If I’d known I was going to slice up my hand, I would have kept my what I wore to the wedding drawing for this post. Instead, you’ll have to do with a photo at the Greenwich clock, complete with ineptly brushed hair (these things are hard, one-handed!). March was…interesting.

What I did in March

Cut my stupid hand. Celebrated my 36th (eek!) birthday by buying a Lego space shuttle. Went to London. (Re-)watched a heck of a lot of DVDs. Went to a lovely wedding. Got new windows installed. Re-arranged my room. Was very bored.

Reading, Watching, Playing

The Celestial Cafe by Stuart Murdoch
A book of essays / blog posts / diary entries by the Belle and Sebastian frontman. This kept my mind reasonably busy while waiting at A&E for over an hour with a bleeding hand so credit there. That aside, it is pretty great all round, with a friendly chatty style and an obviously deep love of Glasgow. While nothing enormously thrilling happens (or he at least doesn’t write about those events), it’s still full of lovely stories about everyday life, and makes me wish everyone I know would write about what they get up to. Your life might not seem that interesting to you, but everyone else thinks so! Or so I’m led to believe from peoples’ comments to me about these monthly updates.

Sunshine / Wonders of the Universe
I’ve read many reviews warning of the rubbishness of Sunshine, and yes it was pretty bad. The first 2/3 are great in a classic disaster/space movie style but then it all goes horribly sci-fi/horror/stupid. However, they also got dreamy science popularizer Brian Cox* to do a commentary about all the science behind it and point out all the stupid bits, and he’s so enthusiastic I was pretty won over by the end and disliked it less. I certainly enjoyed Brian Cox better without having to watch him standing on glaciers and striding across deserts pondering the state of the Universe as in his TV series. He is really becoming a parody of himself. All credit to him, he is awesome at explaining complex things, and giddily excited about doing fun experiments that usually involve jet planes, but all the arty shots of him posing about and Thinking Hard are getting ridiculous. Good series but the Universe is way less fun than the Solar System – it’s just too big to comprehend.

*TM Bad Astronomy. I laughed.

The Social Network
Conversely, I’ve heard loads of good things about this and was surprised to find I really enjoyed it, especially since I find it difficult to like actual Facebook. In fact, it kind of made me like Facebook better, which is stupid because a) everyone in this film is pretty unlikeable and b) it’s not real life. But yes, surprisingly great for a film about upper class computer nerds suing each other.

LOST
I finished my rewatch in what, 2 months? As with Alias, the final season was a lot less stupid the second time around, probably because there are no longer any surprises or expectations. The final season is still my least favourite but I no longer really have any problems with it, except that it was a bit dull in parts and some of their answers were lame. I think S4 is my favourite – too short to have many duff episodes and lots of new awesome characters, but S1-3 are pretty much awesome overall. Hurray. Now hoping Fringe manage to finish off a JJ Abrams show not-stupidly. With all the (awesome) crazy this season it could go either way.

iPhone app of the month

British Airways (Free!)
My plane to London was delayed because of fog early in the morning and thus I spent most of my first day in Glasgow Airport instead of London. It was pretty dull, especially as it’s mid-refurb and there are only 2 seats in the airport where you can see the info boards. So hurrah for the iPhone which gave me a BA app to check updates to my flight time while lounging at the back of the airport. It eventually left 3 hours late but the staff were so apologetic they let us have two free snacks instead of one! I can’t imagine I’ll use this very often, but I’m glad it exists.

Things I liked on the internets

Not much internetting this month. I’ve mostly been enjoying Bad Astronomy and Serious Eats.

New Product Round-up

- New Cutie Fruity Friends badge set
- Get Well Soon card
- Kawaii Skies badge set

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 34 (not counting free zines!)
Items sold on Etsy: 23
Items sold on Folksy: 23
Items sold on DaWanda: 9

Not bad, considering the whole being off the internet for 2 weeks thing.

And the endless winter continues. Although it has actually been quite Spring-like this week and I did go out on Monday without wearing my hat so maybe I will have more fun things to draw from now on. Layers has been the theme of February.

What I did in February

Donated/sold/threw away a whole van’s worth of stuff. Started Admin Day. Made a zine about hats. Booked an exciting event for July. Packed up a lot of wholesale orders. Took apart a shelving unit in my room (which has given me SO MUCH SPACE but sadly nowhere to put my record player). Redesigned the rest of my website. Ordered more copies of my book after they sold out, yay, thanks!

Reading, Watching, Playing

Memoirs of a British Agent: Being an Account of the Author’s Early Life in Many Lands and His Official Mission to Moscow in 1918
by Bruce Lockhart
I cannot believe I wrote a book and didn’t give it a ridiculously long subtitle. One of my favourite things ever, especially when they start with “being”. I also love books that do this at the beginning of every chapter, like “Chapter 5: whereupon I discover a large tiger living in the caves and it savages my leg but I manage to escape to higher ground where I meet a group of pirates”. In these spoiler-phobic times, it’s truly amazing. I guess it’s from the days of newspaper serials. ANYWAY, this was a pretty interesting account of the Russian Revolution, one of my pet topics, from the eyes of the British consul. Despite being a typical English Gentleman abroad, he ends up pretty sympathetic to the Bolsheviks but after the first few months, he goes a bit mental, returns to the UK and misses a lot of important stuff so the last section is a bit confusing. So, not a book to read if you know nothing about the situation but interesting if you do to see an on the spot outsider’s view.

Astronomy Now UK magazine
It’s official – I’m back into full time space nerdery. I only bought a couple of back issues as research for my Solar System zine but now I’ve started buying the new issues too. Far too much about telescopes and the reader’s questions are SO DULL but the rest is pretty good and so many lovely pictures.

Moon
This is not really about the actual moon, before I look crazy obsessed but a low budget film set on the moon for plot reasons (remote from Earth). It did a pretty amazing job of making you think Something Terrible was going to happen and then turning into something completely different. Also, whenever things got a bit tense, you were guaranteed a laugh from the sight of the robot which has a screen showing one of four emoticons and always so brilliantly pitched. Is it wrong that I was kind of jealous of the whole station set up? That is like my dream home – slightly futuristic pod home with views of space. I’m so antisocial. I would just need the internet, better food and a swimming pool really. Hit me up NASA.

iPhone app of the month

Nothing. I did download the new Guardian app, because I wanted to support them but it’s doing my head in. So slow to load and of all the things I might have wanted in an upgrade, videos and reader comments were at the bottom of the list. Ugh.

Things I liked on the internets

- Hiki’s photos of a trip to Hawaii on Jollygoo. Really is top of my list of places to visit.
- Vintage finds from an eBay observer at Poppytalk. Great picks and such a fun illustration idea.
- Showcase of websites with illustrated backgrounds on Line25. It’s a good look – they pretty much all look great.

New Product Round-up

- A5 Sun and Rain Writing Pads
- Oddments #2 zine
- Kawaii Japan book

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 27 (not counting free zines!)
Items sold on Etsy: 12
Items sold on Folksy: 32
Items sold on DaWanda: 15

A lot less than the last few months but it’s actually nice to have my shipping done before lunch instead of taking all day.

And so a whole month of 2011 is gone already. Usually I do my outfit drawing around week 3 but I was really struggling this month because I’d drawn all my winter clothes already! I don’t really have that many outfits. It was so desperate that when I went to see Mogwai I purposely picked out a top I hadn’t drawn yet. So pathetic. New shoes to draw though! Glasgow is so grimy from all the gritting, I can’t wear my Zazzle shoes.

Since it’s a whole new year, I’m going to summarise what each section is about for anyone who hasn’t been reading since the beginning.

What I did in January

A new one.

Wrote a book. Published a book. Got someone else to make my badges for me. Redesigned my blog (with time-changing banners!). Had a sale. Went to see Mogwai for the 14th time (in 13 years). Went through every single box of stuff in my room. Sold a lorryload of stuff on eBay. Chucked out even more stuff. Dusted every single ornament in my room. Vowed to buy a display cabinet at some point in my life. Started rewatching LOST (I know). Slept rather badly (thanks neighbours! not). Read a lot of books (most of them were mediocre). Started posting random things on my Tumblr again.

Reading, Watching, Playing

Some of the most notable books, films, TV and videogames I’ve been enjoying this month. This isn’t everything I read/watched/played, just the interesting ones. I do try to keep my Goodreads account updated with everything I read.

Creative, Inc by Meg Mateo Ilasco & Joy Deangdeelert Cho
The freelancer’s version of Craft, Inc. While there are lots of great tips in here (and it’s a beautiful book!), I can’t say I learned a whole lot, though obviously I have been freelancing for almost three years now. It also assumes you are a) resident in the USA and b) want to be super-successful and work with big name clients. I wonder if anyone would be interested if I wrote some stuff about unambitious freelancing? You know, making enough money for a quiet life. I just want to be able to pay my mortgage and go on a few trips and buy all the secondhand books I desire and not have to stress about a $10,000 contract. Is that nuts?

Islomania by Thurston Clarke
I feel like I have been reading this for approximately eight months, and that’s because I have! Not because it isn’t awesome, but because it’s the best book for carrying about and reading a chapter here and there. It’s all about islands and why we get a bit crazy about them. The author travels to a load of different islands, all with interesting histories and populated with people who want to live their island dream, whether that’s a close-knit back to basics community, or Robinson Crusoe solitude. And like all the best travel books, I now want to go to pretty much all these islands.

At a Crossroads: Between a Rock and My Parents’ Place by Kate T. Williamson
I got a bit obsessed with Google Books a few weeks ago, and spent a happy couple of days looking at scans of new and old books. Inevitably, I ended up in the Japan section and discovered the author of one of my favourite Japan books, A Year in Japan, had another book out! It tells the story of her unplanned return to live at her parents’ house while she put together her Japan book. It’s full of little moments from the sad to the hilarious, all with lovely watercolour illustrations. It’s a really nicely made book too.

Picross 3D
I am THIS close to finishing, after almost daily play for 3 months! That seems long but there are 350 puzzles and I have made myself complete each one to 3 stars (perfect time and no errors). I’m still not sure if I like it but I love the music so much I will be sad to finish. Still, I cannot deny a small part of me is waiting for the day I complete this so I can reset the original Picross and play that again.

iPhone app of the month

Whatever neat app is currently changing my life.

Dr Moku’s Hiragana Mnemonics (£1.79)
You should check out the review I wrote for Super Cute Kawaii – there may even be a few free copies left too!

Things I liked on the internets

I used to do new sites here but now I’m going to share some links of whatever has caught my interest enough to bookmark it.

Manhattan Nest
A new find via Make It, I love everything about Manhattan Nest. I’ve never been interested in home tour type blogs, and now I understand why. As Shannon says, most young design-conscious folks either rent or have no budget for major home improvements. I’m not inspired by people knocking down walls and ripping out kitchens but I am totally inspired by these clever fixes, Ikea hacks and thrift store finds. Even when he upholsters a BED or makes an amazing shelf out of pipes, it doesn’t seem too intimidating. Lots of ideas for my future home (the one where I get to decide everything myself).

Whisky Priest (at Caustic Cover Critic)
Really interesting idea here – redesigning and repackaging out of print books for basically your own amusement.  As someone who loves old books and is rather picky about how books look, this is something I may well dabble in one day.

Conscious Spending in Action (at Get Rich Slowly)
People sometimes ask how I make the whole self-employed thing work – this is a big part of it. I don’t have cable/satellite, I don’t have a car or any pets, I don’t drink or go to the cinema or buy new clothes often (see what I wore for proof!) etc. etc. However, I do have an iPhone, a top-end broadband service and possibly too many books. Basically, however useful or fun those other things might be, they’re not worth it to me, whereas too many books totally is. Once you start figuring out what you personally need over what “everyone” has, you spend a lot less.

Cats on Leashes and Other Randomness (at Jenna in Japan)
One of the reasons I love Jenna’s blog is that she isn’t too proud to do a huge blog post primarily showing pictures of drinks she has bought in Japan. It may not be entirely cool to admit that looking at all the stuff in convenience stores is one of the highlights of  any trip to Japan, but I’m willing to raise my hand here. Would also like to try 90% of the stuff pictured here (not the cats on leashes). Also now regretting not forcing Nic to buy that Mameshiba eraser maker when we saw it. It is amazing.

Our Solar System Flickr stream
Just wow.

New Product Round-up

All the new stuff I added to the shop, in case you missed anything.

- Kawaii Japan PDF book
- Geisha Badge Set
- Cakeify and Friends pens
- Bunny Book Hearts
- Cakeify iPhone 3G case

Online sales

Whereby I count up all my sales on my four main online selling places. Obviously, I also get sales from stockists, wholesale orders etc. but I hope this gives some guide as to how much a shop of my level does month to month.

Items sold on Shopify: 45
Items sold on Etsy: 21
Items sold on Folksy: 48
Items sold on DaWanda: 28

Very pleased with that for January! Certainly helped that my Valentine’s products were featured on Etsy, Folksy and DaWanda (twice!).

Woo, my final monthly update of 2010, although it’s a bit of a short one – I was too busy with shop and Christmas stuff. I do feel pretty pleased with myself that I managed to do this every month, and it’s great to be able to look back at what I got up to and wore. As I said in my resolutions, I will be carrying this on in 2011 so please leave any suggestions for new sections to make it more interesting.

This month’s drawing was a fun one – so glad I got to draw my boots properly, and my dress was fun too, and a mere £7, thanks to being in the right place at the right time to get a free opening day £10 gift voucher. Hurrah.

Reading, Watching, Playing

A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin
I got this for Christmas (thanks Claire!) and it was all I could do not to sit sit down and read the whole thing from cover to cover, enormous though it is. As previously established, I’ve been a space nut since I was very small (wait, I am still very small) and this book is just a joy. It describes NASA’s Apollo program in great detail, going through each mission from the disastrous beginnings through to the six Moon landings. While sometimes bogged down by technical language and military customs, it does a great job of explaining how it all succeeded and introducing all the people who made it happen. The actual moon landings are exhilarating to read about and each mission comes with so many problems overcome that you can understand why we’ve never been back (yet), though reading about NASA’s plans at the time for moon bases and manned missions to Mars makes me so sad. The book is also the source material for HBO’s rather great TV series From the Earth to the Moon, which is well worth checking out. My only disappointment is that Chaikin hasn’t yet done a book about the Shuttle missions – come on man, get to it!

Whip It
A film all about rollerderby, which was entertaining in a slightly generic American teen girl movie way, but I’ll forgive that, since that is one of my favourite genres. Kind of made me wish I still had rollerskates too.

iPhone app of the month

This month I have mostly been excited by finally getting my iPhone to upgrade to OS4, after months of backup issues. So rather than download new apps, I’ve been streamlining and marvelling at the shiny new options available. Hurray!

Websites I’ve been enjoying

I don’t think I added anything new – was just trying to catch up after Japan.

Things to look forward to in January

- the start of a whole new year to get going on exciting new projects!
- Mogwai album and gig – it may be about the 15th time I’ve seen them but it’s been a couple of years since the last time so I’m still excited.

New Product Round-up

- Cutie Fruity Friends Gift Wrap

Online sales

Items sold on Shopify: 78
Items sold on Etsy: 29
Items sold on Folksy: 24
Items sold on DaWanda: 69

Busy busy! DaWanda was insane this month, compared to usual.

Or twenty-eleven, as I am finding it hard to call you.  Which is annoying as 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit and I am a Rabbit so I am expecting exciting times ahead.

Whatever, it is time for some New Year resolutions, or goals or what have you.

Here are last years. I am pleased to say I did them all except for printing something new on my gocco (I did at least use it to print on different paper), doing a craft market in London (though I did try by applying for Bust but no go) and my Big 5 Projects. Clearly, I could lie about my Big 5 Projects and pretend they were stuff I did, but actually I only managed one – wrapping paper. The rest are still on my long-term to-do list in one form or another. But still, a successful year I think!

When I wrote those, my plans were to organise my shop and products to be easier to produce in volume with an aim to start doing trade fairs in 2011. While I made big leaps towards that, I’ve decided it’s not what I want to concentrate on this year. I’ll still be working towards that as a goal for future years but this year is a bit more personal and more about projects close to my heart, with the opportunity to build more passive income (eg. things like Spoonflower and Zazzle where they do all the work and I get commission).

So, here are my goals for 2011.

Operation Clearout – two super-busy years have left me with a bombsite for a bedroom, full of stock, supplies, half-finished projects and loads of stuff I haven’t had time to get rid of. I won’t be living in this house forever though, and we plan to get new windows fitted this year so it’s got to go. This is my main aim of the year, along with…

Publishing projects – I failed my own zine challenge but I’m already busy on Japan stuff. I’ll definitely be updating my Tokyo Shopping Guide and I have another little zine I’d love to do this year. Not to mention all the half finished stuff I have for another Oddments or 3. I also have a couple of Big ideas – one written, one illustrated – but I’m not going to hurry them.

Design another Shopify theme – this was one of my Big 5 and I’m promoting it as it’s something I really want to do. Prettify is still fine but I’d like to do something more interesting and use all the tricks I’ve learned designing themes over the last year.

Continue doing monthly updates and What I Wore drawings – I’ve really enjoyed doing these every month and it’s been a good routine. I’ll probably change things up a bit and I’m not sure I really have enough clothes left that I haven’t drawn but we’ll see.

Get to grips with my graphics tablet – with all my plans, it would be easy for my graphics tablet to end up sitting on a shelf so I’m going to try to do something every month with it, to build up my skills.

Make stuff with my fabric – I ordered a ton of my fabric from Spoonflower recently and I want to start using it, hopefully with the help of my mum once she gets a sewing machine.

Leave more comments – I’ve noticed this year that I’m getting into a bad habit of enjoying things without responding so I’m going to make an effort to comment on blog posts and Flickr photos that make my day. I love it when people comment on my stuff so fair’s fair!

Oh, and Redesign my blog – I’ve actually done the design for it, but I’ll put it here so I do it soon :)

That’s it!

2010 has been a busy old year, so it’s nice to look back and see what I got up to.

JANUARY

January found me rather ill with a succession of winter colds but I battled on and by the middle of the month, I had lots of cute new Jammie Dodger products ready for Valentine’s Day. I discovered I’d racked up a lot of commission on Zazzle so I started designing my dream shoes and I was still in love with my iPhone so posted up a guide to my favourite apps. I even found some time to play around with my gocco for the first time in ages, making green book hearts and badges, as well as some cute packaging. At the end of the month, I did the first of what was only a handful of craft fairs this year – one of the biggest changes for my business this year.

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