1000 view freebie!

1000 views means a monda loves... Giveaway!
But what is it? Michael Caine? Harry Potter? Buddy Holly? Chris Evans?


No, it's the lovely bespectacled blockhead monster 'Austin'
If you would like to get your hands on Austin and this really sweet Japanese bag all you need to do is write the last 2 lines of this verse and pop them in the comments box. The one that wins is the one that makes me laugh the most. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday (5th Sept). So here it is:

A green blockhead monster called Austin
was secretly fond of cake frosting...

when gloves become dogs

from this:came this:
Now I'm not much of a fan of following instructions - I always prefer to 'do it first and read how to do it properly afterwards' method, but this time round I did read the instructions and now I have a lovely long and stripy dog as a result. I made him yesterday and I was nervous to say the least when I cut up the gloves - they were a really nice pair of 'Matthew Williamson' for Debenhams gloves too - so this little pup is a posh designer doggie.
I can't put him in my shop for sale because he's just so lovely I have to keep him, but I will definitely be making a few more of his friends - I'll be on eBay looking to gloves to convert later.

I'm nearing 1000's views on my blog which is an exciting milestone for me (I think). By way of a mini celebration I'll be giving away a surprise gift - you'll have to keep checking back over the next few days to see what it is and how you can get your hands on it - but here's a sneak preview.Au Revoir for now.

Perkins!

remember this? (from a post further down)well this is what happened to some of it.
As the fabric (well tops) came from Dorothy Perkins, I'm calling him Perkins, as he doesn't look much like a Dorothy to me.
He'll be in my etsy shop when I have 5 mins to put him in there.

love is all around

It's definitely wedding season right now - I've been asked to make loads of cards for weddings lately, and the ones below are a few examples of things I have made this weekend. On Sunday I went to a wedding of a work colleague - it was an Indian wedding, and I had been told that 'bling' was the order of the day :o) There were many bright colours worn, and the bride was wearing bright pink, so this heart that I made for the card suited the theme perfectly The next wedding was again for work colleagues, this time a bit more traditional - the cake was machine sewn and hand finished and the hearts were sewn by hand (whilst watching TV!)And the last card topper I made was for an engagement card (again made whist watching Sunday morning TV) I also found a small window of time at the weekend to use some of my new fabric/tops and I have a half made monster sitting waiting for me at my desk. Perhaps I'll get time to finish him after work tomorrow, and if i do, he'll be here for all to see.
Watch this space...

bargains galore!

I had to pop into town today, as I'm going to wedding tomorrow and need to get some last minute things like tights, mascara, accessories etc. The sales were still on so I had a look around in a few shops and ended up buying a few bits that were not on the list (always happens) but everything I bought was a bargain. First I bought a pair of spotty socks for £1 and a pair of long stripey gloves for £3, and thought I'd try to make a few new creations from my new book.Secondly, this lovely fabric is actually 3 tops from Dorothy Perkins. These are not for wearing though - I bought the biggest possible sizes to get the most amount of fabric so I'm going to cut them up and make them into something (not sure quite what yet but I have a few ideas), and the best part was that they only cost £8 - Bargain!
I'm really desperate for some time to start making things again - I have to make another stack of cards to take into work, people just keep buying them which is a good thing, I just wish I had a time turner (harry potter fans will know what this is) so I could double up the hours in the day. It's quite late in the day already but I'm feeling quite inspired so I'm off to the sewing machine now...

slow progress

The day job is still eating up most of my time, so not much time for sewing or blogging or monsters or anything other than work really :o(
I have made a couple of cards though. This one was for a card for a friend of ours who has recently had a baby, and I liked the colours (kind of reminded me of battenberg cake) so I also made a smaller card topper which I think will probably end up as a thank you card.Oh and this is my feet. No matter how busy you are, you still have time to paint your nails - or is that just me?I've had another sale on Etsy (that's 3 now, woo hoo), so here it is wrapped up and ready to go, I won't say who it was for though - don't want to spoil the surprise.

nice surprises

look what I got today! This is a book called 'sock and glove' and it is a story with making instructions at the back (everything in the book is made out of old socks and gloves). I've included a few of the pics from the book here


I didn't buy/order/swap/steal this. It was such a lovely surprise free gift which Mr Monda was given at work today as a freebie for me - he's been pimping my monsters and my blog around his workplace you see. A bit of shameless promotion really does no harm, and sometimes it even brings lovely books!

long time no blog

well it's only been a week but it feels like such a long time no blog because I've been so busy with the day job (working many extra hours) that I have barely even had time to enter blogland to read blogs let alone post on my own.

I had 2 days off work last week, and really did just use the time for a much needed relax and recharge of my batteries. On Thursday I read the new Harry Potter book all day (yes all day!) and I finished it. It was one of those, I'm desperate to read more but don't want to finish it, kind of things. On Friday I went to see the Harry Potter film. I'm now totally pottered out, but happy nonetheless. JK Rowling writes so brilliantly that it really does make you feel part of the story and removes you from your own world (albeit temporarily).

In craft news, I have decided to try and make my own labels - more about this in coming posts though. Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions of where to look, It was most useful.
Today I have made a monster (zach is in my etsy shop right now) and I have received my felt order from paper and string so expect to see more (and maybe different) monsters on the horizon.

can anyone tell me...?

I've been on the look out for some labels for my monsters - some little ones that I can sew on with 'monda loves...' on. I've been trawling through the internet looking for soft cotton printed labels and the only thing I can find is this:
Can anyone tell me where I can buy this kind of thing?








Also, I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has posted comments on my blog recently, so many lovely comments and lots of support which is really nice and much appreciated.
Next week I'm supposed to be having a week off work, but I am so busy that I'm going to have to go in for a couple of days - this really sucks because I have had no time for making over the last week and I've done more drawings of things I'd like to make and fill my etsy shop up with. Hopefully I will get a few days of making in next week and I'll be able to show you some of my new creations.

Aussie mates

A curious thing happened today.
A parcel arrived from Australia.
Inside there were two monsters called Melly and Rosie who were desperate to get out after their long journey. I don't blame them.They punched their way out of the top of the envelope and took in their surroundings.
Desperate for a better look around, Melly abseiled down the envelope while Rosie looked on cautiously.Once they had both got their feet firmly on the ground they happened on two locals. Flory was happy to see some new monsters, quite frankly she was bored of the locals. Ringo however hung back to exercise a bit of caution - he was a bit stand offish you see.
Melly handed over a note by way of an explanation as to why they had come to the strange new land. Flory, who could read better than Ringo read the card, explaining to Ringo that the new monsters we here on a swap, and that they'd be hanging around for a bit. Ringo reluctantly accepted this, and slowly but surely got chatting to his new friend Rosie - he actually fancied her a bit but he didn't want Melly and Flory to find out. Flory however was too busy being impressed by melly to notice.They became firm friends that evening and talked about all the things they could do together over the coming weeks - weather permitting of course. Rosie had remarked that the weather here was somewhat grim. Ringo and Flory couldn't help but agree.

This story was brought to you by Monda, with a bit of help from some monster friends. Thanks melly and me for my lovely monster swap - hope you get yours soon!

busy busy weekend

It's been quite a busy weekend but a good one.
I didn't manage to get around to seeing the Harry Potter film, but I did buy a stack of fabric from the Cath Kidston shop: and I have already used the green star fabric for this isosceles monster called Ringo: He's for sale in my etsy store now.
Most excitingly though, I've had my first etsy sale! So 2 monsters will be going to live in Japan very shortly.

wow, I've been featured on cuteable.com

Some most exciting news for a novice blogger such as myself. My isosceles monsters have been featured on cuteable.com. Yay.

I'm torn now. This weekend was going to be a weekend of Harry Potter. I was just passing by Tesco around midnight last night, so popped in to pick up my new HP book (sad I know, but I was just passing - honest!) and was also planning to go and see the movie tomorrow. Perhaps I should just make a few more monsters instead. hmm what do do?

woo hoo too!

Imagine this scene - you're at work, you have a project that is over deadline (out of your control) and everyone is telling you, 'you can't do that' or 'this won't happen until that happens' and it feels like the world and his brother are really doing their best to mush any morale and enthusiasm you have left well and truly into the ground. Well today I had quite a sucky day which pretty much resembled this.
So what gets you through a day like this?
Grit and determination? yes it's true I had a bit of this
The thought of your potential year end bonus? well this was an unconscious thought
An envelope arriving on your desk with a nice freebie in (thanks Sarah) and some stuff you ordered all accompanied by the calming and relaxing fragrance of lavender? TOTALLY!This couldn't have come at a better time and I kept sticking my nose into the envelope periodically throughout the day to make myself feel better. It worked.

Also, I wanted to mention a designer whose work I found on ebay a while back. She is Jane Foster, and below you can see a pic of one of her bags I bought a couple of months ago now. She has some lovely prints and hand made items incorporating her prints too. She was happy for me to post about her stuff which you can also find on ebay hereShe said that there is not so much going on in her shop right now as she is taking a break, but I've added her to my fave sellers so I can check when she adds new items.

something cool for your blog

I have just found out by reading print and pattern's blog that you can get a free hit counter for your blog.
I really like this because I often wonder how many people see my blog and lurk around on it. I usually only know if someone posts a comment for me. You can get a free counter here
There's only one problem with this though, I've just added a counter to the bottom of my page, and I don't actually like the style of it - I should have gone for something much simpler. I'm now trying to find out how to change it. grrr. Blogger should have a counter built in, or perhaps it does and I just haven't found it yet.

I thought I might post about a card designer that I really admire Most of you probably already know or have seen cards by Caroline Gardner. I buy her cards for inspiration and for sending to people if I'm too short of time to make my own.
If you don't know her work, then you can find it here

bits and bobs for cards

A delivery of bits and bobs for cards arrived today. I'm like a kid in a sweetshop when I go into craft/scrapbook shops, and almost always have to buy something, it could be an obsession. eek. I mostly buy ribbons, buttons and papers and here are just a few of the bits and bobs from todays delivery. The cat didn't come in the delivery, she is mine, but she has this strange/cute thing of having to sit/lie/sleep on something that belongs to me or Mr Monda. Here she is sleeping on a craft book I had put on the end of the bed. I think it's a security thing, like if I can't sleep on my people, then something belonging to them will do. We love our baby cat.