Thanks to Sharon for the cool “This Is” theme this week, which is “This is the contents of my handbag“. I was expecting this theme to pop up sooner or later as, let’s admit it, we are all a little curious as to what others carry around with them, yes? :-)

Tipped out my bag and here’s what’s in mine:

Wallet; Phone/PDA to help keep my life organised; iPod Nano; 2 USB sticks which on rare occassions has stored work I have had to bring home but mostly stores One Red Robin files; a variety of forms and paperwork; an envelope holding any tax-related receipts, which gets emptied every week into a bigger envelope, ready for tax time!; my identity card for work; some gum; my faux wood covered Kikki K sketchbook full of all things One Red Robin; pen I found on the street, all cleaned up and in perfect working order :-); Customs forms for overseas packages; and the bonus tracks CD from Third Day’s Wherever You Are album.

I finally got some good time up in my studio over the last few nights and thankfully my softie-making mojo has decided to return from a brief hiatus. As a result, I finished up this month’s project for my regular submission to an Aussie craft magazine. Her name is “Springbean” and she’s a modified version of this little bear. Assuming all things go well, the project should be available in a few months time.

I know the dress looks quite simple but boy did it prove challenging! After a few failures, I finally came up with a dress that is quite easy to sew up so that you could make a number of different dresses in that style. Now for the much less fun activity of actually writing up the instructions!

I’m also working on a softie-project for a different Aussie craft magazine. The Editor got in contact with me and has asked for an owl-softie along the lines of my patchwork-bellied owls. This is what I have so far:

I’m just playing around with the positioning of the facial features at the moment and thinking about the shape of his wings. He has a little tail in the back and a round base so that he can stand on his own. I am hoping he will turn out a little cuter than my usual gumpy-looking owls :-)

Some links I’d like to share with you:
>> Orange You Lucky - found via Pip. I just love Helen’s illustrations and patterns, and not to mention her sense of colour and fun - reminds me very much of Mary Blair.
>> This cloth book by Forty-Two Roads absolutely amazes me! Such a brilliant idea and so lovingly and brilliantly made! I would love to try something like this for the girls.
>> Very much enjoying the art work, and reflections/insights podcasts by Marisa of Creative Thursday

Apologies for sounding cryptic on my last post! It’s nothing major - I think the whole process of coming to the decision was actually more important than the thing itself. Anyway, I have decided to go for it and will be talking about it more after I get a bit more meat behind the project ;-)

I hope you are having a lovely weekend wherever you are!

We’re back from our family getaway to Philip Island over the Easter long-weekend. We attended a family retreat held by the church that hubby is currently serving at as the Student Pastor. The weather was gorgeous as was the accommodation, and the people were wonderful! The girls had a great time running around like crazy chickens (though Aurora did come down with a fever on the last day due to 4 teeth - one a molar - cutting through the gums all at the same time).

I managed to get a few more rows done on Ava’s beanie while we were away but I have to admit that I haven’t been able to get back into the swing of things since we arrived home, so no progress on any WIPs. I did receive some delicious fabric in the mail recently and they currently sit on my desk while I try to get my sewing mojo back :-)

I bought this stash of vintage barkcloth from the patchwork Queen, Jen of JCASA, during her recent de-stashing sale. I was delighted to open up the package and find it wrapped in the most wonderful remnant of a vintage quilt, with a beautiful patchwork postcard:

I spent a long good while staring at each piece of that vintage patchwork. Thanks so much Jen!

I also received this pile of Japanese fabric from Nuno Plus, which is making me particularly giddy:

The retreat also gave me some time to think about something I have been wanting to do for a very long time - for years actually - and now may be the right time to pursue it. A door to a promising opportunity recently closed and although it has left me a little disappointed, it has also caused me to re-evaluate this long-held dream and see that it is possibly now closer than ever. I need to make the decision soon but it is proving difficult given the things I will need to give up for a few months in order to pursue it. Even hubby is thinking it is a bit ambitious. Anyway, yada-yada-yada - if things are a little quiet here over the next few days, you will know that it’s because I am still mulling over this :-)

Okay, off to catch up on emails and bloglines and hope to be back on the weekend with some completed softies . . . Happy Wednesday!

Woohoo! I am LOVING the cooler weather here in Melbourne and celebrating the passing of the recent hot spell. Love it.

Currently on my desk is a super-duper-duper overdue owl for a lovely lady who wanted something similar to Omari in terms of colour-scheme - so here is Omari’s sister, Oleander:

She’s waiting quietly for her wings :-)

More owls on my desk (and a sweet little paper babushka doll) thanks to Tsk Tsk! You can find these gorgeous cards in her shop here.

Speaking of owls, I was finally able to attend my first Brown Owls meet last night and got back into some stitching. It was a treat to meet and talk to the very talented Anna Laura for the first time, to catch up with Kwoozy, to meet new-to-me crafty and creative gals, and of course to see our lovely hosts Pip, Brooke & Kirsty once again!

The Brown Owls club house provided a very cozy and creative atmosphere and I adored the Owl collection on display. It’s getting harder and harder to leave the house for social events with all the things going on at the moment but I definitely want to come along to another meet and hopefully learn a new skill/craft. If you haven’t joined up yet and you’re wondering what it’s all about, go here for more details.

I also dropped off these Peg Bunnies last night - made from vintage fabrics, backed with wool flannel, terry fleece belly and ears, and with little bells on leather straps:

These critters are now available from Meet Me At Mikes, just in time for Easter :-)

We’re going away on a Family Camp for the Easter long-weekend (hope to take my knitting with me!) so I’ll be on a little blog break and will be back here early next week. Wishing you a safe, blessed and happy Easter!

Ava (4) and Aurora (1-&-1/2):

Okay, not technically created solely by me but I certainly had a hand in bringing them to life :-)

I figured that since I usually blog about my crafty creations, I would take this opportunity to post up pics of my most treasured and cherished ‘creations’!

And here are Ava’s latest creations:

Entitled: “The Worm”

Entitled: “My Mama Jhoanna” complete with glasses and birthmark :-)

Thank you Betty the Geek for the fun “this is” theme this week!

Back to crafty-creation posting this week.

Boy, is it hot here in Melbourne!!! Trying my very best to distract myself with other things so that I don’t keep whinging about how hot is it :-)

I have a few things to share on this sunny Friday. Some floppy-eared Peg Bunnies are taking shape and almost ready for Easter:

In a recent post, I linked to the work of the inspiring Saelee Oh. I found out that she and Jill Bliss held a show late last year called “Hidden Habitats“. I’ve been looking for a desk calendar and was delighted when I then stumbled upon the “Hidden Habitats” calendar that they produced together:

Lots of gorgeous illustrations like this one inside:

The calendar itself uses vegetable-based inks and is printed on recycled paper. You can buy the calendar here (and there are much better pics of the calendar in the link!).

As mentioned on other blogs, the super talented Emily of the The Black Apple recently appeared on Martha. She goes through a quick tutorial of how to put a simple doll together. If you are wanting to see a step-by-step video of how to create a doll (and really, they are the same basic steps for putting together any softie) watch the clip on Martha’s website, where you can also download the templates to make one yourself.

And I came across this article in The Age about the recent landmark Federal Court case on copying and infringement of a registered design. It was found that a dress designed by Lili was a copy of a dress designed (and registered) by Review (see the actual dresses in the article). I have no idea about the actual scope of the Designs Act, but I do wonder about its applicability to such things as fabric designs, soft toy designs, bag designs, etc that are very much part of the craft world at the moment. It may perhaps afford more protection on craft designs given the various ‘copy-and-take-credit‘ cases that have been popping up in Craftland over the last few months.

And to wrap-up this meandering post, just wanted to share a photo taken by my hubby who has been having a lot of fun playing with the camera lately (note: this pic has not been edited/Photoshopped in any way):

(Don’t worry, we normally don’t have leaking taps in our house - just this once for the photo!)

The state of my cutting table/desk yesterday:

Why yesterday? I’m at work today and I know that I’m not going to have a chance to take a proper photo of my desk when I get home later as it’s usually chaos once our family steps through the front door - plus there is a very, very high chance that it will still look like that by the end of today!

In progress are a few softies in vintage fabrics for Easter.  Also on my desk is my handy 2nd notebook (my handy 1st notebook is always in my handbag). Back in 2006, I blogged about wanting make a re-useable notebook cover. My first few attempts were pretty horrible but I did eventually end up making a book cover that fit properly (and completely forgot to blog about it). So this is the one that worked:

I cut the pear and the leaf from a patchwork of fabrics then appliqued them onto some wool flannel. I used some wool-felt, a vintage button, and some velcro for a simple closure. After almost 2 years, it’s (thankfully) holding up pretty well :-)

Oh, and yes - I probably should announce the winner of Peg Bear Waltz! Thank you to all who left a comment - I only wish I had more Peg Bears to give away :-) Perhaps another giveaway soon but today, Waltz goes to commenter number . . . . 35!!

That’s Stacey! Stacey, I’ll be emailing you shortly for details.  Apologies for the poor quality photo - had to do draw out a number early this morning before I left the house for work, and the sun hadn’t made its appearance yet :-)

And before I pry my fingers off the laptop, just wanted to spread the word about “Craft For China“, which is a fundraiser to support 2 beautiful Chinese (orphan) girls. Please visit their website for more details and get involved either by donating money or donating your art/craft for an upcoming auction.

Happy rest-of-the-week all!

Thanks to Brooke for another fun theme for this week! Unfortunately, there’s not much inspiration looking out our front door:

A pretty stock-standard front-yard. However, the girls do love to play on the lawn when the days are cooler. We live in a cul-de-sac/court and have wonderful neighbours who we all know by name and talk to regularly. That’s just one more thing about living here that will make it hard to leave once we finally sell the house.

Up in my craft room, I’ve been putting a few of these together for another magazine submission:

An Editor of one of the Aussie craft magazines has asked me to be a regular contributor for the next few months - a prospect I am finding both exciting and a real challenge, as it will mean coming up with something new and different according to a particular theme every month. But still a good challenge to have!

Here are some amazing artists I’ve stumbled across this week via Issue 3 of King Brown magazine:

>> Saelee Oh: “Watergarden”

>> Amy Sol: “Going Forth With Apples”

>> Koralie: “Plume”

Check out their websites for more inspiration and stunning artwork.

And finally, thank you to everyone who has been sharing a random fact for the giveaway - it’s been enlightening, entertaining and at times hilarious, reading what you’ve been willing to share! Thanks for playing along :-)

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to leave your random fact on the previous post by midnight, this Tuesday 11th March (AEST). I’ll be back here on Wednesday with the new owner of Peg Bear Waltz!

Thanks to Net who recently tagged me with “7 Random Facts About Me“! Haven’t done this meme in a while so here’s a hodge podge of facts:

1. Just like Justine Clarke, I Like to Sing! My husband comes from a musical family - they are all blessed with wonderful voices. Me? Let’s just say I seriously couldn’t sing to save someone’s life. Thankfully the girls love to sing and are at that stage of still being tone-deaf, so we all enjoy singing way off-key together!

2. I believe that the teachers in Victoria deserve the pay increase that they are asking for.

3. I am not sporty or athletic - not in the slightest. The tales I could tell about my misadventures in Sport back in high school . . .

4. Though I am married to Mr Gadget and work in the field of new telephony technology, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea about what’s hot and what’s the new must-have in gadgets and technology. Give me my sewing machine and I’ll be happy.

5. I feel my best in the morning.

6. I have a blood-test done every few weeks to monitor my condition as a particular gland is not working as it should be, but I am definitely feeling so much better than I did last year (and haven’t yet been sick once this year - yay!).

7. I refuse to believe that the universe and all that is in it, with all its complexity, beauty and diversity somehow happened by chance. I do believe that it was made by a Creator who put a lot of thought, heart and care into every single piece of His creation from the atom to the dinosaur, and ensured that indeed everything created was “handmade with love” :-)

I won’t tag anyone else with this meme. Instead I’ll ask everyone who wants to be in the running to win Peg Bear Waltz (below) to leave a comment on this post stating one random fact about them.

Why? Because this month marks the 2nd birthday of this little blog! And also because it is a small way of saying thank you to all of you who stop by and leave a word of encouragement. I try my best to respond to each comment but if I don’t get the chance, please know that every comment really means so much and I truly appreciate the continuing motivation and support you generously offer :-)

Please leave your comment with a random fact about you on this post by midnight Tuesday, 11th March (Aussie EST) and I will announce the winner of Peg Bear Waltz next Wednesday (name will be picked out randomly of course!).

Some of you will recognise the Amy Butler fabric on Waltz - I just love that shade of green. Waltz is backed with my new favourite grey wool-blend flannel, which I picked up recently for $10/metre on sale, down from the usual $40/metre (love being in the right place at the right time!).

My youngest wishes you all a happy and safe weekend!!!

‘Tis Wednesday again and time for “On My Desk“.

My main study desk is one of those multi-tiered structures and the upside is that I have a lot of space to play with (and the downside being there is a lot of space to just dump stuff on!). I do have one little corner for my slowly growing Kokeshi collection:

I recently acquired two older, more traditional Kokeshi dolls - the one on the left in the background is by Suiho Yajima and the one in the foreground on the right (carrying a little baby kokeshi on her back!) is by Sogen. I love that these two are a more ‘raw‘ than the others and tend to have a more handmade feel to them.

Thank you very much to those who adopted a softie in the recent shop update! My craft room always looks like a train has gone through it when I’m working on an update. Thought I’d take a photo of what the floor usually looks like when I’m trying to get the images done for the listings:

No fancy photo studio here folks! It’s all done on the floor, and rather hurriedly I must add, in order to make the most of the natural light and to keep them out of sticky little fingers :-)

Thank you for the comments on my inspiration board. I know mine is kinda ‘neat-&-tidy‘ which is in contrast to a lot of inspiration boards. I think it’s because if I find something I really like, I want to see it in its entirety and not have it covered up by other things, so everything has to be clearly viewable. Hence the slightly more organised positioning of bits and pieces.

Speaking of inspiration, lots more has come my way this week through the endearing characters created by artist Yuko Hara. Some illustrations can be found here, and some softies (such as the one below - love her little coat and matching hat!) can be found here.

And more inspiration through the images in this book, which a lovely blogging friend (and who I actually get to talk to in real life!) kindly recommended to me:

It’s part of the 500 Series by Lark Books and is filled with such a diverse and stunning collection of handmade dolls. I must have muttered “wow” at the turn of every page and really couldn’t pick just a few to post up here on the blog. Simply stunning - if you love art dolls, you will love this book!

I also wanted to spread the word about Crammed Organisms. For all you softie-makers, you might want to consider applying for this as it’s meant to be the “World’s Largest Plush Show“. Check out their website for more details.

I’ve got a giveaway planned this week so don’t forget to check back soon :-)

A day late on the “This is . . . “ this week due to trying to get the shop update all done and dusted :-) Thanks to Pip for the great theme. I posted up a pic of my inspiration board a few posts ago but here it is again. If you click on the image, it will take you to the flickr pic where I have added some notes on where bits and pieces have come from.

Also, the shop has been updated for March with:

I tried something new this time around thanks to a suggestion from a lovely blog reader and put Anouk the Woodland Girl Bunny up on eBay. You can find her here. Her listing will finish on the 7th of March.

A few more pics from the shop update -

Anouk and her satchel with little bunny friend:

Ayumi the Woodland Girl (now SOLD):

And the Tango Peg Bear Art Print framed:

Heaps more pics in my shop and in flickr.

Off to catch up on my Bloglines! Happy Monday!