Christmas wish list...

Phewee it's been a busy few weeks... I still have some lovely lamps available for last minute pressies, some of them are made to order but just let me know if you need them super duper quick and I'll do my very best.

In the meantime, before my next post office dash, I thought I'd share with you some of the lovely things I've had my eye on...

1.Celia forever flower garland by Emma Lamb, 2.Ceramic Deer from Candystripecloud, 3.Simple Sobo bag by maytreeark,

4.Overall from Orfeo, 5.Mimilou cloth cubes from Orfeo, 6.Cotton Handmade Rug by JunqueTreasures

Handmade Living Book

I got my hands on the pretty amazing Handmade Living book yesterday. Wow! It really is crammed full of a gazillion beautiful things and so many crafty tutorials that I really don't know where to start.

The book was put together by Tania McCartney so have a look here for a little preview of it's lovely pages. There's also a tutorial in the book by moi on how to do your very own lamp revamp.

The book is available from bookstores Australia-wide or can be purchased here.

Oooh nice things... Unique Boutique

Ok, I really should be packing but I just had to share these gorgeous finds with you. All from the New Zealand based Unique Boutique. They've been open for just over a month and have a beautiful website and beautiful products. They ship to Australia too, and internationally. Woohoo! Happy shopping!

1. Rosa Dress, 2. Archie & Kite Print, 3. Sleepy King Squirrel Softie, 4. Nappy Pouch in Daisy, 5. Millie Doll, 6. Once a Year Book.

All from Unique Boutique

Finders Keepers & Georgie Love

Woohoo! Just delivered a very large box of lovely lamps to the post office destined for the wonderful Georgie Love stall at The Finders Keepers Market in Melbourne. Wish I was going too!! It's on the 9th & 10th of October and I hope all you people lucky enough to live near Melbourne have an ace time at the market. I can only imagine the completely gorgeous products and artwork that'll be there.

In the meantime I'm moving house which means I've had to pack away my studio for the time being. Hope to be back in full production in a couple of weeks though. Yay!

Ermm, yeah...sorry.

Ok. I'm sorry for being kind of unreliable for the past couple of months. My shop's been open and closed. Emails have sat in my inbox unanswered. Soooo what's the problem?

Well in 6 months time (fingers crossed) there's going to be a new little edition to the family and holy cow, nobody told me that the first 3 months would be like this. What's this 'morning' sickness malarky? hey? More like 24 hr sickness. And no-one mentioned the complete and utter sheer exhaustion either. Like literally the inability to even move. Haven't we evolved beyond this?? Apparently not. I'm totally peed off with evolution. Pah. Whinge, whinge, whinge.

Anyway, things are getting better. Hurrah. And I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end. No, really. I am totally excited about it all. Woohoo! See - I'm planning the shopping already! Soooo many goodies. Clickety-click for a better view!

Top row: Litteluv, Oopsidaisi, Melanie Swan

Middle row: Retrobimbi, Collecting Feathers, Beth Stila

Bottom row: Amelie Atticus, Happy as Larry, Sharmeil

a spot of decorating...

No this isn't my bedroom BUT last weekend I was inspired by this lovely picture to redecorate my bedroom... (spotted on A Very Fine House blog).

We already have a bed frame almost identical to this, except in dark stained wood, so all it required was a tin of white paint. Easy. Yay. Now for the rest of it...

I love these wall stickers by Mae for above the bed...

...and these pillowcases from Rosehip are pretty darn amazing...

...I'm thinking a crochet throw may be called for too...

...a cute vintage print for the wall...

...and a lamp of course...

...and who can resist this lovely Sarah McNeil print. Not me.

What do you reckon? I'm thinking the white walls and removable accessories make it the perfect scheme for peeps who are renting like me.

oh-oh. nice things alert!!

Ok - So I don't even have kids but I've had absolutely no problems at all in falling in love with, actually, quite a lot of things on the bubbabling website. Honestly. I really want that pom pom trimmed cushion, and how cool is that mat? And the squirrel cushions... and the birdcage mobile... crikey the number of exceptionally nice items on there is endless! I'm so proud to have the Owls are Hunting lamps amongst them. Yay!

Bunting mania...

Hello! I'm back from my travels and feeling slightly jetlaggy woozy. Here's where I've been (photo courtesy of Grassington Daily Photo because every time I was in the village it was raining.) It's a picture of Grassington - my old home and now home to the worlds longest single length of bunting. 2 miles long. Yep. These are the exciting things that go on in Yorkshire. Enjoy.

I'll be back...

Sooo the bad news... my online shop is going to close any minute now for 3 weeks until the 22nd June. Boo. Thumbs down.

But the good news is that I have two new stockists. My lamps will be winging their way to the lovely Maudie & Me in Mackay, Qld very soon AND to Ben Elke in Annandale, Sydney. The Ben Elke store is due to open in a couple of weeks so full details coming soon!

(picture: Ben Elke Mexican Oil Cloth Lunch Bags)

I've also just sent out boxes of new stock to MissChief Maker in Canberra and Vintage Stash in Wagga Wagga. (Ok - so the box for vintage stash hasn't quite made it to the Post Office yet, but it will before the end of the week, it will!) Hurrah!

(picture: Gypsy tutu available at MissChief Maker)

Of course Little Poppets in Canowindra, Velour in St. Kilda, & No.5 in Port Douglas all have lots of lovely stock too. Phew.

So thats that, now lets just hope there's no new volcanic eruptions, Bangkok airport remains safe for transit and the nice people at BA think my flight is worth flying despite the strike. hmmmm.

shop closing dates...

Hey there! My madeit online shop is going to be closed from Tuesday 1st June and re-opening on Tuesday 22nd June. I won't be at the upcoming handmade market in Canberra either. Boo!

Sorry folks - this post originally said Weds 2nd June but due to the amount of orders I need to complete before I depart for a while I'm having to close up tonight (Tuesday) instead! Arghh! Sorry!

handmade beauties in yellow and blue...

I keep spotting the most lovely things in yellow and blue. They're both such soothing, mellow colours. Isn't yellow and blue great?! Click on the picture for a bigger, better look.

Top row, left to right: 'Love' nursery print by Evie the Elephant, Rain Cloud mobile by Gifts Created, Sandi Lamp by Owls are Hunting. Second row, left to right: Happy Birds cushion by Roddy and Ginger, Yubik softie by BlaBlaKids, Juane Sunset pendant by Japonicas, Third row, left to right: Jingle Bird by billy boy and mia, Cassie Lamp by Owls are Hunting, Alphabet stamps by Cox & Cox, Bottom row, left to right: Vintage turquoise studs by Michvanetta, 1950s style headband by Twirling Betty, Hills Giclee Print by Leah Duncan.

...a spot of music

Okey-dokey it's definitely time for a break so I'm grabbing a cup of tea and a kitkat (sorry I mean a timtam) and listening to this lovely tune by my pretty darn talented friend Laura J Martin. She plays about a gazillion instruments (including kazoo obviously), sings and self-produces. I LOVE this song!! What do you think??

P.S. This is her 2nd single and it's released on the 24th May. More info, songs and vids here (myspace) and here (facebook).

Madeit $100 giveaway!

Ooooh! Madeit have just announced that they're giving away a $100 voucher. All you need to do is purchase something from any of the stores featured in the current Frankie ad. You'll then be entered in the draw to win a $100 voucher which can be spent at any of the Frankie featured madeit stores (which includes The Owls are Hunting)! Full details on the madeit blog here.

Home Beautiful

I'm really chuffed to be featured in this months Home Beautiful Magazine. It's just a little feature but it's so nice that a magazine as popular and widely distributed as Home Beautiful is happy to feature handcrafted items amongst major designers and big brands. Thanks Home Beautiful!

Style Collective

Have you checked out Style Collective ? I'm sure you have. It's an entirely ace Australian online style magazine with loads of great articles about fashion, design, new gorgeous products and fab links to amazing online shops (danger!!). The lovely people at Style Collective have also done a little feature on The Owls are Hunting. Thanks guys! Head on over for a look!

Random pics of home...

Believe it or not I've been missing Blighty a bit recently. Crackers huh?! But I was lucky to live in a very beautiful part of the country. It was all (still is) very Wuthering Heights. I think some people found it quite bleak and the weather didn't help! Most days it was blowing a gale and raining (or snowing!) and full waterproofs and wellies were required just to make it down our cobbled path to the car (I'm not exaggerating here!). Still, it is a pretty beautiful spot.

a spot of decorating...

Ok. Last weekend I began to try and sort out this ridiculous room we have. It's mainly / entirely used as a passageway at the moment but it's been such a mess since we moved in that even just walking through the room annoyed me. It's also almost entirely furnished with items from Salvo's or furniture that I've salvaged from the tip and quite frankly it's looked like a tip for the last 10 months.

So the first thing I did was get some stencils out and give the tip salvaged sideboard a bit of a paint job (still more to do here I reckon!).

Secondly I nipped out to bunnings and acquired some blank canvas frames and a large staple gun and then got handy with some pretty tasty Kirsten Doran fabric. Staple guns = good fun (as long as everyone stays well out of your way).

Then I did a bit of a naff job covering a Salvo's armchair with some rather boring grey fabric. Upholstery lessons are needed I think. Oh and accessorised with the tea towel that came free with Inside Out Mag! Waste not want not. And then I chucked some cushions on the Salvo's couch. That bit was easy.

Finally I framed up some lovely prints acquired at the last Finders Keepers market in Sydney (I can't for the life of me remember who the artist is - sorry! If anyone knows I'd love to know too.)

Oh and then I added a lamp - obviously! Durrr. (and made a spare one for the shop!)

Well... it's a start. And it cost me nowt... well almost nowt. Can you tell?

Easter Hunt! Fun fun fun

It's Easter! It is and the wonderful MissChief Maker are running an Easter Hunt for charity on Sunday. There's going to be face painting, a bonnet competition and a raffle as well as the Easter egg hunt. Brill fun eh?! Oh and amongst the amazing prizes will be an Owls are Hunting lamp!

Here's all the details:

When Easter Sunday 4 April 2010.

Time The celebrations start from 1:30pm. The hunt starts at 2:00pm sharp. All children must be registered. Hunt bags, gift bags and name tags are provided for registered children. Places are limited.

Where Rodney's Nursery, 24 Beltana Road, Pialligo ACT. At the lawns near the playground.

What Easter eggs are hidden amongst the garden and the playground. Children have a hunt bag to fill with eggs as they find them. There is always a BIG golden egg to be found! The Easter bonnet competition requires registered children to make and wear their bonnet for judging on the day at 2:30pm. There are fabulous prizes to be won. Don't miss out! There are also other activities to enjoy; face painting, a sausage sizzle, wine tastings, demonstrations, book readings and market stalls.

Why To raise the awareness of Neuroblastoma and raise money for the 4TylerJames Fund. Tyler James is a 5 year old Canberra boy who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at age 2. Neuroblastoma is the 4th most common childhood cancer behind acute leukaemias, brain tumours and lymphomas respectively and accounts for 8-10% of all cancers in children. The yearly incidence of neuroblastoma is 4-6 cases per 100,000 children aged under 15 years are diagnosed annually. In the first year of life, it is the most common childhood cancer and accounts for 50% of cases. The average age at diagnosis is 22 months and 80% of the cases present in the first 5 years of life and 95% by 10 years of age.

Cost The event is FREE. Any donations for the 4TylerJames Fund will be greatly appreciated. All monies raised from the sausage sizzle, raffle, wine tastings and face painting will go towards the fund.

Lovely Madeit Finds

So... things have been busy again here and I've been spending lots of time designing the new website and therefore completely neglecting any kind of blog posting. Also seens as it's now Autumn (hurrah!) and therefore we're all going to be spending a lot more time indoors as the nights get longer it seemed like the perfect time to show off some of the gorgeous homewares from other madeit sellers. So here's a little selection of some gorgeous fresh items that I've been coveting for some time...

Clockwise from top left: Moose And Bird, Little Wise Owl, Edward and Lilly, Marley and Lockyer, 3 Girls and a Goat, Kerri's Hangups.