greenolive

shop 4 kids

A few weeks ago I was flicking through the latest issue of Shop 4 Kids magazine, courtesy of our market neighbour, and did a double take.

Yep, thats our I is for Ice Skating vintage ABC print featured in a winter-wonderland themed feature.

Yes, the editor had emailed us back in late November asking for a hi-res image, but all these months later I had forgotten about it. 

Such a thrill to see your products in print. Of course I had to buy a copy.

some like it framed

We discovered at our recent Magnolia Square event that some people like it framed. And we are more than happy to oblige.

The only difficulty is deciding which of our vintage prints to frame. I want to frame them all! The prints look 110% better framed and make gift giving so much easier.

We been framing up a storm in preparation for Finders Keepers market this weekend. ABC prints, nursery rhymes, encyclopedic prints, maps, car, trains...

March newsletter

Do you know how long it takes to type in 300+ email addresses? Especially when some people's handwriting rivals that of the most illegible Doctor's?

Anyway, FINALLY, we have emailed out our first vintage prints newsletter! Lets hope the second one doesn't take us as long as the first.

And, if you want to subscribe, just send an email to: info[at]vintageprints[dot]com[dot]au with "subscribe" in the subject line.

the process of creativity

Sad to say these illustrations are not mine, they were done in 1906 by an Edwardian Country Lady and prove very popular with customers at markets.

Just popped over to Tiel's blog and found she had described her creative process:

...I've spread myself throughout the house

...Living in my pjs

...amazed how much I can achieve when I don't have to stop to do all that other stuff of my usual life.

It perfectly describes my creative process too. And my idea of bliss.

I wonder if everyone creates like that? Do you?

styling up my photos

I took advantage of the first light on Sunday morninging (and a market free morning on account of my dreaded lurgy) to take some new product shots for our screenprinted fabrics.

With the borrowed digital SLR and a bit of styling action, I managed to shoot a couple of fabrics before I needed to charge the batteries – both camera's and mine!

Much happier with these. God knows why I stuck with the old photos for so long!

you just need to ask

One of the thrills of the vintage prints venture is being able to fill a custom request. At a market event, after browsing the vintage illustrations in stock people often very casually ask, "You wouldn't have an archery illustration would you?"

In this case it was an archery print they were after, but really it can be anything: A Flying Scotsman locomotive, a M is for Monkey illustration; a detailed map of Wales. These are all requests I got while at Magnolia Square. And more often than not we have an illustration that fits the bill perfectly.

And if we don't, I promise to keep my eye out for them while I'm out and about in my search for vintage books.

destash: pigeon roof studios yarn

A few years ago, when I was going through my I-want-to knit-socks-stage I bought three skeins of laceweight yarn from the etsy seller pigeonroofstudio. They are gorgeous yarns, lovely colours and a great meterage, but I've come to my senses realising that sock knitting was indeed a passing phase.

So, rather than have them languish in my stash I've decided to destash them so lucky knitters can knit themselves (or someone else) some lovely socks.

The colours are Peony, Mourning Dove and Blackthorn and I've wound each skein into centre-pull balls. If you are an avid sock knitter of a fan of pigeonroofstudio yarns, here's your chance to get some lovely discountinued colours at 75% of their normal cost.

Now listed in the etsy shop.

 

 

my weight loss secret

morning fog – its got nothing to do with weight loss, but this is the view of the back yard this morning.

After 14 years of carrying almost 35kgs of excess weight, I finally have the weight loss secret that works for me – and its one you probably wouldn't think of.

Daily oral steriods for my asthma since 1997, and then an underactive thyroid diagonised in 2004 has meant I have struggled to lose those excess kilos, in fact, kilos seem to pile on when I least expect it.

I haven't always been "fat", I was a normal 64kgs until I was 30 and started those daily steriods. I knew they were causing weight gain, but every doctor I spoke to dismissed this notion. And then the underactive thyroid sealed the weight gain deal. Very hard to lose weight when your metabolism isn't really working. Seven years of thyroid hormones didn't seem to make any difference either. The weight just stayed put.

But now my body seems to be on my side. A recent blood test revealed that finally the thyroid hormones are working. I've gone from underactive to just ever so slightly overactive. 

So that explains the insomnia. And the weight loss. I am losing weight without even trying. Fat that has been clinging on for dear life is just melting away. Amazing isn't it? I need to get new batteries for our bathroom scales so I can see just how much weight I've lost, but its enough to make a difference to my body shape, how I feel, and the way my clothes fit.

The doctor gave me a prescription for a lower dose of hormones, we can't have me in the overactive range can we? I haven't filled it yet. I'm loving the weight loss at the moment.

And I'm feeling vindicated too. My theory that my inability to lose the excess weight was medically-related has been proven. I'm just frustrated that its taken an accidental overactive thyroid to start the weight loss. If the doctors had been listening to me, maybe something could have been done about the excess weight years ago. But better late than never I suppose.

brunswick street art #4

Week 4 - a selection of the graffiti street art Drew spied on his walkabout.

These characters have such an energy about them, and the colours are so Autumnal.

Love these.

find us at finders keepers

As we recover from the four days of Magnolia Square St Kilda, why not pencil Finders Keepers market into your diaries?

We'll be there again, this time with our vintage prints products AND our greenolive goodies. We've got a 4m stand to showcase them all, so I'd better start planning the layout and we better start making!

Hope to see you there.