kitty n' kitsch

A Christmas present for mummy? Oh no, Kitty!

2012-01-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share with you my all time favourite Christmas present that Kitty received this year. It's even olive green my perfect colour! Aren't the animals so sweet, I think it's from the 70's not sure. Anyway, this picture is exactly how I imagined it adorned as soon as I opened it up. However.....
....it was out with the china tea set and in with the plastic dress up shoes :( Kitty is chuffed to bits with the cupboard's new purpose and I am silently sobbing in the corner wondering how I lost so much control over my 3 year old's room aesthetics.

a bunting for kitty....

2012-01-04T02:53:00.000-08:00

After two years of making personalised buntings I eventually got around to making one for Kitty. It's different to the ones I usually make as I have found the lovely old fabrics and trims that I adore do not sell as well as contemporary fabrics so I ever so slightly have to compromise my whimsical tastes when selling online.
So I sat myself down and whipped up a little bunting for Kitty's room with some vintage fabric scraps, some old doilies that belonged to my mother in law and a little bit of embroidery for the letters.
Of course my obsession with murky greens had to rear it's greeny head and I love the background colour on that green and pink floral fabric and used a dark olive green thread to do the letters.

It looks pretty sweet amongst the mish mash of vintagey lovely finds in her room. Including this chest of drawers from Vinnies and this bedside chest from the side of the road.

I have some issues coming up as am having to move Spike into Kitty's room at some point this year. Anyone have any great suggestions for unisex sharing?

santa sacks at the ready....

2011-12-17T22:08:00.001-08:00

There are great benefits to having a hubbie who is a sailmaker as he is a dab hand on the sewing machine and can whip anything I ask for up super duper quick. He just made these Santa sacks for the little ones. I love this paper doll Christmas fabric that we used for Kitty's. So cute.
I didn't think I could ever get excited about Christmas in Australia as miss the log fires, hot toddies and family way too much this time of year. That was until a girlfriend told me that as soon as I had children and this became the Christmas they were excited about then it would rub off on me too. She was so right! This is my 9th Christmas on these shores, which have ranged from 2003 camping in Byron Bay living off multipack sausages as a backpacker and childless family Christmas's in Melbourne and now Sydney but this is the first year that I have really felt Christmassy.

On that note, Merry Christmas everybody and thanks so much for following my blog. Will be back in the New Year!

PS. I'm still having small conniptions about my badly placed baubles (see above) and haven't had the heart to crush my 3 year olds creative input and move them around whilst she's in bed just in case she notices!

Christmas Decs are up.....

2011-12-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

So here are the paper chains which my big girls painstakingly put together for me. All 10 metres of them. They really make the room feel so cosy and even though they sporadically undo themselves throughout the day and need a bit of resticking they are totally worth the effort as I love the overall 'old school Christmas' feel about them.
The tree is up. It took a few deep breaths to stand back and control my OCD with bauble placement whilst I watched Kitty trim the tree. This was a super difficult task and I have since swapped a few of them around hoping she won't notice! (Check out The Snowman playing in the background, my childhood favourite of which I am brainwashing Kitty into it being hers too!)
We have absolutely no colour scheming in his house and this extends itself to Christmas decor too. Like everything in my life nothing ever matches. In fact I will do anything in my power to make sure it doesn't.
I do however LOVE my mushrooms that I bought when I was back home in England last year. I politely asked Kitty if mummy could stuff all the little bunches of them in the tree as had been looking forward to doing that since I bought them in a sweet little Christmas shop in Wales. Thankfully she allowed me that exciting little task!
The big girls made Christmas cards for all the family. I am such a Grinch when it comes to sending cards. My mum and dad, brother and sister in law and that's about it. I have just never been into sending them which is surprising as I really do love cards.
The day was finished off with some Christmas baking. Iced Gingerbread cookies but due to the lack of ginger (quite a pivotal ingredient I think) the girls named them 'bread cookies' instead. They actually tasted pretty nice and they loved using my new bargain IKEA Christmas Cookie cutters.

So we're now all set for Christmas....sort of. I have put my MadeIt shop into holiday mode as of today in order to focus on finishing off some crafty things for Kitty and Spike; Santa sacks, Cushions etc....Will share them with you once I am done.

paper chains.....

2011-12-09T18:52:00.001-08:00

Today I'm at home putting up the decorations. Doris Day is singing Christmas songs on repeat (and driving my kiddies crazy) and the kids are up to 150 pieced together chains made from paper. That is also starting to drive them crazy but I have a plan for how I want to hang them (and will reveal my hangings at a later date)

I seriously love old school ANYTHING and the thought of adorning my house with paper chains at Christmas makes my heart sing! Which then led me to find some old pictures featuring paper chains which I have shared here. How fabulous is this room above. Those paper lanterns don't seem so Christmassy to me though do they you!?
This picture is gorgeous from a 1940's schoolroom....(spot the chains on the wall over there)...
...this is a Woolworths store from the 1930's......
....and this is an old Tottenham Hotspur Footie Christmas gathering..LOVE the chains in all of these!

It's funny as the big kids just said to me 'isn't it so different to hang decorations across the ceiling like this George?'.....

Our house was never without decorations strung from the ceiling growing up....

...so is it just a Pommie thing?

Anyway, it's becoming cosier by the minute in my living room with all these chains being hung and is really starting to feel very 'grotto'ish.

Oops Doris has stopped again think it's time for some Band Aid 'Do they know it's Christmas' now......Fa la la la la.....

let the countdown begin.....

2011-12-01T03:32:00.001-08:00

So the erecting of the fabric advent calendar was a wee bit exciting this morning. Being a tad unorganised I actually had to rummage around for a little something to pop into number 1's pocket and found a small bouncy ball that Kitty received so long ago she had thankfully forgotten she already owned it!
So made it my mission today to organise some fun (and new!) things to pop in the rest of the pockets. Came up with a selection of rubbers, sweets, hair clips and will probably grab some bits and bobs as I go. Also perfect opportunity to download the fabulous free holiday printables here at giverslog to use for treasure hunt notes and to write down activities like Santa photos today, make Christmas cookies and put up our tree etc.

our creative spaces....

2011-11-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make a fabric advent calendar for yonks. I was totally inspired by the ladies at no chintz in Balmain the other week when I saw something similar to this on their wall and just HAD to go home and replicate it.
Their pockets were multicoloured linens which looked so lovely but time is not on my side these days so I did strips of alternate dark and light green linens. I bought the fabrics from no chintz and the felt balls too which became my baubles. They had painted their numbers on with a stencil but I decided to cut mine out using all the leftover Christmas felt I have stashed away. The numbers are a little wonky in places but think that actually looks part of it.
I'm still totally undecided as to what I'm going to put in each pocket. A girlfriend suggested a note each day which leads them to the treasure which I thought would be really sweet and prevents little fingers sneaking a sweet when mummy isn't looking.

Do you have a fabric advent calendar? What do you put in yours?

Taking part in our creative spaces over here..

nice rooms

2011-11-15T12:45:00.001-08:00

Am totally in love with Lola and Coco's rooms featured on The Design Files today. I have just been drinking my tea and analysing this room above and wondering where I can buy one of those signs on the wall...??? Do we think it lights up in all it's neon glory? Would love that even more then! Any of you guys seen these before? And that hoop art is gorgeous.
This is the the other room. Love the colour of that sideboard.
I don't for one minute think I'll ever own a room that is so minimalist as I'm a clutter freak but I do gaze at these pix thinking how easy those rooms would be to keep tidy....or assuming Lucy actually misses all the messy corners when capturing the houses?

party favours!

2011-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think the kiddies felt a bit ripped off at Kitty's party when they received these initial singlets as a take home prize! More like booby prize! I did give them a fabulous pack of chocolate pencils made by here. A fantastic coffee shop called Foodies which I love to go to ordered me a box of them from their deli supplier. They are from Spain and so sweet and come in a plastic pencil that you can actually use.

Here is my twirling princess. This is the first year that Kitty has really worked out all this party malarkey and have to say it makes it much more exciting. Bring on Christmas!

My girlfriend Tara made her this fabulous carousel cake which tasted as good as it looks.

It's such a cliche 'kids growing so fast' but I did spend a large proportion of the day wondering how in the hell my little baby is now 3!

second babies.....

2011-10-24T21:59:00.001-07:00

As much as nobody ever happen to mention first time around how difficult being a first time mum is, everybody did happen to mention that second time round is easier.

I was in a permanent state of shock after having Kitty and was a far cry from the natural earthy mumma skipping through the forest with bub hanging in it's hemp sling cooing away at me. I was the stress cadet pacing the supermarket isles with a screaming newborn wondering what happened to my breezy past life and if I'd ever get a hint of it back.

Three months into Kitty's life I suddenly got it. I worked it all out and I really began to fall hopelessly in love with her. Three years later Spike (pictured above!) arrived. I'm still not skipping through forests with him living off the land but things are so much easier. I fell in love with him instantly. I desperately want him to sleep in bed with me all the time. I want to eat him all up. His crying doesn't bother me one little bit. Waking up in the night is just 'another' part of my life as an unselfish mum and my baby books are still sitting on the dusty shelf!

How bout you? Did you find it so much more normal second time around??

my creative space...CHRISTMAS!

2011-10-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Things are still plodding along quite creatively here at kitty n' kitsch despite the arrival of my little boy a month ago (and the arrival of my little girl's newfound '3yearoldness' which has hit harder than the newborn!). I'm busy with Christmas orders already and totally loving doing them.....
....especially when I know these two NOELS are off to the bonny highlands of Scotland. I can just picture them now hanging from a gorgeous cottage fireplace with the logfire ablaze...heaven!

For more crafty loveliness pop over here...

baby mania....

2011-09-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

Phew it seems like I haven't blogged in forever but I have been off having myself a little baby. I now have a new little man named Spike who is just 8 days old who has inspired me to make some onesies! With Smurf fever at the movies I thought I'd resurrect my 1970's vintage Smurf fabric and use it to applique some plain white cotton onesies.

I then got myself all excited about my vintage stash of fabrics and made this one for little girls using some really sweet old bed sheets with Bambi's and Bunnies all over them.
A lot of the baby stuff around is very samey so I'm racking my brains to come up with some sweet little vintagey numbers for Mr Spike. More to come! ...........

T.SHIRT GIVEAWAY!!

2011-09-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night at 7pm I am giving away a FREE T.Shirt of your choice from this selection.

To be in the running all you need to do is head over to my Facebook page here and 'like it' :)
...and then leave a comment on this post below. Easy peasy. Thanks folks!

our creative spaces with GIVEAWAY!

2011-09-07T15:29:00.001-07:00

Am finishing off some t.shirt orders today. Have had some really nice feedback on them so far which is lovely. To celebrate the launch of my clothing I thought I might just have to give one away.

All you have to do is become a liker of my Facebook page HERE and a liker of my blog right HERE , leave me a way to contact you in the comments below and on Sunday at 7pm I will pick a name from the hat. You can then choose any one t.shirt of your choice, size and colour and it will be on it's merry way to you. Easy!

For more creative lovely people pop over here.....

london bus tee (our creative spaces)

2011-08-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I have officially launched my t.shirts and taken full advantage of the free Madeit listings to do so! I changed the London Bus design slightly and am much happier with this new version.

I love the red and white spotty fabric for the girl's bus but thought plain red would be better for the boys. I picked up the Union Jack trim when I was back in the UK last year and thought it finished off the bus perfectly.

I'm off the London theme for a bit now and came up with another cool idea for a boy's t.shirt in the middle of the night (on one of my million toilet runs-36 weeks pregnant!) and will try that out today and post tomorrow for you to see.

For more crafty loveliness pop over here....

one for the boys..

2011-08-30T04:56:00.001-07:00

Still t.shirt making frenzy going on here at kitty n' kitsch. Thought it was time I started on some designs for the boys so thought I'd kick start it with a bit more of my home town! So here is the London Black Cab tee.

I adored my black cab account I had running back in London and that probably cost my company a small fortune. These lovely modes of transport are super expensive to ride but you will never find a London Cabbie checking his A to Z even if you've requested him take you to tinpot alley in buttf*ck Idaho! So you sort of pay for what you get....sort of.

Anyway, have perfected my London bus design for boys which I will be showcasing tomorrow and then I might need to take a break from London and visit another city for some inspiration....

What do you think of this design anyhoo?

a top a day-Sunday

2011-08-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Here's an English icon that is instantly recognisable! Being away from home has definitely reignited my patriotism and I just had to feature some iconic London images on my t.shirts.

Man, this was SO fiddly to make and probably the most difficult t.shirt task so far. Drawing the bus was tricky and as for zigzagging around all those insy windows well let's just say I'm pleased I'm up the duff so was off the wine last night!

I do love this design though and loved using some recently acquired London fabric as the traditional advertising strip found on London buses.

One thing I do miss about London is hopping on my trusty number 8 bus which took me straight from my front door to work. The number 8 also runs 'a night service' which more often than not took me straight from the pub back home again.

I'm going to make a boys version of this top too. Watch this space for more designs later in the week!

a top a day - Saturday

2011-08-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when I came up with this Helta Skelta design but was met by some blank faces when telling my girlfriends. It seems Helta Skelta's aren't very Aussie and nobody had any idea what I was talking about.

I still had to go ahead and make it though as I have always loved the old fashioned English fairground scenes and Helta Skelta's are such a romantic symbolism of these. I remember every fair I went to as a kiddie had the obligatory Helta Skelta and it was always red and white striped!

So I created my design with red and white striped fabric (no brainer), some vintage trim for the slide, some sparkly fairground sequins and a ribbon for the flag. Every item is appliqued (besides the sequins which are hand sewn) and secured with machined zigzag stitch.

Are there any Aussies reading this who knew exactly what this was or is it just an unrecognisable pretty design?

a top a day -Friday

2011-08-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

I loved making this t.shirt. Cutting out all the rainbow stripes and sewing on the gold sequins was possibly my favourite sewing experience to date.

Funny, as a mummy to two stepdaughters and one daughter I really don't go in for sparkly bits at all. I would always choose the white canvas plimsolls over the pink sparkly sandals any day!

However, I did need to feature a rainbow in my designs as that symbolises my beautiful nan who I lost 3 years ago. Every time we see a rainbow Kitty says 'look mummy there's Marmar's house' as I told her once that Marmar lives on rainbows now. So rainbows have a huge place in my heart and 'Somewhere over the rainbow' was played as my nan's exit song at her funeral (sang by Carly Simon my mum's favourite singer).

My mum is completely opposite in me in that she is obsessed with anything sparkly. So I added that 'bit of sparkle' for you mum and loved every second of it!

What do you think of this design? Do you like sparkly bits?

a top a day (our creative spaces)

2011-08-24T21:25:00.001-07:00

This week has certainly been a learning curve for me with the slow launch of some kitty n' kitsch t.shirts. I have introduced a t.shirt a day and am learning a lot as I go.

I have been in a very cosy comfort zone sewing my buntings for the past 2 years that I feel like I've mastered the art with those and could happily sew them with my eyes closed.

However, clothing....is another ballgame. Thinking up designs has been easy peasy, the drawing and cutting of applique has been easy peasy, BUT the zigzag stitching to secure the applique has been a challenge. I only just worked out by Thursday how to change the size of my stitch which made it a bit easier when swerving around the curves of this unicorn rocker!

I will be introducing a further 3 tops this week and then will start work on my boys designs. I guess practise makes perfect.......

For more crafty loveliness pop over here....

a top a day-Wednesday

2011-08-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

Kitty is completely obsessed with umbrellas and feels the need to take one out hail, rain or shine. Shame she wasn't born a pom like me she'd be in her element as they get a lot of use over there!

So, I thought I'd better make her an umbrella t.shirt. The umbrella is a mix of cotton fabrics with pompom trim and the raindrops are felt.

Any thoughts?

a top a day...Tuesday

2011-08-22T18:41:00.001-07:00

So the top today is an Apple Tree design. The tree has been made using vintage green velvet, some appliqued spotty apples with embroidered stalks and a trunk made from 20 year old quilting fabric donated to me from my sewing retired mother in law!

Would love to know your thoughts......

a top a day....Monday

2011-08-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

I remember the conversation two years ago when my mother in law and myself decided to start making and selling clothes. She was going to make chenille pants and I was going to embellish matching singlets and t.shirts. Hence, the idea of kitty n' kitsch.....

...... however, after countless market trips, Madeit investigations and Facebook stalking I was feeling really uninspired on the clothing front as couldn't seem to come up with anything original and felt chenille had been done already and done so well that I felt the competition was way too high.

I had made some personalised buntings for some friends as pressies and then friends of friends started to order them and before I knew it I had my Madeit shop up and running selling those instead.

In the past month or so I have been inspired by some things that Kitty loves and have been dying to make some shirts to symbolise them. So I began playing around making shirts for Kitty and putting them through the wash which has been a great learning curve as to how I can successfully put the t.shirts together (I'm no fashion expert!-especially when it comes to sewing).

In the end I decided to use a combination of vintage and contemporary fabrics secured with applique and have found machined zig zag stitch has been the most affective way of adding that extra security to the design when going through the wash (if anybody has any better advice here I'd love to hear it!).

For this week only, I am going to post a t.shirt a day and would love to hear some feedback on them. At the moment I have only done girls designs but have some boys ideas drawn up, I just have to make some patterns.

I also wanted to share my divine brooch that I just won in the Made By White giveaway. I have been eyeing up her gorgeous stuff for so long and am so happy to own one of her lovely creations.

Next top tomorrow.....

our creative spaces....

2011-08-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have so many creative spaces on the go right now I'm barely finding time to shower! (well I am a pom I have a reputation to withhold). There are bubbas being born everywhere and it is making me a very happy crafty lady indeedy.

A very special little lady named Beatrice was born to one of my closest friends back in London. I embroidered this for her using this pattern. I painted the frame in Treasure Isle paint leftovers.

I'm still trying to work out how to successfully embroider and am guessing as I go but I really love doing it and putting all the bright colours together.

For more creative people pop over here.....

our creative spaces....

2011-08-10T21:46:00.001-07:00

Another new bubba born in my hood. I love being able to make pressies rather than trawling around the shops and not finding anything too personal. My girlfriend just had a little girl called Evie last week so I made her this fabric door sign.....

.....and made some cottage style bunting to match.
For more creative lovely people head over here.....

our creative spaces....

2011-08-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

It's still Happy Christmas time over here at land kitty n' kitsch. Just finished this order which is on it's way to the beautiful Mornington Peninsula tomorrow. Have been stocking up on more fabrics which I've been buying from the UK online and have so many ideas for fabric Christmas decs spinning around my head. Even have my hubbie knocking up some bauble patterns for me.....

Ridiculous I know.

For more craft pop over here.....

our creative spaces....

2011-07-27T22:21:00.001-07:00

I had my first order for Christmas this week and I must admit it has gone and got me all excited to get started on my festive range of buntings. Toddled off to the local fabric shop to buy some bits and pieces to get me started. It must be the English in me to start obsessing over Christmas decor in JULY!....
....here's a little look at the order I made.......
Pop over here for more crafty lovlies....

our creative spaces....

2011-07-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

I bought this tea towel from an op shop about a year ago and have been not wanting to use it but not knowing what to do with it either....

.....and then I unearthed the trusty embroidery frames (so easy to turn to them as really not much effort or skill involved!) and cut it up and popped them in. I did paint the frames red to emulate the underground sign.......it's funny as it was the musty, glum, 'armpit in my face way too many times' ride along the central line daily that probably forced me into travelling in the first place. But like anything, when you don't have it anymore you kind of miss it. Living overseas definitely kick starts the nostalgia cravings and I'm very happy to look at these on my wall and reminisce about those grotty trips I don't have to endure anymore!

Pop over here for more crafty lovely things.....

ink and spindle

2011-07-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

The Design Files today featured these fabulous kiddies t shirts by ink n spindle. I get so bored with seeing the same thing again and again when it comes to clothes for bubs and was so excited when I saw these. They are made in Australia from Australian fabric and the inks are eco-friendly. So not a hint of 'Made in China' in sight. LOVE that.

Of course you pay the price if you want to save the environment (huh? great system that one!) and they are not that cheap at $45. But great for a special pressie don't you think?

The colours are so gorgeous. I think I might need to invest in this one.

our creative spaces....

2011-07-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

After spending an age making a cross stitch counting chart for Kitty when she was born I'm busy deliberating what to make for bub number 2 (don't want them to reach an age where they realise mummy didn't bother second time round).

I've decided I'm going to make an embroidery. I used this pattern to make the little cowboy as a practice run and it was super easy and so much fun so I now have to hunt (or make myself) an intricate pattern that will look like I've made similar effort with both my children for their birth pressie from me.

If anybody out there has a really cool (unisex) pattern they know of please feel free to share!

Pop over here to check out what other folk are making....

our creative spaces....

2011-06-30T02:52:00.000-07:00

Finished a few little projects this week.......

....was asked to 'spruce up' this top for a girlfriend so I made a fabric rosette brooch for it....
....have started adding extra patches to buntings with short names like stars to this Leo bunting which is now on it's way to the UK......
.....this custom order for newborn baby twin girls is on it's way to NZ......

....and I just popped this fabric door plaque in the post to a country town in Tassie....

POP over here for more lovely things....

how do i stop....

2011-06-25T16:26:00.001-07:00

.....myself spending a million pounds here....
....oh, easy peasy, I don't and probably never will have a million pounds...phew!
....I was starting to worry I'd send myself broke after discovering this super website that is far too easy to find your way around and gives you lots of different shopping search options....
.....for now I'll carry on browsing and oooohing and aaaaaggghing over my Sunday morning cuppa.

animal tops

2011-06-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

I saw a little girl playing at the beach the other day with a giraffe t.shirt a bit like this. I thought it was super cute so decided to do a bit of a copy cat. Picked up a cheapy t.shirt from KMart and appliqued a giraffe onto it, blanket stitched around the edge and added a bit of trim.

Looks pretty sweet doesn't it? I'll do a run of these now, thinking elephant next, until I get bored of them and move onto the next thing....

our creative spaces....

2011-06-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've had a heap of these embroidery hoops sitting around for a while doing sweet nothing and so thought I'd put them to good use. Also wanted to update the shop so decided to make some initial door signs!
I picked out some fabric for the background and stretched it into the frame. I then drew some letters, appliqued them onto the fabric and then blanket stitched around the edge.
I think they would look pretty sweet on the bedroom door or even just hung on the wall. OK, off I go to make some more whilst you head over to Our Creative Spaces to check out lovely things being made.

at amy's house...

2011-06-02T21:43:00.001-07:00

Felt compelled to take a couple of shots at my friend Amy's place last week as wanted to share a couple of things that she had made and scrummy bits of her house. She found this wood in the junk and along with some pretty knobs and a couple of supports knocked up this fabulous bag/coat rack/hall tidy. Didn't she do a great job! I love the wood colour, what a nice find.
She also made this bedhead. The vintage fabric is gorgeous and sets off the whole room, I want one!
I'm also slightly in love with her kitchen but I think she'd be pretty happy to rip it out and modernise it. I would pay big bucks for this 1950's wallpaper for my kitchen! She probably thinks I'm crazy.
She made us a delicious yogurt and banana cake with cream cheese icing. The kitchen booth is to die for with black and white chequered vinyl top (heaven!) and the contrast 1950's coloured bench seats and walls.
This is our friend Jack and Amy's son Kawaii playing in her playroom. So simply done but a great space for the kiddies.

I don't happen to have a playroom in my tiddly unit but when I eventually move into a big girl's house it's top priority. Who am I kidding? Kitty and the unborn child will probably be graduating university by the time that happens!

i NEED this party to be mine one day...

2011-05-31T05:17:00.001-07:00

I just stumbled across this amazingly special safari themed birthday bash and had to share it and hope you get as much oohing and aahing over it as I did.
One day I have to host this party and I'm sorry to say I will be stealing a ton of ideas from Ah-Tissue who has just won the themed party Oscar in my opinion....
There are some sweets in the UK that are called 'something or other' rocks which when I'm next home I will have to invest in for the African Rock feature alone!
In the meantime I'll busily collect my jam jars to make these genius drinking vessels..
....and gather animal print fabrics (in honour of my late grandmother who wore nothing else but) to recreate the fabulous bunting to finish it all off.

These gorgeous photos are taken by katietakesapicture where you can check out the rest of the pictures from this top notch party.

I just have to work out who I'm throwing it for now!

our creative spaces...

2011-05-25T23:52:00.001-07:00

I have been eyeing up the 'red thread' babushka doll pattern for so long in my local fabric shop. Their little faces are so sweet but I just needed the right occasion to get motivated to buy one and make it.
It is our friend Lola's third birthday next week, perfect occasion!

I have also been dying to use the above fabric scrap for ages and so happily used it as one of the panels. It was so fun to put together and I'm pretty happy with the result. Only thing is I'm a bit concerned that her head is waaaay too big for her body. She is however a babushka and they aren't exactly conventional body shape anyway so I'm not too stressed about it.

I added a little flower in her hair and some trim along the top panel.

For more crafty things pop over to 'our creative spaces' hosted by Kootoyoo.

embellishing stuff....

2011-05-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

I went and got myself all excited about embellishing some tops for new bub Lola over in Vienna. Had grand plans on embroidering some lovely intricate designs in lots of lovely colours until....I realised it was the most frustrating craft task I have ever tackled!

Is embroidering on ribbed cotton a bit of a 'no no' in the crafty world or is it something that takes a million years of practise. The 'tea time' vest which is 'disastercraft' had every intention of being a tea cup (which that is supposed to be by the way!), a teapot and a little tablecloth for them to sit on. Hahaha, started with the tea cup which tested my patience enough for me to give up on the rest of the design and attempt some wonky writing instead.

The pink vest was supposed to have a mini London scene but I was so over it post teacup that I just appliqued them instead.

Are there any tricks to this that any of you would like to share? I have champagne ideas and lemonade skill on this one!

our creative spaces...

2011-05-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Loving the new space created by Kirsty at Kootoyoo. Not too much creativity going on here this week but did make a Charlie banner to send to Canberra. Danielle asked for a combination of blues so hope she likes the result!

You can venture over here now for the 'new look' creative spaces.....

kitty's bedroom

2011-05-10T21:46:00.001-07:00

I'm loving Kitty being out of the cot. I keep running into the room to look at her asleep in the mini bed. We only just turned it into a toddler bed which is now on it's 3rd run with Kitty's 9 and 11 year old big sisters having slept in the same one. My hubbie suggested painting it white but I'm reluctant to for nostalgia's sake. The cushion was bought at the Berry markets by Nanna about 6 months before Kitty was born. It's so sweet.
I salvaged the unit from the side of the road. It was painted black and red and looked like a London postbox but I painted it white and sanded it back so the paint job didn't look so 'blocky'. The blanket was crocheted by my mother in law a loooong time ago and the rug was bought back from Fiji last year from one of the villages. A bit of London always has to feature hence the obligatory Harrods bear in his union jack knit. Love him.

my creative space.....

2011-05-05T21:18:00.001-07:00

I luuuurve it when friends have babies and I get to make things for them. I love it even more when they have no colour scheme and say 'do whatever'. Out comes the cute birdy fabric purchased last year back home in England. I know birds are total overkill at the moment but I love the colours in this fabric and it just happens to be covered in birds so what can I do.....
...I can chop it up and make a pocket organiser with some special embroidery....
....and pop in a bit of bunting too for good measure. Sunlola was born to my bestie who lives in Vienna and has an African daddy and a British mummy and a beautiful traditional African name. She is known as Lola though. Popped in the post today. Job done.

Pop over to Kootoyoo for some crafty loveliness.....

amazing party theming

2011-05-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

KISS ME KATE (the fabulous cake maker) has been organising yet another fabulous themed party. I am so in love with this theme and have popped it in the memory bank.She has been working with ANDERS RUFF who have some great designs and supplies. Go over and check them out too. Lovely stuff.

kitty's cottage

2011-05-02T04:35:00.001-07:00

My two things I looked forward to most about ever having a little girl was taking her to ballet and buying her a doll's house. My mum actually ended up buying this for Kitty for her first birthday but I only just unveiled it now. She is over the moon with it!.....
My doll's house was made by my dad and was my pride n' joy growing up. I played with it continuously from about the age of 5 to (little bit embarrassing here) early teenage years.
When mum suggested buying one for Kitty I was in a bit of a 'tiz woz' as I didn't want a huge plastic Chinese manufactured one and I was completely incapable of making one myself.
Then at the local markets one day, mum spotted this one which had been lovingly handcrafted by two elderly ladies with a little bit of 'woodwork' help from their hubbies. They put a hell of a lot of effort into crafting every piece of furniture and even went to the trouble of making mini newspapers, cereal packets and tissue boxes (filled with tissues!). It is ridiculously gorgeous and the fabrics they have used are verging on the retro which makes me very happy indeedy.

The only thing I wasn't happy with was an ugly brown painted tiled roof. Here's mum painting it red instead. Voila.....Kitty's cottage complete and I'm sure many hours will be spent playing with it. It's like having a mini Cornish Cottage in my living room and is one of the toys I actually love to look at and am not desperate to stash away at Kitty's bedtime!

happy easter everyone

2011-04-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

flea market finds....

2011-04-10T21:17:00.001-07:00

....have had a lovely op shoppy time this week....

.....found this blanket which is a nice pram size for my new baby arriving in September! Thought these lovely bright colours would be good for boy or girl.....
.....some pretty vintagey necklaces. The one on the right is made in Austria. Thought that was quite special...
.... a little enamel pot which I totally don't need but totally wanted and that wins every time....
.....and a sweet little embroidered cloth which has lovely colours in.

Pop over to Sophie for some more fab finds.....

my creative space.....

2011-04-07T05:07:00.001-07:00

I'm quite liking the 'fabric framed in embroidery hoop' look that seems to have become pretty popular of late. I found this old olive green hoop in an op shop a while back along with a pair of baby shorts made from the above fabric. I chopped them up and put the two together. LOVE this fabric how sweet is it!
These embroidered sheets were unearthed at another op shop fairly recently. I loathed to chop them up but figured I wouldn't get much use out of them as sheets so have decided to frame the individual designs. This cat is Kitty's (ha!) new bedroom door plaque. I also have a cute bunny design to frame too from the same sheet. Very cute.
My girlfriend gave Kitty this Cath Kidston fabric when I was back in London last year. She told Kitty (who had no idea) that it would remind her of her mummy's roots! So I popped it in a hoop and put it up in her bedroom. She loves pointing out the London buses!

This really wasn't that much of a creative post but I'm sure there's plenty that are over here at Kootoyoo.....

my creative space.....

2011-03-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

I picked up this foot stall at Vinnies a while back now. I knew it would be spruced up at some point but I was waiting for some inspiration (which was a long time arriving). Then I got myself a little bit excited the other night when inspired by Kootoyoo herself I remembered these coffee sacks that have also been sitting around looking pretty for way too long.
So today I put scissors to sack (that hurt a lot!) and covered the cushion and painted the rest in a lovely 'Treasure Isle' colour. I reckon it looks a bit funky.

For more creative things go to Kootoyoo and take a peek.....

King's Speech...

2011-03-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

via here

....is by far the best film I have seen in a super long time. I LOVED it so much. The performances were magnificent and I really enjoyed the insight into the struggles of poor King George VI. So moving.

I sat to the end of the credits and reminisced about my old life as a theatrical agent back in London recognising so many of the names rolling past my eyes. It is only when I see such a top quality film like this that I pine for a hint of that long lost glamour in the crafty, cosy and mumsy life I now lead.

I just had to feature a picture of one of my old clients, Michael Gambon playing daddy George as I'm very proud but sort of showing off a little bit too as I think he is quite marvelous.

My last day on the job back in May 2003 was spent having lunch with Gambon dressed up to the Dumbledore nines on the set of Harry Potter. Lunching with Kitty has a less relaxing vibe and is a bit less glamourous but this mum thing is most definitely my biggest achievement so far!

rhed horse

2011-03-25T20:20:00.001-07:00

I blogged about this cute little lost and forlorn looking horse a year ago. She was found on a council clear up. Yes, I'm embarrassed to say that she has sat in the unloved corner way down my list of jobs to do for a whole year. I was unsure what to do with her originally. Remember this post?

I started by gluing her together as she had a lot of loose limbs and then I sanded her back. I deliberated and deliberated as to which colour to paint her and then decided on.....
.....RHED!

The reason she is 'Rhed' and not 'Red' is because Rhed is one of my baby names for my next baby girl (if it is to be a girl of course). My hubbie has poo pooed that name right off my list so I christened the horse it instead. Didn't she scrub up well!?

my creative space.....

2011-03-23T22:58:00.001-07:00

.......I have a million projects I need to start on. One is making some vintagey looking embroidery hoops with mix n match fabrics and Scotty Dog appliques. Another is cushion covers for my sofa. Another is a fabric cubby house for my dining room table made from vintage sheets and using applique to make it into a little eclectic looking cottage (I actually got the pattern from this months Better Homes mag!)....

....however, I am too busy at the moment with my name buntings, which is a great thing, and I'm very happy about that. Today I'm making 3 custom orders using my brand new pink iron which I got for my birthday yesterday (I guess it takes getting to 35 and a whole lot of wrecked 'naff iron' sewing jobs to get excited about that birthday gift!). Here they are sitting on my ironing board waiting to have tags sewn into them.

Pop over to Kootoyoo for some super crafty amazing people......

Kitty in Berry

2011-03-06T03:07:00.000-08:00

I took Kitty to Berry markets today. I have been wanting to go to them for forever so was very jittery when I arrived to a mass of scrummy locally produced food stalls and bric and brac as far as the eye could see. But then....

....Kitty decided she didn't want to be at Berry markets. Every time I stopped to check out a stall she cried 'no mummy keep walking'. Even when I kept walking she screamed even louder that she too would prefer to be walking and started to have convulsions in her pram. All the chocolate, bouncy castle and cheap plastic windmill bribes in the world didn't change a thing.

I refused to be moved. I walked around that market today for an hour and a half with a consistently screaming toddler and I managed to buy a vintage toy box, some olives, an amazing sausage roll, a chenille skirt and a book. So there! There are some missions in life I just will not abort and Kitty will just have to scream her way through them.

My Creative Space.....

2011-03-04T01:18:00.001-08:00

I have been busy decorating a nursery for my friend's new baby girl. She had seen a box frame full of fabric covered buttons in a local boutique and was about to pay over $100 for it! Miss Thrifty here stepped in and copied the idea using my own fabrics. She was pretty happy with the replica!....
....she didn't like the bareness of the wardrobe as you enter the nursery so I made a name hanging to jazz it up...
.....I made some bunting to match the new quilt for one of the walls.....
...and it all turned out quite sweet really.

For more crafty loveliness pop over to Kootoyoo.

cute room

2011-02-27T21:27:00.001-08:00

This is a really cute kids room. I love the rug and the mini pom poms and THAT bed!! It's so sweet. I found it on the homelife website which I really enjoyed having a browse around. Check it out, there's some really nice ideas on there.

my creative space.....

2011-02-18T01:25:00.000-08:00

There are babies everywhere at the moment. Pretty much every female I know right now either has a newborn, is trying to make one or is cooking one as we speak. So I have been a wee bit busy making name buntings and decorating nurseries which is a lovely thing to be busy with.

This Ruby bunting is on it's way to Melbourne. It's going to a nursery with neutral, red and pink decor so I mixed contemporary red and white stripes and spots with some lovely vintage rosey fabric I had stashed away.

Pop over to Kootoyoo for more creative goings on.....

a tea party!

2011-02-11T22:56:00.001-08:00

Had so much fun organising the English tea party requested by my stepdaughter for her 9th birthday. Just so happens I might have a few china plates and Union Jack sandcastle flags waiting around in the cupboard for just that! These butterfly cakes were burnt but nothing a huge dollop of icing and a sprinkle of icing sugar can't cure.
I copied these little tea cups from a cafe I went to recently. So easy to make and look so sweet. The saucers were supposed to be 'tick tock' biscuits??!!....but think my husband is the only person on the planet who is familiar with these as not one Woolworths or Coles assistant is. I also made cucumber finger sandwiches (the kids looked horrified when I told them this, but I wanted it to be authentic). Needless to say the Ham and salad cream version were the first to go!
I sewed some little party bags and filled them with English sweets. Have not eaten Fruit Gums or Black Jacks for so long so it was a small case of 'one for you, one for me' when filling them up. Aaahhhh.....the memories........

PS Why don't Aussies put flags in their sandcastles! I have a stack of them which I bought back from England. Huh, we even have to colonise our sandcastles!

flea market finds....

2011-01-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend found these super cute embroidered bedsheets in an op shop up the coast whilst she was on holiday. She said I could cut them up and make something sweet. I'm torn as to whether I'd actually want to cut them though. Maybe I'll wait JUST in case there are more bubs on the way.

I actually think the individual designs would look so lovely framed in different coloured embroidery hoops too.

I just returned from a mini break in Torquay and had a great rummage through the local op shop where I picked up the deep purple chunky beads and the dark olive green hoop. I also went to the Torquay Nightjar market which had a lovely relaxed atmosphere and some really great designers. Check it out if you're down that way as they run all through February too.

For more finds pop over here.

stylish blogging....

2011-01-25T02:11:00.000-08:00

...why thank you lovely Melissa for the privilege of sharing this award with me. I adore your blog and our cuppas in cyberspace which I'm hoping one day will eventuate into the real thing. But for now, I'll share 7 things, like requested, with you....

1. My mum is my best friend. The unconditional, perpetual love I have for her blows me away and I could never imagine her not in my life.

2. My favourite food is Indian. I desperately want to visit India and experience the rich colours of their culture and eat lots of curry. I always know when something is 'made in India' over China. It's always nicer.
3. I have a real thing about cards. Choosing them, receiving them, making them, hoarding them and framing them. Give me a card over a present any day. In the mail though, not by email.
4. Lighting is very important in my life. It drives my husband nuts. It drives me nuts when I come home and he has the central lights on and not the candles and lamps. How a room is lit will completely affect my mood and I cannot shake off a dismal one if the 'big' lights are on. Especially fluorescent strip ones. Urghh!
5. I have no interest in jewellery at all which confuses my friends and pretty much every female I meet. I refused to let my husband buy me an engagement ring but was happy to accept my late grandmother's wedding ring as my own. It meant the world to her and cemented over 60 years of marriage between her and my grandfather. They married during the war and my beautiful nan, who assured me 'there weren't too many 22 carats flying around the WAF' generously agreed to pass it on to me when I married Matty a year after she passed away. It never leaves my finger.
6. I am most relaxed when staring into a fire. I long for an open fire in my old stone cottage with the white picket fence but am starting to doubt how much use I will get out of it living in such a warm climate. My favourite night of the year was always bonfire night when I was little. I can think about so much when I gaze into flames.
7.The only addiction I have ever had in my life is coffee. Which could obviously be a lot worse. I have a coffee out every day without fail. I am so happy I live in Australia where they make the best coffee in the world, this is not helping my habit however.

Please pop over to meet Melissa if you haven't already. She really does take the gold when it comes to stylish blogging.

flea market finds

2011-01-22T21:31:00.001-08:00

My 8 year old stepdaughter was over the moon with her $1 porcelain doll find in the Vinnies toy sale this week. I thought I'd spare you the pain of a full frontal as let's face it, porcelain dolls are so fu..reaky and I'm convinced they all turn into Chucky at midnight.
I really don't need any more mugs but I just can't help myself. It's a mini fetish. And when you drink up to 8 cups of tea a day (this is number 4) you need a selection otherwise you are forever washing up and that is something I really loathe to do.

So I went and bought myself this Royal Albert 'Charlotte' Mug for a couple of dollars. It holds exactly the amount of tea I need in one sitting and is also the perfect thickness for sipping so all in all, a good buy!

Pop over to Sophies for more finds and a very exciting giveaway!...

helpful crafters

2011-01-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

My gorgeous sunglasses case arrived from BECKYBEAN yesterday. I love it. Bec's parents lost their house in the recent floods so she has generously donated all the proceeds from sales in her shop to the flood relief appeal. This divine new handbag item will be a constant reminder to me of how generous the crafty people have been in blogland. Humbling stuff.

Janie's in laws also lost everything in the floods including her mother in law's craft supplies. There was a call out from Selina to put together a package of any spare fabrics, buttons, elastics etc to help her replenish her supplies. It was such a nice feeling posting off that package knowing it might put a small smile on a face filled with lots of sadness.

I also posted off one of my boats which is going to be part of an auction in a fundraising event in Echuca.

Lastly, Sophie is also donating all proceeds from her shop sales to the flood relief. I just bought this divine brooch from her which is on it's way to a very special friend back in the UK who never gave up hope recently.

So there are tinsy winsy ways in which us crafters can help with the huge task of cleaning up and rebuilding of lives in Queensland. Even the tinsy winsy things count.

Queensland Flood Relief-Pocket Organiser Sale

2011-01-15T15:14:00.001-08:00

All proceeds from the sale of one of these pocket organisers will be going to the Queensland Flood Relief. They are priced at $45 and can be customised to suit your needs. I have a huge variety of fabrics, if there is a particular theme you would like and can embroider any name/phrase you would like onto it too!

The first person to leave a comment on this post will win the item and must donate $45 directly to the Queensland Flood Relief right HERE. Postage is free of charge.

Once I have received emailed confirmation of this payment I will go ahead and make your organiser!

lazy day clip frenzy

2011-01-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

Rainy and overcast here in Sydney so having a day at home crafting. Am so excited now I have worked out how easy it is to make my own clips. Was feeling the need to expand Kitty's clip stash due to the million we lose in a minute. My girlfriend donated some gorgeous little crochet bits from a haberdashery she found in NYC and I have had a jolly old time with the glue gun this afternoon.

Kitty said 'wow mummy these are beautiful'. Seriously, how do 2 year olds unearth these phrases!? I have made up some little sets to dish out at mothers group tomorrow. Such a shame we are 80% boys. Just can't seem to whip up small accessories for them on a whim. Any ideas?

a new clock

2011-01-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for a new kitchen clock for a while now. I think I just found it. On Etsy, made by the amazingly talented Mary Kate. Go check out her shop here, it's soooooo tempting not to buy EVERYTHING!!

flea market finds....

2011-01-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

Footstall-$15 Vinnies

Crochet Blanket- $10 Vinnies

Teatowel-$2 Vinnies

Scotty Dog Bedding-$6 Vinnies

Very happy with my finds this week but left wondering... is there a nationwide Vinnies policy or is it up to each individual store? There are three local Vinnies that I visit (WAAAY too often!). My 'localist' one has a bunch of really nice staff who will always price an untagged item at the till. The footstool had no price tag so they generously priced it $15 at the counter..such a bargain and looking forward to sprucing it up a bit. Next day I went to another Vinnies where I bought the rest of the stuff. I found some great unpriced items but was told at the till it is not Vinnies policy to price items on the spot so it was promptly shoved in a huge bin behind her. Surely it would be better to get the sell? I was so upset to see my fabulous finds confiscated from me at the counter. I could have cried.

Ever since seeing Fletcher's (love that name) room in Spaces on page 77 I have been obsessing over creating a bedroom identical for my unborn son (surely 4th time around it HAS to be a blue one). The crochet blanket is for that room, of course!

Does anybody else shop at Vinnies? Do you ever have any untagged items taken off you?

Check out more lovely finds over at Sophies.

scrummy SPACES

2011-01-01T18:09:00.000-08:00

By far my favourite and my best Christmas present this year was SPACES by frankie magazine. Fabulous book! Check out some of the lovely pages.....

...CUTE vintagey bunting (even cuter little person)....

.....gorgeous colours in this kitchen...LOVE the floor...

.....a set of these plates on next years list, oh yes please......

...move in here tomorrow, oh go on then....

.....i might even enjoy washing if my laundry looked like this!

There are 256 pages and it's only $23. That's only about 8c a page! There are also lots of lovely interviews with creative peeps from all around the globe. Gold star hubby for this purchase!

more mountains..

2010-12-31T14:43:00.001-08:00

Just returned from a post Christmas mini break in the Blue Mountains. It is seriously beautiful up there and I would move there tomorrow but my hubby quite rightly pointed out that for a professional sailor to move to the mountains is tempting career suicide!

Had to share the fabulous Megalong Tea Rooms with you. The most tranquil spot to eat lunch. A family run business that are famous for their Devonshire teas but I HAD to have the Mediterranean ploughmans with locally grown olives and homemade tapenades. Was so fresh with heaps of creamy brie and warm bread.

How peaceful is this dining spot?! The kids can just run around and check out the kangaroos and horses milling around.

Inside the tea rooms were pretty quaint too. Would be lovely in Winter with the fire blazing.

My ultimate thing to do up in the mountains is vintage shopping. So many jam packed antique shops and markets and even the kids enjoyed finding some old 80's classics like the troll!

five photos. five facts.

2010-12-28T03:05:00.001-08:00

1. since becoming a mum i really dislike dangerous situations. my husband loves them (that's him at the top of the yacht mast) and calls me 'mary poppins'.

2. the queen owns all the swans in the uk (weird but true fact which my mum informed me of whilst taking a walk through st.james park in london this summer).

3. apparantly my voice becomes very english and a lot posher when i'm on the phone.

4. i am so scared of cockroaches that i cry like a baby when i see one and if they run towards me (which they love to do) i have a panic attack

5. the two things that make me very angry are people throwing rubbish on the ground and cruelty to animals (dogs being my favourite-my friend's dog Ash is in the picture. my favourite kinds of dogs are usually not very pretty)

Play along with Meet Me At Mikes.

merry christmas & giveaway winner!

2010-12-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve, and signing off until the New Year. Wishing all you fellow bloggers a wonderful Christmas, wherever you are, and lots of happy, healthy times ahead for 2011.

This is the end of my first year in blogland and it's been so much fun getting to know so many likeminded crafty lovely people.

I have one last minute dash to the shops today as my intention of a freshly made yule log is now replaced with one already prepared by my very good friend from back home, Mr Kipling. I will however, endeavour to decorate it with lots of tacky plastic santas and snowmen just like mum used to do.

Whilst I'm here I'm pleased to announce the winner of my 100th post giveway......drumroll......VINTAGE NURSERY LAMPS. Well done Meg look forward to making you something special.

cute tags

2010-12-22T02:53:00.000-08:00

I desperately wanted to make my own tags this year but have had zero time to do anything about it. Perfect timing by the lovely Jenny at Allsorts who sent some freebie files yesterday and hey pronto! they are now this years tags. I backed them with some kraft board and then secured them with twine.
My 'brown paper packages tied up with string' obsession was certain to make a Christmas appearance and these tags worked perfectly with them. Thank you allsorts! (beautiful blog you MUST take a look if you haven't already).

yule log

2010-12-17T17:03:00.001-08:00

photo via

I was chatting to our French sommelier at work the other night about Christmas. I was fascinated to hear what his French traditional Christmas in Australia consisted of. There followed lots of ooohhing and aaaaahhing at his talk of French Champagne and Foie Gras....

....and THEN he mentioned that no Christmas is complete without a 'Buche de Noel'. I asked what that was and he explained that it was a cake that looks like a trunk. I was so ridiculously excited to remember the good ole yule log which has evaporated from my British Christmas memory bank.

Having turned from university student to a 21 year old living in Japan to a working girl living in a poky 'all I could afford' East London flat to a backpacker around oz, this is the first year I am playing adult and hosting Christmas at my place!

The thing I am now most definitely looking forward to more than ANYTHING is making my yule log! I just wish the conversation with the sommelier had taken place earlier so I could have had mum post out the snowman, santa and sprigs of holly that adorned our log for every Christmas I remember at home. That would have been the perfect touch of nostalgia I need at this time of year. Would have been the icing on the trunk cake.

kiss me kate

2010-12-16T20:00:00.001-08:00

Are these the sweetest biscuits you've ever seen!? I'd struggle to make a bite mark on one of those, oh, ok, maybe not! One of my lovely customers who bought some bunting from me recently, wanted me to see it featuring as part of her little girl's birthday party. It just so happens that she makes spectacular cakes and biscuits. Take a look at her facebook page here and check out her amazing creations. So talented. Makes my birthday cakes look very mediocre!
This is the picture she wanted me to see which is her daughter's first 'candy themed' birthday party. I'm proud as punch that my bunting was part of such a beautiful set up like this. Thankfully lucky little Isabella will be able to look back on these pictures and realise the talent and effort behind her very first party! Lovely stuff.

my creative space and GIVEAWAY!

2010-12-15T17:18:00.001-08:00

This fabric is sitting there winking at me today waiting to be turned into some scatter cushions for my new sofa. It seems very Christmassy looking at it but that was not the intention as they will be living on my sofa all year round....

As soon as I finish writing this post I am going to make some flags for Kai's (Kitty's mummy's group friend) seaside themed bedroom. They will be hung beneath the fishing nets already hung from his ceiling.
I have been busy making lots of Christmas orders which is fabulous! This is just one of the many ships that have set sail this week....
and this is my 100th post!!! PHEW!....

For that I am hosting a GIVEAWAY.....today....so to enter please leave a comment on this post and I will draw names from a hat this time next week. Was hoping to get the winning order made in time for Christmas but not sure my timekeeping skills and Australia Post are up to that. Sorry!

Spread the word lovely people!

purchase of the day

2010-12-14T18:15:00.001-08:00

My obsession with stationary continues. I'm supposed to be shopping for pressies for other people but I just keep stumbling across things that are far too scrummy for me not to buy. Check out more cool stuff that Kitty (but not my Kitty, that would be waaaaay too clever) has been coming up with lately.....

Tomorrow's creative space will be my 100th post which will mean a giveaway! Make sure you pop in and put your name down.

sunday sailing

2010-12-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

Whilst my husband is sailing real life big boats on Sydney harbour today, I'm here at home, excitedly putting together my pretend big boats. I have looked high and low across Sydney searching for big cinnamon sticks to make bigger boats with bigger masts.

I ended up finding some back in the UK (thank you Waitrose and thank you customs!), so set to work making some stars and stripes sails, a spotty hull and an extra large lovely smelling mast.

So whilst my hubbies yacht might sail faster than mine, I bet mine looks prettier than his and smells a DARN sight better too!

SQUEE!

2010-12-07T02:21:00.001-08:00

Remember before when I introduced you to some really sweet little softies that my girlfriend made? Well, she has now entered the wonderful world of jewellery under her new brand Squee Crafts. Move over diamonds....here comes tetris! Seriously, how imaginative is this design? She is so clever.
Here's her strawberry and kiwi ring. She uses polymer clay and does a fantastic job at it too.

I'm thinking about grabbing one of these donut necklaces for my sugar obsessed 11 year old stepdaughter. Such a funky pressie for Christmas.
This cupcake necklace is also very sweet. I know she's my friend but I think she has some genius designs going on here. Check more out here.

kaleidoscope

2010-12-05T03:28:00.000-08:00

Just got back from the sunshine coast and thought I'd mention the really fabulous Kaleidoscope market that I stumbled across at Lake Kawana. As well as some extremely talented lovely crafty people making super sweet clothing, gifts and accessories there were also free Santa photos, yummy food and coffee, a playroom and lots of other activities for little people. There was also some really useful educational programmes going on with regards to breastfeeding, introducing children to music and exercise for bubs etc.

If you're up that way for a visit or live there (lucky you!) the markets run all through the summer and are well worth a visit.

birds n' the bees party

2010-11-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have themed party obsession. I remember friends telling me they were nervous turning up to my 'from the musicals' themed 30th just in case I felt they hadn't put enough effort in. That's not so good, AND it's worsening rapidly since giving birth.

So today we had our mums group joint 2nd birthday. Original plans were rained off so one of my lovely girls volunteered her place. I insisted on a theme, to which there are always a symphony of sighs, which was ladybirds and bumblebees (my two favourite bugs, in fact the only bugs that don't get 'Mortein-ed' beyond recognition in my house). Leaving everything to the last minute, I managed a scoot up to Spotlight yesterday and grabbed some fur from which I made a simple 'Pebbles' style getup. BUT she wouldn't keep her antennas on. Not part of my plan. Theming obsessed mummy and independent 2 year old= not a happy mix.

The gorgeous Seth kept his bumblebee wings on the whole time.
For a touch of nostalgia I made a washing line of all our bubs at 6 months old, complete with bumblebee and ladybird pegs!
I even made the mummys bring matching food. Deeper sighs.
BUT, best dressed for me had to be Hannah. She looked so sweet in her bumblebee cossie and swim hat.

flea market finds....

2010-11-27T19:35:00.001-08:00

There's nothing in the world more satisfying than an op shop sale! This week at my local it was 50% off shoes. And there they were. A cute little pair of Cath Kidston plimsolls which were the perfect size for my 8 year old stepdaughter. Didn't even realise Cath did shoes. And how they found their way to my local op shop in time for half price shoes is a work of magic.
This is not an op shop find but I'm excited as I received it this morning over a coffee with my girlfriend who decided to brush the dust off her machine and whipped this up for Kitty. Of course it was frantic undressing mid flat white, my impatience does not do 'waiting until we get home'. The fabric is beautiful and it fitted perfectly. Well done Alecia, you are pure genius!

Pop to Sophie's for more bargain treats.

shopping

2010-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

I'm no shopper when it comes to gigantic Westfield type shopping centres. In fact, those places make me feel nauseous and I only go there if I absolutely MUST and if I need a kikki.K fix. My idea of shopping is stumbling across a small eclectic town with a few nik nak shops, ANY op shop (especially those in rural places down really small side streets where you still find fantastic things super cheap), markets or I don't mind a dabble in a bit of online shopping.

If I stumble across a shop that has oilcloth bunting draped across the front I will most definitely go in. I wouldn't care what it sold. I glimpsed this place driving past in the Blue Mountains, got myself a wee bit excited, found myself walking down the winding path to the door.....
....saw a quilt hanging there, excitement has now reached a new level, enter to find three rooms filled with an abundance of buttons, fabrics, ribbons and all my favourite things inside. I was in heaven!
I also really love these kinds of shops. This was another fabulous find in the Blue Mountains. I get really jittery when I enter shops like this as I feel like I'm not going to be able to get to every nook and cranny and panic I'm going to miss something really special. Shops like this make me really miss my mum. She takes Kitty off my hands and lets me take all the time in the world. And I need a lot of that in shops like this.
I quite love shops like this too although I do find them a bit samey after a while. This was in my favourite newly discovered town I visited back home, Stamford. It was just me and my gorgeous girlfriends from university days, milling around, a little bit hungover, taking all the time we needed to browse every little nik nak shop in town. With lots of food breaks ( I refuse to shop with anybody that does not need to do morning coffee, mid morning tea, lunch, early afternoon coffee and a late afternoon tea with some sort of cake involved).
I lived in England for 28 years and never looked up. But back home recently, I had a permanent flip top head on, checking out all the beautiful architecture, like these super ornate shop fronts.I totally took all that for granted before I came to oz. I did lots of 'oohs' and 'aaahs' and drove my girlfriends mad who were confused about their new touristy type friend.
Speaking of which, I'm sure they also found it quite ludicrous that I wanted us all to pose for a picture outside this shop because I loved their faded, whimsical bunting. Quite a sweet oldie worldie shop front it is too! OOOHHH, AAAAHHHH!!!!

(That's me in the pink hat).

9 to go....

2010-11-24T03:53:00.001-08:00

....and I'm on my 100th post. Phew.

In true blogging generosity I'm going to host my own little GIVEAWAY.

Everyone to comment on 'post 100' will be bunched up on tiny pieces of paper and pulled out of something a week later.

If you are picked, you will then be able to choose a name bunting of your choice.

Remember, these can work beyond a children's name bunting, I will make anything for you, have a look here for just one other option. A 'home sweet home' is another sweet alternative.

I'm a bit excited actually, think I might be posting quite a lot in the next few days...

some girlie organisation

2010-11-21T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's getting a bit busy over at kitty n' kitsch, anyone would think Christmas is coming.

I really enjoyed making this custom order for 3 little girlies waiting to get super organised in time for Christmas. These pockets are designed to house those trinkets that find themselves under beds and behind the sofas! Hair bands, clips, necklaces, lip gloss or secret notes.

I managed to include some of my delicious new ribbons from my recent trip back home too.

Got to dash, Bernina's calling......

my stocking arrives...

2010-11-20T19:01:00.001-08:00

....and what a beautiful looking stocking it is too! Still feeling a little bit homesick since my trip back home, it was the best cheery up when I picked it up yesterday. Absolutely brilliant crafting and lots of lovely details too;
....this trimming was top notch. Such a sweet idea and.....
...the buttons are to die for and....
....i was very touched that you had done a bit of research on me and filled it up with pommy sweets! Including my absolute favourite and desperately missed Galaxy Minstrels! All wrapped up in that lovely Christmas bauble fabric and a big fat red velvet ribbon.

Thanks Selina for hosting this really cheery swap. Thanks Tracey for putting in such a huge effort, it couldn't have arrived at a better time for this sad little pom missing her mum!

excess baggage

2010-11-15T19:07:00.001-08:00

I must admit I thought shopping for fabrics in the UK was going to be out of this world. However, I am very pleased to admit that my lovely little local is still the best selection I've found.

I did, however, manage to put myself in that oh so familiar position of purchasing a new case, paying the 40 quid excess and bringing home this lot. I looked in Wales, Norfolk, Rutland and Berwick Street in London for something a little bit different but really.....we have as good a selection down under after all (stroking fabrics in Liberty London however, was a bit special!)
I really enjoyed the ribbons though. There was definitely a better selection and some really lovely quality ones at good prices.
BUT......my 'piece de resistance' was definitely this original Mary Quant fabric picked up at mum's local charity shop for a pound! There's a good few metres, and I'm not sure where to go with it, but in true Quant style I quite fancy a nice little shift dress for summer.

Lovely stuff.

cute tags

2010-11-14T19:50:00.001-08:00

My paper obsessed girlfriend has recently opened up her Blonde Brat Pack shop on Made It. I thought I'd share them with you as they really are so cute....
....and playful and perfect as a finishing touch to a brown paper package tied up with string.

let me eat cake.

2010-11-02T13:50:00.001-07:00

England and cake go hand in hand for me. This is one of many devonshire teas with mum at a local farm cafe. I eat A LOT of scones when I come home. This is a favourite spot. The scones are fresh and perfect, the jam comes in a little pot, the cream is clotted and the plates are Cath Kidston. Pretty brave I think! Oh, and I also like the mug the tea comes in too. Whilst we're on the subject of cake....

....here is Kitty's birthday cake. She was 2 last week. Pretty simple in comparison to my usual efforts but I did make the Twirling Betty mini bunting which I think sets it off nicely. I love being at home. I remember that doilie from when I was as little as Kitty is now. There is so much nostalgia around me here [big deep breath].......

....and since I had arranged a spooky Halloween weekend away with my girlfriends, I found yet another excuse to make a cake. I also carved my very first pumpkin this year, sad but true, and he's sitting there nicely in the background taking it all in.

Tomorrow night M & S Christmas Pud with Brandy Sauce is on the menu. Home is where the heart (cake) is.

i am seriously....

2010-10-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

... obsessed with British supermarkets. Here I am, taking pictures at my local, with plenty of confused looks being thrown my way. But how sweet is everything! I agree that Australia do so many things better, and on the fresh food front I think they claim the prize. But the packaging and wording ' a scatter of mini marshmallows' 'add sparkle with jelly diamonds' make me want to buy EVERYTHING in sight!

Jars of yumi things everywhere.

Asian products were to die for. Their marketing strategy sure did it's work on me. I mean you have to buy 'a nest' of egg noodles even if they do reach their sell by date before your saucepan!

I love to believe that I will always abide by the 'fresh is best' rule.....but......when they put together a lovely little package like this and throw in a free bottle of vino, ....SOLD!

belle & boo halloween

2010-10-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

Am off to a Halloween weekend with my girlfriends from university this week. We've booked a huge manor house not far from my parents place and we're going to eat lots of Tesco finest food and drink lots of multicoloured wines. I am most definitely going to invest in some of these cupcake wrappers by Belle & Boo and make some to take with me.

How sweet are the invitations too!?

I also have Kitty's 2ND birthday this week too. Lots of party paraphernalia to get buying methinks.

Still absolutely loving being back in the land of tinsy winsy country lanes, superb supermarkets and lots of wonky pubs.

it's the simple things in life like....

2010-10-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

... discovering a new tea room....
...with my favourite girls...

....only to find....

...a big fat piece of chocolate cake inside....

that make me very happy indeedy. Another lovely day back home in England.

through the eyes of a ten year old....

2010-10-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

We gave Ashley a camera for her trip to the UK as an early birthday present. Just a basic digital one. Here's a snippet of her snaps so far. These are totally unprompted and I think completely inspired.

london traffic
london eye

london cake shop

kitty in mum's back garden

mum's back garden-norfolk

I'm looking forward to seeing what else she'll come up with. I'll share some more later......

a wedding in a barn...

2010-10-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

The cake was made by a local lady who works from home. I loved it, Cath Kidston inspired.

The bouquet was made by the bride's Auntie. So pretty, made with the same fabrics used for the dress.

There were sweet little touches all over the barn. There were no fresh flowers on the day and everybody took a vase home as a keepsake.

Everything was very simple and understated which made it very cosy and inviting. My bunting looked 'made to measure', but certainly wasn't (!) and you can just spot one of my carnival mobiles hanging over there off one of the oak beams. There were hearts and mobiles and tea lights everywhere. Great venue and a special day.

1st swap complete!

2010-09-29T23:55:00.001-07:00

Really enjoyed my first ever swap, the stocking swap hosted by Selina. Have never attempted a stocking before but used an old one I already had to make the pattern.

I bought some really sweet glittery red fabric and used some gingham/christmas fabric to cut out the 'ho ho ho' letters. I then blanket stitched around them in red thread. I sewed some tiny pale pink pom pom trim around the stocking's edge and some hot pink/baby pink ribbons along the top. I made a hot pink pom pom and attached it with some red gingham ribbon. I also added a cute little ceramic button too.
My stocking came with all the trimmings!
Full to the brim.
All packed up and ready to go. Happy hanging Pam and a VERY Merry Christmas!

my creative space.....

2010-09-29T20:36:00.001-07:00

Making necklaces for Kitty to take to the UK (IF I can get madam to wear them)...

...making headbands for the girls for my big brother's big day......

....embellishing a cardigan that probably has enough detail already.......

....putting the finishing touches to my stocking for the stocking swap

Pop to Kootoyoo for more crafty goings on.

Twirling Betty giveaway...

2010-09-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Was very excited to be the winner of the recent Twirling Betty giveaway.

I love her creations, but I also love her genuine and very witty blogging style too.

This headband is going to be an absolute winner in our family of 4 girls as it's so versatile and will add a touch of glam to all of us on those bad hair days. Here it is being modelled by the biggest little girl, aged 10.

Thanks for hosting such a fabulous giveaway and randomly picking me as the winner!

at my house...

2010-09-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

snow in blue mountains by Mark Brown

...we just returned from staying at our friend's new gorgeous grey and white painted weatherboard cottage in the Blue Mountains. So dreamy. The Blue Mountains are only a 2 hour drive from me but you feel a million miles from the bright city lights.

We ate the best devonshire tea here, I browsed here for an insanely long time (nice coffee too), I discovered a beautiful fabric store in Blackheath called Ribbons and Rainbows and walked through here. Everything is antiquated and just my cup of tea and there is a really cool mix of bohemian folk buzzing around which leads to my favourite overheard conversation of the trip;

Waitress: 'Morning Julie'

Julie: 'Morning but I'm not Julie anymore I changed my name to Ada last year'

Waitress: 'Oh ok, sorry Ada but that will take a little getting used to'

Ada: {Bemused totally unimpressed reaction}

So yes, I did manage a spot of shopping. Fabrics, buttons, ribbons and all sorts of stuff but my favourite things I found were;

Scotty dog appliques cut from original 1930's fabrics. Have a few ideas with where these will end up.....
..... and this sweet hand painted bowl for Kitty to eat cereal from when she's a bit bigger and has stopped lobbing everything across the room. It was sitting in an antique pile and when I turned it over and saw it was painted in England in 1976 (made the same year as me-does that make me antique too?!) I had to have it. It was $5! What a splurge!

Pop over to Lou for more homely insights.

coffee sacks

2010-09-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

I picked up some coffee sacks for $4 from a local coffee shop today. I've seen them vamped up in a few magazines lately and think they look very nice and rustic. I know lots of people make cushions out of them but I thought they were a bit scratchy and also shed a bit too much for that. So....

....I thought I'd try my hand at some doormats. Anybody have any good doormat recipes? I particularly love the colours in that top one, bit of hot pink and turquoise mixed in with some faint coffee bean aromas.So nice.

I'll have to cut them out and hand them over to hubby to do the sewing at the sail loft with some heavy duty machines as this hessian will murder my Bernina!

Anybody got any better ideas for them? Do tell!

my creative space.....

2010-09-22T19:08:00.001-07:00

I have been chop chop chopping ribbons. Time is evaporating on me and big brother's wedding is creeping up very quickly. My carnival mobile is what first inspired their brightly coloured, village fete, Cath Kidston country fair themed wedding. So I thought I'd better get making some to take with me. And with 125 metres of ribbon in each one, that is a lot of chopping let me tell you! It's even given me RSI in my fingers!
Whether to dot them around the trees or hang them from the oak beams in the 16th century medieval barn? Aww, what a lovely decision to have to make! Am so excited to decorate the venue the day before.

Kootoyoo is on holidays but I thought I'd still play anyway.

softies at mikes

2010-09-20T20:35:00.001-07:00

Pip at Meet Me At Mikes just put out a post about selling softies in her shop. She wanted pix sent in and she will choose some to sell. My girlfriend makes all sorts of wacky and cute softies and I told her to enter so she did! Thought I'd share a few with you;

Hello Kitty in chick and bunny costumes

Boy in frog suit

Yoda

Elephant

Aren't they sweet! She has also started to make some really fun and funky jewellery. I'll pop some pix up later in the week.

tinsy winsy bunting

2010-09-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the wonderful Twirling Betty and in an attempt to get semi organised I made a wedding card for my brother last night. I used this tutorial from TB's blog to make the bunting. Making minuscule bunting is so much fun, no patterns, no pins and NO IRONING. However it should come attached with the warning; tinsy winsy bunting should not be attempted (for the first time) under the influence of alcohol at silly o'clock. Your fingers will seem to have quadrupled in size and you will most definitely fall out with your sewing machine.

Kitty's second birthday will be in my mum's back garden this year. I might have to include the wedding bunting (at 60 metres long I can probably wrap it around my parents house twice over!) and I will definitely be making some of this cake bunting, also by the fabulous Twirling Betty (I'm a big fan!). I am getting very excited about her English tea party birthday and the eternal weather optimist in me (this is a compulsory British trait) will keep believing the sun WILL SHINE that day.

flea market finds....

2010-09-18T21:41:00.001-07:00

Baby pink colander still with original price tag of $30 I got for $5. Lovely.

The tea towel it's sitting on was 50 cents. They came as a pair, the other one is yellow and orange striped. They look so Eastern European and are made in Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic now!)

I got this simple little top for Kitty which I wouldn't normally bother to show but my friend who I was with at the time whipped it off me and embroidered some roses on it so think it's really cute now and worth showing off.

Pop over to Sophie for more fabulous finds!

handmade christmas

2010-09-18T02:58:00.001-07:00

Tracey, I love your handmade Christmas idea. I'm in need of some Christmas inspiration and I had thought about making some pressies to take back to the UK with me in a couple of weeks.

That would be the sensible thing to do, but I will still wait till I get back to Oz, panic, try and make/buy a million things in the space of a week and spend a small fortune sending it back to exactly the same spot I just flew out of. Ridiculous.

But for now, I have to buy these crochet covered beads from here for Kitty's stocking.

new bunting design

2010-09-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

My lovely girlfriend Nikki just had another little boy so I made him some name bunting last night.He was named after Sandon point surf break, yes he has a super surfy daddy.I changed the design a bit and left out the calico squares. To make the letters stand out I used chocolate brown thread to do the blanket stitch. I love this fabric, it's called vintage toy town or something equally as cute. I think the turquoise and chocolate brown work really well together don't you?

I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Will pop it in the post to her on Monday.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!