When Autumn and Spring Collide..

As Autumn and Spring collide around the world I feel myself drawn to to wear beautiful warm brown tones and at the same time I am creating brooches in the prettiest of Spring pinks and greens. Oh how I love global inspiration! My weekend to bought moments of Autumn and Spring as I stocked up on some winter essentials, spent some much need down time on my granny squares, played with some beautiful Thea and Sami fabric and created a little collection of brooches inspired by tea sets and flowing Spring dresses.

Shades of Autumn- Getting ready for winter, new boots, scarves and vintage gloves

My little grannies are slowly growing in numbers...

My beautiful Thea and Sami fabric arrived in the mail.. The delightful Thea and I are joining forces and I'm so excited to create a collection of brooches using her amazing fabrics.

Inspired by English Muse's beautiful roses and delights of flowing dresses and the amazing work of Susan Southam, I couldn't help but celebrate mother's day with a little collection of girly petite brooches which are available in my Etsy shop now.

I loved the delightful blossoming Spring feeling so much I just had to continue it into the brooches for my Mother's Day giveaway.

To enter check out my giveaway post and leave me a message telling me a little something about a wonderful mother you know. The giveaway will be drawn on Friday the 15th at 8am.

My weekend was made complete when Dujour Magazine released their stunning Vintage Issue which I am so delighted to be featured in.

The whole magazine is full of stunning designers, artists and photographers, beautiful photo shoots and all round gorgeous vintage moments, I really am in some amazing company. It is a must to check out! To buy your own copy or subscribe to the environmentally friendly online version check them out at Dujour Magazine.

I hope you have enjoyed a lovely start to the week, I'm about to locate my scissors and curl up by the fire to cut fabric circles and flick through the latest Country Style magazine.

Much love, Autumn leaves and Spring Blooms
xxx

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Vintage Delights..

As promised I'm back with the lovely treasures I picked up on my gorgeous outing to Rose Harvest Antiques. Prepared with my Dorothy shoes, a little bag (I'm always worried I will bump one of their beautiful displays) and my very best bowerbird instincts I found some beautiful little bits and pieces to add to my vintage collections.

A sweet little Aynsley saucer, embroidered napkin and lovely old key.

And an amazing jar of buttons! How could I resist! Although I did feel a little strange walking out with the whole jar. I couldn't believe the amazing treasures I found when I explored the contents.

These are my favourite pieces from the jar which include, a toy horse and old dress maker's chalk.

I also bought a gorgeous pair of brown vintage gloves which will be perfect for the frosty mornings we are having. Overall a fabulous afternoon, I will definitely be back next weekend to pick up a second jar of buttons and take some photos of the incredible rooms. On the way back from Rose Harvest I took a quick detour to Spotlight to check out their big sale and grabbed some very sweet and girly fabric.

A feel a very cute girly collection of brooches emerging from these lovelies

Inspired by the beautiful lavender gardens at Rose Harvest I just couldn't wait to dye the napkins and doilies given to me by the lovely library fairies. I'm so delighted with the results, now to create some beautiful pieces with all my freshly dyed pieces.

Inspired by nature - hand dyed vintage linen

And how could I forget my dear little granny squares which keep me company each night by the fire. As the yarn becomes a tangled weave of beauty and the hook my new faithful friend, my granny square adventures continue.

Crochet and scrabble, two of my favourite things.

I'm off to get cozy by the fire and finish the little square above. With my lovely hubby taking care of dinner tonight (it smells so lovely) I'm looking forward to completing a few more squares and perhaps even a game of Scrabble a little later.

Hope your weekend has been filled with delights. Make sure you pop into my little Etsy shop and check out my new Nostalgia collection of 'I heart' brooches.

Much love and vintage delights
xxx

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My Creative Space..

What a very bright and colourful mix bag today! It seems my whole house is one big creative space at the moment! In every corner I'm working on something or have inspiration scattered.

I've just finished few new little petite brooches which can be found in my Etsy shop now...

In my mailbox this morning was a gorgeous package from lovely Linda of two pink possums which included an amazing stash of fabric and scraps! I can't wait to have a good look through everything, I can see some new scrap brooches being created very soon. Thank you so much Linda!

I am always collecting pictures for my inspiration and moleskine journals.. Have had a delightful time this morning going through my new magazines in search of lovely and inspiring images..

In the land of crochet, I've finally finished this giant granny square baby blanket for my friend Moana's little boy Bailey.

As soon as I finished one baby blanket I have begun work on the next, a very classic all white granny square blanket for my friend Joelene. So I too have jumped upon the granny square train. If you heart granny squares to make sure you check out A Granny a Day.

I'm off on a little adventure to Devonport, Tasmania tomorrow for my great Aunt's 90th birthday. I'm so excited about going to Tassie, haven't been in ten years, will be lovely to celebrate and see family. So I've got my little mushroom project pouch all ready to take with me to granny square throughout my trip. I will be back Monday night with photos and hopefully some cute bits and pieces from my travels. My Etsy shop will be open and all orders will be posted on Wednesday the 22nd. Some lovely new scrap and 'I heart' brooches to come very soon as well as a few new suprises.

Head over to Kristy at Kootoyoo to join in the fun and show off your Creative Space.

I feel like I've only been back in blog land a few days and I'm off again on another little adventure. I can't wait to rug up with hats and scarves, visit lovely antique shops and take plenty of photos.

Until Tuesday
Much love and granny squares!
xxx

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Makeovers and Easter Love...

There is light at the end of the tunnel, I can see it drawing closer, although as I battled with the shopping trolley through the supermarket this afternoon I wondered if someone had told everyone to stock up for the apocalypse. My little house makeover is nearly complete, just a few touches to go and by the morning I will be tip toeing around not ever wanting to make a mess again (this is very unlike me).

So here are a few of the results of our little project...

Lounge room- Inspired by Paris and the beautiful ruby red of the Moulin Rouge.

I love a clustered wall of art - (l to r) Wallflower print by MarmeeCraft from my beautiful sister, Parisian hook from the delightful Courtney, Print of Notre Dame, old keys from London, prints from Paris

Fireplace (with our faux fire) the perfect spot for all my favourite bits and pieces.

The ultimate sewing accessory - stacking drawers on wheels

We added a new outdoor setting and some lovely native plants outside but my favourite addition to the garden was this yummy rocket!

So we are almost ready for our visitors and are very excited as we don't often have guests come all the way to Mildura. I will be away from my little blog and shop for the next few days to play hostess and tour guide around our little town. I will miss my little blog dearly and can't wait to show you our adventures on the paddle steamer and the wineries. My little Etsy shop will be open but I will not be sending orders until Tuesday the 14th. I will also be having a lovely little shop update next week inspired by all things girly and sweet.

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Easter long weekend.
Enjoy the little moments and the chance to freely love chocolate!

Much Love and chocolate!
xxx

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Lots to do, in ruby red shoes...

It is indeed that fabulous day of the week again... the day a throw my handbag over my shoulder and skip out of work with two glorious days ahead of me. This afternoon my fabulous friend and shopping partner Joelene and I had our usual Friday catch up over tea and hummingbird cake and then made a beeline for our favourite little shoe shop. Our little venture was very successful.. I will let the shoes speak for themselves.. My very own ruby slippers.

Ruby T-bars from I love Billy. My third pair of this brand, I just adore them!
Now all I need is my own yellow brick road.

With the book shop next to the shoe shop its very hard to resist a little look through the some of my favourites for one can never have too many books. I always end up at the fabulous five dollar shelf of classics and found two little keepers.

I'm teaching Anne Bronte in Literature next term and only have a good copy so this will be perfect for notes and highlighting and a little James Joyce never goes astray on one's bookshelf.

As the sun goes down on this lovely Friday I'm settling in for a quiet night creating. I've been hanging out all week to just play amongst my felt and fabric, with so many ideas circling in my head. My students have even been suggesting phrases to me, my favourite this afternoon.. I heart Garden Gnomes.

Tools ready to get to work..

I've been very lucky this week to receive not one but two awards! A huge thank you to Hayley for the Kreativ Blogger Award and Sharon at Blossom for Unique and Chic. I'm so honoured to receive both of these awards and I'm very excited to pass them on to some very beautiful blogs. When you get the Kreativ Blogger award you are to list seven things you love, I think from all my brooches you know all the things I heart (if not go have a peak at my Etsy shop), so I will simply list the lovely people who I would love to give these awards to.

Kreativ Blogger Award
End of March
Emma Lamb
Gretchenmist
Tea For Joy
Ngaahi
Edward and Lilly
Gumball Grenade

Unique and Chic
The Inner Stitch
Hens Teeth
Shutter-Sweet
Two Pink Possums

Wishing you a wonderful Friday, hope it is full of all your favourite things! I'm off to begin dreaming up creations and find some fabulous Etsy creations for my shopping list in the morning.

Have a wonderful Friday
xxx

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The corners of my desk..

Inspired my the ever beautiful Sparrow Salvage and her lovely studio table shots I thought might share a few of my own studio shots and the interesting little corners of my desk.

Scraps ready to be transformed..

Brooches about to be sewn..

A little safe place for lost pins..

I just love fabric and paper together.

Vintage saucer perfect for sorting buttons.

I must leave you with a fabulous treasury I was so delighted to be a part of, curated by the very sweet Anastasia at Percival Road Designs.

What a beautiful collection..

It's Wednesday and the week is definitely picking up pace. I'm very much looking forward to our first Poetic Licence event of the year at the Big Screen Film Festival on Friday night. We will be doing poetry readings and selling our wares including my brooches and artwork before a screening of Australia. Plenty of preparation and planning still to do but it is very exciting indeed.

Much love and warm thoughts for Wednesday
xxx

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Smile on Mondays..

What a fabulous weekend it has been and now Monday has also come and gone and I am still beaming with joy! Sorry about my lack of a post last night, I was fabulously busy making a little custom order for the amazing BugandPop and a little commissioned tea cup artwork for a friend at work.

After a beautiful session of Yoga at Eleventh Street Yoga I'm all chilled out and very happy to be sharing the lovely moments of my weekend with you. My biggest accomplishment for the weekend was shifting my little cottage around to create an office space for my growing little business. The moments of sprawling all over the lounge room are now transformed into a beautiful space that my darling hubby helped me create. I'm so delighted that I now have a space to create as well as a lovely little office to pack up my goodies, write and design. It even has a chandelier!

My lovely office..

Desk complete with inspiration board and a cup holder that doubles perfectly to hold all my ribbon.

Close up of all my bit and pieces including my beautiful Hens Teeth journal, postcards from Marmee Craft and November Moon and one of my favourite creations, my tree house pin cushion.

In tray table with op shop fabric, vintage tin, garage sale tea cup and beautiful owl print, a gift from my sister.

I am loving so many things this week I just have to share them all with you!

My hubby's yummy Saturday morning pancakes.

My beautiful vintage find of the week - Italian leather gloves in their original box. How could I resist! Now I just have to wait for winter..

Finally..... My brooch back supplier called me with wonderful news, they arrived! Now I have over 200 brooch backs and many many new brooches to create.

Some very girly fabric I found in the depths of the Spotlight pile. Lovely fabric makes me smile.

My very favourite new friend Ruby.
We finally got our lovely parrot Mallee a big cage to spread his wings in, which also meant we could get him a girlfriend. Ruby is a very special Opaline Red Rump Parrot, although she is a little shy, I think she is already fond of her new boy.

I hope everyone has had a delightful start to the week. I'm off to curl up on the couch with my hubby and check out some of the lovely frocks and awards from the Oscars.

Much love and joyful moments of inspiration..
xxx

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A weekend of love..

It's been a delightful weekend of love all round.. everyone has really embraced the loving spirit. My hubby and I have shared a beautiful quiet few days together, with yummy food, late sleep ins and sharing our hopes and dreams for the future. We love to dream big and have spent the afternoon discussing our ideas for the perfect creative retreat, which includes my very own island complete with little row boat and the studio of my dreams. I just love to create these visions and put them out to the universe and on inspiration boards as I believe it's one step closer to bringing them to life.

These are all the fabulous things I'm loving this week:

My gorgeous new business cards! A big thanks to Phoebe and Jared for creating the beautiful design. I heart the round edges!

My very sweet new Mary Janes from I heart Billy

Yummy morning tea.. My homemade Valentine's Scones

I finally got a free moment to organise my tower of fabric.. I just wonder how long it will stay like that.

Image from weheartit
I've found my dream studio, now I just need my island.

With five more days left of my proceeds going to the Red Cross bushfire appeal I'm continuing to busily stock my little shop, keep an eye out over the next few days for more new brooches with come very quirky phrases. Here are a few of my favourites currently in stock..

A new design I've been working on the 'Jane Austen' cameo, more of these to come

I heart Wild Flowers

I heart Spring Days

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend with your loved ones. Enjoy the last moments of Sunday, take a deep breath, smile and get ready for a new and amazing week.

Much love
xxx

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