My Creative Space..

I spend my afternoon in the land of yesteryear, sipping tea and sewing on my grandmother's beautiful Singer sewing machine. I wonder sometimes if yesteryear is where I belong and I feel like Peter Pan holding onto Neverland. I hear the tapping of typewriter keys and I feel at home.

Today's creative space, my grandmother's sewing machine, my Olympia typewriter and brooches ready to be created.

Sometimes I think that the brooches look like yummy cookies ready for the oven...

Swatches and buttons in a Hammersley China saucer

One of my favourite teacups I discovered at a garage sale filled with much loved finds, including feathers and antique buttons and buckles.

And so I meander back to my world in the past, pouring a glass of red wine and listening to the news along the way. Perhaps I can belong somewhere in the middle, gathering inspiration for all my favourite moments in history. I hope you have had a wonderful Thursday.

Much love and vintage moments
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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A touch of yesteryear - my antique finds..

Our beautiful Easter weekend would not have been complete without a rummage through some of Mildura's lovely Antique shops and it seems no matter how hard I try I can never quite walk away empty handed. I realised just how keen my Bowerbird instincts are when the shop assistant at Rose Harvest Antiques walked into one of the small and beautifully cluttered rooms to find me sitting on the floor delving into the back corner under with my head under a dressing table (minding all the silverware as I went) in search for old tattered books. Here are my treasures..

Postcards and two beautiful old books (from under the dressing table)
I can't wait to use the green one called General Science which has beautiful revision notes written all over the back cover.

I couldn't resist this crossword puzzle book, it tells such a fascinating story

A beautiful ink bottle to add to my collection... there is just something about ink bottles I adore, perhaps it is all the letters they have help to create.

I found this little 'Kinco' brass trinket box in another little room in Rose Harvest again sitting on the ground in search of books. I pulled this out from under an old trunk, I love that it was hidden away as if it were holding a secret.

My favourite find of all was actually at the Old Wentworth Goal. I have been searching everywhere from some lovely old skeleton keys and couldn't believe my luck to find these in one of the tiny antiques rooms.

I search things that catch my eye, which often are not the prettiest or most clean. I love my antiques to tell stories of the days they spent on mantel pieces and in dusty cupboards.. Often I am searching for pieces that can be trasformed into artwork and sometimes things.. well I just can't leave without them.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! I will be back a little later with some of the new pieces I have been working on. It's windy, dark and dusty here, the perfect reading weather.

Much love and antique treasures
xxx

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Weekend adventures of fabric and ink bottles...

How quickly the weekend comes and goes when there are so many wonderful things to be done. Surrounded by fabric, I have spent the weekend creating, dreaming and sewing. It's so lovely to have a little shop full of goodies, with more to come over the week. I've also been busy on my little secret, with new fabric and ideas running wild together in my studio.

Colour scheme board..

One of my favourite creations of the weekend is a little brooch inspired by the floor of a sewing studio and the lovely bits of fabric that are left behind after a day of creating.

The Seamstress

This unique little collage brooch will be available in my Etsy shop later this evening. With so many lovely bits of fabric around my studio, I can see few more of these brooches being created very soon.

The afternoon sunshine called me outside and I couldn't resist a meander through the lovely Rose Harvest. There is nothing better on a Sunday afternoon than browse through a beautiful antiques shop.

The backyard of the shop, full of candelabras, antique garden settings and beautiful plants.

The shop cascades out the back to the shed which houses some of my favourite pieces.

Fabulous old suitcases that have seen many wonderful adventures.

This amazing typewriter was actually behind the shed and covered in dust and leaves. I hope it will be there when I return another day.

Of course I couldn't leave empty handed and just couldn't resist a few pieces of add to the collection of antiques on my writer's desk.

This 1935 National Derivation Book, which once belonged to Lorna Rose still covered in the brown paper with splashes of ink from her school days.

A charming little ink bottle with an amazing little tin lid. I love any antiques to do with writing and ink bottles are one of my favourite new collections.

A beautiful photo still on its original backing from 1917. I'm just fascinated by the family all dressed up in the little row boat. I also found these lovely vintage packet of needles. The old typography is so beautiful.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend. I'm off to cook dinner and get ready for an evening of sewing brooch backs and watching channel 10's addictive Sunday lineup.

Much love and vintage afternoons

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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In another world with Daisy...

I feel as if I have just stepped out of another time, of the early 1900's, a world of beautiful yet uncertain times. A time of love letters, secret scribbled postcards, waiting for loved ones to come home. I was fortunate today to enter the worlds of Charlie and Daisy and live the precious moments they shared though an extraordinary correspondence which has only recently been rediscovered. The following is only a tiny portion of the amazing letters, postcards and handmade cards I was able to explore today. They were found in an old suitcase that has not only survived for over 90 years but preserved these beautiful pieces of history in quite a remarkable way.

Her name was Daisy, Alice Daisy and Charlie would write her incredible love letters..

This stunning handmade card and scarf were handmade in France and bought during World War One to send home to Charlie's sweetheart Daisy.

One of Charlie's love letters filled with secret messages and a kiss for every mistake that he had made throughout the letter.

My favourite postcard that Daisy sent to Charlie, which told him to take note of this poem..

Love from Daisy Dell...

There are so many more pictures and tales to tell and so little time or space to explain the amazing world of Charlie and Daisy. I was so moved an inspired by everything I read, I felt I owed a little to Charlie and Daisy, to become a part of their world as they had shared so much with me.

Rekindling a vintage world..

Wishing you a beautiful day, full of love letters and vintage beauty..
xxx

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Treasure hunting...

While I'm on holidays I thought I would make the most of my opportunity to search the second hand shops in the little towns nearby. My lovely friend Joelene and I went on the hunt to Merbein today and found a number of very intriguing little country antique and op shops, which bought some delightful finds. All those years of watching Antiques Roadshow are finally paying off. Some of my lovely purchases include:

These gorgeous little fabric prints

An amazing vintage tin, with cute little handles. Perfect for stashing thread in.

My favourite find.. Very girly vintage gloves! I was going to use them in a piece of artwork but after wearing them around the house I can't bare to part with them. Anyone for a tea party?

I've spent the afternoon hand dyeing my lovely new napkins and doilies for some new mixed media pieces I am working on. I don't think I was ever allowed to use dye when I was younger and wanted to make crazy fairy wings, so I was in my element this afternoon dyeing up a storm. The great thing is with the 38 degree (celcius) heat today, everything was dry in five minutes.

A few of my newly dyed pieces with some sweet lace I found nestled deep at the bottom of a haberdashery basket today.

With all my girly purchases I decided my afternoon would not be complete without a batch of vanilla cupcakes and some delightful Moulin Rogue tea from the lovely Kristy at Floating Lotus. The perfect end to my treasure hunting adventures.

Vanilla cupcakes with rose icing..

I'll be back tomorrow with some behind the scenes photos from my day of creation in the little studio.

Much love and vintage dreams..
xxx

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The Box Brownie and the Travelling Circus..

I just adore antique adventures, you start off looking for one lovely piece of junk and come home with something completely different. I'm just so lucky that my lovely husband enjoying hunting through the back of antique shops as I do. So yesterday I went out to find some postcards and some lace and came back home with some lovely postcards but even more exciting I found an original No 2. Brownie. I've always wanted one of these cameras and was so excited to see it sitting in a little back room next to an old compass and a pipe, now the trick is just getting it to work. Here is my little stash from my outing.

My new Box Brownie

An old prescription book I can't wait to find a use for!

My postcard stash, I just love the handwriting and the tales.

My two favourites..

I was also delighted to put the finishing touches on my new piece of artwork last night, which in a round about way gave itself the title of 'The Travelling Circus'. It tells the tale of two lovers and a travelling circus. I'm intrigued by the idea of telling stories through my art work using ephemera that holds so many tales from the past. I just love the thought of breathing new life into the world of yesteryear.

'The Travelling Circus'

I have included an extract from an original poem on this piece and a signature coin from a 100 year old gypsy costume I inherited.

I developed this art work about these two postcards, I found something incredibly intriguing about the gentleman in the photograph.

You can find 'The Travelling Circus' in my little shop now.

Well the sun is shining and today there is so much to do! My husband and I are going to tackle the weeds in the garden and I hope there is enough time to make a few new brooches, bake a cake and spend a little time dreaming the afternoon away in my new moleskine journal.

Much love and happy Sunday!
xxx

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