This week I chose the idea: Illustrate your grocery list for my challenge. I am terrible at shopping because 1) I work at a supermarket, so I never want to go to them outside of work and 2) I live 30 seconds from a supermarket, so C just goes to get items one by one as we need them. I have never actually used a shopping trolley before - I've never bought more than a basket load.

So instead of illustrating my own grocery list (I couldn't think of anything I needed) - I illustrated some shopping lists I found at my work (people leave them in their baskets). I think I'll be on the look out for more shopping lists at work to draw now. I pulled out my Derwents for the first time in about 5 years which was a good feeling. This idea reminded me of a blog I used to go to called Shopping Losts wherein  the blogger would collect shopping lists and then recreate them typographically in Photoshop.





Last night I finished my Sketchbook Project journal and will be scanning it today and sending it off tomorrow. I will be so sad to see it go. The Australian Open has been on these past few weeks and I've been sitting and collaging while I watch my favourite tennis players (<3 Nadal), relaxing!

What are some creative things you've been up to this week?

I'm a few days behind in my Keri Smith challenge as I've been busy with family from interstate this week, but I did start this one last week. Last week I chose the idea 'Write a letter to yourself in the future', but after seeing Joy The Baker's post about making a time capsule, I couldn't resist taking it a little further.

So, I wrote myself a letter for the future, put it in a box and started filling it with little bits and pieces. Things that I can forget about for a while and won't need desperately, but things I'll really enjoy uncovering in five years. I haven't labeled the items like Joy did, but I like that some of the things I put in this box might be a bit of a mystery for me. I did label all of the instant photos.



+ Deciding on some things to put in.





Some things in the box:
+ a neck warmer my best friend knitted me
+ a mix cd containing some of my favourite songs at the moment (entitled the "I hope they have cd players in the future" mix)
+ a whole bunch of instant photos from 2011
+ one of my current payslips (I'm hoping life might be a bit different monetarily in 2017)
+ a badge from my work
+ a lavender pillow (it will make everything smell good)
+ a collage I made
+ a pamphlet about MONA (one of my top 3 places on earth)
+ a vintage Valentine (this will have a lot of meaning after this year)
+ the badge from the Summer school I just completed
+ a bicycle badge made by Isis
+ an embroidery I did
+ one of my postcards
+ a letter to my future self
+ a letter from C to my future self (which I've not read)



Now I am going to bury this box in the depths of my spare bedroom wardrobe and not open it up until the 24th January 2017. I will be 27.
I'm pretty sure you should go make yourself a time capsule now!

Last night C and I were riding to his parents house for his mum's 66th birthday party and we rode down a really dodgy street. I call C the cat whisperer  because if he sees a cat, he makes that little clicking noise with his tongue and cats immediately run up to him and roll onto their belly for a pat.

In the street we saw a sweet year old cat with a collar and then a tiny kitten ran out from under a parked car and wanted a pat too. He was very grubby and covered in fleas and the street wasn't far from a very busy road. He didn't seem to belong to any of the houses, but we rode off and left him with the other cats in the street. When we rode past at 10pm he was still out on the road wandering around and (after some short but intense deliberating) we made the decision to put him in our backpack and ride with him home.



It felt really dodgy taking him, but to me, a dirty, starving, flea-ridden four/five week old kitten out on the street at 10pm near a busy road at night doesn't have a responsible owner. You might feel differently. When we got him home he ate like he had never eaten before. He has a lovely, kind nature, follows us around and walks about purring all day. I didn't even think about what we'd name him, as soon as we picked him up he was Dexter. I said to C that we are such 'fangirls', naming our cats after our favourite singers and tv shows, ha.

So, I have four cats. FOUR CATS. I know that sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous. But I do. They are all clean (except Dexter, still working on that), wormed and flea treated, they get along and spend a lot of time sitting outside in the sun or curled up on our beds. I guess I just didn't want anyone to think I'm living in squalor with my four cats, haha. If I were ever able to, I'd love to be able to foster stray cats until they found homes.

Maybe my cat rescuing adventure had something to do with reading this book at the moment.

Ps. How great is Kitties and Bullshit?

Just a couple of mail bits and pieces.




+ A lovely bunch of papery bits from Crystal. I love her mail art.


+ Sarah sent me some awesome ephemera. She has so many papery goodies in her shop.


+ A cute postcard from James T


+ I bought this sweet little zine by Natalie of Awkward & Beautiful.