Fabulous Friday Finds

When I left uni and started work I thought that would be the end of my need for pretty pencil cases, not so - with client visits and long commutes I am definitely in need of one and one that's bigger than the one I have already. So today here are some sweet homemade pencil cases.



1. Pencil Case with Personalized Name by Prints n Patterns.

2. Eco Friendly Handprinted Sea Oats Pencil Case by Sea Oats.

3. .A colorful and playful striped pencil case with orange, green and red stripes by Kirschbits.

4. The Mini True Romantic Pouch in linen/bondi blue by Aylla.

5. pencil case. pouch. grey. lovebirds. echino. linen.  by Cloud Love Baby.

6. Teal Flowers Pencil Case by Rabbit and Duck.

Market Angel

                                                                     

I love going to markets but even though I'm usually an organized person I'm not good at remembering when markets are on. Luckily this new website Market Angel provides a list of markets in your area along with when they're on. And you can sign up for their weekly newsletter so you'll get a reminder in your inbox - perfect!

Tread Lightly Tuesday

All natural, eco-friendly make-up remover may sound like a pipe dream but it's amazing just how simple it can be - just use organic cold-pressed coconut oil! This beautiful oil smells like coconuts and is full of good stuff for your skin. The oil is a liquid at body temperature and a solid at temperatures colder which means it melts on your hands making it also a lovely massage oil. But back to make-up removal, simply grab a little bit of the solid oil and rub over your face (it will melt into a liquid oil during this process) and remove the make-up with a warm facecloth. Then if you like you can rub a little more of the oil over your face to moisturize your skin. I've found this method works well even with chemical filled waterproof mascara's that are notoriously hard to get off. And I've found jars of this great oil at about $8 for about 500ml, which is a bargain compared to your traditional store-bought make-up removers. Rubbing oil on your face may take some getting used to, especially if like me, you have oily skin to begin with but the benefits are definitely worth it.

Weekend Crafting

This weekend I made myself a few of these adorable bookmarks out of my fabric scraps.



Paperclip Frabric Bookmarks by Life Through the Lens



I loved this tutorial from the minute I laid eyes on it, it's simple, practical and it would be a great way to use up the endless amounts of frabic scraps I have.

I don't think mine turned out quite as cute as Kristi's though!

Fabulous Friday Finds

Confession: I'm an organization freak! So today here are some pretty handmade things to help keep you organized and make it fun!

1. Weekly Planner Chalkboard Calender by Simple Shapes

2. To Do Weekly Planner  by Mayi Carles

3. Adjustable Velcro Bandolier by Clever Hands

4. Bag and Purse Organzier by Melissa Tan

5. 3 Pack Freakin To Do List Notepad by Finch and Hawk

6. Sweetheart Pink In Touch Clutch by Downstairs Designs

1000 Awesome Things

Looking for a gift for a friend in a bookshop lead me to discover a beautiful book, based on a beautiful blog: 1000 Awesome Things. This blog and book are about celebrating the little bits of daily awesomeness that surround us, things like:

That bite with all the toppings in it

Eating a free sample of something you have no intention of buying

Airborne hugs

Hitting that point in the book where you suddenly can't put it down

Chugging cold milk after chocolate cake

Reading the both the blog and the book put me in a great mood and really reminded me to appreciate the simple things in life. A great blog to follow and a great book to buy for those hard-to-buy-for-people.

Tread Lightly Tuesday

There's a lot of things in this world I don't understand...the poverty, the war, the waste, the over-consumption, the environmental destruction...these things keep me up at night, I have no idea how we've found ourselves in the 21st century with so much poverty on one hand and so much waste and consumption on the other, all the while destroying this wonderful planet we live on. However at the start of his book The Moneyless Man, Mark Boyle ties all of these issues together...the common denominater being money. I never would have thought the explanation could be so simple, yet so intelligently presented. The book then goes on to detail Boyle's year of living without money...yep, no money at all. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.

I love pinterest!

If you're anything like me chances are you find find so much inspiration/tutorials/things to read on the net that you're favourites bar is so full your internet freezes just by trying to open it! Not exactly ideal. So when I heard about Pinterest I got excited! If you haven't heard about it, it's a website that allows you to create virtual pin boards. You can create pin boards under any theme you like and then you can follow the image back to it's original source. But as if that wasn't great enough you can follow other people's boards, re-pin images from other people's boards, re-tweet your pins...etc! While I haven't quite mastered the following of other people's boards and the re-pinning etc (which is probably a good thing, as I'd never leave the computer) I am simply in love with pinterest!

Monday Madeit Feature

Some of my new bingo marker studs made it to the front page of Madeit! (Pun intended!)

Fabulous Friday Finds

 I love bangles! I love they way they look, that they're easy to get on and most of all I love the sound they make as the jingle together on your arm! So today here's some lovely handmade bangles, enjoy!

1. 14K White Gold Hand-Hammered Bangle by Ravens' Refuge.

2. Set of 3 Bangle Bracelets - Gold Tone and Blue Stone by Frosted Willow.

3. Resin Bangle by Oscar and Matilda.

4. Interlinking Knitting Needle Bangles Anodised Pastel Green by My Vintage Vow.

5. I Carry Your Heart With Me Bangle by Spriffing Jewelry.

6. Silver Twig Bangle by Stratus Silver.

Neglected Again...

Once again this blog has been neglected for far too long. It started when the bf and I went over our downloads and spiralled out of control from there…

So the highlights since I've been awol from the blog (apart from spending time with friends and family and the bf) have been a weekend down at Dormana with the bf. This included a lot of op-shopping and looking at vintage/thrift stores as well as lots of eating! The bf and I also had a lovely drive around Kyneton/Trentham/Daylesford area, the bf is from Tretham and we went to school in Kyneton, it's amazing to see how much things have changed since we grew up there...

Some of the great finds from the trips include:

A beautiful bangle, a pile of blue buttons (some of which are vintage and the same as ones my mum has from my great grandmother!)

A pile of vintage pillowcases and a gorgeous vintage mint necklace.



And some beautiful vintage keys!!

Tread Lightly Tuesday

If you're anything like me, chances are you have several notebooks on the go. So what's a eco-friendly girl to do - find a pretty notebook that is made of recycled leather and paper, of course! And these gorgeous notebooks by Kate's Paperie fit the bill - they're almost too pretty to use!

Fabulous Friday Finds

With the days getting colder and colder I thought I'd share some lovely handmade pieces to keep you warm this Winter - enjoy!

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1. The Kwan Medium Cowl Neckwarmer in Dark Red Merino Wool by Tracce. These cowl neckwarmers seem to be quite popular at the moment, they look great and very cosy!

2. I love wearing dresses, but in winter it's very hard to find lovely dresses that are easy to layer so I can keep warm. This Beautiful Dress in Purple and Black by My Lola Fashion looks like it would work well in winter or spring and would transition from work to play very well.

3. The Everyday Dress by Artaffect also looks like a great dress for layering. I love how versatile this dress is!

4. These Tubeway Armies Arm Warmers by Gaye Abandon are made out of recycled 100% wool jumpers. They're perfect for keeping your arms and hands warm, but your fingers free for those touch-screen gadgets!

5. I love the open-knit, design and colour of the Forest Folk Slouch Beanie in Violet by Talk 2 the Trees.

6. Half-jacket, half-hoodie! I love the Crossley Jacket Asymmetrical Hoodie by Stitch and Bolt for its unique design and for being made out of 100% organic cotton.

Tread Lightly Tuesday

Eating fresh, local and organic produce is the way to go if you want to be environmentally friendly and eat the best produce available. One great way to do so is to grow your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. However not all of us are blessed with a green thumb or a garden/balcony to grow anything edible on. So today I thought I'd share with you one of the cutest solutions to growing your own herbs at home, indoors - the GrowBottle Upcycled Hydrogardens!

They're available from Branch and you can read a review on them here.

I just love that they're made out of recycled wine bottles! And I'd think they'd make a great gift, especially for a housewarming.

Monday Madeit Smiles

Today I came home from a long day at work to a lovely little surprise - my Vintage Rose Studs had been chosen to appear on the front/homepage of Made It! 



Fabulous Friday Finds

Lots of lovely necklaces, enjoy!

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1. Heart of Gold Necklace by Sparkle Farm.

2. Dark Purple Amethyst Crystal 14K Gold Filled Necklace by Bijoux by Meg.

3. E is for Emmy, Custom Initial Necklace by S D Marie Jewellery.

4. Soaring Sparrow Necklace by Oh Deer.

5. Sterling Silver Twig Necklace by Julie Nolan.

6. The "locket" Necklace by  Even More Designs.

Op Shop Finds

A few weekends ago the bf and I went up to Lakes Enterance for my Pa's 80th Birthday. It was great to get away, relax and spend some quality time with the family. And of course indulge one of our favourite past times - op shopping!

I scored big with lots of bits and pieces for jewellery making and future craft projects!

I bought some lovely fabric, a cute vintage necklace, brightly coloured embroidery thread....

lots of lace, a bag of ribbon and trims, lots of lovely buttons...

   

the cutest tiny mushroom, 2 lots of beautiful vintage sheets and a pile of well-worn cutlery, which....

    

is actually made of silver and has the most beautiful maker's marks on it!

Tread Lightly Tuesday

There was a time in my childhood where Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers were the coolest things ever - they were brightly coloured, amazing to taste and smell and sometimes they even had glitter in them! They were girly enough to be cool but grown-up enough to feel special a perfect combination for my in my pre-teen days.

But I've long since outgrown Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers and have well and truly grown into lip balm, lip gloss and even the lipstick I once dreamed about being old enough to wear! Yet the truth is it's fun to revisit the things you loved as a kid, it awakens something inside that you forgot you had or maybe just lost touch with. So when my mineral make up order arrived from The All Natural Face with a sample of a new product - all natural flavoured lip balms - I was excited! And delighted! I've only tried the coconut flavour but I'm hooked! I'm happy to have found a flavoured lip balm that tastes great, but isn't made of harmful chemicals which are bad for me and the environment.

The Kindness of Strangers

Yesterday the bf and I found ourselves stuck at a servo with a flat tyre that did not wish to be removed from the axel. The bf tugged and tugged, sprayed the tyre with W-D 40 and tugged some more while I assessed the situation from a few feet away (seriously I was no help at all!). I was minutes away from suggesting we give up and call the RACV man when we were interupted by a random couple who offered us a hand. Sure enough with another man and some extra muscle the tyre quickly came free and we were on our way in no time.

We were both deeply appreciative of this random couple who leant us a hand, they had gone out of their way to help us and in doing so changed the entire outcome of the situation. In reality it probably took them all of 15 minutes to help us and it saved us a good few hours, I suspect, by the time we waited for help to arrive and remove the tyre etc.

But it got me thinking about the kindness of strangers, about how something so little can really improve someone else's day and how it's so important to be a kind stranger. We can't all donate money to charity or volunteer hours of time to a good cause but there are heaps of little things we can do everyday to be a kind stranger; from holding the door open, letting someone know they've dropped something, offering up a seat on public transport, helping a parent with a pram, holding the elevator or just offering a kind smile, we can all be kind strangers and make this world a little bit better for someone we may never know.

Fabulous Friday Finds

For this weeks Fabulous Friday Finds I thought I'd share some handmade tote bags. Tote bags are so handy and are a great alternative to using plastic bags when shopping. Enjoy!

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1. The Love Languages Tote Bag by The Bucktoothed Bunny.

2. The Life Quote by Emerson on a Recycled Cotton Canvas Tote by Bunkle Berry Studios.

3. The Bloom Where You Are Planted Tote by Pamela Fugate Designs.

4. The Talk Crafty To Me Tote Bag by Pannikin.

5. The Doof Doof Calico Tote Bag by Sideline.

6. The Bicycle Bike Black Canvas Tote Bag by Happy Family.