Huge hiatus

Sorry for such a long delay in between blog posts. I have been uber busy (who isn't?) and I can't believe April is sneaking up on us. I'm just pondering on what has happened the beginning of 2010 and I'm amazed at how much has already happened. I knew that 2010 was going to be a big year for change but I didn't know what roads I would be led down. I've been working on some projects for our collective Magnus and Mathilda etsy shop and getting ready for another Market in 10 weeks!

Lace Graffiti tote bags in our Magnus and Mathilda etsy shop

I'm excited for Easter - we'll go up to the holiday house in the mountains with my hubby's family. Yay!

Disaster zone

I've been working like crazy getting ready for the market this weekend and getting ready for Christmas that I had neglected the cleanliness of my workspace. I really can't stand a messy space for long.

So in an hour it went from this...

to this...

and Yes those are nicely wrapped Christmas presents - just waiting for some

cute gift tags from our Magnus and Mathilda shop.

On the wall I hung the apron that I use when we're at the markets (I made it from IKEA fabric) . It's on the cutest hook from Zakkaya in Melbourne and also features a

toadstool ornament from my etsy shop.

Here's a fresh to-do list of things that I need to get done before the weekend. To fasten the list together I used a bird clip from Lark.

New Matryoshka

I found some amazing remnant tweed fabric the last time I was at the remnant shop and decided to make a Matryoshka (Russian nesting doll) cushion out of it. It features three matryoshka dolls in polka dot cotton with three different expressions on their faces - hand embroidered by me. On the backside of the cushion is a love heart in red polka dot cotton fabric. This is a big oblong cushion that is just divine to cozy up with.

It will be up for sale at the craft market this weekend. I hope this little diddy goes home with someone special ♥

To market I go

I'm doing another market this weekend. Come along if you're in the area!!

Birdie

I sold a Birdie cushion last week at the market and realized that these little birdies are still as popular as ever - and I'm glad because I love them! New Birdie cushion in my etsy shop.

Market success

My lovely friend Louise (and partner in crime with our little side business called Magnus and Mathilda) and I did our first market this weekend. It was wonderful to see our creations come to life and all of it looked so different set up and decorated instead of laying in bunches in my spare room. We met some lovely people and got a lot of good feedback. We're doing another market this weekend - it should be packed! I'm really surprised that my little mushroom ornaments were selling like hot-cakes. I'll be making more for this weekend's market and some NEW little goodies.

Here are some photos of us and our stall. Our etsy shop will be up and running on Monday - we're taking a little break :o)

blog love

Big thanks to Chrisy of artdecadence for mentioning my LOVE cushion on her blog. Check out her etsy shop - it looks like she's closed up shop for a little while but check back soon!

The top left is my LOVE cushion cover in my etsy shop.

Christmas wish list revised

I try and make Christmas shopping as easy as possible, so I've made a list of things that I would like and give it to my husband. You may remember me posting my wish list as far back as August and now I'm making my final draft before I hand it over to Cam.

Here's what's on my Christmas wish list.

The Proud One - print from Amy Blackwell $16.00USD. Or this one for $9.00USD

get the book $45AUD from Hardie Grant Books, or through Amazon.com for $40USD

Owl in the Attic - print by My Folk Lover. $18.00USD

Honorable mention for Revision Design - Australia

The lovely Melanie of Paper Mango mentioned one of my hair fascinators on her blog in an article she calls Sustainability (number 4 is me and my Bloomers hair fascinator!!). The other items featured are very cool and I encourage you to check out her etsy shop and her blog.

Thanks Melanie!

To see my Bloomers hair fascinator and the other etsy products in my shop, click here

Spotty for dotties!

It doesn't matter how hard I try I still go nuts over polka dots. And there's nothing better than a balance of red and white with hints of light blue and light green for Christmas decor. I love natural colors as well, like brown, white, and oatmeal. These are the colors that I've chosen for this year...

this is a clipping from Bo Bedre Danish magazine from December 2007

I picked up some spools, once used for industrial thread, at a remnant shop.
I put some Christmas ribbon on it for easy wrapping.

The blue with white polka dot ribbon is from our wedding 3 years ago.
I have heaps of it and I'm still using it for gift wrap. Love it!

new Knit Wit clutch with Love Heart

Over the weekend some girlfriends and I got together and made oodles of pouches for a group little kids in India that one of our friends has connections with. We were decorating, stitching, and sewing the whole day and made some really cute little things.


On other note, I made my own little clutch today - something that I had been planning to finish for a long time. I hand knitted the sides and used remnant upholstery fabric for the liner. I used upcycled leather for the heart applique and the handle. It's in my etsy shop now!

Doodles

I haven't drawn for a long time. Sure, I draw up little ideas and patterns all the time, but I haven't sat down and drawn anything that I wanted to display for a while... so I'm a bit rusty. But alas I've doodled some little creations and I'm colouring them in with my free graphic design program and I'm trying to figure out what to do with them next. I'm thinking greeting cards, badges, and possibly prints. The following illustration is a draft :o)

original illustration by Sonja Barrett - Revision Design

Celebrate 'Movember'

Movember is a celebration of Mustaches and men are encouraged to grow their mustaches (or just not shave them) during November. I had to look up the origins of this kitschy holiday and it seems that it was started by the Australian blokes in 1999 to raise awareness about men's health issues such as prostate cancer and depression. I know that Americans celebrate it because American men love any chance they can get to grow facial hair and live out their Paul Bunyan dreams.

Check out the official Movember website here and the Movember International website here.

I've created a design called Mister which will be featured in my etsy shop (here) for the month of November.

Get your Mustache on boys!

The new Roo

New cushion designs in my etsy shop, here.

Recession buster Christmas

We're making sure we're extra good this Christmas because we don't want to miss out on any of the goods. This year will be a recession buster Christmas for sure with a smaller budget even though the Aussie dollar is really strong against almost all other currencies and the economists are telling us to buy, buy, BUY! Cam and I picked up an artificial Christmas tree (sad I know) for $10.50 on ebay.com.au. Shipping was nearly $30 but it was still cheaper than what I've found in stores so far. I'm making some homemade decorations and created these little Swedish Dala horses out of felt and string.

I'm thinking of putting some up in my etsy shop here and taking them to sell at craft markets - here's a packaging idea.

Woodland kitsch

I'm still exploring etsy and finding the most creative things. Today's blog is dedicated to woodland creatures which everybody can't seem to get a enough of. Here are my favorites for today.

'Deer in Woodland' necklace by Day Defy Project

'Diary' by Oh My Cavalier

'Build a Tree' wall decal by Mae
'Amigurumi Owl' knit plush toy by Cute Designs

Accessories - Etsy

I'm pretty sure that I could outfit my entire wardrobe from etsy. Here's what I'd get to accessorize my outfit today.

'Hunter Lux' knit hat by knittles


'Classic messenger bag' with stag by cipolla


'Merit badges' by Lee Meszaros

'leather wallet' by feralempire

Rainy Days - Etsy favorites

I can spend hours looking at all the creative things on Etsy. Here are a few of my favorites this week. It's cold and rainy here in Melbourne (with occasional sunshine) and back in my hometown of Seattle it's pretty much the same weather. I'm definitely in a 'sit down with a hot chocolate and a book' kind of mood.

'My favorite yellow boot' print by sloeginfizz
'Rainy day' print by missbridgette (unfortunately it sold)
'Sunshine and rain' messenger bag by SewnNatural

'Umbrella Days' t-shirt by elefint