SALE at Revision Design - Australia

This blog post is long overdue! I have a really good excuse though; we moved in January and I had a baby a couple months ago and the last several months of the pregnancy were really rough so I didn't have time/energy to do anything those last few months. Our baby was in hospital for 5 weeks after she was born, but is home now and is doing fantastic!

I have some incredible stock of cushions and plush toys that I need to get rid of in order to get more items in my shop. My loss is your gain! Head on over to my etsy shop and grab a bargain. All items are ready to ship!

DIY Christmas Advent Calendar

Do you remember those cardboard advent calendars with a silly picture of kids getting gifts from Santa, and each day you could open the little perforated cardboard door and get a waxy tasting piece of chocolate? I love those and miss them! This year I decided to make a grown up version of the Advent calendar out of many things I already had around the house. 'God Jul' (goo yule) means Merry Christmas in Norwegian.




I fill the bags with ornaments that we already had (special ones that mean something to us), and chocolates.

See the 'How to' after the jump. And here is a super cute round-up of Advent Calendars.

Halloween - le chat

Here in Australia Halloween isn't a huge event like in the States. Hopefully next year we'll do a Halloween party with dress ups and the works. When my sister came to visit she brought down heaps of little goodies for me including caramel apple cider and this little cat tin basket. I currently have it in my craft room and it usually holds some tags and labels that I use for impromptu gifts and the like. 

all photos by me, Sonja Barrett

Bunting Bag

There's something really fun about Bunting, and it always conjures up thoughts of a party. I made a tote bag from Ikea's Fialena fabric and some leather, and cotton canvas I had. It's reversible and has a fun pocket with the bunting fabric on the inside. 

The fabric in the background is some Marimekko fabric that I purchased in Seattle and stretched onto a canvas frame (How-to to come soon). Hubby and I love to buy fabrics from different countries that we go to, mainly because they're beautiful and we can remember our trips AND because they're really easy to pack.

all photos by me, Sonja Barrett

DIY Chalkboard Art Canvas

We have a revolving art gallery in our house and like to move different pieces around to suit the mood. So this DIY Chalkboard Canvas fits right in. I use it in the guest room and write greetings to our guests, or I'll  draw seasonal flowers or write quotes that inspire me. And best of all this project is easy peasy!

All you need is:
Art canvas in any size (I bought mine for $7AUD at a local art store)
Spray Chalkboard Paint ($13AUD at local hardware store). Get the non-toxic kind
newspaper
painting mask
well ventilated area

How-to
Lay down newspaper in a well ventilated area and put your canvas on it. Put on your painting mask, even if the paint is non-toxic it's good to keep that stuff out of your lungs. Spray an even and thin coat of chalkboard paint on the canvas, no drips! Let it dry and apply another thin even coat of chalkboard paint. Let it dry and just for fun apply another thin even coat of chalkboard paint. Leave it overnight to set and dry and you're ready with your Chalkboard canvas. Have fun!

all photos by me, Sonja Barrett

Typography and the bargain bin

I hope you had a good weekend. Our's was busy, we had friends over for dinner on Friday and then we went over to some friends for dinner on Saturday. We looked at a couple houses that we are interested in buying and we ran a lot of errands. Hubby and I had a good time going to the farmers market and buying overpriced bananas and having a couple of good laughs in the car.

When I was in America in July this year I picked up these wooden stamps from Target in their bargain bin. They are so simple and pretty and they can be used for so many lovely projects.

Lotta Jansdotter cafe apron

I love the simplicity of Lotta Jansdotter's designs and projects and my hubby got me one of her books for Christmas last year... or maybe two years ago, and I haven't made anything from it. Oh yes, I've perused through its pages several times and even pulled out fabrics that I wanted to use for various project but I've never actually put the pedal to the metal (or sewing machine), until now!

The little hanging hook wasn't part of the pattern but I

took the idea from Lotta's tea towel pattern

 

I used fabric that I already had in cotton/linen and some cute Kokka fabric in three little pigs.

photos by me, Sonja Barrett

Mini pom pom tutorial

You know I like a good DIY and when one of my friends posted this on Pinterest the other day I had to try it! I didn't have any bakers twine (shame, I know) so I used regular yarn, and it worked a treat!

Go on over to the original mini pom pom tutorial here, along with other fun stuff to do with baker's twine. I'm working on a pom-tastic project so I'll wait to show you pics. Watch this space.

Styled mag

Have you seen Styled mag? You can buy it on print or view online. So many great ideas - it's getting my creative juices flowing.

  Styled mag

Etsy motivation

This video from Etsy is getting me motivated! It's very cute. 
Hello Etsy: The Movie from Etsys Deutscher Blog on Vimeo.