All Things Lovely

One Cushion Down...

I've been sewing my little heart out lately, and finally turned my attention to sewing something for my home. After absolutely falling in love with this fabric collection, and convincing myself I could like orange, I went ahead and sewed a cushion for my loungeroom.

It turned out to be a little more fiddly than I anticipated, only because I hadn't bothered making a pattern or doing anything smart like that. Cut and sew is kind of my style! I've lined it all in a light calico, as the sparrow fabric in particular is quite light. I've used the darker brown as the backing as well as a small feature at the front, and a zip is sewn in the bottom of the cushion cover. I need to make 2 more, but this was a good start. They're actually smaller than I thought, oh well! I think they go well with the standard chocolate suede cushions I use on my lounge all the time.

When I get my new furniture at the end of June/early July I'll take a photo of the whole lounge setup. At the moment, it looks like a bomb has gone off.

Oh My Goodness, I've Been..... Tagged!

I love this blogging community I'm now involved in. So much fun, so much inspiration and so many lovely people. Kylie from the gorgeous Bandelle blog is one such person, she's a fab Aussie chick living ithe US, I am so jealous of her shopping opportunities! She has been kind enough to tag me, so here we go.

What was I doing 10 years ago:

Wow, ten years! I was living in Taree, a medium size regional town on the mid north coast of New South Wales. I hated it. I moved there to be with my family, and that's all that kept me there. I was a much different person, so I'm glad I can say 10 years on I like myself more now. I was working in a job I hated, and living in a town I hated. What a life! LOL

5 things on my to-do list today:

Not too much actually. I am at work, so that brings it's own set of To Do's, but personal ones are:

• finish some cushion covers I started making - you know the ones I talked about before. It appears they are more fiddly than I thought!
• sort out home internet. I am dying without it!
• start designing a website for a friend, I am creatively lacking at the moment
• sort out my spare room once and for all! It's an embarassment!
• while I'm sorting, I need to do some work on my loungeroom. I have a new TV unit on order, but my old one has been taken. So, all the contents from a huge TV unit are now scattered over the floor in piles. it will have me in tears I tell you.

Snacks I enjoy:

There are just way too many to list! I can eat a whole box of Cheezels pretty quickly, they are just too moreish. You know what I really wish were readily available, fried mozarella sticks from Chilis. Oh my gosh, do you know I just went looking for a link and found they are closed! NOOOOO!! Oh well, apart from cheese sticks and Cheezels, I am a sucker for a sausage and egg mcmuffin from McDonalds. Addicted I tell you.

Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

Spoil my family would be the obvious answer. I adore them, and so I would buy them whatever they wanted. Also, my sister and brother in law are about to move to Biloela, somewhere in Queensland. The ability to visit whenever I wanted would be wonderful.

Even though it wouldn't take a billion dollars, I want a pergola on my house, so I can get a dog. It's just not something I can pour money into at the moment, but it is a dream. I miss having my dog with me, because there is just no shelter for him.

Also, charities would get a good chunk. Cliche answer, but they need all the money they can get.

Places I have lived:

Sadly, I've never lived out of NSW. It's certainly a goal.I have lived in Tamworth, Nowra, Taree and Sydney. I'm a city girl at heart.

People I want to know more about:

To be honest I'd love to know more about so many people, but these are a few to start. My apoloigies if you've been tagged recently.

The fabulous Mrs Potter at Pottering About - so talented in so many ways

Brett from Velvet Crumbs - this man makes the most delectable cakes

Melissa at Snapshots on Life - she is a wonderful photographer with the most handsome little boy   

Kirrily at My Fantasy House - this is one lady with impeccable taste

Kristie at The Dragonfly Faery - an inspiration to me in many ways

                                             

New Cushion Time

I've got quite a neutral loungeroom, the walls are a latte colour with a feature wall in a darker brown that really isn't much of a feature. Ooops. My lounge is also a deep chocolate brown, which is all wonderful as it allows me to bring in feature colours and change the look easily, and most importantly, cheaply.

At the moment my feature colour is teal, I have teal cushions and some teal bowls and other things. For winter, I think I'd like to do more of an orange feature colour. This is a huge step for me, as I really have not been a fan of orange! However, I've seen it in a lot of fabrics and other things recently, and it's swayed me. Plus, I figure I'm only spending about $40 for fabrics for the cushions, so if it looks dreadful, it's not a disaster.

Which brings me to this post. I've just ordered this fabric. What do you think of this layout for some cushions? Is it too much, not enough, just right? Opinions would be great, to help me second guessing myself!

It's from my new favourite designer, Joel Dewberry, mainly from the Aviary line. I love it! The colours are slightly off because of the computer images, but you get the general idea.

Sale Items On Etsy

I've got some items on sale in my Etsy shop, stock that I'd really like to see moved on to happy homes. These have had their prices slashed quite dramatically.

First, 20 sheets of chocolate brown suede paper. This is so perfect for invitations and other crafts. Only $20.00 for 20 sheets, awesome!

Then we have a knitting bag. Now that it's getting cooler in Australia, time to pull out the wool and needles. This keeps everything together, neat and clean. Only $19.00.

And then, the nappy clutch. Surely you know a new mum? This is perfect to just hold a couple of nappies, and some wipes, save carrying that massive nappy bag everywhere! And for only $19.00, it's even more perfect!

The Beginning Of The Laundry Pretty Up

I've begun making the curtains to go up in my laundry, but while I'm deciding what I want, I decided to pretty up a little canvas to go above the washing machine, and the shelf where my pink peg tin and washing powder tin live.

When I was down in Berry last weekend, I found a wooden letter 'L' in white which I've been looking for, got this one quite cheap so I was really chuffed. I've just covered a canvas with the fabric from the curtains and some ribbon, and stuck the L on there. I ran out of fabric widthways, so I cut it at different angles and sewed it together, with a zigzag stitch over the top to make it a small feature.

The only thing I'm really not sure about is, does the very white 'L' look funny against the creamy background of the fabric?

Funny Thing Happened Today...

I was alerted to this today by some lovely friends, Real Living featured my Etsy shop, Little Bird Blue in its 'Fave Etsy Sites'! Oh my goodness, what a surprise and honour that was! Just for posterity, I have to post a screen shot. It's totally made my day, and was a lovely surprise for this girl.

Invitations

I figure, since my business is actually making invitations, I thought I'd put a couple on Etsy to see how they went. These are two of my favourites, one you may have seen already as I used it for my 30th birthday high tea.

I absolutely love the combination of suede, lace and ribbon, it's so pretty and luscious!

Now On Etsy

Sorry for the lack of posts, I haven't really had the time to make anything lately! I've been busy making wedding invitations for a client, and I'm very cross with myself for not taking a photo. Anyway, hopefully after this weekend, I will have some more things to share with you.

Just wanted to say my baby shrugs are now for sale in my Etsy shop. I'm going to knit them to order so that everyone can choose the colour and size that they want. Go on... buy one, you know you want to!