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.

Tuesday's Temptations: My Poppet

If you're looking for my giveaway, it's just over here

Hello lovelies and welcome to the last of the Tuesdays' Temptations series for 2010.  Today we take a little tour of lovely Melbourne-based Cinti's online shop called My Poppet.  It embraces divine things for little ones made from new and vintage materials.  And it is in absolute delight.  If you're stuck for a gift idea for an upcoming child's birthday or special occasion, I urge you to visit My Poppet and have a look around.  And the best part? There's a price-point to suit everyone's budget!

Here's a selection of some of my fave items.  It was difficult to select only a few to share with you!


crochet bunting



needle felted bunny... so adorable!



soft toy houses



set of 5 japanese paper balloons



felted macaroon's play food



retro christmas stockings

I hope you enjoy shopping at My Poppet.  There's a great selection of unique gift ideas, that's for sure. I will recommence Tuesday's Temptations on Tuesday the 4th of January after the silly season is behind us!

All images are care of My Poppet

Until then, happy shopping dears.

Tuesday's Temptations: Little Shop of Handmade

Who can resist shopping locally.  It's the environmentally friendlier shopping option, it means you're supporting local trade and it's ace to have somewhere nice to shop for pressies without travelling over the other side of town.  Of course, for some that's not always possible.  But with Little Shop Of Handmade, which is local for me, you have the option to buy online if you're not a local. And with categories such as "dude stuff" and "for the little people" how could you resist!?


Bec is the owner of Little Shop of Handmade and she is a tops lady, I have to say.  Her shops' mantra is that it has to be handmade, it has to be made locally (Melb designers only) and everything in the store is under $50.  Yep, that's right. EVERYTHING is under $50.  Bargains galore indeed.


Here's a little sample of some of my fave things from some of the bestest Melbourne peeps around.  Maybe you might find something you'd like to give to someone for Christmas or maybe you'd like to add something to your own wishlist.

Toadstool phone pouch by Rabbit and the Duck

ABC Craft Panel by Auntie Cookie

Birdy Duo Brooch Set by LSO



Tea Sipping Bunny Brooch by Bramble and Bear



Doily Pendant by LSO

 

Baby Bird Ornament by Pirdy

Owl Softie Kit by Harvest Textiles

And remember... everything you've seen on Tuesday's Temptations today is under $50.  Plus there's so much more. So head on over to Little Shop of Handmade's online store and take a looksie around.  You can find some of our softies there too!
Until next Tuesday, that’s today’s temptations wrapped up.


Happy shopping dears.

Tuesday's Temptations: ModCloth

Welcome to the tuesday's temptations series.  If you missed my last post in this series (which also happens to be the first), you can read it over here.


Squee... that's the sound I make whenever I jump onto ModCloth's website.  I want to buy so many lovely pieces from their online store. 'Mod, Indie, Retro and Vintage Clothing' is their tagline, so it gives you a good indication of the kinds of pieces your likely to find when browsing through their many collections.


What do I like about it most?  Well, there are lots of different styles all under the one roof (so to speak) and despite being U.S. based, they ship internationally - always a bonus for us Aussie folks.


You know what they say: A picture is worth a thousand words, so without further delay, here's a selection of my fave pieces (images all courtesy of Mod Cloth of course).

Soda Fountain Dress in Ginger



Tied up in Oslo Dress



Family Recipe Dress



Croquet Champ Top



In the Marketplace Skirt



Beach Blanket Bingo One Piece Bathing Suit



Pardon Me, Boys Dress

So, do any of these little beauties take your fancy? Or maybe they're not quite your style. There's lots more over here!

Until next Tuesday, that’s today’s temptations wrapped up.

Happy shopping dears.

Tuesday's Temptations: Made590

Hello my lovelies. 

Are you getting into the swing of this week?  I certainly am, but I’m also looking forward to the weekend already.  And it’s only Tuesday which is not a good sign of escalating exhaustion of the working week already.

Starting today and every Tuesday from now on, you will find a little feature on this blog called Tuesday’s Temptations. 

Each Tuesday I will be featuring an online shop that sells items which are either: indie, handmade, kitsch, vintage, cute, unique, quirky or the like.  I personally know that there are so many wonderful shops online these days that it’s difficult to be across even a small portion of them.  And with most of us being as time-poor as we are, it’s next to impossible to get out to retail to find that special gift unless we schedule a dedicated timeslot.

I know that I’m personally turning more and more to online shopping for these reasons:

• It’s convenient
• You can do it at any hour of the day or night
• There’s a greater variety online and you’re not limited to chain stores and mass produced plastic paraphernalia
• You can do it from the comfort of your couch (or bed!)
• There are no screaming children or prams to contend with
• If you weigh up petrol, parking stress, shopping time and getting a “snack” while you’re in a shopping centre the cost of postage is comparable
• You can find things online that you wouldn’t find in shops
• It’s delivered straight to your door – sometimes even with a smile if you have a nice postie or courier driver!

So if you’ve never tried it, I urge you to.  Just make sure you are shopping from a secure site which has a locked or encrypted session.  If they offer Paypal as a payment option, that’s even better.

So, let’s get to it with the first online shop spotlight in the Tuesday’s Temptations series... Made590

Made590 is one of those online shops I seem to keep running into whilst engaging in online surfing.  I ran into their stall at Finders Keepers first Melbourne market at the start of October and could not resist.  I had been eyeing off their little red riding hood tea set online, unfortunately (or is that fortunately) they didn’t have any at the market.  However I did end up purchasing an owl statue covered in (chicken) feathers – it’s so realistic looking that when I brought it home, my son backed away as I pulled it out of the box, scared that it was going to attack him!

Apart from owls, they have a range of miniature and larger animal figures and mounted animal heads that will blow you away.  I especially like the Jakalope heads.  Not real, but so adorable.  They use goat fur or chicken feathers to cover the animals making them look realistic.  Simply pat-a-licious if you ask me.

There are home wares, clothing for women and men, jewellery and lots of other giftable goodies.  Here are some of my faves.

Kirie Bamboo clock

Fake Jackalope Head

Little Red Riding Hood Tea Set

Envy print by Hidden Eloise

Three in the Bed wooden brooch

Make sure you check out all their other goodies.  You might find something that’s totally gift-worthy for Christmas!

Until next Tuesday, that’s today’s temptations wrapped up. 

Happy shopping dears.