Fruity Picnic Accessories

With the arrival of beautiful picnic and entertaining weather in Melbourne, and the ever-growing fruit trend barrelling full bore along, I have been busy adding new designs to Domum Vindemia's cocktail napkin range.  The two new designs shown are ones specially requested by my little Cheeky Monkeys, and I think they'd make great additions to a child's or teen's own picnic set.  What do you think?

May The Force Be With You

Last week was Mr Cheeky Monkeys' birthday, and we celebrated in usual style for him, with Indian food, a baked cheesecake and something inspired by his sci-fi/fantasy geek side.  This year, I made a snap decision to step outside of my comfort zone and tackled a sewing project of which I'm very proud.

As I said, Mr Monkeys is a sci-fi/fantasy fan, especially when it comes to Star Wars, Dr Who and Star Trek.  So, inspired by a pattern in Tanya Whelan's Sew What You Love, I made him a Star Wars-themed necktie for wearing on his whimsical or super geek days.

I'm really pleased with how well the tie turned out (after some troubles with cutting the pattern to accomodate the directionality and orientation of my Star Wars fabric).  And I'm also really pleased with how well the baked lemon birthday cheesecake turned out too!  And now all we have to do is wait for the latest Star Wars film to hit Australia, and then we'll probably head out to see it as a family!

The Wind in the Willows

My dear classic literature fans, who have been in mourning since I sold out of The Wind in the Willows magnet sets earlier this year, rejoice.  I have finally re-stocked Domum Vindemia with four of your favourite animal friends, Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger.

 

 

All of my magnet sets are now made to order, so if you don't see your favourite classic in-store, don't fret.  Just send me an email requesting a custom listing and I will have one set up for you in the blink of an eye (okay, I'm exaggerating a little there, but you get my drift).  Which of these animals is your favourite character?

Pride and Prejudice Jewellery Sets

It's been a week of excitement here at Two Cheeky Monkeys HQ.  Not only did I launch a new range of shabby chic dreamcatchers, but I also decided to reward my faithful customers who make purchase after purchase and spread the word about Two Cheeky Monkeys.  Now, for those who love the literature jewellery range, I am selling literature sets of bracelet, necklace and earrings, all featuring your favourite book characters.  I am currently only stocking P&P sets, but there will soon be To Kill a Mockingbird and Anne of Green Gables sets too.  Which one would you choose?

Sweet Dreams Dreamcatchers

With Christmas approaching, I have finally gotten round to realising yet another creative idea which has been floating around in my overcrowded imagination.  I've been making vintage embroidery hoop ornaments for a few years now, and they have been popular with those who love shabby chic decor.  With my love of doilies continuing as strongly as ever, I have been thinking of making a new range of hoop ornaments based solely on doilies.

And now, I am thrilled to announce that there IS a new range of ornaments!  Yes, they're created with vintage doilies.  But I've also followed the current trend for dreamcatchers and added strands of vintage lace, ribbons and ric rac to the bottom of each hoop.  I think my latest creations are adorable, and would make fun ornaments on a large Christmas tree, or a be a sweet hanging over a little one's bed or your loved one's desk.  These are just two of the dreamcatchers I've created so far, what do you think?

Buntings for your cakes!

 

Those of you who are long term readers will know that I have been creating doily cake buntings for several years now.  It has been a popular range for birthdays, weddings and baby showers, so I knew I had to add a larger range of doily colours for my customers.

For those who have a specific colour scheme in mind, I now offer a choice of nine pastel colours in neutrals and all the colours of the rainbow.  And for those who just love colour, there is a rainbow doily bunting.  Which is your favourite colour?

DIY Wreath Roundup

I know, it's barely the middle of October, but as someone who LOVES Christmastime and who loves to create and be organised, I think this is a good time of year to get started on your handmade Christmas decorations.  I am a big fan of wreaths, no matter the time of year, so I have put together a roundup of tutorials which should suit a range of decorating tastes and styles.  Even better, these wreaths can all be adapted to suit different occasions and colour schemes - enjoy.

1. I cannot stop admiring Pretty Prudent's succulent wreath.

2. This wreath is suitable for more than just Valentine's day.

3. The book upcycler in my loves TMTOMH's book page wreaths.

4. Even the kids can join in with a pom pom wreath!

5. How about a rustic and beautiful burlap/hessian wreath?

6. Vintage lovers will adore this vintage sheet wreath.

DIY Button Christmas Trees

You all know by now how much I love old buttons, and how much I love Christmas!  So today I am sharing with you a SUPER simple tutorial for making your very own, cute Christmas tree ornaments made from your button stash.  As I said, this project is very easy, you'll have lots of little button trees made up in next to no time.  And kids can join in too, that's how easy this is!

Supplies:

- buttons, lots of them in a range of colours

- teeny star beads (or you could use a star button)

- embroidery floss or thin beading wire

Method:

1. This is the BEST part - sort through your button stash!!!  You will need 3-4 small black or brown buttons (1cm/⅜ in) for the base of the tree and 8-10 buttons in varying sizes for the top part of the tree.  You can go with whatever colour scheme tickles your fancy, just make sure that you get an even gradation of button sizes to make the typical cone shape of a Christmas fir tree.

2. Cut your embroidery floss or beading wire to a length double that of your button stack plus enough extra to tie off into a loop for hanging.  If you're using floss to string your buttons, thread it onto a needle to help you get all six strands through the button holes.  Thread your buttons onto the floss in order of smallest to largest for the tree top, then the buttons for the tree trunk.  Then thread the floss back through the other hole of your buttons so that the loose ends are both at the top of the tree.

3. Make sure you're happy with the order and colour scheme of your beads, then thread the star bead onto your loose ends of floss.

4. Tie a double knot at the top of the star bead, then tie the floss ends together to finish off the loop for your ornament.  And you're done - woohoo!

New bookmark launch!

I've been at it again with my favourite quotes, happily turning them into bookmarks for my fellow bookworms!  The original range of bookmarks featuring favourite characters and a limited range of quotes has been so popular, that I decided I had to add more.

There are quotes from Wuthering Heights, Anne of Green Gables, perennial favourite Pride and Prejudice, and a Bible verse for those who have been asking for Christina-themed creations.  As with all of my bookmarks, these new additions are MADE TO ORDER.  So if you're wanting to order some for Christmas presents or end of year teacher gifts, get in quick while the turnaround time is still a few days, rather than the longer times experienced in the pre-Christmas rush.

AND, to celebrate the launch of the new additions to the bookmark range, for the next 48 HOURS I am offering 10% off your order when your purchase THREE OR MORE bookmarks in one transaction.  This offer is valid in both my Madeit and Etsy stores when you use the coupon code BOOKMARKS at checkout.  Which one is your favourite?

Vanilla is in the air

Last week I had the pleasure of finally making up some new retro container candles for Domum Vindemia (as well as one for oldest Monkey to gift to her teacher this Christmas).  These vintage pretties have been sitting on my desk begging to be turned into delicious-smelling candles!  The Cheeky Monkeys family also loves it when I work on container candles as the house smells like vanilla for days afterwards.

I am adding three new designs to the store: an English-made Broadhurst chintz teacup and two 1970s Anchor Hocking "Soreno" pebbled drinking glasses.  The drinking glasses are a little like large votive candles and shout out RETRO so loudly with their amber and avocado green colours.  I like the teacup candle the best, which candle is your favourite?

A few custom makes

I spent the last week of the cheeky monkeys' school holidays working on a few custom pieces, so today I'm showing them off (because who doesn't love a good custom piece?)  The first is probably more accurately described as a variation which I offer to customers.  For those of you who don't know, several of my necklace and hair accessory creations are offered with a customer's choice of bead type and colour.  This applies especially to the pocket watch necklace range such as the Atticus Finch one seen below.

The second custom piece I created was the prize for my newsletter giveaway winner.  I made an Elizabeth Bennet brooch (one of my favourite literary characters) with a lovely mid-sapphire blue Czech firepolish bead dangle.  Ahh, it makes me think of the ocean and summer.  What do you think?