i'm dreaming of a crafty christmas

I've never had the pleasure of a white Christmas, so this year I'm planning on a crafty one instead. These decorations are the first of a few projects I have up my sleeve. They are for a friend and her family. And I even learnt to blanket stitch in the process!

what do i do?

Working from home definitely has more ups than downs... I get to walk the dog in my lunch break, wear ugg boots to work and put the kettle on around 100 times a day (not to mention doing some of my own crafty stuff on the side!). I've also been very lucky to work with some lovely like-minded small business owners. Meetings consisting of friendly chatter and cups of tea feels like your catching up with friends rather than clients... Anyway enough about me, here is a sneak peek of some of the work I've done lately.

are you a sewing machine?

I've decided it's time to get my very own sewing machine but with so many options out there I have no idea where to begin. I don't want anything too fancy or complicated just something that will get the job done (I'm seeing lots more sewing in the future!). I've used Mum's Janome so I'm thinking that's a starting point but any advice you may have will be very happily taken on board. 

PS: How cute is this t-shirt? It's available from here.

warm and fuzzy

I am constantly amazed at the generosity of the crafty gals in blog-land. A little while ago I signed up for a Pay It Forward on Big Cat's blog and to my surprise and delight, a special package was waiting when I got home yesterday. Wrapped ever-so-lovely, it comprised of a gorgeous hand-made hook roll (complete with knitting gauge, hook and knitter's needles), some very well co-ordinated wool, a knitting and yarn edition of Get Creative magazine, and some very cute "Tea Time" tape. It's amazing how well someone I've only met in blog-land knows me! Thanks so much Cathy, it was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend.

So now it's my turn to share the love with all you lovely bloggers. If you would like to take part in a Pay It Forward just let me know in the comments section of this post. On Friday I'll randomly select one lovely blogger. The lucky person will receive a package in the mail from me within the next 365 days, and then you have another 365 days to Pay It Forward to someone else... Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy?

one finished dress

This is my very first item of clothing I have sewn! Much help was needed from my craft-master mum but it's now all finished and ready to wear. The pattern was just a cheapie from Spotlight but the beautiful Amy Butler fabric came from the delightful Lisa from Duckcloth (sneak a peek at her website featuring a new logo by yours truly). Now I just need an occasion to wear it, but with Christmas not too far away there is sure to be a shindig or two on the cards.

this is... my favourite film

Things have been a bit crazy in the Teacups-camp of late and I haven't had a chance to play along with "This is..." for a while, BUT I could not resist this week's topic from the delightful Hokey. Of course my favourite film is Amelie. When in Paris a few years back we visited the cafe where it was set. We tried our very best to not look like tourists and fit into the very cool french crowd... Somehow the camera flash going off when we were sneaking happy snaps soon gave us away.

a tweety tag

I've been tagged by the lovely Shellbells and ever-delightful Handmade Romance.  So here are 6 random tweet-delights about myself:

1.  I refuse to wear heels even though I'm a shortie.

2. I can't bite into icy poles.

3. Any conversation remotely scientific makes my eyes glaze over.

4. I firmly believe it is a man's job to take the bins out.

5. Mr Teacups doesn't agree with the above but does it for me anyway.

6. I have successfully taught Penny the puppy to "sit" and now have proof.

In other non-tag related news. I finally sat down to begin (and finish) my Birdcage Kit from this amazingly talented blogger AND a big, huge, ginormous thank you to Claire for awarding me my very first "Love Your Blog" award!

finally a finished crochet blanket

Yes it's true, I have finished a crochet blanket but unfortunately it is not my BIG crochet blanket. This one is baby sized for the beautiful Little Miss Bianca. The extent of my crocheting skills is limited to granny squares so this one is a giant sized granny at around a metre square. And I'm very happy to report that Bianca's mummy loved it but unfortunately the little miss was sleeping at the time.

hello

Hello! My name is Penny Lane. I love nothing more than being cuddled by my new friends and family. I also like chewing up my toys and the odd shoe (when I can sneak past the big people). Like a good girl should, I demand lots of attention and have been the reason for Danielle's lack of blogging and crafty stuff in the past week. I don't mind though cause it means I am getting LOTS of puppy love!

curlypops rocks

Another lovely surprise was waiting in my mailbox today. After a chance encounter in the Brown Owls carpark last week, the very generous Cam of CurlyPops fame sent me this lovely gift. A gorgeous little bag with absolutely divine flower lining and a very sweet flower brooch. Absolutely perfect for Spring! Check out some more of Cam's creations here.

granny squares galore

My crochet blanket has turned into a bit of a combined effort with me and my mum. I crochet granny squares galore and she has the not-so-fun job of stitching them all together (I do love her!). So far it is approximately 1 metre square but I am hoping to make it around 1.5 x 2.5 metres. We shall see how long my fingers can keep going!

postie-love

I arrived home earlier to discover a treasure trove in my mailbox. A couple of weeks ago I won a giveaway (my very first!) over at Above All Fabric, and the delightful Melanie sent me some beautifully quilted Christmas Cards as well as some very well co-ordinated fabric. I'm getting quite a beautiful fabric stash happening (you should see what the lovely Lisa from Duckcloth sent my way!!), but I need to take the plunge and get those scissors out! 

Even more postie-goodness was had with the arrival of my Birdcage kit from Ric-Rac. I had just ordered it on the weekend so Jodie must have had her running shoes on to get it to me super-quick!

brown owls printing goodness

I haven't been to Brown Owls for a while so was very much looking forward to it last night. The task was simple fabric printing and print, print, print we did. The one above was a test but I ended up liking it more than the final so think I will use it for something... any ideas?

penny lane

We are about to have a new addition to the Teacups family. This is Miss Penny Lane who will be coming to live with us in a few short weeks. In the above photo (far right) she is with her puppy siblings... and looks a lot like Chewbacca from Star Wars. I think she is the cutest spoodle in the whole wide world!

PS: Yes, Mr Teacups has become a doggy person!

PPS: Thanks to a lot of you for asking about the crochet blanket. It is still a work in progress but getting there. I will take a photo in the next few days so you can see how it's coming along.

another doll bites the dust

It was my older sister's birthday last week and as always I had the dilemna... what do you buy someone who has everything?? With my newfound sewing powers and crafty ways, I soon came up with the perfect solution. While you may have noticed that I am a huge believer in the "Ways of the Co-ordinated", I learnt absolutely everything I know off my sister, the Matching Master. So without further ado, may I present the Divine Miss Marie! She wears gorgeous gold necklace with leaf detail, complimented perfectly by her ribbon trim belt. And a girl can never wear too much gold! Gold trim on both shoes and handbag and of course no outfit is complete without a touch of "M" bling! 

The pattern is based on the one from here but with a few little tweaks. I'm really happy with the finished result and think my sewing is finally improving (I've even let you sneak a peek up close!).

a cup of handmade romance

On your next trip down blogging lane, why not sneak a peek at the brand spanking new handmade romance. It's created by a super-crafty, super-lovely, super-talented, super-dooper friend of mine. You may recognise her crafty goodness from her pirate-y contribution to the Softies for Mirabel auction or this post. Why not stop by and say a big howdy ho!

anyone for camping?

Mr Teacups would be the first to say that I'm not one for camping. On the other hand, I would say I'm a perfectly happy camper just as long as a toilet and shower are close by. Apparently by "boy" standards this is not "real" camping... Oh well, I don't mind because I'll always be a happy camper in these lovely Camper shoes! If you see me walking down the street, make sure you check out my fancy feet. 

softies for mirab-owl

The owls I made a few months ago are now on ebay as part of the Softies for Mirabel charity auction. It's a great cause so please sneak a peek and give generously, your new softie will be sure to give you a lifetime of cuddles in return.

six random things i heart

I've just been tagged by Strawberry Season! See below for six random things about me. I've decided to go for a "things I heart" theme.

1. Flanellette sheets on the bed.

2. A cup of chamomile tea at the end of the day.

3. Co-ordinating anything and everything.

4. Trakkies around the house (and maybe down the street... occasionally!).

5. The smell of coffee even though I don't like the taste.

6. My brand new heart brooch from here.

I'm going to bend the rules a teeny-tiny bit, and tag anyone who wants to join in the fun.

crochet crazy

My crochet blanket is coming along. It's taking a while as I want it to be a decent size but now that I can see a pattern forming it's a nice little incentive to keep at it. I am now averaging around 3 squares a night and have completed 40 so far. All other crafting has been put aside until this blanket is finished... It may take a while but I'm determined (and stubborn as Mr Teacups would say) so I'll be sticking at it until it's complete!

this is... my next splurge

I have been eyeing this for a while, and then when I saw it at the Melbourne Design Market I decided it just had to be mine. Made by the super-talented Victoria Mason, it will be a reward to myself for all the hard work I've been doing lately... Now all I have to do is wait for my next pay cheque and it shall be mine!

Head over to Three Buttons to check out more random "This Is" posts.

this is... what makes me happy

Image originally uploaded by Lori Joy. You can see some more of her very cool work here.

At the moment I am extremely happy (and lucky) to be able to work from home. It's taken a year or two to build up the business but it is at a point where I am working on some really fun jobs for some great clients (yes, it is possible!).

Thanks to One Little Acorn & Three Buttons for this theme & meme... I'm a few days late (again).

on my desk...

On my desk this week are SIX granny squares! They are for my very first crochet blanket so lots more to go... 

Check out more desks-in-action here.

this is... what gives me goosebumps

Image originally uploaded by Mergemind.

It's true, the sound of cutlery scraping together gives me goosebumps! I've had this problem since I was little and when asked (or more often, told) to dry the dishes my mum knew not to expect me to go anywhere near it. To this day I allow cutlery to drip-dry for fear of the scraping sound!

Thanks to Flightless Boyds for this goose-bumpy theme and also to Angela for all the fun of "This is...".

meet kenny the cowboy

Kenny likes gun-toting action at the local saloon, and line dancin' with the ladies!

oh my goodness, i can crochet!

Since Brown Owls quite a few weeks back, I have been attempting to crochet. There's been tears, tantrums and now FINALLY triumph! I finished my very first granny square last night and if you can't already tell, am very proud of myself. Now will have to take a trip to the wool shop and pick up some pretty wool (unlike the one above) to make a crochet blankie. 

a chance encounter

Image originally uploaded by james cg.

A few weeks back I posted about my favourite travel memory. It was a trip to Venice where we met a delightful old barber called Umberto. As I had mentioned, my parents were travelling there in the coming weeks and I've just received an SMS saying they met the man himself! Mum said he was as lovely and friendly as ever, and had received our photos we sent him. Not sure if they made it into the "show and tell" album but when I chat to them in the next couple of weeks I'm sure we'll hear all the details. I did a search on Flickr for a photo of Venice and look who I happened to find, mind you I had a few photos to choose from... Someone is far more famous than I had thought!

this is... my most treasured childhood possession

It wasn't too hard for me to think of what my most treasured childhood possession was. For my very first Christmas, Santa gave me a stuffed pig. This photo was taken on that Christmas morning and I'm (the one with the mohawk) with my brother and sister.  I called him Bobby but I think that must have happened a few years later when I was actually able to talk! He was named after Bobby from Young Talent Time and as you can probably guess I was a big fan. 

A year later I was still very much attached to Bobby the pig as you can see above. Throughout my childhood I didn't go anywhere without him and on a family holiday he was sadly left behind... After an hour of driving and many, many tears later, my father (who was not known for succumbing to his children's tantrums!) turned the car around and an extra two hours was added to the journey. I couldn't sleep without him by my side and after many years of cuddles he began falling apart but I of course still loved him the same. These days his head is falling off, he has been re-stuffed with stockings, his ribbon is badly frayed and his fur has been worn down, but my mum has promised that one day she will restore him to his former glory. I can't wait!

I've had lots of fun choosing this week's theme so a big thanks to Angela. Head over here to see some more treasured childhood possesions... I know I will be!

this is... my best op shop find

This is my best and also my latest op shop find. It's a bangle that is covered with embroidery thread in three of my favourite colours. I'm a bit of an accessories junkie and usually buy something in the hope that I can find other bits to match, but this time around I was set to go. As you can tell my current colour of the moment is turquoise!

A big thanks to Angela for all the fun of "This is" and the very talented Lino Forest for this great theme. 

Stay tuned for next week's "This is" as yours truly is lucky enough to be picking the theme. I've had a long hard think about it and I've decided on "This is... my most treasured childhood possession". So it could be anything (object, memory, person) that you have held near and dear as you were growing up. Look forward to taking a peek at them all next week.

something in the water?

There seems to be something in the water these days as more and more friends and family are popping up pregnant... No announcements from yours truly so don't get too excited boys and girls (do I have any boy readers apart from Mr Teacups?). As I like to be prepared, I've decided to begin my present-making-frenzy before these little peeps make their welcome into the world. With four beautiful bellies growing I am softie-ing up a storm! The first one of these is above. As I'm unsure who the lucky munchkin receiving her will be, for now she shall be called Little Miss Ruby-Rose... Little Miss Ruby-Rose has told me that she can't wait to find out who her new owner will be, and with the first due date in a couple of weeks she won't have to wait too long! 

To even out the boy/girl bubsy possibilities, a Mr Softie is next on the list. Currently he is sitting on my dining room table waiting for a spare moment to sew him together. He is very patient as he has already been sitting there for a week! I'm also hoping to get embroidered little labels made so I can sew them on to my softies. Does anyone know where I can get these done? I've found a place on eBay but not sure of the quality. Thanks blog-land :)

tote-alicious pin-cushion goodness

These are my latest sewing creations! A tote bag I made from my "Simple Sewing" book by Lotta Jansdotter, and next to it is the hand pieced pin cushion I made at Brown Owls last night. As usual an owly great night was had by all and under the careful guidance of Pip & Kirsty our flat seams were perfected! 

I'm very happy to say I'm back on the sewing bandwagon too. I've had to take a back burner in the last few weeks, namely because I thought I broke my mum's sewing machine. Lucky for me my aunty was on hand and it was sorted very quickly... turns out my newbie sewing skills need some threading lessons! Oh well I guess we learn from our mistakes and since then the machine has been running hot. 

sharing the love

Thanks to CurlyPops I've just found out about this amazing project. It's called The Toy Society and is all about sharing the love throughout the streets of Melbourne via handmade toys. A great project thought up by the very lovely SadieandLance!

this is... the space in which i create

This is the space in which I create... most of the time. I mainly work from home so between the hours of 9(ish) and 5 I'm in here. It's a spare bedroom which I have taken over. There is a nice big window to the right of my desk which easily distracts me during the day. Working on a laptop takes up minimal space which is just the way I like it. I much prefer the focus to be on my inspiration board and anything else I can find to pretty up the place. During my beloved craft-time I'm usually found at the dining table or on the couch where I can catch up on dvd's and tv... there's nothing like multi-tasking! 

Thanks to Michelle for this great theme.

on my desk...

I've given "on my desk" a miss in the past few weeks as things have been quite hectic in the business world. This week though I thought I'd show you a teensy weensy bit of what I have been working on. It's some illustrations and overall design of a small book. I had a meeting with the client this morning and she loved it, so it looks like all systems go. Pop over here to see some more of what is on desks this Wednesday.

this is... my favourite travel memory

Or should I say one of my favourite travel memories. We travelled through Europe a couple of years ago and had lots of little European adventures along the way... not quite National Lampoons but we loved it. 

While in Venice we stumbled upon a lonesome barber and Mr Teacups took it upon himself to take it as a sign for a haircut... And that's where we met Umberto. A quiet old Italian man (or so we thought) who didn't speak any english. Lucky for us I speak italian so we were able to communicate, and on finding out we were from Melbourne, this quiet man transformed into quite the talker. He then elusively slipped behind his beautiful bright pink floral curtain to bring out a book on our fine city. He explained that one of his closest friend's migrated to Melbourne many, many years ago and sent it to him. Opening it up to a page on football he explained that he used to be quite the soccer star and then again slipped behind the curtain to bring out a photo album containing photos of him as a young soccer star. With a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, he then treated us to a demonstration of his fancy footwork. Very impressive and even moreso considering he must have been in his 70s! Our next "show and tell" items were letters of thanks he had received from other tourists, one of which had taken shelter in his store during a downpour of rain. Basking in the limelight, he then began demonstrating the technique of a Gondoliere (we were in Venice after all), and encouraged Mr Teacups to join in. On his final trip behind the curtain he brought out a Gondoliere hat to complete the Venetian scene and of course photos were necessary!

When we arrived home a few months later we sent him the photos, but to this day are not sure if they made it into his precious "show and tell" items. My parents are heading to Venice in the next few weeks so I've told them to keep an eye out for a barber with a bright pink floral curtain and a cheeky twinkle in his eye...

Head over here to check out more favourite travel memories and big thanks to Hila for this great theme.

happy snaps

I received some lovely comments about the photography in my last post. Unfortunately I can't take all the credit. Mr Teacups is quite the talented photographer in his spare time (not that I'm biased at all), so I thought I'd share some of my favourites. If you want to see some more happy snaps take a look at his site or sneak a peak on his RedBubble profile.