spring in my step

I'm excited to say that spring is popping up all around my yard. And I took photographic evidence over the weekend.  I'm really lucky to have my favourite flowers - cherry blossoms - growing in my front and back yard.  Sadly they don't seem to get a whole lot of sunlight, so they have been late bloomers in my hood.

I'm sure my neighbour thought I was a little strange when I stood out in my front yard with my long-lensed-digital SLR taking macro shots of my cherry blossoms.  Oh well.  There is only so much time to capture cherry blossoms.  Maybe that's why I love them so much.  They are beautiful but very illusive.

I've been preparing for the next market which is on this Saturday in Daylesford. Unfortunately I'll be missing out on the two screenings of Making it Handmade on in Melbourne.  Again.  It was on at MIFF and of course it sold out rather quickly.  All you crafty folk were super quick to snap up tickets.

But Saturday at the market will be great.  It's my last market before we head off to Europe for 3 weeks holiday and my 30th.  Ooh, I'm rather excited. Oui.

I have been making lots of softie goodies which will be on offer at Daylesford Makers Market on Saturday. And I've got some new goodies which I've been working on thanks to the help of my beloved.  Like this adorable hand-sized bandit bunny rattle.

So, take advantage of the first weekend of spring and do something nice this weekend.  And don't forget your dad's on Sunday!

P.S. did you know that we're on Facebook and Twitter now.  So if you like, you can join us there too.

my creative space: summer skirt

In a desperate attempt to summons the sun and a little more warmth to Melbourne, I've been whipping up a cute summer skirt this week (in between bouts of feeling winter germs).

I'm up to the tricky part.  Pinning the waistband to the tutu-like body of the skirt before sewing them together to complete the skirt.  It requires concentration and this week has not been a good one for that.

Check out more creative space goodness here.

trash & treasure: camberwell markets and local salvos

Did you have a lovely weekend?  I did.  I went to Camberwell Markets on Sunday.  It was a glorious sunshiny day which was welcomed by all Melbournians with open arms. The people of Melbourne swarmed to the flea market more so than usual.

I picked myself up some bargains.  Yes sirree I did. I love a good Golden Book.  These ones cost a little more than I usually spend on Golden Books, but they were worth it.  I haven't seen most of them before.  $20 for 6 books.

he does look busy, doesn't he?

I wonder if this is a nice way to broach the subject of adoption?

how could I pass up an angry-looking Little Red?

I swear that "dolly" just moved... are you sure that's a dolly?

where can I get a child such as these ones?  I'm not greedy. I only need one. Someone else can keep the other one. But I want the girl.

well, we all gotta start somewhere.  Lookin' is a good place to start.

Then I spotted this crate.  I almost kept walking, but I convinced myself to stop for a lookie.  When the lady told me all she wanted was $1 for the crate, how could I say no? I shall clean her up and use her to display some softies at the next market.

And then today I popped out to the post office on my lunch break and walked passed the local Salvo's store.  How could I resist? I popped in quickly and walked out just as quick with this beauty for only 99c!

I can't believe I found this little gem.  It's a panel of sheer fabric with a pair of ducks and some gorgeous flowers hand embroidered.  It is DIVINE.  I think I'm going to turn it into a cushion.  What do you think?

Did you find yourself some bargains on the weekend?

my creative space: bunting goodness

Amongst the softies which I've been working on for the next market, this week I've been making some bunting for a photographer friend in Brisbane.  She's doing a photo shoot in the botanic gardens with some girls and will be using the bunting to string up between trees.

The bunting flags have been cut, sewed, clipped, turned and pressed.  They're ready to be sewn into some peach-coloured bias tape.  That's a job for later today.  After I vote and make a visit to my local Spotlight store for some more craft supplies for other projects.

For other creative spaces, visit over here

trash & treasure: vintage magazines

I’ve been meaning to share these amazing magazine covers for a few weeks now.  I picked these up on a recent trip to Daylesford, better known as spa country.  Although every time I go out there I don’t actually get around to indulging in day-spa activities.  Must look into that.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when we walked into a second hand furniture shop and I spotted a mountain of these babies sitting on an old lounge chair.  There would have been at least a hundred there.  And they were having a closing down sale so I got them for $1 each.  Now that I look back on it, I can’t believe that I only bought 5 of them.  But at the time I thought 5 was enough.

I haven’t figured out exactly what I’m going to do with them just yet, but I’m thinking about framing and hanging them up in a collection.  They are so freakin’ awesome and in my opinion displaying them in some plain black frames would be the best way to put them to good use.  What do you think?  Leave me a comment with suggestions if you have any.

I love the horror movie poster looking one with the bold title of "I SAW HER DIE".  But it’s so hard to pick a favourite.  They are all awesome in their own way.  With titles such as Oracle, Glamour and Miracle, how could you not adore them?

Which cover is your favourite?

the weekend

 

The weekend was great.  How was yours?

I spent solid 12 hours on Saturday sewing like a crazy person and putting lots of finishing touches on stock and merchandise for our stall at Craft Hatch markets which were held in Melbourne's Federation Square on Sunday.  And I don't think I could have gotten through it without my beloved.  He fed me, stuffed softies and just generally rode me to make sure I stayed on top of all the little jobs that needed to be completed.  I'm a lucky gal.

Market day came around and there was lots of tea, giggles, people watching, eating and (luckily) sales!  I'm so thankful that I had the help of my very lovely and super kind friend Katie.  She proved invaluable not only in the lead up to market day (she cut lots of arms and legs out of fabric for sofites) but also on the day - toilet breaks are fantastic when you don't have to sprint there and back!  She was a pro at selling and engaging in chit-chat with customers... something I'm not really all that good at.

We met so many lovely stallholders.  And it made me realise that gee I'm lucky to be part of such a fabulous craft community that resides within Melbourne.

There were so many gorgeous wares being showcased and snapped up on the day.  Here are just a few of my faves...

Morgan Wills

Morgan Wills - Mumma & Baby Bushka

 

This lady is a craft powerhouse.  She had completed a 3 day stint at Magnolia Square market which finished on Saturday, then she had Craft Hatch on Sunday and was off to bump-in for a trade show on Monday which runs until Friday.  My goodness.  I was exhausted just thinking about it!

If you haven't already stumbled across her gorgeous Mumma & Baby Bushka dolls then you simply MUST jump on over to her online shop.

Little Madam

coats for your little madam

Do you have a little madam of your own at home?  Well then you're going to adore these stylish 50's inspired coats which Fiona makes for deserving little precious ones.

Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends - potted cactus

I wish I could crochet like this amazing lady.  Have you ever seen anything so devine?  Her little pots of cactus are so adorable.  I bought one for Katie as a little gift.  Too cute.  Odds & Ends also does a range of handmade pieces created from found, recycled, vintage & interesting objects.

Handmade Romance

Handmade Romance - Bow Tie Boys

These little gentlemen softies would make the most perfect partners for my dolly softies.  I think there could be this whole little speed dating scenario where my dolly softies could meet up with Handmade Romance's Bow Tie Boys and they could all choose their suitors at the end of the night.  What a great visual.  Softie Speed Dating!

Thanks to Craft Victoria for putting on such a great market!  Make sure you check out their program of crafty goodness on over the next few weeks called Craft Cubed.

So, how was your weekend?  Did you make anything?

another happy customer

I recently caught up with my friend Bel and her gorgeous daughter Lola.  Of course I couldn’t come empty handed, because it was the first time I was getting to meet Miss Lola.  I carefully thought about which softie from my stash of ready-for-the-markets-softies would be just perfect for Lola... and Matilda was certainly the winner.  Well it seems that Miss Lola thinks so too.  Bel texted me this photo the other day saying that Matilda is her favourite toy and she regularly enjoys chewing on her ears, arms and legs.

Cutie pie!

domino effect, doubt and dilemma

It’s funny that we as humans have this natural tendency to think or feel that sometimes we are not worthy of compliments or positive attention relating to the output of something which we’ve put our heart and soul into.  This statement relates on both a professional and personal level.  We work so hard and put so much time into some things and I think that when we are so engrained and close to a project we lose sight of just how fantastic it might actually be to others.  Because it is our blood sweat and tears, our baby so to speak, we start having doubts that maybe no-one else will like what we’ve done.  Maybe they’ll even hate it.

I think that we just need to have a little faith in ourselves.  Am I speaking about myself you ask?  Yes.  I am.  But knowing that I feel like this occasionally, makes me wonder how many of you feel like this too?  Maybe you’ve put in a lot of time on a big personal project, a handmade gift for a friend or family member, a new range for your craft business, a work project which will see your efforts paraded in front of many important people on a professional level or even a business idea that you are engrossed in but don’t know if others will see value in it?

Well stop right there.  Yes, sometimes our ideas can be a little left-of-field, but I think that’s what inspires others – whether you know it or not.  Your project might inspire another person in a way you never imagined or lead them down a similar path with a very different outcome.  It’s kinda like a domino effect you know.  Our actions, opinions and words regularly impact how others think and in turn can spawn a new idea.

Pip is a fine example of this.  She is always posting about topics which get people thinking.  Her post today on effective blogging, has made me think twice about my own blog.  Pip mentioned lots of things such as be yourself, don’t be fake, talk about things that interest you, share the blogosphere love and be consistent.  I’d like to say that I tick all of the boxes except for the consistency one.  And it’s not because I don’t want to be consistent in my posting frequency, it’s that sometimes I find it impossible - ok impossible is not the right word, because nothing is impossible – I think “not achievable” is a better fit.  You know life gets in the way.   And I’m constantly admiring people such as Pip who can run a business, keep up blogging, twittering, Facebook, inspiring others, writing books, guest speaking, cooking and keeping house and still finding time to make things and spend time with family and friends.  Amazing!

Now, back to where I started.  Have faith in what you do and what you put out.  If you like it, there will be others out there who will no doubt like it too.  Everyone has different tastes and styles and it constantly amazes me to see what sells at markets and what doesn’t.  Sometimes I’ll make something that’s bordering on what I consider to be too quirky and I think to myself “I don’t know if I should put this out to sell”.  Low and behold, it’s one of the first items to sell.  Different people like different things.  There is an inevitable concentration of the trend-following consumers who like the latest trendy things.  But there are also lots of people who like unique, one-off, thought-out, quirky, handmade gifts.

I find it rather funny that I’m giving myself advice through my own blog.  Crazy lady signing out.