summer activities...

It has been so hot the last couple of days that all we do is hangout indoors with the air conditioning on, either watching tv, dvd's, crafting or spending time on the computer.

I've been playing around with a few more pattern designs that could potentially become fabric.




I feel that I also have to let you know that the last pattern I showed is not (yet) available on fabric. I've had a great response to it and I am seriously considering printing it on fabric now...well, when the printer is back from his holiday.

Here's another project I finished this weekend.



I wish everyone a fantastic & crafty 2008! Hopefully yours is not 42 degrees like ours ;)

poor postman...

The poor man has to drive around with his scooter gear and helmet in this heat (ranging from 33 to 41 degrees)

I am a happy & grateful person though...I received this beautiful alphabet stamp set from the goodness shop.



I loved how it was packaged in a Japanese cereal box, thanks Leslie for this pretty package and lovely ribbon.

On Monday they're predicting 41 degrees and I think we might have to alter our NYE plans. We planned to go see the fireworks near the Yarra river, but the thing is, if you want to be able to see something of it you need to basically camp out there all day and I'm not sure if I can do that in such heat. It'll definitely be my hottest NYE ever!? We might have to move our camp to some remote beach and have a private NYE with nice food and friends...time to discuss this with them...

an autumn print...

in summer...



because I still can't get used to Christmas in summer...

and do you remember this little baby?

look how big it its now...and it's turning red...how exciting!



Our plant managed to pop out another 11 tomatoes...how amazing, 12 tomatoes on one plant. Yum!

after Christmas madness...

Our Christmas is over. It was a quiet one, but a good & relaxing one. Did you get anything exciting from Santa? I certainly did...I'm a lucky girl...



Santa brought me a Canon G9 camera, so I finally have something that fits in my bag. Now I have to start remembering to take it with me and actually take pictures.



I also received this pretty journal in which I will be able to write and draw my ideas.

My third present was a dvd of comedian Danny Bhoy, which we watched already and it was hilarious. Thanks Santa!

Today we went to the city, to face the boxing day sales madness. If I ever propose this again, please remind me that I should NEVER do this again. What on earth are so many people doing in the shops, don't they have families to be with? I mean, I have family but they're a gazillion miles away and I wish I could be with them rather than in an overfull bee hive. Despite the madness I did manage to get home with some new bathers, two tops and 4 years warranty for my new camera (which was the main reason we went there).

And then we went to watch the Golden Compass, which is a great boxing day movie...I was entranced throughout the whole movie. We saw it at the Sun Theatre...and I absolutely love this old - renovated theatre and their amazing bookshop.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, a great dinner, great presents and most of all a fantastic time with family. Lets get ready for a crafty 2008!

pretty things...

by evie lala




by Jo Mullan

Today I met up with Lara & Leah. We had a lovely lunch on Brunswick street and then went to the Rose street artist market.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support and lovely comments, all the friends I have made...you are amazing! I look forward to keeping in touch in 2008. Have a very merry Christmas everyone and a crafty New Year!

bag number 2...

off to bed now...I'm exhausted...our office is moving to another building and it's just so much work, and just before Christmas.

I do like the new office, it all looks fancy because most of it is new, and it is really big (I probably need a floor plan the first week, to find my way around). I'm getting my own new pod, which has a view...finally I can look outside :) the new year is going to look a whole lot better.

Can't wait till Friday, till the Christmas holidays. I first have to do a health check though, in order to get my permanent residency. It's a chest x-ray, medical examination and a blood check...remember what happened last time when I had an injection? yikes!

a new bag...

The title says it all... I made a new bag. The first one of many and for this one I used my chocolate swirl fabric and a sturdy rib cotton. This bag is up in the shop now just like this necklace.



and I received mail today...yay for frankie...just in time for Christmas and there's a cool story about belle and boo



and here's a picture of our Christmas tree...in pink & orange

something different...

I finished my last Christmas present today... a necklace for someone special.

I haven't made necklaces since primary school I think but I certainly had fun making this one. It's very simple but I really like how the colours compliment each other. I'm thinking of making some more soon...



Have a great weekend everyone!

and the winner is...

First of all I'd like to thank all of you for your lovely comments and soon you will be able to see what this 'thing' will be so keep an eye out on the blog.

and the winner is...

SQUID37 who said "Oooh, these are great! I agree that all of the colors are fantastic, and all three go together perfectly! My favorite is the green!"

Thank you so much! Please send me your address and a mystery package will come your way :)

visual diary...

today this blog is a bit of a visual blog...as I don't have much to say.

Here are some pot holders I made yesterday, they're up in the shop now.



and some mail that I received



A japanese magazine and some goodies from Leslie's shop, a cameo pin from the black apple, a card from Phaedra, Jess, Tanny, Alison and Leslie. Thanks everyone for their lovely Christmas cards from the postcard swap.

Don't forget to post a comment on my previous post...that's...if you'd like your name to go in the hat for some goodies.

there & back again...

I'm back from Sydney...and in need of a proper break...like Lara. I shouldn't complain really, Sydney was quite good (apart from the weather) I learned a lot at the conference, had tons of fun getting to know colleagues from other states, frocking up for the big conference dinner & dance and we did heaps of shopping over the weekend. We didn't do our Christmas shopping yet, mainly because it's probably just going to be the two of us and we both know what we want and what we're getting. We also had some great dinners, like the one on Saturday when Marcel's dad cooked us a fantastic Chinese feast. They invited some family friends and they brought Daniel along, who is German. The reason I'm mentioning this, is because Daniel cycled all the way from Paris to Beijing...now that's an achievement! He's in Sydney now and will cycle to the Gold Coast soon and then into the outback, so if you see a person cycling in the outback, it might be him.

Anyways, I'm back home again, but I haven't got the camera yet as Marcel will be back late tonight. I've been experimenting with some stationery designs and I really like this one because of its simplicity but I can't decide on a colour. I'd love to hear your opinion on both the design and colours (my design might be totally rubbish). On Friday I'll draw a name from the hat and you'll receive a little surprise for your comments. :)





I meant to share something a while ago, but I haven't had time for it yet. I'd like to show you the wonderful pouches Jason from Art Box Diary made with my chocolate swirl fabric. Go have a look at his etsy shop, he also has great pouches made from beautiful Japanese fabrics and cute kokeshi dolls.


(photo from Art Box Diary)

back... and off again...

Yes, that's right. We got back from Beechworth Sunday evening and are off to Sydney tomorrow.

Beechworth is lovely, I have been there before but now I am totally in love with it (again). It's such a cute little place with an amazing (famous) bakery, great little cafe/restaurants and fantastic shops. They've got some good shops with handmade and designer stuff, very nice.

We arrived Friday afternoon, after a 3 hour drive (without car radio) and went to visit Jess, who is Marcel's uni friend. She lives on a farm just outside Beechworth. Jess was at the Boorhaman pub already for a drink and a pub meal so Jess' mum got a lift with us to give us directions. We definitely needed those. For all of you who have never been to an Aussie country pub...it's in the middle of nowhere and you wonder who will ever go there. The pub was fun and the locals very friendly. I'm always a little scared to walk into a country pub because I'm sure they can see that we're from the city...makes me feel a little uncomfortable...strange isn't it...we're all people after all. On Saturday we visited Yackandandah, Stanley and some other local places. In the evening we went back to Jess' farm to celebrate her 21st...gosh...wish I could go back in time, I'm starting to feel old now. It was great fun and we left at about 1.30am to go back to our cabin for a good night sleep. I had to drive back the next day and because I'm getting old I can't do all-nighters anymore ;) Sunday was just a 'hang out at Jess' place' day before driving home. Of course we had to make a stop at the Milawa Cheese Factory to stock up on some fresh and yummie cheeses. I really loved our trip to the country and I have been hassling Marcel all weekend saying that I'd love to move to the country...it didn't work.

That was our trip to Beechworth...and when I got home there was mail waiting for me in the mailbox...yay



I received the beautiful prints that I ordered from Catherine Campbell's etsy shop and she included a very welcome surprise...thanks so much Catherine! I also received a book voucher that I won on Kootoyoo's blog...very lovely Kirsty, thank you, thank you, thank you. She included something handmade as well, I'll post piccies of that later because Marcel took the camera to Sydney. I also received some very lovely postcards from the postcard swap that I participated in...again pics of this will follow. Thank you everyone, you made my day!

Now I'm off to pack my bags for Sydney as I'll be flying out tomorrow morning. We're staying in Parramatta for a work conference, which is great because I'll get to meet everyone from different states. Aaaaand I'm staying longer to spend the weekend with Marcel & his parents. Marcel flew to Sydney today to spend some time with his family and I'll join them later this week.

Have a great week(end) everyone...and keep an eye on the blog next week because there's a give away coming up.