London Calling..... The lovely Allison is having a 'Very British' street party over at her adorable website Lark - go have a look at her sweet items and join in on the celebrations for the upcoming Royal Wedding next month. I thought I would also share some Cool Britannia with my 'Etsy picks of the week' ...Enjoy!!

Top image by Marcel Van Driel * Hand Printed Union Jack Flag Cushion by Helkatdesign *English Tea and Dessert Setting by TheFoxandTheSpoon * Take me to London Zoo print by TheHouseSparrow

Pinterest - a Visual delight! have you heard of Pinterest? I joined up ages ago but only really figured it all out a couple of weeks ago haha (im slow on the tech side). Im so glad i did though, as its a great way to capture all your favourite images, blog links and cool website links within one cozy page. You can organise your categories which are called 'boards' and each board contains your 'pins' which are your visuals...

the easiest way to 'pin' something is to add the little pinmarklet via the Pinterest site onto your browser tool bar so that way if you see something you love on a website or blog and would like to keep for reference, inspiration or for a future day, just pin it to your account - SO easy!! keeps your computer desktop and picture files clutter free.

The best part is you get to follow others and they can follow you so you can repin from them and they from you!! another great little visual community to join in on....

You can see all my Pinterest pins here - lets be Pinterest friends!

*image by Hallie Burton pinned by ElsaMay repinned by me!

the Chic Garden Shed
Wouldnt it be lovely to have a small space devoted to all things gardening! Pruning and repotting would be much more enjoyable!
I wish I had more of a green thumb, both my parents are keen gardeners growing lots of vegetables, fruit and pretty flowers
and my sister does so well growing beautiful plants.
If only i had more of an interest ....maybe its because my father in law does our gardening - bless him! we never ask him to do it but he pops on over whilst we're at work and so we come home to perfectly manicured lawns, weed free garden beds and hydrated plants - he does have a whine at us for neglecting the garden and the poor plants so dry and thirsty....shaking his head.

This months issue of Country Living has some inspiring features of country home and beautiful green spaces - its such a gorgeous issue!
it even has an article on how to create an instant Garden Shed - you can see it on
their website here
all you need is a spare wall!! looks so chic and very organised....







top image - Laura Moss for Country Living
Middle - Francesco Lagnese
Bottom - Dana Gallagher for Country Living

a new batch of goodies
heading on their way to Leeloo and the Finders Keepers Market in Melbourne!
Hoorahh!!
so if you are down in beautiful Melbourne
this weekend head on over - its sure to be a fun day out - go say 'hello' to Angela at the Leeloo stall!



Speaking of Leeloo have you seen their new look website?
looking good...looking good!

once again its late and way past my bedtime, the house is quiet and its gently raining outside...so peaceful...

I still have to put a load of washing on, make tommorow's sandwiches and tidy up before I head off to
bed!...nighty night!
(always burning the candle at both ends!)

*Bespoke* Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to....

MeandBoo and Msartist

Yayy!!

I will get in touch shortly and big thanks to Jess, the creator of *Bespoke*

for this lovely giveaway!

*photo taken by me - dont you just love fresh flowers in your home? I do!!!

A Girl Called Yvonne....
Im so happy to be featuring another creative girl and this time we're heading on over to Germany to meet Yvonne!
A crafter, a blogger, a keen decorator and a super creative wife and mum of three!
Yvonne loves to crochet and sew and has a fun workstudio in her home where she paper crafts
and creates fun collages and cards for her Etsy shop.
She also collects dolls and enjoys decorating her gorgeous home.

Yvonnes lives life passionately creating beauty for her family.
Welcome Yvonne!
Can you tell us what is currently inspiring you?
Next to everything!!
I would say, The seasons, magazines, shops and cafes we are visiting, other people's homes seen in blogs, on Flickr, Tumblr or Pinterest.

Name 3 things you couldnt live without right now?
okay, 'my family' is not things so I have to admit my computer who keeps me connected to the whole world, chocolate in any form and books.


Can you define to us, your personal style?
Juxtapositional if that exists.
It is a mix and match of old and new, modern and vintage and it is coming from all over the world

Do you have a favourite colour (or colour combinations)?
I tend to come back to Green all the time.
The main scheme for me and the house would be all sorts of natural/neutral colours like beiges, taupes, sand, grey.
Sometimes it gets more exiting on a particular wall or in my clothings and you"ll find a touch of Purple, Green or any variety of Blue

What about a Favourite Smell or Frangrance?
My favourite smell is my husband's skin, my favourite fragrances are 'Cashmere mist' from Donna Karan and 'Caleche' from Hermes


What do you love about your City?
It is so picturesque and beautiful and green and yet upspringingly stylish - maybe because of all these students who are roaming the scene. There are a lot of tiny shops and cafes along the cobblestone streets. It is small and you can access everything by foot from our house in the centre of the small town. And the big City Hamburg is just 30 minutes away if you ever need it!. For a family it is perfect - having everything at hand, the children can go everywhere on their own and a great landscape is just minutes away - not to mention the seashore within 1 1/2 hours of driving.

Do you have a favourite quote you'd like to share with us?
There are so many and I am collecting them but what I liked the most over the last few weeks when I was so occupied with looking for a new home and sorting out things in the old one
was this one i found via Pinterest: "What I love most about my home is who I share it with!" from Ted Carpenter

Thank you so much for having me over!
and thank you too Yvonne for stopping by!

If you want to see more of Yvonne
you can visit her blog, Moline
and follow her new adventures as she prepares to move with her family to Seoul, Korea!
Exciting!!

Yvonne also has a cute Etsy shop ,
and shares her home and crafts and life through photos
on Flickr
so head on over and say hello!

a flower on a flower .....

such a pretty way to style up beautiful flowers for a photo-shoot.

Layers of flowers from wall paper to plates, table clothes to floral day dresses! Its amazing how much inspiration can be taken from nature all around us and put back into everyday items - sometimes we cant see it but there really is beauty everwhere! we just need to stop for a moment in our crazy busy days to just observe....and appreciate.

These were all shot by British photographer Polly Wreford the world through her lens is always so uplifting!

*Bespoke* Giveway ....yayyy!
If you haven’t yet got your hands on a copy of this sweet full-colour Australian print zine, here is your chance!!!

*Bespoke* is published by Jessica Van Den, the talented blogger behind EpheriellDesigns.com

Issue 2 of *bespoke* features a huge array of Aussie and International crafty types.

Here’s the best part – Jessica has kindly donated 2 copies of the mag (RRP $10) for me to give away to two of my lovely readers!

Issue 2 includes heaps of arty, crafty stuff like;

- vintage crafts – rag ruggin’
- how to find your vintage era
- a tutorial on how to carve a sweet birdie stamp
- the stories of 3 women who gave up corporate careers to launch thriving creative businesses
- thrive – an interview with a crafty lady making a full-time living from her upcycled kimono jewellery

What makes *bespoke* so lovely is that it’s written totally by the community, for the community.

Jess is always on the lookout for submissions from artists, photographers, handmade and vintage biz owners, so get in touch with her if you’d like to contribute (yes you!!!)

For a chance to win a copy of *Bespoke* just leave a comment below! so easy!

I will draw the two winning names on 21st March 2011.
Goodluck!

Etsy picks of the week: Sheer White



inspired by Sheer Whites - always beautiful to wear during a hot Summer
but extremely luxurious for a chilly Winter.
.....think a sheer dress teamed with black opaque tights and flats - adorable!

Top image Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2011 photographed by Paolo Roversi * Simple White 5 x 5 Fine photograph by Diemdesign * Drops of Dreams - needle lace earrings by Staroftheeast * CHLOE Embroidered Mini Shift Orgnaza Silk Shift Dress by SarahTrotterVintage *

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Experimenting
I just wish i had more time to sit and play with my craft supplies...i mean i have all these ideas swooshing around in my head but my time is always limited and that can be a little frustrating.

Ideas can come at any time so Im always jotting things down in a notebook - saving for a creative day!

On the weekend I tried a little experiment with some old old music sheets - the pages were so thin and a little dark so i punched them with a scallop circle punch
and placed on an old baking tray.

I gave them a good fine spray with household bleach leaving them to dry...hoping to come back to something interesting
but nothing happened
no change at all....a bit of a let down
but
I'm going to try again.
In the meantime what was meant to be splotched textured musical flowers, got combined with some pretty paper and brads and turned
into sweet Gift toppers.







*Gift Toppers set available in
my shop now*

a Greek Feast
My mum made koupes the other day - yum!!
These are one of my favourite Cypriot treats and remind me of my Grandmother Evroulla, mum's mum,
who would always make them for us.

Its not everyday you get fresh hot koupes, my mum rarely makes them as they are deep fried to a perfect golden crunchy crisp
and she's a bit of a health fanatic
but every now and then she'll suprise us!
if you're ever in Cyprus you'll find them everywhere - typical street food!

They arent so simple to make by hand, quite a lot of skill and patience is required so the bulgur wheat casing doesnt crack during the cooking process.
The filling is a fragrant savoury mince.
i love to nibble off the top and then squeeze lots of lemon inside so it goes all the way to the bottom - delicious!!

My Grandmothers generation never followed recipes,
they observed, tweaked and experimented - the only problem with that is as the years go by,
traditional dishes are hardly on the menu...i guess thats why i adore Tessa Kiros.
i have all her books but i keep going back to 'Falling Coudberries' (what a dreamy title....)
there's two chapters dedicated to Greece and Cyprus - all my family favourites are right there and easy for me to follow!

I recently bought her latest cookbook 'Food from many Greek Kitchens'
its so lovely and the beautiful images that accompany her recipes are stunning!
makes you feel like you're there in that hot medditerenean heat!

a recipe that did make me smile was Fava beans -
Greeks love their legumes...gassy but extremely healthy, i call them intestine cleansers. heehee...

When Andrew and I were holidaying on the Greek islands many years ago we wandered around looking for a local taverna and came across a religious street festival - people were dancing all night and eating bowls of free Fava beans that the village locals had cooked - we joined in on the fun and both became fans of the Fava bean -
happy memories!

Etsy picks of the week - fade to Gray

Top image Mario Testino * Antique Footed Silverplate Plateau Vanity Mirror by TheOldRenHen* Grey Moonstone necklace by BeadsMe * Tarnished Soup spoon set by FlaxandSpindle *