Blog Lovin: Sweet Style by Mrs A in the Cove - Seriously People!

It's been a while since i have done a Blog Lovin post.....
Do you follow Sweet Style by Mrs A in the Cove's blog - if not YOU SHOULD! Leanne styles the most amazing parties and specialises in dessert and candy buffet styling. Her photos are amazing and so full of inspiration and ideas. I mean seriously!

(Cake in the last photo by Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes)

And do you spy those gorgeous personalised gelato spoons in the second last photo - Leanne is now taking orders for these custom stamps- check out all the details here

Beautiful displays and styling aside though, what i love most is how down to earth Leanne is (and this is not to butter her up because she is coming to morning tea at my place next week!) - she is a wife, mum and loves what she does.

Be sure to check her out on her blog, facebook and twitter

Thanks for making me blog happy Leanne.

Feature Artist on Georgica Designs: another donkey design

The lovely Deb of Georgica Designs has featured another donkey design in her weekly Unearthing Indie Artists this week. You can read all about it on Deb's blog "Unearthing Indie Artists: Kate from another donkey design" (PS you might just find a discount code for my etsy store over there!)

When she is not blogging, Deb makes fabric greeting cards which she sells through her etsy store. Make sure you check them out.

Draw String Purse by Between the Lines

This DIY tutorial by Between the Lines has been super popular on Pinterest so I thought I would share with all my lovely readers! (I felt this purse deserved a post of its own which is why i am not waiting until tomorrow!)

Check out the whole how to post here

Between the Lines has lots of other great tutorials including this great whimsical pillow (these would make great door stops). Make sure you check out this great blog

Rain Rain

Image by Dee Adams – available on etsy

I apologise for my lack of posting this week. I must admit I have been busy at work (my 9-5 job that pays the mortgage) – but it is more than that which has stopped me blogging. Every time I went to blog, I felt guilty that I should be looking, thinking and writing about pretty and somewhat frivolous things when so much of our country is in a state of emergency and tragedy. People have lost their lives, homes and worldly possessions, and I am talking about pretty stationery!

So why I am I posting now? Well I have decided (and this is my opinion only) that those that have been affected would not want us to put our lives on hold. We must live our lives to the fullest whilst we can.

You would all have noticed the multitude of charity auctions going on at the moment on line.

I have donated goods to the AusDisasterRelief etsy store (my items have sold but there is loads more there), the Summerblossum Handmade Accessories Charity Auction, the Handmade Kids & Rudy & The Dodo Flood Appeal ($4000 raised in the first hour alone – this is going to be a big one) and the Chantal Vincent blog and facebook auction (to start Monday).

Please show your support and buy up big – Christmas may be over, but Christmas will come next year as will birthdays – so why not do all your shopping now, get it out of the way, and support a good cause while you can.

There are a ton of other auctions going on – for a comprehensive list of some of them– check out Steph Bond’s Bondville website for details.

For the next couple of weeks, my 9-5 job is going to be full on, so I will apologise now and say my blog posts may be few and far between. I will however be regularly on facebook and twitter (ah the joys of an iphone) so feel free to join me there.

I’m so excited….

What a lovely way to end the year – on a high note. Today I had the pleasure of having my products featured on Steph Bond’s blog – Bondville! I am just a little excited!

I am a huge fan of Steph’s Blog (even before she featured my work) as she finds the most gorgeous products for mums, kids and homes. This last month Steph has been running a wonderful series of posts on “Australian Christmas 2010” and has been featuring many a beautiful product including Blossum Creations, PaperKlip Design and Polli (where I was lucky enough to win a beautiful Christmas wreath). I highly recommend you check out Steph’s Blog.

White Apple Tree Greeting Card

Chalkboard Gift Tags

ALSO – the every sweet Janette from My Sweet Prints showed off some of my Christmas Gift Tags in her blog post today! Seriously how lucky am i!

Christmas Gift Tags

One last time for those that may have missed it – lots of tags, cards, Peg It Ups and chalkboard tags in store + 10% off my etsy store until 20 Dec 2010 (coupon code MERRYCHRISTMAS) and free delivery Australia wide!

We're all going on a Summer Holiday

So it is that time of year when things are winding down and I am dreaming of spending some time in the pool, lazy afternoon naps and big sleep ins (not going to happen with a one year old on my heels but I can dream).

We are lucky enough to be spending time away with the family over Christmas where I will not have ready access to the internet – which is a good thing I think. This does mean however that I will be on a blog hiatus and will be shutting down my etsy and made it stores from 20^th December – 3^rd January. There is however still heaps of Peg it Ups, Cards, Gift Tags and new Chalkboard Gift Tags in store should you need some last minute stocking fillers or cards. And as a special thank you to all my lovely blog readers – use coupon code “MERRYCHRISTMAS” in my etsy store until midnight 19 December 2010 to receive 10% off (plus free shipping still applies Australia wide).

Big Thank you to all for joining me on my blog this year and I look forward to sharing lots of lovely finds and new projects with you next year.

Merry Christmas and Happy and Safe Silly Season

Further Fuel to the Fire - Gnomeangle

Next up on the ‘adding fuel to the fire’ was Gnomeangel’s lovely Christmas Card I received late last week.

Angie (the woman behind Gnomeangel) describes her blog as “one woman’s rambling collection of interests, half arsed projects and tales of misadventure. It’s a blog dedicated to showcasing the extraordinary from the life of someone ordinary. Here you’ll find shiny things, things that make you laugh, things that make you want to dance and things that make you go “say what?.”

Angie is also a very dedicated tweeter and facebooker. I have only recently started following Angie – but her selection of images and quirky finds are instantly addictive. 

(Flikr Faves)

Thank you Angie for making me card post happy

Blog Lovin Friday - Blogs!

Today I have decided to not feature a blog I love. Rather I am featuring my love of blogs in general.

·         I love the windows into people’s lives – reading about everything from their breakfast, to their creative endeavours, to their highs and lows.

·         I love the sense of community – I am constantly amazed at the generosity of people I have never met, or spoken out load to.

·         I love sharing my thoughts and ideas with people who are genuinely interested in reading about them

·         I love that as long as I have an internet connection– I always have something to read, procrastinate, loose myself in

·         I love following a twisty turny never ending path from one blog to another

What do you love about blogs and blogging?

Photo by Banmorn 

Blog Lovin Friday - One Perfect Day

I came across Sarah’s blog, One Perfect Day, yesterday in my wandering around blog world. What originally drew me in were the photographs. Each one seems to capture such a beautiful moment in time. Sarah is a mummy to one little boy (who’s blonde hair and blue eyes remind me of my own little boy) and lives with her “patient, loving and gracious” husband in Queensland. Sarah’s blog is about her adventures with her son and husband and their discoveries along the way. It all makes me want to go to the beach and enjoy my little man. Some of my favourites from her recent posts:

Thank you Sarah for making me blog happy

And the winner is……

Firstly – thank you to everyone that entered my first giveaway and welcome to all my new followers. I hope you enjoy following my blog and I look forward to your comments.

And now – drumroll please -  as selected by the random generator (I was going to cut out all the names and take photos of my son picking one, then eating the paper – but it all got a little too hard so went down the spread sheet route and random number generator) – the winners are:

1.      Erin

2.      Clip Café

Congratulations – and I hope you enjoy your cards and gift tags - they should be in your postbox soon.

Thanks again everyone. For everyone that missed out on winning - you can always pick up some of my cards and gift tags in etsy and made it (christmas tags and peg it ups now in store)- and better yet - there is still free postage (australia wide only) and i am donating $0.50 from every sale this week to pink ribbon day.

Blog Lovin’ Friday – General Lovin’

Today’s Blog Lovin’ Friday is a general blog lovin’ post about the first Sydney ABCD (Artists + Bloggers + Crafters + Designers) Meet-up. It will be a great chance to meet with some like minded bloggers, makers and designers and finally put voices and faces to the typed word.

Details:

Sydney ABCD Meetup Spring 2010

Thursday 28th October 2010

7-9pm

The Three Weeds Hotel (back bar), 

197 Evans St, Rozelle

RSVP via the ABCD Facebook page  here or on Bondville blog here

If you are able to make it don't forget to bring a card for everyone's goodie bag so they remember you. I will be working on my little goodies over the weekend – but thinking of maybe including a little gift tag or two – maybe something from my new range I have been working on…… (what do you think)?

Any of you follower's coming???



who doesn’t love a giveaway…..

Whilst working out the details of my first every giveaway this week I came across a nifty site: the Etsy Giveaway Blog. There are giveaways from all walks of life – some that shop US only – but many that ship world wide such as:

A touch of wimsy:

Viva La Blogette:

and of course – my giveaway:

Check it out – and remember you have to be in it to win it!

And one more giveaway that I just came across on facebook from little.lovely (my blog love from last week) – some super cute robots from Little Korboose

50th Post Giveaway

What better way to celebrate my 50th post (can't believe there have been that many) than a giveaway. What can you win I hear you ask? Well – you can win one of two packs of cards and tags from my another donkey design range. Each pack will contain 4 cards (three little cupcakes, three little circles boys, robbie robot and terry turtle) and two gift tags (apple theme).

How do you enter – let me count the ways:

1.      “Like” my another donkey design facebook page – there is a convenient link on the right hand side of this blog and then leave me a comment below saying hi

2.      If you already “like” my facebook page – just leave me a comment below telling me your favourite colour

3.      For another entry – head over to my etsy store and leave me a comment below telling me your favourite card / pegs / tags

4.      For another entry – post about the giveaway on your facebook page and leave me a comment below telling me your favourite day of the week (apparently even this is a no no!)

5.      For another entry– tweet about the giveaway and leave me a note below telling me your favourite movie

6.      For another 2 entries – blog about the giveaway and then leave me a note telling me your favourite animal

That is 7 6 possible ways to enter- pick one or do them all!

Entries will close at 5.00 p.m. Monday 25^th October 2010. Family and Friends are of course welcome to enter. PLEASE make sure you leave contact details (if you don't have a facebook, twitter, blog, store etc and you need to leave your email address pls do it in format myemailaddressatheredotcom for privacy reasons) so I can contact the winner.

Yeah – I’m excited. Good Luck!

Blog Lovin Friday - Little.Lovely

Today’s blog love is little.lovely. This pretty blog is full of “lovely” ideas for little people. Written by Khlali, a Sydney local with two lovely little ones of her own, the blog is refreshing, simple and can be counted on to inspire you and bring a smile to your face (and make your “I want” list just that little bit longer).

Having a little person myself I love looking at new and exciting decorating ideas, toys, and generally pretty things, but there is something on there for everyone – young and old from the:

 Friendly fruit and vegetables by by Carl Kleiner

To the DIY drum kit - instructions here

 To the monster illustration recommendations by Mexican illustrator, Luis Silva

Find a cup of tea, a tim tam and have a look at little.lovely blog, facebook and twitter pages.

 Thank you Khlali from little.lovely. – you make me blog happy

Blog Lovin Friday – “Calico & Co” and “Thoughts, Comments, Questions”

Moving on from Random Etsy Wednesday, I now declare Friday to be “Blog Lovin’ Friday”. For those that have been following my blog from the beginning you will know I am a newby when it comes to blogs. I am not sure how I have missed them before now, and it is a shame as I had 9 months maternity leave when I could have gone blog wild… anyway, I digress.

Blogs are a wonderful, addictive, informative, entertaining, enlightening and inspiring thing. So for “Blog Lovin’ Friday” I am going to spread the blog love about some of the blogs I come across in my websurfing.

First off the list is Calico & Co – the wonderful blog authored by the equally wonderful Amanda Fuller. I can’t even recall how I first came across Amanda’s blog – but once I did I was well and truly hooked. I would even go so far as to say it was Amanda’s blog that gave me the push to set one up for myself. As well as blogging, Amanda also does Graphic Design work and recently launched her own line of Stationery called lemon tree lane (etsy). Amanda’s blogs are full of beautiful homewares, indie, handmade, interior design, pretty things, stationery and generally she shares what I love on a day to day basis. Amanda also facebooks and tweets

So Ms Fuller – thank you for your blog. You make me blog happy.

Second on the list, is Sarah Allen Consulting’s blog, “Thoughts. Questions.. Comments...”. Now I should disclose straight off the bat that I have known Sarah for some 17+ years, I love her to death and our baby boys are BFF’s. But that aside – Sarah is somewhat of a guru (though she won’t call herself that) when it comes to Social Media. So much so she now makes a living running Social Media workshops and training sessions.

For any small or medium business out there (yes that means anyone with an etsy or made it account) – check out her blog (and website coming soon), follow her on facebook, twitter, linked in and audioboo and I promise you - you will learn something!

Ms Allen – you are a guru in my eyes and thank you for your ongoing coaching and support on all things Social Media!

So that is my first Blog Lovin’ Friday. Take some time – check them out and why not leave me a comment letting me know your favourite blog!