more mountains..

Just returned from a post Christmas mini break in the Blue Mountains. It is seriously beautiful up there and I would move there tomorrow but my hubby quite rightly pointed out that for a professional sailor to move to the mountains is tempting career suicide!

Had to share the fabulous Megalong Tea Rooms with you. The most tranquil spot to eat lunch. A family run business that are famous for their Devonshire teas but I HAD to have the Mediterranean ploughmans with locally grown olives and homemade tapenades. Was so fresh with heaps of creamy brie and warm bread.

How peaceful is this dining spot?! The kids can just run around and check out the kangaroos and horses milling around.

Inside the tea rooms were pretty quaint too. Would be lovely in Winter with the fire blazing.

My ultimate thing to do up in the mountains is vintage shopping. So many jam packed antique shops and markets and even the kids enjoyed finding some old 80's classics like the troll!

five photos. five facts.

1. since becoming a mum i really dislike dangerous situations. my husband loves them (that's him at the top of the yacht mast) and calls me 'mary poppins'.

2. the queen owns all the swans in the uk (weird but true fact which my mum informed me of whilst taking a walk through st.james park in london this summer).

3. apparantly my voice becomes very english and a lot posher when i'm on the phone.

4. i am so scared of cockroaches that i cry like a baby when i see one and if they run towards me (which they love to do) i have a panic attack

5. the two things that make me very angry are people throwing rubbish on the ground and cruelty to animals (dogs being my favourite-my friend's dog Ash is in the picture. my favourite kinds of dogs are usually not very pretty)

Play along with Meet Me At Mikes.

merry christmas & giveaway winner!

Christmas Eve, and signing off until the New Year. Wishing all you fellow bloggers a wonderful Christmas, wherever you are, and lots of happy, healthy times ahead for 2011.

This is the end of my first year in blogland and it's been so much fun getting to know so many likeminded crafty lovely people.

I have one last minute dash to the shops today as my intention of a freshly made yule log is now replaced with one already prepared by my very good friend from back home, Mr Kipling. I will however, endeavour to decorate it with lots of tacky plastic santas and snowmen just like mum used to do.

Whilst I'm here I'm pleased to announce the winner of my 100th post giveway......drumroll......VINTAGE NURSERY LAMPS. Well done Meg look forward to making you something special.

cute tags

I desperately wanted to make my own tags this year but have had zero time to do anything about it. Perfect timing by the lovely Jenny at Allsorts who sent some freebie files yesterday and hey pronto! they are now this years tags. I backed them with some kraft board and then secured them with twine.
My 'brown paper packages tied up with string' obsession was certain to make a Christmas appearance and these tags worked perfectly with them. Thank you allsorts! (beautiful blog you MUST take a look if you haven't already).

yule log

photo via

I was chatting to our French sommelier at work the other night about Christmas. I was fascinated to hear what his French traditional Christmas in Australia consisted of. There followed lots of ooohhing and aaaaahhing at his talk of French Champagne and Foie Gras....

....and THEN he mentioned that no Christmas is complete without a 'Buche de Noel'. I asked what that was and he explained that it was a cake that looks like a trunk. I was so ridiculously excited to remember the good ole yule log which has evaporated from my British Christmas memory bank.

Having turned from university student to a 21 year old living in Japan to a working girl living in a poky 'all I could afford' East London flat to a backpacker around oz, this is the first year I am playing adult and hosting Christmas at my place!

The thing I am now most definitely looking forward to more than ANYTHING is making my yule log! I just wish the conversation with the sommelier had taken place earlier so I could have had mum post out the snowman, santa and sprigs of holly that adorned our log for every Christmas I remember at home. That would have been the perfect touch of nostalgia I need at this time of year. Would have been the icing on the trunk cake.

kiss me kate

Are these the sweetest biscuits you've ever seen!? I'd struggle to make a bite mark on one of those, oh, ok, maybe not! One of my lovely customers who bought some bunting from me recently, wanted me to see it featuring as part of her little girl's birthday party. It just so happens that she makes spectacular cakes and biscuits. Take a look at her facebook page here and check out her amazing creations. So talented. Makes my birthday cakes look very mediocre!
This is the picture she wanted me to see which is her daughter's first 'candy themed' birthday party. I'm proud as punch that my bunting was part of such a beautiful set up like this. Thankfully lucky little Isabella will be able to look back on these pictures and realise the talent and effort behind her very first party! Lovely stuff.

my creative space and GIVEAWAY!

This fabric is sitting there winking at me today waiting to be turned into some scatter cushions for my new sofa. It seems very Christmassy looking at it but that was not the intention as they will be living on my sofa all year round....

As soon as I finish writing this post I am going to make some flags for Kai's (Kitty's mummy's group friend) seaside themed bedroom. They will be hung beneath the fishing nets already hung from his ceiling.
I have been busy making lots of Christmas orders which is fabulous! This is just one of the many ships that have set sail this week....
and this is my 100th post!!! PHEW!....

For that I am hosting a GIVEAWAY.....today....so to enter please leave a comment on this post and I will draw names from a hat this time next week. Was hoping to get the winning order made in time for Christmas but not sure my timekeeping skills and Australia Post are up to that. Sorry!

Spread the word lovely people!

purchase of the day

My obsession with stationary continues. I'm supposed to be shopping for pressies for other people but I just keep stumbling across things that are far too scrummy for me not to buy. Check out more cool stuff that Kitty (but not my Kitty, that would be waaaaay too clever) has been coming up with lately.....

Tomorrow's creative space will be my 100th post which will mean a giveaway! Make sure you pop in and put your name down.

sunday sailing

Whilst my husband is sailing real life big boats on Sydney harbour today, I'm here at home, excitedly putting together my pretend big boats. I have looked high and low across Sydney searching for big cinnamon sticks to make bigger boats with bigger masts.

I ended up finding some back in the UK (thank you Waitrose and thank you customs!), so set to work making some stars and stripes sails, a spotty hull and an extra large lovely smelling mast.

So whilst my hubbies yacht might sail faster than mine, I bet mine looks prettier than his and smells a DARN sight better too!

SQUEE!

Remember before when I introduced you to some really sweet little softies that my girlfriend made? Well, she has now entered the wonderful world of jewellery under her new brand Squee Crafts. Move over diamonds....here comes tetris! Seriously, how imaginative is this design? She is so clever.
Here's her strawberry and kiwi ring. She uses polymer clay and does a fantastic job at it too.

I'm thinking about grabbing one of these donut necklaces for my sugar obsessed 11 year old stepdaughter. Such a funky pressie for Christmas.
This cupcake necklace is also very sweet. I know she's my friend but I think she has some genius designs going on here. Check more out here.

kaleidoscope

Just got back from the sunshine coast and thought I'd mention the really fabulous Kaleidoscope market that I stumbled across at Lake Kawana. As well as some extremely talented lovely crafty people making super sweet clothing, gifts and accessories there were also free Santa photos, yummy food and coffee, a playroom and lots of other activities for little people. There was also some really useful educational programmes going on with regards to breastfeeding, introducing children to music and exercise for bubs etc.

If you're up that way for a visit or live there (lucky you!) the markets run all through the summer and are well worth a visit.

birds n' the bees party

I have themed party obsession. I remember friends telling me they were nervous turning up to my 'from the musicals' themed 30th just in case I felt they hadn't put enough effort in. That's not so good, AND it's worsening rapidly since giving birth.

So today we had our mums group joint 2nd birthday. Original plans were rained off so one of my lovely girls volunteered her place. I insisted on a theme, to which there are always a symphony of sighs, which was ladybirds and bumblebees (my two favourite bugs, in fact the only bugs that don't get 'Mortein-ed' beyond recognition in my house). Leaving everything to the last minute, I managed a scoot up to Spotlight yesterday and grabbed some fur from which I made a simple 'Pebbles' style getup. BUT she wouldn't keep her antennas on. Not part of my plan. Theming obsessed mummy and independent 2 year old= not a happy mix.

The gorgeous Seth kept his bumblebee wings on the whole time.
For a touch of nostalgia I made a washing line of all our bubs at 6 months old, complete with bumblebee and ladybird pegs!
I even made the mummys bring matching food. Deeper sighs.
BUT, best dressed for me had to be Hannah. She looked so sweet in her bumblebee cossie and swim hat.

flea market finds....

There's nothing in the world more satisfying than an op shop sale! This week at my local it was 50% off shoes. And there they were. A cute little pair of Cath Kidston plimsolls which were the perfect size for my 8 year old stepdaughter. Didn't even realise Cath did shoes. And how they found their way to my local op shop in time for half price shoes is a work of magic.
This is not an op shop find but I'm excited as I received it this morning over a coffee with my girlfriend who decided to brush the dust off her machine and whipped this up for Kitty. Of course it was frantic undressing mid flat white, my impatience does not do 'waiting until we get home'. The fabric is beautiful and it fitted perfectly. Well done Alecia, you are pure genius!

Pop to Sophie's for more bargain treats.

shopping

I'm no shopper when it comes to gigantic Westfield type shopping centres. In fact, those places make me feel nauseous and I only go there if I absolutely MUST and if I need a kikki.K fix. My idea of shopping is stumbling across a small eclectic town with a few nik nak shops, ANY op shop (especially those in rural places down really small side streets where you still find fantastic things super cheap), markets or I don't mind a dabble in a bit of online shopping.

If I stumble across a shop that has oilcloth bunting draped across the front I will most definitely go in. I wouldn't care what it sold. I glimpsed this place driving past in the Blue Mountains, got myself a wee bit excited, found myself walking down the winding path to the door.....
....saw a quilt hanging there, excitement has now reached a new level, enter to find three rooms filled with an abundance of buttons, fabrics, ribbons and all my favourite things inside. I was in heaven!
I also really love these kinds of shops. This was another fabulous find in the Blue Mountains. I get really jittery when I enter shops like this as I feel like I'm not going to be able to get to every nook and cranny and panic I'm going to miss something really special. Shops like this make me really miss my mum. She takes Kitty off my hands and lets me take all the time in the world. And I need a lot of that in shops like this.
I quite love shops like this too although I do find them a bit samey after a while. This was in my favourite newly discovered town I visited back home, Stamford. It was just me and my gorgeous girlfriends from university days, milling around, a little bit hungover, taking all the time we needed to browse every little nik nak shop in town. With lots of food breaks ( I refuse to shop with anybody that does not need to do morning coffee, mid morning tea, lunch, early afternoon coffee and a late afternoon tea with some sort of cake involved).
I lived in England for 28 years and never looked up. But back home recently, I had a permanent flip top head on, checking out all the beautiful architecture, like these super ornate shop fronts.I totally took all that for granted before I came to oz. I did lots of 'oohs' and 'aaahs' and drove my girlfriends mad who were confused about their new touristy type friend.
Speaking of which, I'm sure they also found it quite ludicrous that I wanted us all to pose for a picture outside this shop because I loved their faded, whimsical bunting. Quite a sweet oldie worldie shop front it is too! OOOHHH, AAAAHHHH!!!!

(That's me in the pink hat).

9 to go....

....and I'm on my 100th post. Phew.

In true blogging generosity I'm going to host my own little GIVEAWAY.

Everyone to comment on 'post 100' will be bunched up on tiny pieces of paper and pulled out of something a week later.

If you are picked, you will then be able to choose a name bunting of your choice.

Remember, these can work beyond a children's name bunting, I will make anything for you, have a look here for just one other option. A 'home sweet home' is another sweet alternative.

I'm a bit excited actually, think I might be posting quite a lot in the next few days...

some girlie organisation

It's getting a bit busy over at kitty n' kitsch, anyone would think Christmas is coming.

I really enjoyed making this custom order for 3 little girlies waiting to get super organised in time for Christmas. These pockets are designed to house those trinkets that find themselves under beds and behind the sofas! Hair bands, clips, necklaces, lip gloss or secret notes.

I managed to include some of my delicious new ribbons from my recent trip back home too.

Got to dash, Bernina's calling......

my stocking arrives...

....and what a beautiful looking stocking it is too! Still feeling a little bit homesick since my trip back home, it was the best cheery up when I picked it up yesterday. Absolutely brilliant crafting and lots of lovely details too;
....this trimming was top notch. Such a sweet idea and.....
...the buttons are to die for and....
....i was very touched that you had done a bit of research on me and filled it up with pommy sweets! Including my absolute favourite and desperately missed Galaxy Minstrels! All wrapped up in that lovely Christmas bauble fabric and a big fat red velvet ribbon.

Thanks Selina for hosting this really cheery swap. Thanks Tracey for putting in such a huge effort, it couldn't have arrived at a better time for this sad little pom missing her mum!

excess baggage

I must admit I thought shopping for fabrics in the UK was going to be out of this world. However, I am very pleased to admit that my lovely little local is still the best selection I've found.

I did, however, manage to put myself in that oh so familiar position of purchasing a new case, paying the 40 quid excess and bringing home this lot. I looked in Wales, Norfolk, Rutland and Berwick Street in London for something a little bit different but really.....we have as good a selection down under after all (stroking fabrics in Liberty London however, was a bit special!)
I really enjoyed the ribbons though. There was definitely a better selection and some really lovely quality ones at good prices.
BUT......my 'piece de resistance' was definitely this original Mary Quant fabric picked up at mum's local charity shop for a pound! There's a good few metres, and I'm not sure where to go with it, but in true Quant style I quite fancy a nice little shift dress for summer.

Lovely stuff.

cute tags

My paper obsessed girlfriend has recently opened up her Blonde Brat Pack shop on Made It. I thought I'd share them with you as they really are so cute....
....and playful and perfect as a finishing touch to a brown paper package tied up with string.

let me eat cake.

England and cake go hand in hand for me. This is one of many devonshire teas with mum at a local farm cafe. I eat A LOT of scones when I come home. This is a favourite spot. The scones are fresh and perfect, the jam comes in a little pot, the cream is clotted and the plates are Cath Kidston. Pretty brave I think! Oh, and I also like the mug the tea comes in too. Whilst we're on the subject of cake....

....here is Kitty's birthday cake. She was 2 last week. Pretty simple in comparison to my usual efforts but I did make the Twirling Betty mini bunting which I think sets it off nicely. I love being at home. I remember that doilie from when I was as little as Kitty is now. There is so much nostalgia around me here [big deep breath].......

....and since I had arranged a spooky Halloween weekend away with my girlfriends, I found yet another excuse to make a cake. I also carved my very first pumpkin this year, sad but true, and he's sitting there nicely in the background taking it all in.

Tomorrow night M & S Christmas Pud with Brandy Sauce is on the menu. Home is where the heart (cake) is.