Considering I drew my outfit before Christmas, you’d think I’d have gotten this post up sooner! I’m still deciding how/if to do these updates this year – if you want me to continue, go enter the giveaway and tell me so!

What I did in December

Loads of Christmas and market prep, had an amazing day at the Holiday Hullabaloo, decorated a tiny tree, sold loads of diaries, had a nice quiet Christmas. I also added a new snowy banner to my blog – have you spotted it yet?

Things I bought for myself

A tiny Christmas tree, a bunny lamp, a dress with birds on it, a bone from Tado, some new records, loads of zines. My first piece of Le Creuset cookware (and now I want more – it’s awesome stuff!) Oh, and a trip to Boat of Garten, to tie in with my visit up North in the next couple of months.

Reading, Watching, Playing

If you want to read about my favourite records, books, zines and events of 2001, you can check out my end of year lists at diskant. I also finally started reviewing stuff at I Like Zines.

Nothing To See Here by Anne Ward
I feel like we’ve been waiting years for this but it was worth the wait. The book version of Anne’s ace blog, this pocket-sized guidebook contains some of the oddest and most interesting places to visit in Scotland. Perfect for anyone who likes to get off the tourist trail and a refreshing change from all those ’10 Places everyone MUST visit’ type lists. The descriptions are all great and there’s loads of photos too. Get your copy here.

The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle by Sara Wheeler
Really interesting book about the people who live in the Arctic Circle. It’s easy to forget quite how many countries are partly in the Arctic but she visits them all and describes the lives of the inhabitants, visitors and scientific communities. Bit of a coincidence that I ended up reading this around the same time as Frozen Planet was on the BBC  - the last couple of episodes cover some of the same ground. The book is way more in depth though and includes lots of personal anecdotes as well as discussion on climate change, and some of the history of Arctic exploration. I feel like I learnt a lot, even if only that ‘lowly member of Polar expedition team’ is bottom of my career plans since it pretty much always involves frostbite, living in a cave for 2 years and having to eat your boots.

Animal Crossing
I always end up picking up Animal Crossing again in the winter – not only is the snow really pretty, but it’s a nice way of wasting whatever time you have. I’ll probably stop again once work gets back up to speed but it’s been fun hanging out with my animal friends again. I would like to pay off the last of my mortgage to Tom Nook though – only 300,000 bells to go, you extortionist! Also really makes me want a new Animal Crossing game. Please tell me there’s one on the cards Nintendo.

The Adventures of Tintin
I picked up this collection of the animated series super-cheap in Fopp and  it still holds up pretty well. Shame the DVDs are so cheaply made they didn’t even bother joining up the 2 part episodes so you get titles and a recap after 15 minutes. They’ve done a good job of cutting down the stories to fit in half an hour, though some of the accents are lamentable. Also, I’d forgotten that story where they get abducted by aliens – what the hell was that all about? I’m guessing that’s not on the list for a movie remake.

iPhone app of the month

Etsy (Free!)
I am well impressed with this app. Not only can I relist sold items and answer emails anywhere, but it actually notifies me every time I sell something, unlike the sadly rubbish Shopify app which would tell me 5 days later. Haven’t bought anything with it yet but the buyer part looks really good too.

New Product Round-up

- Fabric Fat Quarters
- What I Wore – free zine

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 31
Items sold on Etsy: 30
Items sold on Folksy: 23
Items sold on DaWanda: 38

Pretty quiet December, I have to say. Sold a lot more pricier items this year though so maybe it all evens out. I need to update my annual sales spreadsheet and see!

I liked 2011, but found it extremely annoying to say, so I’m glad we’re into Twenty Twelve. According to my fortune from Animal Crossing I’m going to be Super Lucky this year. Let’s hope so.

So, how did I get on with my resolutions? Well, some good, some bad.

The Good

Project Clearout was a great success – by the end of the year, I was pretty much addicted and getting rid of things that would have upset me greatly in January. I’m going to post up some tips soon in case you’re in the same boat this year.

My publishing projects went well too – I got my Kawaii Japan book and 5 Year Diary published, updated my Tokyo Shopping Guide and finished a few more zines. I’ve got a couple more zines on the go just now that I hope to get up for sale soon. Plus, of course, I set up Pushpin, so it’s been a zine-filled year.

And I successfully completed another 12 months of What I Wore drawings and collected them in a free zine.

The Bad

My new Shopify theme never got far, though I did so much Shopify work in 2011 that I have plans aplenty for when I do get the time.

My graphics tablet was a sad casualty of an upgrade – Photoshop CS5 goes completely doolally when my tablet is installed. Hopefully Adobe have fixed the issue by now – I should check.

My mum still hasn’t got a sewing machine so I ended up putting my fabric up for sale instead. Hopefully we can get this collaboration going in 2012.

And I still haven’t been commenting much, though I do heart a lot of things in Tumblr and Instagram.

I’ll carry those over as extras but here are ten things I want to do in 2012.

1. Draw more! After 2 years of What I Wore drawings, I’m a bit bored of Illustrator and so it’s time to get back to my sketchbook. I plan to do some watercolours and lino printing and share something every month.

2. Make a big decision. I still can’t decide what direction to take Asking For Trouble. I’m ready for an investment but which way to go? Trade Fairs? Licensing? PR? I need to choose one and push on.

3. Book Clearout. While I got rid of loads of books last year, I still have an enormous pile of books to read. I want to have read or ditched them all by the end of the year, with a good amount gone by July 1st.

4. Learn about fabric design. Not being a quilter, I don’t really do the whole collection thing with stripes and basics as a buyer or a designer. The fabric industry is all about collections though, so I’d like to have a go at learning all the rules I already own Lizzy House’s ebook and the True Up Field Guide to Fabric Design so I have lots of things to try.

5. Explore more. I’ve just been totting up my holiday allowance at p/t job and I only took 5 days off in the entire year! There’s been a real lack of trips in 2011, especially to new places. This year I’d like to take more short breaks and day trips. On my wish list – Portmeirion, the Isle of Wight, Skye, and I’ve already picked up a deal for a couple of days in Boat of Garten near Aviemore.

6. Answer emails. I am getting worse and worse at responding to emails promptly. Partly it’s forgetfulness/busyness, but often I get lengthy and/or bizarre emails and eventually I end up just deleting them as answering 3 months later feels even more weird. I’m going to try and respond to most emails within 24 hours, even just to say thanks, I’ll get back to you later.

7. Finish my zines. I’ve been working on a bunch of stuff this year, but I’d like the contents of my zine planning folders to either be part of published zines or deleted by the end of 2012. I’d especially like to get my Zelda zine, my space zine and my 2 how-to zines published.

8. Review your zines. I want to do more to promote the zines I love to read, so I’m going to make the effort to post about the majority of zines I read over the next 12 months, over at I Like Zines.

9. New eats. I’m in a bit of rut with food as I tend to use my favourite ingredient combinations over and over in different ways. I’m going to make a little book collating all the recipes I’ve bookmarked and try and make something from it at least once a month. I’ve already made the booklet and now I am hungry.

10. Contact 5 scary people. I’m exaggerating, but there are a few shops I have always had in mind as dream stockists and I sometimes come across other great opportunities for my products. I’m always putting them off for another year until I do x, y and z but I’m going to actually contact 5 of them this year and see what happens.

Well, that’s what I’m excited about doing this year, but no doubt 2012 has its own plans for me.

January

I made a book! And that was about it.

February

Project Clearout got underway, as I sold loads of stuff I probably wasn’t ever going to use again. Goodbye typewriter I wrote all my early zines on! My mum also came to visit, to help me get rid of things and I made some new products and a silly free zine about hats.

March

It doesn’t look like much but slicing my hand open was quite the gamechanger this year. Nothing like sitting at home on your own for a month with 1.5 hands to make you consider your plans for the future. I did manage to get down to London at least, which involved both the ace Pet Shop Boys ballet and a  visit to the Royal Observatory. We also got new windows installed (still amazing) and I did lots of design work for my friend Jo’s lovely wedding.

April

Mostly a month of sitting around waiting for my hand to heal but buying fresh flowers regularly cheered me up a lot. I also designed a load of new fabric patterns.

May

I took myself Up North to visit my parents and met these fun guys at Macduff aquarium. I also bought too many books and started work on an updated Tokyo Shopping Guide.

June

In June I opened up Pushpin Zines, and did my first zine fair – I’ve really loved running Pushpin this year and hope to introduce even more folks to zines in 2012. I also made a new zine, my guide to Glasgow (which has been really popular, yay) and designed even more new fabrics.

July

I finally made something with my own fabric – some placemats for my dad and some tea towels. I finished work on a secret project – my 5 Year Diary!  I also completed my new Tokyo Shopping Guide zine and launched some new products including new gift wrap. My sister came to visit (and helped me pack gift wrap!) and then I went down to London to sell at Anime Con, and climbed all the way up The Monument for no particular reason.

August

You’d think August was a fairly safe month to book a holiday but not in Scotland. Me and Claire ended up having a very rainy two days in Rothesay. At least it stopped raining long enough for me to try a Top Hat ice cream. I also made two mini trips to Edinburgh to hang out with JGram and do another zine fair

September

I spent a lot of time playing with perler beads, inventing ghoasters and making a big Arecibo message. I also designed and ordered all my Christmas products and updated my shop design.

October

I spent a large part of October looking at the Moon and forcing everyone to go look at Jupiter. My little childhood telescope is not really up to the job of anything further away than the Moon, but I still got this nice fuzzy photo. I also finally got a new iPhone, which cheered me up no end. I was back in London for a last-minute jaunt to see the Renegade craft market, though we were more excited by our day trip to Legoland! It was pretty awesome and my love of Lego has been reignited. I made some pocket ghosts for fun and came fourth in the Spoonflower ornaments contest with my cookies (and sold loads of them, yay).

November

November was mostly a month of payoff – all the planning I’d done in September/October finally resulted in new products, new wholesale accounts and a lot of orders. It was also a month of house change as my dad came to do some DIY, my flatmate did a lot of painting and we finally got our buzzer system replaced, after 5.5 years of frustration dealing with postmen, couriers and other delivery persons! Project Clearout continued well, except for inheriting a gigantic 5 volume encyclopedia. It is awesome though. My epic trading sequence to get a Zelda 3DS was much more productive.

December

We finally got some snow in December, but it didn’t last long and instead was unseasonably warm with added hurricanes and gales. Bah. I spent most of the month battling with Royal Mail’s new improved totally broken online postage system (thanks for that!) and made some cute Christmas cards. I then went into full-on holiday mode and spent the rest of the month doing nothing more than playing Nintendo, watching TV, eating and catching up on a year’s worth of sleep. Mind you, I still managed to get one last zine out, collecting all my What I Wore drawings.

Looking back, 2011 wasn’t that big a year for me – I didn’t even go any further than London. It was a good year though and I achieved a lot, but I probably need to push things a bit further next year. Expect some changes!

So late this month! December has been really busy so it took ages to draw my outfit. If you’ve met me recently, I have probably been wearing this dress – it’s so comfy! I have also instigated a ‘use it or lose it’ policy on my wardrobe and was pleased to discover my ancient dayglo orange Rocket Dog trainers now fit me better. You’ll also be glad to hear my ubiquitous grey cords finally fell apart so I have new trousers to draw next month.

What I did in November

Lots of web designing and wholesale order fulfilling. Ordered lots of fun new products. Went to visit Claire’s house in the country. Showed Marci & Deth around Glasgow. Sold my iPhone and DS Lite. Visited the new Wholefoods – insane. Spent way too much time battling with the awful broken new online postage service. And most momentously, had a new buzzer system installed in our building! Only took 5.5 years of complaining.

Things I bought for myself

Zelda 3DS! A lot of zines, some cute masking tape stickers, a Christmassy top.

Reading, Watching, Playing

I have SO MANY ZINES to write about. I’ve been swithering about where to post them, and I think it will be I Like Zines so go follow that if you want to read about some awesome stuff soon.

Ocarina of Time 3D
Which came with my fancy Zelda 3DS of course. I have played Ocarina before on the N64 but it is one of the greatest games ever so I was pretty excited to play it again. I’m already about 2/3 of the way through and it’s still awesome. The 3D effects are pretty cool too, though I am a panicky gamer so I have to turn it off when there’s actual stuff to be done as you have to hold it pretty still to get the 3D to look right. Finding it’s not as difficult as I remember either – pretty much right on the edge of my skill level (I’m a 2D top-down gamer really). A few things are almost impossible with the different controls though – I am totally useless with a bow and the targeting is worse than ever. Yeah, thanks Navi – it’s those torches I want to kill, not the big ghosts hurting me. Hoping I can complete it this time!

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
This was totally great – one of the best western animated films I’ve seen in a while. If you don’t enjoy watching food fall from the sky then I pity you.

Shackleton
I read the book this is based on while on a train back from London with my cut up hand so I was pleased to find this on 4OD. It’s a big epic 2 part TV movie and covers the whole story of Shackleton’s disastrous expedition across Antarctica when their ship gets stuck in the ice. It’s an amazing story and really well made. Check out the making-of documentary too – they actually filmed it on ice floes around Greenland and nearly got stuck themselves.

Fringe
Poor Fringe is getting a rough deal this season, which is awful as it’s still one of my favourite shows on TV. It didn’t even get to air all the episodes in this mini-season thanks to baseball or something. I have no idea where this season’s plotlines are going but the alternate universes stuff is done so well, and all the characters are so great, I’m happy just to watch and see. Fingers crossed they get to finish it off properly.

iPhone app of the month

Quora(Free!)
I signed up for the website a while back but never remembered to check it. Now it’s on my iPhone, I can have a browse every now and again. Basically Quora is where you ask a question on a topic and experts in that field will attempt to answer it for you. The experts can be anything from a hobbyist or fan to people working on that actual project. It’s a bit hit or miss at the moment – a lot of really interesting questions sit unanswered if there aren’t many experts in that area. Obviously the more people that sign up, the more chance of getting a good answer so why not join in?

New Product Round-up

- Cakeify Letter Set
- Hello Cakeify Tote Bag
- 2012 Calendar Magnets
- Cookie Cute Ornament Postcard

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 43
Items sold on Etsy: 41
Items sold on Folksy: 14
Items sold on DaWanda: 38

It doesn’t feel as busy as last November but then it’s only just started feeling like Winter, let alone Christmas. Hoping for a bit more of a rush in the next couple of weeks. Really pleased how many 5 Year Diaries I’ve sold though!

Boring outfit again. I have bought some new clothes but it’s still too warm for winter clothes since the shops all have their heating up too high. I had a cardigan on one day in town and thought I was going to die from heat exhaustion. That isn’t stopping me from wearing my pompom hat at any opportunity though.

What I did in October

A lot – I did blog 19 times. Started a global sales map and Facebook page. Added a bunch of new stockists. Made the Arecibo message in perler beads. Finished the new Miso Funky website. Looked at the Moon a lot. Went to Renegade London and Legoland. Announced my new Cookie Cute range of products, and my 5 year diary. Made some ghosts and had a spooky giveaway. Ordered lots of cool stuff from Moo. Designed quite a few custom address labels. Made it to fourth place in the Spoonflower ornament contest. Added new stuff to Zazzle. Had another murder in the area. Busy month!

Things I bought for myself

An iPhone 4s (yay!), plus a Rilakkuma screen protector and a Cakeify case (the latter still to arrive). A dress with little birds on it. A few secondhand books and a couple of zines. And all I bought in London was a little bear bowl, a Lego minifig of myself and a kawaii Christmas pudding ornament from Paperchase. I fear I’ve become too successful at not buying things.

Reading, Watching, Playing

Really need to make an effort to finish some of the books on my pile. Instead I’ve been re-reading old books so I can discover they’re not as good as I remembered and donate them.

Tintin

Well, they did an amazing job. Of cutting out everything I liked about these stories and replacing them with crazy action stunts and 3D nonsense. So disappointing. I try to be understanding about adaptations but I hate this trend of rewriting perfectly exciting storylines to make them more ACTION-PACKED and to stuff in some pop culture references and Hollywood twaddle about believing in yourself. See also the Narnia movies. I found the ending totally baffling – did they really undo a clever twist about the treasure not being buried at sea but actually at home, and instead set up a sequel where they go on an adventure to find the treasure? Well done everyone. Other than that, and my constant confusion at wondering how they were going to fit all of the 3rd book in the next 20 minutes, it was an enjoyable film for kids though the animation was so realistic as to be distracting. I’m off to add the original animations to my Lovefilm list.

Alice in Wonderland

The Tim Burton version. Everyone hated this so I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. Hardcore Alice fans probably had a me watching Tintin experience and it was totally stupid making a sequel that is basically the same story but it kept me entertained and the effects were really well done. Would watch again.

iPhone app of the month

Instagram (Free!)

I am so glad to have a new iPhone that actually opens apps and lets them work at a usable speed. I haven’t gone too crazy with new apps yet ‘cos it’s still exciting being able to use to old ones properly, but I do like Instagram a lot.Basically like a cross between Flickr and Hipstamatic, you can post photos from your phone and give them various effects. A lot of my favourite creative friends are on it, and ‘cos people can only post 1 photo at a time, I rarely get overwhelmed by new updates.

New Product Round-up

- Kawaii 5 Year Diary
- Cookie Cute Christmas Cards
- Cookie Cute Gift Wrap
- Cookie Cute Badge Set

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 19
Items sold on Etsy: 15
Items sold on Folksy: 16
Items sold on DaWanda: 16

Hey, almost equal! I don’t think that’s happened before.

I don’t think I liked September. I was just starting to enjoy Autumn when it swung back to Summer (but with torrential rain) and it all went by too quickly. I did get to wear my bunny dress though, and my balloon shoes, while hanging out with my workmates eating sausage rolls. My kind of party.

What I did in September

Did a load of web design work, added customer accounts and a mobile theme to my shop, played with a lot of perler beads, designed all my Christmas products and some fun stuff for my Moo prize voucher, invented ghoasters.

Things I bought for myself

A bunch of 1p Amazon books, lots of zines, perler beads, a cute jumper with deer on it, train tickets to London, 3 records (Mogwai, Nicola Roberts, Pet Shop Boys).

Reading, Watching, Playing

NANA 19-21 by Ai Yazawa
Oh no! I didn’t realise Ai Yazawa had abandoned NANA due to illness. I hope she gets better soon and feels able to continue. At least she managed to end it at a point with a major character death and a few clues that the other characters’ futures are much happier than previously hinted. Blimey.

Futurama
Started a bit patchy but got pretty amazing at the end and the season ender was one of the best ever – Futurama in an 80s Japanese anime style was hilarious.

Sherlock Holmes
I pretty much only watched this so I would be able to make fun of it. This is the Victorian steampunk Hollywood movie and compared to the BBC version, it’s a travesty, but it is quite enjoyable in a stupid way. I particularly liked how the plot made no sense.

Norwegian Wood
One of my favourite books but the film made me want to gnaw my own arms off. Too melodramatic and anguished. I had to give in half an hour from the end as it was all far too depressing. Looked lovely though.

iPhone app of the month

SkySafari (starts from £1.99)
Yay for free upgrades. I forget what the occasion was, but everyone got an upgrade from the cheapo version to a professional version. Considering the professional ones are all over £10 this was awesome. Anyway, it’s a virtual night sky so you can check what that is you’re looking at. I used it to confirm that yes, that was indeed Jupiter. Would be even better if Glasgow’s skies were dark enough to see anything less bright than Jupiter and if I had an iPhone 4 with the compass stuff but it’s still pretty great at showing the right area of sky for you. Also, it automatically switches to red light when it’s dark so as not to mess with your telescope viewing, which is always fun.

New Product Round-up

- Cakeify and Friends Sticky Notes
- Cutie Fruity Coasters
- Kokeshi Flowers Coasters

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 7
Items sold on Etsy: 24
Items sold on Folksy: 11
Items sold on DaWanda: 10

Another reason I dislike September – slow sales month but I have to pay out loads of money on preparations for Christmas. Can’t wait to launch all the new stuff though.

August was a bit rubbish, weather-wise – it’s been more like October. While I like Autumn a lot, I don’t feel like I’ve had enough Summer yet, or nearly enough ice lollies. The theme this month has been layers – I seem to spend a lot of time taking off jumpers and putting them back on again, and opening and closing the window.

What I did in August

Got my hair cut short again. Went to Rothesay. Did a lot of freelance work. Filled out the most complicated form of my life. Went to the cinema, twice. Watched a lot of TV. Commissioned some awesome Pusheen bookmarks. Was a runner-up in the Moo sticker contest. Went to Edinburgh twice.

Things I bought for myself

A colour-in calendar of Bute, some cute deco tape from Hannah Zakari, some zines that haven’t arrived yet, 6 NANA manga books, a set of pretty screenprinted Japanese postcards. I think I was too busy to spend!

Reading, Watching, Playing

I wrote about a lot of stuff I watched in my Day in the Life post so this is a bit short!

Arrietty
I liked this a lot. Being a Ghibli film, rather than a Miyazaki, I was wondering if it would be up there with The Cat Returns or on the dodgy side with Earthsea and it was definitely one of the good ones. Lots of great little details and the whole miniaturisation theme could hardly be anything other than fun. The story held together pretty well too, though the ending was a bit abrupt. I’d rather they’d given it more resolution or combined the stories, rather than setting up a sequel.

NANA 16-18
I’ve been falling behind with NANA and I keep forgetting what’s happened so I’m making the effort to catch up. After all the doom and gloom of the last few books, things are actually quite fun again now, though it’s pretty clear lots of big stuff is about to happen. Also, bonus origin stories at the end = awesome.

Pokemon SoulSilver
I started playing Pokemon right at the beginning with Red and Blue for the original Gameboy, but fell off the wagon after Sapphire. SoulSilver/HeartGold are reworkings of the original Gold/Silver so it’s a good way to get back into the game – everything is familiar but there’s lots of new stuff too and your lead Pokemon follows you around which is adorable (and sometimes hilarious, if it’s a giant crocodile dinosaur, or a ghost). If you’ve never played Pokemon, it’s a bit like an RPG crossed with rock, paper, scissors. You catch wild Pokemon and fight other Pokemon and trainers to level them up  and they learn new moves. It’s mostly strategy so water beats fire, fire beats grass, electric beats flying etc. etc. And then you travel through various towns challenging the Pokemon gym leaders and fighting off the pesky Team Rocket. I like that there’s only a loose storyline and it’s the perfect mix of puzzle and cute. I cannot deny I choose my Pokemon team for their cuteness as well as their battle skills; at some point I need to load up all my old Pokemon games and see how much crossover there is in my Pokemon choices! It also comes with a Pokeball shaped pedometer, which is making walking more fun.

iPhone app of the month

Boo hoo, they won’t give me a free phone yet and I can’t justify paying for an upgrade. Hurry up with that iPhone 5 so the prices drop!

New Product Round-up

- Gift Tags Variety Packs

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 5
Items sold on Etsy: 16
Items sold on Folksy: 31
Items sold on DaWanda: 17

Weird month, August. I sold loads in actual shops and wholesale (and Pusheen bookmarks by the lorryload) and then 5 measly sales in my own shop!

It’s been mega hot this July so I have been living in a rotation of vests and shorts. Even when it’s not that hot outside, my laptop is like my own personal bonfire. I am very pleased with my Frostbites necklace – it’s the perfect length and the chain isn’t bringing me out in a rash (I am super sensitive to metal). Also, it’s adorable. Big thanks to Sarah at Kookizu for sending it to me!

I always like doing these updates because I’m so busy it’s easy to forget all the stuff I get done every month. July went superfast, and while it felt like all I did was play Pokemon and code websites, it appears I did lots of cool stuff. So yay me, and make sure you take the time to appreciate everything you do!

What I did in July

Had a visit from my sister and checked out the new Riverside Museum. Sewed up some tea towels for the shop and placemats for my dad. Went to see Eska’s first gig in forever with some old diskant friends I haven’t seen in ages. Had lots of fun with stickers. Got more wrapping paper printed. Finally got my fabric swatches in the post, plus a secret surprise. Played a lot of Pokemon. Went to London and Anime Con. And no, my scar still isn’t 100% healed. It doesn’t like the hot weather at all – I may well have a portable barometer now.

Things I bought for myself

A voucher for a new haircut, Pokemon SoulSilver, A Dance With Dragons, Paperchase sticky notes, jollygoo Tokyo zine, some shorts and a top in the Uniqlo sale, two dresses from the TK Maxx sale, a vase from the Habitat closing down sale, a Futurama blind box figurine at AnimeCon (I got Zapp, complete with his Big Book of War).

Reading, Watching, Playing

A Dance With Dragons by George RR Martin

I thought I would end up reading it really quickly, but it actually took me nearly two weeks! A lot of that was due to how ridiculously heavy the book is – also a ton of new information to puzzle over. If you’re reading it, I totally recommend the chapter discussions at Reddit – it’s amazing what people much smarter/obsessed than me can figure out from the vaguest of clues. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot but I have to take points off for there being virtually no moves towards resolution – as the fifth book of seven, you’d hope things would be turning towards the finish. Also, for the totally punchable cliffhanger at the end – stop maybe/maybe not killing off characters I love! So, how many years til the next book?

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 
I can’t remember who recommended this but I am always up for a high school Japanese anime. It’s, uh, about a girl who starts leaping through time and going back to fix things or have another go at them. I especially liked that she went back in time to make sure she got to eat her pudding before her sister stole it – priorities! About half way through, it got mega confusing, and I say this as a fan of LOST, Doctor Who and Fringe. In fact, I can’t even remember how it all worked out in the end – my brain hurt too much.

Black Swan
I was hoping this wouldn’t be as terrible as everyone said, but yeah, it was pretty terrible. It was more laughable than scary. If you liked the concept though, you should look out for the 3 part documentary on the English National Ballet that turns up on iPlayer every now and again. It actually covers a lot of the themes in Black Swan but in real life, and without anyone going insane.

Tangled
On the other hand, this was way better than I expected. I am not a Disney fan and have seen very few of the films since I was an actual child, but this retelling of Rapunzel was really fun and well done. Obviously not up to Ghibli or Pixar levels but I would watch it again (as long as I could ffwd the dreadful songs).

Various Shuttle documentaries
While the shuttle program ending is sad for me, it has inspired a whole heap of cool documentaries. This one is especially awesome, covering all aspects of the final mission from prep to launch to landing and talking to everyone involved. It’s still available on iPlayer until Thursday.

iPhone app of the month

Nothing. One week til I can get a new iPhone that doesn’t cry when I use it.

New Product Round-up

- Wrapping Paper Packs
- Kawaii Balloons Gift Wrap
- Sticker Sets
- Custom Address Labels
- Cutie Fruity Tea Towels

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 34
Items sold on Etsy: 28
Items sold on Folksy: 17
Items sold on DaWanda: 17

Pretty much double last month’s sales!

I know I say this every year, but how the heck can it be July already? Especially when the weather is only at about May. It’s been a busy month, and I can only hope the weather catches up soon so I can get back out on my bike again. The drawing above is what I wore to my granny’s 85th birthday party – I sent it to her as a thank you card!

What I did in June

Attended, and sold at, my very first Zine Fair, put a bunch of stuff in my Super Summer Sale, went back Up North for the aforementioned party (and ate a lot of cake), booked a trip to Rothesay for August, designed a lot of new fabrics for Spoonflower (I hope they arrive soon!), finished my new Tokyo Shopping Guide (so much work). And continued to watch scar tissue form at the rate of 0.0000001mm per day. How much longer can it possibly take to heal?

Things I bought for myself

A new section, as I need to curb my spending – and how better than by public shaming!

100 Tiny Moments comic book at the Zine Fair (see May’s post), 2 cute vests in the sale (candy stripe and polka dot!), a ticket for the Eska reunion show in July, a bunny ornament (wait and see!), a couple of zines.

Reading, Watching, Playing

Finally started finishing books instead of buying them.

Trawler by Redmond O’Hanlon
I picked this up in a charity shop, with the impression that it was a travelogue about a trip on a deep sea fishing trawler in the North Sea. Coming from a fishing village, I was particularly interested. Although the book begins like that, it soon develops into a fairly hilarious tale of sleep deprivation as the author struggles to keep up with his similarly afflicted crewmates in hauling, sorting, gutting and packing the neverending catches in a Force 10 gale. It’s more a tale of camaraderie and madness, but I also learned an awful lot about fish.

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
Young American girl moves to Paris, dyes her hair pink and gets into innumerable scrapes, often involving unsuitable men. It could have been written in any era but it was published in the 1950s, somehow managing to have a perfectly modern air mixed with a Scott Fitzgerald/ JD Salinger backdrop. I only wish I had read it when I was 16.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer / No Way Down by Graham Bowley
Lent to me by my dad and both about mountaineering disasters on Everest and K2 respectively. They were both equal parts gripping and horrifying. I now have a slight wish to climb a mountain and also a new terror of ever being stuck on even a small hill after dark in the summer. I’m certainly not going anywhere named the Death Zone. It all seems a bit pointless really – it’s one thing to die trying to explore somewhere new or to see something amazing but most people seem to climb mountains so they can say they did it, and half of them lack the ability/experience to do it without a constant help. I looked it up and over 200 people have died attempting to climb Everest since it was first summited in 1953, compared to less than 30 people who have died in the entire history of space exploration. Guess what the difference is? Oh yeah, amateurs with money aren’t allowed into space.

Game of Thrones
Still kind of overwhelmed about how awesome this was. As a book reader, there were a few scenes that lacked something from already knowing what was coming, but the big moments were amazing. The finale was a bit emotional because I am a sap, and also for setting characters on paths I cannot wait to see next season. If you didn’t watch it you really really should. I would be incredibly sad about having to wait a whole year until next season but it’s just a couple of weeks until book 5 comes out so I think I’ll cope for a while!

A Glasgow Companion by Herb Lester
Lovely little fold out guide to Glasgow. Covering a much wider range of stuff than my own guide, though in less rambling detail…) and complete with an excellent map. It’s also got a lot of distinctive contributors so it’s really like asking a group of awesome friends for tips. Would like actual full length guidebook now. Get yours from their online shop, along with guides to London and more.

iPhone app of the month

Cute Fat Fox: Photobooth (£1.79)
Purikura on your iPhone! I reviewed this for SCK and it is great fun. My iPhone is hella slow these days though – really counting the days til I can upgrade in August.

New Product Round-up

Just the new Tokyo Shopping Guide. I have a few things coming up though.

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 12
Items sold on Etsy: 16
Items sold on Folksy: 9
Items sold on DaWanda: 9

Still quiet here. But pushpin had an amazing first month, and took over all my digital sales too.

This is apparently the third May I have recapped! May was SO ANNOYING weather-wise. I could have drawn just about anything in my wardrobe this month from shorts and sandals to wooly hats and borrowed coats as we’ve had torrential rain, sunshine, gale force winds and everything in between. Good old Scotland. So this is pretty boring. I lack new clothes to draw, as predicted. At least I have a SCAR (which still hurts – 11 weeks later).

What I did in May

Did a ton of work getting my zine distro, pushpin, open for business. Read a few billion zines as I planned my stock. Went Up North for a windy visit. Bought a load of books. Came back home in a gale and spent a slightly terrifying 15 minutes waiting for a bus in a very rickety bus shelter. Went to, and sold at, my first zine fair. Made a new zine. Broke my fabric buying ban. Sold even more stuff on eBay. Saw my name on TV. Redesigned Super Cute Kawaii. Wrote a load of Tokyo Shopping Guide posts. Watched scar tissue form at the rate of 0.0000001mm per day.

Reading, Watching, Playing

Still having book completion issues, though I’m only really reading 4 just now. Big old zine post coming soon too.

Fire & Knives
I’ve been making an effort to subscribe to the (very few) magazines I actually read regularly. Not only does it help them continue to plan and print new issues but I don’t have to use any part of my brain to remember to buy them. Win-win! A new issue of Fire & Knives is always a delight. It’s such a nice size and weight and the content is always surprising and great. I’m not a huge foodie but F&K is full of personal stories that happen to be food-related, whether that’s retro supermarkets, knife design or Penguin cookery books. Plus it’s crammed full of great illustrations and old food ads, and takes about as long to savour as it does for them to put together a new issue.

The First Men in the Moon
I caught this on iPlayer and it was quite possibly made just for me – A HG Wells story about a bumbling professor going to the Moon, tied into the Apollo landings and given a Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Day Out meets Doctor Who spin (it was written, and stars, Mark Gatiss).  I loved pretty much all of it – they didn’t try and make sense of any of the ridiculous aspects of the story (and especially spaceship design) and made it a romp, with a certain amount of sadness. The Selenites looked a bit stupid but no worse than your average Doctor Who episode. It’s a BBC film so I’m sure it will be on many times again – look out for it!

Upside Down
This is a new documentary about Creation Records so went straight on my Lovefilm list. Creation was one of my big obsessions as a teenager and home to a lot of my favourite bands, plus I visited the offices to interview Paul Cannell etc. This was a pretty great documentary, possibly because it focused more on the early days, and all the Glasgow bands/mates that got it all going. I cannot deny my eyes glazed over once the Oasis days arrived, although I have to say Noel Gallagher is growing on me – he is at least an intelligent and fairly amusing talking head. Lots of great footage of the bands too so I would totally recommend it if you’re interested in checking out some of the best music of the 80s and 90s. Would like a new compilation of all the (shoddy, cheap, terrible) Creation videos now – my VHS tapes are long gone.

Mollie Makes
A new crafty magazine in the UK about ‘living and loving handmade’. I quite enjoyed this and have signed up for the £5 for 3 issues deal but I’m not sure I’ll be sticking with it. It’s a slightly odd mix of handmade, vintage and High Street, and a lot of it looks familiar to me from various blog reading. If I’m honest, it might just all be a bit too twee for me. Happy to give it a chance over the next 3 issues though.

100 Tiny Moments From My Past, Present and Future by Edward Ross
I got this at the zine fair and it’s really great. As part of the One Hundred Days to Make Me a Better Person project, Eddie drew a little comic every day. As the title says, each one is a tiny moment from his past, present or imagined future and they’re all sweet, funny and sad. You can view all the original comics here, but you’ll be wanting the book so you can dip into them again and again. Hopefully I’m going to be able to stock some of his stuff at pushpin too.

Buffy
My favourite thing about Lovefilm is being able to do rewatches of old TV shows you never saw all the way through. I used to watch Buffy back in the day, until I moved out to go to art school where (old person alert!) I only had a black and white TV, with a dial for changing the channels, and, I kid you not, a wire coat hanger as an aerial. That was when I pretty much stopped watching TV. But, I’m now almost at the end of S2 of Buffy and I’m remembering most of these episodes – it’s all still good stuff, though a bit clunky and dated in these fancy CGI days. I’m thinking I probably stopped watching regularly around S3/4 so it should get more interesting soon.

iPhone app of the month

Nothing
I haven’t installed anything fun for ages – what’s new and good?

New Product Round-up

- Miles Better – a guide to Glasgow zine
- Kokeshi Flowers Gift Wrap & sets

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 8
Items sold on Etsy: 20
Items sold on Folksy: 10
Items sold on DaWanda: 6

Another quiet month – a good reminder that most people cannot live on Etsy sales alone. One day I will count up all my individual regular  income streams – it must be well into double figures now.