maeve + me

Some of you may have seen a wall post about this on my Handmade Romance Facebook page however sometimes I forget not everyone is on Facebook. Right? If this includes you I also wanted to share the news that there is a tale from me in the very wonderful pages of the latest Maeve magazine. Scroll along to page 118 to see...it may take a while, there is so much goodness in these pages!

the circus 1870s-1950s

This book is called, The Circus : 1870's—1950s, by Noel Daniel. Published by Taschen, with text in English, French and German. Its huge! While some images are unsettling — like the dancing bears — it contains a fascinating, historical look at an industry of entertainment like no other.  

I was extremely lucky to have received this book as a surprise gift after completing The Traveling Circus window at Craft Victoria earlier this year. Amazing right?! I know!! Each time I look through it's pages I discover new things. The layers of detail in the photos are captivating.

patch play

After seeing Karen Barbé's gorgeous, creative mending post about a month ago I couldn't resist weaving a little patch myself. Since I haven't done anything like this before I decided to play with leftover wool first. My tension is varied which I think disfigured the shape once I took it off the card however I had fun playing with colourways and the soothing motion of weaving has left me wanting more!

etsy seven

It's been a few weeks since I did my last Etsy 7 so I thought it was about time to share a few more of my favourites. While searching through them I noticed there were quite a few animals so I decided to give this Etsy 7 an animal theme. Enjoy.

1. Long Necked Dottie

2. Miniature one-of-a-kind art dolls

3. Black Bear Brooch

4. Polar Bear Pin

5. Folk Art Pup

6. Bear Pot Holder

7. Big Cat in a Little House brooch

the art of the brick

More shenanigans from last weekend. If you are in Melbourne and around Federation Square looking for something to do you could pop in to The Art of the Brick. There are some pretty fabulous creations of Melbourne landmarks and an extraordinary dinosaur skeleton to cast your eyes over! I wonder how these are transported and installed?! So ace!

Photos from phone — apologies for low quality.

sunday

We spent Sunday lunch for my brother's birthday looking at this view! What a relaxing place to be. And a surprise visit from my parents (who live some 500km away) made an even more special day.

hatching

Here are a couple of treats I picked up at Craft Victoria's, Craft Hatch market on the weekend. Knitted wrist warmers from Reckless Exuberance which have a cute and colourful, fimo button. A speckled Egg Brooch by Hand Drawn House — I couldn't pass this one up it reminded me of my childhood. My brothers and I would often find very similar looking eggs in birds nest in our parents front yard.

The two colour zine featuring all sorts of detailed bird illustrations and other things was from my wonderful husband, this wasn't from Craft Hatch but from Sticky Institute on Degraves Street. This was a, I miss you and thanks for putting up with me working late all week kind-of gift.

sweet like honey

This DIY Candle Making Kit is a product from work — one that I couldn't resist making at home. The beeswax sheets are divine and because they are all natural they are non-toxic too! This fun little kit comes with six 100% pure beeswax sheets and cotton wick plus instructions on how to make candles of all different shapes and sizes. For the candle you see above I cut three sheets in half then joined them together along the shortest edge. Now I have three more sheets left... hmm what to make next? Perhaps some small, skinny birthday candles. After-all it is my brother's birthday this week!

baked

 The half-baked blokes are finally done.

weekend

Little kitters on the windowsill this weekend, before the rain.