…just a little tease…

…and the 12th badge begins, just a lil' looksie at what our next one may look like...

...5 designers later...

...herbert is our first completed monster, now sporting a sexy pair of legs, 

a crazy hairdo, one bizarrely oversized eye ball and a ceramic monster badge,

he's ready for our monster charity auction...

...kom ons speel raai-raai...

...see if you can guess...

...nameless...

...please oh please give me a name, somebody out there,

anybody out there, make a suggestion, oh please. 

this quirky little guy received a sweet little face from vicky of mocholoco...

...re-cycled, up-cycled...

...lovely jessie from jezze prints, with pain staking care has created this cute little guy 

from recycled wool, h has him now and can't wait to see him 'grow up'...

...jellievis...

...legs, legs and more legs. h started ol' jellie here and leila from bo peep 

added some peepers, can't wait to see the legs keep coming...

...rock chick se moer...

...meet our darling: christina monroe, related (cousin of a cousin of a cousin) to the famous marilyn, but doesn't want to talk about it. she's rock chick personified and you don't want to cross her headband. she's kinda awesome...

~ jana

...oh nameless one

...our first sock monster, yay, thanks to margaret for adding a new member 

to our little laundry moister family. sadly at the moment he is nameless, 

if any one has a suggestion for this little guys name, let us know...

...a glimpse of our next badge...

...mmm badge 7, interesting...

...mmmm badge 7, interesting...

...isabeau is teasing us with these first pics of our next badge,
with skill like hers we're so damn excited to see what she is up to...

...a new year, a new project of love...

...after the success and just plain fun of the 'exquisite bunny corpse' project, this year, we are partnering with ilovemylaundry, our fav dim sum & coffee spot, and decided this year to create 'laundry monsters', and call the project the 'exquisite creature corpse'

we want to create fantastical creatures with over sized features, deliciously long arms, distorted little bodies and even just maybe a craaaaaazy eye.

the idea is to use that lonely sock that has lost her partner, those little ziplock baggies of buttons that you get with a new cardi or jacket, your once white dress that is now streaked in pink thanks to hubbies sport t-shirt that 'somehow' got mixed in with your delicates. then add a little sewing, knitting, crocheting and some fabric and ribbon remnants and 'hey omo you have a creeeeeaaaature!

ilovemylaundry is happy to host the auction and as usual all the proceeds will go to a charity that supports babies and kiddies, yay so have some fun and help some less fortunate kiddies, it really is a win-win...

...snip-cut-past and ta daaaaa...

...just figuring out whom to give them too. will take photos when it happens...

~ carmen

...'n m*#@rse dankie...

...one of my favourite briefs that i do with my learners is called 'delicious monster'. the brief introduce visual communication 1 learners to the anatomy of typography. my stunning class produced such fabulous work this year and was an absolute pleasure to work with on this brief. i do not think that any job can be more rewarding when learners work so hard with you as a lecturer...

a m@#*rse dankie/thank you goes to the aaa school of advertising's visual communication 1 learners. you guys rock!

~henriette

...dear dr bester...

...i've been putting off writing this letter to you for 12 weeks and 1 day. the truth is that i think about doing it everyday, but what words can i ever put on paper that will adequately explain how eternally grateful i am for saving me and my baby, mila! you were there in my most terrifying moments, this baby that i loved before she was even conceived, my child, my daughter, we came so close to losing her. from the bottom of my heart, and with my whole soul, i thank you! thank you for being there, thank you for acting so quickly and thank you for giving me every moment from that second you delivered her safely. you will never be forgotten. i will think of you with gratitude everyday.

one day when mila is old enough i will tell her about you and what you have done for our little family. today, i will put these words on paper and send it to you!

forever grateful...

~ chantelle arpesella

...six of the best and not one less...

saying thank you for me is also about showing gratitude. i spent the past weekend (first weekend in april) with my family celebrating my sister angelique's wedding.
i am grateful for the time with my five sisters. the first time we have been altogether in twelve years!
this is all of us on  chapaman's peak drive.

~ lorraine

...@%*# you...

...these days we are all more likely to say and hear '@#*% you' than thank you. well the theme for this chapter is to encourage every one of us to say thank you. now not the dismissive, thanks wave, you quickly mouth out to the car guard, you don't feel like tipping, as you drive off. we mean a real THANK YOU, you have gone out of your way to help me, or you make my day better and I REALLY appreciate it. it takes sooo little effort. if you've ever been really thanked by someone, you know how great that feels to be validated for your efforts. so let's make a special effort to REALLY thank people the next time you feel that someone has brightened your day or helped you in some way. ask to speak to their manager, supervisor or boss and tell them how happy the person has made you by doing a great job! let's try validate the unvalidated, and spread a little love...

p.s.
anja found a quirky blog that takes saying 'thank you' to a whole new level, enjoy.

~ c&h

..folk artsy illustration...

...a few years back i bought a wonderful book for my learners, called 'illustration play'. i just fell in love with the idea of combining 'folk art' with illustration. the years past and i never came up with a way to use stitches in my work. over the december holidays i came up with two ideas for my 'memory wall'. 

this is the beginning of my search for a new illustration style...     

                                                                                          ~ henriëtte

...more design indaba madness...

...i’m busy making some stuffed characters for our colour africa proverbs stall at the design indaba expo. {this is our first stall and we are learning a lot, at every step. we’re busy designing and implementing the different parts of our stall, trying to make it beautiful without spending a fortune}. they are kind of odd, but i think they’ll bring lots of colour to our little stall. now that i’m thinking about it, maybe this was inspired by our exquisite bunny corpse project...

 ~ roulé

{roulé works for d4d and colour africa proverbs is her project, she did all the illustrations and layout of the book}

...jesse's new studio...

...a shot of my new studio space, at 114 lower main road in o bs. I'm sharing with 2 screenprinters, and plan to be there most mornings at the least, so do pop in if you're in the area. totally unplanned - i heard about the space, went to look, took it. so the decor is makeshift; but it's a workshop rather than a shop...

~ jesse

...sorry skip me this time, or not...

...oh my lands would love to, but seeing as how i am absolutely spinning with the new potential (and new potential insanity :O) of getting ready for my first design indaba.... not from me this time, i am afraid. i wonder if it is normal to feel slightly vomitty ALL the time?!!

hmm, i guess you could actually post that - and if there are any words of wisdom from the more experienced and calmer members - rock 'em to me. that and a good supply of brown paper bags. (for hyperventilating, not for puking. this should be said)

pip pip, off to run around like a headless chicken...   

 ~ tessa

{ after this frantic email from tessa, i asked for pics and, voila }