a shop update!

Some new things in the shop - a mix of handmade, vintage flea market finds and craft supplies.
Next week I'll be stocking some lovey new Ribbons and trims!
plus Im working on some new collage greeting cards!
Crafty time!

Postcard swap - Black & White

The lovely Gracie is hosting a Postcard scavanger hunt and I am taking part!
We could buy or make the postcards so Im making the ones I send off only because I need a little push to take out my crafty supplies and play!
The rules are to send one postcard to our swap partner each week for four weeks - happy mail!  Who doesn't love to receive something nice in the mail?

Week one's theme is 'Black & White' and  has been mailed out already!  I gathered some vintage papers as well as some dotty paper scraps, my glue stick and some thick cardstock and created a collage.

I cut my paper into two to create a postcard size (I'll save the other piece for another crafty project).

I then painted a very thin and watery coat of white paint to soften the look and dabbed it dry with some paper napkins.
I kept at it by layering more -  decorative tape, dotty stamp, a vintage girl image, paper lettering and a floral piece of scrap paper which is not black nor white but I thought it was pretty anyway...
I got a little carried away with ink and glue that I accidently smudged her pretty little face! oops!

Blog Society

Two weeks ago I attended the
'Blog Society' Workshop launch: The Art of Digital Story-telling,
which was part of Sydney's Vivid Festival and the Vivid Ideas program.

Jaclyn the super lovely blogger behind 'Little Paper Trees'  created 'Blog Society' a  connection, collaboration and inspiration to ensure  Blogging and Creativity meet!  More Workshops and events planned so make sure you subscribe to their newsletter or like their Facebook page to get the heads up of whats to come!

The launch was a great afternoon outing for me - I always enjoy a catch up with blog friends and a chance to meet new bloggers.
I organised to have lunch with Sally and Suzanne beforehand and it was great to chat about blogging, Etsy, creating, mothering and Life in general...

The workshop included a Q&A with Jen from The Interiors Addict and also Viv of Ish&chi whose blog I have admired and am a fan of! It was great to meet them both and hear their story and journey so far!

We also got to write our own Blog Manifesto - you can see Sally writing hers here!  I wrote  'Find inspiration in the everyday' 

 We also got to chat, ask questions and listen to tips from experts like photographers
Emma Scamell
Milton Gan and Sam McAdam as well as stylists
Madeline Johnson and Jessica Bellef from Temple & Webster as well as blogger Natalie Hallyar and there were plenty of props on hand for those of us who felt like styling things up a little....

It was a great event in beautiful surroundings, with a wonderful atmosphere, and a chance to do some networking!
overall I had a fantastic time and am looking forward to more events and connections.  We were also sent home with a generous goodies bag - so many cool things!
* all pics by me
except the last one (of me styling pretty props) taken by Sally *

The City Bride

Last week I blogged about wedding season and beautiful images of a Country Style wedding ,
today I wanted to share a little  glamour on this cold and wet Tuesday night...

The City Bride - a fun layout from STYD magazine.
Elegant, sophisticated
and radiant wedding styles.

Paris in Love....

I'm reading the most delightful book -  Paris in Love by Eloisa James.
They say never judge a book by its cover...or title
but I did...plus it was in the bargain bin for a cheap $6.
I'm glad I picked it up though because its been such an enjoyable read so far - Ive been reading it a slow leisurely pace....

The author Eloisa James writes Romantic novels but she moved to Paris with her family and the book is a memoir of her year in Paris.  Its written like a diary (or blog posts) in short paragraphs - observations, feelings, thoughts and day to day happenings that Eloisa and her family experience in the city of lights....so funny and heartfelt!

*

Today young men stood outside the Metro stations selling bundles of small narcissuses, their stalks tied together very tightly so the heads burst into exuberant posies.  Almost every woman handed over a couple of euros, so the street was filled with woman holding bright yellow flowers to their noses, looking happy.

(an excerpt from the book...)

*images of Vintage Paris via Pinterset 

Etsy picks of the week: Vintage 'Faux bijoux'

Funky

Cheap(er)

Unique

perfect reasons to choose Vintage 'Faux Bijoux'?...and there's definitely a lot of choice on Etsy!

The term 'Faux Bijoux' is not commonly used in Australia but I came across it when I lived in Cyprus - its the French translation for 'Fake jewellery' what we normally call Costume jewellery....Faux Bijoux just sounds better dont you think?!

Ive been drawn to Vintage jewellery lately but not the delicate, precious kind, instead, Ive been looking out for chunky, clunky, large pieces that have that 70s/80s vibe happening...

Growing up I remember my Mother had a ton of fake pieces, large round glossy beads that she'd wear with her turtlenecks, armful of bangles and stacks of rings.  

She was also a fan of AVON jewellery - I guess she only had an AVON budget at the time...but I do remember the happiness (in me) when she'd buy something new!

* 70s hammered metal necklace by JerushadVintage *
Vintage Bezel Glass cluster ring by GenerationsofCreations * Vintage Trifari white flower clip on earrings by Upcoming Legendary

a Country Style Wedding....

Is there such a thing as a Wedding season?
I know many couples choose a date during the warmer seasons but we've just started Winter in Australia so it's strange that all the fashion magazines out this month have a Wedding & Bridal supplement...
Vogue Australia has a special Brides issue and there is also a new Australian Wedding magazine out on the shelves,   'Hitched'  - it has a lovely creative feel to it and the illustrated cover is gorgeous...its more like a beautiful book than a magazine!
Country Style magazine has a gorgeous wedding layout in its latest issue.
Photographed by Corrie Bond and styled so beautifully, by Lara Hutton  here are some of the images - lovely!

7 vignettes challenge

Jen from 'The Interior Addict' is hosting '7 vignettes challenge' again.
I stumbled across it on my Instagram stream so in a click of a moment I decided to join in on this creative challenge - its been a while... here is what I gathered together for
Challenge 1 - Holder
little glass jars
wooden pegs
mini envelopes in a delicious shade of purple (my fav!)
ribbon spools
decorative string
and Washi tape that holds down beautifully!
Hope you like it - you can follow my Vignette attempts all week over here on Instagram