Before & After - My Lounge Room

Before We Moved In


















After - Its still a work in progress and has changed since

More Photography by Cassandra Long

World Travels Pictorial

Beautiful Photography by Miss Cassandra Long

These photograph's were taken by my very very good friend Cassandra on her travels and around and about.

I love her visual sense and the way she captures the colours in nature. Actually i think she's quite brilliant for someone without any formal training (but i could be biased).


Home Town Pictorial

I Heart Mike

I just love Meet Me at Mikes products and blog and everything Pip does. 

I spotted this wallet on her blog last night and im frantically trying to find some money because i covet this above all things covetable. 

I dont really need another wallet, my current one is perfectly fine.................but it is The Faraway Tree! 

Only the most imaginative and wonderful childrens books ever! Oh Moonface and Silky how i wanted to live in your tree and slide down that slippery dip and climb into the magical worlds above..............Im a bit shocked to discover they have since made it "Politically Correct" and and removed the character Dick, but kept Fanny.  How Sad!

Here it is................i want i want i want i want

Magic Faraway Tree - Unique Enid Blyton Wallet De Mike's!

Check it out here - http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/

My Potted Garden

I love Gardening, Ive never been all that good at it, but i love to watch things grow and produce, it amazes me every time i get fruit off my tomato plant or when im able to just go out and cut some chives or basil for my dinner.

There is no simpler pleasure.

So..........without further ado and in order of appearance here are:

Tilly Tomato

Ainsley Aloe Vera

Berty Basil

Patty Parsley

Sally Shallot

Rossetta Roquet

Lila Lemongrass

Chikki Chives

                

      

Seeing Circles..........Literally

So Australia Day Long Weekend is officially over and its back to my real job.

I had a quiet weekend, with my man in Port Maquarie in a Fishing trip, i was able to catch up on alot of "work" i had lying around half finished.

Ive been making Handcut Circle Garlands, out of beautifully printed card.

I started doing this over xmas for family, and found it soothingly hipnotic, cutting the circles out and feeding them one after the other into the sewing machine.

I enjoyed it so much that went a bit crazy with circles, and had thousand of them around the craft room.

Now ive tidied up and finished them all.

I actually really loved the way the scrappy leftover cut out bits looked all piled up together in angular shapes, i wish i could have figured out what to do with them, but sadly they had to go in the bin.

Swing Tags and Paper Bags

Finally.............it's starting to feel like i am actually getting somewhere with this business idea. 

Here are some pictures of the swing tags and small bags i have created for my products.

I plan to do some in colour and some in grey. 

Im really exceptionally proud of myself for these, the design was pretty simple but the actual process of getting the tags and bags printed.........well thats another story...........small items like these do not go very well through my poor little canon printer.  

Probably time to buy myself a Gocco Print instead, otherwise i afraid my printer will choke on cardboard and  paper bags in a short time.

Here are some pics i  took of the end results

    

Feedback?   Anyone out there want to help me with Constructive Criticism?

   

Amazing Street Art

   

I just had to share my mornings discovery.

I went into my local village this morning for breakfast on the way to work. I grew up here in a small town in a very up-market part of Sydney, it used to be a real hippy village with drifters and surfies and people who wanted to have a little hide away paradise of their own. Now its a bit yuppie to say the least, so its fair to say i was quite surprised to see this very cool bit if stencil art on the walls of the ANZ bank this morning. It certainly brightened my day and made me realise that even though my little village isn't what it used to be there are still surprises around  the little corners and in the lane ways, there is still artistic expression in the streets.

     

My Handmade Heart Design

I've been totally into my little business idea this week, starting to do some serious research into the logistics and must haves, coming up with ideas on what my image should be. 

So i did a few sketches and mucked around with names for a while then out of the blue it hit me, it was staring me in the face the whole time.  This last 2 weeks i have been making a new style of mobile, just simple stuffed hearts, hand stiched and looped onto a beautiful old gum branch, and there it was, the handmade heart........a simple image, it had a great sound and it actually meant somthing to me..........ive always felt my heart was softer and a little rough around the edges just like these. 

Ive found my perfect brand name.

So here is my Handmade Heart Mobile .................... a work in progress.

Im thinking of making more......they'd be so pretty in a young girls bedroom.

In Honour of our National Day!

In Honour of Australia Day!

This pillow was made from an old Tea Towel my grandfather used to keep at his Farm.

Truly Australian and Truly Vintage, my Mum and Aunt remember it from when they were young.

Heres a quick image i whipped up yesterday. I've been madly working on a logo and brand name, i came up with this idea to use as packaging.

What Do you think? The double heart image will be used on my swing tags as well. Its ionspired by a handstiched Heart Softies mobile, im making at the moment.

I will post some more Pics tonight of my in-progress work. Im really quite taken with it and would keep it if i only had somewhere to put it!

Apron's.......for the Modern Domestic Goddess

Im all out of words.....its been a big day at work and ive got to get dinner started, but i really wanted to put up this last post.

Aprons.......i have been making quite a few for my market stall. Im thinking its the sort of thing the Modern Domestic Goddess might like and planning on making some smaller ones to fit girls......sort of a Mummy & Me cooking set.

Here is what i have made so far.......hope you like it!

My Softies.......a Work in Progress

Along with the jewellery, quilts and Book Scultptures, i am also trying my hand at soft toys.

I have seen some amazing soft toys on the net, things that you would never find in stores.
I love the unconventional designs, the monster softies and the cute and quirky colours and details you can play with.

Im not sure about the softies i have created so far, they are a bit rough around the edges, which is how i intended them but im not sure it works. I have a few more in progress that are not as monstery so i will see what happens when i play around with them.

So.......Introducing My Softies

Voodoo Bunny, Miss Hoot Owl, Mini Hoot Owl & Miss Kitty