Craft Corner: A teeny tiny stationary haul

When I say teeny tiny, I mean teeny tiny. It could/would have been a bit larger, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) some of the things I wanted were out of stock. However, that means that I will just have to place another order when they are back in stock. Such a tragedy!

One of my favourite places to ogle lovely stationary is Kikki-K. If I allowed myself I would probably buy one of everything. It is all highly covetable, especially if you have a weakness for such things (the stationary department in Liberty’s is another place to avoid if you are prone to lovely stationary overload. I could wander around it for hours and then accidentally find myself in the beauty hall to while away another hour or so)

I made my first Kikki-K purchase just before Christmas when I ordered this years diary. I am already thinking that towards the end of the year I will get one of the planners. I feel slightly less guilty throwing a load of paper pages in the recycling rather than a whole leather covered book (aka my diary), which tends to be why I find old diaries stuck at the back of drawers and crammed into corners of cupboards – because it feels such a waste (and wrong) to throw them away. This is were a planner wins over a diary. However, there are a few months to go before such a decision needs to be made.

If London is in easy reach for you (sadly no longer the case for me, it now takes a concerted effort to get there) then there is a Kikki-K shop in Convent Garden. I think it may be permanent now. Originally it was a pop-up shop but there has been lots of activity on social media about it coming back, so . . . it looks promising. It is also available in Selfridges on Oxford Street. NB – I’ve just had a little look at the store locator and it seems that there are two Covent Garden stores – one pop-up and one permanent. There are other stores around the world, so have a nosey around the website if you are not in the UK.

The other option – and the one that I use – is to order online. Shipping to the UK is a flat rate of £6 including taxes etc. (so no nasty customs charge at this end) from Singapore and takes about a week. I think £6 is pretty reasonable considering that some UK based companies charge that to ship within the same country (not naming any names, but SpaceNK I am looking at you).

I had pinned virtually all of the Vänskap collection onto my Pinterest stationary board because it is just so cute! Although I feel I need to make a disclaimer – even though I am the owner of two cats I generally do not like things with cats on. I am not that kind of cat owner. But these cats . . . these cats are different.

So what did I get?

Number one – a fold-up bag to keep in my handbag. All of my reusable shopping bags are either huge or rigid or both and are therefore not suitable to be kept in handbags so I have been looking for a decent one, i.e. not flimsy and with handles stitched on in a way that they look like they will withstand carrying more than one solitary tissue. This one fits all the criteria and I used it the other day and someone commented on it. I love how easy it is to fold into the little pouch, which can be used as a pocket when the bag is unfolded so I won’t loose it or forget to put the bag back into it because it is permanently attached.

Number two – decoration tape. Just like the correction tape dispensers and craft glue you trundle this along the page and it dispenses a line of pastel coloured clouds. An easy way to add a bit of interest and makes a change from washi tape. I couldn’t resist.

Number three – sticker book. Because you are never too old for stickers, especially if you want to make the plain pages of your diary/planner a little bit more interesting (which is my intention for both this and the decoration tape). There are also card tags which you can attach to gifts if you can bear to part from them or you could use them as bookmarks or for scrapbooking.

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Diary pimping results: I had a little go at tarting up a page of my diary with some of the stickers and the tape and one of the cat tags. I wasn’t feeling overly inspired at the time so my effort could have been much greater (I was in a “just get things done” mood and wasn’t taking much time over anything. I think it shows), therefore this isn’t a great example of what could be achieved with the stickers etc., but hopefully you get the gist. Besides, if you really went to town there wouldn’t be any space for you to write the things you need to in your diary, so . . .

The only thing that I am a little disappointed with is the decoration tape as it didn’t come out properly and the roller had a tendency to get stuck and then the tape would skip. It could just be the surface that I was trying to use it on. Maybe multiple diary pages have too much give. Using it on a harder surface maybe better. I will give it another go and if it still plays up I will have to find another use for it.

I do love the little cat tags though and will enjoy moving them around my diary from page to page!