we're all MONKEYS!!!

I have made some new little friends. They have moved in over at the Etsy Store. 


They are like a gang. A posse. A troop. A barrel. That is the ACTUAL term for a collective of Monkeys. A Barrel of Monkeys. Awesome.

rocket, dave, swarley, pinky tuscadero

I like monkeys. Not as much as my brother-in-law Tom- he reeeaalllly likes monkeys. Not in a weird way. He just likes them, OK?

How great is the film 12 Monkeys? Brad Pitt's performance is fabtastic. I love his crazy character, Jeffrey Goines. I love time-travelly stuff in films and Bruce Willis is a top bloke. Also, have you noticed that Brad Pitt does a little bit of Goines in every movie he makes? All of a sudden, in the middle of Ocean's Whatever, he gets that insane look in his eye and I'm waiting for him to say, "We're all MONKEYS!!"

Sally Field is the same. Every movie, all of a sudden, BANG- she's Sybill. Creepy. I have even seen a little bit of Sybill come out in old repeats of The Flying Nun!

As previously mentioned, I was a huge fan of Monkey in the eighties. I don't understand why he was a monkey, or why he was born from an egg on a mountaintop... But, holy shit we loved that stupid show.

And in other monkey news, did you know that Liquid Paper was invented by the mother of Mike Nesmith (the one in the beanie) from the Monkees? Yes it was. The Monkees were probably the first 'manufactured' band. They were like the Spice Girls without the big shoes and the annoying ginger. Oh, and Monkees lead singer Davy Jones invented the Internet. I think. Maybe not. Whatever.

I INVENTED THE INTERNET. ASK MARCIA BRADY. SHE WAS TOTALLY THERE.

Ok, back to MY monkeys, they are totally available for sale and they have cute names and lovely manners. They always say please and thank you. Unlike Sally Field. She's just rude.

A new girl and a new owl

This my new creation: The 'Drew' Satchel Bag. How cute is she?? I am so proud of her! She is the first satchel style bag I have tackled on my own and she came out fabulously.

She is for sale over at the Etsy store, but I think I will cry if someone buys her. Cos I love her.

I'm a sucky salesperson, aren't I?

"Please buy my bag... but if you do, I will cry and then you'll feel bad."

Ok, so you can totally buy her, and if you do, I will totally pretend that I am OK with it......

In other News, I have a gorgeous new little Owly fabric available for sale over at Spoonflower.

Spoonflower Fabric starts at just $18 per metre and is totally original. 

And this one has owls on it! Owls are awesome!

Ok, that's enough of the shameless self promotion.

In other, other News, my twins are super cute.

owls, cute girls and mistakes...

Over the last few weeks, I have made lots of mistakes. Lots. Every project I have worked on- somehow I managed to cock up some aspect of it. And I'm trying to work out why.


I created a brand profile for my sisters new cafe- logo, business cards, artwork.... I got the phone number wrong on the business cards, printed the artwork about 50 times larger than it was meant to be, then on the revised version, got a colour wrong. Dumbass.

 Cheeky Girl from Cheeky Little Place-
opening soon in Tasmania. All Dumbass problems
were fixed and I am so proud to
have been able to do this project for my sister Deb.

I am creating a range of cut and sew printed owls. I designed the little guys, then laid them out on a yard of fabric and got it printed through Spoonflower. I was super excited about them, and they took forever to arrive in the post. And when they did? All the wings are right wings. No left. These guys aren't flyin' anywhere. Again.. Dumbass.

I am actually pretty happy with how the printed owls came out... And he might even fly!

So, then I entered a fabric design contest at Spoonflower. The brief was to create a butterfly inspired fabric, using the colours specified by Spoonflower. Each colour has a number code. Guess who made a typo, entering the wrong numbers for the green specified, which meant the green I used was totally wrong. And instead of revising the image, as you are supposed to do, I deleted it... which means its outta the competition! And I really liked it! Can I get a "DUMBASS!" please people!!

My  Rockabilly Butterfly Girls design... with the correct green! 

And over the weekend, it seemed that the universe was continually messing with me... just bugging me with little annoyances like dropped things, banged fingers, forgotten things. 


It made me ask the universe out loud, "What am I meant to be learning here? What lesson are you trying to get across?! Cos I don't get it, and you are just pissing me off!!" My Lovely Husband thinks that I need to sow down, take more time with things. With my art, I need to get someone to check my work before I order/ upload whatever. In my life, I have a limited amount of time to get things done, and I guess I don't want to wait for help.. I just wanna get 'er done!! 


SO, I am going to listen to the Universe. I will Stop. Slow down. Think, before I fly off into a manic whirlwind of getting things done. And I will ask for help. 


Do you feel like there is a lesson you need to learn? How do you know what the lesson even is?




x Gillian for Tessie Designs

Exciting Tessie news!!

To make room for our lovely new creations,

We are reducing our prices on all items in our Etsy Store!!!

Our signature Messenger Bags have been reduced from $60 to $30 and our super cute Mini Bags are down form $20 to $10.  How cool is that!

Claire Messenger  Bag
now $30

Anna Messenger  Bag
now $30 

Bernie Mini Bag
now $10 

AND all our cute little animals are reduced too!

Supe cute little
Tessie fabric Owl
now $10

Elephant!
now $20

Mr Blue Monkey now $15

The Sale will continue until the  9th July, when all remaining Etsy Stock will be available at the Mamma's Markets! 

Stay tuned for some upcoming Special Offers for the Mamma's Markets

Come over to the Etsy Store to check out the full range of products in the Tessie Sale!!!

x Gillian for Tessie Designs

Elephant!!

It's totally an ELEPHANT!!

I have had a great time making this little guy. He is the most complex animal I have atempted so far and I couldn't be more pleased wiht the result! He is available over in the Etsy Shop.

He kind of reminds me of the Elephant in the Peter Sellers film The Party. Birdee Num Num.

And in other VERY EXCITING NEWS......

I bought a sewing machine!!! I know! I can't believe it either. It's a beautiful thing and I cannot wait to learn how to use it!!!! 

I will be raiding Mum's uber-sewing brain and I might even go to a class at the Sewing Centre... hee hee. 

I have slightly moved away from my girls and fabric design for the moment, and I sometimes wonder.. Who am I? All I know is that my creativity and drive takes me where it wants to go, and if I am smart, I just follow it and enjoy the ride!

X Gillian for Tessie Designs

monkey magic....

Mr Monkey has moved in over at the Etsy Store! I am really happy with him. Who would have thought that felt animals would make me so creatively satisfied!

Although he is certainly no 'Born from an egg on a mountaintop' Monkey Magic kinda monkey, he does remind me of Toowoomba in the early eighties, when me and me two sisters would sit on the pool room watching 'Monkey'. I always wondered why such a bizarre show captured our generations imaginations so much- a crazy monkey-man escorting a she-boy priest on magical quests, riding  a pet cloud?! And don't get me started on the  sissy fish-man and a sleazy pig-guy?!?!  But we loved it.

We loved anything that was on the ABC at 6.00 weeknights. Whether it was Monkey or the Goodies, or Dr Who. We loved TV. We watched a lot of TV... but now I credit that for my savant-like TriviaBrain... filled with pop culture references and obscure facts. I don't need Google. Ask Me. Ask Me the name of Gargamel's Cat on the Smurfs. Ask me the actress who played Jennifer on 'Family Ties'. Ask me to name all the spin off series from Happy Days (there are more than you think!)....

No, it doesn't matter. No, it's not important. But, shit it makes me feel smart in a post modern-useless-lame kinda way!

What's New Pussycat?

Pussycat, Pussycat,

 I've got flowers

And lots of hours to spend with you...

This new little guy has just moved in over at the shop. I hope the girls and the owls are being nice to him.......

New Cat! This guy is up in the Etsy Shop. I like him heaps. I think like I'm getting the feel for sewing. I might even buy a sewing machine soon!!!

And how cute is his bum!!

Lovely Sunday

Discussing how awesome Owls are...

I am reviewing books for The Circle Book Club... 
trying to get a pic with me, 2 babies and the Feb book- difficult!!!

Eli rocking the Electric Trampoline Look

Customised Eli Owl

Customised Jasper Owl

Lady with Bag

Jasper and Owl in the Garden

Lady and Bag in Tree

Lovely husband and I walking beside the Brisbane River....
I'm still a bit scared of it

Owls having a coffee at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs

Daddy and monkeys

Me and Awesome Teenager