The small stuff

Bubbles, balloons and a bit of chafing...

2010-05-13T10:04:00.003+10:00

The BrisStyle Indie Mother and Child Market was heaps of fun. And my faerie wanderings were also lots of fun. A crackin' day. Happy kids. Lots and lots of lovely handmade goodies. What else could one ask for on an Autumnal Saturday in Brisneyland!!

So I wandered, I blew bubbles at happy toddlers who waved their arms in the air, gave balloons to kids who were sometimes torn between wanting one and not wanting to be approached by a grown-up who looked like they'd got caught in the fairy floss machine; and generally chatted, gave out flyers, and made sure everyone knew about all the extra special things happening on the day (my kids LOVED the badge/pocket mirror making by Red Seed Studio, and the colouring-in competition).

I must also say that the face-painters who were there on the day (Wowee Creations - I can't not give them a plug, I was so impressed with their work) were just fantastic. Having a school-age kid myself I have been witness to a lot of very very average face-painting, so was super-happy to see the amazing professional designs that were being pumped out on the day.

I even indulged myself with some pretty stars!!!

And of course it would be so wrong for the kids to have mum dress up for the day and not dress up themselves. So I made Kate a matching fairy dress-up and Lee donned his 'King' costume, and we all hammed it up as we paraded around the market, trailing a stream of rainbow bubbles in our wake. So much fun!

And surely no mother and child market is complete without a snow cone. I must say, at the end of the day (when the chafing from the wings and the pinching of my shoes was becoming more difficult to ignore) the sour grape snow cone was a yummy and welcome relief.

For more pics of all the amazing stalls and general market pics, visit the BrisStyle blog for their market wrap-up post. And a fairy good day to you all :)

...and I will wander everywhere...

2010-05-02T12:45:00.004+10:00

Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough briar,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,

I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.

I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits, I'll be gone;

My queen and all her elves come here anon!

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Fairy, Scene I

Yes, only seven days until I go a-wandering. As a Faerie. As you do!

I'm currently putting together a costume for the BrisStyle Indie Mother and Child market (next Saturday 8 May). I won't have a stall, but I will be there as the wandering BrisStyle Faerie, handing out balloons, flyers, blowing bubbles, and taking care of the colouring-in table (if you're bringing kiddies make sure you get them to enter the colouring-in competition - there's $25.00 Etsy Vouchers to be won!!!).

I will also be making sure everyone knows about the face-painting, the fairy-floss, the badge-making, the snow-cones, and all other fun that is to be had by children. After all, this market is just as much about the kids as it is about the mums!
And hey, it's a hard gig - dressing up as a faerie and poncing about all day. But I'm doin' it for the kiddies. No really. I am. Ahem..

I will also have a little sprite come and help me for an hour on the day. I consider her my 'faerie in training'. She has already announced herself as the 'Faerie Bubbleblower'. Of course I have made her a woodland faerie head wreath to match my own.

They are super fun to make - if you want to give it a try I suggest you check out this great 'floral head wreath tutorial', or follow these 'head wreath' instructions. However although I did check these out I actually did mine kinda different. In a 'no rules' freeform kinda fashion just using what I already had around. Because being a faerie is all about embracing the random chaotic-ness of nature and creativity. And well, I'm just not that good at following rules anyway...

....oh, and when I grow up, I want to live in this lady's world. If you're not sure whether you can be bothered clicking the link to check it out let me whet your appetite with a sneak peak of just one of her stunning creations (which has provided me with the inspiration for the making of my own faerie costume....on a much smaller scale and budget obviously :)

I'll be back to post an update of the finished costume. Until then, be well human mortals...

Starry starry night

2010-04-29T20:10:00.000+10:00

Well I hope it is a nice starry and balmy Brisbane night tomorrow night, as BrisStyle will be holding its first Twilight market in King George Square in the city!!

I've decided to play it low key and just have a little spot in the Co-op tent, so hopefully I'll get to have a bit of a meander around and soak up all the twinkly atmosphere as I do a wee spot of shopping myself.

The media seems to have really got behind this event, and we've managed to get mentions in some awesome online sites such as Frankie, Yen and Four Thousand. And yours truly also managed to get her mug into the City News with the fabulous Helen (market organiser extraordinaire) as we posed with the Lord Mayor of Brisbane to promote the event.

I think our grins were those of delirium as I was sweating like the preverbial pig and feeling almost light-headed after spending forever setting up a 'pretend' market stall in the middle of King George Square in the middle of the day - sun beating down and surrounded by concrete. "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

So if you're in Brisbane and looking for something to do tomorrow night pop down and say hi - there'll be live jazz, outdoor restaurant eating, and of course all the usual BrisStyle handmade goodness. With added twinkly ambiance :)

Kaleidoscope

2010-02-28T17:08:00.000+10:00

I've been so enjoying working with bursts of colour at the moment.

Made with collectable vintage fabrics combined with organic hemp canvas and reclaimed textiles, these colour-saturated shoulder bags will be available at the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market on Saturday March 6 in Hamilton, Brisbane. 

I must admit I will be a little sad to see them go. My colourful friends. I have enjoyed having you hang about the place...

Clickety click

2010-02-26T15:28:00.001+10:00

Playing with my new camera and the fun Poladroid program. I love how Poladroid makes even the most mundane photos look all nostalgic and interesting. Also love the cool noises it makes, and the way you can 'shake' your polaroid to make it 'develop' faster. I know. Nerd. Eh, might as well own it.

This little series of photos pretty much sums up what's been happening so far this year (minus the kid spews and phlegm hacking....I thoughtfully chose to not take photos of those cheerful events).

One would like to think this photo describes a bit of lazing on the grass in the sun. Well no. Just me trying out my new camera and hoping I didn't get bitten by ants while sitting there.

 
After tripping over these superheroes I decided to take a photo before doing my 'nana at the kids for leaving their toys all over the floor. They look to me like they're having a 'dance off' - breakdance style.

 Went to the GOMA recently to see the The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. Highly recommended. Even Kate loved it!

Don't miss the interactive stuff for kids (and adults!) at the GOMA. It's awesome. 

 Nothing like a workout at the gym to bring on a big cold beer craving. Yep, it's all about healthy living round here...

PS. For anyone who's interested, my new camera is this gorgeous thing:

The Olympus PEN E-P2

It is a digital SLR that is not much bigger than a point and shoot and the shape is based on the traditional rangefinder. Retro goodness with modern capability. I love it!

And now in crafty news...

2010-02-17T13:50:00.000+10:00

I am finally starting to prep for the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market in March. It's rushing up waaaayy too quickly. But isn't it always the case?

So I finally finished some little snap purses.

I also have a few bags waiting to be put together (note to self - must get out and buy magnetic snaps....I can SOOOO see myself finishing these the night before the market).

It's all vintage fabrics in this particular run of shoulder bags - had an urge to get stuck into the collectables this time. I think I've had many of them long enough now that it didn't hurt too much to cut into them ;)

You can check out the work of the many talented BrisStyle members who will be participating in the Autumn BrisStyle market here. I am sure it will be a hoot, as usual. If you do come down make sure you stop and say hi. Friendly faces and happy people are the best part of being involved in markets :)

Rockin' the 80s & the dress that didn't quit...

2010-02-14T09:18:00.002+10:00

Yep, this story starts here, at my 1989 debutante, with 'determined not to smile' pose from me as I endured getting my photo taken. But the story is not about me. It's about 'The Dress'.

Back in 1989, when my friend's mum offered to make my deb dress for me (thank-you Sheila!! And hi Kath :)), I did not head to the one and only sewing shop in town to look for patterns (Bargain Box - are they still around????). Oh no. I went straight to VHS and found my muse in the ever classy and totally classic 'Spaceballs The Movie'. Yep. Here is a picture of the dress that was the inspiration,

and for those may have forgotten the genius that was Spaceballs, here's the great scene where Princess Vespa turns Rambo because someone 'shot her hair'. Gold.

And this what my friend's mum, bless her, had to work with. I gave her the video and said "um...yeah....a dress like that. Please."

So during our Wooli holiday we went to our friend's 40th party. The theme was 1980s Prom. I was lucky that Mum had kept this dress, and I was even luckier that I still fit into it - woo hoo! And now, with the small knowledge I have about sewing, I realise was an amazingly awesome job Sheila did! Even having a close look at the dress, I've now realised that the whole thing was made with a standard sewing machine - no overlocker in evidence! And the finishing is just superb. So much hand-sewing. Amazing!!! Even though I was obviously very thankful to Sheila at the time I think it is a bit of a shame that it has taken me over 20 years to fully appreciate just how lucky I was and how much time must have gone into making the dress.

What is an 80s party without Blue Lagoons. The first ever alcoholic drink I bought in a club. Mmmmm...

Anyway, I definitely appreciated it this time round when I donned my pfouffy meringue-like dress with the V waist and faux-corset, for the 80s party. In fact, not only did I get to feel like a trashy princess (because hey, what's the point of dressing '80s' if you can't trash it up a bit), but apparently I was able to fulfill the '80s Madonna fantasy' that my husband never knew he had. Ha!

I'd like to say that he also fulfilled the 80s bogan fantasty that I never knew I had either, but frankly, that would be a lie...he he....Although I must admit the tight jeans, chucks and aviators were disturbingly appealing...

Lee was of course pumped to be able to go as a transformer - a vintage 80s one of course :P

And Kate looked ridiculously gorgeous with her crimped hair and flashdance outfit!

So I guess there's not much more to say other than 'thanks Sheila' for making the dress, and 'thanks mum', for saving it all these years. I honestly never imagined having the opportunity (or desire) to wear it again, but boy was it fun. And here is a 'before' and 'after' pic of how the dress has stood up over time.

I guess I'll put it back into the trunk now, because who knows - in another 15 years maybe Kate will want to wear it to her debutante....now that would be hellafunny!!!!!

Caffeinated musings

2010-02-09T10:29:00.000+10:00

my Saturday afternoon energy boost

"He was my cream, and I was his coffee -
And when you poured us together, it was something."
~Josephine Baker

Matt makes awesome coffee. He also makes an awesome husband, and last night we sat out on the deck and toasted each other with good red wine and earnest and enthusiastic discussion of the future.

Things are a-changin'. And they're all good :)

Plastic Girl, you are ace!

2010-02-06T07:23:00.001+10:00

I have been a huge fan of Liana Kabel (aka Plastic Girl) since I discovered her work a few years ago. Some people's husbands buy them Tiffany jewellery. My husband buys me Liana Kabel jewellery. Because for starters, her designs are simply gorgeous. They are original and bright and happy, and they are environmentally friendly (think recycled tupperware, vintage knitting needles and reclaimed buttons, sometimes combined with silver for a high-end finish). They are also very recognisable as her work, as she has her own identifiable style, and I like that too. And she is a Brisbane girl. A very nice one as well!

Late last year I was lucky enough to win one of the most generous giveaways going around, when I won the following bounty of amazing Liana Kabel pieces (including a sweet Paperboat Press ceramic Christmas bird decoration).

The necklace was immediately donned that night for my husband's work Christmas party and I felt proud that in a sea of mass-produced adornments I was rocking jewellery that was unique and interesting, with soul and a story.

If you haven't checked out Liana's website then I suggest you put a bit of time aside and have a nice cup of tea and a browse. She has just recently revamped her Etsy shop so lots of lovely new goodies there, and there is also a Big Cartel shop where you can buy in Aussie dollars to (which I will be perusing shortly as I still have my voucher to spend and I certainly do not plan to waste it!).

Well I did mention in a previous post last year that I was probably going to go all fangirl over this and I guess I have. But I'm sure you can see why.

Thank-you Liana - I use the lovely goodies you sent to me all the time, and get so many lovely comments about them.

xxx

Headless no more

2010-01-22T10:48:00.000+10:00

The last couple of years I have been mostly a headless wonder on this blog. Now I've decided that a new year should beget new things, and my new bloggy thing will be to cease lopping my own head off all the time. No more chop for me. Of course that's not entirely true, as I have in my new profile pic effectively chopped my whole body off instead.

Oh well, at least it's a change, and a change is as good as a holiday and all that. Probably not as good as my recent beachside Wooli holiday (sucking in views like this every day is pretty hard to beat). But good enough.

BrisStyle Market - oh so good!

2009-12-11T07:45:00.009+10:00

Well it has taken me almost a full week to recover, but the BrisStyle market was not just a full-on on day. It was seriously fun too!!!

Nice steady day without getting too manic at any one time (due to Helen's amazing reorganisation of the set-up we had no crushing crowds or bottlenecks - just a steady stream of happy relaxed people wandering through, buying up, and enjoying the ambiance!).

As for Jade and I, we had a great day. Much of our stock was depleted by the end of the day, and our own shopping bags were bulging with purchases from many other BrisStylettes (I haven't taken photos yet but I came home with wonderful goods from EmBelish, Jellygnite, Shazzabeth, Jetta's Nest, Edward and Lilly, Little Mary Moo, Flight Industries Hot Fudge, Chi Cuff, Kitty Boo Boo Little Chrisy, Twinkle Star Art and Made by Miffy). Oh, and that doesn't count the stalls that my husband took the kids to so they could buy me my Christmas presents... Yippee!!

Of course there were many many other beautiful things I could have spent my profits on....but I guess I'll just have to stalk Etsy for those!!

So I'll leave you with a couple of crowd pics from the day, but if you'd like to have a squiz at all the other stalls (and they're worth checking out, trust me - some very inspiring set-ups and product displays), visit Chi Cuff's Flickr Photostream. Her wonderful husband Darren from Kish Photography and Design took photos of every stall, so grab a cuppa and sit down for a fun tour of all the BrisStyle goodies on display at the market. Now back to the post-market cleaning up....whhheeeee!

Photo by Kish Photography & Design

Photo by Kish Photography & Design

Are you ready for this?

2009-12-04T19:57:00.006+10:00

Why yes, for once in my life I actually am. Fancy that! I have everything packed by the door ready to load up at 6.30am tomorrow. I have painted my toenails (because that's totally essential for a successful market day right?) and I'm actually sitting here playing on the interwebs. I know!!!

So if you're in Brissy tomorrow and feel like a bit of shopping, live music, tasty cupcakes and fresh coffee, then get thee to the BrisStyle Christmas Market. Jade and I will be in the hall, next to the divine Robyn from Hot Fudge - if you do come please stop and say hi. It'll be a hoot!!!

See you on the other side folks!

XXX

Forget the dishes...

2009-11-30T16:27:00.009+10:00

It's no real secret around here that housework has been taking a backseat to mad preparations for the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market coming up this weekend. But Jade and I have taken it a step further by using the humble tea-towel for something a little less mundane than polishing watermarks off cutlery (hey, who am I kidding - have I EVER cleaned watermarks off cutlery? Well no - but hey, I have seen it done in restaurants).

I'd like to call these something fancy like 'the tea-towel transformation range' but let's be honest - we are pilfering old tea-towels and sewing them up into bags and clutches. Bags and clutches with a talking point though, because surely a bag that says 'fairy penguins' on the front is not something you see being toted around the city every day :)

Anyway, I think they're turning out kinda ok - dad's handmade wooden buttons lend themselves well to the lovely linen tea-towels. Combined with either recycled fabrics, or organic hemp canvases, these bags are most definitely one-offs, and will not be available in our Etsy shop (unless of course they don't all sell at the BrisStyle market, in which case they may appear in the Etsy shop sometime after that...).

Right - better get back to it I suppose. I will definitely be popping back into this blog sooner rather than later as I am currently wearing some gorgeous jewellery that I am dying to blog about. But I want to take a bit more time on that post as I just know I'm gonna go all 'fan-girl' on that one. For now, it's sew sew sew for the next five days.

Giddy-up!!!!

Coming up for air...

2009-10-13T19:17:00.006+10:00

Well it has been a record for me in terms of blog absences. I seemed to blink and suddenly almost two months have passed. In fairness though it has been two months of big stuff. Big family stuff. Busy stuff. Nothing terrible. Just difficulties, busyness, illness - lots of 'out of the ordinary' things to deal with. As Pip so eloquently put it on her own blog - "a bit of a rough trot".

But I am being cautiously optimistic that we are coming to the end of our spate of high hurdles. Still not ready to reopen the ol' Etsy shop, or pay daily visits to the sewing machine again. But hopeful that I can at least start to rebuild the relationship with the Janome sometime soon :)

And what exactly do a pair of frilly undies have to do with all this, you may rightly ask? Well not much, except that these are pretty much the last thing I sewed before things came to a screeching halt. I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for Benita's (from Bettsy Kingston) adult frilly knickers pattern. You may already know that Benita makes the most breathtakingly beautiful ruffle bloomers for babies (so lovely I was actually sad when Kate toilet trained and no longer required nappy covers!!!!). So needless to say I jumped at this opportunity. And I was really happy with them - so totally burlesque I must say. So keep an eye out for Benita's MYO store for when she releases the pattern. They really were so fun to make (and fun to wear, but I'm certainly not going into that here..*cough cough*)!!!!

So that's it from me. Just felt the need to finally visit my blog and dip my toe in the waters again I guess. Still not ready to promise anything like regular blogging yet. Right now I'm dead keen on exercising my head off, making fresh juices, and listening to lots of new music (totally loving La Roux and Midnight Juggernauts at the moment). And playing with the kids. And smoochin' my lovely husband. And making homemade sushi and drinking green tea. All the good nurturing stuff. Stuff that's good to do after a bit of a rough trot!!

Hope you have all been taking care of yourselves too.

XXX
Bec

If you feel like a smile...

2009-08-28T19:34:00.007+10:00

I dare you to watch this without grinning from ear to ear.

I am currently making pizzas, drinking Cascade Green, and just did a random search on Google for some 'Friday night music' to see what came up.

This is what came up. It made me ridiculously happy and there's no way I cannot share it. Enjoy :)

Congratultions Christina!!

2009-08-24T12:52:00.005+10:00

Well today is the day folks. My, how the weeks are quickly flying by!

I have just fired up the ol' random number generator, and computer says that the winner of the Beckybean Eco Market Tote is...(drumroll.....):

Christina from A little bird told me.

Congratulations Christina!!! If you could send me your address to blog@beckybean.com I will pop your bag in the mail this week!!!

But never fear folks, if you are not the winner here, you might light to check out Jade's blog (assuming you entered the giveaway for her Eco Market Tote there) as Jade has also announced her winner today.

Hope you've had a happy Monday everyone,

XX
Bec

BrisStyle's Ekka Sale!!

2009-08-10T21:24:00.007+10:00

Oops, can't believe I almost forgot to post about this - a testament to how busy things are around these parts at the moment I guess!!

Anyway, the lovely BrisStyle crew are having a sale to celebrate Brisbane's annual Ekka (The ‘Ekka’ being the annual agricultural show held in Brisbane, Australia - a fun-packed 10 days of bright lights and rides, local produce, entertainment and cute animals!)

There are loads of bargains up for grabs, free postage and in some cases gifts with purchases! Check out this post for links to BrisStyle Etsy shops taking part.

As for Jade and I, we are offering 10% off everything in our Beckybean shop, plus free postage within Australia. Simply select the 'Other' payment option when going through the checkout, and we will send you a revised PayPal invoice with the 10% off. Or if forget and pay the full price, we will refund you the 10% into your PayPal account. Easy peasy!

Happy Monday everyone (and don't forget about our Eco Market Tote double giveaway - still HEAPS of time to enter) :)

Beckybean Double Giveaway!!

2009-08-07T16:24:00.005+10:00

Just ducking quickly back into Blogland to announce the giveaway I mentioned was coming in the last post (forever ago - I know!!) Things are still crazy, busy and happy around these parts, and I am hoping to get time to get things a bit more updated in a couple of weeks.

But for now, Jade and I are celebrating the launch of a new retail outlet in West End (Brisbane, Australia) that will be stocking our Eco Market Totes. The very lovely Michelle (yes, she of Pedrosprout fame) has opened her very own shop call Nook, which is a treasure trove of quirky, handmade goodness - much of it eco too!

So to win the Eco Market Tote pictured above, simply leave a comment here, and then pop over to Jade's blog for a chance to win another Eco Market Tote there too! This tote is made from recycled fabrics, with a panel of hand screenprinted fabric by Hollabee, and two handmade wooden buttons (one on the front and one on the strap) that have been made by our Dad from recycled redgum offcuts. There is a handy pocket on the inside too.

And of course, if you're in Brisbane, head on over to Nook for a unique shopping experience. You can even grab a coffee and some tasty treats from one of the cafes in the street and make a nice afternoon of it :)

That's it folks. Short and sweet. Will be back on Monday 24th August to draw a winner, and try and get back into the ol' blog saddle. If I'm lucky I might get back on before then. But I'm not holding my breath....

Speaking of breath...time to draw a deep one and dive back into the crazy family madness that is birthdays, holidays and full-on family fun. I'll leave you with a few images of what we've been up to lately :)

Take care all XXX Bec

Lovely things from lovely people

2009-06-28T11:17:00.011+10:00

Firstly, I need to confess I've been very slack at posting about some of the beautiful mail I've received over the last couple of months.

You might remember that FOREVER ago, I helped out at the Dear Fii incubator stall at the Brisbane Stitches and Craft show. Which was a fantastic experience. It was so wonderful to finally meet the warm and friendly Fi in person, and I was also lucky enough to be right next door to the wonderful Justine from MixTape Zine, who was also just as lovely in real life as she is on her blog :)

Well shortly after this, I received a lovely package in the mail from Fi, who gave me this incredibly gorgeous zip purse to say thanks for the help!

I tell you, Fi's workmanship is really second to none, and her attention to detail is just amazing. I love the embroidery on this pouch, which blends so seamlessly into the design that at first it seems like part of the fabric until you look closely.

No small wonder then that Fi's designs have been featured in the current issue of Better Homes and Gardens. So if you missed out on her fabulous button bracelet tutorial at the Stitches and Craft show, you can now get all the instructions from the mag!!! Congrats Fi, you really do deserve it :)

Second lovely item in the mail, is the pink love brooch shown in this pic below. It is a stunning Sophie Isabel Designs creation, and the reason I am only posting this now, is that I actually won this brooch shortly after Mother's Day, so I gave the brooch to Mum, and I was so excited about giving it to her that I forgot to take a photo.

So I keep meaning to remember to take my camera round to mum's place each time I go there. And of course I keep forgetting.....then the light bulb finally went on and I tracked down this photo of Sophie's blog. I'm sure you are probably already aware of the most gorgeous brooches Sophie makes (and she happily does custom orders too!!) but I can tell you now that they are even more gorgeous in real life. And most importantly, my mum loves it. Thank-you so much Sophie :)

Lastly, this little bundle of happiness arrived on my doorstep only last week, and was completely unexpected and out of the blue. When I saw the address on the back belonging to Cathy from Tinnie Girl, I was quite perplexed....had I been sleep-shopping on Etsy? (good god can you imagine???:O).

Then I opened the card, and this is what it said:

"Dear Bec, I was lucky enough to come across these vintage button samples and thought you would enjoy them also. Just sharing the love, Cathy XXX"

Talk about brightening up my day. Not only because the buttons (and the piece of fabric she also included were absolutely gorgeous, but just the generosity and thoughtfulness behind the action was so incredibly touching. Thank-you so much! XXX

So what to do after being the recipient of all this lovely blogger generosity? Why, to start planning a giveaway of my own, of course! At the moment, Jade and I are flat-knacker preparing for the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market that is on next Saturday (plug plug!!), but if you check back after that we just may be planning a little double Beckybean giveaway....will say no more for now. And hopefully that will bring my karma up to 'even steven', because receiving is wonderful, but only when it's balanced by the giving :)

Have a lovely weekend everyone,
XX
Bec

PS. I think I will be on TV tonight. Was debating about whether to mention it or not, as I'm getting really scared I'm going to look or sound like a bit of a dork...but ah well. What's a bit of dorkiness between friends eh? If you're in QLD, it's The Great South East at 5.30pm, and there will be other BrisStylers featured too. I don't think it screens in other states though.

If listening to me rabbit on about myself is about as interesting as watching paint dry, then look away now...

2009-06-28T08:44:00.031+10:00

Paint drying by ian@m5j21

Or perhaps this post would be better named "I am unworthy". Because for some bizarre reason I have been the lucky recipient of a few blog awards lately. Which is weird because I always feel a bit guilty that I go too long between posts, and then when I finally get around to posting, it's often late and I'm tired and I end up doing some big long self-indulgent waffle....ahem...yes, much like this one...

But hey, I guess some people like waffles. Boom boom!!!

So anyway, I am very honored to have been given a Lovely Blog Award from Kate of One Flew Over, Rebecca of Edward and Lilly, and Amy from Grey Grid Paper. And a Love Ya award for being exceedingly charming by Helen from Ruby 2 Go Go and Ali from Charlie and Grace. Each one of these ladies writes an amazingly wonderful blog (check them out and you'll instantly see why I feel unworthy!)

However I'm going to be a wuss about passing these awards on (plus a list of 60+ blogs might get a bit overwhelming) and just direct you to my blog roll. In fact, this has been a reminder to update it, as my blog wanderings seem to be far and wide at present. There's just so many interesting, talented, creative and articulate people out there blogging these days. Totally inspiring!!!

I've also been tagged by the ever so lovely Steph from Bondville, with what might possibly be the longest tag-interview in the history of blogland!!! So I won't be at all offended if you would like to tune out now. Maybe just talk amongst yourselves or something. Otherwise, here's a little insight into some of the minutiae of my life:

Q. What's your favourite colour?
Red. Though it's not a colour I wear a whole lot, I love having little splashes of it around. I love our red tiles in the kitchen, and my latest fav red thing is our letterbox. Matt made it. All his own design and construction. He can be quite creative when he wants to be!

Q. What's your favourite clothing in your wardrobe?
My cotton summer dresses. They make me feel like I'm 7 years old.

Q. What's your dream job?
I'm livin' the dream baby! Actually, I really am. Although I never imagined my dream job would be to stay at home with the kids and run a hobby business that involves sewing!!! But it turns out it IS my dream job. I can't think of a single other thing I'd rather do every day. I love how even when the kids are having one of their feral moments and I give in to my inner fishwife (i.e. screeching at the kids), that they only have to say "sorry mum" and suddenly I'm on my knees hugging them and all is forgiven and we never think of it again. That NEVER happens in the corporate world :P

Q. What's the last thing you bought?
Er, petrol for the car. For me specifically, it was some gorgeous gift tags from the lovely Anastasia from Percival Road.

Q. What are you listening to right now?
Princess Natasha (kids cartoon) the washing machine humming, and a dog barking in the distance....If I had my ipod with me I'd be listening to Kate Miller Heidke.

Q. Whats your favourite ice cream?
Chocolate. And not the fancy type, like toblerone. Just plain chocolate.

Q. What's your favourite fruit?
A good juicy peach like the ones that used to grow on the tree in our front yard where I grew up. Very hard to find these days.

Q. What inspires you?
My kids' imagination, colour, stories, poems, zen, my veggie garden.

Q. Whats on the walls of your bedroom?
Lots of marks. It really needs painting....

Q. Who is your favourite artist?
Oh goodness. SO hard. I think Elsita is an amazing artist, and inspiring person. I love this little print of one of her drawings that we have at our front door.

I adore the customised art prints I bought from Amanda from Twinkle Star Art last year for the kids and their cousins.

I also think Tracy from Hey Harriet is an incredible artist, and I have quite a few of her little pieces now. This TTV photo I have of hers makes me giggle every time I look at it! For me good art is something that makes me smile every time I look at it, no matter how many times I've already seen it....

Q. Do you admire anyone's style?
Oooh, so so many people. Ranna from Only Shallow (so girly, so vintage, so quirky!!), Elly from Ellybeth on Flickr (oozes casual style and makes many of her own clothes), and oh, and I'm finding the Braid Wednesday group on Flickr really inspiring too . I've even been inspired to try out the Heidi Hair that was featured on the Meet Me At Mikes blog. Here's my very quick and rough attempt......

Q. Describe your personal style.
He he...mutton dressed as lamb :P

Q. What language would you like to learn?
Italian. I'd love to be able to say something more than "Dario non e sempre in ritardo..."

Q. What is your favourite quote (for now)?
Never trouble trouble 'till trouble troubles you.....no idea where it came from - I remember hearing it as a kid somewhere.

Q. What is your favourite magazine?
Peppermint Magazine - Fresh. Green. Fashion. Truly inspirational, and the only glossy (eco of course) I ever buy regularly.

But if we're talking 'zines', then I'd have to say MixTape - indie awesomeness at its best.

Q. If you had $100 what would you spend it on?
A lunch date with Matt. Or a hot stone massage - never had one before. Always wanted one...

Q. What is your current obsession?
Sweet and Salty popcorn. Seriously. Don't laugh until you've tried it.

Q. What are you wearing today?
Jeans, campers, singlet, t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, bomber jacket, crocheted beanie, scarflette, leather gloves. OK, I should put this in context and tell you I'm about to head out to the Rocklea Twilight market for some fruit & veggie shopping, and wood-fired pizza for dinner. The food will be great, the produce sensational, and the music live and atmospheric. But it'll be COLD!!!!!

Q. What's for dinner?
Oops, just answered this. Vegetarian wood fired pizza, and maybe a hot jam donut for dessert :)

Q. What would you eat for your last meal?
The best and freshest sushimi and sushi rolls I could get my hands on, with loads of wasabi. And an Asahi beer to go with it.

Sushi by Blue Lotus

Q. What do you think of the person who tagged you? Friendly, warm, humourous, sincere, ethical and enthusiastic.

Q. If you could have a house paid for and furnished anywhere in the world what/where would it be?
A huge property somewhere in the northern New South Wales hinterland, with multiple modest little eco-cottages on it, and one big communal pavillion with a huge table so that our extended family could all live nice and close and in walking (or riding) distance from each other, without actually living on top of each other, and the pavillion would be where we could have our family dinner parties. There would also be a big communal veggie garden, and an orchard, and a big mountain-biking track in the native bushland reserve (that would be part of the property). This would be for Matt and Kym's benefit of course....Oh and Jade and I would have a big separate sewing studio too, and we'd need a super big shed/workshop....and everything would be solar powered and ecologically sound. Ahhhhh.....ok, time to stop dreaming now. Sorry. Got a bit carried away there....

Q. Do you collect something? Buttons, fabric, books, crockery that takes my fancy....

Q. What is your pet peeve?
Being cold. Being cold just makes me cranky. Being cold can just go away and stand in the corner and have a good think about itself. It can came back out when it has warmed up a bit.

Q. What's the most important rule for life?
If you have lots of regrets then you're spending too much time in the past. If you have lots of worries, then you're spending too much time in the future. Staying in the here and now is the best way to happiness. Easier said than done though of course. Oh, and drink lots of tea. That's a pretty good rule too :)

Timber and TVs and Trains, Oh My!!!

2009-06-13T15:27:00.002+10:00

I grew up on the edge of a forest by the Murray River in remote country Victoria, back in the days when it was perfectly acceptable to wander around with a chainsaw, hack up any dead trees lying around, and take them home for firewood. I know!!!!! ANYWAY, where I'm going with this, is that my Dad is the kind of guy who hangs on to stuff. And some of that stuff was some redgum off-cuts (that came from that forest) that he'd had lying around for the last 20 years. And this is what those scraps have become. Ok, there's some cedar ones in there too, but I'm not sure where he got those scraps from...

I can't even begin to tell you how clever my dad is at making stuff (although once we were looking in an auto store and I saw a racing steering wheel made of steel and timber, which I mentioned was very cool. Dad picked it up, turned it over, then put it back on the shelf. The next time I saw him, about a week later, he had made a replica steering wheel. Which I must say, looked very cool on my 1974 mini cooper). For more stories about my generous and clever dad and more pics of the buttons used on our bags, check out Jade's post here.

As well as using these buttons on our new bags, Jade and I are also going to sell them at the BrisStyle market coming up in July. I know we're just a bit biased, but I really do think they are very beautiful...

A big thank-you should also be given to Alan from Trishalan Designs, for providing great wooden button inspiration (you can see one of Alan's buttons used on this coffee bag here, and his are also made from timber off-cuts) and for some online handmade timber button love and inspiration you can also visit The Button Bower, who also sell gorgeous hardwood buttons made from Tasmanian timer off-cuts (some of these are quite amazing!). Viva the handmade button revolution!!

Ok, moving on now to the TV part of the post title. In fact, this is just a really lame way to segue into my Watcha Wearing Wednesday pics, which I think is a record for me in tardiness - this time...THREE days late. In fairness, I did actually take these pics on Wednesday - just couldn't actually manage to keep my butt in front of the computer long enough to get the blog post done. Ah well, better late than never. Right?

Anyway, this gorgeous little retro TV brooch (sorry about the bad photo) is by the lovely Helen from Ruby 2 Go Go, and it goes perfectly with my seventies knit top refashion. I found it in an op shop ages ago, and it fit well, except that it was a bit midriffy. Not very seemly for a 30 something year old, so I chopped it a bit shorter and added some nice thick black knit fabric (I also found this remnant in an op shop).

It's a bit weird, I know. But for some reason I just really like it. And it's comfy. And that's important, ya know!

Lastly, the train thing is just something I thought was so sweet I had to share. Lee, Kate and I made play dough the other day, and the kids went nuts playing with it, making birthday cakes, sausages etc. Ok, it was actually Kate who made the pretend food. Lee, in keeping with the obsession which permeates all aspects of his life, made this.

A Thomas train. If you look closely, it even has a smiley face on it. And top marks for creative use of props :)

And now it's time for a hot milo and a snuggle with Matt in front of the telly. It's getting really chilly here, and we've had a big night. Our kids went to their first ever disco (organised by Lee's kindy). They had so much fun. I painted so many faces. We are all hoarse from talking over the top of loud music. I remember the days when this was caused by clubbing. Now it's caused by listening to 'Hot Potato' and squealing kids. And I won't have a hangover tomorrow :)

XX
Bec

Watcha Wearing Wednesday

2009-05-27T13:53:00.010+10:00

I actually like what I'm wearing today.

I don't like the weird expression on my face though. But it was the best of an embarrassingly bad bunch.

The hat is another free-form crocheted number by yours truly. Made with the most delectable cotton/soy yarn.

Enjoying being able to break out the cosy knitwear and cardis. And for some reason, I am unable to wear a cardi without pinning a brooch on it. Would be like having scones without tea....

Anyway, today, mine is a 'peek at my heart' brooch by REread. Here's a close up.

For more Watcha Wearing Wednesday action, visit Dear Fii's blog, where you'll find a list of players.

XX
Bec

I can sing a rainbow....

2009-05-22T13:58:00.017+10:00

Mum's birthday cake. Made by me. Decorated by the kids.

"Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too.

Citrus Tart - Girly Shoulder Bag

Listen with your eyes
Listen with your ears
And sing all there is to see

Miss Potts - Girly Shoulder Bag

You can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing along with me"

Strawberry Freddo Frog - Girly Shoulder Bag

After all the rain and dark clouds I felt like I needed a burst of colour to feast my eyes upon. So here's some rainbow colours that have been bursting into our world lately.

My ric rac stash. Makes me smile every time I look at it.

Pipe cleaner and straws princess jewellery. For Grandma, by Lee and Kate.

And she had the good grace to wear them all at the restaurant where they were given to her. Even when she went out into the street to take a phone call. Good on ya mum :)

Lee has been singing the rainbow song lately. He sings it so beautifully it almost brings a tear to my eye. Kids, gotta love 'em. One day it's poo jokes, the next it is the warbling of angels.

Photo courtesy of Kipurnicus' photostream

And of course, I wouldn't change it for the world.

XXX
Bec

Poo Poo to the crotchety crocheter...

2009-05-12T18:20:00.007+10:00

Thank-you oh Em the Brown Owl prefect and guru of all that is good about the granny.

While I'm still not sold on the granny square, I have taken all you have taught me and put it to use.

Not only that, but in doing these projects I have soothed my soul AND made an amazing discovery. I.e. A crochety disposition (usually caused by having a loud 'poo joke' shouted at me by the preschooler for the 50th time in the day - oh the joys of peer socialisation...) appears to be inversely proportional to the number of crochet rows (or rounds) accomplished.

Perhaps the symbolic logic lovers among us might like to see it presented as:

:( = 1/dc rows

Or put simply - the more I crochet the better I am at ignoring these things that by the end of the day are starting to really irritate me (and that's the nice way of saying it).

May I also say in my defense, that it is not the 'poo' subject matter per se that is really getting my goat at the moment. I must admit I'm not adverse to a bit of toilet humour at times. But hearing "hey, why don't you try some poo" followed by hysterical laughter and then repeated over and over throughout the day is just starting to wear really thin. He has even got his little sister in on the act, so their conversations go like this:

Lee: "I love you Kate"
Kate: "I love you Poo"

Collapse on the ground laughing. And repeat. Over. And over. And over. It's getting ridiculous. To the point that I have made a new house rule today. Every time the word 'poo' is used in a context unrelating to any actual need to do one, the 'poo sayer' will be made to go and sit on the toilet for a 'think about it'. Yep, we are no longer doing the 'time out corner'. We now have the 'time out toilet'. Which is funny really, because there are certain other members of the family who have been using this toilet as a 'time out' facility for quite some time....hmmmm...

So anyway, it's wonky - there's mistakes. Nothing is turning out exactly like it's supposed to...

But hey, it's cheaper than therapy :P

BrisStyle Bonanza!!!

2009-05-03T07:55:00.011+10:00

I've been meaning to blog about so many BrisStyle things lately, so I'm now going to roll them all in to one big sweet doughy lump and and spread them out here. First BrisStyle cookie onto the tray:

BrisStyle Stitches & Craft 10% Discount Promo - OK, I know I'm MEGA late for posting about this one seeing as though today is the last day of the show. But in fairness I DID 'tweet' it and 'facebook' it...so wasn't 100% slack. Basically, the deal is that if you are at the Stitches and Craft show in Brisbane, and see someone wearing a BrisStyle badge (like the one above), go say hi and they will give you a 10% discount voucher for a bunch of participating BrisStyle shops (including Beckybean). So assuming you have ANY money left after being at the show (yeah - right!!) then you can make those crafty dollars go just a little further by spending them on some discounted BrisStyle items. Yay!

Second cookie browning nicely, is also Stitches and Craft related....Did you know that six BrisStyle members have stalls at the show, and many of us are also there volunteering and helping out fellow melbourne crafters? The lovely Helen has been interviewed about BrisStyle twice on the main stage so far, and also...

Jade and I have some bags in the Upcycled Fashion show (run by Wardrobe Refashion) held at the Stitches and Craft event.

Which of course we are mega excited about.

So keep a look out for any of these bags coming down the catwalk!!!!

OK, last cookie coming out of the oven - cooked to perfection of course! The May round of giveaways is now up on the BrisStyle blog. This month we are featuring the super sweet Katie of Kitty Boo Boo, and the bubbling loveliness of Benita from Bettsy Kingston. Their interviews are both fascinating peeks into their crafty worlds, and there are booties,

clips,

a badge

and some gorgeous bloomers/ruffle pants to be won.

Entries close on 25th May, so plenty of time to head on over, leave a comment, and try your luck!!

OK, time to hang up the apron, don a nice t-shirt and some sensible walking shoes. Because I'm off to the show today. Whheeeee!!!!!

XX
Bec

The Granny Dud!!!

2009-04-28T16:13:00.010+10:00

Yep, that's me. Had lots of fun at Brown Owls on the weekend learning how to crochet a granny square. Or in my case how to *ahem* NOT crochet a granny square.

Not going to say exactly which one is mine. Let me just put the words "not a square" and "technicolour vomit" out there. And leave it at that.

For a close look at a much prettier square made on the day, check out the Bondville blog. And spend some time there. There's much to browse and covet, and Steph has been saying some very lovely things about our recent Eco Etsy joy. Thanks Steph!!!

Thank you thank-you thank-you!!!!!

2009-04-22T14:43:00.021+10:00

So many thank-yous...so little time....but here goes!!

Firstly, thank-you to everyone who voted for our Macchiato Shoulder Bag in Etsy's Best Eco Finds. Jade and I are over the moon to discover that our bag came in at number 10, which is just amazing!!!! You can read all about the winning item (an awesome recycled steel fire pit!!!) here if you're interested :).

Recycled Steel Fire Pit

I'm also very happy to add that the bag that was featured is now off to a new home, and will be taking up residence with a fellow blogger Rebekah from Don't Call Me Becky (who by the way makes truly sensational quilts - check out her blog to see what she's up to).

Quilt by Rebekah from Don't Call Me Becky

Secondly, a huge thank-you to Cam from Curly Pops blog and shop who also featured one of our coffee bags on the fantastic Cuteable website where she was recently the guest blogger. It was such a thrill just to see our name on the Cuteable site, but to be featured by such a lovely and talented crafter as Cam...well, it just makes me go all mushy. Thanks Cam, and thanks Lynsey (from Cuteable) also!!!

Curly Pops Vintage Tea Towel Apron

Thirdly, thank-you to Therese from Little Mary Moo blog and shop who featured the Macchiato Shoulder Bag on her blog. Therese has been very busy not only sewing up gorgeous bags and purses for her own shop (all created with gorgeous Australian made hand screen printed fabrics) but has also been teaching her own daughter, and even her friend's daughter, how to sew!! So great to see a whole new generation getting the crafty bug. Way to go Therese :D

Little Mary Moo Organic Pink Bird Purse

Fourthly, another thank-you to Chrisy from Sophism Press blog and Art Decadence who has been featuring my Flickr pics on her sidebar for the last few days. Chrisy finds the most amazing things to showcase on her blog, and covers so many interesting subjects from art history, to poetry, to the meaning of art and beauty. Thank-you Chrisy, I am honored to be featured on your always interesting and beautiful blog.

Free from the Look Up Series by Art Decadence

Fifthly (is this a word? Sorry this is getting ridiculous I know...) Anastasia from Anastasia Drawing and Dreaming blog, and Percival Road Designs, has featured Jade's Creme Brulee Pochette on her gorgeous blog. I have ordered some of Anastasia's gift tags before and I can honestly say they are even more beautiful in real life than in the photos (and this is saying something as the photos are so darn pretty themselves!). Thank-you for featuring a Beckybean bag in your wishlist. We're super chuffed!!

Vintage Girl Gift Tags by Percival Road Designs

OK, I hear you. Enough of the thank-yous already. How about an ON TIME Watcha Wearing Wednesday pic! Check it out. First time I've been on time in while. And not in my pyjamas. Woo hoo!

The temperature has actually dropped below 25 degrees Celsius today so I'm in a cardy (I know, I'm such a wuss when it comes to the cold). And my little birdy brooch from In My Backyard. The very first thing I ever bought off Etsy. Not a super exciting pic I know. But at least I'm not a slob today. And that makes me happy. Happy Wednesday everyone :)
XX Bec

The exciting, and the not so exciting...

2009-04-16T15:33:00.010+10:00

OK, first for the exciting. Discovered that one of our new bags have made it into the top 60 nominations for Eco Friendly Items on the Etsy website. Woo Hoo!!!!

Amongst some really great company there, including FIVE other BrisStyle gals (go REread, Ruby2GoGo, Pedrosprout, Art Decadence and Epheriell). And what's really great is that the bag in question is one of our new coffee sack bags (the "Macchiato").

Nice to see one of the new additions to the range going down well. This bag is made from a coffee sack, a reclaimed upholstery remnant, and recycled buttons.

If you would like to cast your vote for your favourite eco-friendly item you can do so HERE. But no pressure to vote for us - Jade and I are just super happy to have one of our bags nominated.

So yay!!! That was the exciting bit (well, exciting for us anyway).

In other not so exciting news, here is my Watcha Wearing Wednesday pic. Boring as all get-up I'm afraid. And a day late. Again. I was so uninspired by my own hastily thrown together outfit I didn't even bother getting off the phone to take the photo. So yeah, this is multi-tasking in action - something I am notoriously bad at (as this blurry photo reveals).

The top is a very lovely hand-me-down from a very lovely friend in Melbourne. The jeans are my comfy old faithfuls, and the shoes are my new favourites. I'm sure that one day I might actually be wearing something interesting for WWW. Even though Wednesdays are often 'around the house' days, I might just have to frock up just so I am not boring myself stupid while taking my own photo!!!

Ok, and if you're even still reading after that mind-numbing waffle, here's a reward. Head on over to the BrisStyle blog, for your chance to win this.

Or these.

The apron is by the irrepressible Louise from Made by Miffy, and the gorgeous brooches are by the equally gorgeous Chris from Little Chrissy. I highly recommend reading their interviews - bright, interesting, inspiring, and very entertaining. And leave a little comment on the blog post for a chance to win (winner is drawn on 25th April).

And that my friends, is that. Thanks for hanging in there :P

XX
Bec

WWW - On Grouse Thursday???

2009-04-09T07:14:00.010+10:00

Has anyone else heard of Grouse Thursday (ie. the Thursday prior to Good Friday) or did my lovely husband make it up? He left this morning saying "Woo Hoo - Grouse Thursday"!!! Then proceeded to insist it is 'real' day. I have googled it. Nothing. Nadda. Thinking it may just be a Melbourne term my husband and his group of friends made up during one of their many drinking sessions as teenagers.....and it has just persisted into his adulthood.....hmmmm.....Anyway, regardless - I like it. And I do indeed plan on having a grouse Thursday!

Thinking I may be the slackest Watcha Wearing Wednesday player here? Check out Fi's blog for other more uh...punctual players. So sorry. Once again however, the photo itself WAS taken on Wednesday. Just before I hit the hay.

My favourite cosy bed attire - super-soft plaid flannelette pj bottoms, and a very old and comfortable maternity top (that I bought second-hand off ebay when I was pregnant with Kate).

Remembered to take the photo as I was waiting in the kitchen for my lavender wheat bag to heat up in the microwave.

We had all been out to the first ever Rocklea Twilight Markets (same farmers markets we go to every Saturday morning for our weekly shop and outdoor breakfast). It was great. All my efforts at getting my kids to both have a big sleep in the day paid off, and they were both bright and sparkly and SO excited about the mini ferris wheel with the coloured lights all over it. So we all had a lovely time buying fresh bread, fruit and veg, and eating wood fired pizza outside while listening to some live music (and of course, waving balloons in the air whilst having a ride on the colourful ferris wheel).

apples photo courtesy of Brisbane Markets

Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night. And as always, the whole extended family came along, so all ten of us traipsed around saying 'hi' to all the stallholders (who I'm sure must think of us as the Beverly Hillbillies or something, as we tend to get around like a big loud tribe complete with whooping kids) and generally having a wonderful time.

I also bought home these lovelies, and am looking forward to watching all the blooms pop open over the long weekend.

Hope you all have a lovely Easter. And even more importantly - a Grouse Thursday!

XXX
Bec

Minty goodness!!!

2009-04-03T08:31:00.010+10:00

So absolutely stoked to have a Beckybean bag featured in the current issue of Peppermint Magazine.

If you haven't check out Australia's first eco fashion mag then you really should hot-foot it to a newsagent now. It's full of fresh green fashion, and I'm still pinching myself to think that one of our bags is featured amongst such fabulous designers as Kara Smith. Wow!!!

There are also another two BrisStyle girls who have been featured in the magazine, so look out for Michelle's gorgeous Pedrosprout booties, and the wonderful feature of Ali's Jellygnite shop.

Have also had the pleasure of being featured on the Designer's Emporium blog as well, which is another fantastic online read, covering the works of new and independent designers, crafters and artists.

Ok, time to stop feeling fabulous now, and pull on the old swimmers for the kids swimming lessons. I'm such a wuss. The water is heated to 32 degrees and I still find it too cold. Eeekkk!

Bring on the weekend I say. Fresh coffee, fresh bread, fresh flowers, and a fresh new magazine to devour.

Hope you weekend is full of Autumnal bliss :D

XX
Bec

Coffee bags are GO!!!!

2009-04-03T08:04:00.008+10:00

As promised, Jade and I have been making bags from coffee sacks, courtesy of the lovely folk at Brisbane's boutique coffee chain, Merlo. Lots of fun actually, apart from getting little bits of hessian hair everywhere (once the bags are made we seal them with a water-based non toxic sealant to prevent the 'shedding').

Short Black Handbag (...better get moving...)

This little prototype bag had it's first run out at the Artists, Bloggers, Crafters and Designers meet up at the Brisbane Powerhouse last night (thank-you Steph from Bondville and Kim from Udessi for organising - it was a great night!!!).

These two have already gone off to new homes:

Long Black Tote (It's only words...)

Flat White Shoulder Bag (...another early morning flight...)

And there are another three in the shop. We have decided to name the bags according to snippits of conversation heard in coffee shops. So of course going out for coffee is now a work expense :P

Latte Shoulder Tote (...loving this rain...)

Long Black Tote (...and the winner is...)

Macchiato Shoulder Bag (...such a cherry picker...)

Now after all this talk of coffee, guess what I feel like?

mmmmmm.......coffee.......

Watcha Wearing Wednesday...on Thursday...

2009-03-26T13:43:00.008+10:00

Well it's only my second week of joining in with Fi's Watcha Wearing Wednesday, and already I'm a day late. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about it until about 9pm last night. So of course it was too late to snap my outfit without having to use the flash (urggh!!!).

So. Creative option nubmer 1. Lie on the kitchen bench under the flourescent light to try and get some decent lighting..... By the way, if you're ever tempted to try this - don't. It didn't work.

Creative option number 2. This was a much better idea. Sit on a bar stool, whack my feet up onto the bench, and photograph my shoes. Worked out quite well actually, as these were by far the best part of today's outfit anyway (which also consisted of jeans with a hole in the knee, and a wrinkled t-shirt).

I LOVE these shoes. Bought them from Camper while in Melbourne at Christmas time. SO comfy, and just so darn handsome if I do say so myself. I always feel like I look much cooler than I really am when I wear these shoes. Which is probably not true at all. I probably look as dorky as I really am. But hey, it's all about feeling good right?

Actually, considering how new these shoes are, they are looking a bit scuffy already aren't they. I'm starting to think this blog may reveal me as a person who is not very good at looking after their shoes....or their kitchen bench come to think of it (although I promise I do not make a habit of sitting with my feet up on food preparation surfaces. Honest!!)...

For more Watcha Wearing Wednesday musings check out the blog list on Fi's blog. I'm sure the other players probably have much more exciting things to talk about than just their shoes and their kitchen hygiene standards.....

XXX

Watcha Wearing Wednesday

2009-03-18T17:30:00.009+10:00

Thought I would play along with Fi's Watcha Wearing Wednesday for a bit. Try and motivate myself to blog a bit more frequently :)

So today's wardrobe is decidedly un-Brisbanesque. I guess it's actually kinda Melbourny, i.e. black!!

The shoes are my old faithful Naots that are SO super comfy, albeit in that 'starting to look a bit scruffy' kinda way. And the little hairy bits you can see covering my dress are from carting a heap of coffee sacks from the car to the 'sewing storage area' (ie. floor of the rumpus room). Will have some coffee sack prototype bags to show you soon!!! Wee hee!!! The chocolate smearing at the bottom of the dress is courtesy of Kate. She must have done it this morning when Jade and I had coffee at the Merlo Coffee warehouse in Brisbane (we were given a great tour of their roasting facilities, as well as some fantastic coffee sacks to turn into new bag creations). And of course, I've been out and about all day and only now noticed the chocolate detailing at the bottom of my dress. Ripper!

My one concession to colour today is the Starashan brooch given to me by the lovely Sherrin. I now have three of her gorgeous fabric brooches and I wear them all the time.

Thanks Fi for letting me play, and make sure you check out the blogs of other WWW players at Fi's blog.

XX
Bec

Feelin' the passion for Wardrobe Refashion - Part 1

2009-03-09T16:58:00.010+10:00

I've been following Nikki's Wardrobe Refashion blog for quite some time now. I've also been doing lots of making and refashioning, but rarely get around to blogging it all (hence why I have never officially joined the Wardrobe Refashion blog - just can't commit to the weekly posting part...). And for reasons soon to be revealed, I've been especially inspired lately, and rather than just making clothing from recycled fabric remnants, I've decided to start actually reworking existing articles of clothing. And here is my first.

Phoofy 80s dress, probably made for a 12 or 13 year old girl, given how tight it was across my post babies non-existent bosoms.

Turned into a dress whose shape is inspired by a beautiful handmade dress I recently purchased from Victoria n' Bird from Etsy for my birthday.

It's still a little more full than I'd prefer, but given the whole refashion cost $4 and took about half an hour, I'm pretty chuffed.

As my son would say, "crackerlackerlicious" (it's his new word - thanks Madagasca 2!!!!!)

And the reason for being extra-inspired lately? Well, the Stitches and Craft show is about to start in Melbourne in only two days and I am very excited, as Nikki has organised a Wardrobe Refashion Fashion Show, and Jade and I will have six of our Beckybean bags heading down the catwalk. Can't wait for it to come to Brisbane and see it all in person. I'll show the bags in another post soon. Whhheeeeee!!!! Crackerlackerlicious!!!!!!

More Ladybird love!!!

2009-03-04T06:39:00.006+10:00

Boy I'm a lucky ducky lately! Remember how last post I showed you the beautiful 'Lola Ladybird' that I won from Lin at Paper Doll?

Well only a week later I had a lovely email from Katie from Kitty Boo Boo that I had also won her Lady Beetle Clippies!!!! I think the universe is trying to tell me something....just not quite sure what yet. Be nice to Ladybirds?

I must admit though, I've always had a special affection for these gorgeous little creatures. As a kid I would build ladybird amusement parks under a tree in our backyard (ok, so maybe they were just piles of vine leaves and sticks, but in my juvenile imagination those leaves and sticks made for a pretty exciting place with slides and tunnels...those ladybirds were whoopin' it up in there I assure you). And when we first moved to Brisbane I built a big veggie garden that was my pride and joy, and I loved seeing ladybirds crawling all over my produce - eating all those nasty aphids!! If I ever found a stray ladybird I would promptly move it to one of my cucumber plants. I figured it would be doing me a favour, and I was introducing it to an all-you-can-eat buffet!

And of course, I can't possibly mention my ladybird love without referring to the love/hate relationship I have with my most extravagant Alannah Hill ladybird shoes (scroll to the bottom of this post to find out why).

So thank-you thank-you thank-you Katie, I love these little clippies, and the extra ones you threw in for Kate are very well loved too (what little girly-girl doesn't love love-hearts!!!).

If you're thinking it might be time to generate a little ladybird luck of your own, you might like to head over to some of these blogs for some more excellent giveaways. Isn't there always some fun and generous happenings going on in blogland - in fact, Katie herself is doing regular giveaways of sewing patterns at the moment, in a bid to destash a bit. So keep checking her blog for her pattern giveaways!!

Also, the March giveaways are now up on the BrisStyle blog, with two lovely members giving away some goods. Miriam from Bubba Chenille is giving away a pink and brown chenille zip bag,

and Christine from Little Diva Crafts is giving away a little girl's utility apron,

as well as a card/coin purse in gorgeous Amy Butler fabric.

And the girls Bel and Em from EmBelISH have just written their 100th post, so are now having a huge giveaway of a number of their gorgeous accessories.

Lastly, Hayley from REread is giving away a flying duck on her blog - and also offers a very entertaining read as well. She quacks me up (boom boom!!).

May the luck of the ladybird be with you all!

XXX

Procrastination skirt!

2009-02-24T12:58:00.012+10:00

Problem: One hanging wall pocket to be made for Kindy (a bit tedious and more work than I'd imagined), combined with one bored toddler who missed her big kindy brother.

Solution: Procrastination skirt! Drag out the scrap box, let said toddler pick out all her 'favourites' and turn them into a skirt to wear when we pick big brother up from Kindy.

Rating: A big A+ for a super fast project, and AA+ for the sweetness of a two year old walking around telling everyone that she made her own skirt (and mum helped).

In other sweet and scrappy news, some of my fabric bookmarks have been featured on the Sew Mama Sew website, along with some great fabric bookmark tutorials.

So if you're a bookworm (or know somehow who is) and you're in the mood to whip up a few bookmarks yourself, then check it out. Very fun, and there's something so nice about a special bookmark (great presents for teachers too!).

And speaking of all things schoolish (hello segue) do you remember the rhyme "ladybird ladybird fly away home..."

Well this gorgeous little ladybird has flown all the way to its new home with me. Yay!!! The gorgeous Lola Ladybird came from Lin at Paper Doll blog, as a Valentine giveaway. And I was the lucky lucky winner! Can you believe it!! If you don't already know that I have a thing for ladybirds, then check out the shoes at the bottom of this post!! And if you haven't visited Lin's beautiful blog I strongly suggest you do - it is full of beauty and creativity, and it is a real joy to spend time there!

Lastly, I have been very honored to have receive a Proximidade Award from Little Chrissy. Chrissy is an amazingly creative crafter who makes gorgeous brooches, jewellery and even lovely little booties! Thank-you Chrissy, I am really chuffed that you thought of me for this.

Proximidade is described as follows:

This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!

The only problem with this award is that it is supposed to be passed on to only eight people. And I've no idea how I could possibly narrow down my heaving bloglines AND Google subscriptions to my favourite eight!!!! EEEKKKKK!!! I just can't do it. So can I please just urge you to check out some of the blog links in my blog rolls. Have a peek at a blog you've never read before. You just might find something special :)

Vintage sewing pattern anyone?

2009-02-16T20:42:00.012+10:00

In an effort to raise a bit more cash for the Handmade Help Bushfire Appeal, I have started raiding my considerable stash of vintage sewing patters (because hey, most of them are at least 2 - 4 sizes too big for me anyway, and I'm nowhere near a clever enough sewer to downsize them - so out they go!!!). They are currently for sale in the Beckybean Etsy Shop.

I have added a few in the last day or so, but will continue to add more over the next week. So far six have already walked out the door (three on their way to France - oooh la la!!), so I'm hoping there will be more following suit over the next couple of weeks. At $4.00 USD and free postage within Australia I'm only going to raise a lot of $$$ by selling a lot of patterns, so I've got my fingers crossed.

The proceeds of these sales will all be going to Wildlife Victoria. I figured I have so far made all my donations to Red Cross so it's time for me to think about the animals. Speaking of which, doesn't that story about the Koala and the Fireman just bring tears to you eyes? In a good way, for a change!

As does the story about the Ingham residents who received their flood grants from the government, only to hand them straight over to the Bushfire Appeal. After all the tragedy and sadness it is so heartening and humbling to see such humanity emerge from all around our country, and even around the world. In fact, here are just a few stories I think are worth sharing:

* This morning I was talking to Lee's Kindy teacher, who told me how the women at her gym did a 'creams and lotions' drive, with all the ladies buying face creams and hand creams and cleansers, to send to the Bushfire survivors.

* The Kindy also offered to put a Handmade Help flyer into every kids locker (that's 88 flyers!!).

*Our local IGA is donating 20% of all their sales to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal this Friday, and I heard the owner saying that the business next to him has already had a sausage sizzle fundraiser, with thousands of dollars being donated to the Red Cross .

*Our local primary school has just had a casual dress day and raised almost $2000 for the Red Cross.

*My mum's work have donated dollar for dollar any money their workers donate to Red Cross.

*My husband's work donated $25,000 to Red Cross.

*A lady in the next suburb is collecting handmade goods to distribute to affected families.

These are just the things happening in my little local area - it doesn't include everyone who has taken part in the Handmade Help community project, or those that have donated their handmade goods to the Oz Bushfire Appeal Etsy Shop - an online shop set up by DUST for the sole purpose of raising money for the bushfire survivors, or people running book drives, handmade toy collections, making comfort packs....the list goes on and on.

And although this list seems huge, I know that these are just the things I have happened to hear about. I know so many people are doing so much more that I don't even know about, and for the first time in a long time I feel like people in general are united. People are focusing on what they have and what they can do, rather than what they don't have, and what's being done for them. I feel a kindness and compassion in strangers that I hadn't noticed before. When I heard the IGA owner telling the op shop ladies about his fundraiser this Friday (he was asking if he could tape a flyer to their window) I felt like hugging him, because he sounded so passionate about what he was doing. And also, just because I understood. We all feel a connection to what has happened. We all feel like we can maybe make a difference. Don't worry, I didn't hug him. That would have been weird...

And of course all this isn't going to bring back lives that have been lost. And it can't erase pain and grief. But it is a small pheonix rising from the ashes. And it makes me feel hopeful :)

PS. Buy some patterns :D

Handmade Help Bushfires Appeal

2009-02-10T19:16:00.010+10:00

I have found it so hard to start this post - there are just no words to adequately describe the horror with which I have learned about the events which have taken place so close to where I grew up as a child. 'Bushfires' just doesn't seem like a strong enough word, although really I guess they were 'firestorms' which is a word that comes much closer to the mark. So many lives lost, so many homes destroyed. Whole towns razed - the sadness just weighs so heavily.

Apart from giving what money we can, Jade and I have also listed two bags in our shop that will have the full proceeds going to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal as part of the Handmade Help initiative being run by Cindy of Bug and Pop.

Visit the dedicated Handmade Help blog to find out what you can do to help, whether it be donating items for sale or auction, donating goods or services, or simply buying products from people who are donating their proceeds to the bushfire survivors.

The two bags Jade and I are donating the proceeds from are:

The Eco Market Tote in Jaffa, made by Jade (which you might remember was recently featured on the front page of Etsy).
EDITED: This has now SOLD

And the Clip-Clap Reversible Handbag, made by myself (which was recently featured on the Cuteable website).

EDITED: This has now SOLD also - Thank-you so much!!!

So please, visit the Handmade Help blog to find out more about how you can help out. There are so many crafty and non-crafty ways to help out. And they all make a difference.

XXX
Bec

Nice things

2009-02-08T10:10:00.005+10:00

So many nice things have happened in the last week or so.

Very chuffed to find a new Beckybean bag featured on Cuteable this week. Yay!

Also posted off my Pay-It-Forward gifts to Ingrid, Cam and Jess.

Some of these little suckers were included in the packs.

To see what else was sent off you can see the lovely post by Cam (CurlyPops), showing off her package of stuff here, and an equally lovely post by Jess (Button Beauty) about her parcel of stuff here.

Jade and I also completed another shop update of reversible handbags.

Rather than just making stuff randomly and uploading things as we make them, we have decided to do 'runs' of items and then do a heap of uploads at once. Much easier!

First run was market totes, and the latest was reversible handbags. Coming up will be clutches and coin purses like the 'pay-it-forward' ones above. SOOOO much fun doing this with someone, rather than on my own :)

Lastly, in other lovely last-week-news, I met up with the fabulous girls from the BrisStyle committee at the Pandemonium Cafe (actually it was the weekend before last, but I'm a bit behind :P), where fellow BrisStylette Tracy from Hey Harriet is exhibiting her work. Tracy couldn't make it, so instead left little magnetic artworks for everyone to take home.

Isn't is beautiful! The background paper is vintage pianola paper - cool huh! Tracy will be exhibiting her work there until 28 March although I do believe all her works have sold already, so you'll just have to content yourself with looking :) If you're a Brisbanite then check out the Pandemonium website for details on the cafe and how to get there. Fab food and coffee too!

Lastly, in case you hadn't noticed, I have added a button to the sidebar that shows the current giveaway happening on the BrisStyle blog. There will be giveaways by featured members each month on the blog so I figured that a permanent space featuring the current prize would be a good idea.

Currently the giveaway is a gorgeous lavender scented birdy from the very talented Rebecca of Edward and Lilly, so make sure you pop over and leave a comment to enter.

In other giveaway news, Ali from Charlie and Grace is also giving away a softie from her Etsy shop.

Her new softies are based on her four year old's drawings and are SOOOO gorgeous!

Oh, and Hayley from REread design has two gorgeous birdy brooches (made from old children's books) to give away on her blog too.

She is also having a 2 for 1 sale in her Etsy shop until Valentines day - woo hoo!

OK, that's it form me! Hope you all had a wonderful week also. Here's to another one :)

Cheers,
Bec
X

It's all about me me me!

2009-02-05T08:36:00.014+10:00

Yep folks, the theme of today is.... well... me! Starting with a couple of my fav birthday presents that I've been meaning to show. My very lovely in-laws gave me a voucher to spend on Etsy for my birthday, so I decided to try and find myself some clothing. So much beautiful stuff on Etsy I tells ya, but with the AU dollar crash everything seemed to be just outside my budget. And then I discovered Victoria n' Bird.

I can't tell you how much I love this dress - I've tried it on with just about everything I own and I love how I can dress it up or dress it down. Oh, and it's got pockets (and I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I adore dresses with pockets).

Another favourite present is this gorgeous cookbook that I got with a book voucher (one of the gifts from my lovely husband).

I'm sure I'm probably the only person to not know about Frankie Magazine's Afternoon Tea, but hey, even if I'm late on the bandwagon, I'm so glad I got there eventually! Not only are the recipes drool-inducing (I'm busting to make:

Nelly's apple shortcake..

...as well as

Pip's Best-ever choc chip cookies) but the photos are just divine, in that wonderfully stylish, crafty, vintage way that Frankie has. And the recipes are all old-fashioned, simple treats.

They remind me of the big morning tea spreads we would have at our outback country tennis tournaments, where all the local mums would try and outdo each other with their home-baked treats. Morning tea was always my favourite part of weekend tennis :P

Lastly, a little present from me, to me.

After making countless market totes for other people, I finally got round to making one for myself, and I love it. I used some gorgeous organic cotton/linen blend fabric from Duckcloth, with a piece of vintage linen tablerunner across the front, and orange homespun on the inside.

And the wooden buttons seemed to go with the natural fibre feel of the bag. It has been getting quite a workout lately, and not only at the markets!!!

And so what would a post about me be, without a meme all about...well....me! Lin from Paper Doll tagged me for the 6 unspectacular things about me meme some time ago and I've been super slack in getting it done. I know I've done this a couple of times already so I've been wracking my brain for some new and interesting mundane facts about myself. So anyway, here they are (feel free tune out or wonder away from the computer now....)

1. I get nervous about memes. I like reading them, and I don't mind doing them, but I worry about passing them on. Like really worry. So my solution is to leave them as an open invitation (so play if you like - just let me know and I'll edit this post and link to you :))

2. I love the smell of mangoes but don't like the taste or texture of them. Blurgh!

3. My favourite time of day is late evening, just before twilight, when there is a sepia toned glow to everything and sounds travel further and have a certain echo to them. If someone is cooking something yummy for dinner and the smell wafts over then even better. The ambiance of it always makes me feel like all is right with the world. Unfortunately, since having kids I rarely get to enjoy this time of day. Usually I am doing the dinner/bath/stories dance with the kids, who at that time are tired but fighting it so it's all kinda manic....*sigh*

4. I think one of the most useful things I learnt in High School was touch-typing. It is a skill I use every day :P

5. Speaking of touch-typing, I got through a whole year of typing class in high school, only to find out at the end that the teacher didn't even know my name. She actually asked me what "Bet' was short for - she thought it might have been something Norwegian. When I said "No, Bec - short for Rebecca" she was genuinely astounded. She was pretty old I guess, and probably a lifetime spent around manual typewriters did nothing for her hearing!!

6. If I was rich I would only ever buy ethically made fabrics. I come close to this by mostly only using salvaged and reclaimed fabrics in my sewing, but I would love to use more new organic fabrics, and fabrics made from hemp and bamboo. Sewing with the organic cotton/linen blend fabric I got for my bag was SO satisfying (in fact, I think it may have been the most beautiful and pleasing fabric I've ever sewed with). I'd love to do more of it.....just have to find the $$$$

Ok, so enough about me - I promise I'll keep myself out of future posts...for a while anyway:)

Can you tell....

2009-01-28T19:35:00.010+10:00

...that my sister used to work in marketing? Jade and I re-opened the Beckybean shop last Monday, and since then I've done nothing. No blog post, no forum postings.... NUDDA! I hadn't even told Matt.

Thank goodness Jade is on the job! Not only that, but she also got one of the bags she made onto the front page of Etsy.

What the?!!!! SUCH a little sister thing to do.....humphhhh.....(can you tell I'm the 'hard-done-by' older sister who struggled as a teenager to be allowed to go out at night with my friends just once a month, then when my little sister gets to the same age she goes out every weekend? Yep, I've got oldest child syndrome. I own it.) Although technically that is me in the photo, so I will tell myself that my super professional modeling skills contributed to the achievement...right?

Ok, so I'm surly AND I'm slack. I've got a meme to do (Lin I will do it this week I promise!!!), I've got things to show and tell (haven't even posted about my wonderful birthday - although, actually Jade did post about that too, so maybe I can skip that one in my desperate attempt to catch up). Oh, and all my Pay-It-Forwards went out last week (only 4 months before the deadline....sorry everyone, I'm sure you all thought I'd forgotten about it my now!) and they should be received any day now, so I'll have some of that to show you soon too!!

Until then, I'll leave you with a picture of what I HAVE been remembering to do. And that is take some time to smell the roses.

Or the 'rosy tea' as Dorothy the Dinosaur would say.

Cheers Bigears,
XX

'Girly girl' sewing

2009-01-13T17:10:00.007+10:00

I've been having fun sewing lots of kid stuff lately.

Haven't finished the 'boyish boy' sewing yet, but have completed a couple of 'girly girl' things.

An apron and quilted pot-holder for a niece's 2nd birthday.

She received a gorgeous big wooden kitchen for Christmas from Santa, so I am hoping these might get some use (I also included a rolling pin, some cookie cutters, and a sweet little tin teapot).

A little dress for Kate that I actually cut out while I was away on holidays, but didn't get around to finishing until now. It was a vintage pattern in size two, and was actually meant to be a straight 'A-line' dress. However it seems that the 'size 2' referred to a size 2 giant. Not a wee little two and a half year old. So I decided it just needed a little cinching at the waist. The vintage pink buckle on the belt was one I picked up when shopping with Sherrin in Fitzroy. It's from a gorgeous vintage clothing/accessories shop called Circa. Highly recommended (their collection of buckles, brooches and dress clips was quite delicious)!!

Thank goodness it passed the dancing test!!!

Hope you are having a great start to the year. As of Saturday I will be officially closer to 40 than 30. Eeeekkk!!! How on earth did that happen? And why don't I feel grown up yet?

Thankfully I'm still immature enough to pass for a bit younger....he he....

Hello New Year. Nice to meet you!

2009-01-06T13:08:00.014+10:00

The start of a new year is such a lovely time. Full of promise. A clean slate. All that. And yet I still haven't said a bloggy goodbye to 2008 yet. I guess there's really no such thing as a completely clean slate - there will always be something on the 'to do' list to be carried over to the next day. Or the next year, as the case may be.

Christmas present from Matt - phone brooch by Betty Jo. Can't tell you how much I LOVE this.

So goodbye 2008. You were great. You were the year I decided to stop thinking and start doing. I have a great habit of thinking myself out of doing things. And last year I just stopped. And great things happened. I met some truly wonderful people, I had fun making stuff. I did my first market and my first exhibition, and got my first bit of media attention. In addition, I had lots of fun with my family, made some great birthday cakes and yummy treats, and had lots of big extended family get-togethers.

And the ending of the year was no disappointment either. During our Melbourne holiday I was lucky to finally meet Sherrin from Starashan in person, and she was every bit as nice, interesting and lovely to talk to in person as she is online. Thank-you Sherrin, I had such a fabulous time wondering around Fitzroy with you. Very cool that I recognised you by the brooch you were wearing, and that you recognised this gorgeous piece of fabric you sent me so long ago.

I totally love the purse I bought from Meet Me at Mikes (by Haruka)

and really, it was so nice to see Mikes in person, when I have been reading about it for so long.

Our Christmas was a fantastic affair with the Melbourne contingent of the extended family, and we even managed a ride on Puffing Billy on New Year's Day.

The weather could have been a little kinder (it was FREEZING) but it was a lovely day out.

And I was SO glad that it was me who was the designated driver at the New Year's Eve BBQ we attended the night before (even though at the time I was not so happy about it). Somehow I think riding on a stinky steam train in the freezing cold with a hangover might have been a less than smashing experience!

Lastly, I'm leave you my favourite pic of the holidays. Taken on Christmas day. Kate in one of the many dress-up costumes she received, and desperately trying to ride her older cousin's bike.....of course she had to ride it...it had streamers, and it was PINK!!!

Looking forward now to settling into the new year. It will be a whole new world with Lee starting Kindy, BrisStyle really starting to happen, and (hopefully) my sister joining me in my bag making adventures. Whheeeee what fun. Bring it on!

...and LO it was awesome!!!

2008-12-18T07:54:00.012+10:00

I must admit, I'm a teensy bit worried. The market was so good, I fear I am spoiled for all future events. The bar has been set terribly high. Firstly they were just so much fun. The vibe going on was amazing - I guess because although many of us had not actually met in real life before, we all felt like we knew each other anyway, after weeks or months of chatting online. It really was a case of 'we are all in this together' and everyone was so supportive of each other and super friendly.

Add to this some great crowds, which flowed steadily throughout the day, and everyone making a fantastic number of sales (I sold almost two thirds of my stock, so I was stoked!!) and you really can't ask for much better than that can you?

We had some lovely jazz tunes pumping from Betty Kingston's corder of the hall inside, and then at 11am we had some fantastic live music in the courtyard. It really did make a fantastic atmosphere. Even the food was awesome (my homemade iced-billy-tea and roast vegetable wrap went down a treat!!). We also had Olivia from Scampsville doing a live radio cross with 4ZZZ (she hosts the fantastic program 'At the Local') and she actually interviewed Helen from Ruby Red Studios & Ruby2GoGo who coordinated this whole shebang, Hayley from REread, and myself - you can listen to it here if you're interested. She also interviews Karen from Knitting for Brisbane's Needy, which is the charity we raised money for on the day as well.

Best of all though was sharing the day with my sister, which meant I had someone to chat with all day, someone to share my excitement (and remind me to eat) and someone to take turns with manning the stall so that a little (ok a lot) of shopping could be done. I could so easily have bought something from every stall. The quality and variety of goods was so fantastic. Alas, I didn't buy something from everyone....I did give it a good ol' aussie go though. Wanna check out my loot? Here it is:

Notecards from Twinkle Star Art - these are completely handmade, and are perfect for writing thank-yous to people when sending out orders.

Reindeer brooch from Pedrosprout - now I can be festive and funky on Christmas day. Yay!!!

Uber-pink ruffle bottoms from Bettsy Kingston - Kate is going to LOVE these. And so am I. They are just so so gorgeous. And the super-generous Benita also threw in a gorgeous red polka-dotted nappy cover.

I couldn't wait for Christmas to give these to Kate. She's wearing them already. This is her fluffing up her skirt so I could take a photo :P

Zip purse from Little Mary Moo - boy were these gorgeous. I think my friends and family alone must have depleted at least a quarter of Therese's stock (Jade couldn't decide which fabric she liked best so she ended up buying three purses - one in each of her favourite fabrics, and my mum also couldn't resist. Oh, and I know a couple of ladies from my book club came back holding up their purses saying "how cute are these". They really were the perfect little Christmas gifts!!)

Glass brooch from Hot Toffee - there was no way I was leaving Hamilton that day without some kind of Hot Toffee goody on my person. In fact I also bought a hairband with a gorgeous green glass square on it, but I was wearing it when taking the photos, and I've learnt my lesson about taking ugly close-up shots of my hair....ahem. Moving on...

Brooch from old books by REread - are you getting the idea I may have a bit of a brooch thing going on? Yep, hair accessories and brooches. I can never resist. What I love love love about this brooch is that the illustration on it is by one of my favourite children's illustrator teams, Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. So so cool!! Oh, and Hayley is actually giving away one of her gorgeous brooches on her blog right now - so go enter!

But wait, there's more!!!!!

I was lucky enough to do a little swap with Catherine from Made by Maisie, and Kate will be receiving this beautiful Missy Mermaid for Christmas. She is currently obsessed with all things mermaidy so will adore this gorgeous doll.

And I couldn't come away without some more gorgeous kids' clothing.

A stop by the Ogekko stall helped me get my fix, with a beautiful paneled skirt for Kate,

and some very cool pants for Lee.

Some gorgeous handmade Christmas decorations for our tree. If anyone read this post as soon as it went up you'll notice I have just added these in. I forgot them originally as they had been put on the tree as soon as we got home, and they looked so at home there I forgot to take them down and photograph them. So from left to right - star ornament that Kate chose from Raspberry Pink (Lee also chose a green tree one for himself but I can't find what he's done with it....). Peggy Rudolf from Sharlzndollz, a gorgeous gift from Bel from EmBelISH - Kate keeps pointing at her and saying "that's mum"...awwwww), thank-you SO much Bel, I love it!!! And a little Christmas Jelly from Jellygnite (and Kate points to that one as says "that's Kate"....once again...aawwwwww).

Whew, and I think that's it. I'll be doing up a post of the BrisStyle blog in the next day or so, which will include a lot more pics of market stalls. So check that out shortly if you're interested.

Oh, I almost forgot, kinda yesterday's news now, but a couple of weeks ago my bags were featured in the Courier Mail paper. Two days in a row!!! First in an art-lovers gift guide, and then in an Eco Gifts article. As my scanner is on the blink I can't scan the articles in, but here is a link to the blog post by the journalist who wrote the Eco Gifts article. It's the same article, just posted on his blog - The Green Blog.
(oh, and please note, I was a bit misquoted. When asked where I got my inspiration I answered vintage fabrics, Enid Blyton, and my Grandma's button tin. When asked where I found most of my fabrics I answered at local op shops. This transpired into me being quoted as saying I was inspired by op shops and a biscuit tin....he he he ...mmmmmm biscuits......)

And that's about it from me for a while. On Sunday I will be taking off for Christmas in Melbourne, and will be away for a couple of weeks. I have closed my Etsy shop until 26 January, and am making no promises about blogging until then either. I'm getting ready for some serious chill-out, play with the kids, sew some clothes, have some fun and bake some bikkies time.

Hope you all have a wonderful stress-free, healthy and relaxing Christmas and New Year. My very best wishes to you and your loved ones. See you in the new year. XXX Bec

Makin' merry at the market!!!

2008-12-11T06:17:00.006+10:00

Only two sleeps until my first ever market. Eeeeekkkk!!!! I think I'm pretty organised, but I guess I won't really know until I get there and get into it.

Hopefully it will be a fun day. In fact, who am I kidding, of course it will be fun. It will be a market where I actually know all the stall holders, so of course it will be fun.

And there will also be live music (which will be nice), and yummy food, and strong coffee (which will be essential), and I will also have my lovely sister helping me, so hopefully lots of opportunities to shop shop shop as well!!!

If you're in Brisbane I'd love it if you stopped by and said hi!! Here's the details:

BrisStyle Christmas Markets
Saturday 13th December
9am - 4 pm
Hamilton Hall, cnr Racecourse Rd and Rossiter Pde, Hamilton
More info: http://brisstyle.blogspot.com

Oh, and if anyone has any last minute market advice for a complete market novice then I would LOVE to hear it!!!! OK, now I'd better get off this computer and back to making up swing tags....wwwhhheeeeee!!!!!!!

Lots of lovely things

2008-11-30T06:03:00.012+10:00

Last weekend we had our first BrisStyle Christmas meet-up, which not only included drawing the winners of the BrisStyle blog giveaway but also a 'not-so-secret Santa swap'.

My 'secret' Santa was Helen from Ruby2GoGo and Ruby Red Studios and she gave me the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts.

My favourite item is the 'TV Temptress' bracelet, made from salvaged materials in my two favourite colours.

And the matching brooch is just perfect. Oh, and they also match so well with my two favourite rings, so I've been a well-accessorised girl lately :)

Not content with giving only beautiful handmade jewellery, Helen also gave me some gorgeous upholstery fabric samples, two absolutely beautiful huge vintage buttons (maybe bakelite??) and a block of my favourite chocolate!!! Thank-you so much Helen, I adore your gifts, and can't wait to catch up again at the BrisStyle Market!!!

Oh, and speaking of the BrisStyle market, I've been lying a bit low lately and just sew sew sewing my heart out. I've never done a maket before so I'm so excited and also nervous. I've just got everything crossed that I'm going to have enough stock. It's silly but every time I get a sale through etsy now my first thoughts are "oh no, now I have to make another bag to keep my market item numbers up..." Is this normal - does everyone who sells at markets get like this before a market. Or is it just me? I've an awful suspicion that everyone is now looking at their shoes, the ceiling...oh I think I just heard someone shuffle their foot and start whistling...

Anyway, back to lovely things. Another lovely thing is that my lovely sister has started blogging. Yay!!! She has recently been learning to sew (have I mentioned that my evil plan is to lure her into the world of crafting, sewing and blogging, so that she will then be addicted and we can both run a little handbag making business and we'll never have to go back to our old jobs when the kids go to school....EVER!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok, that was an evil laugh as I threw my head back with my hands in the air....somehow I feel that nuance was lost in the literary translation. Sorry.) So back to Jade (my sister).

She is married to a very successful Brisbane chef, so her blog is a mixture of her new foray into sewing and craft, and also a foodie blog (with a measure of 'new mum' stuff thrown in as well - you know, feeding, sleeping, pooing. All that good kid stuff.) You might guess the foodie part by the name. Just Needs Salt. Being the blanderamo eaters that Matt and I are, we often kid Jade and Kym about their sodium intake. So check it out - she writes well (not that I'm biased) and may I say that she is making some AWESOME bags (ahem...again, not that I'm biased) and I'm sure that not only will it put a smile on your face, but I'm sure that if Jade actually gets a comment on her blog from someone other than me it will put a huge smile on her face too!!!

Oooh oooh oooh, last lovely thing (I promise). A while back I treated myself to a new knitting needle necklace from Liana Kabel, a local Brissy designer with gorgeous taste in recycled plastic. And while having the obligatory 'dress-up' session that one must have after purchasing something new (ie. working out which outfits said item looks best with etc). I realised that my favourite outfit was Brisbane through and through.

So I took a photo - necklace by Liana (Brissy jeweller), top by Dogstar (Brisbane clothing designer), bag by me (sleep-deprived Brissy mum), and jeans....well, unfortunately they were probably made in a sweatshop in China I guess, but they had worn out some time ago, and instead of throwing them away I decided to mend the knee, and keep on keeping on with them. And I'm really glad I did. Instead of being embarrassed by my darned knee, I am actually quite proud of it. And of course I've convinced myself that it is the height of fashion. I even asked my biggest critic, and he agreed with me. Hey don't laugh, my four year old has great taste!!!!

Happy Manic Nervous Excited Inspired Grateful....

2008-11-19T13:18:00.015+10:00

I think this title pretty much sums me up at the moment. Life really is whizzing along at a spectacular speed, but mostly in a good way. Perfect timing really to receive this lovely Pay It Forward gift from Big Cat on Monday.

The beautiful artwork she made was just the reminder I needed to stop and have a cup of tea (Melbourne Breakfast Tea in fact, which was delightful) and start reading the book that was also included in the package. Thank-you SO much!!!!! It was just the best way to start off the week.

And just a little note to my own Pay It Forward recipients, I have not forgotten you. I have put aside 6 weeks over the Christmas/New Year break which will be dedicated to all things fun and crafty, which includes getting those Pay It Forward gifts finished and posted off :)

And if getting a very special package on a Monday morning was the best way to start a week, then hopefully the Reverse Garbage Renaissance Christmas Exhibition will be the best way to end it.

I am both super excited and super nervous about turning up to the opening on Friday evening to see some of my bags and bookmarks displayed with so many other talented artists. Also looking forward to having an 'adult' and 'kid free' evening - we're even going to grab some Vietnamese afterwards which will be a fabulous way to finish up the night!

So yeah, if you find yourself in Brisbane this Friday and with not much else to do between 6pm and 8pm then come down to Reverse Garbage for the exhibition opening, and check out all the lovely exhibits (two other BrisStyle members - Helen from Ruby2GoGo and Ruby Red Studios, and Ali from Jellygnite will also be exhibiting, as will fellow blogger Sally from djbebe).

Everything being shown will also be for sale, and in fact the whole of Reverse Garbage itself will be open, so you can grab a paper bag and start filling. Go nuts!!!

And of course, don't forget folks, that the BrisStyle Blog Giveaway is still open until this Friday, so if you haven't left a comment, make sure you pop on over for your chance to win some fantastic gift packs, made up of a variety of handmade goods donated by the BrisStyle members.

And speaking of all things BrisStyle, I'm madly sewing away trying to get ready for the BrisStyle Christmas Market on 13th December. It will be my first ever market and I'm SOOOOOO nervous. I still haven't got my signage or display stuff organised. I've been collecting bits and pieces that I think will work for displaying my bags, but I really need to pull out my table and see if it is all going to come together. I'm starting to feel like I'm really running out of time.....eeekkkkkkk!!!!

Well that's it from me. I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date.....with some nappies (which will be off to a new home in the Blue Mountains soon - hopefully Kara will find them useful). And I will have a whole storage tub free to fill up with some other useful junk...I mean...stuff...I mean really useful and uh, necessary items....:P

So last post I was a busy elf, this post I'm the white rabbit. Just wait, by next post I may be the mad hatter...

Secret Santa Elf Business

2008-11-02T13:15:00.015+10:00

Yes, I've been giggling madly and working furiously and basically doing an all round impersonation of what I imagine one of Santa's elves to be like. Which is why I've been absent from blogland lately. But now it has all come together, I'd like to bring your attention to:

THE BIGGEST BLOG GIVEAWAY EVER!!!!!

Yes, there's been good reason for being away folks!

The giveaway is being run by BrisStyle, a Brisbane based Etsy Street team that I belong to. And I have been madly collecting goodies, making lists (don't worry, I've been checking them twice) and doing lots of other associated elfy things :P

Basically, as part of a big pre-Christmas promotional exercise, we at BrisStyle have put together 3 huge gift packs of handmade goodies from 17 of our members. Each pack is valued at over US $100, and is chockers full of great gifts including jewellery, softies, accessories, bags and artworks.

So what are you doing here? Get thee to the BrisStyle blog - you may win something very cool, and you'll make me feel like I've been a good little elf :P

Looking forward to taking off my pointy hat off now, and catching up with everyone around the bloggy traps again!

Cheers,
Bec

Bouncy castles are STILL genius!

2008-10-20T07:27:00.005+10:00

Image by mrmoorey

Due to lots of things happening over the last week (none which are interesting enough to talk about, but all of which kept me from doing anything even remotely bloggy-related) I missed Drewzel's Blogtoberfest Fave Friday (sorry!), where she posted her fav all time song. Well I don't think I could possibly have narrowed it down to one. However, I realised that I have had a certain song stuck in my head for quite some time now, and it's got to the point where my husband and I have been singing it so much that my son now even knows the words. Actually, it's not a song, so much as a 'crimp'. Mighty Boosh fans will know what I'm talking about. Check it out here - it's fantastic - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNgL0E2BFEM (sorry, the BBC won't let me embed it - you'll have to watch it on youtube. Trust me though, it's worth it.)

And if you REALLY love it, then you can learn the words here - they're very easy, and SOOOOOOO addictive.

I think I've become a bit of a crimping machine. I've been singing it to my 7 month old nephew lately to (I sing the song, he does the 'bouncy bouncy' moves) and he LOVES it. What can I say, the boy's got taste!!!

I've also been tagged by PinkLizzy for the 6 random things meme. I know I've done this one before, but I figured since I've been thinking about music a lot lately (I'm also re-reading High Fidelity for book club, so I've developed the habit of categorising things into 'top five' lists) that I'd just adapt this meme a bit, and make it a bit of a High Fidelity meets RocKwiz kinda theme. (And sorry, but I couldn't stick to just 6, so I've added an extra random question).

I won't tag anyone, but play if you want, and let me know so I can come check out your answers!

1. Your first musical idol.

When I was a kid my musical idol was Tiny Tina Arena. I desperately wanted to be on Young Talent Time and be the one singing "someone left the cake out in the rain..."

2. Your biggest musical shame/embarrassment.

When I was a teenager I was a headbanging metal fan. Not the hardcore stuff like Metallica. I was into Motley Crue, Guns n Roses (the early stuff, not the later stuff), Poison (eeek, I know!), and all the other glam metal bands. I even played bass guitar in my own little garage metal band. We were called Mary Jane. Of course.

3. Your special musical talent?

I know the words to more kids' songs than my kids' music teacher. This never ceases to amaze me (I also know the associated actions and dance moves, and it also amazes me that other parents don't....is this not normal???)

4. A musical thing that you wouldn't do in public.

I am great at changing the words to songs on the spur of the moment to fit whatever it is I want to tell my kids. I can even make them rhyme in the right places (maybe I should have been a freestyin' rapper). And scarily, my son seems to have inherited this talent, so we sometimes conduct whole conversations 'in song'!!! Not in public, of course.

5. The last band you saw live.

Machine Gun Fellatio which was about 4 years ago. They were pretty good.

6. Favourite live music experience.

Seeing The Eels play about 8 years ago. And I didn't even pay for the tickets (won a RRR giveaway). It wasn't a 'jump around and go nuts' kind of event. More a sit down and watch and listen carefully because you didn't want to miss a thing because it was all so intricate and subtle and well....just awesome!!!

7. If you could see any band/musician live tomorrow, who would it be?

They Might Be Giants. Because I've never seen them live and I'm afraid I never will, and I'd SOOOOO love to. I mean, come on, how awesome is this song.

It's jumpy, it's happy, and hey, it's even educational :P

I'm a mean green machine!

2008-10-08T07:15:00.019+10:00

Lately I've been discovering some absolute gems that have sprung from the world of green. And I'm considering it my environmental duty to share :)

Firstly, I recently chanced upon the discovery of a new publication called Peppermint Magazine - a mag devoted to fresh green fashion. And I can't rave about it enough. It is a slick, classy, 'fashion forward' (can you tell I've been watching Project Runway) magazine that was put together by a one-woman show in Brisbane. From big name labels to local SE Qld designers (djbebe's recycled fabric brooch and Rebecca Wards' shark shards recycled glass necklace are paired with Gorman and del forte's organic ranges of clothing in a gorgeous fashion shoot spread) this magazine has it all. Great articles (I SO want to get to a Clothing Exchange event now), a visual art/design competition in every issue, and all printed on beautiful glossy 100% recycled stock and printed with vege/soy inks. The first issue is free if you pick it up at one of their stockists (Meet Me at Mikes fans in Melbourne can find a copy there) or you can order it only for only $5.95 inc postage. I know I sound like I have some sort of vested interest but I really don't. I just really enjoyed this mag - even the ads were interesting to me!

Happy green news number 2. Check out these vintage lovelies!

The wonderful Meika from Meika's Little Treasures hosted a vintage sheet fat quarter swap, and these are the lovely fabrics that I received. Can't wait to make some more fabric bookmarks with them. In fact, this segues nicely into my next bit of green news, as the reason I have to make more bookmarks is that I have been accepted into the Reverse Garbage Christmas Exhibition. So very exciting!!! I will be displaying some bookmarks, some reversible handbags, and a shoulder bag - all from recycled, reclaimed and reused materials. I've never taken part in anything like this before so I was very chuffed to have my submission accepted. Now I just have to get to work!!!

Photo by Jones.Emma

And the last of the green news is of the cleaning variety. In an effort to reduce the chemicals and toxic substances around the house we have trying out various 'green cleaning' methods, so I thought I'd share some of the crackers.

1. Leather conditioner (used on our couch) - 2tbsp linseed or flaxseed oil to 1 tbsp white vinegar. Mix in bowl and rub into leather with a soft cloth, then buff with another dry cloth. Seriously - this is AWESOME!!! It actually worked heaps better than the proprietry leather conditioner we had from Freedom.

2. Bathroom cleaner - sprinkle bi-carb soda over surface, dip cloth in white vinegar (or pour a bit over the bi-carb so it fizzes) and wipe with a cloth. Using this and an old toothbrush to clean around the taps and other tricky bits was just the best. Worked so well, and for once I wasn't worried about getting nasty bathroom chemicals or bleach on my hands or clothes.

3. Clothes whitener - in an effort to whiten up some of my greying white clothes, I soaked them in a bucket of water with a cup of white vinegar, then put them out in the sun. Awesomely white. Napisan eat your heart out!

4. Personal care products - I've been trying out lots of different brands, and am SO happy with the following. Trilogy hair care products (natural, organic, no creepy stuff), Trilogy hydrating toner (again, organic, yummy rose, geranium and lavender oils), Jurlique cleanser (natural, non-creepy, smells great - expensive, but lasts for ages), Jurlique sunscreen (now I don't know how 'green' sunscreen can really get, but I can say that this facial sunscreen is 30+ and absorbs so well, and best of all smells really really nice - not like sunscreen at all!!)

And that's it for my mean green tips today. Do you have any special green cleaning tips products or general news you'd like to share? Because I'd love to find out more.

Gratefulness

2008-10-05T12:58:00.011+10:00

Now this post could be huge. Of course there is always so much to be grateful for. But in the spirit of my last two posts I will try and keep it short(ish) and sweet. Firstly, I am once again grateful for the generous spirit of crafty bloggers, and in particular I want to say a HUGE thank-you to Net from Area Thrifty-One. A little while ago Net ran a giveaway on her blog, and the winner was a friend of mine (Ali) who belongs to BrisStyle, the Brisbane Etsy Street Team that we both belong to. When I mentioned to Net how pleased I was that Ali was the winner, she sent through a little pressie for me with Ali's giveaway pack. Isn't this little brooch just too gorgeous. I've been wearing it at every opportunity this weekend, and so far I've discovered it goes just as well with a plain black bonds t-shirt, as it does with a crisp white blouse. Thank-you so much Net - it is such a lovely and thoughtful gift and I really do adore it :)

In other bloggy gratefulness news, I have been very lucky to be honored with the Love Your Blog award from Ingrid of LottieLuLu, and also from Beccasaurus. The idea of passing the award on is kind of stressing me out though, as I have over (ok, well over) 100 blogs in my bloglines, and I really do love reading them all. I also know that many blogs I read have already received this award, and I'm worried about doubling up.....I know. Neurotic. I'm making steps though. I now accept my neuroticness (is that a word!!!) and I'm no longer neurotic about being neurotic :P So let me just say that if I have commented on your blog, then I can guarantee that I love it.

But I will leave you with some cool linky links, as there are some very sweet things going on in Blogland at the moment, and it would be simply remiss of me not to mention them:

Amanda of Twinkle Star Art is doing another giveaway for one of her gorgeous children's prints. If you have a little boy, or know of one, who is into automobiles, then get ye to Amanda's blog asap. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I have seen her prints in person and the quality of them is just superb!

If you've been reading the Betty Ninja blog over the past 12 months, you will probably, like me, have been in awe of some of her beautiful viewfinder photographs. Not content to be an awesome quilter, sewer, thrifter, crafter and adventure girl, she also takes amazing photos. And she has finally set up an Etsy shop (lost in the woods - isn't that a lovely name!) selling prints of her work. To celebrate, she is currently hosting a giveaway, where you can win not one but three of her gorgeous prints. I think if I don't win I might have to just buy one of her beautifully etherial photos for myself.
If you'd like to join in a festival of blogging in October, then you may want to consider participating in Blogtoberfest, hosted by Big Cat's Emporium, which involved a post a day for the month of October. Unfortunately I think I am just a little too sporadic in my postings to commit to something so ambitious, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun. The lovely Flossy-P has even produced a little button for it - how cool is that!

Now I'm truly sorry folks. I know I promised short punchy posts....and I tried...I really did....trust me, this could have been heaps heaps longer :P

Productive

2008-10-05T11:35:00.012+10:00

I have actually been pretty productive lately. I have a whole heap of new bags that I can't show yet because I still haven't taken photos of them, but I do have photos of a little gift pack I sent off recently to my Sister-in-law and Brother-in-law and their new little baby Angus. I really wanted to try and do a completely handmade pack of goodies to send them. Unfortunately with illness hitting the household at the time of the birth, it took me a little longer to finish everything, but I got there eventually. The pack included:

* reversible bibs for little Angus - made with a mixture of reclaimed vintage and new japanese fabrics.
* cloth ball rattle - pattern found here. It was so super easy, and lots of fun (although I used felt for the circles on the end, which made it even easier!). I can't remember where I got the idea of using a cat toy for the rattle bit inside (i'm sure I read about it on a craft blog somewhere), but it worked a treat.
* casual market tote - just a little pressie for the new mum, whose favourite colour is purple (fabrics used are reclaimed purple linen, reclaimed wool fabric, and new Hollabee linen/cotton blend fabric with hand screenprinted rubine swirls. Strap was a recycled fabric belt, with vintage buttons for detail).

(reverse side of bibs)
OK, so this is one short post (for me!). Look out everyone. I'm on fire!!!

Bird nests and deep breaths

2008-10-05T10:26:00.012+10:00

We are very lucky to have two bird nests in our back yard at the moment. One big messy one up very high in the top of a big old gum tree at the back of the yard, and one little neat one at the top of a much smaller spindly tree near the kids' cubby house.

Whenever I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the lists of things to do I have floating around the place, I go out onto the deck and stop for a while to look at these bird nests and listen to the chirping. To come back into the moment I guess.

I had a good look at those nests before I sat down at this computer actually. Because I have so much to say and show and acknowledge, and it's been so long since I posted....you know how it is. I was going to try and say everything in one big post (yes, the mammoth posts seem to be a hallmark of mine) but then I thought I should maybe try breaking it all down into bite-sized portions. Manageable tasks, if you will.

So here comes a series of little posts - I hope. I do have trouble with conciseness sometimes. But I will try. It is Spring after all. A good time for new things. Hurrah!

PS. If you look closely in this last shot, you can see a little head and beak poking out of the nest. Sorry my nature photography skills are not great - plus I was balancing on the edge of the cubby house holding my arm above my head and trying to use the zoom function on my little happy-snaps camera....

A welcome distraction

2008-09-21T19:58:00.005+10:00

Boy, after my last post I really jinxed myself. I felt great for 3 days. And like I said - I was 'popping' with energy and enthusiasm. And then suddenly it wasn't me that was popping, it was just my ear. I've been laid out flat with a horrendous ear infection for the last week. My first one ever, and boy are they horrible - the worst pain ever, the dizziness, the nausea, and the walking into walls because balance is totally shot. Blah - who invented that one!!!

Anyway, I'm still deaf but starting to pick up, and I have been tagged by the lovely Flossy-P for the 'on my walls' meme. This couldn't have come at a better time, as I have nothing at all crafty to show or to talk about, and I'm pretty sure there's only so much whining about feeling crappy that people will put up with reading.

So I will do some show and tell instead, and I won't feel like I have totally neglected my blog.

Firstly, above is my favourite piece of wall decoration, and my only original piece of art; Inner Peace by Alesha Cox, who is an artist that lives on the Sunshine Coast. I'd had my eye on her paintings for a while, and watched her delivering some of her pieces to a gallery once - she seemed like such a nice person, which made her work appeal to me even more. So when the opportunity to buy one of her pieces arose, I jumped at it. This is in our lounge/dining area, and I like that it always reminds me to stop and breathe when I'm having a day that's a bit of a shocker.

Framed print of The Ride by Elsa Mora (Elsita). This hangs in our entrance at the bottom of the stairs, and puts a smile on my face each time I enter the house.

Green Birds On Flowers - a limited edition gocco print by Bernadette Sipkes (Sugarloop), a printmaker and illustrator from NZ. This hangs on the wall leading into our kitchen, and I love how it looks with all the natural light falling onto it, and our fire engine red kitchen tiles in the background set it off so nicely (I couldn't manage to get them into the shot, sorry!)

This original batik painting, stapled to a wooden frame, was bought by Matt before I met him, while he was traveling through Indonesia. Matt has always loved it, and I was never much of a fan, but it has grown on me over the years, and I now find the spooky faces familiar and comforting.

These are actually paintings I did when I was pregnant with Lee. I wanted to decorate his nursery, but we couldn't afford to buy anything at the time. So I decided to have a crack at some simple paintings myself. They now live in the kids playroom, but will probably be outgrown soon. Now you can see why I sew, rather than paint :P

And what would a family home be without kid art and photos.

We have some beautiful professional photos of the kids, but I'm afraid I'm not going to show them in any detail here - for one thing, I think we are always much more enamored of our own photos than other people are, and also it's just a bit too personal for me. But I will proudly show off my kids' bedroom, which for me is a little work of art in itself, complete with colour, their own artworks, and many many treasures.

Train Collage by Lee. He told me what pieces he wanted - I cut them out for him and he put the whole thing together. We then framed it in an old frame I bought in an Op Shop for $1.

Rainbow Painting, Christmas Tree Collage, and Rocket Mobile by Lee, and Wiggly Picture by Kate. I love these, they are so happy!

Stained Glass Windows by Lee and Kate. After seeing something similar on Playschool we decided to have a crack at making some windows ourselves. Admittedly they look a bit crap when you're standing outside looking in, but they look lovely from inside the kids' bedroom, and they love looking out from them.

Bling Bling Mountain Bike Collage by Lee - a Father's Day present for Matt last year. This one has pride of place in Matt's little office.

And now I get to tag some people, and I'm going to choose three very creative gals who always amaze me with their own works of art. So I'd be very interested to have a sticky at what they have on their walls, if they have the time and inclination to play :)

The Tiny Little Girl
Twinkle Star Art
Hey Harriet

Play if you'd like to. Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. No pressure :)

Back to the land of the living

2008-09-15T11:35:00.011+10:00

Well it really feels like Spring has arrived. Not because of the glorious weather, the buzzing of bees, or the birds that now wake us up at 5am each morning (which my husband hates, and I quite like). But after two weeks of horrid sickness, I now feel well and renewed, and bursting with Springtime energy. I want to clean and make and play and bake and I want to do it all NOW!!!!

I feel like I'm pop pop popping, just like these poppies I bought from the markets on the weekend (I love the way they 'pop' out of their hairy pods, and a gorgeous colourful crepe-like flower unfurls....I also love guessing what colour each flower will be before it 'pops' out. Hey is this why they're called 'POPpies'???)

Anyway, so I've been getting in amongst it, firstly with the cleaning, which I am sadly behind in after weeks of just doing the bare minimum. Then on the weekend I had a huge urge to sew something different. Something not for the shop, not for a gift for someone else, not something for the kids, but something for me. And I didn't want to make something I've already made before. I felt like a challenge.

So I went for another mash-up.

Basically, I took a gorgeous piece of $2.00 Op Shop fabric (stiff white seersucker with blue polka dots) and mashed up two patterns to create a dress. I was hoping for something a bit 'Alice in Wonderlandy' with a 50s edge.

I am pretty happy with it actually.

The two patterns I used were Simplicity 4589 (view A) and Simplicity 3835 (view A - the long dress) and they mashed up pretty easily.

I also made a belt from a vintage buckle I had, and wallah! So next time I'm invited to an Alice in Wonderland tea party, I'm good to go.

Maybe Melanie will provide the crockery!!!

I've also had a couple of nice surprises which brightened up my days during my lapse into lurgydom.

I won a wonderful book on how to make wallets from Cass from Snailblazer.

I especially like the ankle wallet. My son would love this - can't wait to give it a try!!!

And I was very generously given a Brillante Weblog award from Shells (Pixie Kisses).

Thanks so much Shells, you write a lovely blog, and I hope you don't mind if I shirk my obligation and simply pass this award onto anyone who is nice enough to be leaving a comment on this blog. I always check out the blogs of people who comment (you should see my heaving bloglines) and I am constantly inspired and humbled by the creativity and insightfulness of craft bloggers. It is what pushes me to be more creative, more grateful, and to find as much happiness as possible in the little things. Thank-you :)

It's not a wedgie dahrling, it's art!

2008-09-04T18:31:00.011+10:00

I've had a long couple of days. Two kids down with fevers and a very work-stressed husband. I tried to grab a few minutes for myself when I attempted to do the photos of some new bags for my Etsy shop. I'd had the bags made for days, but just couldn't find time to photograph them.

I finally did it, and that night I got ready to upload them. And realised that all the photos of me holding the bags look like I'm trying to pull a wedgie out of my bum. Noice.

I looked at them. I sighed. And I thought "oh bugger it" and uploaded them anyway.

And then I found my sense of humour and decided to make the wedgie shots the main display photos. And I also made them my featured items. Because that's about where I am right now - what the hell, here look at me picking a wedgie. I just don't care anymore.

For the record, I actually have my hand in my back pocket.

For some reason, I thought it might look hip!

Apparently not...

Ok, so just to make sure you don't all go to bed tonight and have wedgie nightmares, here's a sweet chaser.

I made this last Sunday morning, just an hour before we had to go to a birthday party for a four year old. All reclaimed fabrics except for the giant ric rac - super quick and easy, and quite satisfying.

The brooch was a little something I'd prepared earlier (as in about 6 months ago) and seemed to add a little festivity to the number. Kate thought it was great - a twirly pink and purple polka-dotty party skirt. What more could a two year old want? Actually, what she did want - and insist upon - was pants to wear under the skirt. We finally agreed on some footless tights. Maybe she was worried about wedgies.......

Edited to add - I just realised I am wearing my "Isn't Life Great" t-shirt in all these photos. Somehow that seems fitting...

Vintage Man seeks Vintage Woman

2008-09-02T08:56:00.008+10:00

I think my favourite ring has been putting out dating ads in the Classified section of the Craftosphere Monthly. And luckily for him, his call was answered at the last BrisStyle Meet-up, where he met this lovely lady.

It was love at first sight.

They were destined to be together.

And they lived happily ever after.....

Epilogue: Little did 'Vintage Woman' know it was all an arranged marriage, and although money did not actually change hands, there was, let us say, and 'exchange of goods' for her lovely hand...er...I mean...head...

Thank-you Helen (Ruby 2 Go Go) for this lovely gift, and I am glad you enjoyed your own little parcel of goodies :)

The generosity of bloggers

2008-08-28T06:44:00.014+10:00

Sometimes the generosity of bloggers astounds me. This week I received the most wonderful parcel in the mail from Jess (from Button Beauty), filled with goodies. Not just any old goodies either - but thoughtful, considered gifts, that were just so perfect. And all because the winner of Jess' giveaway had found her via my blog. How is that for generous!!! And as an example of her thoughtfulness, Jess had remembered from a previous post of mine that I loved nasturtiums, especially the way water beads on their leaves, so she included some nasturtium seeds!!! She also gave me three gorgeous pieces of fabric, the most beautifully soft and well made cotton bamboo face washer (it really has to be touched to understand just how soft it is), some lovely fabric covered buttons, and the best vintage sewing book ever. In fact, I spent quite some time showing my husband some of the classic pictures in this, and reading out various parts to him (such as 'I had no idea there were so many types of sleeves, or that there is a sleeve design called 'the leg of mutton'...he he he...).

In fact, the book is such a cracker, that I just have to share some of it here. For example, how cool is this little sewing corner. The holders on the wall are actually straw hats!!!!

My husband says he would be quite happy for me to whip up this cheerleader outfit for myself...ahem...don't think so!!!

Although he wasn't so enthusiastic about me kitting myself out in this nightie :P

There are just so many great pics in this sewing book, and so much great fashion. I LOVE the shirt on the girl on the left, and how cool is her hat!

And lastly, as this IS a sewing book for 'teens', of course it includes the obligatory 'checklist' so you can work out exactly where your wardrobe is lacking, and what items you need to sew for yourself (click on the image for a closer look at what your wardrobe might be missing). Hmmmmm, looks like I need to start sewing myself some 'pants and jeans, from knock-about casual to party-timers....' Guess I'd better get cracking!!!

Thanks again Jess, it really was such a lovely package to receive :)
Cheers, Bec X

Oh, and as an edit to this, I almost forgot to add, that while I was having my bloggy break, I also received a Brilliante Weblog Award from Jess, which I somehow completely missed (which really goes to prove my unworthiness I guess). But can I also say once again Thank-you Jess!!!! And I am hereby passing this award onto anyone who suffers from 'Blogging Guilt' over tags or awards that they have received that they either accidently missed, or haven't gotten around to posting about yet.....please say I'm not the only one????

Nice stuff (or - the longest post in the history of long posts....)

2008-08-21T08:04:00.007+10:00

I figured after the last rather serious post it was time for some frivolous niceness :) I'm also due for a big bloggy catch-up after my break, so I've decided to roll everything together into one big sweet doughy lump of deliciousness.

Lets start with some eye candy!

I've been having a little bit of a spend-up lately. Firstly, I saw some gorgeous vintage button hair clips on Stacey's blog - Sheep's Clothing, and I had to high-tail it to her shop lest I miss out on these beauties. But don't worry folks, I see she has added more clippy deliciousness in other yummy colours to her shop, in case you are as tempted as I was when I first saw them!

Now clearly I have a hair clip addiction, which needs to be fed, so these delightful little items came in the mail early this week. Em and Bel (of EmBelISH) are members of the BrisStyle Street Team I belong to, and as you may have heard, we had a little sale recently. So how could I not buy these beautiful clips.

Especially as they came with the free little owly brooch, and beautifully gift-wrapped. These girls also have a new blog, so check it out to get the latest on their creative endeavors.

And please excuse the crummy hair model, but I thought Stacey, Em and Bel would all like to see how their clips look when being worn - pretty damn cute if you ask me (if you look past the messy hair).

I really should brush my hair before I tie it up next time I decide to do photos....sorry about that...

And getting away from my feral noggin, here's some pics of some much nicer heads :)

These original art ACEOs from Tracey (of Hey Harriet) are just stunning, and are another BrisStyle Sale buy. I've had my eye on the 'All My Little Words' art card for ages now, but then I just couldn't resist the 'Yellow Wall Boy' card either, and the Giraffe was given as a freebie. How lucky is that! Oh, and Tracy is the founder of 'Shadow Shot Sunday' which she hosts on her gorgeous blog, so if you want to check out some cool shadow photography, click on over and enjoy :)

OK, so clearly lots of buying going on. But I've also been kinda productive as well. I've been having a go at doing some boy's wallets, because after looking for handmade things for my son when it was his birthday, I realised there is a real lack of nice things for boys in the handmade world. So to try and balance the scales just a little in my shop, I've created these two little rascals:

The Phizz-z-z-z Boys 'Cash and Cards' wallet - made with reclaimed vintage seersucker fabric and new fabric scraps, with a big recycled button on the velcro flap closure. Pockets for cards and a long pocket for cash, but no spots for coins. My husband assures me that no male ever carries change in his wallet - makes it too bulky to put in the back pocket apparently :P

Can anyone else verify this?

I must admit, I have known many boys who keeps big jars full of coins in their room. I guess this is what happens when there is no place to put coins? (By the way, this wallet is called 'Tootle' and is for the train enthusiast - note the train tracks - and this one has a button closure rather than velcro...thought I'd try a a couple of different closure types and see what was most popular. Going to do an elastic one too as soon as I can get out and get some in black).

Anyway, back to the jar of coins in the bedroom. Forced savings? Maybe these boys are onto a winner. Especially as my husband just bought a heap of parts for his mountain bike after counting up all his gold coins and discovering he had over $400 there!!!!!!

OK, now I did warn you that this was to be a big post didn't I? Well good, because I'm not finished yet. Gee, maybe this post should have sub-headings....if so, I think this one will be called "Awards that were given to me by very nice people to whom I have been very slack about posting here"

Firstly, the lovely Ali from Charlie and Grace gave me the Arty Pico award - quite some time ago I'm ashamed to say, and the very talented Rachel from Cornflower Blue Studio awarded me the Brilliante Award as well - again some time ago. I'm so sorry ladies that I was so slack in getting onto these - they just happened to come at a particularly hectic time and I did mean to get to them and pass them onto others....but it's been such a while now that I'd feel a bit of a fool passing them on. So I might just say that anyone who gets to the bottom of this massive post deserves their very own award, which I will hereby name the "Either very polite or very high tolerance for waffle" Award.

And so I will leave you with one last piece of unspectacular info. Just as I was going on my bloggy break I was tagged by The Tiny Little Girl (if you haven't seen the work of this very talented crafter, your really should check it out - she has a very gorgeous Etsy Shop too!). The tag was for 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself. So in closing, here they are, and feel free to post your own 6 unspectacular quirks too - just leave a comment and I will have lots of fun checking them out. Ok, so here they are:

1. I never finish a hot drink - I always have to leave a little bit in the bottom of the cup. I don't know why.
2. I never eat all my crusts - I always leave a little bit that I just don't want to eat. Again, don't know why.
3. I can do all the actions to pretty much all of the Wiggles songs, and can sing all the words. And I really enjoy doing it.
4. I'm now working on learning all the High 5 moves (they're a little more complicated than the Wiggles ones :P)
5. I LOVE bad 80s dancing (yep, both doing it and watching it). The 'Angry Dancing' scene from Flight of the Conchords where they do the Footloose/Flashdance scene is just hilarious - you've GOT to watch this!!

6. I have decided to start replacing all my ugly wire coathangers with old-fashioned crochet-covered ones. For some reason this idea really appeals to me. Op Shops, here I come :)

Wow, that was really a mixed bag. But I think I'm all caught up now. Next post will be much shorter. I promise :)

Chocolate - the biggest vice of all????

2008-08-18T19:47:00.016+10:00

I need to admit here and now that my single biggest vice is chocolate. I LOVE it, and I love that I love it. And I know that it can be bad for the waistline, bad for the skin...blah blah blah....but I had never really thought of it as being bad for my karma. Let me explain...

I recently heard the tail end of a radio show that talked about general exploitation in the cocoa industry, and there was mention that the cheap brands of chocolate were the worst offenders. It was at that point I started only buying Green and Black's chocolate for my own scoffing (and a nice reason to justify the expense of a nicer chocolate than Cadburys), but I still bought Freddo Frogs for the kids as special treats, and didn't think much more of it.

Then yesterday I read a post from one of my favourite blogs - Great Stories. It is one of the few non-crafty blogs I love to read regularly. And the post has been playing on my mind. Over and over actually. It is both a review of the book Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of The World’s Most Seductive Sweet by Carol Off, a former war correspondent. It's also a discussion of the power of a story to change your habits – or at least your mindset – as a consumer. Well I think we could add to that the power of a blog to change habits and mindsets too, as you will see.

While reading Paula's post, I discovered that the exploitation I'd heard only briefly about on the radio actually involves child slavery and human trafficking....and the idea that my kids' chocolate covered grins can come at the expense of the lives of children across the world, makes me feel sick. I've spent the last two days trying to find out what I can do, and what I can actually eat without feeling nauseous from guilt. And the Dont Trade Lives website says that boycotting your favourite chocolate won't help either - it will just hurt poor farming families. So what to do???? It's been doing my head in. So anyway, I've decided this is what I can do:

1. I have signed the online petition which will send a message to the Australian chocolate industry that I want them to make a genuine attempt to tackle the root causes of child labour in cocoa production.

2. I will purchase organic and/or fair trade chocolate wherever possible, but will let my kids still have the occasional cheapo chocolate (ie. Freddo Frogs) and hope I am somehow walking that middle ground between not wholeheartedly supporting a disgusting industry, but not hurting innocent farmers either.

So Paula, when you read this, I guess I am answering your question of whether a story can change you habits as a consumer. Yes indeed - even a story about a story can do it. And this is where my habits change....thank-you.

*pic above by Jeff Carlson

Winners are grinners :)

2008-08-14T21:48:00.009+10:00

Well I hope so anyway! This time I decided to go all 'high tech' with the giveaway draw, and used a Random Number Generator. After taking a whole 30 secs to do this (including the time it took to google search a random number generator site) I can't believe that last time I actually used a printer to print out all the comments, cut them up, then got Lee to pull a piece of paper from my apron pocket...although at least using an apron pocket meant I got a nice photo of the winner being drawn. Unlike this time. Here instead we'll just have a picture of one of the birthday cakes I made over my two week bloggy break.

And now a drum roll please...

....the winner of the crafty giveaway bonanza, including the apron, the sewing/knitting/crochet patterns, the vintage sheet fat quarters, and the handmade goodies is...

Alexandra from Potty Mouth Mama

COME ON DOWN!!!! Actually, no, just send me an email (my email link is in my blogger profile - sorry I know there is some way to embed the link here as I read it on Leni and Rose a while ago, but I really need to go to bed now so I'm being lazy). Alexandra, if you include your address I will get all your goodies packaged up and posted out to you on Monday :)

Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment. Your feedback has been very much appreciated, and has helped me to direct my focus a bit, as I was feeling a bit all over the place with what I was doing. Thank-you thank-you thank-you!!!!!!

So my bloggy break was swell - but as Tank Girl said "now the swelling's gone down", so I'm back and raring to scoot around blogland again. Although it will have to wait until tomorrow as my eyes are hanging out of my head now. I'll leave you with a few things I got done whilst having my little break. It was nice to do less 'talking' and more 'doing' for a while.

1. Freckles reversible handbag, 2. Freckles - blue side, 3. Witch Snippit - brown side, 4. Witch Snippit - tablecloth side, 5. Jiffy Wood - blue side, 6. Jiffy Wood - tablecloth side, 7. Buttercup Field - tweed side, 8. Buttercup Field - tablecloth side, 9. Peggy - Little Lady Bag

See you all soon!

Bec
:)

We interrupt this bloggy break....

2008-08-08T06:55:00.015+10:00

***For a quick community service announcement.....***

ETSY EKKA EXTRAVAGANZA SALE!!!!!

From Saturday 9th August to Sunday 17th August, the talented BrisStylettes are offering some Show-Stopping Specials!!

Everyone loves a Show as much as they love a Sale, so the BrisStyle team have put together some special promotional deals to coincide with the Annual Brisbane Show - the 'Ekka'.

BrisStyle members are a diverse group of artisans all with their own unique style. We make a range of lovely goodies: Jewellery, Bags, Children and Baby clothing and accessories, Art prints and originals, Retro/recycled treasures, Dolls and Softies ... And they’re all on sale!!

Visit the stores below to take advantage of the 'Etsy Ekka Extravaganza Sale' and grab some great deals:

jellygnite - 15% off all items in store + free art card / aceo with every order over $15 (excl postage)

HotFudge - 15% off all items in store

EmBelIsh – Free Owl Brooch & Gift Wrapping with purchase

TwinkleStarArt – Free children's 'gift card' with all purchases. Purchase two or more art prints, receive an additional art print, of your choice, for free.

Sharlzndollz – 10% off all items in store

Shazzabeth – 10% off all items in store + free postage on orders over $100

Elizasart – 10% off all items in store + free postage on orders over $100

MooreTaste – 15% off all items in store + a free pair of gemstone earrings on purchases over $100 after discounts

Beckybean (that's me!!!) – Free gift pack (bookmark, felt hairclip & postcard) with any bag purchase

ruby2gogo - Retro Brisbane gift cards with all purchases. Show Bag with purchases over $40

rubyredstudios – Retro Brisbane gift cards with all purchases. Show Bag with purchases over $40

Hey Harriet – Free postage on all purchases

Hair Doos - 10% off all items in store + free postage on orders over $100

Be sure to keep up to date with what's happening with BrisStyle on our blog: www.brisstyle.blogspot.com

***We will now return you to your normal programming***

PS. The giveaway is still open - feel free to enter if you haven't yet done so, and thank-you thank-you thank-you to all who have left comments and feedback for me. They have been a great help to me and are very much appreciated :)

100th post crafty giveaway bonanza!!!

2008-07-30T19:59:00.013+10:00

I've always wanted to get the word 'bonanza' into a post title. And now I have. Yay!

So I am joining many other fine people who are having bloggy milestone giveaways at the moment, and am having one of my own. It's funny that I had decided to have a bloggy break when I realised I was about to do my 100th post. So it seems like a good time to stop and reflect on how much blogging has enriched my life. Or rather, how the blogging community has enriched it. So thank-you to anyone who has ever read one of my posts, or has left me a comment. My little break is not a reflection on my lack of appreciation that's for sure. Ok, enough of the sentimental rambling of an overtired crafter. Onto the good stuff. Here's a lowdown of the loot that will go to the lucky winner of this crafty giveaway bonanza (and if you can just say this in a booming echo voice while you read this it would make me really happy :P).

1. A gorgeous vintage apron.

The detail on this little baby is amazing (unlike my ironing skills which are significantly less than amazing - sorry).

2. Six vintage sewing patterns.

The Simplicity patterns top left and bottom right are a women's size 12. The Simplicity pattern bottom left is a women's size 16. The girls' dresses pattern is a size 6, the toddler patterns are a size 3, and the boys' shirt pattern is a 35" chest (and come on, wouldn't a teenage boy just love to wear a homemade shirt like one of these...he he...) Oh, I haven't thoroughly checked that all patterns are intact but they do seem to be, and I have no reason to believe they aren't.

3. Five vintage knitting patterns and one vintage crochet pattern. Check out the ciggies in some of these shots. The dude is doing the 'casual ciggie' hold, and I think the chick is going for a 'sexy sophistication' look. And I'm not even going to comment on the girl doing the crochet, with her little brother holding her wool, and the older brother looking down with interest...yep, moving on...

4. A pack of vintage sheet fat quarters.

5. Some handmade goodies, including a fabric bookmark,

felt rosette brooch, and felt hair clip.

Now as I may have mentioned once or twice, I am now having a bloggy break. So you will have plenty of time to enter. I will do a random draw to determine the winner on Thursday 14th August. To enter, I am actually going to bully you into participating in some market research for me. No don't worry, I'm not going to ask for your phone numbers and ring you during dinner time to ask you to do a quick survey which will only take five minutes but really will take 40mins. No - what I am asking you to do is just to visit my Etsy shop and tell me in the comments here, which is your favourite item. I have committed to doing a market with BrisStyle at Christmas time, and I really have no idea what I should be focussing my efforts on making. Little bags, big bags, girls' bags, boys' bags, brooches, clips, bookmarks.....if you can just copy and paste the name of the item you like best it would really help me to make some decisions. If you could also tell me why that item is your favourite that would be great - but it's not an entry requirement (I know how time consuming commenting is). And you might win a nice prize :P

Thanks again to everyone who reads these posts (especially those who actually make it all the way to the bottom). Many thanks my friends. Be well. XXX Bec

This is...where I'm going, and where I've beanie...

2008-07-30T15:29:00.020+10:00

Oh, and a 100th post giveaway announcement!!!. Did I forget to mention that in the title? Sorry, but I can never resist a bad pun title - and I just couldn't work the giveaway in. I'm actually going to do the giveaway in the next post - but seeing as though this post is the big number 100, it seems right that I should mention it here...Anyway, check my next post (coming about 30mins after this one :P) for more info on this.

I'm bundling a few things up into the free-styling this is...theme this week. And I also want to take the opportunity to say thanks to Angela from Three Buttons for hosting, as I'm pulling out for a while. I may return, but I definitely won't be around for next week's...

So back to explaining this title. Firstly. Where I'm going. Well - away for a little bit. Ok, not really away - I guess what I'm really doing is detoxing. From internet overload. With everything so busy at the moment, I am finding that the time I spend on this blog, on Etsy and Flickr, and reading and commenting on other people's blogs, is just becoming excessive. I need to 'cleanse' my personal operating system (so to speak), so I'm going to try limiting my time on the computer to a bit in the morning, and a bit in the evening for a couple of weeks.

So please excuse my absence - I am hoping I will still be able to keep up with reading my bloglines - but I may just lurk more than usual, so please excuse my lack of commenting. And I won't be updating this space for a bit.....well that is the plan anyway. Let's see if I can actually do it - I mean goodness, it's only two weeks I'm aiming for. I am hoping it will give me a little much needed mental space, and help me to focus on actually 'doing' things, rather than reading or writing about them. I'm also hoping to make a bit of a dint in my fabric stash and pump a few things out. I have so many ideas and things I want to do, but it is so hard to find time. After that, I envisage that I will bounce back into cyberspace pumped and ready to start saying hello again :)

Whew, so the second part of the title. Where I've been. In two words - going mad. Well, not really - just busy. Kids' birthdays, Etsy orders, visiting relatives, and the odd bit of knitting has kept me well and truly out of trouble. Remember the gorgeous yarn I bought ages ago? Well I finally did make that beanie, and as it turns out it was really easy and I LOVE it.

Only problem is that it is a bit small for me. But perfect for Lee, and he loves it. For some reason he has decided to call it his 'genie hat' (I have no idea why). Now I just have to make another one, but with bigger needles, and maybe just a few more rows in the middle.

I've also been making brooches and hair clips for the shop (see images above), as they are little things I can do while multitasking (unlike sitting at a sewing machine).

So bye-bye for just a little while (a whole two weeks - I know, I sound pathetic don't I?). And don't forget to check my very next post (which will be immediately following this one) for the giveaway details. I figured it would be much easier if the giveaway had a post of its own. This post is getting well and truly long enough.

Adios amigos

Bec

Space Rocket art print giveaway

2008-07-24T15:07:00.013+10:00

How cool does that title sound? Too cool for a giveaway of my own that's for sure - but if you are interested in winning a Space Rocket art print then head on over to the Twinkle Star Art blog to enter (note: the print will not be this exact print shown here - the one you can win is currently a work in progress, and can be seen on Amanda's blog).

Amanda, of Twinkle Star Art, is an amazing artist and illustrator, and is a member of the two Etsy Street Teams I belong to (BrisStyle and DUST) and she is currently running a competition to win a copy of the latest children's art print she is working on. I can personally vouch for the amazing quality of Amanda's work, and she is a lovely person to boot, so head on over and help her out with some ideas. Submissions close on the 31st of July.

Actually, having said that, I'm going to blast off now (he he he - how could I not throw that in?) to try and scrape the murky depths of my own imagination so that I can attempt to submit an idea of my own for the competition....boy would Lee love a space rocket picture in his room! Zooma Zoom Zoooooooooooommmmmmm!!!!!!

Oh, and for more examples of Amanda's gorgeous work check out her Etsy Shop, Ebay Shop, her Blog, or her Flickr Photostream.

Cheers!!
Bec
xxx