two days flick by

spotted this under Queens Bridge whilst walking to
the tram... Nemo washed up in Melbourne city!

the divine Drawn From Fashion exhibit... the artwork
on the left is by the very talented Pilgrim of Draw! Pilgrim

a snippet of the delights at Finders Keepers Melbourne Market

the beauty of paper pyramids hanging above the
market by the Paper Convention Collective

Fish Taco... you have to try one from the Taco Truck

hung out with the kid at our local park

watching the Toxic Avengers at the Roller Derby... smash!

picking the sunflowers in our back yard and eating
the fresh seeds... yum. I use to do this as a kid

Just a glimpse of what I got up to over the weekend with this little lady... did you go to Finders Keepers?  If so, what did you buy?  What was your favourite stall?

my creative space: shhh

Hello lovelies

I hope you've been keeping well. Unfortunately our household has been infiltrated with germs of different kinds.  I've been off work for 3 days this week.  Some strange head-spinning-nausea-inducing virus. But thanks to the power of antibiotics, I'm on the mend.

So this week my creative space is coming along a little slowly, but I've been working on a quiet book custom order in the last week. I really can't wait to finish it and get it off to my customer for it to be gifted to her godson. 

In need of more inspiration? Make sure you head over to Kootoyoo to check out what other talented crafty-folk are working on.  Last Thursday 195 people shared their creative spaces!  Maybe you would like to share what you're working on too.

P.S. did you get the "shhh" title reference of this post? Quiet Book... get it. Ok. I'll stop now. 

Tuesday's Temptations: Down To The Woods

It's been a while since I brought you an instalment of Tuesday's Temptations, but I haven't heard anyone complain so I'm not sure if you've missed it.  Do leave me a comment to let me know if you enjoy reading about new shops every Tuesday.  If I get a positive response, I'll keep bringing you highlights of awesome online stores... but no point pestering you all with things you're not interested in.

Now that I've gotten my little rant over and done with, I would like to move onto today's instalment of Tuesday's Temptations...

I was a the Magnolia Square market at St Kilda Town Hall a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a very delightful stall and it's equally delightful stall-holder Amber.  Down to the Woods is the name and whimsy is the game.  My eye was first caught by their range of paper paraphernalia which includes interactive cards and vintage-inspired children's' books.

Such as this one; Say hello to the sweetest Red Riding Book ever...

On the surface it looks like a fairly normal book.  Sure, the book has been cut to follow the outline of red riding hoods face, but other than that it looks like a standard book... until you open the first page.

You quite literally peel away the layers of red riding hoods face with each page you turn. In this one the bonnet forms the first page of the book. Clever.

And in this one, Red Riding Hood loses her eye as the page is turned.  The illustrations are really enchanting and the book is actually a reproduction of an original book - year unknown.

Down to the Woods also create these great freckle rugs made from felted balls. Not only are they colourful and extremely tactile, they are made from a natural material - pure wool.  Great for kids rooms or to use as a designated play area for your kidlets.

image via Down to the Woods

And then there's also their range of lamps... they are created with kids in mind, but heck, I would be happy to have one of these in my living room. Very happy.

Lamps via Down to the Woods

There are many gorgeous shops popping up all over the place (on and offline), but Down to the Woods is by far one of the sweetest shops around with a unique offering of gifts and accessories for kids and their rooms.

Or if you're a big kid like me, you'll be coveting some of their delights for yourself.

Don't forget to leave me a comment if you would like me to continue on with Tuesday's Temptations.  Otherwise we will bid farewell to the series.

a week's worth of cute shopping finds

It's been a busy week this past week with my husband being sick with pharyngitis, my son having a cold and my workplace being really crazy in the lead-up to a trade show.  So I haven't gotten around to blogging. I've been physically exhausted.  And right this moment I'm laying on the couch with my laptop in my lap, so exhausted and potentially coming down with a case of pharyngitis myself.

But somehow amongst all the busy, I've managed to find time to do some fun shopping.  It was pay week last week and because I get paid monthly (honestly, who does that!?) I went a little crazy buying some cute things.  Here's my week in photos...

Bought some rather cute lunch containers from Daiso

can you believe these containers are only $2.80?

my son picked this one for himself

"I wish it is a good day today"

a cute Japanese sticker book for my son, also from Daiso
and also only $2.80

while at the register at Daiso, they had cans of drink...
How could I resist the cuteness? 2 for $2.80. This one
was a clear apple juice. yum.

so happy to find out that IKEA now sells linen in their
fabric department. I love IKEA fabric.

I found some cute books at my local Salvo's store.

some of the sweet illustrations from
Tiptoes the  Mischievous Kitten from 1949

another one from Tiptoes

and one of the pages from Miss Petticoat, Time for Play
from 1982. Sweet.

and this little cutie, I actually won from this lovely lady
who ran a giveaway on her blog. I purchased lots of
coloured felt from Spotlight yesterday and I'm in the process of
making my first Japanese felt animal. I will of course be sharing
pics when it's complete.

whilst buying felt, I stumbled upon this delightful 'home'
tea infuser at Spotlight.

My heart has been crying for the people of Japan these past 2 days and I can only send my thoughts and condolences to the nation of Japan for a speedy recovery.  I fear for what is happening to our world at the moment and hope things don't get any worse.

Stay safe my lovelies.

shelf life

I like Kirsty, too like snooping. Just a little though. And not in that weird, awkward, I-just-got-caught-going-through-someone's-bathroom-medicine-cabinet-way. I like to see what people fill their homes with, what they read, how they display items, if they have a natural eclectic style or a more clean, a-home-for-everything manner.

So today I'm playing along and allowing you to have a little snoop in one area within my bookshelf.  Very appropriately, I've focused on the creative nook!

Some of my faves:

Amsterdam Made by Hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter

Collage Discovery Workshop - Beyond the Unexpected by Claudine Hellmuth

Handmade Hellos by By Eunice Moyle and Sabrina Moyle

For a glimpse into other people's shelves and homes, check out Kootoyoo