Shop Ruche

Cheap and chic, my favourite new online store: Ruche.

Illustration work

Time flies. Apparently I have illustrated the back page of Home Beautiful (David Smiedt's column) for over 50 issues!

A couple of my recent faves including the latest one on sale today...

6 weddings and no funerals

I've had 6 wedding invitations this year. Love is in the air!

I have really enjoyed watching the brides put their own DIY touch to their weddings, this crafty trend hadn't started when I tied the knot 7 years ago so I am living vicariously through my friends.

Pictured here is Emma (wedding No. 5) who got married in the NSW Southern Hinterlands a few weeks ago. I loved getting many emails about which Beholden decorations to buy, shopping for twine at Little Paper Lane and designing her invitations- loved her green and white theme! It was a magical spring day, photographed by dean Dampney of Cloudface Photography.

Horses for courses

Hot shoes at thehorse.com.au, (and loving their graphics).

Thanks Peppermint mag

Thanks to Raquel and the girls at Peppermint mag for featuring my textiles in the latest issue.

This is one mag that makes me think there is hope for me to be truly crafty yet!

La Banane

I dared to check the weather for the coming week- more low temps and clouds and rain, so depressing!

I have new clothes I want to wear dammit! To bide the time til warmer climes decide to grace us, I'm dreaming of La Banane hotel in the Carribean.

More magazine moments

Now I have to shout out to my beautiful friend Kathryn of Studio Kandy who recently propped a stunning foot shoot for me with culinary genius Janelle Bloom and world class photographer Petrina Tinslay in the new Spring issue of Jamie Durie's mag, The Outdoor Room which came out today. To see all the amazing shots and learn to make a pavlova roll in 12 minutes you'll have to buy it!

She also handmade the garlands and decorations in the shoot! She is on a long surfing honeymoon at the moment, but stay tuned as i hope to be able to post a couple of shots from her incredible home made wedding last weekend...words can't describe what she created for her own special day.

Love you Kat. Find out more about this talented lady at www.studiokandy.com

Thanks Home Beautiful

Yay, made it into the lovely new October issue of Home Beautiful! Thanks to Anna Koorey:)

Click here!

Lazybones love

When I go on photoshoots there is inevitabley something particular that the stylist has sourced that I fantasise about for days after. Last week I clapped eyes on this adorable vintage style 'Holiday' pillowcase by lazybones, and their very unique chair frocks. How many days til pay day?

Kobie needs a car

Just want to do a shout out for Kobie Peach...his lovely Aunt Rosy is a good friend of mine and an incredible writer for many of your favourite mags. Lately though she has channelled a HUGE amount energy into raising money for Kobie who needs a $70 000 car for his special needs as he lives with cerebral palsy. Please become a friend of Kobie on facebook and check out how you can help, and better still if you live in QLD go along to the film fundraiser on Aug 3 in Fortitude Valley.

My top 3 design freebies online

It's such a treat when creative people at the top of their game decide to throw us a bone, save us some time and money and brighten our day by giving away their ideas for free! Below, my top 3 fave design templates online,

1. Shower invites by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co to download at Martha Stewart.

2. Wedding Table Number template by Liv Kanaley at Project Wedding,

and 3. Crochet Snowflake desktop wallpaper by Pattern People to pretty up your mac.

Textiles are up and running!

So I'm very happy to announce that my side project with Elissa from Kelani Fabric is up and running after many late night phone calls about 'one day' producing a range of fabrics for her site.

Everything is hand screen printed with water based pigments, trying to be as eco as we can!

The jerseys are 100% certified organic Australian made cotton, and there are linens and cottons for home furnishing too. It's available exclusively on www.kelanifabric.com.au under Australian Designers.

Thanks for all your support and encouragement to those who've helped along the way.

Back in business!

Hello out there! It has been over 18 months. Where do I start?

I had a gorgeous baby girl. Was too busy with my little blossom to blog, but she and I are collaborating already. She inspired my new range of hand screen printed organic fabrics which I have co-produced with the vivacious Elissa Baird, owner of Kelani Fabric obsession.

Liss is in Sydney this week at the Craft & Quilt show in Darling Harbour, and my wares are part of her incredibly colourful stand. My textiles launch exclusively on www.kelanifabric.com.au in about a week, so stay tuned to see the whole range. A little sneek peek for you today, we had a couple of samples made up to inspire people with what you can make with our gorgeous jersey and linen. Asher is modelling a little jacket made using a Make It Perfect pattern, in my Hot Air jersey as she watches Daddy surf. Our friend Andy was there too and got MUCH better pics than me because he is a professional (see bottom image!). Anyway, it's nice to be posting again if anyone's out there...luv T:)

things to do while waiting to go into labour...

At 4 days overdue I'm proud to say I still haven't given in to watching daytime television.

On my first day of maternity leave I tried it for 10 mins only to be bored by infomercials selling ladders that are 'easy for women to use' (excuse me?) and Brazilian dance dvds that profess to help you lose that waistline. Instead I have turned to long neglected creative projects, like setting up my new office which is a handy bench-style desk built by my brother in law and an ikea shelf, both mounted in a corner of the living room. Complete with a Glasshouse candle and Pantone mug full of paintbrushes I'm ready to draw something. With just one linen curtain from Freedom and a staple gun I was able to cover my old cork pinboard, a project in Dec issue of Home Beautiful, as well as recover the seats of our dining chairs. I am missing the girls from work so I pinched some hydrangea from the back of our unit block- someone always has a lovely bunch of these on their desk from the local florist.

Stay tuned!

chalk it up to experience

There's something not quite right about a woman approaching 30 who still has a fondness for bunnies, but there you go, it's out of the closet- nothing is cuter to me than a little rabbit, from the white ceramic versions to the ones chasing eachother around the rim of a small dinner plate! And now there's a cute one peering at me from the surface of a chalkboard paint covered egg by Lisa Tilse, complete with it's own nest and chalk sticks. Find your own at The Red Thread, along with many other hand crafted delights.

Feltidermy

Meet Bluebell the Jackapole, handcrafted in felt, and some of her less fortunate friends who have fallen victim to 'feltidermy'. I'd like to tell you that no cute little fluffy animals have suffered for the sake of today's post but that would be a lie. However, Girlsavage is responsible! (and adorable)

papier mache magazine

I can't think of papier mache without thinking of the year 4 art class i had to do where we made masks of mythical creatures by layering newspaper and clag onto a balloon and painting it at the end...it took weeks and weeks as we had to let each layer dry. Never again. Now I have a totally new connotation for this lovely french phrase- by far the most beautiful online mag I've ever seen, and it's Aussie! Click here to experience the ethereal beauty of papier mache magazine, produced by The Convenience Store.

let's hear it for the girls

"Oh you pretty things, don't you know you're driving your mamas and papa's insane?" -David Bowie.

These ladies have been keeping me busy with the back page of Home Beautiful mag which i have the honour of illustrating each month to accompany the sardonic David Smiedt's column. After an afternoon doodling with a tube of water colour on my balcony i found that i now prefer to draw lines with ink rather than pencil these days.

get folksy with elizabeth prince

A few months ago I lost my wedding ring...i had to conclude it must have slipped off during a morning swim. But when it gets replaced I'll be purchasing one of Elizabeth Prince's ceramic dishes and keeping it on my bedside where I can put my rings when I run down to the beach for a splash before work or less glamourously, have to clean the bathroom.

On a much more important note, I discovered Elizabeth on folksy.com... you are probably all ahead of me on this one, but methinks it could trump Etsy the way Facebook did Myspace! Not only are there talented craftspeople selling their wares, just as much of the site is devoted to step-by-step projects you can do at home contributed by members free of charge, like this envelope cushion cover. I love the idea of people sharing their crafty secrets for free, it keeps alive the spirit of pre-internet craft.