DIY Washi Tape Swatch Sheet

I have been loving putting pen to paper for a few years now and really enjoy making beautiful friendships through the disappearing art of letter writing. With each letter I send out I simply love including a few extra things in the envelope such as stickers, die-cuts, gift tags, little cards or notes but have never really included washi tapes (since they are so bulky) until now.

For this mini DIY project you’ll need:

• Polypropylene sheets
• Washi tapes
• Cutting mat
• Craft knife
• Corner cutter
• Scissors
• Permanent Markers (for optional decorating)

Step-by-step Process:

• Cut the polypropylene sheets to the size you want. If you’re planning on sending this in your snail mail make sure you make it small enough to fit into your envelope!

Round off the corners to eliminate sharp edges. Scissors may also be used to cut the corners.

For this next step you can decorate the swatch with markers that are smudge-resistant for a creative touch! This is optional of course.

Now the fun part – choose which washi tapes you’d like to stick on the swatch and wind the tape around as many times as you like. The more tape, the heavier your letter will be.

And there you have it! Get as creative as you like, there really are no rules for this DIY.

Our Studio

Things have been quiet on the blog lately because we’ve been really busy in reality! We hope you’ve all had a great Easter and have enjoyed some down-time with family and friends.

Today we’d like to share with you our studio re-design and focus your attention on exactly what we are all about. It’s a pleasure to have you here and I sincerely hope you stick around because there are lots of exciting things to come.

– Naira

Graceful Avenue News!

We’ve been so busy here at the office lately, it’s almost like someone’s hit the fast-forward button! For today’s post we thought we’d show you what we’ve been working on and tell you about all the things we have coming up soon.

1. We now have an Instagram account so if you’d like to see what we get up to during the week, what life in Melbourne is really like and all the latest behind-the-scenes photos at our studio, please follow us here.

2. We are very excited about this! We are now taking Wholesale orders from retailers! So if you, or someone you know, runs a cute boutique store, gift shop, florist, bookshop, cafe or any other outlet, you can now order our greeting cards, gift tags and handmade flowers and become stockists of Graceful Avenue products! Just click the Wholesale section of our website and from there you’ll be able to see the entire ordering process, including our two wholesale catalogues.

3. Very soon we’ll be releasing yet another Newsletter so make sure you’ve signed up for our Newsletter here. By doing so you’ll receive exclusive discounts to use in our online Etsy Shop and get the chance to read about our latest news first.

4. With Easter just around the corner, we’ll be updating our Etsy shop with new greeting card designs just for this celebration, so look out for that! Meanwhile, you can buy our Mishka Collection greeting cards here.

5. In future blog posts we will reveal our brand new design of our studio space, as well as guest blogger interviews with cool creative people, and all the latest Melbourne travel photos. Make sure you follow our blog to see all these exciting new adventures.

6. Last but not least, there will always be more blog posts about our European travel escapades, which we know make you all very excited. We’ll take you on a virtual trip to Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague and more fabulous destinations.

Thank you for checking in and have a great week!

Naira

Weekend Market Debut

Yesterday we made our debut at our first ever Melbourne design market! Located in Doncaster, The Fine Design Market is a treasure-trove of beautifully crafted items with anything from jewellery to stationery and everything in between. The organisers of the event were friendly and made us feel very welcome.

It was great to have that one-on-one interaction with customers once again, as it reminded us of our little shop in the UK. Plus we really missed it! Visitors were so kind and warm and had such nice things to say about our products, making us feel so truly appreciative and grateful. Thank you to everyone who came along and hopefully see you at another design market in the future.

 

Online Shop is Open!

Hi everyone,

I’m so excited to announce the re-opening of our Etsy shop! Now you are able to buy our “Mishka Collection” cards all from the comfort of your own home. We are sure you’ll love them and we can ship them to you no matter where you are in the world! Please visit our online shop here.

We have over 40 designs for you to choose from!

DIY Classes!

Wow, August is upon us already! A new month signifies new beginnings and new quests for us all. We’re super excited today to announce that until August 17 we will be teaching you how we make our origami Graceful Flowers in small DIY classes! You don’t need to have any special skills or abilities. We will teach you step-by-step how we transform simple pieces of paper into our popular and original three-dimensional flowers! They are perfect as gifts for loved ones or simply to decorate your homes this summer.

Information about the event:

• All materials are provided
• All ages are welcome to attend (children must be supervised)
• Cold drinks will be provided, as it is summer after all!

When: Daily (except Sundays) from 11am-12pm, until August 17, 2013
Where: 9 Ye Corner, Chalk Hill, Watford WD19 4BS
We are only 20 minutes by train from Central London. Take the Euston-Watford Junction train, disembark at Bushey Station and then it’s just a short walk up Aldenham Rd until you reach a busy intersection. Simple!
Cost: £5 per person

We truly hope that you’re able to attend and spend an hour of your school holidays with us this year. It’s going to be so much fun!

Handmade Notepads!

Hi everyone!

Can it really be July already? My goodness that was quick! The weather has certainly warmed up and I’m dreaming of living by the beach, cooling down by swimming, witnessing glorious sunsets and eating lots of delicious gelati! But hey, who’s complaining! After such a long cold winter we had it’s such a relief to finally see the sun shining.

Today we’d like to share with you our new NOTEPADS! Featuring hand-drawn designs of pandas from our Mishka Collection, these pocket-sized notepads are perfect for writing all those special to-do lists and secret dreams. They are lined inside and come with a paper tube pen. Hurry though because once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Mishka Collection Animation!

We are delighted to present to you our first animation showcasing a selection of our greeting card designs. Please go to our Online Shop and purchase a card today!

Our Mishka Collection!

Hi everyone!

We are so excited to present to you our Mishka Collection cards! We’ve worked so hard on them for the past few weeks and they are finally available for purchase, both online and in-store now.

Here is just a quick sample of our designs but there are over 40 examples featured on our Online Shop. We also offer personalised Mishka cards! Click here to find out more.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

So, why did we choose to draw pandas on this collection? The Giant Panda is an endangered species and there are only about 1,000 of them left in the wild. We chose to draw people’s attention to these animals to raise much needed awareness of the issues surrounding them and their ecosystem. Plus we think they are just super adorable and cuddly!

We strongly urge you to donate whatever you can to the wonderful organisation WWF and help them with their conservation efforts for Giant Pandas and other endangered species. Just click the image below. Anything you donate will make a difference.

Oh and in case you were wondering, Mishka means bear in Russian.

Cheers.

Our Handmade Flowers!

We put many hours of work into our latest creation – our handmade flowers. They are beautiful, gentle and graceful, 3 words which epitomise our approach to design and our brand. Come in and buy one today or write to us with your request if you’re located outside of the UK. Our flowers are very affordable, don’t need water, soil or sun like real flowers, and won’t dry out in a week! We think everyone should have them in their homes to brighten up their days.