The fun of Halloween

I am a proud Australian and there aren't many times when I am wishing I ever lived elsewhere.

Tonight I am wishing I lived in the USA.

Why??

Because of Halloween....It just seems like so much fun.

So what is this fun festive time all about?

According to Wikipedia - Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in Canada, Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration. MMMM sounds too deep for me.

I am all about the costumes, and my favourite part, "Trick or Treat".

My two munchkins are a little to young to be undertaking any part in this as yet, but when the time comes I think I will enjoy knocking from door to door with them.

Meanwhile I have had a lot of fun looking through Etsy tonight to see what is available to celebrate this fun filled occasion.

Tutu by dress up baby girl

Halloween party printables by chickabug

Halloween Silhouette by Apple Blossom Print

Hanging Mobile -- Halloween Creatures by lovely friend

Tomorrow I'll be at Monkey Market.

Tomorrow I'll be at Monkey Market, and I would love to see you there.

Come on down and say hi.

It's indoors so you can hide from the rain.

Eltham Community & Reception Centre
801 Main Road, Eltham (Mel Ref: 21 J6)
Sunday 31st October 2010

Treasury Delight

Two lovely treasuries featuring some of my product.

The first is titled 'Christmas In Australia' and it is curated by 'Style Me Classy', and it is featuring my Santa Magnetic Bookmarks.

This one is titled "Dream In Colour' curated by Sara Lynn Art & its featuring my star wall hanging.

Blog Find : Life On Planet Baby

Sometime ago I had a comment on one of my posts from someone I didn't know.

Jane? Jane who?

Anyway she asked me to come over to her very new blog & say hi.

So over I go curious to see what "Life On Planet Baby Is About".

Nothing to do with a crafting business, its the daily goings on in Jane's life, and her kids.

Let me tell you all, Jane is a HOOT and a half.

I look forward to seeing what it is she is going to post about next.

A lot of her personal stories are very similar to what is going on in many houses, that have

little people as permanent residents.

However, "Life On Planet Baby' isn't always about her "little pixies' as she calls them.

She loves anything French, so do I.

She loves stationery, so do I.

She loves interior design so do I.

She also has a knack for writing about things that I find extremely informative, I think it's the fact she's a lawyer!

Anyway pop over to have a read, I am sure you will enjoy it.

Thanks Jane for entertaining me.

Window cleaner in training

It's been a busy Monday here, cleaning to do, work to finish, and a couple of orders to make.

It can be exctremely challenging to get it all done with a toddler constantly saying,

'Mummy'

'Mummy'

'Mummy'

MMM what to do, it's semi warm outside, well tee shirt weather anyway.

I thought a spray bottle with some water, a sponge, and get him to work!!

Who would have thought cleaning windows could make him so happy.

Made n Thornbury

If you're looking for something to do tomorrow why don't you head on down to

Made n Thornbury market.

This is my first time there as a stallholder and I am really excited.

I hope to see you there.

Madeit finds - Dinosaurs

My son LOVES dinosaurs at the moment.

I am sure it has a lot to do with the Nick Jnr cartoon Dinosaur Train.

So I thought I would check out what gorgeous dinosaurs are happening on the madeit scene.

1. Dinosaur wall decal set

2. Dinosaur on the loose - card

3. MINI Dinosaurs - reusable fabric stickers for laptops, notebooks...

4. Dinosaurs mobile

Photography by Simone Markham

A few weeks ago at Monkey Market, I was shopping around between customers looking at all of the beautiful products, when I came across some amazing photography.

This is where I met Simone from,

I had been looking around for a photographer to take some updated family photo's, especially since Charlotte has arrived. I just couldn't see what style I was after, or even knew who to look for. I knew what I wanted, but sometimes you just have to keep browsing until that style finds you.

I loved Simone's work from the moment I glanced at it and knew she was the one to take my pictures. She has such a softness about her work that I love, and also such a casual feel to them which I love. Aren't those little added graphics just divine?

I love this above collage, it has such a beautiful family vibe about it. Each shot has a story.

What can I say these are 2 are adorable, so whimsical and precious.

This last shot is my favourite. The tights and shoes just rocked my world.

This was the first photo of Simone's that I saw, I think this is was sold me initially.

I am having all of my photo's taken on November 13th. My sister inlaw is also have a session done as well so we can gather all the grand kids together for her and my husbands parents.

When I get them back I will be sure to show some for you all to see.

With such gorgeous photo's, my Christmas shopping will be near complete.

You can see all of Simone's work here and her rates.

The last 2 Christmas magnetic bookmarks

My last 2 Christmas magnetic bookmarks are now complete.

They are such a great idea to pop in a card. They are all laminated on the print side for protection, and left blank and unlaminated on the inside. Perfect to add a personal message in there. I always pop one inside my Christmas cards for distant relatives, and friends who I don't buy for, but who love to receive a little surprise. I have been doing it each year now, and they have started to look forward to what new illustrations I have created.

You can see the other 2 designs in my past post here.

Merry Christmas

Santa

These are available in my etsy and madeit shops.

Also don't forget forget to take advance of my permanent saving "Buy 4 and pay for 3".

Win Oooakly Wall Art

Head over to Modish Market for the chance to win some wall art by Jenny from,

Below are a couple of Jenny's gorgeous pieces that I am sure any child would love to have on their wall and you will also find more designs on Ooakly's MadeIt page.

Click HERE to be in the draw which is this coming Friday.

New Stockist - Brusselsprout

I have just posted off for my first wholesale order of cushions, to the lovely Victoria, owner of

online boutique store Brusselsprouts.

Brusselsprouts is a children's clothing label exclusively designed and made in Australia. Hip and fun designs are blended with retro styling resulting in gorgeous modern vintage fashion.

All of their fabrics are natural fibres and are sourced from around the globe guaranteeing that your Sprout will stand out from the crowd. Beautifully handmade each item has its own particular charm and identity.

Here are the cushions just before being boxed away carefully, ready for posting.

Safe journey cushions!!

I love cake

It was my mum's 60th birthday last night.

I hosted it at my house for her, with family and all of her closest friends.

It was a long day of preparation, and the night itself was long, but I had a great night.

One thing I love about birthdays, is birthday cake.

I just love lighting a candle and singing that special song, it puts a big smile on my face.

I used to love it as a kid, especially when I was allowed to hold the BIG knife to cut it,

BUT BEWARE

I dare not touch the bottom, or I would have to kiss the nearest boy!!

Not that any of that behaviour went on, but it's a fun memory.

As part of my mums birthday present I splurged on a birthday cake for her.

It wasn't cheap but MMMMMMMM was it worth it.

It was so much fun designing it with the cake decorator.

I wanted,

pretty flowers,

the colour pink,

mud cake, but it had to be a light texture,

and definitely,lots of chocolate.

We came up with, a white and milk choc marlble mud cake.

Marbled chocolate panels around the cake edges, they were white and strawberry pink.

The icing and piping was a delicious butter cream.

The flowers, yes, are fake but were so beautiful. I opted for those instead of fresh so she could keep them. I just need to find a nice bowl to organise them in as a display.

Here is the result.

It tasted absolutely AMAZING

I was so happy with it, as was mum.

I will admit to being naughty today and having another rather large piece with a coffee!!

Do you have a memory of a very special birthday cake?

Wheels treasury

Lovely Wheels inspired treasury by Elizabeth Horton Designs featured my

Tricycle magnetic bookmarks (bottom right corner).

Elizabeth has an a wonderful shop that sells nostalgic inspired graphic printed tee's for boys and girls.

My Obsession

One of my BIGGEST passions is travelling.

I love it.

There is something about discovering a new country and it's city that makes my heart race.

The people.

The fashion.

The architecture.

The food.

The culture.

I have been fortunate to see a lot of the world, and thought I would share some of my favourite photos.

My favourite city above all is Paris, there is something special about Paris that I love, it's such a beautiful place.

Where is your favourite travel destination?

New Christmas Tree & Bauble Magnetic Bookmarks

So Christmas is only about 10 weeks away.

I thought it was time to start making some Christmas stock. I don't generally go over board with Christmas inspired goods, I do however love to make Christmas inspired bookmarks.

They are such a great idea to pop in a card. They are all laminated on the print side for protection, and left blank and unlaminated on the inside. Perfect to add a personal message in there. I always pop one inside my Christmas cards for distant relatives, and friends who I don't buy for, but who love to receive a little surprise. I have been doing it each year now, and they have started to look forward to what new illustrations I have created.

Each year I love to make a new and not so traditional colour palette.

Don't get me wrong I do like red and green, but there is something about new colour combinations in traditional Christmas decorations that I find very appealing.

This year I have gone for 2 main combinations.

The first tangerine and turquoise, the other hot pink and chartreuse green.

Each year I create 4 new designs, and here are my first 2.

Christmas baubles.

A new spin on traditional Christmas trees.

These are available in my etsy and madeit shops.

Also don't forget forget to take advance of my permanent saving "Buy 4 and pay for 3".

Just completed - "Blogging Your Way" course

I mentioned here well over a month ago I was participating in the "Blogging Your Way" course, run by Holly Becker, of the very well known Decor8.

If you don't know of this blog, I will be honest, hop out from under the rock and check it out.

It's full of stunning interiors, inspiration, colour, handmade goodness and so much more.

It's my daily read and I was thrilled when I found out that the 'Decor8' school bells had rung, and school was now in session. I don't think I clicked that PayPal button so fast.

Anyway back to my point.....

It was such a wonderful experience. The content was full of juicy goodness that I just couldn't get enough of. From blogging ideas, dealing with writers block, blog appearance, do's and don'ts, and creative inspiration, it was all there and more. I am not going to go through everything we did, as you will just have to do the course in the future yourself, but you can find out the course content here.

Holly made me feel like we were all friends in the world of cyber space, as she delivered the content so honestly and openly. I just loved the podcast about her, and her journey to get to where she is today. All of the podcasts were great, and Holly's was great to listen to, even when she did lose her train of thought! I loved that. It proved how down to earth she is, so real and honest, it was kind of reality blogging in a way, no re recordings. I was really shocked to learn, that she once belonged to the corporate world, I just could never imagine her in a stale, undecorated office. (I am assuming it looked like that)

Holly made herself available to ask questions in the forum, and you know what? I never felt intimidated to ask either. In saying that I rarely asked anything, as all the wonderful students who had read the posts before me had done the asking before I got the chance to.

A fellow teacher of the course was Leslie from A Creative Mint, and a brand new blog for me to love. This is another blog to visit if you need to fill your soul with colour inspiration.

Leslie is a photographer and stylist, she creates stunning mood boards, collages, and everything else that is pretty. Especially flowers. She is also a past student of 'Blogging Your Way'.

I loved this part of the course I will have to admit most. Coming from a fashion background, I actually forgot how much I love mood boards. It was as if I was revisiting my first couple of years at college. When these classes were posted, it made my heart race with excitement, I was itching to start creating moods boards myself. It's definitely on my goals to start doing again in the future. I just need to organise that when the babies are nowhere in sight.

Now with all of my new found information and inspiration, I really have to start implementing it, and sift through it again slowly. It's actually very overwhelming, I will admit to a little stage fright, but it's also mixed with a lot of excitement.

It's time for me to experiment and have a whole lot of fun.

Stay tuned....

Thanks Holly xx Thanks Leslie xx

Charlotte's Christening

I had Charlotte's christening on Sunday, the sun was out, it was warm, everything was perfect.

The day was an early beginning, getting the guest of honour dressed and looking beautiful.

Lots of bibs handy for little milky mishaps down the front of her dress.

We were at the church by 10am for a lovely service, followed by the blessings, and afterwards off to our venue for lunch and drinks. It was a casual afternoon at a friends tiny quaint pub in Northcote (Melbourne), we had the whole premise to ourselves.

It was filled with friends and family and a whole bunch of gorgeous kids.

Charlotte was absolutely perfect all day. I am not exaggerating, she truly was.

Not a scream or a tear in sight all day. She was handed from one person to another for photo's, and every time she woke up from a nap, she was looking at a new face, nothing bothered her.

My little angel.

Hudson my other blessing, had a wonderful day as well.

I will admit he was a bit on the feral side as he didn't sleep a wink Saturday night which made him Mr. Cranky pants, so Daniel & I decided to let him go for the day.

We choose our battle, and it was to just let him be as he was so tired, as he would rebel everything we would say. You can't compromised with a Mr. No No No!!!

So he ran wild with the other 15 kids and pretty much didn't stop.

Getting him to bed last nigh was a challenge, so over tired and wound up.

Here are some photo's of the day.

I felt so lucky to be amongst so many amazing people that I care for and who are all part of my family's life.

Black Milk Giveaway at Modish Market

Modish Market is having a giveaway this week here.

The product up for grabs is from the beautiful "Black Milk", a $30 voucher to choose anything you like. Truly I have never smelt such divine hand poured candles. My favourite is French Pear. The giveaway only lasts a week so be quick, all you have to do is like their face book page and leave a comment.

Click here for more details.

H is for....

The letter

can be the beginning of many words and names.

But today it represents my favourite boy in the world, Hudson xxx

1. christinakober 2.KnitKnoodler
3.exlibrishandmade 4.natbears
5.ilovehearts 6.exlibrishandmade

Charlotte's Christening

I am christening my beautiful baby doll Charlotte this Sunday.

After a few dramas and having to cancel the date from September to October, it's all happening now. I am really looking forward to the day, it will be spent with very close friends and family.

It's been a long trek to find the perfect dress for her. I am personally not into the traditional super long satin gowns and bonnets. I was on the hunt for something white, pretty and feminine, casual, yet with a dressy appeal to it.

I hunted high and low from designer brands, handmade, even target. Nothing.

Sometimes I think things find you when you least expect it. I walked casually the other day into Pumpkin Patch for Hudson, and what do you know.....

THERE IT WAS

A pretty little white dress in cotton voile, lots of layers, white, ruffles, flowers, and a beautiful self colour embroidery on the outer layer. Also some very cute little white shoes, I also grabbed some white tight, and VOILA, I am done.

What do you think?

Now I just need to myself something to wear and the clock is ticking...

Incy Wincy Spider

I ordered this book just recently from a book club for Hudson.

Oh I just love it. Not only is it based on one of my all time nursery rhymes, 'Incy Wincy Spider', but it's an extended version of it. It's so much fun to read, the words all fit beautifully with the jingle of the 'Incy Wincy Spider' nursery rhyme.

The pictures are fabulous, I love them also as they are images created out of fabric, a bit like my iron on transfers that I create. It's definitely the book of the moment for Hudson and I, as I can sing it allowed to him.

Luckily he doesn't realise what a dreadful voice I have!

The book is by Kate Toms

R.I.Peas Buzz and Woody

So it's been a few of days since my last blog, geez sounds like a confession.

The whole house has been out of sorts, a few sniffles, places to be, things to do, and just things out of my control that only kids can create.

So.... I thought I would return with a post about something that I found quite amusing tonight at dinner. Hudson is a terror lately with food. He is far too opinionated about what he likes to eat and what he doesn't like to eat, apparently the norm for this age!!

Tonight was full of no, no, no. I mean he eats corn on the cob like it's going out of fashion, but won't eat it just as corn kernels. Go figure? He always has his Buzz and Woody figurines with him, and tonight was no exception. After he ate his grilled cheesy chicken strips, and a couple of bites of broccoli, he decided it was time to have some fun with peas and corn.

It was time for Buzz and Woody to be injured, yep I am talking death by vegetables.

When he got down from the dinner table, I came to find poor Buzz and Woody buried under broccoli. The way they were laying had me in stitches. Very strategic.

Once I cleared the broccoli, poor buzz had already been tortured with some peas and corn kernels stuffed into his space helmet.

Serious stuff.