Space Knits!!!

I know the sun is out, but SPACE KNITS should always be in season!

Space knits I hear you say? Yes the latest collection from Kandy Diamond's Knit And Destroy is faaaaar out!

Scarves, cushions and non-knit brooches! space colours, sparkles and glow in the dark, what more do you want?

GET THEM HERE!!

All I want for Christmas...

HELLO THERE!
Not to scare you all but Christmas is just around the corner (I can't believe it either, despite working in retail and it been 'almost' Christmas since early October, it still feels super soon!) so here we are once again with our gift guide.

This one is jam packed full of awesome stuff, something for everyone in your life, be it ghouls or grrrls, astronauts or aliens, monsters or mermaids and witches or weirdos.
Or just a list full of stuff to get yourself!

Ghouls....A bunch of gifts for the spooky in your life.
Everyone likes to have a dance, even the undead, so why not go for the latest album from the best scouse/ horrorpunk band ever Zombina And The skeletons, heck get their entire back catalogue from HERE!

They might also want to adorn their walls with ghoulish art, so how about this print from Camille Rose Garcia?

Grrrls....Need something for the rebel grrrl in your life? Then try this super zine (that's actually a book inspired by zines) Double Dare Ya. Full of writing and cool artwork inspired by the riot grrrl movement.

Not much of a reader? And or super stylish, then you need to gift this Wacky Wacko grrrls tee, featuring a whole host of awesome ladies women and grrrls.

or maybe they want to relive their youth? Then this Sleater-Kinney vinyl box set is a must (someone buy me this please thanks!). No turntable? No worries, who needs a record when you can see the band LIVE, yes Sleater-Kinney have reformed and are off on tour next year!

Astronauts....

For all your cosmic pals and intergalactic loved ones.
Keep them clean with this mutli coloured bath bomb from Lush (Honey scented but containing no honey, for all vegan space cadets!).

Teen-C space invaders who want to stick stickers on their jetpacks could do much worse then to stick on this Tara McPherson sticker.

And yeah space is awesome and there is so much to explore, but everyone needs a little downtime and or gets bored, so how about this bumper knitting book pack in a super spacy tote from Knit And Destroy!

Aliens...Want your alien friends to phone home and tell everyone how rad you are?
Those from another planet who like to veg out* would love a boxset of the complete X-Files (I'm not from another planet nor do I veg out ever BUT I would still love this buy me this thanks!).

It might be cold for aliens here on earth so keep their feet warm with these awesome socks from Modcloth and Rip n Dip (respectively).

But my alien friends are total babes/ Hole fans, fear not this Miss Universe tshirt from Sister Ectoplasma is one for them! (I have this so no need to buy it for me, but it is totally awesome!))

What about those stylish aliens that like to wear a nice shirt? Then these Mulder and Scully collar pins from Sweet and Lovely will look great.

*TAKE ME TO YR DEALER!

Monsters....Monsters aren't always mean and they deserve gifts!
Want to tell your scaly, green, bug eyed monster friend how much you love them? get them this Monster Tshirt from You Were Swell.

Or give them a squeeze with this Peggy Noland Squeeze Me dress.

For those more stay at home Monster children of the 90s then the complete collection of AAAHH! Real Monsters is a  definite yes! (I was lucky enough to get a bunch of DVDs from the pound shop, so always keep your non monster eyes peeled!)

Mermaids...Got some fishy friends living on land? then stop them missing home with these treats.
For when they grow legs to walk on the ground, keep them scaly with these shorts from Hellcat Clothing.

And to remind them of the beautiful colours of the sea, instead of the brown soil, try some Barry M nail polish aquarium range.

And to adorn their walls, this beautiful print from The Black Apple will be great.

Witches...
Put your friends under a spell this Christmas with these bewitching gifts.
Who doesn't love a zine, or poster or some original art? You can get all three from my latest art project All Of Them Witches.

And what witch doesn't like nail art? Then grab them these nail decals by Sara M Lyons.

Or how about this handy guide book? By everyone's favourite art Witch, Dame Darcy, is the handbook for Hot witches (I have bought this for many a witchy friend and for myself!)

And not forgetting those witches who dress like Cyndi Lauper, they need this Not All Witches wear Black postcard set from Bunny Bissoux.

Weirdos...And gifts for all of the above and everyone in between, THE WEIRDOS!
For the superstitious sister and psychic pal, these pins are perfect from Explorer's Press.

Things that people think are weird; feminists, cat ladies, witches, pfft what do they know? Maybe your friend is one of them or hopefully ALL THREE! then they need this Tshirt from Jessicka Addams!

Speaking of Addams', treat your weirdo mate to some Addams family trading cards from Bunny Bissoux's online shoppe.

Not forgetting the weirdo art friend, they need this rad book The Graphic art of The Underground by Ian Lowey and Suzy Prince.

And last but not least, maybe they want to wear their weirdo badge with pride, then this Craft inspired Tshirt from Killstar is a YES!

And not forgetting the ultimate stocking filler, an issue of Sugar Paper zine, for the creative and crafty or those who just love a laugh!

There's no fear when I'm in my room

If you head over to the Cut out + Keep website you can get a tour of Kandy's craft room....

Even though I have been in this room loads, I've slept on the floor there many times, I still love having a nosey at it. I love looking at people's workspace, I'm really interested to see what they do or do not clutter their desk and walls with!

It's not just workspaces I love looking at, there was a time I LOVED looking at teenagers bedrooms! As I got older that shifted to just looking at any number of spaces people loved.
For years I've always wanted to do something, a zine maybe, on people's spaces.

I think maybe the fact I have spent the majority of my life in the same room; sleeping, hanging out, obsessing, creating, dancing, having emo breakdowns and so much more, makes me even more interested in other's spaces, whether that is bedrooms, workspaces, safe spaces, open spaces (actually probably not as interested in these as there are no walls to hang tat), basically a space that makes you think 'There's no fear when I'm in my room'.
I hope that one day I will make a zine or some project on my own favourite space and those of others, it may take me another few years of thinking about it, but if it's the sort of thing you're interested in, just send me a gentle reminder next year or something!

August fuuuuuuun!

August is always a busy month over at Sugar paper HQ, as three of my oldest and closest friends all have birthdays (one of them is Kandy) so I try not to book anything in in August except fun stuff. And as my two oldest friends both turned 30 within 4 days of each other I knew it would be a busy one...

It all kicked off with a surprise party for Holly in the big smoke.
I've spoken about Holly quite a lot on this blog, mostly because she is awesome but also because she made the cool person I am today (I am totally cool).

We met via Teletext in around 1999 I think when she requested some information on Bis (later I found out it was a way to reach other Bis fans) and I sent a late rude-ish letter in reply, we became super penpals and gig friends and badass dancefloor mates, co-radical cheerleader, she told be about cool music, zines, books, comics, people and now half our lives later she is still informing me on cool stuff, being the best dancer I know and putting up with me being rude!
So when a surprise party was being arranged to celebrate her 30th I couldn't wait! It was a total surprise to her right to the moment we all jumped out and said SURPRISE/HAPPY BIRTHDAY/RARARARARAHHH which was great (I am a terrible person who would have tried to Nancy Drew that shit out!)
Lot's of dancing was had and I got to play our favourite grrrl/9t6/emo/pop anthems. so much fun!
The next day we went to see The cornershop, but the previous blog post was all about that, so go read if you want to know more!

3 days later on Holly's actual birthday Kandy and I were jetsetting with my highschool bff Katie (and her little sister) to Italy to celebrate her 30th!

Katie I met in year 7 of highschool, she was in my form, we didn't become great friends until around year 8 or 9 though, we bonded over the fact we loved to laugh. The moment I think we knew we would be friends for life though was when we were stood in my kitchen and almost wet ourselves laughing about all the Farmhouse (pre smart price Asda budget brand) and No Frills (Kwik Save's budget brand) food we have to eat due to being right poor.

More than half our lives later, we still only live a ten minute walk from each other and love to laugh about being poor!

I had never really though about going to Italy but I had a great time.
We flew into Rome where we spent a couple of days. taking in the sites hoping on tourist buses, eating great food.
We also managed to squeeze in two exhibitions. We saw Andy Warhol at Palazzo Cipolla and Frida Kahlo at Scuderie del Quirinale. The Warhol one was fun and super surreal to see works that have been printed on everything from greetings cards to t-shirts, in their original form. I think we mostly enjoyed the 70s polaroids though.
Frida was also surreal in the sense that I never thought I would get to see so many of her works up close and personal! So good!
We left the heat of Rome and took a scenic train to Naples and then onto the coast, to Sorrento!
We spent the next few days, taking in sites, having a beach day, going on the Amalfi coast drive, seeing Italian villages that inspired home of The Prisoner, Portmeirion. SO MUCH BEAUTY!

We saw lot's of lemon related products, ate tons of ice cream, bought cheap pizzas that were super tasty, had great service from friendly locals, caught a tan, stayed up late and had the best time!
We even managed to get free Champagne, chips and cake on Katie's birthday!

We got home after midnight on the Sunday and it was back to work for me at 8.30 on the Monday, but still had (other people's) birthday fun to look forward to!
Kandy's birthday was Wednesday where we had a birthday band practice and I made her a lemon and almond Yayoi Kusama cake!

awesome gifts Alison Erika Forde painted!

Then I had work and hanging out with my sister before we headed to Leeds fest for the day on Saturday!
I had every intention of going to Leeds for the day on my own but then when Kandy saw the line up she wanted to come to, so we decided it was a birthday trip!

I was little worried my obsessive fan tendencies had overcome and I made the least sensible decision, seeing as I'm not a festival person and the last and only time I had done Leeds fest was for a day back in 2000, 14 years later and I had a great time!

It only rained a few times, our friend Em ended up going too, we saw Gerard Way (yes my main reason for going), Jimmy Eat World (twice in one day!), Lizzo, Brody Dalle and Paramore. Had such a great day, everyone we saw made me smile lots. Highlights were giving and receiving a cheeky smile to Jim Adkins as he left the tent after Gerard Way's set, seeing Gerard Way on stage, Lizzo and drinking hot chocolate standing next to my mates watching Paramore under the night sky!
I might even go back again, see you in 14 years Leeds!

One more fun thing to do this month (another old friend's 90s themed hen do at the weekend) and then it's back to school time, which means back to work for me.

Had such summer fun, getting old is THE BEST!

London and it's yarn art!

Last week I headed to London, I was supposed to go and see The Julie Ruin, but the gig was cancelled, but I still got to hang with friends, go to a Becky Cloonan signing and surprise my sister with a Lush spa visit. I also got to see two awesome exhibitions:

Kandy Diamond- Death By Knitting
Prick Your Finger

Ok so I was obviously going to love this as it's Kandy's exhibition, but what's not to love about knitted film posters that are 3D!!!
Yes that's right she has machine knitted posters from movies that feature murder by knitting in some form or other and once you put on some red/blue 3D glasses the posters come to life! SO GOOD!
She has also made a zine to accompany the exhibition!

And 11 year old me particularly enjoyed seeing a knitted 3D Devon Sawa!


Miss Van- Glamorous by Darkness
Olek- Let's not get caught, let's keep going
Stolen Space gallery

I was super excited to see some Miss Van art up close and personal (thanks for the heads up Kellie!)
From street art to fine art, it was a joy to see those signature pursed pout ladies big on the wall. The collection at SSG was very Marie Antoinette meets magical forest party: Pastel hair, venetian masks, animal heads nude ladies, so good!
This was in the back room and in the front was work from Olek, another rare treat. A close friend of Miss Van (her show title is a quote from Thelma and Louise) Olek's work is an interpretation of some of Miss Vans pieces. She swapped paint and canvas for real life models, photographs and of course what olek is known for CROCHET!!!
The images were amazing and the walls were covered floor to ceiling in grey crochet, ARGH!

It made me want to go home and get way better at crochet. Also whenever I see a form of craft or textile art in a gallery space I get excited because I love to see traditional craft skills getting excepted as art!

I think it's totally fitting to just leave this song here....

Stitched Up

How have we not told you about Stitched Up already?

Stitched Up are an awesome co-op running a shop/workshop space in Chorlton Manchester.
Focus on ethical fashion, green textiles and learning new skills so you can achieve all of this!

Aside from running workshops (from fun classes for kids, to learning how to use a sewing machine, upcycling your old stuff and knitting) they have clothes swap events, films and guest speakers relating to ethically sourced fashion. Plus they sell lot's of great things, from found haberdashery items to crafty bits and bobs made by local artists!

Speaking of you can now get Kandy's knitting book and some bits (aprons, cushions, purses, needlebooks) that I have made down there!

more information HERE!

Death By Knitting....

The other half (and ever awesome) of Sugar Paper, Kandy, has a new exhibition opening soon in that there London...
DEATH BY KNITTING.

Things that are great, knitted stuff, films, things that are 3D.
All of the above are in the exhibition!
Prick Your Finger are going to be showing a collection of Kandy's knitted 3D posters from April 25th-June 7th.
It's gonna be one of the best things you get to see this year so don't miss it.
AND 3D glasses are provided!!!!
more event information HERE.

My year in lists. (Seleena!!!!)

My year in lists. MY YEAR IN POSI POINTS!

2013: unlucky for some.
It's this time of year you think about all the crap stuff that's happened in the past 364 days. It has seemed a weird one. I wasn't even excited about my birthday this year and that's NEVER happened before.
My Grandad passed away, my favourite band ended and I got mugged. I saw many friends and loved ones struggle with money/health/life in general.
But do you know what, I'm still here and my hair looks fucking awesome! So as reminder to mostly myself here's all the good shit from this funny year...

I got my first solo exhibition! Yeah you know it, I'm like a proper artist now. Ok so it was upstairs of a library next to the public toilets in some small town outside of Manchester, but it was mine.
I also discovered the joys of working tax credits, so gonna be trying out this artist thing for a while longer!

ZINES!! every year I go oh I made some zines and get a big chufty because of it, but I don't think I don't ever wanna make zines. Obviously there were more issues of Sugar Paper, I probably made some others too, dunno how many, maybe a couple. Definitely more next year. But what I'm most pleased by is my friend Em and I finally got Poor Lass zine off the ground.
A collective zine featuring stories on various subjects from the mouths of actual real life working class folk! The response we have got for the zine is so good and I hope it goes on to GREAT things!

Dressing up was good for me this year. I was well into my Halloween costume (Oblina from Aaaah Real Monsters) and for one of my bff Nick's birthday we dressed up as Romy and Michele. But my favourite was Cher and Dionne from Clueless.
For as long as I can remember, Kandy and I have joked about dressing up as everyone's favourite valley girls. 2013 was the yea we finally did it
And because we wanna do it again, we are totally available to hire for public appearances (not even joking).

One solo exhibition wasn't enough so I formed an art collective with Kandy and Alison and next thing you know Yiiikes! have an art show! The glowing world of Snotboobs and the Severed Toe was one of the most fun things I ever got to work on, keep on eye on us for more in 2k14!

Slightly related to Yiiikes! I got a drum kit, I started off real good and practiced loads then I got busy, it became 'Christmas in retail' months before it was even Christmas and I haven't had my drums out for a while. But I will sort that out in 2014, the year I don't give up after a day on a musical instrument!

We went to Indietracks fro the 3rd time this year and had a blast. Took along my oldest friend and her little sister, had fun times with my favourite lasses from Leeds, Mel and Amy, ran a radical Cheerleading workshop, and filled a teenage dream of seeing Helen Love live. GLITTER CANONS!!!

And of course got some rad hangouts with my friends and family (never enough though!). And got to feel super proud seeing my loved ones do awesome shit from making zines and books, to exhibiting stuff to running cool businesses, to just being AWESOME!

I definitely didn't do enough dancing this year, I didn't master wings (in tap). But I did have blue hair for the first time ever (I know right).

Anyway enough about my hair, looking forward to the adventures 2014 has in store for me!