Watcha Wearing Wednesday

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....

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...

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!!!

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!!!

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!!!!!

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...

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