Tame Impala

Aside from the music, I love:



1. The animation/illustration in this clip;
2. The typography on their website; and
3. Their Perthness.

One of many strange dreams last night

I bought a t-shirt
A gift for a girl, but I
Bought an XXL

Asian people may understand my red-faced beer-drinking

Face like a beetroot
I'm lacking in aldehyde
Dehydrogenase

Lovely package exchange

Badges by Perth comic book artist Jessica McLeod, 
purchased at Made on the Left

As mentioned previously, I participated in the Lovely Package Exchange organised by Danni of Oh, Hello Friend. She must have done a phenomenal amount of work matching up 250 exchange partners. The idea was to exchange a package with a partner, with a focus on beautiful packaging. 

My partner is Sarah of the blog Going Starfishing. It was pretty intimidating reading her blog and visiting the site for her organic children's clothing business, Sarah Waldo. (I mean, I can't even sew! Unless suturing drunk assault victims counts.) If I had kids I'd definitely buy some of her clothes. The photography on the site is really sweet (especially on this page). Anyway, I am more excited at the moment about her receiving her package than me receiving mine (that may change once mine arrives). Here's some of the package details:

Sarah listed one of her "likes" as "eco-friendly" so I knew she wouldn't mind me recycling this brown wrapping paper from Brown Button Trading.

 

I used this "Engrish" tape that I bought in Japan, on the back of the parcel, for some giggles. (Click on the image to see the translation.)

 

This is a gift card illustrated by Beci Orpin, that came with an old issue of Frankie. Everything I included in the package has an Australian theme (with the exception of the Japanese wrapping). Note that I've included some Aussie flags in a fit of patriotism.

 

Here are some smaller items wrapped in origami paper - on the right, in the Hello Kitty paper, is some Lucas Papaw Ointment, which I thought would be funny because Australian models always list it as a "must-have" product. On the left (also wrapped) are some rainbow bookplates by Tall Rabbit and mini-cards by Nonworkers (both from Made On the Left) and elephant bookplates from kikki-K.

 

 Wrapped in a recycled Japanese paper bag is a free DVD, Cut & Paste, featuring Perth artists and musicians. This issue included all these little illustrations of people roller-skating by one of my favourite Perth artists, Sean Morris.

 

Next, some art decals by Aussie illustrator Kat Macleod, for Third Drawer Down (purchased at one of my favourite local stores, Remedy. PS they do international shipping.) By the way, check out Kat Macleod's house tour on The Design Files. 

 

This is a card by "eco-stationers" iamfish, who use post-consumer recycled paper, vegetable inks and waterless printing. (Also from Remedy.)

Finally, I included a selection of Australian magazines that I thought would appeal to Sarah, as she is a fan of decor magazines (like dear, departed Domino) and fashion. I had planned to include more but the postage costs were prohibitive (this just scraped in under 3kg, i.e. $70)! Sarah requested Frankie so I added women's mags Yen (how cool is the cover?) and Peppermint ("Australia's first eco-fashion magazine", which is beautifully illustrated). As a children's designer, I thought she'd like Donna Hay Kids' Magazine (which has drool-inspiring recipes, styling and even kids' clothes and decor - so glad I had an excuse to buy it!). I rounded it out with Aussie interiors titles real living and Inside Out (which I think are better than the US interiors mags I've read). Inside Out even featured a look inside Beci Orpin's home. (Hint - if you can't get your hands on a hard copy, you can read quite a bit of the content online at the Inside Out site. They also have a blog.) Also check out Natalie Walton's (Deputy Editor of real living) blog Daily Imprint.

PS according to Blogger this is my 200th post! (And probably my 5000th exclamation point.)

Why are all my packages taking so long to arrive?

Why are you empty?
Mailbox, are you not hungry?
We need to feed you.

Best buddy Dave was hit by a car. Ouch!

Young Dave, do not cry
Your bones will mend and in Perth
Your friends still love you

Rainy spring day

Tired, damp and hungry
I stretch out on the sofa
And sleep it away

You Can Call Me Dr Grover

Christina of the lovely You Can Call Me Chris blog had a giveaway to celebrate her 100th post. I was the recipient of a set of luggage tags. Thanks Christina! You can buy lovely paper goods in her etsy store. She does all this whilst pregnant, too!

Also, thanks for sharing this image of Dr Grover on Scrubs!

Father's Day

My Dad tells bad jokes
He has scrawny chicken legs
But I still love him