24 April 2011

Easter Lovlies - Top 5 Easter Picks

I find that the major holidays are an opportunity to really let crafty people play their 'A' game.  

If you have a look through MadeIt or Etsy, you are surrounded by themed holiday items; some traditional, others way out there!  However all of them are great fun!!  

Thanks to the talented crafters on MadeIt, here are my Top 5 Easter Picks for this year :0)








19 April 2011

A Little Bit of Cuteness to Brighten Your Day!

Nothing makes me smile more than a little bit of 'cute'.  So here are some quick cuties to give your day a bit of fun and happinesss :0)

Enjoy!

17 April 2011

Why it's Important to Support Handmade

How did you spend your Saturday?

I spent mine in the Oakleigh RSL, at a wonderful indoor boutique art and craft market called The Handmade Show.  Of all the markets in the world this one means the most to me.

Why,  I hear you ask?

It means a lot because it is coordinated by stallholders for stallholders - in particular Creations by Bobbie Mac (Bobbie), EP Designs (Elena), Vintage Sew & So (Kerri), Red Letter Studio (Samone) and moi.  Our aim is to create a small, sustainable market that stallholders enjoy being a part of and that brings the collective talents of the art/craft world to the suburban public.  


It is a great market to dip your toe in the craft market waters - give it a go, as they say - and have an opportunity to talk to other stallholders and increase your confidence.  It's also a lovely market for more experienced stallholders to share their talents.  We try to keep our stall fees very low to make it as worthwhile as possible for everyone involved.  We also want our stallholders to make sales and increase their exposure - of course ;0)


But we can't do it without your help.  Whether you be a stallholder or a shopper WE NEED YOU!  

In order to keep the interest up, we need you to help support our show and ultimately support the handmade community.  That means visiting us on market days, letting friends know that we are on, maybe even buying an item or two.  It is hard work bringing handmade to the community and many markets find it hard to sustain the momentum needed to do it - we are all mums, workers, crafters, artists, domestic goddesses, girlfriends, etc - so we do what we do because we love it.


But, we do need your help.  The next time you see an ad for a craft market, take a couple of hours out of your day and go and visit it.  Whether it be at a school, a church hall or a large town hall, someone has put the effort in to share this with you, so support Handmade and  help us all.

For more information on The Handmade Show click here.

14 April 2011

Some Time Away - Bells Beach

The kids and I took a couple of days away at the start of the week and we headed down to The Van.  Fortunately we had a lovely day Monday (before the rain) and managed to get some time in down at the famous Bells Beach.  Preparations are well underway for the annual easter surf competition held at Bells, but we were lucky enough to still be able to get down on to the beach to watch some of the locals, and the not so locals, surfing.

Whilst there the kids spent some time chasing waves at the edge of the water - it was lovely to be away from anything that plugged into the television and just watch the kids running around like geese enjoying themselves.  

Here's my little photo essay on our adventure :0)


Picturesque Bells Beach


Happy feet on the soothing sands :0)


Ah, happy children walking together...


...imagination running away ...


...I'm sure he is trying to save his sister...


...all's well that ends well :0)


The only problem with a lovely walk along Bells Beach?  Getting back to the car!!




Lots of fun was had by all!  What are you all doing on the school holidays?

10 April 2011

My New Obsession: Crochet!

As many of you who follow me on Facebook would know, I have recently started to learn to crochet.

MooBeeGran is a crocheter/knitter of world standards (in my humble opinion) and she has taken on the role of mentor and guru.  Whilst not the white-knuckle job she had when teaching me to drive, I'm sure as I take on more challenging projects, she may wish she'd outsourced the whole job.

Not happy to start with a granny square, I decided to head straight for a small Amigurumi project.  I posted a picture of my initial shape on facebook and asked you to guess what it might be:


There were lots of fabulous guesses, including:
  • A pin cushion
  • A little pink easter egg octopus
  • The tummy of a new MooBeeAnimal (close)
  • An owl (correct species)
  • An easter bunny
  • A mouse
  • A pink elephant
  • A bunyip
  • A pink galah (the closest yet)
  • A thumb warmer (my personal favourite!).
I was excited that you had become involved in my new obsession!  However I think the time has come to reveal what my small pink blob hast evolved in to.  So as they do in all of those TV make-over shows, here is the slow reveal:


Drum roll please...


Yes!  It's a small pink Amigurumi bird!!  So much fun to make and so quick!  I have the lovely Tara, owner of Mamachee, to thank for her Fat Birdy pattern - so easy for a first timer to follow!   I would recommend her fabulous patterns to everyone :0)

I have enjoyed my first foray into crocheting so much that I have already started my next Fat Birdy (I'm now consolidating my skills!).  Here's a little sneak preview:


So, much love and thanks to MooBeeGran for her help, to all of you fabulous followers for your interest and to whomever it was that decided that a stick with a hook on the end and some wool could be so much fun!!