Happy New Year lovely people

Happy New Year to all my lovely friends, customers and readers (one in the same;) Thank you for your patronage throughout 2010 and for all the lovely comments, conversations and feedback! May 2011 be a year of promise - whatever that means for you!

{photo from Riverfire in Brisbane back in 2005}

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas

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Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

I think Summer found us again - It was a hot one today on my side of the world :-) Have a very Happy Christmas everyone! I hope you have a lovely break with your friends and families! Safe travels and may this be a season of promise and peace. See you next year xx

Ed's note: I didn't make the biscuits and unfortunately saved the photo during the year and can't remember where from to credit it! let me know if you know!

My first Patchwork with Moda

Anya and I are working on a patchwork cushion cover for her floor cushion that she likes to read on. We used Sherbit Pips by Moda and Its a Hoot by Mo Mo also for Moda - I got mine from Retro Mummy. It is my first ever Patchwork and I love PRE-CUT fabric! I can't imagine
doing it any other way and I dislike hexagonals just for the record - not my style.



Anya LOVED placing the squares in all multiple arrangements - I have to say it was very carthartic, I can see how it gets addictive. The fabric is also delightful and I love looking at it, I definitely have some favourite squares. Thanks Posie for letting me pick your brain for all those first timer questions :-) We have both sides sewn up waiting for batting - post Christmas...

My Polka Luka loot

Ohh I love my Polka Luka jewellery. My new pieces are the red Gum Drop resin necklace which is great to wear with kids - except Josiah loved bashing it against my chest :-) I was confident however that it wouldn't break. The white bracelet is also new, from the River Rock collection, available on the website. So smooth and comfy to wear.



If you are in Canberra see below, otherwise visit Alexandra's website!

LAST DAY @ The Front Gallery & Cafe, Lyneham, ACT - we will be packing up our goodies on Thursday afternoon. Wednesday 22nd is the last full day to pick up a perfect Christmas gift or summer piece...at amazing prices.. Open 9.30am -7.30pm. (Thurs until 2.00 pm)

For any enquiries, please email Alexandra at sales@polkaluka.com.au www.polkaluka.com.au

Circus theme planning....

Thanks to Jordan for hosting a fun facebook sale over the past two nights on her Polkadot prints page. It was fun to be on the 'other side' as a buyer instead of selling this time. I scored these fabulous invites, cupcake toppers, buffet labels and thank you stickers for Josiah's 1st birthday. I was very keen on the plane theme (below) too but exercised A LOT of restraint... (his name was Gordon). J isn't 1 until May but now I have a theme I can start day-dreaming.



Random fact - My husband can juggle - perfect for birthday entertainment (although we may have to use balls instead of fire-clubs and machetes)! I often joke I could hire him out for birthdays parties. See Jordan's entire range here!

Macro Monday - Bottlebrush

Mum's garden has been the endless source of macro photos for me. I really like these three perspectives of the bottle brush (native Australian plant). In the theme of Christmas colours and everything. I hope you had a good weekend - I had a well overdue Mummy/Daughter date with Anya which was lovely and finished my Christmas shopping. I also started Christmas baking today and will share a Grace family recipe of Almond bread later in the week - it is divine (time consuming but worth it).

Retro Mummy FABRIC GIVEAWAY

I am here to log off at 10pm with the small boy stirring but what is this I see - a fabric giveaway - surely I have time for a quick post and enter!! Drop in to Retro Mummy and leave a comment for your chance to win a big bundle of fat quarters! The competition is open until New Years Eve.

Free Tutorial - Ruffled Scarf

In the spirit of the last minute Christmas gift....I present to you my ruffled scarf! This may serve those in the Northern Hemisphere better for the month of December but book mark it for your DIY 'must-do' list for winter for the rest of us. Inspired by my sister-in-laws cool black scarf on her last visit from NZ I went straight to the fabric store then straight to work.



Cut yourself a 2m length of a stretch knit fabric (mine is 187cm) and 30cm wide for the base of the scarf. Then cut approximately 35 strips of the same fabric, my pieces were about 30-35cm width and 7-8cm long. Cut them wider than 35cm if you want more of a ruffle than I have here.



Without finishing edges of anything sew the small strips of fabric across the width of the scarf base, layering them as you go. I didn't pre-gather the strips as I wanted a subtle ruffle on this scarf but might try a lighter knit next time with more of a gather. I just pinched little pleats almost in places along the strips and sewed a straight stitch across and Voila! You could always use elastic in your bobbin to get more volume :-)

Ed's note:

The re-purposed jumper

How very cool are these? Dana from Made is one clever lady - she brings endless creativity to my living room. Her ideas are very achievable for the basic sewer to the more experienced. Yes, in Australia we tend to call them jumpers not sweaters, I have no idea why!?



Dana is generous in her FREE patterns and has done some great 'celebration' series you may have seen; Celebrate the Boy, Mum and Yellow :-) Being a visual person - I am also a huge fan of fabulous images on a blog and Dana knows how to take them too. Enjoy browsing - but be warned you could be there a while.

images courtesy of Made

A look inside Handmade Living

There are projects in this book to suit all levels of crafters. It is broken into seven sections and the illustrations by Tina are just stunning.





Finally a look at my pages :-) The lovely model on the left is my cousin Melanie. I told her I would be focusing mainly on the flower and she shouldn't worry about too much of her head appearing in the shot - now she has ended up with her entire head on an entire page ;p I giggle every time I see it. Sorry Mel! The green dress she has on is what my bridesmaid wore almost 8 years ago.



Itching to make this praline and the fortune cookies would make a great place-holder at a party don't you think - with a fun message inside! They would be a cute invite too - if you printed small enough :-)



Seriously stylish door stoppers by Posie Patchwork!



The art of applique by Ivy Designs... I have a couple of books in my Etsy store for purchase and a few snaps of the launch party Friday night - can be found here.

Custom couture for the hair

The lovely Amanda coined the phrase "custom couture pieces for the hair" for my hair accessories and I took it and ran! I do tend to do one off and bespoke pieces for brides mainly because I get bored easily! I don't always want to be churning out the same thing. I tend to create organically and I think sometimes I would have a hard time remembering how a particular piece came together (unless I wrote it down). I guess I have my own style that I lean towards but at the end of the day most pieces are unique! This hair piece hit my etsy store today!

Sew Mama Sew - Giveaway

I participated in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway last year! If you don't know about it - get your self over there... like NOW people! Anyway, Gret is giving away a little brooch from her new collection - very cute and there is an abundance of freebies to win through many blogs - happy days... Give-aways are a great way to drive traffic to your site - although you never can tell if these things translate into sales unless people tell you directly when they purchase from you. It would be fabulous if Etsy installed an optional check box you could use for marketing when people make a purchase - I always love to know how people find me?!

Twine for Sale - in my Craftumi store

I have closed my store-front on madeit over the weekend as I have been finding it difficult to maintain both online stores along with selling at Shop Handmade. So for all your yummy hair accessories go to my Etsy store or shop local at Shop Handmade!



Maraschino



Peapod

However, I am feeding my packaging addiction by selling some lovely eco-luxe twine by the Twinery in my Craftumi store. I have four colours to start with - some lovely red and green (perfect for Christmas) and an aqua and yellow.



Caribbean



Lemondrop

The Twinery twine is made from 100% cotton and it is super soft and lovely to use. At the moment I am selling it in 5m lots but if you are interested in larger quantities then please let me know.

Friday Favourites - Colour me Pretty on Decor8

I love Holly's Decor8 blog as much as I love chocolate....



The colour me pretty posts are always so beautiful and these are no exception!



I drool over decor8 daily if I can! These photos are filled with some of my favourite things - notions, paper, tape, mmmmm - arranged and taken by the clever Leslie of A Creative Mint. We have a busy weekend coming up, Handmade Living book launch tonight at the shop, a farewell, Christmas brunch, afternoon tea guests and hanging with some lovely family! What are you up to?

Handmade Living Book for sale

Image courtesy of A Little Red Ribbon

I have a couple of copies of Handmade Living for sale $39.95 - I will pop them in my Etsy store if anyone is interested. Postage in Australia will be $10, if you are international and interested please contact me.

Photography props

Trialling a few props for my product shots. I wasn't sure how this old Box Brownie of my Mum's would work as a prop for hair accessories as thematically - they don't really go? But I am drawn back to these photos again and again... the camera really jumps off the page to me and somehow with that, the headband works - what do you think?



My letterpress G from Doug Up On Bourke



You can't really see it but my tall spool (also from DUOB) - wished I had of bought the smaller one too as this is a little tall for my light tent. The above two items are listed in my etsy store.. the others on their way.



My rustic tin G from Provincial Home Living.



The good old Maxwell Williams egg cup for my dark coloured items. Which is your favourite?

Polka Luka Exhibition and Sale

It is that time of year again when Alexandra comes to town and displays her lovely wares at the

Front Cafe and Gallery at Lyneham (just down from Tilley's). I scooped up some bargains last Christmas and distributed them for birthday presents throughout the year and snagged a couple of lovely items for myself which I love wearing - very comfy! So get on down there, you won't be disappointed! Opening night this Thursday.

Handmade Market wrap up

The rain held off until 6.30pm last night for the Christmas Handmade Market!! I took a few photos for Tania who was busy selling copies of the Handmade Living book. It was nice to trial the Nikon D60x and I likey. Mine is the older D70 which is about 7.5yrs old and so much chunkier and heavier... but I digress... the market was lovely as always despite the weather challenges most stall holders voted it to be their best market day yet! More photos on the handmade market blog.