Well, Colour Me Amazed!

The Vintage Black and White is gorgeous. But the Classic Colours kit is also stunning.

Inspired my visits to many English heritage homes where these colours are often seen in damask wallpapers.

Penny Dreadfuls - Damask Classic Colours now in my Etsy store.

Get your kit here.  

Penny For Your Thoughts?

 

New in my Etsy Shop.

Penny Dreadfuls - Damask Vintage Black and White

Check this beautiful kit out here.

Stand By Please Ladies and Gentlemen of the Company

 At the end of October I become redundant from my job on the Mary Poppins Musical in London.

September 23rd marked marked a whole year since our first day of fit up. It also marked a whole year since I completed my apprenticeship in technical theatre. I haven't been to work since the 23rd  of March, and won't be returning to work until next year at the earliest. 

I've known about my redundancy since July. It didn't come as a surprise; in fact I probably would have been more shocked if I wasn't to be made redundant. On July 29th I went back into London for the first time since lockdown started. For a city in the middle of summer I couldn't believe how quiet it was. There was so few people around and so little traffic on the roads. The walk from Embankment to Soho is usually a busy one, but I swear that it took half the time it normally would to do that walk. I'm pretty certain that the only people in Soho were delivery drivers for the recently reopened bars and restaurants and other theatre workers like my self going back into the theatres for the same reason I was; to get their personal belonging and tools from their lockers and offices.

I was pretty sad to walk past the main door of the Prince Edward Theatre (current home to Poppins) and see it all boarded up. It was a bit of a harsh reminded that this isn't something that is going to be over quickly, that we were going to be Dark for a while. I think we all had it our heads when this started that the country would be on lockdown for 12 weeks and then we would be back; that by the time July rolled around we would be back stepping in time and flying kites.

This is unfortunately the case for so many people in the arts and entertainment industry. So many people are out of work and many don't even qualify for any financial support. Do you know what I find most frustrating? The number of people that don't work in the entertainment and live arts industry that are of the opinion that what we do isn't a real job, isn't important enough to get government support. It's frustrating and also hilarious. It's hilarious because while they are of that opinion, they are more than happy to spend their days in lockdown bingeing Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus etc. Who do they think made those TV show and films? In a normal world they are quite happy to spend date night at the theatre with their significant other. I wonder how they'll all feel if the industry that provides relief from their boredom and enjoyable evenings out was to disappear? I suppose its that classic thing of you don't know what you've got until it's gone, but that doesn't help those of us being put out of work now. 

There are some good things that have come out of lockdown. I've probably spoken to my best friend more in the last six months than I have in the last two or three years. I know it sounds bad when put like that but we have that kind of friendship that accepts that we are both busy adults and it gives us more to talk about when we do catch up. (She was also my Press Night Guest when Poppins opened, so she can't say I don't get her anything 😜). I caught up on a lot of TV that I hadn't gotten around to watching, spent more time with my mum, and most importantly have been able to eat my dinner of an actual plate rather than out of Tupperware (it's the little things that count). All that aside I really do miss going to work. I know that I complain at times about the long hours, the six day week, the always working of Bank Holiday weekends, but I genuinely love my job. I love the good days, the long days, the days where anything that can go wrong goes wrong in the most spectacular of fashions. I love my job even though the hours don't really allow for a social life, don't allow for free time, and don't allow for you to forget to do your laundry on your one day off if you want to wear clean socks the following week.

Like so many in the arts that have lost their jobs and have had to turn to other means of income, I have started to do more with my Etsy shop. Although if you have read any of my recent posts you probably would have figured that much out by now. 

 I've got some new kits coming out imminently and I'm also going to do some Christmas stuff. Probably a papers kit and printable gift tags. 

Also if you spend £10 or more in my Etsy shop you can get 20% off your order with the code EMPORIUM10 at the checkout.

I've started a Facebook page for the store as well. Give it a like and or a follow here. 

So keep your eyes peeled for new newness coming soon!!

In Our Town of Halloween...

I can't believe that it's September already!

Now anyone that knows me will tell you exactly how much I hate winter. I hate the cold. I hate the rain; and I especially hate snow because it is both of those things put together. But I quite like Autumn. Fall. Whatever you want to call it. 

I like the cooler air in the mornings and the colours of the leave changing. I like the hazy sunshine and the way that the days are still quite warm even if they are airy.

Anyway... After I posted the Modern Gothic kit I had a little light bulb moment that the Baddest Witch In Town papers would look great in black and orange as well as black and white. I then decided to play on the whole Witch angle, hence the Hat and Broomstick patterns. But, of course, I could launch a kit in Halloween season without incorporating pumpkins now could I!? If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my post with a little behind the scenes designing of the scroll work on the Pumpkin Patch designs.

I hope you like them, and check them out on my Etsy store.

Until next time.... Happy Crafting!

The Hallow Eve digital paper pack is available here. 

Modern Gothic

New Etsy Product Alert!!

So I've been working on a few projects lately; some of them have been intentional and some have kind of just happened. This was one that kind of just happened.

I had been in the process of designing some printable planner packs that you could print off and would work with most of your favourite planner brands, and as part of those pack was including six background papers that co-ordinate with the six divider designs. 

However once I started designing the sheets for the Modern Gothic planner I was on a roll, and next thing you know I had fourteen designs. So what else was I to do than put them all in a bundle.

The Modern Gothic Paper kit  no in the Etsy Shop. 

Going back to the Basics

So I guess that I'm still not great at the whole consistent posting thing. I'm going to try to get better; try being the key word....On the other hand I'm pretty sure that I said that last time....Oh well.

Speaking of that last time that I posted, if memory serves (yes I'm too lazy to go back and look at what I wrote, sue me.) I mentioned that I was going to work on some paper crafting kits that would cover that basic patterns. Well... I did. Whats more these kits are available in my Etsy Shop. (Click the link in the menu bar up top, the E under the search bar, or on the big Enigmas Emporium Logo over on the right to get there)

5 Patterns. 9 Colour ways. 27 Kits. All designed to colour match with the enormously popular Graphic 45 papers as well as Santoro's Goujuss.

Stripes, Spots and Dots, and Harlequin and Honeycomb kits in the following colours:

Vintage Black and White.  Mayan Blue.  French Navy.  Pear Green.  Burnt Orange.  Dusky Peach.  Wild Rose.  Vintage Red.  Tuscan Yellow.

 

COVID, Netflix and Crafts, Oh My!

Well Hello!

Long time no see. In fact it's been more than a year since I last posted anything here. Life and work has a habit of getting in the way of these things. Working in theatre doesn't leave a lot of room for free time and when you do have it you don't particularly want to spend it looking at another computer monitor.

However, the Coronavirus Pandemic has bought work to a screeching halt. A lot of us working in the West End are facing redundancy, even if just for a short while, since we can not do shows with social distancing measures in place. There is very little in the way of financial support for the arts and entertainment industry at the moment and petitions are popping up all over the place asking the government for more support. The only one that matters is this one on the official government site. If you are a UK resident please consider signing as it only take a minute of your time.

So, having been furloughed from work since the middle of March when lockdown started, and probably not going back to work until the new year, what am I doing to occupy myself? I'll confess, the first six weeks or so of lockdown I spent in front of the TV, becoming very good friends with Netflix and Amazon Prime. It was actually really nice to just sit, relax and catch up on all the shows that I don't normally get the time to sit and watch, as well as re-watch some old favourites! I watched all five series of Merlin in just over a week and have just started on Doctor Who. On the subject of Merlin, I'm really looking forward to Cursed which is coming to Netflix at the end of July and the second season of The Umbrella Academy. 

I haven't only been watching TV. Honest. I've read a ton too. It's been a very long time since I've been able to read a book in a day! I reread everything by Ilona Andrews; all of the Kate Daniels series, the Hidden Legacy series, (I'm super excited for Emerald Blaze to be released in August), finally caught up with the Innkeeper Chronicles. Now I should probably move on from books before I start to gush over how much I love Ilona Andrew's writing; once I start I won't stop!

I've given the blog here a bit of a make over and want to be more active on here. The part of blogging that I've always found the hardest is knowing what to write about; (She says after waffling on...) But now, with all this free time suddenly on my hands, I've been getting back to doing more arty things, that I haven't had time for lately. I've already added a Scrapbook kit to my Etsy shop, the first in a long time. 

My mum (a crafter) suggested doing some more basic paper kits. Lately she has been making a lot of pocket book albums with Graphic 45 pads and keeps saying how she wishes she could get a pad of just the striped paper. So that's what I've done. I've created kits of Stripes, Spots and Dots and also Harlequin and Honeycomb patterns that coordinate with Graphic 45, Santoro Gorjuss (another of mum's favourites). They're really the colours and designs that you can use for just about everything. There's 27 kits all in all, so you can tell how much fun I've had uploading everything to Etsy.

Left to right:
Dusky Peach Dot, Wild Rose Dot, Mayan Blue Stripe, Dusky Peach Stripe and French Navy Stripe.

I'm thinking of release a colour way a week, but maybe more, we'll see I guess. Mum has already been playing with these and using them in her projects; which is also something else I hope to be posting on here. Mum has been writing up How To guides for the pocket book albums she's been making, after improving on what she has learned from YouTube videos. She's done the trial and error so you don't have to.  

  

I've also just discovered Disc bound planners. Now as much as I'm not into planners I like the idea of how this system works. I've been shopping around for a new art journal since I'm reaching the end  of my current one and couldn't really find anything that I liked or suited how I like to do my journalling. So I've bought a Punch, papers and a set of Discs, which I'm still waiting for. So hopefully Some posts on that in the future to.

So, see you soon for some crafty goodness!

      

The Emporium

So you may or may not know that I recently opened an Etsy store. Why the sudden impulse? you may ask. Well it all started a couple of months ago, when I woke up with start at about three in the morning, with my brain running at a hundred miles an hour. You see, I love the Project Life stuff by Becky Higgins, but there tends to be a lot of girly patterns, pastel colours, and pink. And as much as I like the designs, and think they are lovely, they're just not me. What about the Goths and other weird and alternative people out there? I somehow doubt that I'm the only Goth out there that enjoys a bit of crafting or scrapbooking. I think that it's true of most the craft industry, that there is a distinct lack of items that suit the alternative genre to a T. So, with my three in the morning brainstorming session in mind, I decided to do something about that.

So I created my first kit. I know how many people love the Project Life system, especially with it being a way to scrapbook/memory keep even when you are a bit strapped for time, or lack confidence when it comes to being creative. Because of this I designed my kit to work with that system and any future kits will be designed in the same way. Of course you don't have to use them in the Project life system at all if you don't want to. If traditional scrapbooking is more your thing then, by all means, incorporate them into your pages. Truth be known, even though I like a lot of the kits that Project life create, I personally, wouldn't use them with the wallet system, as I prefer tradition scrapbooking or art journals.

I went with Etsy for the store as you can sell digital files. These are downloadable kits that you can either use in digital projects or print them off and use as part of physical pages. It also means that you by once and then can use it as many times as you like, as there is no limit on how many you can print!

I've also got a couple of smaller kits that I'll post here soon for you to download as freebies so keep an eye out for them!

 

This is the main kit that is available in the shop.

This the Occult Gothic Collection (Take a look in store here.)

There are 73 cards in this kit, although you can use them as many times as you like and print out as many as you want, so 73 is the minimum number that you have here. The cards are a mix of 3 inches by 4 inches and 4 inches by 4 inches, with assorted designs, 17 of which are journaling cards.

These are some of my favourite cards from the kit that I have printed out.

I can't wait to dig out some old picture to create some pages with ones.

(Check out my Instagram for close ups.)

I also created  an 8" x 8" paper stack
(Take a look in the store.). They co-ordinate beautifully with the card kit, but would make gorgeous pages on their own.

I decided to go with the 8 inch square pages, because everyone can print an 8" by 8", no matter what printer they have, but not everyone can print 12" by 12".












I'd love for everyone to check out the Etsy shop (It's called The Enigmas Emporium if I haven't already mentioned it), I'd also love to see any of your creations! Tag me on Twitter or Instagram.

Remember to keep your eyes peeled for some freebies on here soon!

Happy scrapping everyone...