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Bambini ad and bits of home

I picked up the Autumn/Winter 2009 Bambini magazine yesterday, I find these so inspiring - the fashion styling is really whimsical, and there are so many great ideas in children's design. Anyhow, this issue has a full page advertising feature for Perfect Amity nature hats, with photos I took just over a year ago. Interesting that my photo style has changed a bit, but I still think they look good all together like that - the one of Ash is definitely still my fave from the shoot!

Here is another page from the magazine, Bambini also featured one of Steph's hats in a fashion feature (the Red Riding Hood one!).

I finished the other three cushions for our lounge suite, here are a couple of them in their new spots. Now there is only one old cushion on the lounge suite, looking pretty drab compared to the new ones! So I will make a fifth, slightly larger cushion cover out of something else soon.
I made felt tabs for our suitcase last week, stitching them on to keyrings and winding the keyrings on to the broken zips of the suitcase. Who knows how long they will last, but they look cute :)
OK so this is totally only interesting for interstate family members, but we had an eventful couple of days in the kitchen last week. On Thursday our friend Jay came and rebuilt half of our cupboards to make a cavity for a dishwasher, that same morning Kell and I went and picked up the dishwasher (I had it on layby, paid off and awaiting pickup for a little while). Then on Friday our electrician Bruce was here putting in power and network points, and he put in a powerpoint for the dishwasher. Next step is the plumbing bit, but we're nearly there :)

Yesterday Sienna and I went to Knox shopping centre to get our hair cut, and we checked out a few shops while we were there. This is Sienna's new pencil case from Smiggle... pretty cute!

And this is Ash yesterday. He loves having his picture taken. No creating to share today, I have a very-nearly finished layout but it might have to wait until we get back from Hobart (less than 3 days until our trip!). By then I'll have layouts to share from the next issue of Scrapbook Creations, which has eight of my pages in it... I think it might be my record, or close to it, for one issue! Some layouts I can't wait to share, one uses photos that Ash took of Sienna and I, and another has one of my fave photos of my nephew Caden. All coming soon to my blog...

Take Five to win!

I popped in to the Scrapbook Creations Forum for the first time in ages, and noticed a lone scrapper posting there, wondering if anyone was around. I figured, I'm a Colour Team member, definitely a SC girl, so let's get this thing happening! It is always nice to have a non-store affiliated forum to visit as well as the other spots I check in on now and then :)

So, here's the deal. I've posted a 'Take Five' topic, and am offering a Q Tea Kit as a random prize to help motivate us all. Log in to the forum and answer the take five for a chance to win, and link to the forum from your own blog for a second chance to win - just leave a comment on this post when you're done and I'll do the drawing on the 1st April. I'm also going to whip up an image link for my sidebar, feel free to save it to use yourselves when you see it pop up.

In the meantime, here are some photos from a photo session I did yesterday for some friends of mine - they're a pretty darn cute family, don'tcha think?







Morning Tea and Lego

Went to a lovely morning tea today put on my my friend Karen to welcome a new sister to our congregation. She put on a great spread, check out all those platters of cake, tea cuprs and bowls!

Took this pic of Reeze and Bodie while we were there, and some other photos I haven't looked at yet.

Why I love lego - quiet playtime!

Sienna just got a new (old) chenille bedspread that I bought on ebay. I still need to finish the tree bit, so I can photograph the whole bed.

I'm making a baby blanket at the moment, cotton on one side and jersey cotton on the other. The cloud fabric (which is so cute!) is also in April's Q Tea kit, which I am going to upload shortly...

Create to Recreate

In response to the recent bushfire disaster in Victoria, Jane of Crafty Matters and Kim of Kim Archer @ Home have pooled their talents and resources to 'Create to Recreate'. For as little as a $5 donation (which goes entirely to the bushfire appeal) you can get two printable pdfs with tags and journaling spots designed by Jane Fitchett and Kim Archer. Anyone from around the world can purchase the tags to make a little difference and do a little scrapping while you're at it.

I downloaded the tags yesterday and made this layout this morning. It uses a few tags from each sheet, including the 'love' heart which was cut from one of the circle tags. For more information, check out Jane's blog, and to purchase the pdfs go here.


The page also uses a few items from the Q Tea kit 'Hearty Gelati', still available here.

I made this card the other night for my friend (she and her family had us stay the night when we evacuated from the Upwey bushfires). A bit of fabric and paint, machine stitching and jewels. The clouds are cut from the fabric in Q Tea's upcoming April kit 'Honey Bee Happy' - it's a cute one and I'm just waiting on one more thing before uploading it, as they will ship earlier than usual due to my TAS trip.

Speaking of which, I'm booking La Provencal for dinner on our anniversary (apparently they are child-friendly, so I hope that is true!) and am SO looking forward to it :)

Stormy Beach Afternoon

Thank you Sharmaine (re: your comment on the last post) - so many great suggestions. Mmm, food, travel... I'm inspired!

Yesterday afternoon we headed to Seaford Beach and had fish and chips there, all rugged up against the wind. An hour of collecting shells and feeding seagulls, plus a few photos of course, and we left just as the storm was rolling in (but it caught up to us in Scoresby when we stopped at Bunnings for house paint!) - here are a few shots from the day.





I love the stormy sky colours, but that last one I also like in a slightly blue-toned black and white. This version might be better for a photo on the wall?

Adelaide, Paris and Hobart, oh my!

Thanks to Kell, Roh, Mum and Dad, and our early 10th anniversary present, this is our new favourite thing - making our own coffee in the morning! Lovin' the red in my kitchen too...

We also have a bunch of lisianthus in a jug on the bench. Keeping it fresh, flowers are nice!

I made this trellis out of bamboo sticks today, attached to the top portion of the dividing fence between us and our neighbours. I plan on growing a climber up it, but will need to put a big pot there as the soil at that particular spot is basically rock.

Last night I finished this lampshade for Sienna's bedside table - used an old pillowcase I was given with a pile of fabric and random textiles from a friend. I also snuck some of the lace trim from April's Q Tea kit out of my supplies, shhh! Finally, I stitched on a satin rose and a crochet flower, both in hot pink. Sienna loves it and now that she has a decent amount of light, (but not too bright, thanks to the shade), we can shut her bedroom door while she goes to sleep.

Today Ash and I spent ten minutes making use of my camera's remote control. This one (above) was taken by Ash after I got sick of it and popped the camera on the foyer desk, telling him to go nuts - as long as he didn't touch the camera! Such a funny expression on his face, excuse the mess in the background ;)


Those three shots are the results of our little camera play-time, a bit for posterity, so to speak. I don't plan on doing this regularly during my pregnancy, but I think a few times won't hurt, since I've never really bothered before ;) We are having a family photo shoot on the day of our 10th anniversary, in Hobart, so that will be fun! Not to be in front of the camera so much, but to look back on later, LOL.

Speaking of Hobart, thanks Mish and Sharmaine for the suggestions. I have been looking forward to visiting Salamanca Markets, it seems to be the first thing that comes up when it comes to Hobart! And our accommodation isn't too far from it, in South Hobart. So that is our Saturday basically sorted, that and pottering about in general of course. Deciding what to do makes me think about why I like travelling so much, and what we (Ben and I, really) like to do when we go to a new place. It's not so much about being a tourist, that doesn't excite me, as much as it's about just being in a place, wandering around, observing and enjoying the details.

Also, eating a variety of good food! I was thinking about what I would recommend to others about places I know well, and realised a lot of it was food related, which is quite funny :) If you visit the Adelaide Hills, for instance, there are three places I love getting pizza from - Bullocks, in the main street of Mt Barker, Giovanni's (also Mt Barker) for their Della Casa or Genoa in particular, or Jimmies from Crafers. There is also a place just past Hahndorf that I want to try that makes their own beer and also serves pizza - maybe next visit. Hahndorf is quite a tourist town, with a German flavour, and the bienenstich at the German Cake Shop is the best I've had since visiting Hamburg, totally worth the trip (every time!). Just up the block (toward the city) from that cake shop is a fun little boutique shop called Storison, with indie crafts, great little gift books and quirky stationery items. I've picked up a few things for Q Tea kits there before.

If you're in Rundle St, grab a falafel roll or yiros from the Falafel place (forget the name) just past the entrance to the Palace cinemas. Assuming it's still there. I like to browse in the book shop next to the Nova cinamas. And the kawaii-style store next to Buongiornos is so fun :) But the general area is a requirement when I visit because I love checking out the local art in the Urban Cow Studio! Last I checked there was a vintage clothing shop just next door, which is also fun.

I love Hudsons coffee (much better brew than Gloria Jeans, Starbucks, other chains), and generally head to the one on King William St at the top end of Rundle Mall. Hindley St has a couple of good bookshops and a great music store too. Since I'm nearby, I might pop into Adelaide Booksellers, a secondhand and antiquarian bookstore up a narrow flight of stairs from the Mall. It was my first job, and the source of some great gifts, if you're a bibliophile that is.

I think I'm making Adelaide sound more interesting than Melbourne, LOL, since I live here in Victoria and don't have as much to say! Hmm, except Chapel St Bazaar, that place is awesome. And the Globe cafe is across the road, also fantastic. But the truth is, holiday mode is much more fun for making discoveries.

With Viv in Perth, she and I found a bunch of cool places to browse through and around, mostly by accident, just wandering and driving around. Even when we were in Paris 4 years ago now, Ben and I only got to the major tourist attractions by accident. Seriously, we'd take the metro out to some district I'd chosen for whatever reason, wander around all day, and take the metro back to the hotel at, or after, dinner time. In the meantime running into the Sacre Couer, Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame, largely without intending to! That was fantastic, and also quite 'Paris', it is a brilliant walking city.

So, Hobart. I'm looking forward to finding quirky stores and great pizza, trying eggs for breakfast at at least two cafes, and letting the kids find a new playground each day :) And, after what seems like months, I am in the mood for photography again, and am looking forward to capturing our 5 days as much as enjoying them.

Random randomness

Kell and her kidlets, being funny :)


How cool is this? Lamps made from vintage china - such a fun idea :) From Vintage Renaissance on etsy


I love this height chart design (they have other fantastic posters and stuff too), great colour too!

Bold and Noble on etsy

Inspired by this photo and others from this lady's flickr, her home was featured on the Nesting blog and is right up my alley :) - This style is really what I love when decorating Sienna's room in particular. I'm making her bed into a tree at the moment, but that's another story.


I like this Sprout Design blanket from here, such a fun and whimsical design! I'm making a couple of blankets for baby at the moment, in a vague kind of way anyhow. I've cut stuff. The sewing will come eventually, I'm sure :)

I've been going through my photos from the Perth trip at the beginning of November last year... I'm uploading them to my flickr as I go, here are some I like so far. The first few are from this funky cafe in Fremantle where Viv took the girls and I.

The Fremantle markets...
Sabrina Ward Harrison making an ink painting during her workshop -

And that last one is my feet and my pages from the workshop.

Speaking of travel, does anyone have any suggestions for essential shops, cafes, or general locations we should visit when in Hobart in a few weeks time?

Cute people and other things

A new layout using Q Tea's March kit, some new scrapping stuff from ScrapBoutique and a photo I took in Perth...
Look - I found a dishes fairy! Not a very effective one, but she's cute. She also told me while I took this "Mum, that's not a very good photo". Nice.

Had some quick fun with photos before I left Kell's yesterday (we'd spent the afternoon scrapping). Some of Kell (above) and some I managed to snap while chasing her kids around -






The other day Ash decided our cat Neko should be a "super cat"... and so he was.