this years girl

Melissa from This Years Girl won one of my lavender scented birds in The Lovelies, she then very kindly featured my little bird in this gorgeous Treasury which made it to the front page of Etsy this week and subsequently sold. This lovely chain of events then led me to her shop and I just had to share these beautiful images with you.

Little Lamb Prince - 8x10 Inch Print

The Queen - 8x12 Inch Print

Sanctuary - Pendant

I know I haven't blogged much lately, my time has been spent making birds but I promise there are some nice and thoughful posts coming in the next few weeks. In the meantime I'm off to see The Pixies tonight who I'm sure you'll agree deserve a big fat Hurrah!

Also big thanks to Diana for bestowing me with a Sunshine Award this week :)

newsworthy

The lovely Michelle spotted my little foxy squirrel brooch in the Canberra Times yesterday (thanks Moose)!

A big hello to those who popped by The BrisStyle Indie Designers Market yesterday, next up is the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market at King George Square in the City on Friday (night) 30 April, this one promises to be spectacular! Stay tuned for edward & lilly's involvement.

And, if you're keen to win some handmade goodness head to this month's Big BrisStyle Giveaway!

European linen from Thea & Sami

Have you seen the gorgeous European linen from Thea & Sami?

Thea now stocks three types of linen, each one very different to the other, I blogged Versaille natural unbleached linen previously here. Now it's time for a little bit about Thea's new stock Provincial and Petersburg (don't you just love the names).


Petersburg (above) is probably the sturdiest of the three but still has a lovely soft feel to it. Perfect for all types of crafts and definitely a winner for homewares. I love that the weave is tighter than some linen, making it perfect for embroidery. The combination of texture and shades of natural colour will make Petersburg perfect for my embroidery series on fish, more of which are coming soon.


Provincial, in my opinion, is a rare find. The colour is stunning and it's incredibly soft. When Thea first sent me a swatch of this one it was like stumbling across a delicate piece of fabric from a bygone era (ok, maybe I get a little over excited about these things). While it is more delicate than Petersburg it's as sturdy as any linen making it perfect for crafts, homewares and the weave is tight enough to create a detailed embroidery.

The highlight of Petersburg and Provincial is that they're both pre-shrunk!

Head to Thea & Sami to stock up.

And if you're also a linen enthusiast click here to dredge up previous rants on the subject.

udessi update

photo by udessi

Puppies, kitties and bunnies are now stocked at udessi! Head over here to check them out along with loads of other sweet things for little ones.

Retail Therapy for Brisbane

Brisbanites, get your shopping lists ready and your gumboots on (well, hopefully not but then who doesn't love sloshing around), it's time for the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market, this Saturday 6 March, 9am-2pm at St Augustine's Church Hall and Grounds, Racecourse Road, Hamilton.

I'll be playing in the BrisStyle Co-op section on the promo and charity tables so pop by, say hello and make a donation to The Leukaemia Foundation in support of this brave BrisStylette.

** Diaries out! There's more exciting news about upcoming BrisStyle markets here **

See you there!

3 Quick Questions: Enticing Icing

Edible fondant sugar pirate cake toppers

Some of you will know Bel from EmBelIsh but did you know about her new venture Enticing Icing? Cute, practical and ingenious, Bel's sugar art creations are sure to be a crowd pleaser, plus they last for months so you can stock up till your heart's content.

Edible fondant sugar star cake toppers your choice of colours

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your sugarart creations?
I would have to say my Nan is my biggest inspiration, every year until I was about 10 she would create these amazing cakes for me (sometimes 2 if I couldn’t pick just one design) and she also made wedding cakes and little Marzipan creations that were so life like.

Edible fondant sugar birdie cake toppers your choice of colour

I have always loved cooking and baking sweets and desserts in particular and always enjoyed making birthday cakes for my niece and nephew and now my own boys and close friends children so I guess it has just been a gradual progression from that. I found that like me lots of my friends also liked to bake but then weren’t sure how to decorate their creations to turn them into something amazing so I also wanted to make a product that would help them do that, whilst still having that ‘home made’ feel and giving them the pleasure of creating something for their family and friends.

edible fondant sugar frog cake toppers your choice of colours

Do you find there are similarities between your EmBelISH creations and Enticing Icing creations?
I guess I still tend to go for the ‘girly’ designs, the reason Em and I started EmBelISH was to fill that void of both having boys and I guess in a way I think I do the same with Enticing Icing. Although I have to say I am starting to think more about ‘Boy’ designs and I guess my latest Pirate collection shows that. Having a 3 year old boy with lots of opinions also helps that problem, I am sure there are going to be some Cars and maybe Trucks in the not too far away future.

edible fondant sugar girly party set cake toppers

What was the biggest challenge in setting up a business creating Sugarart?
I guess like any stay at home mum with young children I would have to say time. I wish I could create all day but it feels like there is always someone in the house who needs attention. Sunday afternoons/nights have kind of become my creating time, so I normally cook dinner early and clear out the kitchen. Being a craft involving food preparation it’s not something I can sit in front of the telly and do at night so I need to be organised about when I can create.

Thanks Bel!

edible fondant sugar baby bottle cake toppers your choice of colour

For more Enticing Icing check out Bel's website and Etsy shop.

**Stop press: Brisbanites, Bel will be at the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market with Enticing Icing creations so pop along to check them out in person. The BrisStyle Indie Designers Market is from 9am-2pm, Saturday 6 March at St Augustine's Church, Racecourse Road, Hamilton. **

My creative space ...

Learning:
If I know I need 40 little embroideries for lavender scented birds, in reality I will need 80 so I may as well do them all at once.


I also finished this embroidered piece last week, apologies for the delay in posting, I momentarily lost my blogging mojo in a haze of BrisStyle and Brown Owls preparations but don't worry this week I have some delicious treats in store ;)

For more spaces or to show off your own head to Kirsty's.

My creative space ...

I'm working on a custom order this week. I do love the opportunity to create a one-off, this one is destined to be a wall piece and will be heading north this week.

What's in your space? You can show it off or check out others by popping over here.

edward & lilly @ moose

So pleased to announce that edward & lilly brooches can now be purchased from the fabulous Moose: Art for Living. Moose is chock full of some of the coolest Australian jewellery, homewares, textiles, art and paper. It's absolute eye candy and definitely one to bookmark, check it out!

it's giveaway time

It's about time for a giveaway don't you think?

Up for grabs - your choice of hand embroidered tissue cosy! The winner can choose one from the shop or we can have a little chat about your favourite colour and design and I'll make a special one just for you!

Super simple to enter, all you have to do is subscribe to my newsletter! If you're already a subscriber consider yourself entered.

Email

**For an extra entry tweet it, facebook it or blog it and leave a comment to let me know**

Giveaway closes 12 February. Open to anyone.

For more fabulous giveaways check out The Big BrisStyle Giveaway!