A small bite of mondocherry

new 3d paper blooms...

2012-02-03T17:06:00.002+10:00

Inspired by beautiful flowers and the vintage books that we love, we would like to introduce you to our new range of 3d paper artworks. Created from original illustrations found in our collection of damaged children's books from the '50's, '60's and '70's, we have hand cut petals to form these very textural blooms. Each one of the artworks in this series will be complete unique as not only are the vintage papers all one-offs, but the blooms take on a life of their own as we do not use templates or follow a pattern.

This new range will be appearing soon on our new-look website which we are (still!) busy working on. In the meantime, please email us for more details or to place an order.

loving my conservatory...

2012-01-30T20:45:00.001+10:00

One of the main reasons we chose our new rental home here in Melbourne was for the fabulous outside space, particularly the slightly run-down but still very usable, tennis court. The kids have been loving hitting balls over the net, playing games of cricket and chase-y, riding their bikes and scooters around and generally getting lots of exercise. The area works particularly well because of the conservatory that was built as a later addition to the house to link the inside living areas with the outside. Conservatories are not particularly common in Australia - especially not where we were in Queensland where all that glass would be like living in a sauna! It has been too hot for comfort some days this month, but I think it will be particularly lovely in the colder months of the year. I can see myself (maybe in my dreams!) enjoying a cup of tea and a flick through some magazines on the day bed.

I'm not quite sure how I am meant to clean all the glass!..

The view from inside the living room...

I can't wait to take a trip to a big garden centre and plant up lots of pots of sun-loving plants which I'm sure will thrive in the conservatory. Know any good ones in Melbourne's east?...

An old dresser/hutch which my husband's grandparents brought over from Canada with them when they emigrated has found a place on an end wall...

The blue colour scheme started when I spotted this gorgeous rug in Les Salles before I left Brisbane. It is made from recycled plastic and so is very sturdy and can even be hosed down if (or more likely when) needed...

yum...

2012-01-28T19:30:00.004+10:00

Loving an easy weekend meal of homemade pizzas on Lebanese bread, washed down with a glass of red wine.Mmmm! Hope you are having a wonderfully relaxing weekend too.

diy silhouette with a twist...

2012-01-25T15:18:00.000+10:00

It is lovely to have photos of family around the house, but if you are looking for something a little more arty, then these diy silhouette pictures might just fill the gap. They are quick, easy and very satisfying to make. The traditional silhouette is of course black on white, but we were after something a little more colourful to suit a child's bedroom.

The first step is to take a profile photo of the subject. Print it out and carefully cut around with scissors.

Trace around the cut-out with a very sharp pencil (so as not to lose the detail) onto patterned paper - we used vintage botanical illustrations - and cut out again. The next step is to adhere to a plain coloured backing card and frame.

We experimented with different papers, card and even fabric to get the look we wanted...

Liberty fabric looked pretty but the facial features got lost in the business of the pattern...

This one was cut from illustrations from a vintage children's book. We really liked the way the silhouette popped out, but the black background just didn't fit into the room...

Ahhh! How we love to spend a day with a pair of scissors and a pile of papers!

typo...

2012-01-24T07:41:00.003+10:00

I found myself at a Typo shop the other day - a wonderful, well priced place to browse for a stationery lover like me. Here is my little haul for the outing, I particularly love the cotton reel pen holder and patterned cotton tape.

If you don't have a Typo store near you they sell online too!

tropical...

2012-01-18T11:26:00.005+10:00

This stunning, vibrant hibiscus design reminds us of hot, tropical days growing up in Papua New Guniea. The combination of citrus-y greens and hot, fushia pinks are not for the faint hearted! While we are not sure that we could live with a pattern this bold dominating a room, with a neutral/white base, pops of colour like this really add a really summery feel - certainly a reflection of the hot summer weather here in Melbourne.

a little zhushing...

2012-01-16T20:01:00.005+10:00

I just spent a couple of days away, leaving my wonderful husband to look after our six kids. They were well fed, adequately dressed, and all had a wonderful time. But the house was apparently looking a little worse for wear when Joy dropped in on the afternoon of the second day to give my hubby an hour off. So, she did what only the best sisters do, and whizzed round the house making it look respectable. Joy even managed to zhush up the table in the entrance hall by adding a whole lot of colour. She unearthed this pretty vase that I had bought at an op shop years ago, and found some of our butterfly tags to complement the cheery colour scheme. Thanks for brightening up my arrival home, Joy!

a mess making morning...

2012-01-12T21:01:00.000+10:00

This morning we made heaps of mess experimenting with paint and preparing decorations and costumes for the Sienna's birthday party which is coming up very soon. Although our children often choose painting as an activity, it is not something that we do very often. But we thoroughly enjoyed having paintbrushes in hand today, although aprons or smocks would have been a good idea - strong winds and wet painted fabric are not a good combination! You will be able to see the completed painted projects, and all the other party details, in the February issue of the Mathilda's Magazine (be sure to pop over and read last year's awesome editions) - we will, of course, keep you posted when it comes out. In the meantime, any guesses on the party theme?!

the birthday hat...

2012-01-10T20:50:00.000+10:00

It is my daughter, Sienna's 4th birthday today and while she has been excited for days about her presents, her cake and the special dinner with all the family here in Melbourne, she told me last night that the thing she was most looking forward to was wearing the "Birthday Hat". A few years ago now, I purchased this silly hat from IKEA, which is the shape of a cake with strawberries and candles on top, for my son to wear on his birthday. Since then, it has become part of our family tradition to wear the hat for as much of the day as possible, and it is not just my two kids that wear it - somehow my husband and I have ended up being part of this ritual too! There are even a few dodgy photos to prove it...

What traditions that have become part of birthday celebrations in your family?

soft and muted...

2012-01-09T16:22:00.002+10:00

Often we work with bright, saturated colours, so it was lovely to enjoy playing around with softer muted shades today. The vintage paper butterflies, taken from a damaged 1966 botanical book, look ever so pretty and delicate - just like the beautiful roses picked from Clare's new garden. Wish you could smell how delicious they are!

the good, the bad and the ugly...

2012-01-05T10:03:00.000+10:00

The last month has just whizzed by. There has been the excitement of Christmas, the busy-ness of the last few weeks of school, the challenge of moving interstate, the chaos of packing and then unpacking, and the challenge of shuffling furniture and stuff around the new house trying to make it all fit! Things are settling down a bit now - we have found all the essentials (except the camera charger which has disappeared into thin air, or more possibly into a box, yet to be unpacked, marked something like keepsake clothes or laundry storage!) and the house is beginning to feel like home.

We are renting down here in Melbourne and my husband did a great job of choosing a house for us. It has plenty of space, a beautiful garden and a lot of history. It also has some bits which I don't love as much and I am trying to get back into the rental mindset of not being able to change those thing... frustrating!!! Here are a few photos to show you some of the features that I love about the house, and some that I love just a little less...

The house has a lot of leadlight windows and doors. I love the way the light changes as it shines through...

Bits of the garden are very pretty and there are lots of roses and other beautiful cutting flowers - hooray!...

Lots of architectural details - cornices, ceiling roses, etc - that are very pretty. A few sparkly chandeliers too...

We have already been feasting on the apricots that ripened just as we arrived. These peaches are coming along beautifully...

I wouldn't have choosen these heart cut-outs on the stairs if it were my house, but they have made me smile...

Hmmmm. Not so sure about this light feature! There are two...

Now we are getting to the ugly... The bathrooms are colourful (this one has a peach suite, there is also a mauve and a green!) and the tiling is eclectic. The wallpaper in this one is so old it is almost trendy again and is actually quite cute, but...

...it should never have been teamed with these tiles!!

back together and loving it...

2012-01-02T16:16:00.004+10:00

Happy New Year! Clare has managed to set up our new mondocherry studio room in her new house, and so this morning Joy dropped round for an hour to have a look. 8 hours later we have made a huge mess, thought up some new ideas, and have lots of new artworks on the go. It is so good to be back together - we totally inspire each other and work so well bouncing ideas around and feeding off each other's creativity. With Sue arriving from Dubai in a couple of days, the mondocherry trio will be complete once more and we are looking forward to being very productive and just getting to spend time together again!

One of the new projects we have on the go is a totally transformed online shop which we hope to launch sooner rather than later! These Liberty of London fabric buttons will become part of our new collection of artworks and we are loving the gorgeous colours and prints. We are also working on new fabric designs, as well as a fresh new paper artwork range. Our heads are so full of ideas that we can't get our fingers working hard enough!

teacher presents and gingerbread houses...

2011-12-18T17:20:00.001+10:00

Although our mondocherrry work has slowed down considerably as we prepare for Christmas, it hasn't stopped me from stitching, beading, cutting and wrapping as I prepare some little Christmas thank you gifts for the wonderful kindergarten teachers that have taught my children this year. I created the packaging by folding baking paper and stitching up the sides to make a little envelope. I love wrapping with baking paper as I adore the sort of semi-see-through effect it creates. The little birds tags, created from recycled vintage illustrations, also look great hung from a twiggy branch in a vase. You can purchase these from our website if you are interested!

Feeling well and truly in the holiday spirit I decided to attempt my first ever gingerbread house yesterday from scratch, after lots of pleading from my son. An epic fail!!! The gingerbread was too soft, the icing wasn't sticky enough and the walls caved in....those things are tricky! I would love to hear any tips you have on gingerbread houses for if I am feeling brave enough to attempt one next year!

Off to the Christmas carols tonight to take time with my family to stop and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

Joy

my Christmas table...

2011-12-16T21:30:00.000+10:00

With my Christmas shopping done and dusted, I thought it was time to give some thought to the food and table setting for Christmas lunch. This year, I am extremely happy to be sharing Christmas day with my parents-in-law, and maybe even Clare and her family if I can drag them away from their unpacking! I wanted to keep things really simple so I can enjoy spending time with my family - some pretty napkins, a neutral tablecloth and a bit of greenery I can gather on the day from my back garden. I am really happy with how it is coming together.

Tablecloth from Dandi (love this as it can be used all year round.

Beautiful napkins from Bungalow (I may be one of their best customers!)

Cute little tags from Capital Kitchen

Drinking glasses from Country Road

Joy

a very different Christmas...

2011-12-14T07:10:00.005+10:00

Joy's house is looking very festive now. Her tree is decorated in soft pastel colours which tie in so beautifully with her existing artworks (mondocherry of course!), cushions and decor.

Joy's two children have been busy 'crafting up a storm'. How cute is this little Rudolf?..

"Santa and Tree" by Harvey aged 5...

My home, on the other hand, is decidedly un-festive. There is one little Christmas touch on the shelves in the dining room...

But most of my house looks like the photo below except worse! The removalists arrive this morning to pack up the contents of our house for our move down to Melbourne and I have been scurrying around doing all those last minute jobs that seem to take so long. All my good intentions of being completely organised (so unpacking the other end would be a breeze) went out the window long ago!!

Even my poor Kitchen Aid (usually given the workout of its life at this time of year) has sat alone and ignored in the corner of the kitchen...

We get the keys to our new rental home in Melbourne on Wednesday the 21st and my kids are insistent that the first thing that must be unpacked is the Christmas tree. Even if we are still surrounded by boxes, we will still be celebrating. Santa does have his work cut out for him though as I have heard through a very reliable source that he hasn't started the Christmas shopping for my crew of 6 yet!

merry and bright...

2011-12-09T14:08:00.005+10:00

We are packing our wares and heading off to the Twilight Market at Portside Wharf, Brisbane tonight. Why not come and do some Christmas shopping in the cool night air? We will be there form 5pm to 9pm, so you even have time to have dinner, put the kids to bed and then sneak out! The fairy lights will be twinkling and we will be having a merry (we love meeting our customers and fellow bloggers) and bright (we will be surrounded by lots of colourful artworks and cushions including our new 'watermelon red' colourway) evening!

Don't forget that we will also be at the Boutique Christmas Markets this Sunday, 11th December from 8am to 3pm.

relaxing by candlelight...

2011-12-06T20:19:00.001+10:00

I love to light a few candles once the kids have gone to bed, and sit down with glass of wine or cup of tea (depending how the day has gone!) for a few moments of complete relaxation. My collection of Moroccan glasses make beautiful candle holders for little tea-lights - the pretty colours and delicate patterns cast such beautiful shadows.

They look just as beautiful by day too!

gift wrapping on elladore...

2011-12-03T15:23:00.002+10:00

It was lovely to see the doily gift wrapping we blogged a couple of years ago featured on the French web magazine, elladore. Thanks Anouk! It is part of an article on creative wrapping ideas for Christmas, and if you are looking for some inspiration to make your gifts stand out under the tree, pop on over here and take a look.

We have been experimenting with coloured doilies this year - don't they look fresh and pretty tied onto white presents?

Have a look at some of the other gift wrapping ideas we've blogged about over the last few years (some obviously well before we got our good cameras!!!)...

aluminum foil

printing spots

tissue paper and baking paper

using an old eraser

sewing paper

as close as I'll get this year...

2011-11-30T20:11:00.000+10:00

These gorgeous snowflake decorations are as close as I'm going to get this year.... to seeing snow in this hot Southern Hemisphere December and to seeing my ever-growing collection of snowflakes displayed on my Christmas tree.

We are moving to Melbourne for a couple of years and are packing our bags and heading off mid-December. It is very exciting to be on the move again - we have been in Brisbane now for 5 years and that is the longest time we have stayed in one place. My husband has a place on a project down in Melbourne for a couple of years, and while I'd possibly prefer Switzerland, the south of France or Mauritius (unfortunately they weren't options!!), Melbourne is a great place to live. It will also be fantastic to be close to Joy and our other family members who live down there. So, as you can imagine, with all the boxes to pack, end of school concerts to attend and trying to keep the house tidy for rental inspections, putting up the Christmas tree is the last thing on my mind.

I thought I would include these photos of my Christmas tree from last year, so you can see what an obsession with snowflakes looks like! At last count, I had over 600 different snowflakes, collected from all around the world. I stick to white and silver snowflakes, but am not fussy on the material they are made from so have plastic, glass, pewter, paper, wood and beaded snowflakes. In case you are wondering what I do with all the precious decorations the children have made over the years, we also have two other, smaller trees (one for the boys and one for the girls), which the kids get to decorate (and redecorate!) themselves with all our colourful and handmade ornaments. This keeps all of us happy!

Before we head off to Melbourne, I will be setting up our mondocherry stall at the Boutique Markets on Friday 9th December (special Twilight Market 5pm - 9pm) and Sunday 11th December (Christmas Market, 8am - 3pm). It will probably be our last market in Brisbane for a while so make sure you come down if you want to see our designs in person.

muffin tray advent calendar...

2011-11-29T17:40:00.000+10:00

I've decided to re-do an idea we had for an advent calendar a few years ago as my way of counting down the days until Christmas - who says the kids should have all the fun?! Created from a mini-muffin tray (which just happens to have 24 holes), number stickers and my favourite Lindt Ball chocolates, it is going to be a way to give myself a little treat every day in what is often referred to as the "silly season". You could, of course, replace the Lindt with other chocolates or little gifts.

My aim this year is to make the run up to Christmas as fuss-free and stress-free as possible so I have more time to enjoy making crafts with my children, eating all the yummy food and enjoying time spent with family and friends. Roll on December...!

playing with purple...

2011-11-27T07:59:00.001+10:00

We have been playing around with various shades of purple this week and have lots of new artworks on the go in both our vintage and fasbric button ranges. We also received a sample of our fabirc printed in a purple colourway and it is going to look fab!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

it must be genetic...

2011-11-23T13:05:00.000+10:00

It is part of our family folklore that you can give Sue a patch of grass, anywhere in the world, and she will find a four leaf clover in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. She doesn't believe that they are lucky, but has always liked the challenge of finding something that is meant to be quite rare (apparently there are roughly 10,000 three leaf clovers for every 1 four leaf clover). Joy and I have both found a few four leaf clovers over the years, but we certainly haven't inherited Mum's talent for identifying them quite so quickly. However, my eldest daughter, Hannah, is the member of the family that seems to have received the FLC gene. She went into our garden the other day, and after barely two minutes came back clutching her find of no less than 12 four leaf clovers! She went out again yesterday and quickly found another 9 in a different spot, plus a couple of ones with five leaves. Not a bad little haul don't you think? Apparently, four leaf clovers are the result of a mutant gene in the clover plant and so once you find one you are likely to find another few in the same location. Why not go out and look and report back with your tally....!

...the Christmas version...

2011-11-21T14:55:00.000+10:00

Not long after I posted my cupcake case garland this morning, the postman knocked on my door to deliver the candy-striped cases I had ordered. I ignored the rest of my ironing (any excuse!) in my eagerness to see how this Christmas version would turn out. Displayed with a red vintage chair, a new artwork, cute red boots and a smattering of green, I'm loving this little festive corner of my house.

our new small 3d paper heart blossom artwork...

cupcake case garland...

2011-11-21T09:28:00.000+10:00

A few years ago I made myself a garland from cupcake cases (here) and this weekend I thought I would resurrect this simple and ever-so-quick idea to pretty up a corner of the playroom. This garland works best with the type of cupcake cases that have firm sides and fairly substantial bases. You simply cut down the sides of the case at roughly even intervals (the cases I used had a scalloped edge so spacing was easy) and flatten the cases. I added some little heart stickers, but spelling out a message also works well. I have just ordered myself some pretty red and white striped cupcake cases to make a more Christmas version too (I purchased mine from Lark). They are a bit addictive!

off to Mathilda's...

2011-11-18T18:45:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow morning is the last Brisbane Mathilda's Market for the year and we have been busy packing lots of our artworks, cards, tags, decorations and cushions ready for display on our stall. This special Christmas market is held at the Brisbane Racecourse at Eagle Farm, Ascot from 9am to 1pm, and entry and parking is free. With over 100 stall holders, yummy food and entertainment for the kids, Mathilda's Markets is undoubtedly Brisbane's finest shopping destination for the littlies. For a sneak preview of what you will find head over to their website.

Here are a few photos of just some of the mondocherry products you will find there tomorrow. If you aren't a Brisbane local, we have a range of products on our website or you can email us to order a custom artwork. We are still taking orders for Christmas but better get in quickly!!

Beaded fabric alphabet card, green 3d blossom small artwork, vintage botanical gift tag, liberty button large artwork...

Beaded fabric gift tag and pink cushion...

a chalked hello...

2011-11-15T16:44:00.003+10:00

Last week, my lovely husband bought me a beautiful bunch of cream roses and they have been brightening up my kitchen ever since. However, the hot weather we have been having here in Brisbane has taken its toll and most of them were not looking very happy and were starting to turn brown. There were five that were still perfect and so I decided to pop them in individual glass bottles. I must have been looking for an excuse to avoid doing the housework in the heat because then I decided to play around with the vases a little. I found some leftover chalkboard fabric (readily available on the internet and in fabric stores), cut circles out with my pinking shears and tied them on with ribbon. Much less messy than getting out the chalkboard paint and much quicker than sitting around waiting for it to dry. My "hello" message is not terribly original, but my five bottles limited my options of words to write!

ribbon hoops...

2011-11-14T10:30:00.000+10:00

I was recently sorting through my craft supplies when I came across several bamboo hoops/handles that I had stashed away from the days that I used to sew handbags. My almost-four-year-old daughter's favourite thing to do is dress up and dance, so I thought I could use them to make some simple dancing streamers - safer than the ribbon sticks you often see in the shops and much easier to hold.

I let my little girl pick out some pretty coloured ribbons and then I stitched them onto the bamboo ring using one continuous running stitch. So easy! If sewing is not your thing you could even tie each ribbon on with a double knot which would be just as effective. The dancing ribbons have provided hours of amusement and encouraged her to make the most of the beautiful sunny morning we have here in Melbourne. Hope your day is just as colourful...

frankie and swiss...

2011-11-10T22:12:00.000+10:00

I enjoyed a very inspiring afternoon with the lovely girls from Frankie and Swiss boutique textiles. I popped into their gorgeous studio space, in between kindergarten drop off and pick up, to colour test one of our fabric designs in a red colourway (very festive!). I didn't want to leave as I was having so much fun admiring the fabric samples from other designers and gazing at the pretty little displays around the place - piles of scrummy books, vintage tea cups, and thread spools.

This pile of books would keep me happy for days...

Pantone colour sample charts...almost too many options...

fabric designed by Victor Fox...

a colourful dress made by Cindy from Bug and Pop, design based on lemon spaghetti by Dawn Tan...

our mondocherry fabric provides a colourful backdrop. We have several new fabric designs on the go which will all co-ordinate with each each other as well as with our artwork collections. Stay tuned!!!

You can see lots more Frankie and Swiss images on Michelle's blog Leni and Rose and keep up to date with all the latest news until their super-duper new website gets launched soon.

a flowering tree for Kindy...

2011-11-07T21:42:00.001+10:00

Joy and I speak on the phone a lot! Most of the time we manage to simultaneously do other things - sewing up some vintage cards, ironing, watching tv or maybe cooking dinner. Last week, every time I spoke to Joy last week she was also frantically sewing stuffed fabric flowers. I couldn't quite imagine what she was making until she sent through these photos.

Apparently, the Kindy that her two children attend has a separate room in which the kids all take their nap after lunch. The room desperately needed a bit of decoration, so Joy and a couple of other Mums volunteered to create a display on one of the walls. They started off by getting the children to make leaves in all different ways - painted, dyed, collaged, crayon relief etc - and have been gradually adding them to hessian stuffed branches. Joy's padded flowers add just a dash of pretty colour and some extra dimension.

Don't you think they have done a great job?

a chair makeover...

2011-11-02T20:41:00.000+10:00

A couple of weeks ago I spotted this cane chair in one of my local thrift shops. The interesting detailing caught my eye and I was very pleased to find that it was still there when I returned a few days later. I had parked my car a little distance from the thrift shop and as I was lugging it along, trying to avoid bumping into people, I was stopped by a very nice, immaculately dressed lady who admired my purchase and said what a great find it was! Hooray!

I considered painting the chair a lovely bright shade but opted for the safety and versatility of white in the end. I'm very pleased with the end result - a matte, milky finish which was just what I was after. I have added a bit of colour with one of our new mondocherry cushions in my favourite colour way (sea glass) which perfectly matches my new lamps - a birthday present from my husband, Clare and Mum.

the before...

the after...

grey and white crochet...

2011-10-31T22:19:00.000+10:00

I learnt to crochet when I was a child and it is a craft that I have very much enjoyed over the years. When I was in teacher training college in the late 60's a friend and I used to make some pocket money by selling crochet vests and little cardies in a local shop - they would probably be quite trendy again now! Granny squares are one of my favourite things to crochet, which is lucky because after I recently made Joy a colourful rug, Clare also requested one. She asked for one created from white wool with various shades of grey (to either go in her grey and white bedroom or with the grey sofa covers she uses in winter) and I decided to use a pattern I had never tried before called African Flower. It is a scrap project in that I didn't work out exactly what colours I would use and how many balls of wool I would need, but I am just buying and using whatever greys I find on my travels. I do most of my crocheting on buses and the metro here in Dubai and also on plane trips and in airports. It makes all that waiting around feel much quicker. The worst bit of crochet is sewing in the ends, so I try to do it as I go along, but am often much too keen to see what the next combinations of colours is going to look like to be bothered!

If you have a sudden desire to pick up a crochet hook again there are lots of places to look for help and inspiration - youtube has lots of good tutorials (both beginner and advanced) and pinterest is chock-a-block full of crochet images. But one of my favourite places to visit is a lovely blog called Attic24 by the talented Lucy, who posts loads of gorgeous crochet projects and inspiring tutorials.

our cushions have arrived...

2011-10-29T13:54:00.004+10:00

The light was fading fast, but Joy managed to snap a few photos of our first batch of cushions when she received them yesterday afternoon. Creating these has been quite a process - sketching our designs, converting and transforming them on the computer, playing around with colours and then (the most exciting bit) seeing them printed into fabric by the wonderful girls at Frankie and Swiss. Sisters, Jacqui and Michelle have been so helpful, even printing out a stripe in exactly the right colours for our piping, and it has been such fun getting to know and working with them.

These mondocherry custom made cushions co-ordinate perfectly with our latest collection of blue, green, aqua and pink artworks, all of which will be showcased at the Boutique Markets in Hawthorn, Melbourne this Sunday. They will also be appearing on our new-look website which is coming soon. We've got more cushion designs on the way...

...oh, for a few more hours in the day!

halfway to 70...

2011-10-26T20:45:00.004+10:00

We think there is nothing better than sending someone a handwritten card to say "Happy Birthday", "I Love You", or just "Hello". But sometimes a quick text message or email just needs to be sent and so we love the Cartolina iPhone app that makes a simple message look ever so much prettier. This design is just one of the gorgeous, vintage-inpsired designs available to personalise.

It really is Joy's birthday today and she really is half way to 70. WIth her husband away on business, she is celebrating by watching old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers movies with a glass or two of wine! We grew up on these gems, and all the old musicals, and can still recite many of the lines and songs. Sad, but true!

mod podge...

2011-10-21T20:44:00.000+10:00

Mod Podge (an all-in-one glue, sealer and finish) has been around for a while, but I had never experimented with any until today and I can already see how it might become a little addictive. I thought I would start with a couple of quick and easy projects...

A fabric apple to dress up a cute little suitcase...

A tube of fabric, with another smaller fabric piece wrapped around to make a bow. I stiched it onto a hair clip and then used the mod podge to stiffen the bow and add a bit of shine...

Hmmm.. now what to mod podge next? I'd love hear some of your ideas...

we can't get enough of...

2011-10-19T12:10:00.004+10:00

We can't get enough of aqua, turquoise, sea green, celeste, cyan, sea green, jade and duck egg blue this week. We have been busy creating a range of artworks based around this fresh pallet for the Boutique Markets in Melbourne on the 30th October. They are such happy shades to work with and it is amazing how a dash of one or more of these colours can brighten up a room and give it a summery, carefree feel. More photos coming soon...

through the door - lazy Sunday afternoon...

2011-10-16T19:45:00.006+10:00

With my husband off doing a 200kms charity bike ride and my children happily pottering around the playroom, I enjoyed a lovely couple of hours flicking through some of my favourite style books with my feet up on the sofa. Bliss! Hope you enjoyed your weekend too.

a recurring theme...

2011-10-14T19:36:00.006+10:00

I was walking through my house this afternoon trying to look at everything with fresh eyes, imagining what it will look like once renovated, and what can stay and what needs to go. Apart from noticing the flaking paint on the casement windows, shuddering at the amount of dust, and wishing I could wave a magic wand and see the finished result now, something that caught my eye was how many items around my home are bird related - think birdcages, feathers, and nests.

I love the organic-ness of these wooden birds...

Bird nest postcards stuck up on a small bit of wall and, in the background, a hanging birdcage and 3 canvases covered with a beautiful feather fabric...

Gorgeous driftwood birdhouse from Buba and La...

A bird on a cushion cover in the living room...

My wonderful market prop birdhouse purchased from Du Monde in Paddington...

Do bird-themed items make an appearance in your house too?

bon appetit...

2011-10-13T17:01:00.002+10:00

I might not have decided what we are having for dinner tonight, but I have been busy "cooking" up some felt food for the home corner at the Kindy my children attend. I especially enjoyed sewing the "pasta with peas" as they look so realistic. Bon appetit!

daisy chains...

2011-10-10T06:27:00.001+10:00

In between all the to-ing and fro-ing of a normal weekend, we took some family time out at the park and I enjoyed teaching my daughter how to make daisy chains. Simple and satisfying! It had been far too long since I sat down to make one of these and it brought back lots of memories from when I was a child, visiting my Grandparents in the UK.

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend too.

colour love - blush...

2011-10-08T23:04:00.003+10:00

One of our favourite shades of pink is this beautiful blush colour - so pretty and feminine don't you think?

Gorgeous Moroccan tea glasses...

Pretty bangles displayed on a vase...

A 3-d floating blossom artwork we created for a nursery (available for order) - one of our very favourite pieces...

Don't forget to come down to the Boutique Markets, Portside, tomorrow morning where there will be lots of pink in support of the National Breast Cancer Association.

busy bees...

2011-10-06T00:39:00.000+10:00

We have been very busy cutting, sticking, sewing, beading, arranging, packaging, framing and cleaning this week, all for the wonderful Boutique Markets which is on again this Sunday at Portside Wharf, Brisbane from 8am to 1pm. This month the markets are supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation with a special pink ribbon event. With more than 50 art, craft and design stalls, along with some yummy gourmet food, it is a great place to start your Christmas shopping and enjoy a morning out.

We've made lots of new beaded fabric cards (like these sweet little girls), vintage cards, tags and decorations, and a range of new artworks which we hope you are going to love as much as we do. Hope to see you there!

making a rag rug...

2011-10-03T19:07:00.001+10:00

There has been a lot of extra colour floating around my house over the last week or so. As a project for the school holidays, my children have started creating a rag rug for the playroom floor. Made up of strips of old t-shirts and extra stretchy fabrics we purchased (chosen for their non-fraying quality plus reasonable price!), they are using rug hooks to thread the strips through the hessian backing and then knot them securely. There was some discussion before the kids started about whether to do random colours or stripes, but I'm glad they chose this 'anything goes' pattern as it is far easier than trying to keep on the same line - especially when there are 4 children working on it all at once! We aimed very high when we bought such a large piece of hessian and so this rug may take quite a few school holidays to compete. But that's fine because everyone is (so far!) really enjoying the process of creating something together.

two bunches of flowers...

2011-09-27T17:27:00.000+10:00

The kids and I took a walk down to our local deli/fruit and veg shop this morning and I came away with these beautiful ranunculus which were a bargain at $7 for 2 bunches. I don't remember flowers being as cheap in Brisbane as they are down here in Melbourne - all that cold weather and extra rain is worth it for a house full of colour!

through the door - grey and yellow...

2011-09-26T15:30:00.005+10:00

I love the versatility of my grey and white bedroom. I often keep the colours very neutral and just add deeper grey tones or white textured items for interest. Sometimes, though, I like to change the look by adding colour. Purples and lavenders look beautiful, pink always goes well and blue is a classic addition, but I have recently jazzed things up a bit by adding pops of yellow - perfect for spring. Grey and yellow work really well together and the white furniture and bedlinen keeps the room looking light.

Are you a serial-room-changer too? What new colours have you added to your bedroom lately?

Bed - Laura Ashley, Chest of drawers and curtains - IKEA, Grey throw - Country Road, Zinc letter - Ici et la, Bedlinen - Bed Bath N Table, Zinc heart - du Monde, Lamp base - Freedom, Lamp shades -K-Mart, Artwork - mondcherry

spring blossoms...

2011-09-22T19:51:00.000+10:00

Although it has been a little sad to return home from such a wonderful tropical holiday with family, it was very welcoming to be greeted by these beautiful spring blossoms which had bloomed while I was away. So pretty and delicate, they give me hope that warmer days are ahead! I couldn't help but pick a few sweet sprigs to brighten up inside my home as well.

diy wall design with buttons...

2011-09-21T08:12:00.000+10:00

We've had a couple of days all together in Brisbane and, as usually happens, we made loads of mess brainstorming and experimenting with new ideas - some for mondocherry and some just for our own homes.

Clare's well stocked jars of buttons inspired the creation if this wall design in the room of her biggest girls. Joy lightly sketched a pattern on the wall with pencil and then we simply used blu-tac on the back of the buttons, pressing hard to ensure they stuck well (you could also glue them on if you wanted a more permanent feature).

If you don't have a secret stash of buttons at home, most craft and haberdashery stores stock them- here in Australia Spotlight sells colour coded packs. And, if you are after a design inspiration, fabrics and wrapping papers often have simple, graphic shapes that would work well for this.

We would love to see your photos if you try this at home!

we're back...

2011-09-19T09:19:00.000+10:00

We've just had the most wonderful week - we couldn't recommend Fiji highly enough. We stayed at Fiji Beach Resort and Spa (run by Hilton) which was completely family friendly and had a lovely relaxed vibe. The rooms were very stylish (think modern free-standing baths, coffee machines and spacious tropical rooms decorated in cool neutrals) and staff incredibly helpful and friendly. There were loads of activities such as fish feeding, tug of war, coconut demonstrations, and beach games which the kids could join in as they wished without having to be signed into a kids club (although this was also an option). The food was fantastic, the spa was delightful and the sunsets at "Happy Hour" were just magical.

Sketching on the balcony after lunch...

Cousins and best of friends...

Back to reality with a thud... certainly no chocolates appearing on our pillows here at home!

colourful heart blossom...

2011-09-13T07:45:00.000+10:00

Work is the last thing on our minds this week as we are all enjoying an extended family holiday in Fiji - warm waters, tropical food, balmy evenings and friendly people....bliss! The week before we left was exceptionally busy as we had a lot of orders to finish, including this extra large multi-coloured blossom heart which sold at an art show over the weekend. We thought it went really well with the granny square crochet blanket Sue just finished making for Joy - we just love white with pops of colour!

what's in a name?...

2011-09-07T10:29:00.006+10:00

We often get asked why we called our business mondocherry and what made us start in the first place, so I thought I would fill you all in on a bit of background. 5 and a bit years ago, Clare and her family (then 4 children, now 6) moved back to Brisbane after a number of years living interstate and overseas. Mum (Sue) had just retired from working as a teacher-aide and I was just taking maternity leave from my teaching job to have my first baby (I now have 2). We started spending a lot of time together - we had lots to catch up on!! - and we all get on really well and think alike.

I had been making and selling fabric bags embellished with beads and sequins, and Mum and Clare started helping out. We then experimented with some fabric covered canvases and when we started getting orders via word of mouth we thought maybe we should make it more than a hobby. Setting up our own business was a huge step as none of us have any sort of marketing/sales/business experience (Mum and I trained as early childhood teachers and Clare studied pure mathematics and law at uni - totally useless!) and it has been a steep learning curve ever since. While we were trying to think of a name for our new business, we were working with a fabric called 'mondo' and it came in a red or 'cherry' colour way. So we used to call each other up and say "What time are we meeting up to do the mondocherry?" and after a while the name just stuck!

We have had such fun working together over the last five years. All three of us need a creative outlet in order to stay sane, and being involved with markets and the blogging community has enabled us to meet lots of lovely people. We haven't always get things right first time and we have evolved a lot, but I guess most things do. We do know how lucky we are to be working with people we love, doing something that we enjoy, and still getting to spend lots of time with our families.

So there you have a potted summary of mondocherry and there are no cherries involved! I thought about posting a photo of the three of us but it is almost impossible to find one that we all like (isn't it funny how judgemental you are of yourself in a photo?). So instead I thought I'd post a photo of these pom pom cherries I made to make a gift look a little more special. I had forgotten how enjoyable it is to make pom poms so I might have to experiment some more...

my only spot of spring colour...

2011-09-01T18:39:00.000+10:00

It is the first day of spring here in Australia and in a season when a garden should be filled with colour and looking beautiful, mine has never looked worse! With plans almost finalised for our house extension, and some major landscaping in the works, we have been ignoring the garden for the last 6 months.

We had some very tall trees in our front and back gardens, and were advised by an arborist to remove them as they were in danger of falling on either our house - or our next door neighbour's - in the next big storm (apparently years of drought and then heavy rains are not good for trees). We felt terrible cutting down such established trees but it just wasn't worth the risk. So we have sawdust everywhere from the stump grinding of the trees, large palm branches taken from around the pool area are all over our patch of grass waiting to go in a skip, and weeds that have grown almost as high as the fence are taking over all the planting beds. Certainly not a pretty spring garden.

I was feeling a bit depressed this morning at not being able to improve things until we get the garden levels right so I popped into the garden centre to buy myself something pretty to put on our deck. These double impatiens (impatiens walleriana) look just right in this old wheelbarrow I bought from an op shop a couple of years ago. At least I now have a spot of spring colour to enjoy in my gorgeous chairs from Cape Cod Designs.

a closet clean out...

2011-08-31T08:45:00.003+10:00

Spring is just around the corner and I'm spring cleaning! The most recent area to get attention in my mission to organize different zones in my home has been my closet. For the last few days I have been trying to get on top of my laundry so I can really understand exactly what clothes I have and what I really wear/ no longer wear. I have found in the past I have been so slack with my washing that I have bought myself a new white t shirt only to find one at the bottom of the laundry pile that I had totally forgotten about! It took me the most part of yesterday (in between kindergarten drop offs and the usual housework) to give my wardrobe a complete overhaul but it was worth the effort and I am feeling very satisfied.

My ultimate dream would be to have a beautiful dressing room, with plenty of hanging space and shelves for my shoes and bags etc, but that dream will have to wait awhile. The rental house we are in has a row of built-in wardrobes although I must confess that I actually take up two wardrobes in our house, one for my day - to - day clothes (half of the built-ins shown in the photos) and another freestanding wardrobe for my party dresses... not that I attend too many dressy events these days!

The first step in the wardrobe spring clean involved getting realistic about what I really wear and what can actually be given away to charity or thrown out. I always find this culling process hard as it is so tempting to hang onto things "just in case". There are a few things that I have popped into a suitcase under my bed (to decide at a later date ) as I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of them even though I never wear them and probably never will.

Once the culling was done I pulled out all the hangers that didn't match and hung my clothes by colour few (we mondocherry girls colour co-ordinate everything!! ) I know that hanging by type (e.g. skirts together then shirts etc) works better for some people. I have tried a few different boxes to store my shoes (as you can see from the bottom of the cupboard) but have now discovered these clear plastic shoe drawers which are expensive but worth the money as they are so much easier to use, look neater and seem as though they will last well. I will treat myself to these gradually!

I'm not sure how long my wardrobe will stay this way, but it definitely made choosing my clothes for the day much more enjoyable.

vintage tags galore...

2011-08-27T16:14:00.001+10:00

We have been very busy creating vintage gift tags for wholesale orders - these ones are made from various botanical books published in the 1950's and 60's. After sewing a few dozen tags I start to go a bit cross-eyed from concentrating so hard on all the curves! They turn out beautifully though, so are well worth the effort.

Enjoy your weekend!

Clare

embroidery hoops + doilies = art...

2011-08-24T16:50:00.003+10:00

I find it hard to walk past a pretty vintage doily in a thrift shop or garage sale as I love all the variations in the designs and the muted colours. Recently I bought myself a pile of different sized embroidery hoops in the sales and today I stretched a few pretty doilies to fill a blank spot on my living room wall. I tried not to stretch them too tight as I didn't want to force them out of shape, and I left the excess on the back rather than trimming it off so I can re-use them at a later date. I thought about painting the hoops but decided I liked the natural look. Nothing like a quick an easy decorating project for instant gratification!!!

pinks and aquas...

2011-08-22T10:03:00.000+10:00

We love the pretty combination of pinks and aquas - it never fails to brighten up a dull morning! We all have little spots around our homes where we have ever-changing displays. It is amazing what a difference a new tablescape makes to a room and is a very cheap way to add some new life to a room. Sometimes it is as easy as picking a couple of colours and walking around the house collecting items in those shades. Books, vases, coloured egg cups, jewellery, toys, a group of coloured pencils, balls of wool, and of course flowers.... almost any items look good together when grouped by colour.

Hope you have a great week!

straw and paper bows...

2011-08-19T16:55:00.000+10:00

I did a day of relief teaching at my children's Kindy today and a lot of craft ideas came flooding back to me - art and craft was always one of my favourite activities. I often used to make little bows or butterflies for the collage table from straws and lolly wrappers, and these paper versions are a twist on that idea. Just concertina-fold a little rectangle of paper and thread it through a short piece of straw (use plastic straws as paper ones unravel!) You can also use fabric, tissue paper or even aluminium foil instead of paper, and get a very different look.

There are loads of ways you can use these little bows... attach them to a present, stick to a paper bag for a party take home bag, thread onto string for a garland, hang from an embroidery hoop to create a mobile, jazz up labels on boxes or baskets, or just make a whole collection of different colours and send to your kindy or pre-school for their collage table!

from around the world...

2011-08-17T22:10:00.000+10:00

When we first moved to Dubai three years ago, we just brought over our suitcases and a few other essentials, and left most of our furniture and bits and pieces in storage in Australia. Like most expats living over here, we are renting a unit in a high-rise apartment block, and at first it felt very cold and impersonal. A few frantic days of shopping meant that we had all the necessary furniture, but without all the personal items and extras, it didn't really feel like home.

My husband's job involves a lot of travel and sometimes I tag along too. Everywhere we go I seem to pick up a few items, some bought and some found, which are adding much needed colour and personality to our apartment and come with lots of happy memories. Here are a few of my treasures...

Colourful fabrics bought in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - the place I met my husband almost 40 years ago! We went back for a visit last year and checked out all our old haunts. I hang a few favourite fabrics from a ladder in our entrance hall, and have made others into cushions, and the colours go perfectly with artworks from Clare's older children.

Beautiful handmade dolls from a walking trip we took to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. I just couldn't stop buying these from the little track-side stalls as each one had its own personality!

A book from my childhood, "Babies of the Woods" by Maria Tyrrell with sweet illustrations by Eileen A Soper. I particularly love these gorgeous birds and display the book open on a side table with a few different bird ornaments.

I seem to be amassing a collection of painted eggs which are arranged by colour throughout my unit (maybe the girls' get their colour obsessions from me?!) Blue has always been my favourite.

Probably the most obscure of my "treasures" - a very old copy of "a series of tables for ready reference for the timber and allied trade" that I discovered at a junk shop in the UK for a couple of pence. I don't really have a clue what it was for, but just love all the scribbled calculations in the back flyleaf.

I have always loved walking along beaches searching for shells and sea glass, and have a few displays around my apartment of my beach combing finds one the last few years, mainly from the shores of Oman.

What are your favourite treasures?

new grey butterflies...

2011-08-13T12:05:00.000+10:00

I having been working hard on finishing this extra large butterfly artwork to take to the Boutique Markets, Brisbane this Sunday morning. This particular artwork has been months in the making as we have had to search through hundreds of damaged children's books from the 50's, 60's and 70's to find just the right shades of grey, french grey and linen. The butterflies have all been handcut, stitched onto squares of text from one of my favourite stories, Anne of Green Gables, and are now laid out so I can juggle the colours around. It usually takes me a while to work out the perfect layout and it involves lots of walking round the table, squinting (not a pretty sight!) and even taking photos until I find the perfect combination. It will then be framed in an Australian-made, white box frame which will let the butterflies star.

One of our aims at mondocherry is to only create items that we would love to hang in our own homes. This particular artwork would look perfect in my living room which, at the moment, has french grey walls, dark grey sofa covers (I change them over to white in summer) and a mix of grey and linen cushions. I will try to resist the temptation to let it live in there for a while!

keeping their toes warm...

2011-08-11T16:24:00.003+10:00

I certainly can't complain about winters in Brisbane. For the last few weeks the days have been sunny and an almost balmy 23 degrees - almost like summer temperatures in some parts of the world. However, it does cool down at night and, as our draughty old home is not heated, I totally understand why my children are reluctant to get out of their beds in the mornings. My two biggest girls have wanted a rug in their room for ages but I have been reluctant to buy them one - partly because we are (hopefully) renovating soon and they will get a bigger room, and partly because I am commitment-phobic when it comes to buying rugs. My problems? I don't like a whole lot of pattern on my floors, I change the accent colours in a room often, and the neutral toned rugs are sometimes hard to clean and/or scratchy! So, when I found this pretty crocheted throw for $2 in a thrift shop, I knew it would be the perfect stand-in. With a non-slip protecter underneath to keep it in place, it fits perfectly between their beds and is keeping their toes warm while they choose their clothes. It also matches their Greengate quilts beautifully.

baby shoes...

2011-08-09T14:04:00.006+10:00

The re-organisation of my home continues! After getting my craft space all organised, I have moved on to sorting through my children's bedrooms. Top of the list today was sorting through their clothes, weeding out all the ones they have grown out of. I had a little sentimental moment when I looked through the box in which I keep a few special outfits from when my two kids were tiny babies - I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I had a couple of empty frames and so decided to display two pairs of my daughter's first shoes to remind me of those early days. They look very cute on her dressing-up cupboard along with her dolls from Retro Bird.

what are you doing tomorrow...?

2011-08-05T19:00:00.002+10:00

We will be at the Mathilda's Markets with lots of new work and we would love to see you there.

Wishing you all a great weekend.

breaking the rules...

2011-08-02T20:58:00.000+10:00

We've heard that displaying flowers near ripening fruit is a no-no as fruit gives off the gas, ethylene, which causes flowers to wilt much faster than normal. However, sometimes it is worth breaking the rules, as flowers and fruit can look so beautiful together.

While on the subject of flowers, Sue did a bit of online research after all the flower heads from a bunch of roses disappointingly drooped over after just a day. She plunged the stems in boiling water until they stood up again and then re-cut the stems under the water and the roses went on to last a whole week!

mondocherry fabric coming soon...

2011-07-29T12:14:00.004+10:00

We have been working on some exciting new projects behind the scenes at mondocherry and we thought we would share a little preview as to what we have been up to. For a long time we have been dreaming of creating a range of fabric to compliment our artworks and we have finally put the wheels in motion. Based originally on the sketches Sue does while on the phone, we have been modifying, spending late nights swotting up on computer software, and discussing colours till we sound like a Pantone colour chart! We are still in the baby stages of getting samples (Joy was so excited to see them rolling off the machine below) and planning products, but with help from the gorgeous girls from Frankie and Swiss and all two tonne of Florence, things are moving quickly. We'll keep you posted!

photocopying fabric...

2011-07-26T20:50:00.000+10:00

There are lots of different things you can use when you run out of wrapping paper - newspaper, maps, and even aluminium foil. But one trick we sometimes use for small gifts is to photocopy fabric. We love our Canon all-in-one printer copiers which reproduce the colours pretty well. You can use just about any fabric you might have lying around or even iron out a favourite patterned skirt, dress or pillowcase! Just add ribbon or tape to finish the present off.

We have been experimenting with other uses for the beautiful paper that results from photocopied fabric. The idea for these paper boats came from the inspiring book Ganz in Liberty which is full of creative uses for liberty fabrics... we just wish we could read German! Wouldn't these boats look beautiful as place cards for a special party or even just sailing along a mantlepiece or sideboard? Paper chains and bunting can also be whizzed up quickly without having to take a trip to a shop for specialty papers.

So, get those machines warmed up and let us know what you make!

PS. If you need a refresher on how to make paper boats, you can find the instructions here.

time for some pastels...

2011-07-25T20:33:00.000+10:00

One of the things that we all enjoy about our mondocherry work is the diversity of what we do. One day we might be working with vintage papers, giving our scissors and hands a really good workout, but the next day our desks might be almost buried under beautiful fabrics and shiny sequins. We might go from spending many hours creating an extra large artwork, to sewing up a handful of our business cards which are wonderful for almost instant creative gratification!

Just lately I seem to have been working with a lot of bright, saturated colours, so it has been a real pleasure to create a pastel artwork for a change. This 3d blossom heart (created from lots of tiny hand-cut hearts) was inspired by these sweet little bowls and egg cups that Mum brought back from her home in Dubai.

Pop over to our website to see examples of this artwork in other colours, or email us if you have a particular request!

kate lauren designs...

2011-07-22T11:06:00.009+10:00

Setting up a nursery for the first time is very exciting, and a big part of creating the overall decorating scheme is choosing the linen. It can sometime be hard to find something that is soft enough for bub and yet stylish enough for the parents! We are very impressed by the beautiful range from Kate Lauren Designs which includes timeless cot linens, super-soft blankets, cushions , lamps and co-ordinating decor. They are all designed by the very lovely Julie, who, with three children of her own, knows just what every stylish baby and small child needs. Have a look at the delightful Bella Grace cushion which one of Clare's daughters loves so much she carries it all around the house with her!

The Kate Lauren Designs website is due to launch any day now, but in the meantime you can see the whole range on Facebook.

time to get organised - part one...

2011-07-18T20:27:00.007+10:00

Work space and playroom...

Being creative equates to being messy - something I struggle with on a daily basis. Working from home definitely has its advantages, especially the flexible hours while my two children are still young. However, sharing a workspace with my children's playroom means that we can all create an enormous amount of mess in a very short time. Piles of my fabric and paper snippings, together with the kid's lego, crayons and playdough, can become more than a bit overwhelming if not contained.

While I have no desire to live in a showroom house, I certainly feel much better when I know that there is a place for everything to return to at the end of the day. So my philosophy this year has been to spend less money on 'stuff' and instead I've invested in some decent storage (and quite a lot of time!).

Without a doubt, the key to getting organised is ridding yourself of excess stuff. I try to follow the rule that if something is purchased or brought into the house, then something must be given away or disposed of! This doesn't always happen of course, but I try to apply the rule whenever I can.

My work space is finally operating efficiently thanks to an enormous number of kikki.k storage boxes and folders. I could not bring myself to buy these all at once, so instead I have been treating myself to a couple each week, building up this collection over time.

I have also been organising the children's art. Bigger drawings and paintings are kept in A3 storage boxes while their special drawings are kept in these ring binders - one for each year (starting from age 3) for each child.

When my son was young we purchased the large Expedit bookcase from IKEA (shown below) and I cannot sing it's praises enough for organising all the toys, books, etc. My kids know where to find everything and can pack it all away again. The colour co-ordinated books might be too much for some, but they make me happy! These books are obviously too high for my kids to reach, but I make sure they always have a selection on their level, and both also have bookcases in their bedrooms.

So bring on the mess! I can cope knowing that I can pop everything back in its place when I need to. I would love to hear your tips on organising and will share some more of mine in a future post.

rustic roses...

2011-07-14T12:46:00.005+10:00

I'm busy packaging orders today - not my favourite job, but one made a whole lot more enjoyable by these beautiful roses sitting on the table nearby. I love displaying flowers in this very rustic box, picked up at a market years ago. The rough box highlights the softness of the petals and the vibrant colour of the roses almost glows when compared with the dark wood.

Do you have something beautiful brightening up your day?

crate expectations...

2011-07-13T00:34:00.001+10:00

Don't you just love a shop where there are gorgeous new items every time you visit, you can always find the perfect gift, and you feel at home when you walk through the door? Crate Expectations in Malvern is a favourite haunt of Joy's for all these reasons, and over the 15 months she has lived in Melbourne she has visited often! Here are a few photos to give you a feel for the shop... make sure you put it on your "to do" list when you are next in Melbourne.

So much to see, so little time!

These beautiful blues brought a touch of the seaside to a cold Melbourne day.

This display would be perfect for a hallway. The light shining through those bottles and vases was stunning.

We loved this classic sofa piled high with colourful cushions in the window.

Unexpected colour combinations are so inspiring.

Beautiful packaging in glass bowls.

Colourful baby toys with personality!

A divine choice of pampering products and candles.

magnificent Melbourne...

2011-07-09T18:55:00.000+10:00

We've been having such a lovely day hanging out together - not something we get to do very often now. Melbourne is well known for its cool winter days, gorgeous shops, and fantastic coffee, all of which we experienced today. We even managed to fit in a facial!

We are surprisingly organised for tomorrow's Boutique Markets in Hawthorn, and so were able to keep today free to have some fun while our wonderful husbands looked after our children.
First up was a spot of window shopping at some of Joy's favourite homeware shops including the divine Crate Expectations in Malvern which is so gorgeous it deserves its own post (coming next week).

Coffe at Phillappa's was just what we needed by mid-morning. If you haven't tried their tomato chutney, you have to track down a jar. It is seriously addictive!

We spent our afternoon being pampered, and enjoying more window shopping and are now back home packing up our artworks, cards and decorations ready for market tomorrow. Please pop in for a visit between 9am and 1pm if you are somewhere close by.

Off to get ready for dinner on Chapel St with our lovely bloggy friends, A-M, Rachael and Taryn - a great way to finish off a fantastic day.

and

makeover for a $5 chair...

2011-07-08T20:57:00.001+10:00

I couldn't walk past this little chair '(before photo' shown below) at a chairty shop, despite it's slightly wonky leg and lack of comfy cushion. I knew it would be the perfect compliment to my daughter's dressing table, which was also a second hand bargain. My husband did all the dirty work - sanding, painting and fixing the leg - while I got busy sewing a cushion from some of my favourite Japanese fabric. I'm pretty chuffed with the result.

new artwork for the Boutique Markets, Melbourne....

2011-07-04T11:01:00.007+10:00

I am super excited to be heading off to Melbourne later this week for the launch of the Boutique Markets in that city. Make sure you reserve this Sunday, 10th July to come and see us at the Hawthorn Town Hall, 360 Burwood St, from 9am to 1pm, and browse through loads of gorgeous wares from artists, designers and crafters.

We have made these two new artworks especially for the Boutique Markets. Measuring 70cm x 70cm and 38cm x 38cm respectively, they are both created from hundreds of tiny hand-cut-with-scissors hearts shaped to form 3-d blossoms.

If monotones are not your thing. we make these artworks in colour too!

white and wood...

2011-07-01T16:38:00.006+10:00

We are very inspired by white and wood at the moment. We love the way the wood 'warms up' the white and emphasises the different textures, making feathers look fluffier, china look finer and doilies look more intricate.

What is your inspiration for this weekend?

a felt crown for my little princess...

2011-06-28T22:05:00.001+10:00

My three year old absolutely loves dressing up and is especially fond of crowns and other head-pieces. So, when I had my stash of felt out the other day, I cut out a simple crown shape, added a bit of sparkle with beads and sequins (well quite a lot actually... can you ever have too much bling?), and made a matching cuff for my little princess. I thought about attaching the back with Velcro, but remembered how that hurts when hair catches in it, so I just sewed up the back to fit. The crown has been a huge hit and is even worn to bed - bet the real princesses can't do that!

macarons by donna hay...

2011-06-24T17:12:00.000+10:00

I have always been a fan of Donna Hay's cookbooks - the recipes I have tried are uncomplicated, don't use too many ingredients, and turn out as they should. It helps that they are beautifully styled too! So when I saw that my local grocery store had a few new packet mixes by Donna Hay, I popped one in my trolley to try. This morning, with the help of my two youngest (will I ever cook alone again?!), we made these almond macarons with chocolate filling, and they were delicious. I loved the way there was a little recipe card tucked in the box with photos of every step, although I still managed to fail the 'dropping and turning' stage - my macarons were not the perfect smooth rounds that they should be. Any tips for next time?

Joy tried one of the other mixes, the chocolate cupcakes, and they got rave reviews from her guests. Yum!

through the door - welcome home...

2011-06-22T12:37:00.004+10:00

I love coming home from kindy pick-up on a cold, wintery afternoon, and opening the front door of our house. As it is a rental home, I often get frustrated about the things I would love to change but cannot. But I would leave the hallway just as it is. With lovely high ceilings, pretty chandelier, wooden floors and beautiful stained-glass doors, it is just about perfect. With the addition of some flowers on the hall table, and some of my favourite scarves and bags hanging on the hooks, it always makes me glad to be home.

liberty print buttons...

2011-06-20T13:48:00.000+10:00

mixed liberty print button artwork large

We have always loved Liberty of London's beautiful fabrics, but can never pick a favourite. These button artworks are like samplers of different Liberty prints and they are very popular for little (and big!) girl's rooms.

blue liberty print button artwork large

mauve liberty print button artwork large

We never seem to get these onto our website, but we promise they, and a gorgeous red version, will appear there soon. In the meantime you can email us if you are interested in these artworks.

coloured vases...

2011-06-15T14:24:00.004+10:00

Just lately I've found a couple of pretty coloured vases at my local op shops, which together with a little green vase from IKEA and another couple I already had, are the start of my new collection. I have this vision of a pretty centrepiece made up of lots of different colours and shapes of vases all the way down my dining table, with the emphasis on the containers rather than the flowers or stems that are in them. While I wait for my collection to grow (and part of the fun is in the finding!) they are brightening up my hall table beautifully.

through the door - petals

2011-06-09T11:45:00.003+10:00

This 'through the door' photo is of the entrance room to my old Queenslander home. This morning I thought my little Tilly was playing nicely, but instead she had been systematically picking the petals off the geranium that grows so beautifully in this sunny spot. Cheeky little thing!

The whole family loves this room. My bigger girls spend hours sitting at the old school desk on the right drawing and writing stories. My big boys are often to be found curled up reading in the chair that is off to the left, next to an overflowing bookcase. The long pew (which actually belongs to Joy -I'm hoping she never wants it back!) hold lots of favourite items and gets constantly rearranged, sometimes by me and sometimes by the girls moving everything off to play shops or hospitals or libraries. But my favourite use of the room is when the little ones line up on the pew in the evening, half hanging out the window, waiting for Daddy to come home. I think the whole street hears their shrieks and cries of joy when they see him walking home from the bus stop!

The evidence...

The culprit...

a ruffle decoration..

2011-06-07T17:43:00.005+10:00

It was a very chilly, rainy day here in Melbourne, perfect for settling down with a cup of tea and browsing my latest time-waster, Pinterest. If you haven't discovered this website of virtual pin-boards, with everything from interiors to hairstyles, crafts to recipes, then hop right over there after reading this post! Today I stumbled across a decoration made from cupcake wrappers and had to experiment with it straight away. Do I need one right now? No! But it was an enjoyable way to spend an hour and it would be a great way to pretty up a table for a cocktail party, wedding or other special occasion.

It was very simple to make. You just need a styrofoam ball, lots of cupcake wrappers and pins - luckily all of which were hiding in my cupboards.

Stick a pin through the centre of a cupcake wrapper and scrunch it up a bit. Then simply push the pin into the ball. Add another, and another, until they are all beautifully squashed together and you can no longer see the styrofoam.

You can visit our Pinterest Boards (most definitely a work in progress) here.

Monday flowers and a vase with holes...

2011-06-06T16:15:00.006+10:00

There was no chance of Monday-itis today with these beautiful flowers brightening up my dining room. I used one of my ceramic candle holders for a vase (with a drinking glass inside) and threaded some ribbon through the holes for a bit more colour. It was quite therapeutic. I reckon you could get quite creative with this...cross stitches, different coloured or textured ribbon, even threading an initial or message. Let me know if you try it!

whites and brights - 3d paper artworks...

2011-06-04T00:13:00.001+10:00

Here is a couple of new colours in our 3d paper blossom range...bright multi-coloured and white-on-white. Created from hand cut paper hearts, which have been folded and positioned to create blossoms within a larger heart, they are a labour of love. We would love to know which one you prefer!

Both artworks (along with other colours in this design) are available to purchase on our website - just click here and here to buy.

Have a happy weekend!

a beautiful tutu...

2011-06-01T13:43:00.004+10:00

My 10 year old daughter, Hannah, just loves ballet. She has been having lessons since she was three and never whinges about going (like I remember doing!), loves it when she her teachers are strict, and is constantly badgering me to do more classes. She no longer walks around the house - instead she chassés through the rooms, pirouettes around the furniture and does an arabesque when getting anything out of the fridge. This year we have agreed to let her participate in eisteddfods, which I have always been a bit wary of as I don't like seeing little girls too made up or being too competitive. However, Hannah convinced us that she would love to get extra feedback so that she can refine her techniques (she did not get that from me!) and since her ballet school encourages the girls participating to be very supportive of each other, we thought we would give it a go. So, we took ourselves off to an amazing dressmaker, Julia Fenton from Classically Costumed, and I was in fabric heaven. I see and use lots of beautiful fabrics, but usually just cotton and linen, and so to be surrounded by all these amazing silks, satins and laces in the most gorgeous colours was bliss. We thought it was going to be hard to choose, until this beautiful sea-green colour was pulled out and both Hannah and I fell in love with it. I'm so glad I left the tutu making to an expert as sewing with temperamental fabrics is not my favourite thing to do and I wouldn't have been clever enough to leave extra panels so it can all be let out as she grows.

Maybe I have secret tutu envy, but last night I finally took myself back to Adult ballet class after running out of excuses. I had previously attended for a year in between children #5 and #6 and it brought back lots of memories from my years of dancing. I had such a great time last night although my body didn't quite live up to expectations.... After 5 minutes I felt muscles that hadn't been used for quite a while. After 15 minutes the steps started coming back to me, although they were much more difficult than I remembered, and the extra padding on my derrière meant that lifting my leg up behind me without leaning forward was impossible. After 30 minutes we started centre work and I realised that I had been gripping onto the barre for dear life for the first half of the class. After 45 minutes I attempted a pirouette, only to find that my core strength was sadly lacking and I almost ended up on the floor. After 60 minutes I could no longer walk....

But, I will be back next week!

through the door...

2011-05-26T19:36:00.000+10:00

I love seeing glimpses of a room through a door. It invites me in and makes me want to see more of the room beyond. It is also a very forgiving way to view a room. When I see a photo of a entire room my mind focuses on the big things - the windows, the lighting, the floor coverings - all of which are vitally important to how a room looks, but aren't necessarily the things that make a room feel warm, comfortable or interesting. Somehow, when you see just a part of a room through an open door, it becomes more personal and less like a photo from a magazine or showroom.

This through-the-door-shot is of Joy's guest room, cleaned and ready for Mum and Dad to arrive on Saturday for a much too brief visit. Joy says it doesn't always look like this! Sometimes the bed holds piles of ironing ready for when there is a good show on TV. Other times it holds stacks of artworks or cards, ready to be taken to market or sent off to shops. But she likes it best when it is just like this - pristine, almost empty, a little tranquil escape from the everyday.

Over the next few weeks we will post more 'through the door' photos from around our homes... You never know what you might see!

a felt flower shop...

2011-05-23T21:29:00.005+10:00

I love it when Joy tells me that she is going to make one of my children their birthday or Christmas present, because I know that it will be something extra special. She sent me through these photos of the gorgeous felt flower shop she has created for my little Jemima (who turned 4 over the weekend) and I think that she has excelled herself! She knows how much all my girls love to play shop and thought flowers might make a nice change from the food, books and shoes which often feature in their play. She crafted these flowers from felt, shaping the stems around drinking straws so that they don't collapse, and cut a variety of shaped petals and leaves to make different types of flowers. Joy let her daughter play with them as she was making them and ended up having to pack them away while her Sienna was sleeping as there were tears when Joy explained they weren't for her! Looks like she will be making some more...

a classic find...

2011-05-20T12:16:00.000+10:00

I was very pleased to find this beautiful English cake tin in a spontaneous trip to an Op shop yesterday. I love the classic blue and white pattern (I think it is a bit of Mum coming out in me) and even the way it is slightly battered. It smells like fruit cake so it has obviously been well used! I'm not going to use it for biscuits or cake, but will probably put it on one of my shelves as part of a little vignette for a while, and then it may end up in my 'mondocherry room' storing all my spools of thread.

more space party details...

2011-05-17T22:04:00.004+10:00

Here are a few more photos from Harvey's space party we held on the weekend. We had such a wonderful time and I treid to find the time amongst all the activity to reflect on the fact that my little boy is five years old already. Boy, does time fly!

Clare's tip for the party was to prepare an activity to occupy the children as they wait for the rest of their friends to arrive (having six kids means that she has organised her fair share of parties). I highly recommend this as it solves the problem of children tearing through your house before the games begin. We started with a simple space robot craft activity which was surprisingly mess free as I had covered a bunch of boxes in silver foil beforehand (thank you Jaan and Kym for your help with this). The children assembled the robots with sticky tape and decorated them with star and spot stickers, googly eyes and some sparkly pipe cleaners. I found the mini cereal boxes made great bodies, sultana packets were perfect as heads and little packets of smarties and mini sultana packets worked for the arms and legs. Does anyone have a good recipe for sultana cake as I certainly have plenty of them in a large container in the kitchen!

As the children arrived we presented them with a special badge to wear around their necks. These were for the children to collect a different coloured star sticker for each mission (game) they completed. This saved me handing out individual prizes and avoided possible tears!

Our first game was a moon rock hunt around the garden. The moon rocks were made from scrunched up aluminium foil - super easy and a great job to do in front of the tv. We also used these moon rocks for a relay which consisted of two teams carrying the rocks with tongs from one end of the garden to the other.

I kept the food fairly simple - fairy bread and watermelon cut into star shapes with a cookie cutter, little chocolate crackle 'meteorites' etc. My husband always makes the birthday cakes in our family (yay!) and I think he did a fantastic job with this rocket cake.

After the food we had some quieter games with pass the parcel and pin the Harvey on the space rocket. Everyone happily left clutching their party bags shown in the previous post. A huge thank you to my wonderful friend, Elinor, who helped out with the party games and the general running of the afternoon.

a space party...

2011-05-14T12:20:00.003+10:00

I'm rushing around the house doing some last minute party preparation for my Harvey's 5th birthday party this afternoon. Being a Buzz Lightyear fanatic, he requested a space theme which has meant that all this week my house has been taken over by silver glitter and aluminium foil. More photos to come...

new blossom artwork colours...

2011-05-11T20:54:00.004+10:00

We are loving the new soft and subtle colours we've just finished in our blossom artwork range. Each one is unique and is created from hand-cut paper hearts, folded for a 3 dimensional effect. Joy will be taking these to the Mathilda's Markets in Malvern this coming Sunday and would love to see you there!

orange, markets and mothers...

2011-05-07T19:16:00.003+10:00

Orange is not a colour I often decorate with, but when I was given these beautiful orange roses as an early Mother's Day present, I thought I would get out a couple of our orange artworks to display with them. I was amazed about how much life the touch of orange brought into the room and how my eye was drawn to the display when I entered. I might have to add a spot of orange more often!

These artworks are just a couple of many that I am taking to the Boutique Markets tomorrow. The forecast is for a beautiful sunny day so bring your Mum along for a coffee and a browse, or pop by to purchase that last minute gift!

A very happy Mothers Day to all Mums - may your breakfast in bed not be too crumbly, may you not have to worry about dinners or dishes, and, most especially, may the hugs and kisses be many.

look where my printer's tray has ended up...

2011-05-04T20:06:00.000+10:00

As Lego has been at the top of my 11 and 12 year old sons' Christmas and birthday lists since they were little, they have built up quite a collection...a lot of which resides in large under-bed drawers. Anyone who has had to search for a particular piece of lego in a large pile knows that is as bad as searching for a needle in a haystack - maybe worse, as it is far noisier! The frustration of never being able to find their favourite Characters or matching weapons / accessories was a part of life until they recently came across my printer's tray in the broom cupboard.

I purchased the printer's tray for a bargain $5 on a wet and miserable morning at Camberwell Markets a few years ago. While it had a place in our other homes, since we moved here it has been drifting around the house, not quite fitting in anywhere. The boys have well and truly adopted it now though, and it makes a great home for some of their most played with Lego characters.

Magnolia Square...

2011-05-01T21:17:00.001+10:00

I have been meaning to get to the much acclaimed Magnolia Square Markets since I moved to Melbourne, but past markets seemed to coincide with weekends away, birthday parties or other events. This weekend I had it penciled in my calender and set aside a few hours this afternoon to browse child-free. I was totally inspired by the beautiful array of products on offer and the gorgeous displays. Of course, I couldn't leave without purchasing a few little treats...

Some sweet little shoes for my 3 year old by Chook Leaf. These shoes are just so soft and come in the most stunning array of colours. I ummed and ahhed about the yellow (knowing that my Sienna would have chosen pink for herself!) but I thought they look pretty special with the aqua trim.

I bought these three original illustration prints from Printspace. I just loved the muted colours and was so keen to get them straight on the wall that I stopped on the way home to buy some frames for them.

Lastly I bought this bunch of tiny toadstools... just because!

Hope you had a great weekend.

my flower-less table setting...

2011-04-28T22:24:00.006+10:00

Easter lunch for the extended family still in Brisbane is traditionally held at our house and I usually have ideas buzzing around in my head for weeks before as to how I would like to decorate for it. This year I had been ill in the week or so before and so, frustratingly, hadn't had the energy to act on any of my ideas. My perfectionist self couldn't let the occasion go by without making some sort of effort so, as I didn't have any flowers in the house or garden, my bigger girls and I decided on a green theme. They had a great time collecting green vases, bottles, and bits and bobs from around the house which we arranged on an old grain sack in the centre of the table (actually three tables pushed together in order to seat 16). They then cut stems from different plants/weeds from around the garden and "arranged" them in glass jugs and vases. You can probably see the lavender beautifully stuffed into the tiny vase by my three year old! All that green looked a little boring so we added some aqua and turquoise to brighten the setting up. I managed to avert a major war as to who should sit where by writing names on eggs - let me tell you the aunties, uncles, Grandma and Grandad were far more popular than boring old Mum and Dad!

Easter french toast...

2011-04-23T08:24:00.006+10:00

If you have any left over hot cross buns then we recommend you give this recipe a try - hot cross bun french toast. It would make a great dessert, although Joy and Clare both served it for breakfast - Joy cooked it as per the recipe using fruit-filled hot cross buns, while Clare used choc-chip hot cross buns and served it with sliced banana on the side. Yum!

Ingredients:

6 eggs

250ml milk

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 day-old hot cross buns

50 g butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 cup raspberries (fresh or thawed frozen)

Method:

1. Whisk eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla together with a fork. Cut hot cross buns horizontally in 3 slices and soak in the egg mixture for 2 minutes. Turn buns over and soak for a further 2 minutes.

2. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan and cook bun slices over medium-low heat until they are golden brown and the egg is cooked.

3. Serve drizzled with maple syrup and raspberries.

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Easter.

carrots for the Easter bunny...

2011-04-19T22:35:00.003+10:00

This year the lead up to Easter seems to have been even busier than usual and so I am only just starting to think about doing a bit of Easter decorating. These felt carrots I sewed today are actually for the Kinder home corner (a bit healthier than the usual doughnuts and cakes that I make) but for now they look very sweet pegged up on a string along my mantlepiece and on the coffee table where they are keeping a hungry little Easter rabbit satisfied! I just hope the real Easter bunny doesn't eat too many when he comes to deliver the eggs...

nail polish painted eggs...

2011-04-18T16:00:00.004+10:00

My older girls had such fun painting these eggs with old nail polish that I found hidden away at the back of the bathroom cabinet. The colours are beautifully jewel-like and the brushes were perfect for little fingers to hold. We cut out cups from the egg carton to rest the eggs in and painted half at a time. And yes, you do see green and orange nail polish in the photo below, and no, I am not that daring! I think I purchased them from a bargain bin years ago to wear to a dress up party and they obviously escaped a few culls.

autumn leaves...

2011-04-14T18:13:00.005+10:00

I am loving autumn in Melbourne. This afternoon the kids and I went for a walk in the streets around our house, buckets in hand, collecting beautiful fallen leaves in their amazing array of colours. We then had fun sorting and playing shop with them - quite the cheapest fun you can have in school holidays!

Hamptons Home Living...

2011-04-12T18:51:00.000+10:00

There is a gorgeous new store on Latrobe Terrace, Paddington that is a lovely mix of homewares and cafe. I visited Hamptons Home Living this morning, with my children in tow and we enjoyed our coffee and hot chocolates at a beautiful rustic table long enough to fit us all (a rare occurrence in a cafe - we usually need at least two tables!). I then managed a quick browse through the retail part of the shop which is delightfully arranged into a living room, dining room and bedroom so casually elegant that you just want to move straight in! Owners Tania and Luke couldn't have been more welcoming and with lots of other gorgeous linens, furniture and accessories (including some of my very favourite brands such as Bungalow and Murchinson Hume) I will be visiting often. Tania has just started a blog here where she is going to post photos of the shop's before and after, so pop over and say Hi. Here are some photos of Hamptons Home Living from my visit today...

I have my eye on this day bed for the new extension we are planning...

Fancy a cup of tea in bed? You would wake up happy to see such gorgeous aquas...

I have always wanted one of these bookcases with a ladder, although possibly I would spend all my time telling children off for sliding along it! Love the linen curtains and the lamp too...

Just beautiful...

Any armoire this beautiful should have its doors wide open...

If you haven't visited Paddington before make sure you put aside at least a morning to fully explore this shopping strip. My advice is to park at one end and walk between all the shops -that way you can justify at least two coffee stops in between all the beautiful homeware, clothing and vintage shops!

a wall of petals...

2011-04-10T17:25:00.000+10:00

We have been very busy making different colour ways in our vintage petals design and I have been keen to see a selection hung as a group. This spot above the sofa is where I normally hang my six different coloured butterflies, and is the first thing you see when you walk in the room. I love having a mix of colours up as it allows me to be very fickle with accessories, cushions and flowers as everything matches!

Because we use original illustrations, each one of our artworks is completely unique. We back our vintage artworks with sewn squares of text from the same damaged books that we find our coloured pieces from and we find this 'grounds' the designs and provides a link with the neutrals and wood in a room. This petal design is a labour of love as it is very time consuming, but we love the finished product and get a lot of satisfaction from seeing each piece come to life.

dear elves...

2011-04-07T23:59:00.005+10:00

Dear Elves,

This morning I was reading the story of how you helped the shoemaker complete his orders and was wondering, if you are not too busy, if you would pop by my house tonight? The last week of term is always chaotic - assignments to supervise, costumes to make and teacher interviews to attend - and I seem to have a lot of work on the go which is not getting completed as fast as it should. I have laid out some artworks which are ready to frame and there are lots more ready to sew if you would like to try out my machine. I believe the technology may have changed since you last used one so feel free to experiment but please don't get too carried away with all the fancy stitches.

I'm not sure my fingers are nimble enough to make you some miniature clothing in return (as the shoemaker's wife did) but my daughter has made a great cardboard box house if you would like a place to live! If you could also let the tooth fairy know that there is a tooth awaiting her collection I would be grateful as my daughter is very keen to read the answers to her questions in her lengthy note.

Many thanks.

P.S. We are off to the Boutique Markets this coming Sunday if you would like to come and see where all these artworks are going...

liberty print flowers for the hair...

2011-04-06T22:28:00.005+10:00

I recently picked up some gorgeous liberty fabric remnants from our local fabric store and today their pretty designs inspired one of my quick-fix creative projects. All three of these floral hair clips were made in less than half an hour and were very simple to create. As usual, I made up my own pattern - a basic petal-shaped cardboard template , which I traced around 5 times for each flower with the fabric doubled over, right sides together. I machine stitched around the outside of each petal leaving the bottom part open and turned them the right way round. A rough running stitch gathered the petals and I finished off with a button to hide all the stitches. Once complete, I stitched the flowers securely onto hair clips, but they would also look cute on safety pins or broaches to embellish a plain cardigan or jacket.

One of these days I will have to dig out my patterns and find the time to actually sew a pretty dress for my daughter (girl's clothes are always more fun to make) or maybe even something for me!