Free Printables

Who doesn't love a free printable?  I know I got excited to see this Indie site on A Subtle Revelry called Feed Your Soul, the free art project.  I have downloaded a couple of prints to use for decorating.  The cute tea cup picture above is one of them.



Lost and Taken is a site worth visiting too, free texture downloads including the water colours above.  Found via How About Orange... make sure you check out Jessica's section called Useful Resources as there are plenty more great links there too.

Have a great weekend!  My parents are in town for some Floriade and Handmade Market action... Oh and I snapped up this good cheer deal over at Danni's!  She is a clever blogger :-)

Bedroom Interiors Inspiration

Lonny Mag

I am still looking for bedroom inspiration...  I don't think I could do walls this dark as we have a darkish wooden bed and I'd be worried about the room feeling too small?  We now have a gorgeous white quilt cover which I love.  The pictures look fabulous above the bed on that shelf and really pop with the dark walls.


Really love these colours at the moment.  This gorgeous cushion is from Elkhorn - they were stallholders once at our Handmade Market (which is on this weekend by the way - mega market both Saturday and Sunday)  back to the cushion... I love it dearly but couldn't part with $115 for it!  It is such a beautiful print.

O'Verlays

These are decorative fretwork panels you can attach to your own furniture - in moderation!  I love the idea.... Laser cut balsa-wood or perspex might work too (if you happen to have a laser cutter) ha ha!  I also love the idea of pressed metal, it would be awesome left silver, then paint it for a new look.

Image via Design Sponge

We have an old metal chest at the foot of our bed like this.  It was my husband's grandfathers from the war, he was in the Air force.  It is complete with serial number and name painted on.  Gordon's dad put some caster wheels on it - it's still heavy but I love it.  I really like the 'collection' approach of photos above the bed done on a large scale too.

Via Design Sponge

 How wonderful is the 'tree' clothes rack!  That would totally work in a bedroom if you wished to have your clothes on display - or had limited cupboard space.  I love bringing nature indoors!  I have some blossom buds/branches that had been trimmed by council I'm guessing that I pulled over on the side of the road for! Shoved them in my boot (fun ;) they are waiting patiently in my backyard to be thought into something wonderful!  Hubby is under strict instructions to NOT throw out!

Dogstar Clothing

Although I don't own a piece, I really like Dogstar clothing!  I popped into their shop frequently when I lived in Brisbane.  It exudes fabulous, comfort and so darn COOL!     


You can buy their gear online too.  I'd be adding a pop of colour with my favourite coloured shoes - Red!  Their model looks a little like Mrs Pitt don't you think? Yay for another fabulous Aussie company.

The Not Wedding

The Long Farewell

Chelsea Patricia Photography and Installation by Amy Osaba

Adorned Event Design

Gertie Mae's Floral Studio

Have you heard of The Not Wedding?  It is basically a bridal fair in the form of a wedding!  What a superb idea, being able to attend a 'non wedding' having an awesome night and really getting a feel for what the vendors will bring to your special day.  It beats roaming around a convention centre picking up leaflets and business cards I say.  Thinking outside the box.....'brilliant', vendors and photography....... 'brilliant'..... execution of brilliant idea.... I think the images say it all.  There is a video worth watching too. 

Knee Pad Pants Tutorial: REVIEW

The very talented Dana from Made has a bevy of free tutorials on her blog.  I recently made her Knee Pad Pants for Josiah who is just starting to take consistent steps but still crawling a LOT.  We have gone through about 7-8 pairs of trousers/leggings/trackies etc... of course he starts walking when I finally make these pants.

I ended up tracing my pant pattern from from a pair of Josiah's trackie pants and did something I never do, made a trial pair in some old daggy material (I'm a "rush in and sew, ask questions later"- kind of girl)!  I followed Dana's directions for the trial pair and they worked out great.  These are a little long for him even though I trimmed them but they fit nicely and I like the frayed look around the knee pads - I sewed around the knee pad three times, then did half a dozen lines horizontally.  What a cutie pie, he is now sixteen months old. I recommend the pattern and think it is great for a sewer of any ability.

Canberra Wedding Photographer - Kelly Tunney

Doesn't this just take your breath away!  Imagine having your wedding photos somewhere like this, overlooking the cliffs in Santorini.  Local Canberra photographer, Kelly Tunney is the talent behind these amazing photos.  The scenic shots gave me goosebumps, so many gorgeous frames to choose from.  You will have to go and see for yourself.

What a great tradition - the bridal procession, I saw a procession in Romania years ago and thought it was a wonderful idea.  Enjoy browsing Kelly's website, you'll be there a while!  Have a great weekend.

 
Photos used with permission

DIY - Sequin Bracelet and Fabric Confetti

Evie S

A found this lovely blog via one of my daily reads, Ashley Ann Photography.  This is a super simple DIY but very cute and I know my daughter would love it, me too.  A good little craft for primary aged girls at a birthday party don't you think and twine would be a sweet to add colour.  Evie S is a talented graphic artist and has a lovely free download section worth visiting.

Twirling Betty

Another simple but fun tutorial.  Betty makes gorgeous cake bunting too!  So many ideas, not enough time in the day, week, month...

Polkadot Bride Blog Feature

Head on over to the lovely Australian blog, Polkadot Bride where my new range is featured today!  Thanks Ms Polka!  I am just home from a whirlwind overnight trip to Sydney, that story for another time! My bed is looking rather inviting right now, if I can just get Anya to 'rest' with me.

DIY: A-Frame Tent Review

I followed Ruby-Ellen's tutorial on making an A-Frame tent and this is how it turned out.  Our wood is a little wider than the wood Ruby recommended which makes the frame a tad heavier.

You will notice I have put an extra piece of dowell on the top so that our thrifted sheet covering is nice and taut.  The tent cover draped in too much for my liking and the elastic slid up the legs.  A possible solution to slipping elastic may be to cut a slit in the bottom of your wooden frame legs so the elastic can slide in.  We don't even own a hand saw but I will grab one next time I'm at the hardware store and try this.


The other major point I would stress is not to drill your holes too big.  Even though I had the correct sized drill bit for the size dowell I think I wiggled the drill around too much and it widened the hole.  My holes don't have a tight grip on the dowel as Ruby suggests, therefore the tent can only be set up on carpet otherwise the tent legs do the splits!  I may need a couple of clamps.  It is easy to set up and pack down and I would recommend making it providing you follow the directions closely.  Thanks Ruby for a fun project - I enjoyed using the power tools!!     

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat Book Launch

We went to Tania's book launch yesterday for her new book, "Riley and the Grumpy Wombat, A Journey around Melbourne".  It was a lovely, well-attended morning for our favourite local children's author.  Anya enjoyed making her wombat headband and wore it all day with pride.  She was thrilled to cuddle the 'grumpy wombat' for the entire book reading and we were lucky enough to actually win a door prize!  A children's party :-) Thanks Tania!  More photos here.

Wombat Burrows :-)

Tania doing her thing

Grumpy Wombats

I hope you had a lovely weekend!  The weather here was perfect.  I popped in to Floriade to see the completed installation of which I posted some photos yesterday.  I also got to do some tidying up around the place... here's to patient husbands :-)

Coffee Filter Chandelier and Lantern Display

Handmade Marquee display at Floriade

My lovely chandelier

If you missed my earlier post, I made these pom pom's and the huge chandelier for the Handmade tent at Floriade, Canberra's flower festival.  I bought a lot of the lanterns locally and some of the fancier ones from our Floriade sponsor, Occasion by Design.

Poppies for Spring

Aren't my Poppies lovely!!  They are starting to open and shed their hairy, paper-like shells.  Almost as addictive as popping bubble wrap :-)  I am a massive fan of my macro lense.  I haven't photographed flowers for a while... and the detail this lense captures excites me every time. 

 Oh thanks for letting me know about the niggles on my site- I have discovered the new template goes a little crazy when I post twice in one day!  Throws out my layout.. must get technical adviser onto that.  I haven't seen it yet but some of my handmade pieces are supposed to be in the Homestyle Sewing magazine in the UK, released today, I can't wait to see it!  My first magazine - woo hoo, it is a Downton Abbey inspired issue.  Have a fabulous weekend - I am off to Floriade.

Giant Paper Coffee Filter Chandelier - sneak peek

 

Made from hundreds of industrial sized coffee filters, shaped into bells and slowly sewed together over the last 5 weeks I am pretty happy with the results!  We strung this baby up today in the Handmade Canberra marquee at Floriade, in preparation for Saturday's opening.

More photos of the completed installation to come.  Unfortunately the inside of the marquee isn't looking too sexy in these photos but you get the idea!  For my Aussie readers I bought the filters from Coffee Shrine and they were very reasonable.  If you go to Floriade make sure you pop in and visit the Handmade marquee located in the Floriade village, in between the Chilli tent and tea place.

Sewing for Home - My First Lap Quilt - Finished

Amy Butler - Soul Blossoms in Passion Palette

Ta-da!!!!!!  Here it is, all finished.  I am really happy with my first ever quilt and christened it last night while I read blogs and drank coffee :-)  My little helper also had a snuggle in it this morning.

Front

Back

I made the quilt out of a bundle of fat quarters from Hawthorne Threads, some extra white cotton and then one yard of Temple Doors in Basil and one yard of Peacock feathers in Blush for the back.

I basically cut my entire pack of fat quarters into three inch strips and sewed together, repeating the pattern for all eleven designs of fabric, four times.  As mentioned here, there are two different types of white fabric, then the binding is just made from the remaining three inch strips, sewn together.  I found a simple to follow tutorial on you-tube 'how to attached and make quilt binding' by Crafty Gemini.  I didn't hand sew either, all machine and the binding is stitched in the ditch.

My quilt is wonky is places and by no means perfect but I know it will be useful, loved and hopefully may become an heirloom for my family.   

Interior Love

Ara Design Studio

I am really drawn to mirrors without much of a frame around them, like the above, it's quite a statement piece.  So is this spectacular tiled, bathroom wall. Ohhh, so much love - I would really appreciate showering in this room.  

Via Dress, Design, Decor

Photography - jeroenvanderspek

Via Dress, Design, Decor

We have been in our place for one year now and I am finally getting around to doing something about our bedroom.  Decorating is a slow process and I think some mood boards are in order.  I finally replaced our quilt cover and it is all white, which is so fresh and crisp - I smile each time I walk in the room.  I didn't think I would get around to making this one as much as I would have liked to. I have been pondering a colour to go with but also like these white rooms!