last minute banner...

JJ was inspired to make something decorative after finding a packet of Robert Gordon stripy cupcake cases at the shops. Almost too good for cooking cakes in them, she experimented for a while, and found that by cutting down the sides and sticking a glitter sticker on the base, she could create this very effective banner. Simply paper clipped onto some ribbon, these cup cake cases would be a quick way to add an extra festive touch at your place this Christmas. They would be equally as effective for a birthday banner or other celebration too!

she's half way to 70...

Well, it was Clare's birthday yesterday (19th Dec), so we (JJ and Susieq) thought we'd share a few things about her that you might not know...

1) She never crawled as a baby but went straight from sitting up to walking. This didn't hinder her co-ordination as she did ballet until she was 17.

2) She can still do the splits, but struggles to get up again now...

3) 25 years ago she had the best Princess Di haircut outside of Britain. It wasn't her best look.

4) As a child she read a whole novel every night, annoying JJ no end by keeping the light on in their shared room.

5) She can recite the Books of the Bible in less than 15 seconds after learning them as a little girl.

6) She has to sleep on the side of the bed furthest away from the door - seems to be a mondo cherry thing as we all do that.

7) For all of her 6 children she put on 30 kg during each pregnancy and managed to lose the same amount after each baby - except for the last one, but as Matilda was only born 7 weeks ago we will give her a little more time...

8) In times of stress she sleep-walks and sleep-talks and once woke up to find herself in the swimming pool during a Uni exam period.

9) She has an irrational fear of mice, and although she loves them in story books, will jump on a table if she sees one in the house. She once called her husband home from work to remove one that she had watched run into the kitchen!

10) She collects Ravensburger Puzzles, especially the old ones and has a cupboard full of them.

11) She still supports England in cricket, rugby and any other sport where they may be playing against Australia.

12) She is a total wuss when it comes to scary movies. As a child she had to hide behind the sofa when watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon and not much has changed.

13) She has lived in 7 different places, and 10 houses, since getting married including stints in Hungary and in Brunei.

Happy birthday Clare!

bargain bonanza...

Susieq has always loved searching for bargains at opportunity, thrift shops and jumble sales (very English!) As children, we loved it too and were always happy when we found the next book in the series or a cool bag for our bits and pieces. As teenagers we liked shopping in op shops less and I remember complaining about the smell and generally just wishing we could shop in new department stores instead.

However, susieq's genes are strong and we now find it hard to pass a thrift shop without stopping to have a rummage. The fun is in not knowing what you are going to find. Often we leave with nothing, and then on other trips we leave with a stash of goodies and big smiles on our faces. December has been a bumper month of cool finds for both JJ and I, and here is a selection of our latest treasures...

A little red chair has found a home in JJ's playroom...

So too has this white shelving unit, just the right size for the IKEA tea cups and (plastic) glassware...

A wooden medicine cabinet was a bargain at $3...

This unusual chair was just too adorable to leave behind - still looking for the perfect spot for this one - probably my older girls' room...

Just noticed a bit of a red and white Christmas theme happening here. Totally unintentional!

finishing up...

Before we take a much needed holiday over Christmas, we have been finishing off a bunch of orders. After a hugely busy few weeks getting ready for markets, we have enjoyed taking things a bit slower, and have been really enjoying the creative process and seeing the final product emerge from a pile of vintage books, some beautiful fabric, and a few simple tools. We have totally fallen for these little vintage birds which are flying off to western Queensland to their new home, and could easily have kept these artworks for our own homes.

Once the last order has been shipped off, I am looking forward to banishing all the mondo stuff back to the room where it belongs and reclaiming my dining table in preparation for Christmas - my side of the family are coming for brunch and my husband's side for dinner. A few more walls to paint, 8 stockings to hang and we will be ready! What do you still need to do around the house to get ready for Christmas?

creative gift wrapping part 2...

Last year I wrapped all my presents with brown paper and decorated them with doilies. I love the contrast between the rough, down-to-earth-ness of the paper and the delicate lacy-ness of the paper doilies. Even if you can only find a couple of different types of doilies, with some scissors and glue you can make every present look different. All they need to finish them off is a bit of string or pretty ribbon.

This is the quickest of the ones pictured as we just used a pretty heart shaped doily as is. If you tie a ribbon around the present you don't even need to stick the doily down!...

Here we cut out the middle of a doily, following the flowery pattern, and wrapped it around the present...

Little circular doilies cut in half and rolled into a cone shape make a 3D decoration. Best for a package that doesn't get posted though!...

Don't forget that we will be at the Boutique Markets' special Twilight Markets at Portside this Friday evening from 5pm to 9om (stay away storm clouds!) and at the usual Sunday market at Portside from 8am to the later time of 3pm. Please come and say Hi if you are in Brisbane. The Boutique Markets are a great place to find original hand crafted Christmas presents for all those to hard to buy for friends and family!

what Katie did at her house...

Here is a peak into the home of another of our wonderful friends. Katie hosted our fortnightly playgroup group, Milkshake Mums, at her house yesterday and was kind enough to let us take some photos, even though she had her second child just 2 weeks ago! We love going to Katie's house, it is always so neat and inviting and she has gorgeous little displays dotted around the place. Here is just a sample of her cool, clean style..

We love the blackboard wall with chalk drawn bird, the sleek white kitchen, bi-fold windows and Eames style chair...

Beautiful painted tumblers add colour (you can find similar at Brown Button Trading)...

This doll is the inspiration for the colour scheme for new baby Sophie's room - a work in progress since Katie was waiting to see whether she had a boy or a girl before decorating...

There are few things cuter than pretty little girl's dresses hung up awaiting their wardrobe home...

An adorable soldier display in 2 year old Jack's room...

A flat fronted bookcase in which favourite books make a colourful display...

Thank you, Katie, for a wonderful morning and for letting us blog these photos!

Christmas at JJ's house...

Here are a few photos from JJ's Christmas decorating. This year she has gone more colouful than usual and it looks gorgeous. As usual she has mixed up some gorgoepous decorations bought from shops with lots of home made pretties too.

A festive spot in the hallway...

A pretty welcome at the top of the stairs...

3 year old Harvey's latest masterpiece (with just a little help from Mum!)...

Wooden decorations from Mozi and Country Road...

Fabric stocking advent calendar that JJ made using left over scraps...

Fresh flowers and white trees - two of our favourite things!...

Christmas cards...

Here are a few cards from our Christmas range this year. Made from the most gorgeous printed fabric, and beaded for that festive sparkle, these are a limited edition! They will be available at the mondocherry stall at the Southbank Young Designers markets this coming Sunday the 6th December, or email us if you are interested as they will not make it onto our website.

We have been so busy preparing for both the Young Designers Markets, and the two Boutique Markets which are on the following week, that we haven't even started thinking about the cards we will be making and sending from our own families... and we are in total denial about all the Christmas shopping we have yet to do! How far have you worked through your present list?

the countdown has started...

There was a huge amount of excitement this morning at my house when the children realised that it was the first of December and the official countdown to Christmas had begun. I usually make an advent calendar, but in the post-Christmas sales last year I found this wooden birdhouse calendar that was calling my name! Each day of December you open one of the little doors to find a bird (a different one each day) to put on a perch. Now I just need to make the roster to organise which child gets to find the bird on which day otherwise the arguments will begin!

It isn't too late to make yourself an advent calendar to count down the days... here's what we made last year, and visit the creative advent calendar flickr pool for heaps and heaps of great ideas.