new books...

This weekend has been a bit slow and I am totally disorganised. I had a day off on Friday which was great because I got to do what I love doing...crafty & designy (I made this one up) stuff. In the afternoon I picked Marcel up from Werribee zoo where he takes photos. Too bad the weather wasn't that great because they took him on a private tour so he could take photos of the animals in their (replicated) natural habitat.

On Saturday (Grand Final Day for most guys) I went to the hairdresser. I've got a summer haircut now, it's shoulder-length and I'm really happy with it even though I still have to get used to it. In the evening I went to a friends place for a girls-night, which was awesome...tim tams, dips & crackers, chocolate, lots of gossip & a movie.

Today we took it easy. I needed to go to Handworks in Prahran to pick up some little rubber feet for the two lampshades I made and on the way back to the car we went to the Greville st bookstore. They've got the most amazing books on design etc. We bought two books...I found a great japanese design book but $150 is way out of my budget for buying a book.



Not sure when I'll post next since Marcel is entering his final stages of uni and he needs the computer a lot. Will try to sneak in and post while he's not looking ;)

when the soccer is on....

and the boy is gone...

Big trip...

I still can't believe it...but we booked tickets to go to Holland in April.

Here's what happened. I receive webjet deals by email, which go straight to my spam folder by the way, and they had a 'twilight sale' on for Europe travelling between 27 September and 31 July. It had to be booked before midnight (last night).

At first we weren't sure about booking since Marcel doesn't have a job yet and my contract finishes in January. So we both don't know what we'll be doing by that time, but we figured that whatever it is that we'll be doing...3 weeks wouldn't do any harm. So we're going to Holland for 3 weeks. yay...home :)

Very exciting because Marcel has never been to Europe and he'll get to meet my whole family & all my friends. Awesome..

and this came in the mail today (yes, I know...I should have bought this ages ago)

featured 2...

Bloesem Blog


Meet me at Mike's

many things...

Today was such an exciting day...and it contains the other half of the news I was telling you about in my previous post.

My fabric is now available at meet me at mikes, Patchwork on Central Park and One Small Room. It was so exciting because I dropped it off at meet me at mikes today and got to meet Pip, she's so lovely and it was absolutely fantastic to meet her. We then went to Patchwork on Central Park and they were great too, although I didn't get to meet Lynn and Narelle...maybe next time. I'm loving this crafty business...

Tonight we're hosting a dinner at our place. I was a little over-excited this morning as I proposed to have a BBQ. Didn't really think about the temperatures at night...ooops. Well, we're still having a bbq-style dinner but we're cooking inside.

Since I don't really have any piccies of crafty stuff to post, I thought I'd show you who I am. This photo was taken in Narooma last December, when my parents & brother came to Australia and we drove from Melbourne to Sydney to celebrate New Year with Marcel's parents.

Thoughts, thoughts & more thinking...

Wow, that was a fast ride... Thanks everyone for all the lovely comments on my fabric and of course thanks for all the orders I have received. It was a bit scary at first as I posted my fabric on Etsy on Friday and only had one sale the next day. Made me worry...'what if nobody will buy it?' 'What will I do with all of it?' Then in the afternoon I suddenly got bombed with orders. That wasn't what I expected at all, but it definitely gave me confidence. Thanks so much!

After all the cutting, packing, posting I am back to designing again and will hopefully have something new to print soon. I am also getting ready for a market stall. I haven't put the application in yet, but I reckon I should do it since our house is a warehouse at the moment. After my sewing explosion the lounge is filled with cushions, bags, pot holders, wheat bags, hot water bottle covers etc.

I have been thinking about owning a house a lot and I really wish I 1. Could convince Marcel to move to the country with me, 2. Had enough money to buy a house, 3. Work on Hollabee full-time instead of having a full-time job somewhere else, 4. Could settle down at one spot, because it looks like we'll be travelling a lot in the future.
Still, I love surfing the real estate websites and look at the houses that are for sale. Daylesford & Maldon are my favourites. Dream, dream, dream.

Not much else going on in our lives. Marcel is super busy with his final year exhibition, which will be very exciting.

I do have one exciting thing to tell you...well I'll tell you half of it now and half of it later. My fabric will be available in shops...yay...I got wholesale orders.
Here's a pic of what I am sending off this weekend.

featured...

Thank you Sia, for the lovely post on my fabric, I really appreciate it.



I was really scared actually printing my ideas on fabric (well...I am still scared to be honest) but I decided to give it a go. After all, if you don't try it, you'll never know. Besides, I have big plans (who doesn't ) for the future and this is a tiny step in the right direction.

Thank you for all the lovely comments, it is great to hear from the craft & homewares community, I really appreciate all the feedback I get.

couldn't wait...

My fabric is up in the shop now!

surprise...

Yay, am so excited...I picked up my fabric today...which is designed by me & handprinted by Print Ink.

Here's a sneak peak. It will be up on etsy soon.


choc swirl on 200 gsm hessian 55% linen, 45% cotton


olive swirl on 200 gsm hessian 55% linen, 45% cotton

darkness...

I spent 2.5 hours in the dark yesterday...well sort of...Williamstown, North Williamstown & Newport had a power failure at around 7.45pm. It was very strange, I was eating my yummie pistachio gelato in front of the tv and all of a sudden everything went black. Pretty weird navigating around the house in the dark. Thank god I found my shoes and the front door. Some people were coming outside since we have emergency backup lights in the hallway. In the end we ended up having a drink in the hallway, first it was me and 2 guys that live in our block/level. Later on more people joined as they came home...quite funny that it takes a power failure to get to know your neighbours, but it was great, had such a laugh. The power came back on at around 10pm, but we spent till midnight drinking & chatting. The drinking bit wasn't such a good idea tho...not on a weekday anyway...


I thought a pic of darkness would have been appropriate but useless, so here's one of another wheatbag wip.

lingerie...

Here's a bit of marketing for one of my friends who sells lingerie in the form of a lingerie party. If you live in Melbourne and would like to have a girlie night, give her a call.

patterns & lampshade...

we're enjoying Melbourne's awesome weather, so not much content this time...





more pics on flickr

to do list...

My to do list is a little too long I think...most of the time I really have to force myself to go to bed. Tonight is one of those nights as my alarm will go off at 5.30am tomorrow morning :( I'm definitely not someone that is good at getting up so early, but I have to start work early. Thankfully it doesn't happen every week and it gives me extra hours that I can take off at another date.

Tonight I finished some cushion covers that were waiting because I ran out of black thread.
I also received my patterns in the mail that I ordered from reprodepot. One of my friends asked if I could make her a laptop bag that doesn't really look like a laptop bag, so I decided to get some help from patterns. One of the messenger bags is made of old woollen jumpers, pretty cool I think.



Marcel is updating his gallery and offers cards as well now, if you have time...surf to his gallery and have a look at the great photos he takes. They're definitely better than mine. He'll soon have a product photography table, which will make my life easier too. Maybe I can convince him to take photos of my crafty bits, if only he wasn't so busy. If anyone is getting married and needs a wedding photographer, he does that too, so send me an email and I will pass it on.

colourful...

some more badges...these will most likely go to the Williamstown craft market...





(I decided to add some colourful buttons)

flower badges....

one of my creative experiments...up on made it

bloesem blog...

Thanks to the wonderful Irene from Bloesem blog for mentioning me & made it.

shopping...

all we did today was shopping...gotta love it...we'll worry about the credit card later (thank god I get paid fortnightly).

Here's what we came home with...summer here we come.



Marcel bought this funky jumper...and funnily it is made by Dutch designer Scotch & Soda..the back reads 'Dept. Professional Synchronized Swimming, swimming, music and smiles'.

mail...

Yay, I received my awesome letterpress cards made by Lara & Lynn.
I absolutely love them, they are so gorgeous...

Also bought some new shoes in DFO last Thursday. They're really comfy & I like them a lot. Summer..here we come.



Today we're going to Chapel Street & Bridge Road. Haven't been on that side of town for a long time..not since we moved to the west in March. Am sure nothing has changed, people will still be showing off their mass made designer clothes and ferrari's.

Have a great weekend...enjoy the lovely Melbourne weather (and this is not sarcastic for once).