Herbert and Friends - Handmade Softies by Torunn

I just wanted to share this fantastic print with you. I found it on Etsy and it really made me laugh. The title of the work is 'Nice Jumper' and I just love it. It is by box of birds and you can check out the Etsy store here.

Over the weekend I received two requests for custom made brooches, a rabbit and a giraffe. I've started some sketches but haven't come too far yet, it's quite a challenge. I'll post photos as soon as they are finished. 

This morning I woke up with the worst cold I've had in a long time. I could feel it creeping in over the last few days but was hoping it would pass. So I spent the day watching movies, listening to an audio book and drinking lemon and ginger tea. I also managed to get some stitching done. It sounds like a pretty good day and it would've been fantastic if I was feeling a bit better. Tonight I'm going to see School of Seven Bells which was a birthday present (thank you Diana!). I'm really excited to see them, I'll just have to stock up on some cold and flu tablets before I head in.

So here is some of the stitching I did today. I made these two little lady beetle brooches. It's a friends birthday on the weekend and I wanted to make her something. The red one was originally intended for her but now I'm not sure I can separate them so she might end up with both.

I've finally got my Etsy store up and running. At the moment there are six creatures for sale and there are more on the way. My brooches will be up for sale as soon as the weather improves so I can take some decent photos of them. To have a look at Herbert & Friends Etsy store click below.

On a completely different topic, yesterday I started the liver cleansing diet. This basically involves cutting out all sugars, processed foods, dairy, alcohol and meat (I'm vegetarian anyway so that's nothing new). So far it's pretty ok but I'm anticipating cheese and wine cravings very soon! It goes for eight weeks so I've got a bit of a challenge ahead of me but in a strange way I'm really enjoying the challenge. It should be interesting to see if I feel any different by the end. I'll let you know how it goes.  

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. Mine was very relaxing, I mostly caught up with friends and family, watched movies and ate too much. I also spent a bit of time working on my Etsy store which will be up and running soon so stay posted for that.

Sewing has been a little slow over the last few days, but I have made a little snail brooch. Here it is.

While I'm on the topic of brooches I wanted to add a picture of some gameboy brooches I made about a week and a half ago. I was so busy with the market stall and everything I didn't get the chance to post them, so here they are.

I've been working on some designs for a lady beetle so I'll get started on that pretty soon. I also really want to make a ghost for some reason. I'll keep you up to date on those ventures. 

I just added a mailing list form on the Shop page so you can sign up and get a special invitation when my store opens! and possibly other cool stuff!

Here we are at our market stall just after we set up. On the left is Michelle, I'm in the middle and Diana on the right. It was a really great day. It didn't rain in the end which was a huge relief. The markets are lovely because it's so relaxed and everyone is there to have a good time and chill out. We sat and stitched and chatted all day with friends and other market goers. We had lots of admirers which was really nice. Thank you to everyone that came along and had a chat and supported us!
My nephew Indra didn't end up selling his paintings, instead he did some advertising for us which involved holding some of our creatures above his head and walking through the markets. He also set up a little stall of his own to sell his second hand toys. Then with the money he earned he bought more toys from our stall. He is quite the little businessman.
Below are some more photos of the stall.
 

Below is Michelle and some of her creations, the loveable pigeons and three legged safari animals.

Here is Diana with her mischievous monkeys, super cute giraffes (not aliens) and adorable bears. She got the nifty patterns from the 'Softies' book.

Some friends bought an owl to give to a couple as an engagement present and requested a love heart be added to it's chest. It was really great to be able to customise it for them. Here it is ready for it's new home.

It's been some time since my last post. Here's what I've been working on, the forest sprites. They are a fairly timid bunch of creatures, but once you get to know them you discover how mischievous they can be. They live in small caves and tree hollows deep in the forest.
These forest sprites will be coming to Glebe markets with me this Saturday so if you'd like to get to know them a bit better that's where you'll find them. Apparently it's going to rain on Saturday, so we're trying to come up with ways to waterproof the stall.. any ideas?
Below are some small broach owls that will be at the stall as well. I've been meaning to post some photos of them for a while, here they are finally! Now I've just got a few more creatures to make before Saturday and tags.