Happy Is ...

Happy is this gorgeous little Thumbelina girl, sheltering under a flower umbrella with the sweetest little grin on her face! She's been part of a recent Mother's Day fundraiser and I'm a little sad to see her go. I fell in love with this drawing the minute I saw her. Imagine if you were the lucky mummy who gets to wear this! I'm so jealous.

There were so many lovely 'Me and Mummy' pictures you can imagine all the ooh's and aah's and awww's coming out of the studio the past few days.

Meanwhile, happy is also getting lovely notes and messages from the beautiful people I've met since I started Making Things. I'm such a fan of Susannah's work and was very chuffed today to find she'd passed on a blog award! I'm apparently one of her favourite Melbourne crafty chicks. Thank you lovely girl, ditto! I'm insanely shy at times and don't normally pass these things on. I was always the party-pooper when it came to chain letters and things. I can't wait to see the beautiful new things Susannah will have at the next Sisters Market - I've got my eye on a new tote. They are just gorgeous. Ooooo, which photo will I choose???

This heavenly picture is from Susannah's beautiful Etsy shop and it's called Under A Country Sky, it's an 8x8 fine art photograph and I'm totally in love with it. You know I'm a country girl and this picture just sings to me.

Those who are sent the award are asked to pass onto 15 others and share 7 things about themselves.

7 things about me:

1. I love a radio quiz and my favourite comes on at midnight on 774 ABC, The Nightlife Challenge.

2. I tend to burn the midnight oil, even if I don't have a deadline (ref #1).

3. I've got this ridiculous knack of remembering obscure trivia but have been known to cancel a credit card because I couldn't remember the PIN (ref #1).

4. My cat has me wrapped around her little pinky. She's my HRH and I'm her Lady In Waiting. Did you know I'm a bit of a Royalist and Crown Princess Mary is a little obsession of mine? I am, she is!

5. I'm not happy at all with my latest hair cut. (A trim please, I say. Ok, he says. Still can't see where that can be interpreted as asking for an entire new look, one inspired by Carol Brady). I'll hang around with a salon even after a few dodgy haircuts with blind faith they know what they're doing and suddenly I'll have had enough and look elsewhere. So the question is, do I go back to a previous hairdresser after defecting to a new one? The conundrum of the modern girl!

6. I watch Bold And The Beautiful. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

7. I use a cloth napkin with every meal. I do! And they're never ironed.

This week's gratuitous picture from The Crown Prince Couple - aren't they lovely. I'm sure they're dying to come over for a BBQ at our place, they will fit in a treat, I have napkins you know!

Swedish Furniture Name

How much fun is this! What's your Swedish Furniture Name? Mine is KRÅIÖNYN SFIKK, I'm a side table! Saw this doing the rounds on Twitter and loved it so much.

This afternoon is cold, dark and windy. I've been working away like a Duracell bunny all week and a friend has just popped around for a spontaneous afternoon tea with a tray of baked goodies from the milk bar. What perfect timing. I figured a little bit of frivolity before heading back into the studio won't hurt anyone!

Not that this gaggle of girls haven't kept me entertained. Better get back to it, they certainly aren't going to make themselves into a necklace ......

Book Club

Love this! And here's the real spooky thing, I have a great stack of books next to my bed all vying for my attention and the one on the top of the pile is The Tricking of Freya. Spooky because Freya's grandfather, Olafur, fled Iceland in 1875 after a massive volcano eruption. I notice this a lot, things come into my circle of awareness and just connect with a whole stack of other things already on the radar. Spooky indeed.

Apart from the too-gorgeous-for-words photograph on the cover (sigh, I love a good cover) I'm also loving the story and building on my very tiny knowledge of Iceland and the people, their landscape, language and mythology. Pity I can only grab small bits of the story at the moment as I'm very busy preparing Mother's Day fundraising orders and gearing up for the Stitches and Craft show. Yikes! I'd better stop swooning about my new favourite book and get back to it.

Image from Stitches and Craft show guide. Don't you love the colours in this shot, I do!

Autumn Gold

I just had to share this gorgeous photo I found on flickr at Jake321.

Ah, lovely autumn. I'm just loving all these gorgeous golds and mustards and russets. I love that word - russet. Not a bad colour, either!

I just love love love this clutch purse by Bowerbird Inc - how Jackie O!

Love this sweet little bubba birdie and it's mumma bird by Moonmum.

And what about this fabulous brooch. I love a brooch. And I think I learnt to type on a typewriter just like this one! Bing! I love the imagery at Crafty Folk on Etsy.

More Etsy love, this one made me guffaw out loud! It's from Junebug Felts.

Sigh. This bit of vintage loveliness by Bitterbethany would look fabulous with that clutch purse above!

And this picture has been included because I just love the collage in the frame on the wall, called Giant Kitten by Vivienne Stauss. I found this at The Design Files blog and features the home of Gemma Jones. I've done quite a lot of collages and looking at this just makes me want to make more. Inspiration always strikes at the most inconvenient times! Hope I can keep the spark until after Mother's Day.

Heart On Your Sleeve

Are you the type to wear your heart on your sleeve? Or do you wish you were? Well how about on your lapel instead? Or your jacket, your t-shirt, your favourite tote, or your scarf! As I've been putting these heart brooches together I've had a bit of fun playing with proverbs (note to self: must remember that cool bit of word play for another day ... "playing with proverbs" ..... gold!). Clearly I haven't been getting out much lately. Which possibly has something to do with how much I'm enjoying making these crimson crochets!

Second time around

I'm still in love with these hand-holding lovelies! The sentiment is just too sweet for words, and how fabulous to have the chance to work on these gorgeous drawings again. I keep the drawings in file so it's always easy to re-order new goodies, this time a set of magnets and a necklace to go with button badges.

Warm Glow

It's funny how much the weather has an effect on my mood and work, like colour choices for the day's sewing. It was a brisk reminder of the winter to come last week in Melbourne with grey skies, heavy clouds and woolies wrapping their way around my shoulders. I didn't realise I'd selected a range of warm reds and sunny colours to work on until I'd had the finished pursed all stacked by the ironing board. And lots of birds. A freudian day in the office?

And of course the other sure-fire way to keep toasty is a cup of tea. And needless to say there have been many cups made during the week. This gorgeous bit of tea loveliness was found at Poppytalk. I love the modern graphics of the old nanna cups, gorgeous! And who can ever say No to a bit of tea towel delight.

Time Out

Put the kettle on, sit back and collect your thoughts for a minute. If I'm lucky, there might be a piece of apricot slice left, and the new Mixtape zine just arrived - hoorah! What a perfect way to take a break from market preparations. It's been all systems go around here lately, a maelstrom of yarn and balls of wool and crochet delights popping up left right and centre.

Crochet Ball Necklaces, by Crayon Chick

And now it's time to consider moving my market gear by the front door for an early morning load up for tomorrow's market - the super gorgeous Sisters Market at Brunswick. Can't wait!

Sisters Market

10am - 4pm

Brunswick Town Hall

Brunswick, Melbourne

Little People

I just love these new little buttons, they're all holding hands - awwww! Pamela is a children's services librarian at a public library and asked Kids With Crayons to create these buttons from her niece's drawing. The buttons will be a symbol to represent her position at the library and I think that's a marvelous idea!

And this little keyring is going to Anne, a lovely lady who has been saying Hello to me at the markets for ages now. Thanks, Anne, it's been a delight to work with Heath's drawings.

For The Love of Barkcloth

And this would be the key to all my inspiration right here in this bit of Etsy love found at Mid Century Modern. What is not to love about Barkcloth. 1950's Modernism, the beginning of popular culture, mass production, science and space developments (Sputnik, anyone?). Everything was jazzed up with chartreuse and flamingo pink. It was the golden age for America, and advertising and TV were quick to replace the drabness of the long dull 40s with designs, motifs, materials and technology good enough for the space race. It was the Future! New! Improved! Atomic! Wash 'n' Wear! Sanforized! Drip Dry! Plastic!

Don Draper and Darrin Stephens ... we're ready for you Mad Men types to do your ad magic.

This swatch was found at Barkcloth Hawaii

This swatch was found at Full Swing Textiles

This swatch was found at Full Swing Textiles

This swatch was found at Full Swing Textiles

Gratuitous Don Draper picture (sigh!) found at Wikipaedia

Town Halls

I love a market in a town hall. All that history, faded glamour and hints of wonderful events past. Over Easter I was at the Daylesford Makers Market at the Daylesford Town Hall. I loved the sun shining through the old windows through the ironwork, views of chimney stacks through the second floor, the old numbered theatre seats in the stalls, the pressed metal roof, old portraits - it was all gorgeous. The market itself is great too, and it was lovely to meet people I've met online, but not face to face - thanks for saying Hello, it topped off a fabulous day!

Our preparations for another trip into the countryside was complete with Allison's suggestion to go along the Calder Highway through Woodend to sample their highly prized vanilla slices. Because you know I love a country bakery. We discovered, without a shadow of doubt, THE VERY BEST VANILLA SLICE EVER. Hoorah!

Mmm, see the one's on the bottom shelf, with the white icing? PERRRR-FEC-TION!

Allison also posted a lovely write-up of the market at her Lark blog and I'm very flattered to have my necklace included in her post. Jo from Frankie and Ray also posted a gorgeous picture of one of my necklaces on her post (as becomingly modelled by 'Barbara') - thanks lovely girls, I'm glad you like your new necklaces!

Crayon Chick necklace photographed by Jo at Frankie and Ray

Easter Travels

I just love this print from Etsy, by Lola's Room called Travel Stories. Isn't it just gorgeous - those greens!

And no sooner do I turn around and there it is ... Easter! How did that get here so fast? I'm not ready for time off. I wanted to send my Mum and Dad a bag of chick eggs to relive the memory of my childhood Easters at a caravan in the middle of the bush in the middle of New South Wales, sitting around the breakfast table surrounded by chocolate and ducking and diving to avoid being hit on the head by little wee chick eggs thrown by Dad from the bed at the other end of the caravan. We were..oops..are a big chocolate eating family and my childhood Easter memories are some of my favourites. We went camping every single Easter break and longed for the Easters that coincided with Anzac Day to extend our little adventure even if only for an extra day. And the Easter Bunny never failed to find us. Isn't he amazing!

If you are travelling this Easter I wish you a safe journey, and if you are travelling to Daylesford this Easter, then I hope you have a chance to pop into the Daylesford Town Hall on Vincent St to say hello because I'll be there for the Daylesford Makers Market.

Daylesford Makers Market

Daylesford Town Hall

Vincent St

10am - 3pm

Saturday 6 February