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!!).
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 :)
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.
OK, if you haven't noticed the I Screamo No Emo pool on Flickr, I highly recommend a look. It's both hilarious, and faintly disturbing. It seems to have been a challenge that was set a while ago for people to do a week of 'I Screamo No Emo' self-portraits. And here were the rules:
THERE MUST BE NO: 1. looking at feet or the ground 2. being thoughtful 3. looking "cute" 4. cropped heads 5. tidying up your picture-taking space 6. trying hard to fit the "myspace profile picture" guidelines. 7. pigeon toes (we're talkin' faux-toes, not the real kind). 8. jazz hands
And this is where the disturbing part comes in, as I started thinking about the pictures I have taken of myself when showing off my various creations. Let's take a little walk down memory lane...
Oh boy, not off to a good start are we? Cutesy, thoughtful AND looking at the ground. EEEEKKK!
Hhhhmmmm, and here we have some pigeon toes....Kinda cutesy shot too.
Looking thoughtful here.... There's also a bit of head-cropping going on.
But most disturbing of all...
Looking at feet, looking thoughtful, pigeon toes...and gloomy grey/purples tones to boot. I actually made an Emo collage!
OH MY GOD, I AM REALLY AN EMO!!!!!!!!!
OK, just to clarify - I really don't have anything against Emos. In fact, I went through my own little Goth period at Uni (yes, when Emos were still just goths...am I showing my age?). But hey, I'm a 35 year old mum. I can't be an Emo!!!!
So to show off my latest creations in a NON-EMO way. Here ya go!
Can you tell I'm crying on the inside...just a little bit...hehehe.
Continuing the 'This is...' meme hosted by Angela from Three Buttons, here is my knick knack/jewellery box. OK, boxes if you will.
I seem to have lots of little vessels everywhere holding all manner of adornments. Not so much knick knacks per se, but hair ties, ribbons, bows, and of course lots of jewellery. I never do actually wear that much jewellery, but when I do, I like to have choice. So here are the three main containers I grab from as I'm heading out the door.
A Dinosaur Designs platter (oh colourful resin, how I love thee!!!), which holds hair clips and brooches, all felt or fabric. Many made by me, some not.
A Dinosaur Designs trinket box, which holds my favourite rings and pendants.
An old handmade box which holds a ridiculous amount of hair bands and ribbons, as well as as necklaces and bracelets - all mixed in for good measure. Not very organised, but fun to rummage around in :)
Looking forward to checking out everyone else's treasure chests!
PSSSSST!! You might like to check back soon for my next post. I have some love to share :)
Just some freeform felt rosette brooches and bow and flower hair clips. Such fun to make, and they're all hand sewn, so very meditative. I like to stitch them up while Kate is feeding herself, as it stops me from getting frustrated with the mess, and with the amount of time it takes her to get the food from the plate, to the spoon, to the high-chair tray, to her spoon again, to her head, and then finally into her mouth (eeekkk!).
Had a fantastic weekend. First a gorgeous early morning family trip to the Rocklea farmers market complete with sit-down coffees and cupcakes while listening to the live jazz, and overflowing bags of veggies, organic chicken and fresh flowers - scrummy! We always buy flowers from the same flower stand, and Emma always gives Lee a free flower of his own. This week he was given a yellow and purple 'bearded iris' - very funny hearing a three year old trying to say this :)
Then I went to the Umbrella Collective's Annual Christmas Fair and did LOTS of wanting, but just a bit of buying. I LOVE my Jack and Jill bobby pins by Liana Kabel (aka Plastic Girl).
And I couldn't resist these Christmas tree decorations by Kylie Johnson from Paper Boat Press. They are thin ceramic pieces that feel like gingerbread cookes - I could almost eat them!
Then a trip to Funky Fabrix in Ashgrove to buy some...well...funky fabric! I then came home and made a tote, but no pics as it is a Christmas present for someone - don't want to spoil it. Did also make this little number. Not for anyone in particular - just wanted to try something different...
Saturday night I had everyone (ie. the extended family) round for a roast which I actually did myself!!! Yep, that's right. Usually it's Matt doing the cooking/entertaining thing, but this time he actually sat and drank beers with Dad and Ron, while I did the faffing about in the kitchen. Luckily my sister and my mum helped me pull it all together - and mum made a delicious apricot cobbler for dessert. Perfect way to finish a perfect day - I just wish I had have thought to take a photo. Unfortunately I was enjoying a lovely glass of Pikes shiraz while cooking, so WAY too relaxed to be remembering such trifles...
