Fake Macarons!

While I am thinking of sweet things, aren't these clever! Project Wedding has so many lovely ideas and I thought this was a great idea for the Macaron challenged, lets be honest, that is most of us! I have only made them once and they turned out ok but not as shiny and lovely looking as most photos you see. Tasted pretty good though! I'd love to give these a try.

Fondant 101 by Glorious Treats

I haven't used fondant yet and yes I am scared of it and don't really love the taste, but boy does it make a biscuit/cookie look good! Glory from Glorious treats has done a great post on using fondant.



These photos are courtesy of Sweetapolita who also has some gorgeous recipes and advice on baking yummy treats! I would like to try some for my sister in law's baby shower in a couple of months. Have you tackled fondant? Let me know your tips if you have.

Mothers Day Wishlist - for the wardrobe

Just dreaming :-) Of course I wouldn't wear the skirt and bag at the same time - "hello Christmas"

Skirt and Jacket - J Crew
Handbag by Kate Spade
Silver sequin tote - Peter's of Kensington
Jeans - Anthropologie

Paper Flowers

I have been making paper flowers for a wedding and can't wait to show them off but that will be a while down the track... in the meantime here are some sample flowers I made! The first two are made from tissue paper and the third craft paper.





The scale is deceiving they are larger than a dinner plate! Number 2 & 3 were my favourites! Each petal is individual wired on this last flower, it took a long time to make! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Friday Favourites - Artist Luci Everett

What a brilliant piece of work by artist, Luci Everett! A handmade French folded book exploring the theme of Party! Love it. I dove right down the rabbit hole to find this one... hopping from one blog roll to another - then I jumped right on over to Luci's website and was there a while! OK, enough rabbit analogies. All images - Luci Everett.





I loved these and I love the start of the weekend! wooo hooo

My Creative Space - Watercolours

I bought some watercolours for Anya and I have really enjoyed using them with her and on my own at night when she is tucked in bed :-) Just playing around and doing something different to my normal sewing/creating.



This is my attempt at painting Mondays orchids.



Hope you have your cuppa ready to enjoy some more creative spaces at Kirsty's.

Clothing instead of Art

I'm a big fan of this but haven't tried it yet! How lovely is this dress belonging to Ruby from Cakies! I have a killer pair of heels that I always blab on about mounting on the wall because they hurt to wear but look so darn good. I wore them 'in' for the first time whilst running an event once - stupid!


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This is a very sweet idea too and practical. One of my midwives gave me a fabulous tip about hanging up all the baby clothes in sizes so your bub will have less chance of not wearing an outfit at least once. I give baby coat hangers quite frequently.

Real Wedding - Grace Designs Hair Accessories

Here is another gorgeous bride of mine from last year! Thea wore an Organza Ballet Blossom available in my etsy store with a birdcage veil, sold separately.



The bridesmaids wore a smaller version of the ballet blossom, folded over. I know I say this every time but I love seeing my work in real life, it makes my day! Pop here for more photos.



Images courtesy of Esh Photography.

Macro Monday - Orchids

These gorgeous orchids were beckoning me on Thursday while I was at the fruit and veg market! The exact colours of my nectarines, although the name escapes me - some sort of Dendrobium I guess, of which there are hundreds!

I hope you had a nice weekend, we got up early to get to the balloon festival but due to dodgy weather and a late arrival (7.30am) missed the balloons - thankfully the good old Navy had an inflated balloon bobbing about. Between that, a quick run around the rose garden, some live music and dutch pancakes - the morning was saved. I hope your weekend was fabulous.

Friday Favourites - Hair Accessory Inspiration

I have been perusing the net for some inspiration for both hair pieces and photo styling, I found these via Shibawi.



This is a fun fascinator and I think an even better photo, showcasing the head piece. I love that shrug too - or top of the dress?! Gorgeous.



All but the blue head piece are from Johanna Johnson.

My Creative Space - Moda Floor Cushion

Last time you saw this cushion it was a work in progress. I am happy to say I finally finished it! Anya is so pleased and loves to sit on it for reading and watching ABC kids! I think her brother likes the colourful fabric but he regretfully gets 'shoved' off by his big sister any times he tries to use it! ha ha I may need to make him one too! Any good boy material recommendations along the same style as Moda?



For good crafty inspiration visit Kirsty's.

Liberty

I really have been thinking what is all the fuss about Liberty (fabrics) at $50AU p/m? Then after seeing Gret's fab brooches and running my hand through a roll at my favourite local fabric store, I had a proper look at their fabric range the other day - hmmmmm - I could be converted :-) The first image is my favourite fabric. I didn't realise Liberty did a whole range of other things too!



Loving this sample pack my cousin picked up at a gorgeous store in Sydney. Are you a Liberty fabric fan?

Spring, Spring, Pretty Things... Etsy Treasury

I really see how things get addictive! The top two rows are my favourite on this treasury I called, Spring Spring - Pretty Things. I had a little trouble uploading photos for this one but got there in the end. Can you tell I like monochromatic palettes?

Interiors - Nursery inspiration

Here is that beautiful butterfly mobile again. I thought this was a brave and refreshing colour choice for a nursery - it works don't you think? The white really pops off those walls. I like the simplicity of it too, found via Designfiles

Friday Favourites - DIY Cross Stitch Wall Art

I love when people think outside the box and create something beautiful and unique. Freelance designer and illustrator, Eline Pellinkhof has done just that with her giant cross-stitch painting. I could see this on a little girl's wall, I think it is so clever. These birds on the branch are too cute.



See Eline's interview on Bloesem. By the way, loving that Irene from B-Kids is now doing Bloesem Living, she has great taste! All images via Bloesem Living.

Finally I made an Etsy Treasury!

I should have been 'resting' today as I have been feeling unwell but I snuck in a little time to make a quick treasury featuring some of my favourite things to brighten my day - Sarah Jane, Map Cushions by My Bearded Pigeon, Sugarloop, New Orleans, Washi tape and well you get the gist! I could have spent a LOT longer finding the 'perfect images' but time ran out... I'll stop sounding like the shoulda, coulda girl now!



"These are so amaaaaazing darling I need a lie down"

New book for the wishlist... Amsterdam: Made By Hand

I came across this gorgeous looking book on the weekend, Amsterdam: Made by Hand by stylist Pia Jane Bijkerk thanks to Jillian Leiboff. It is now on my Book Depository wish list.



Next time I get to Europe I will be taking a different kind of trip... involving visits to places like those featured in Pia's book, plenty of vintage stores, sourcing gorgeous pieces for my hair accessories! How wonderful would it be to go and do a class or two as well - I would choose some sort of millinery course!



I loved my time in Holland back in 2000, such fond memories of Stroopwaffles, bike riding, fresh flower markets, krentenbollens and my best friend Mirjam's amazing family who took me in and treated me as one of their own - ahhhh..... anyway, itching to get a better look at this book.

Pretty in Pink - Hyacinths

I bought myself some hyacinths as a 'congratulations for getting through the week on your own' present! They were too pretty not to be photographed... although with small children jumping around that was no small feat.



Perhaps it should become a weekly tradition! I miss my days as a florist when the entire house would be filled with flowers. I hope your weekend was relaxing, it turned quite cool here in Canberra on the weekend - I guess Autumn is definitely upon us. My gorgeous 'washi tape' courtesy of Ez from Creature Comforts!

Friday Favourites - the doiley

I started the week with a doiley I may as well finish with one! Divine wedding dress made by the bride featured on 100 layer cake - love the green and pink combo (although I am a bit biased - it was my wedding combo 8 years ago).



DIY tote by Ashley Ann Photography - who has a really lovely blog!



And a whole lot of doiley links and inspiration here! I am feeling emotionally and physically exhausted today - hubby flies in late tonight after a week away for work and I am over doing this gig on my own. I certainly take my hat off to single mum's and service wives - I hope this short experience gives me more empathy to offer more support to 'you' where I can. Have a great weekend - I am going to be sleeping in tomorrow that is for sure.

My Creative Space - Photos as props

I found this gorgeous photo on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect to display some of my hair combs going off to the shop! I think when we are given an image of how an item may look like 'on', we are more likely to buy it! Well, that is my theory anyway... apologies to the photographer as I can't find the source to credit this image! If you know, please let me know or leave a comment.



Some other items I have been working on this week and also off to the shop are some infant headbands. I was trialling a new spot for photos with the morning light and all these 3 pics are taken moments from each other - how different are the results!







For more craftiness.... you know where to visit....