirna Market! It's a bit of a hike for me to get out there, but it was worth the trip. I picked up a great stack of old paper as well as this great flour sifter. I bought the flour sifter as a present for my friend Milly. Ages ago she told me she would like one with a windy handle. It was pretty greasy when I got it, but it cleaned up nicely. Today I found this great kitchen measure to match. They were $5 each. I often find similar kitchen measures at Camberwell and they are always between $10 and $20. I am not sure why they get so pricey. So, $5 seemed like a good bargain. I don't think Milly follows my blog, but if you do... these are for you! It's time we did some baking together! x

One of my favourite stall-holders is a nice young lady who sells vintage kitcheny odds and ends. Sometimes she branches outside of the kitchen genre and has things like these nice loose leaf refills. Her stall always looks so tidy and cute. I was happy to buy this stack of old school paper for $1.

And lastly a nice bit of..... actually, I don't know what this is called. It's the mesh type fabric that people cross stitch on to. Do you know what it is called? I am going to spend my Sunday afternoon stitching one of Charley's drawings. I am trying to choose which one to stitch...

I would like to stitch the native american, but my stitching skills are pretty basic. Perhaps the snake would be a better one to start with. I'll let you know how it goes.

If you want to see more of Charley's awesome drawings, you can go here. He has just started his tattoo apprenticeship, so soon we can cover our arms in Charley's tattoos!

x Hope you are having a nice Sunday x

♥ Sass

Stitched Cards

2011-02-10T03:33:00.000-08:00

I finally finished my stitching project! I hope you like it...

I did 4 different embroideries and made each one into a card. They are being printed tomorrow and will be on my online shop in no time. I will keep you posted!

Phillipa Finch

2011-02-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

My poor blog, as well as a whole list of outstanding to-to's.... have all been neglected lately. Not to mention all my friends and family members. You might be wondering why I have been such a slack blogger, or if you are one of my friends or family members, you might be wondering where the noodle I am? I have been knuckling down and working hard on a very fun and exciting project. It has not been released yet, so it's still rather top secret. What I can tell you though, is it relates to one very cool animation by Emma Magenta. You can see a little sneak preview right here!

Cute, no?! I can't wait to watch the first episode! I will be sure to share the project which has been keeping me busy as soon as it comes to life!

Camberwell Markets

2011-01-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

I have 2 visits worth of Camberwell goods to report....

One of my best finds today, this excellent basket. I saw the same one on another stall earlier for $25. I was very happy to pick this one up for $10.

I have bought some of these picnic cups before but recently decided that I am going to build up a collection and use them as my everyday cups. I am moving house soon so am getting prepared. The cup collection is almost sorted, I now have 11 in total. These 6 were $5 and came with a little zip up case.

I always get excited about nice things to hang on the wall, especially if they are hand made. This cross stitch that reminds me of my trans mongolian train ride in the middle of winter was $12 and came in a particularly nice frame. I am looking forward to hanging this one on our new walls.

A cute milk carafe made in Italy. Just 2 bucks mate!

Another lovely paper covered cardboard box to add to my collection - 50 cents. Very handy indeed.

A nice little coffee table for the new house. (We still haven't found our new house... but I am getting ready!) The legs screw off and it was only $12. I couldn't say no to that.

I have seen this guy around and have wanted to buy him for a while. My sneaky mama bear saw me looking at him today and snuck back when I was hanging out at the donut van and bought it for me. She is cute and sneaky! Thanks Mum!

Lastly, this awesome dog breed wall hanging. It is really big and great (Well, I think it's great, Charley isn't so sure yet). It was from a primary school and was apparently printed in the 70s. I liked it even more when I saw it has a Bull Terrier on it.... they are the greatest dogs ever.

I had an accomplis for the last two market visits - my sister Aimee. She is visiting from Spain. She found some excellent things....

We both love these canisters, they often come in sets which can be pretty pricey and tricky to transport back to Spain. This little lone ranger however, was just $10 and will be perfect for storing raw sugar.

One very loved and super smooth rolling pin. Apparently from the 50s. It was $8.

And lastly, this really gorgeous teeny tiny record player. It was only $10 and it works!

Fun New Project

2011-01-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

I am making something fun at the moment. I will show it to you when the project is complete!

Peppermint Magazine

2011-01-10T03:40:00.000-08:00

Did you see Ask Alice in the latest issue of Peppermint Magazine? Yay!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

I am always excited at the beginning of a new year. I love buying my new moleskine diary and laying down my new years resolutions. One of my resolutions this year is to watch more movies. It's going well so far and I can highly recommend "Boy". It went straight to my top ten....

2 Sundays at Camberwell

2010-12-12T02:52:00.000-08:00

I have 2 Sundays worth of Camberwell Market finds to share with you! First up... We have these cowboy and indian figurines which I bought for Charley for $2.

2 pairs of very big and very heavy scissors. The black pair are 33cm long! Sheers like this can get pretty pricey. This pair has a little nick on the tip of one of the blades so I picked them up for $30 - still a little pricey, but I made up for it with the red pair which were only $2.

$3 bought me this gorgeous little box of "Tibs - Tablets for Cats and Kittens". I bought them for the sweet box and threw away the old tablets. Packaging these days just doesn't compare. Why is that?

For $10 I picked up this rad metal chest of mini drawers. The chest is a bit rusty and very dirty, but with a good clean, should brush up quite nicely. Still not sure what I am going to use it for. Any suggestions?

This find, I was very happy with because a few months back I picked up the matching box in black, white and gold. The box was $2. I now have 2 in the set and am on the hunt for more. They are perfect for storing my millions of paper scraps in.

And lastly, an out of the ordinary purchase for me - 3 dresses. Usually I walk straight on by the clothing stalls and hit the bric-a-brac. These nice dresses however, caught my eye and are all a prefect fit. Lucky me! I paid $15 for each dress.

Xmas Card Bundles

2010-12-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

I have finally added my x-mas card bundles to my online shop! The bundles are made up of 12 cards. There are 4 different designs in the bundles and because it's the time for giving, I am posting these fellas for free with in Australia and for cheap outside of Australia. Even Mr. Hippo is happy about this...

Ask Alice Prints!

2010-12-01T03:30:00.001-08:00

I have had so much fun making Ask Alice's first ever art print. I released it at the market on the weekend was stoked to see it well received! I printed a run of 50 so I still have a bunch left. The prints are signed and numbered, limited edition giclee prints on cotton rag paper. The print is a super high quality print of an original paper cut illustration that you may have seen in previous posts of mine. I am selling the prints both framed and unframed. If you would like to get your paws on one, then you will find them on my online shop (:

Harvest X-mas Market

2010-11-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about the Harvest X-mas Market! It's going to be such a fun day. There's going to be lots of excellent stalls, yummy food, kiddies craft and you can even print your own wrapping paper! Have a look at their website to see all the great local labels that will be holding stalls. Come and visit me on the day - Saturday December 18 - 512 Lygon Street, East Brunswick.

MARKit

2010-11-28T16:53:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was such a great day! The market was a success and I felt so special having all my lovely friends and family come and visit me. A big thank you to all those friends who showed their support... I hope you guys enjoyed the show bags. Next market for Ask Alice... Harvest!..

November

2010-11-26T14:48:00.001-08:00

It's been 26 days since I posted on my blog! YIKES!!!! November has been such a crazy busy month! It started with a trip to Perth. My first trip Perth, in fact. I absolutely loved it and of course, managed to find the Camberwell Market equivalent of WA. The Melville Market! It was a great day. The market was full of so many treasures. If I had a big van, I would have filled the whole thing with furniture and brought it all back to Melbourne. Prices at Melville are much more reasonable than at Camberwell. I picked up some real goodies. I spent the rest of November running around like a little squirrel in preparation for Ask Alice's first ever market stall! What fun!! The big day is tomorrow at MARKit, held at Fed Square here in Melbourne. If you read this post in time and you are in Melbourne, stop by MARKit and say hello. I would love to meet some of my blog followers. I often forget people actually read my blog and then I get a nice email or a nice comment and I realise that people do read my nattering! Thanks fellas! Now, let me show you what I found at Melville Market....

Songs of the sea 7" - I love the cover so much that this fella is now hanging on my wall.

This was my best find of the day. For $1 I got 2 packs of very old seed envelopes. Even the band

that holds the envelopes together is inspiring. I might just have to start making Ask Alice mini

envelopes!

A cute little blue case that I will be using to display books at the market tomorrow. Perfect fit!

These scissors are great! Very blunt but they were only $3. They have their own built in nut cracker and bottle opener!

A folding 2 meter wooden ruler. Two bucks! What a find!

3 kitch black plastic ornate frames. $2 each. I haven't decided what to put inside them yet, but am in love with them. I'm sure Charley will draw up something excellent for them.

The Kind man who sold me the frames, threw in the snake for free!

Some other exciting things from the month of November......

Outré Gallery are giving away these amazing mini prints from Angelique Houtkamp when you buy any of Angelique's prints. It's such an awesome print!! I can't wait to frame mine and hang it on my wall!

My gocco from Kate Pugsley arrived! I love it! She packaged it up so nicely too and gave me a cute little pin.

I had fun making a birthday card for my friend who likes mid-century architecture and easter island tikis.

I had one of the sweetest and most colourful ice creams of my entire life! Incredible!

So an exciting month it has been so far and the most exciting event hasn't even happened yet! Tomorrow is the big day at MARKit! I have made 4 christmas cards for day....

I'm selling these guys individually for $4.50 each or in packs of 12 for $30.

If you can't make it to Fed Square tomorrow for the Market then I will be popping remaining stock on my online shop next week. I am also releasing something that I am very excited about at tomorrows market! My first limited edition art print! It is available framed or unframed and all prints are signed, numbered and come with a cute little certificate of authenticity. Unframed prints are $35 each and framed are $95 each. I will also pop some of these on my online shop next week. Yay! So if you are free tomorrow, this is where it's at....

Over and Out!

Zip Zip

2010-11-02T00:24:00.000-07:00

I got a RAD package in the mail the other day. I have a nice friend called Ned. Ned makes this really freakin' great product. Zip Zips are little USB drives that are disguised inside two Lego pieces. These little fellas are super handy. Ned sent me three Zip Zips, two of them are 4GB and one of them, 16GB! Perfect for a top secret, highly confidential, hush hush file.... Just build it into your Lego castle and it will never be found! Perfect! Visit Zip Zip.

$9 worth of Camberwell goodness

2010-11-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

The last 2 Sunday's at Camberwell haven't found me many-a-treasure. I think between the two Sundays I spent a total of $9. This is what $9 can pick you up at Camberwell Markets...

A funny old rusty basket. I am going to paint it yellow!

A piece of a broken cuckoo clock. It's the Hansel and Gretel house! See the prezel above the door? In the background is my much loved little Travis Lampe Tear Drip. (He came from Outré, not Camberwell!)

These two books are very old Japanese text books. One of them had an English flash card between the pages. I pulled these two books out of a whole box full. I was happy that I happened to pick the one book that had this flash card left in it. I have plenty of Japanese flash cards myself! I wonder who owned this book?

Hee hee! Pretty Poly twine. I will be using this to tie up christmas packages.

Upon a Fold

2010-10-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the Ask Alice postcard book on Upon a Fold? I am very excited to have my product featured on such a special website!

Ask Alice Chrissy Cards

2010-10-19T04:40:00.000-07:00

I have been working on some exciting bits and pieces for Christmas including some special Christmas cards which will be available only through the Ask Alice online shop and at the Ask Alice stall at November's MARKit at Fed Square. Today I cut what felt like billions of teeny tiny pieces of paper, I had lots of fun...

Yesterday at Camberwell

2010-10-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

I zipped through Camberwell markets yesterday, arriving at 7am and half way home by 8.30am. I felt the urge to speed through the market because there were so many good odds and ends for sale, I was scared I was going to fill my car with too much bric-a-brac. So the mornings pickings were slim but nice. My favourite goodie is the mini tin globe, I am not sure that photo shows just how cool it is. I saw some people geting some great deals right on 7am. Looks like the early bird does get the worm.

Look what I just bought on Etsy!!...

2010-10-11T01:11:00.000-07:00

After having my own print Gocco lesson last weekend, I am particularly excited to buy this little gem. The artist is Kate Pugsley and she prints the black of the image on her Gocco and then hand finishes the work with watercolour so each is unique. How gorgeous! I can't wait for it to arrive! Visit Kate's Etsy shop here.

This Saturday

2010-10-06T03:28:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I have a great day planned! I will be starting the day in the kitchen making a big stack of nice thin pancakes. After breakfast I am heading to Finders Keepers Market. And in the afternoon I am heading to Outré for the Done with Electricity book signing. Then maybe an ice cream in the botanical gardens. I can't wait for Saturday!!

Juliana Neufeld

2010-09-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

Wow wow wow! My bestie Zeshan sent me a link last week to Juliana Neufelds website. He thought I would like her work and he was spot on. Since making the discovery, I have spent lots of time clicking through images of Julianas illustrations, photographs and design work. I quickly became curious about what kind of person is behind these beautiful explosions of colour and creativity. So I sent an email with my questions and how nice is Juliana?!... she wrote back straight away! This is what she so kindly shared with me and you....

Where are you based?

Im based out of Toronto, Canada

How do you spend most of your time?

Art! I spend most of the weekdays at my studio, working as an illustrator and on the weekends, I try to connect with friends..making food, drinking wine, biking around the city.

Do you have any pets?

Im very ashamed to say I have NONE! I love animals soo much, but I'm all over the place geographically and I want to be the loving animal mother I should be, before I take home a furry little one. I basically informally adopt the cats on my block and we hang on stoops together in the sun :)

Do you have a favourite city or place to visit?

I have family in San Fransisco, which is a hugely creative, inspiring city and which reminds me a lot of Toronto and so I try to visit at least once a year. Outside of North America, Ghana and Tanzania have both been amazing experiences. I spent a week in StoneTown on the Island of Zanzibar, off the coast of tanzania and spent the week fishing, swimming, eating fresh fish and taking pictures.

Who are your 4 favourite artists at the moment?

haha..I'm going to cheat and give you top four older artists AND top four contemporary artists

Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenburg and Maurice Sendak

and more contemporary are

Sally Mann, Sabrina Ward Harrison, Dan Eldon and Yoshitomo Nara.

Upon a Fold

2010-09-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

Today I was introduced to a really nice website that has a really nice blog. The blog and shop are so beautiful! A great name, a great logo, great colours, great products! Wow, I must be a fan. If you haven't seen Upon a Fold's website or blog, then I highly recommend you swing by and click your way around the paper products and paper posts. You are sure to find something you admire!

Online Shop

2010-09-26T05:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all you nice people who have contacted me looking to buy my new Ask Alice products. You can now see Ask Alice greeting cards, postcard book, hardback books and mini books on the Ask Alice online shop. It's fun having some new products in the range! If you haven't seen the new stuff yet, here is a little bit (see the full range here)....

Ask Alice on The Vine

2010-09-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

The nicey Gemma Jones posted an Ask Alice studio visit on The Vine. Have a look here

Coburg Market

2010-09-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

Today Charley and I drove the extra distance to visit Coburg's trash and treasure markets at the Coburg drive in. I loved it! We felt like we had left Australia and were somewhere in Europe, I thought it felt a bit Italian. It was quite similar to the Encants market that we visit with my Sister whenever we are in Barcelona. Coburg markets is lots cheaper than Camberwell markets but you have to really dig through the junk to find stuff worth buying. I thought a few of the things on sale were a little odd... empty plastic soft drink bottles for example and old lollies. Amongst the weird stuff there was some cool bits and pieces worth buying, but I wasn't really in a buying mood so I only brought home a couple of little goodies (totalling $5). Little Dee got a new collar for $3 that matches his beautiful eyes, I got a plastic bear and some measuring cups. Sounds a little boring, but it was a fun morning. Next time we will pack ourselves some nibbles because we ended up spending more on donuts than we did on treasures!

Special Needs Pets

2010-09-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

It really doesn't get much cuter than this!

Outré.. Oui Oui.. Trés Outré

2010-09-24T00:58:00.000-07:00

There is so much great stuff at Outré Gallery at the moment, even more than usual! After a very busy few months for me, I have decided to reward myself. I can't buy them all though, so I think I might treat myself to 2 of the items on my list. At the moment I am thinking the Matte Stephens print "Arriving in Stockholm" and the Giant Yoshitomo Nara figurine, "Little Wanderer" ...

Yoshitomo Nara "Little Wanderer"

Andrew Bannecker's "No Turning Back"

Travis Lampe's "Tear Drips"

Matte Stephens' "Arriving in Stockholm"

"My First Nursery Book" - Illustrated by Franciszka Themerson

Yoshitomo Nara's "Too Young to Die Ash Tray"

Yep! All from Outré. And did you know that there is now 3 Outrés? Melbourne, Perth and Sydney! And if you include their online store, then that makes 4!

2010-09-19T17:49:00.001-07:00

I just spent the last couple of weeks in Sydney and me and Sydney are good friends now. I have always known in the back on my head that I like Sydney, but I didn't realise just how much. Me and Charley drove there and had a really nice time. The highlight of our trip being the Rozelle markets. An excellent bric-a-brac market that was a perfect substitue for my weekly Camberwell visit.

I have collected some great things over the past couple of weeks. From Rozelle I picked up a full set of wonderful kitchen canisters. They are in great condition and they were just $10. I have been looking for a good ruler for ages now. I am very happy with this ruler which I also found at Rozelle. It is very functional, in excellent condition and was made in Denmark from Glass fibre! It makes a great sound when I click it together, totally worth the $8 we paid. Also from Rozelle a cute little wooden train for $5 and a xylophone for 50cents. The colourful wooden ruler in the picture is the odd one out because it didn't come from Rozelle - it came all the way from my boyfriends garage in France. Charley found it on the floor in his mums garage and knew I would like it so brought it all the way back to Australia for me. It's rad! Not so functional though, so it's a goodie for hanging on the wall.

We also visited some great stores while we were in Sydney. The first one was "David Met Nicole" on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills. A very inspiring and intriguing store. I could spend hours rummaging and riffling in David Met Nicole, but unfortunately can barely afford to buy anything there. Perhaps one vintage scrabble piece for $3.50, but thats about it! So gorgeous though...

And just a couple doors down was a shop called I Ran the Wrong Way. Their card nicely states that they are "a trader of good finds" - that's my kind of shop! I especially liked the "Cork Kitty" in the window...

The one shop I really wanted to visit while we were in Sydney was Little paper Lane... Unfortunately we were unlucky and we visited on their day off. We did have fun though, peering in through the window at all the paper goodies, slipping a letter under the door and eating ice creams from the take away shop next door...

I can't wait to go back to Sydney!

Handmadelove

2010-09-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Do It sure is one very sweet, very delicious blog! Lots of nice photos, and illustrations and it always makes me hungry. Yesterday's post on handmadelove was particularly cute...

If you have pillows that you would like to be reincarnated into giant marshmallows or parmesan cheese then contact Dawn - dawntanwenyi@gmail.com

A nice post from a very nice shop

2010-09-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

Follow the Five Boroughs Blog Here

This week I can't stop listening to...

2010-09-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

Cold Hands by Black Lips

I'm an Auntie...

2010-09-05T05:54:00.001-07:00

The cutest beefiest little nugget puppy ever. He is going to grow up to be a very big boy!!

Beefy, what did you give Dad for Fathers day? A juicy bone? A big lick on the cheek?

Catching Up

2010-09-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

I have a whole folder of photos on my camera waiting to be posted on here. Where does time go?? So this is my first post to help catch up and share all the news. Last weeks Camberwell Market finds...

A $1 Lemon Juicer

A 23 compartment house

to hang on my wall and display all the little pieces of junk that I collect at the markets! Lots better than the one I found a few weeks back.

I love this chicken!...

She is a fabric chicken which you use to cover eggs. I put my eggs in a bowl and then place her on top of them. I access the eggs under her wing!

My new cat friend.

So special that he came on our road trip to Sydney. But I still haven't thought up a name for this home made cutie... any suggestions?

Stamping

2010-08-22T01:54:00.000-07:00

I substituted yesterday's trip to Camberwell for stamping books! I have 3000 books to stamp by hand. Lucky for me I have a super "istamp80" which is filled with ink and is capable of thousands of impressions. The whole process would be lots slower if I had to re-ink on an ink pad before each impression. I was a bit concerned that by hand stamping each book myself, there would be plenty of room for mistakes. So far I have stamped my way through about 1000 books and only stamped one book upside down! Not bad at all! I am actually really enjoying stamping each book, I have found a nice rhythm . So this is what I have been doing....

(with the help of my furry side kick of course)

Bags made from corn! Yum Yum

2010-08-22T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is a post to share a great thing I found! I have been itching to include greeting cards in the Ask Alice range since the beginning but haven't done so until now because of the grim packaging options out there. Greeting cards are usually sold in a polypropylene clear sleeve or a cello sleeve. These two materials are not great materials for our planets eco system. Cello bags do break down over time (lots of time) but the process used to make a cello bag requires nasty chemicals. I found several alternatives that were biodegradable and tick all the eco boxes but they look pretty crud... they are smoky and crease easily. Fortunately, I did find an excellent option that does exactly what I want it to do... It is crystal clear, it doesn't mark or crease easily, it is biodegradable and the process used to create it is totally A-OK environmentally. The bags are so good that they are even made from my favourite food - corn!! If I had to choose one plant to take on board the Ark before the big storm, I would totally take corn. It does so much good for us! So anyway, if you make greeting cards, or notebooks, or art prints or photos or anything that you currently package in clear bags, the chances are those bags are Polypropylene. My recommendation is corn bags! They are not really called corn bags, the material is called PLA and you can buy all kinds of bags made from PLA here:

http://www.clearbags.com/bags/eco

Think of it this way - How long will your product be around for? 50 years perhaps? Doesn't it seem crazy to package it in something that will remain on the planet infinitely? Here, maybe a cute video will convince you....

I fisrt saw that wonderful video on the wonderful meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com

6 days late!!

2010-08-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

Last week, not only did I go to Camberwell, but I had a stall of my own! I was selling old clothes with one of my sisters. It rained all morning, so it wasn't really the best Sunday to have a stall, but we still managed to sell all our junk. I tried not to visit other stalls because the aim of the game was to make money, not spend it. Instead of spending it, I did a trade. Some t-shirts for these awesome little needlepoint matryoshkas. I particularly love their little feet! Perhaps hand made by someone's grandma once upon a time?...

I'm Back!

2010-08-21T04:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! Talk about being snowed under! The past 3 weeks I have been buried under an avalanche of work! It has been such a full on month. Week 1 of my 3 week stint was dedicated to "tradefair preparation". I was running around like a busy rabbit picking up things, delivering things, printing things, making things, eating things.... The trade fair all came together wonderfully though and we had such a fantastic reaction. We exhibited at the Reeds Gift Fair and released all the new Ask Alice products. The trade fair went so well, that now I am even more snowed under with work than I was before the fair! Here are some pictures from the fair...

Factory Field Trip

2010-08-02T04:39:00.000-07:00

Today at 8am I drove to Mt. Waverley to sign off some samples for the new release of Ask Alice. Eeep... it's just a few days 'til the release and I am still signing off test prints?! It's not as bad as it sounds. 4 of my 5 new releases are on the shelf ready to go, but these little fellas - the hard back books... they took some extra time. My fabric and foiling came all the way from Europe. The fabric arrived with no problem, but because this is a bit of a tricky job, I require a special foil that also comes from Europe. It comes in 2 colours, black or white. I need black, by crikey... the sent white. An express parcel arrived on Friday afternoon with the right foiling, so the ship is sailing smooth again. I really enjoy my factory visits. I deal with small manufacturers who are always nice enough to give me a tour... I love factory tours! I have so many questions about the machinery. Strangely enough, I think if I wasn't designing stationery, I might be working in a factory making it. I love all the different machinery, especially the old clunky machines. Today was my first trip to a foiling factory. Usually I use a printer, so I have had no need for a foiling factory. The books I am having foiled are covered with a nice textured linen, so this time I need foiling. The foiling machine is rad! Super fast and precise. All the covers are now foiled and have crossed over to the other side of Ferntree gully road where they will now have pages put in them. I can't wait to see them!!

Sunday's Finds...

2010-08-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

I got soaked to the skin on Sunday, braving the storms to find some trash. When it's raining there is less shoppers at Camberwell, but also less stalls. I quite enjoy it in the rain, I've always loved being in the rain. My little doggy doesn't feel the same though, so I had to did it solo. Here is the glorious crap that I filled my car with this week...

An old school desk for $15, a great lightbox for free (if it works ok I owe the stall holder $10 next Sunday) and a bag of clothes for $10. Who ever said Camberwell Markets are dead?

Friday Brekky with my brother

2010-07-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

Every Friday my brother and I come from opposite sides of town to meet for our favourite meal of the day - breakfast! We try to visit new spots every week which isn't hard to do in Melbourne, there are so many yummy places for the morning meal in this great city. I though I might start reporting our delicious mornings. These pictures are actually from last weeks spot Grigons & Orr in North Melbourne. We ate apple fritters, very nice even in the eyes of a savoury breakfast girl (thats me, I like my potatoes in the morning). The atmosphere of this place was so great. A cold winter morning, a basket of blankets at the front door, a heater under the table, a knitted tea cosy, people braving the cold to come down to their local corner store to buy some milk... this is why winter is my favourite month! The menu is big and I had great difficulty choosing. I think we better revisit Grigons & Orr so I can venture further down their menu.

Ask Alice on Blue Caravan

2010-07-30T00:53:00.001-07:00

I am so happy to announce that Ask Alice is now a smiling member of Bluecaravan. If you don't already know Bluecaravan then you should swing by. Bluecarvan is like an online caravan park and each caravan houses an artist or creator of somekind. Inside their little caravans they sell their products direct to you. None of that middle man jive. And what each of these caravan folk have in common is their ethical approach to creating. Here you will find all kinds of organic, fair trade, sweat shop free, recycled, ethical, eco-blah-blah, save the world kind of stuff. It's quite a new website and is growing super fast. It's fun having a blue caravan.

New Ask Alice Catalogue

2010-07-27T04:44:00.000-07:00

A belated Camberwell Post...

2010-07-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday night already! I have been a busy bee with my head down working away in preparation for the launch of 4 new products. I have been so busy that I haven't even reported my Sunday finds! Last Sunday was the best Sunday at Camberwell I have seen in the last couple of months! I found several things I wanted to buy, but promised myself I wouldn't spend more than $30. So I wandered the entire market before purchasing anything and then went back for my two favourite items....

I can't quite put my finger on this one, not sure why I love it so much, but I do. I wish they still made power boards the way they used to! I'm having it safety checked tomorrow.

I broke my beloved stapler on Saturday trying to staple a 25 page document. I was very happy to find this chunk nugget of a stapler. It works perfectly and is fun to refill. If this stapler was an animal, it would indeed be a koala.

I love my little Doggy, he is just so wonderful...

2010-07-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

He shivers in winter and overheats in summer. He is such a sook.

Sunday's Finds...

2010-07-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

3 little things came home from Camberwell Markets with me yesterday. $8 worth of Sunday Treasures.... $5 bought me a wonderful sifter - which I have been needing for a long time. This fella is in great condition, no holes and no rust and a nice red handle. $1 bought me a balding little bear. $2 bought me a nice little house of shelves which now houses 5 of my little friends... E.T, Ren, Stimpy, my Lil homie José and Mr. Salary Man. AND my lovely friend Gemma baked beetroot cupcakes - YUM!! Now, speaking of yummy markets, I heard a little rumour that Coburg's Sunday market (held in the same spot as the drive-in) is pretty good, especially in the summer. Has anyone been? I think I better check it out. If you've been, please tell me what you thought of it. x

What a friendly little lion

2010-07-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago I was clicking through hundreds of images on the internet of Australian animals. I was working on a project that is currently top secret but will be posted on my blog very soon! While I was searching for Possums, some how, this guy popped up. I'm not sure what he has to do with possums? But damn, he looks good dressed as a lion! I actually really don't like the website this image came from but if you must, I found him here.

New New New!

2010-07-16T01:24:00.000-07:00

I have had my head down and my scissors in hand for the last couple of months and am happy to announce that there are some new arrivals in the Ask Alice range hot to trot come August. Currently approaching the end of the production line we have . . . 4 greeting cards, a postcard book of 24 postcards, 4 mini notebooks and my favourite, 3 cloth bound blank journals ♥ I am super excited and can't wait to see the truck pull up outside our warehouse with the delivery!

The Ask Alice Website!

2010-07-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

Why is it that some things just take longer than they should? After a long long wait and then another wait and then another week on top of that, finally the Ask Alice website is up. There is some fine tuning to be done - but for now it's as good as done. Come and have a play - www.askalicestationery.com - run your curser over the typewriter keys, double click on the polaroids in the gallery and write me a note in the enquiry book on the contact page. I have progressed from knowing nothing about building websites to actually having a slight clue... I even talk some of the talk now! Gemma Jones suggested I share my new found knowledge with a post for all y'all beginners out there. Stay tuned. x

MARKit

2010-07-12T00:47:00.001-07:00

I feel as if I have cheated on Camberwell markets! After months of loyalty, I did a no-show at Camberwell and headed to MARKit at Federation square instead! A whole different kettle of fish was this wonderful design market. It made for a very inspiring morning. A few months back I considered booking a stall for Ask Alice at yesterday's event, but decided to check it out first. Yesterday was the checking out and MARKit got a big tick! I did like it very much indeed. Lots of nice familiar faces and lots of lovely things for sale. I found myself giggling away on the nice little stall of Able & Game. I walked away feeling warm and fuzzy and thought I would share the warm fuzzy feeling here with you! You were right Pip, Able & Game is fantastic!

A b l e & G a m e