new chair = inspiration...

Yesterday Clare and I had a couple of hours to spare after kindergarten drop-off.  We enjoyed a cup of coffee together as well as a browse through some of our favourite shops.  I am not usually one to make impulse furniture buys but when I spotted this pretty little Danish chair covered in the cutest Japanese fabric, I knew it had to be mine!   Do I need another chair?  No, probably not, but I'm sure I can find a little corner somewhere for it to call home.  

I am so in love with the gorgeous colours in the fabric that I am really inspired to make a special artwork to compliment it.  Maybe one of our floating blossom hearts in these beautiful colours...mustard yellow, soft purple, cherry, pink and ferny green.

 

We can do the same for you!  If you would love a special artwork to compliment your furnishings just email us the colours or take a photo of your interior and we can make something totally unique in one of our original designs.

 

Two more sleeps until school holidays and I can't wait.  We are off to Queensland and hoping for a little sunshine!

sprung...

Suspicious that my youngest daughter was entertaining herself particularly quietly, I went looking round the house and found her sitting on bed checking out the games on my phone. She obviously thought that if she covered her head I wouldn't be able to see her. Cheeky!

brown paper wrapping...

Our old favourite, brown paper wrapping, is the perefct base for some fresh green and white. A strip of baking paper, pleated a few times and then wrapped around the gift, makes a great place to pop in a giftcard or little note, a sprig of flowers or a couple of pretty shaped leaves. So quick and easy to do yet it makes the gift presentation so much more special.

meet the newest members of the family...

Introducing Rascal and Dusty, the newest members of our family. They came to us from the Kindy that my daughter Jemima goes to, where the kids had been watching them grow from just a few days old. When it was time for the mummy rabbit and her 6 babies to go back to the farm, we made a very last minute decision to take a couple home with us. My children actually wanted all six (one for each child) but that was just going to be too many to fit into my already chaotic household! The bunnies are now about 6 weeks old and are getting very brave at exploring the house and are slowly toilet training themselves. Phew! I've been reading up on the internet about having rabbits around the house (all new to me as when Joy and I had bunnies when we were young they lived on the grass outside) and it seems like there is lots to learn, so if any one has any tried and tested tips I would love to hear them!

This is Rascal, named because he is the one who likes to explore and get into everything. Here he is discovering my geraniums which have now been moved outside as I understand they don't agree with little bunnies' tummies!

Dusty's name has changed multiple times since we got him home.. Flopsy might be a more accurate name for him since he has a permanently floppy ear which makes him look very cute.

By the way, I have a new found respect for animal photographers... these bunnies didn't sit still for more than a moment and I ended up with dozens of blurry shots. Children are easier I think!

a dash of yellow...

We have said it before but we'll say it again - a little pop of yellow here and there really brings a bit of life into a room. In small doses, and used as an accent, this colour really makes us happy.  Here are a few touches of yellow around Joy's house today...

 

Incidentally our yellow cushions have completely sold out in our shop.  We will be replenishing our supplies soon and adding some brand new designs so stay tuned.....

market wrap up...

We had a great day at the Boutique Markets in Melbourne yesterday and is was lovely to meet some of you! Each time we do a market we try to display a different collection and yesterday we focused on soft, pretty gelato colours.

3 new cushion colours in linen, duck egg and pink. They look so pretty on a white or linen coloured sofa.

A gelato version of our 3d vintage bouquet artworks. All handcut from the amazing colours we find in the old children's books we rescue.

Our little LOVE button artworks are always popular. We always take a range of our paper goods to market too - cards, gift tags and paper decorations. Each one is completely unique.

Duck egg blue is one of our very favourite colours.

Business cards in a tea cup? Why not when it is as pretty as this one!

We experimented with hanging vases from our very adaptable backboard and loved the effect.

Make sure you put the next Melbourne Boutique Market in your diary now... Sunday 9th September. See you there!

gorgeous resin bangles...

We are loving these resin bangles we bought from Keep Resin as a birthday gift for our wonderful sister-in-law. It was just so hard to pick from the fabulous range of colours and we loved the wavy edges on some of the designs too.  It was only with the utmost self control that we didn't each buy an armful for ourselves too! Wouldn't they look beautiful hanging from the neck of a vase too?

Alice and Mili from Keep Resin are two sisters (like us!) who hand craft each of their beautiful designs with lots of love and attention to detail.

it's such a pretty colour scheme...

We've been inspired by beautiful soft 'gelato' colours recently and so have been busy creating a collection around that theme to take to the Boutique Markets this Sunday 17th June at Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne.

Here's a delicate 3d vintage bouquet artwork heading towards completion. We decided to leave it until tomorrow to finish as we often find that fresh eyes on a new day quickly pick up on which colours need balancing and which gaps need what. As we were working on this piece we were chatting about what a perfect backdrop we thought it would make for a cake table or guest sign-in book at a wedding with lots of pretty roses and bridesmaids all wearing different gelato-coloured dresses. It is always fun to imagine where our artworks and cushions might end up!

Our 3d bouquet artwroks ares created from damaged vintage children's books that we have rescued from being thrown away, and we handcut all the individual petals and leaves which usually means that our work tables are filled with this sort of mess...

We would love to see you at the markets this Sunday (on from 9am - 1pm), so please pop by and say hello!

a corner of spring on a wintery day...

It is a cold and overcast day here in Melbourne but I don't mind as we are keeping warm and cozy in our heated house.  My son and I have both been struck down with the flu and feeling rotten, and while he was briefly happy drawing treasure maps, I decided to cheer myself up with a 20 minute craft project.  I used a piece of driftwood, decorative bird, some scraps of felt and a few little wooden beads.  A little corner of springtime on a chilly day.

if you go down to the woods today...

A little while ago we had a Teddy Bear's Picnic Party for my 2 year old, Tilly which was loads of fun and very easy to prepare for. We held it in a park nearby (no woods around here unfortunately!) and kept things simple to suit the age group.  Here are a few photos - for more pictures and info visit the winter issue of Mathilda's Magazine where this party was featured. Don't forget to try some of the yummy hot chocolate recipes in the mag too!

We created the invitations from extra large matchboxes which we covered with the words of the well loved Teddy Bear's Picnic song, and then slipped in a little felt teddy that we made - just two pieces of felt and a bit of wadding.

Making sure the guests found the party!

We sewed up lots of gingham bunting...

We made all the children a pair of teddy ears from headbands found at a craft store.

One of the games was a treasure hunt following (laminated) teddy footprints  - perfect for the littlies.

We took along a pile of teddy bear books (we had a lot more than we thought!) and the kids loved reading to their teddies that they brought along.

Food was packaged up in individual boxes - honey sandwiches of course!

One of the favourite activities was playing with the Goldilocks and the 3 Bears wooden-spoon puppets.

We embellished a plain brown paper bag with a teddy face and furry ears for the take home bag. 

 One warning... use this theme for a party and you will be singing "If you go down to the woods today..." for weeks! Here's a clip with the song if it has slipped from your memory.

a very early spring clean...

Ok, so we have barely launched into winter here, but I am in the mood for some cleaning, clearing, de-cluttering and re- arranging. 

First stop my make-up drawer and dressing table.  Out went the out-of-date items, lipsticks the wrong colour, and face creams that make my skin feel yuk!

 Next stop my scarf and belt drawer which was a tangled mess. Now, much less scary!

No time for a cup of tea, I decided to tackle the paper work on the hall table.  I really can't stand greeting clutter when I walk through the door.  Some pretty flowers, a bowl for bits and bobs, and a scented candle.  So much nicer!

On the weekend I washed all our couch cushions, so back on the couch they go clean and plumped!

Ahh, my head feels clearer (even though I din't get quite as far as the ironing pile!) and I am ready to tackle some mondo work.  Happy Monday to you all x