new stockist

Handmade Romance goodies are now being stocked at Craft Victoria, Flinders Lane Melbourne! I am so excited to be stocked amongst so many other wonderful creations. The above pic is some stock delivered to Craft Victoria a couple of days ago. More to come, I will keep you posted... bow-ties could be involved!!

Oh and some of you may have noted something new above - the little animal faces. These are my new little Friendly Pets, they come as cats, dogs and bunnies. Their faces are drawn with fabric marker and extra embroidery details have been added, by hand making each one unique!

Don't forget today is also your last chance to enter the giveaway. Quick sticks!

greetings

Hand made cards from last week. I have also been working on our wedding invite which I will show you a sneak peek of soon!

Be quick! My 2 year blogosphere birthday giveaway closes at the end of tomorrow. You can still enter by leaving a comment over here.

 

sunshine where are you?

image from here 

How sweet is this little crocheted watermelon? He reminds me of Summer. Oh how nice that would be if it was Summer right now. It feels like its been an extra long and cold winter in these parts.

lazymuse

images from here

These guys stopped me in my tracks when they popped up on my screen. I was searching for something on Etsy, I can no longer remember what, anyway I think they are pretty darn AMAZING! Crocheted siamese cats and bunnies, a raccoon in thongs!! There is even a goat with a goatie! Lazymuse you are one creator after my own heart. Your little creatures had me smiling for ages.

For more check out Lazymuse's blog.

Don't forget I have a giveaway on at the moment. If you'd like to enter leave a comment over here. 
 

average to awesome

Today started off like any average working day, then a few good events along the way turned it in to a pretty friggin' awesome one! 

The good bits went something like this;

Found a forgotten 2 bucks in my coat pocket. Extra coinage for morning coffee - bonus!

The husbie to be turned up at work unannounced with a cupcake in hand after finding out I hadn't celebrated my 2 year blog anniversary by eating cake, like I mentioned below. Sweet! I knew there was a reason I was marrying this guy!

A sneaky, yet very lovely office roomie had a hand in this. Needless to say I was stoked. Who'd have thought a shabby bearded bloke would end up on oh-so-pretty, Michi Girl!

And tonight I got news a family member who is unwell is responding to treatment. More hope for a full recovery! YAY!!

How was your day?

Oh and I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who has commented below. Some really good constructive suggestions. I am listening. And I always like it when new names pop up in the comments because then I get to discover wonderful places I may not have visited yet. So, please don't be shy leave a comment I'd love to visit you! (And if you comment on the post below you could WIN!)

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 YAY!! Today is my 2 year blogosphere birthday.  

I can't believe I have made it this far. So much has happened in the past two years and I have met so many wonderful people through this blog. Opportunities I have been given that I wouldn't have otherwise. To celebrate I am having a little giveaway for all of my wonderful readers. 

Up for grabs will be a copy of The Suitcase Series, Volume One - Camilla Engman. I love this book, it is full of wonderful treasures. I know because I have a copy all for myself too! 

Also included in this birthday giveaway will be one of my Profile Peeps brooches and some other crafty treats.

To enter leave a comment below and tell me what you would like to see more of on this blog. You have until next Tuesday 31 August to enter. The winner will be announced the following day. 

Hmm I wonder if this means I can eat cake today...
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captain cat

all images from here

Captain Cat are a creative duo currently living in Portland and they are responsible for creating these wonderfully unique paper mache, animal masks. All handmade and from recycled materials!

book cover love

image from here

 Is it October already?

No. 

Drats. I'm really looking forward to this book release. Especially since the fox quilt on the cover is so darn adorable... what could possibly await inside?!

bearded bloke has body!

This little, Bearded Bloke softie was made last week for a dear friend. It's a mini-me of her husband to be, whom she will be marrying in under four weeks! This is the first full bodied Bearded Bloke I have made. While it was lots of fun, given he was meant to look like my friend's fiance I was a little nervous handing him over. What if she thought he looked nothing like her beloved...?! Luckily this little guy was a big hit and she got the resemblance straight away! The outfit is based on a photo of him right down to his thongs which got a few giggles! 

Hehe I didn't realise this thong wearer was sitting right next to a book titled, Pure Style until I uploaded the pic.

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I have recently updated my shop with some Bearded Bloke brooches.
More shop updates coming soon.

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under the sea

I like to be under the sea, a new Etsy Treasury by me!  
 These are so fun to make even when I know there are a million other things I should be doing right now - oops!

away with the clouds

These sweet, sterling silver earrings titled, Away With the Clouds were made by hand, by the talented Christina Lowry. I am so glad Christina recently decided to make and sell her designs again as these studs in particular are just what I had been looking for! And if you purchase some, your package may come cutely wrapped like this too!

maeve + giveaway

The latest issue of online magazine Maeve came out this Wednesday and it is chock full of fantastic things to read, look at and win! 

 I am still reading through the articles and even though I am not a mum - their main target audience, I really enjoy this mag. I think I am going through a stage where I am hearing a lot of negative things about being a Mum - women chatting and whinging about all the things they have given up to become mothers, the sleepless nights etc. Well to be honest all of that negativity scares and at the same time annoys me. Im already scared enough about becoming a mother and if I don't start hearing more positive things about motherhood I may just give it a miss. Ok so I've gone off track a bit here and I could probably write a whole post on being in two minds over motherhood. What I wanted to say is how positive Maeve mag is about motherhood and being a women in general. The content is creative, inspiring and honest which is refreshing. This is only issue two and hopefully there will be many more.

In this issue I am really enjoying photography by Ulrika Kullenberg (starts pg 10). For the Love of Shadows. Ulrika writes, '...sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who notices the shadows. No one else seeks them like I do. Sometimes the shadow is even more beautiful than the object itself.' I love this and I have a crazy vision of Ulrika the Shadow Hunter, dressed in black, like a shadow and with the ability to turn invisible when the sun goes behind a cloud!

There is a fantastic story on Operation Beautiful, pages 17-20. A simple act of leaving a kind note to cheer up someones day or even change a life which all started by a women in Florida who, herself was having a bad day.

Little Gallery on pages 93 - 104 by Belinda from Gretchenmist. We share a love for the colour green.

And in the giveaway section (pg 157) you could win one of my Little Indie Girl brooches! YAY!

all images (except second last) from here

 

heart breakers

On my way home from work today Two Door Cinema Club were playing on the radio covering Simon and Garfunkel's song, Cecilia which I now have stuck in my head.

You might know the song..? 

There is a line in it that goes, 'C e c i l i a, you're breaking my heart...'

Thats exactly what these two creatures from softie creator Tania of Ninon are doing to me! Although no one called Cecilia here just fabulous characters such as Gino Ciboulettes The Gardenrer and Wino Peppercuppen!!

market wrap up

Yesterday's Craft Hatch market at Fed Square was heaps of fun. There were so many great stalls and it was really nice to get to meet the other makers and interact with customers as well. This part was more enjoyable than I was expecting, being pretty shy I thought it was going to be really tough but everyone was so friendly and lovely. Hearing and seeing some of the responses to my work, in person, really made my day. It was great to to get to actually meet some of the people behind blogs I visit too. A special hello to Belinda, Madeline, Michelle and Jess! 

Being my first market I was pretty nervous and a little unsure on how the day was going to go but I think I was extremely lucky to have had this experience as my first market. It was nice and warm given we were protected from the weather, in the most amazing space with a giant Michael Doolan sculpture hanging above our heads. Yummy coffee plus Beer Deluxe were also super close by (this came in handy for my helper when friends stopped by). All a bit much really given there were stories from other stall holders of extreme wind and sunburn experiences at their first markets!

Everyone's stalls were amazing! I really wish I had taken some more pics. Here are a couple I did manage to get however.

And these are treats I took home for myself. 

The little rabbit trinket box and bird brooch were both made by Amy from The Moby Duck. I was lucky enough to have my stand next to Amy who is the biggest sweetheart. Her wonderfully colourful and sometimes confused for soap, resin creations are soon going to be available online here. I'm going to be keeping an eye on this. And the clever and witty Fiona from Odd One Out made the sweet, retro caravan brooch. Fiona's stand was so much fun, her handmade felt food was amazing, you can see some of it in the pic below - there were fried eggs, vanilla slices, chocolates, jam cookies and a whole pizza!! Fiona stocks her wares online here if you would like to take a closer peek.

pretty dresses

images clockwise from top left
diamond dress, green embroidery dress, blue dress, mocha lace dress

While I'm busy getting myself ready for Sunday's market I thought I'd share some prettiness with you. Prettiness from a place called Etsy!! 

There are so many beautiful dresses on Etsy however given a lot are vintage this means they only come in one size. More often than not, not my size. Damn.

I adore vintage dresses. Do you? Especially from the 40's, 50's and 60's. Perhaps its because of those shapely styles to fit womanly curves! Or because vintage pieces are more unique. I don't know, it's not any one thing. I also love vintage clothing for the quality. Like the saying goes, they just don't make them like they used to! It's true. Well not in my price range anyway.

Where do you like to shop for pretty dresses? Do you like vintage dresses too?

See you Monday - hopefully with pictures from the market!

in progress

I'm still busy making for the Craft Hatch market I'm participating in this weekend. Time wise it is a little bit of a juggle with full time work, however my day job is mostly creating on a computer so I really enjoy the balance from creating by hand.

monstrito

I love this guy! Monstrito Pillow found at Giulia Sagramola on Etsy. I really like the colour themed pics for these pillows too - here is a green one like the black below. Monstrito would make a great addition to my Julia Pott pillow too I reckon. Ah-huh.

image from here