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.