getting prepared for a big market day

I had my first market stall at North Melbourne Markets on Sunday and it went really well.  And instead of recovering this week, I'm straight into producing more stock for Daylesford Makers Market on Saturday. 

If you're going to be in Daylesford for the Daylesford Craft Experience, Lark's garage sale or just relaxing around town, pop on by and say hi! The market will be open from 10am to the extended time of 5pm this Saturday only because of all the crafty happenings!

So there's been a bit of this happening lately in my craft room...

But I'll be back in the land of the blogging next week - I miss talking to (and sometimes with) you guys.  I'll be sharing some pics of my creative workspace... I've been working on it lately, so while it's clean I'll take some photos 'cause you know it won't stay pretty for too long!  I tend to make LOTS of mess when I'm creating.

What have you all been up to lately?  Especially those over the other side of the world where the season is toasty and warm.

inspiration: european cities - week 1 paris

I've posted already about my upcoming trip to Europe in September in honour of my 30th year on this little earth.  I'm super excited and since booking the tickets I can think of nothing but the wonderful 6 destinations which my beloved and I will be visiting. 

And even more so after watching the super-challenge on MasterChef the other night when they visited Paris.  I was in awe.

So over the next 6 weeks, I'm going to share inspiration from each of the 6 cities which we'll be travelling to in September.

This week we start with the one I'm most excited about... Paris!

1. Carrousel print by irenesuchocki
2. Un Billet pour Paris zine by picklelinette
3. Paris made by Hand Book by Pia Jane Bijkerk
4. Pair of Paris pillow covers by wordgarden
5. La Poule Blanche print by honeytree
6. Silver bike knuckle ring by luckyduct
7. Croissant bobby pins by PetitPlat
8. Paris Underground book by Caroline Archer & Alexandre Parré
9. Metro de Paris pillow cover by VintageJamie

Stay tuned next Friday for Amsterdam inspiration

Au revoir!

I'm back... sort of

Firstly, apologies for not being around so much lately.  As you may have noticed, I was preparing for the Etsy Craft Party in Melbourne's Fitzroy.  So it all finally happened on Friday night and I have to say I'm chuffed with how many people turned out to celebrate Etsy's birthday as part of worldwide celebrations!

embroidery was by far the most popular craft on the night

a close-up of an embroidery project... how utterly appropriate!

some ladies trying their hand at a cute sewing project...

and here's what they were making.  These cute 'Little Letter Needle Book' kits were offered on the night.  Thanks so much to Kelly Rachel and her fab tutorial on her blog Em Ay Kay Ee {make}.  She kindly allowed me to share her design and make it into pre-made kits for the night.

some bunting to help decorate our creative space for the night 

Tess from Creative Women's Circle crafting up a storm

Lara and Tegan - the ink & spindle ladies engaging in some embroidery, crochet and texting!

lots of laughter

some cute badges thanks to etsy

Thanks to everyone who came on the night.  It was such a fantastic get together and turned out better than I had hoped it would.  If you came on the night, I'd love to hear from you - leave me a comment and let me know if you enjoyed it!

Secondly, I'd love to say that I'm 100% back on board with the blogging, however with limited access to the internet and with 2 markets coming up over the next 2 weekends, I've got plenty of sewing ahead of me.  I will post at least once a week, but won't be able to get to sharing the tutorial I was hoping to share for another couple of weeks.  So stay tuned.

etsy craft party: melbourne flyer

Yay, I'm so excited.  One week tomorrow, the Melbourne Etsy Craft Party will be preparing to host a night of crafting madness at the fabulous Thread Den.

The Melbourne event has also made it into the top 50 events being held globally and has qualified for a box of etsy goodies for us to play with on the night.  Double yay.

If you are coming along on the night, just bring a plate of something to share and BYO beverages should you wish.  I'll have tea, coffee and hot chocolate available on the night, but if you need something a little more red, then please feel free to bring a bottle along.

We have just under 40 people registered to join us on the night, so if you're in the Melbourne area and would like to join the fun, make sure you register your details here.  If you're nowhere near us, I apologise.  You'll be missing a night of pure crafting fun.

Feel, free to share the flyer in this post.  Hope to see some of you there on the night.

trash & treasure: flea market finds

So I know it's Tuesday and I should have posted this on Sunday, but I've been  attending to other matters.  Such as looking after ten little ones and getting ready for the next round of markets - look in the right hand pane under the title "come say hi" to see where I'm going to be selling my wares.

I wanted to share what I purchased at Camberwell Markets on the weekend.

How cute is this working sink in a cupboard?  And only $10.  What a bargain.  I'm going to use it at the markets to display stock.

I couldn't believe when I picked up this 'Goldy' book for $2.  It was published in Melbourne and has the most darling illustrations.  The butterick pattern from the 60's was well spotted by my beloved.  I'm going to attempt to make the dress.  See how I go with that one.

The book was probably inspired by the brood of baby chicks we babysat over the weekend.  My son's childcare has been doing the egg-to-chick thing over the last week.  He was lucky enough to get to take them all home for the weekend.  And me?  Well, I was lucky enough to clean their poop, change their water 3 times a day, handle them and feed them.  Nothing like having an extra 10 kidlets around for the weekend!

Cheep cheep.

For more Flea Market finds go on over to Sophie's

it's in the bag

Some people have a weakness for shoes.  Mine unfortunately is handbags.  My husband tells me frequently that I have too many.  But he can't stop me from window shopping.  Here's a selection of beauties (bags, purses, clutches etc) from etsy for you bag enthusiasts out there.

 Lotus flower modern clutch

naomi collection by Fiazco

Claude II by Ikabags

herringbone laptop messenger by Mariforsell

The Mimi Bag by Starbags

Linen burlap doily bag by queenbee55

Red Sweethaven bag by Needlebook

Happy dreaming my lovelies!

etsy craft party: melbourne location confirmed

I am SUPER excited to announce that the 'etsy craft party' which is being held on the night of Friday June 18 officially has a venue.  The wonderfully kind ladies of Thread Den have graciously agreed to host us for the night.  And they've even asked if they can join in!  Um, yes please!!

So we're now in the process of working through the finer details of the evening.  Things such as: what will we eat?  what will we craft?  where will supplies come from?  name badges? etc.  Fun!  Lucky I'm in between paid jobs at the moment.

So, are you interested in joining us for this one night of craft madness in honour of Etsy's birthday?  Don't be shy!  We don't bite.  Well, not hard, anyway.  No really.  We craft folk are a damn fine bunch of peeps.  And we love sharing, learning, meeting and helping.  So no experience required.  We'll show you how.  And there is one particular lady who's coming who can do just that.  She's a craft whiz to say the least.  But there'll be other crafters too.

If you live in Melbourne and can get yourself to Fitzroy on the night of Friday June 18, then rush yourself off to here and register your name.

You won't be disappointed.  And at the very least you can say you had a good night, met some great people and learned how to craft something.

inspiration: my world according to macro

Have you noticed how a close up photo of any item can look so much more interesting than in its full view?  I find it makes you wonder about what the item actually is... if you don't know already.  It can make you think about things in a different light and appreciate them more.  I heart macro.

P.S. I've been MIA because I haven't had internet at home.  Just finished working last Friday and have been forced to pay for my own internet (previously funded by my employer).  It sucks to pay for the net.  It should be free!