The Friendship Tree

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great weekend. I had a lovely time catching up with some friends over lunch at Watt Restaurant on Sunday. Everyone is now well at our place, so I hope to have a much better week than I did last week.

I wanted to introduce you today to two lovely sisters Kim and Donna and their beautiful store The Friendship Tree, which is located at 272 High Street in Northcote, Melbourne.

a sneaky peek inside the store

The Friendship Tree is a store dedicated to all things handmade. They stock wonderful creations from artisans and designers from all over Australia, of which I am lucky enough to be counted!

If you live locally and are able to pop in you will find a range of toys, gifts, homeware, and art ..... and while you're there say hi to Kim and Donna for me!

If you are not able to pop in (like me) I suggest you take a peek at their delightful store online. It's so wonderful to know that there are people like Kim and Donna in this world who share a passion for supporting independent artists and the handmade market!

Image used with the permission of The Friendship Tree

Just Plain Gorgeous

I was lucky enough to get a small amount of shopping time in the other day - so I headed straight for the newest addition to our little precinct.
With a store name like 'just plain gorgeous' I've got to admit my expectations were high as I entered the brand new store owned by Simone, from Beach Vintage, and her two sisters. Let me tell you it did not disappoint! The store is filled with beautiful finds from local and overseas artisans and truly reflects the girls fantastic eye for home decor, design and clothing.

The store, which is located in Bulimba's Oxford Street, has something for everyone - from cushions to lamps, clothing to jewellry, and tea cups to soaps. One of the features I really admired was that the girls have placed plaques next to a lot of the wares explaining a little about the designer and their products, giving a real personal element to the shopping experience. This store will definitely be a regular on my shopping trip list! If you live in the Brisbane area, make sure you pop in and say hi to the girls - I'm certain you will find something to brighten your home or wardrobe!

And, if you are not familiar with Simone's beautiful blog Beach Vintage - knock on her door and say hi - I've heard she's really friendly!

Hope you all have a great weekend. Mine can only be better than my week, which has been filled with sick children and a sick husband :( ! Michelle

all images from Beach Vintage

heard of blue caravan?

If you haven't already heard about blue caravan ..... you will definitely have to check if out! Blue Caravan is an ethically responsible site that sells products made both locally and overseas. They believe " ... that objects ‘warmed’ by designers, artists and artisans have a quality like no other… and that ‘ethical’ is no longer a choice separated from style and design" - a philosophy that speaks to my heart - how about yours?

Blue Caravan is an Australian based site, so all prices are shown in AUD - yippee! I have a feeling we will all be seeing and hearing a lot more from the lovely people at Blue Caravan, as they spread the ethically responsible word throughout the world! Here are some of my favourite finds of the day:

Be Still

Red Seed Studio

Miss Isa

My Heart Sings Green

My owls, along with my other designs, have now joined this fabulous site here. I am hoping to add more to the store tonight.

So, if you haven't already knocked on Blue Caravan's door may I suggest you do so - at the same time you can feel smug in the knowledge that you purchased something with some ethical cred. Let me know what you think. Michelle

Travel & A Second Hand Find

I don't know about you but everyone around me lately seems to be either traveling to an exotic destination, planning to travel to an exotic destination, or just come back from one! In honour of those well-heeled friends and acquaintances, I have made a small series of 'travel tags' from an American tourist road map dated 1977. Hand stamped with fun travel motifs, I thought they would make cute additions to bon voyage gifts. They are selling through my madeit store for $5.50/pack of 3.

Also this week I have made a set of round gift tags featuring a series of feathered friends and their hideouts. These come in a set of 5 for $4.50/pack and are also available from my madeit store.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you this little treasure I picked up a couple of weeks ago (that I had totally forgotten about until today). I bought this large vintage reel from the Woolloongabba Antique Centre for only $12! I adore all of these old reels, not only do they look fantastic but they are practical too. This one will hold my twine when I have used all the gorgeos red thread on it.

Don't you just love the patina on it? Okay, I know it's only an old cotton reel but sometimes it's the little things that make a space what it is - right? Anyway, it now sits in my office as part of my ever growing collection of 'bits n bobs'. What 'bits n bobs' do you like to surround yourself with?

Thought I'd leave you with this cute image of an up-cycled reel- right up my alley!!

image from here
Hope everyone has a great weekend ... whatever your planning. Take care. Michelle

Dream Home

Something you may not know about me is that I absolutely adore anything to do with real estate, okay I have a borderline obsession. One of my favourite past times is to flick through the weekend property guide, or to simply surf realestate.com. Anyway, on my latest search I came across a home that my husband and I would love to live in ..... you could say (with some minor tweaking and personality) it could be our 'dream home'. Now, don't get me wrong, we don't have the multimillion dollar price tag this beautiful home will be commanding ... but we can dream and aim high ... right?

This property is actually not far from where we live, and as you may know from a previous post, has the same view our next property (we are very lucky to have already purchased) has albeit with a 'not so dream' house attached to it .... maybe one day our property could look a little something like this one ... with a little Harry Seidler 1960's twist of coarse!!! And yes, I will absolutely be will be posting about its transformation when we have the money to do it - unfortunately a few years away (boo hoo)!

Anyway, for now I thought I would share with you the house I have been drooling over whilst I dream and plan for our next renovation...

Built by the current owner ....

Dream view ...Dreamy entrance-way near dreamy pool ...

Okay, I did say a few tweaks - I could live with the red for a while though....


Could definitely live with this bath ....
My favourite green in the laundry ... just add some personality ... and perfect!


Polished concrete - love it!!

Ahh ....

Okay, so should I buy a lotto ticket or simply 'think' it into existence??!!

If you want to see more, you can here.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed looking at this gorgeous home. As always, I would love to know your thoughts. Michelle

all images from realestate.com.au

To Ikea, Or Not To Ikea?

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week! This week, in Brisbane, we had a public holiday for Ekka. We decided it was a good idea to go to Ikea .... (ahh)! Not a good day to do this as half of Brisbane had the same idea!
Anyway, I very rarely get my husband to shop at all (let alone at Ikea) so I eagerly took this opportunity, popped no. 1 daughter into the kiddies play land, strapped no. 2 daughter into the pram - constantly watching the clock as I know it normally takes me around 3 to 4 hours to get around that place - not a chance with husband in tow! We had 1 hour before daughter no. 1 had to be picked up so the race was on! Breezing past the isles I would normally linger at .... then, my husband said - what about an Ikea vanity for our ensuite renovation? What? Shock, Horror .... then I took the time to look ..... they actually don't look that bad, and an entire double vanity with taps for $1600!!
So, I was wondering ..... To Ikea, Or Not To Ikea .... has anyone else dabbled in an Ikea bathroom before? If you have, what did you think? Was it durable? Can I make it look expensive? Anyway, my head is full of questions. Of course I went straight to Google and here is some inspiration ...

The Smartest Fish

Love the image above - in this bathroom they have painted an Ikea island bench and used it as a vanity .... who would have thought??

pics digger

Ikea with marble ..... may just be the right balance?

Ikea Fans

The image above shows a similar vanity to the one we were looking at - it comes in other colours and finishes.

Plastolyx

The vanity above shows an Ikea carcass and a concrete top - possibility?

Bathroom Furniture Reviews

Lastly .... is this really Ikea? It looks a little bit minimalist for us, but still can't believe it's Ikea!


Think I need to do a little more research but potentially we may be able to create style on a budget! What do you think?

Hope all you Brissy followers had a fantastic People's Day, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Michelle

p.s. I left without my usual "I've been to Ikea for 3 hours" headache so maybe there is something to be said for having my husband in tow!!

Prints & Ledamae Giveaway

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great weekend! We had a long one in Noosa - it was a wonderful break, and the girls got to spend time with their grandparents. Just wanted to show you what I have been up to in between wholesale orders.

The image below shows some of the new range of framed artwork. Each design is hand stamped onto vintage paper, then backed with recycled card and framed. I have a range of French, Children's, and Comtemporary artwork which I will be hopefully loading onto my madeit store tonight. They will be listed for $18 each plus postage, and I think they look better in a group of 3 or 5 (hint, hint)!! Love to know what you all think.

(madam 4's bedroom)

Also, wanted to share with you a giveaway that Lisa over at Ledamae is having. She is giving away not one, but two of these fabulous pebble mats! The first prize is for a large white mat measuring 800mm x 500mm and the second prize if for a small pebble mat measuring 600 x 400. Lisa has a gorgeous blog filled with refreshing images, ideas, and information - originally a kiwi, Lisa now lives in beautiful Melbourne. If you haven't checked out her blog yet, I would suggest you do so, its one of my regular reads! You'll have to hurry for Lisa's generous giveaway as entries close on the 18th of August - good luck! Thanks again Lisa!!

ledamae

Hope you are all having a wonderful week. Thanks again for your feedback. Michelle

Ebay Win!!

Hi everyone, hope you have all had a great week. I took some rare time out today and had lunch with a friend for her birthday at a little local called 'Jetty', if you live in Brisbane and haven't been put it on your list as it is divine - especially on a beautiful winters day like today!

Anyway, just wanted to firstly thank you all for you wonderful comments re my lovely bedside tables! You are all so kind, and I always love your advice!

Secondly, just wanted to quickly share an ebay win with you all. I'm so excited as today my lovely rubber stamp set arrived! I was lucky enough to win this set a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting, somewhat nervously as I didn't know what to expect, for its arrival. It is a set of over 100 original stamps from the 1960's - it was a set given to 3 sisters by their father as a gift!!! Let me tell you it didn't disappoint - the stamps are of animals, flowers, plants, christmas, children, cars, buildings, maps, people .... and the list goes on!! They are all delightfully representative of the 60's and I can't wait to include them in my range.


Sorry about the image but I was in such a rush to show you all! They are in the original box and each set of stamps are in their original pressed metal containers ..... divine I know!!!!

Anyway, I will now stop basking in my own delight and let you know that the winner of my giveaway - the lovely Kym from Kyandra Rose has chosen a set of tags and an artwork, so hopefully she will share this with you all when she receives them!

Hope everyone has a great weekend - we are off to Noosa for a few days! Hope to get around to visit you all before I leave. Michelle

Vinnies Finds

As you all know, I have been slowly stockpiling yummy things to put into my youngest daughter's 'big girl bedroom'. Recently I have been looking for a 'girly' bedside table to paint - I have had no luck on ebay, and everything in the stores looks too ...... well 'new' ..... and not quite right.

Well, things happen for a reason as yesterday I popped into my local Vinnies and found these two lovely bedside tables for $12 ea - okay not quite so lovely at the moment .... but nothing a coat of white paint and some beautiful crystal knobs won't fix - right?! I think I need to channel Kristine from The Painted Hive as I have a few projects for her room now! Will post about these in a few months when I have completed them - wish me luck! Oh, and any of your lovely suggestions would be good. Michelle

The Next Survivor??!!

We all get a few of these in our email inbox, but I couldn't resist posting this one. Please read on if you want a laugh. (Apologies to anyone who may find this offensive). Let me know what you think!! Michelle

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks. Each kid will play two sports and take either music or dance classes. There is no fast food. Each man must take care of his 3 kids; maintain his career, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget enough money for groceries each week. Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing. Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Emergency Room. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a school function. Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times. The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done. The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished, and eyebrows groomed During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, backaches, headaches, have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must attend weekly school meetings and church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting. They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:30 am. A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size, doctor's name, the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear, and what they want to be when they grow up. The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if... he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years, eventually earning the right to be called Mother!