A Mother's Day Work In Progress

I have been playing around with some Mother/Daughter necklace set ideas this past week in the hope of creating a new range in time for Mother's Day this May.  My original idea was to create necklace pendants inset with a dictionary definition of the names "mother" and "daughter", but found the standard definitions to be a little stiff and unsentimental (although completely correct and to the point).

So I looked around and did some research, and found the definitions you see above.  They're a little too sentimental for me, but I think they embody the general feeling of love that many receive or yearn for around Mother's Day.  Teamed with a customer's choice of bead colour, I think this would make a sweet set of necklaces for a loving mother and daughter!  What do you think?  Do you like these definitions?  Or do you think you have some better ones?

An art exhibition

As lovers of art, the Cheeky Monkeys and I are super excited to be heading off to an art exhibition opening this weekend.  Even more exciting is the fact that the exhibition, named Imprint, is of our friend Louise Gresswell's colourful abstract artworks.

Louise doesn't just paint, however, she also creates some thoughtful mixed media works and is so creative I seriously get embarrassed talking to her about my own creations (though Louise is so generous that she loves to hear about other people's creative attempts)!  So if you're in Melbourne and love modern art, head to Gallerysmith's Project Space where Louise's exhibition will be on until March 12th.

Coming soon to Domum Vindemia!

Along with my return to blogging this past week, I've also been happily getting back to some new and different creating for my online stores.  This week I am showing off some sneak peeks of a brand new range of Domum Vindemia pretties, as well as the perennial favourite children's book buntings.

The first sneak peek is of a Paddington Bear bunting I've been working on, and which I couldn't love more than I do!  I ADORED Paddington whilst growing up, laughing uproariously at the misadventures in which Paddington regularly found himself.  I hope fans of Michael Bond's books (and of the recent live action film) will love this bunting as much as I do.

My next sneak peek is of a BRAND NEW range of homewares I'll be adding to Domum Vindemia next month.  Everyone has loved the literature-themed accessories and homewares so much that I will be adding an entire range of literature wine glass charms.  With these, you'll be able to entertain your friends and help them keep track of their glass with your favourite literary characters.

And for those of you who would LOVE to own a set of literary wine glass charms, keep watching this space for the official launch of my new range as well as a giveaway of one set of charms!

Calling all Harry Potter fans

Last week I returned from my brief blogging hiatus to share my favourite new literature magnet set creations.  Well, today I thought I'd share a custom cufflink set I was commissioned to make by a fellow school mum.  The brief was simple and straightforward: one pair of cufflinks featuring the names of perhaps Hogwarts' two bravest headmasters, Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape (sorry, spoiler alert for those who still haven't gotten round to reading all the Harry Potter books).

Being a big Harry Potter fan, I adored working on this custom order, and took the characters' names from the final book in the HP series, The Deathly Hallows.  I'm really pleased with how these cufflinks turned out, and so was my friend.  And, I hope the friend she gifted them to as a 40th birthday present LOVES their new set of cufflinks too!  What do you think?  Which HP character names would you choose?

One for the Mary Poppins fans

You might have noticed that things have been a little quiet around here of late.  No, I am definitely not neglecting you all, I've just been taking a little break to get the Cheeky Monkeys family back into the routine of the school year as well as to work on custom orders and new designs for Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia.

One of my favourite new items is for the Mary Poppins fans, especially those who loved PL Travers' books rather than just loving the Disney movie.  I've been playing around with a new addition to the literature magnet range and have finally added a Mary Poppins set!  For the moment I am selling the magnet sets with the four characters shown above, but I am more than happy to make magnets with other names, such as Bert or Mrs Banks.  Who were your favourite characters in the books or movie?

Confessions of a messy craft hoarder

Today's post is something of a confession about how slovenly I have gotten with my drawers of supplies, stationery and other business-related tools and paperwork.  As some of you know, I am not the neatest of people, made worse by the fact that I inherited a hoarding tendency from my dad (who was rapidly turning into a crazy newspaper collection guy before he passed away).

But sometimes we hoarders realise just what kind of a mess we've gotten ourselves into and start to take steps to rectify the problem.  This was me when I realised that I couldn't find any scissors or markers in my stationery drawer because it was so disorganised, and that the mess was being made worse every time Mr Cheeky Monkeys and the small Cheeky Monkeys rummaged through my drawer in search of stationery.

So, after a little Googling, I found a few hints for DIYing a desk drawer makeover.  The best suggestions were to make your own drawer dividers or compartments, which is not only cheaper, but also meant that I could get dividers and compartments to nicely fit my drawer size without having to hunt every homewares store I could find!  I really liked the idea of re-using old cereal boxes as shared on iheart organizing, so several of my half empty tea, cereal and tissue boxes went mysteriously missing...  So what do you think?

Happy Chinese New Year!

Indeed yes, a happy Chinese new year to you all!  The Cheeky Monkeys family has already kicked off celebrations with a small family get together yesterday and plans to attend other functions such as our church's semi-annual Chinese new year bring and share dinner and some local festivities held by our local council.

While I don't follow the superstitions that traditionally come with Chinese new year and its celebrations, I still think it's fun to wish you all a happy year of the Monkey especially to those of you who are Monkeys!  If you're wondering if you are a Monkey or not, those turning a multiple of 12 this year are all considered to have been born in "the year of the Monkey".  So a happy year of the Monkey from the Two Cheeky Monkeys family!

Image source: Smallest monkey sculpture - gbtimes

DIY Roundup: Faux Agate or Geode Slices From Polymer Clay

Geodes, semiprecious stones, dyed agate slices - it seems that this love for all things from the bowels of the earth, be they naturally or otherwise coloured is still on trend!  And here at Two Cheeky Monkeys HQ, we are having a tonne of fun trying our hand at making our own faux agate and geode slices out of polymer clay.  The beauty of making your own faux stone is that you can make it any range of colours and sizes to suit your needs.  Here are some of my favourite tutorials, enjoy.

1. Fall for DIY

2. Vikalph

3. By Dawn Nicole

4. Martha Stewart

5. Jenny's Faux Corner

Sweet Vintage Ear Studs

Today I am introducing what may possibly be my absolute favourite addition of all time to Two Cheeky Monkeys!  These cute little teardrop studs are pieces I have been wanting to include in my Glam It Up vintage rhinestone range since day one, but have kept putting off in favour of other designs.

Well,  finally got my wish to create these sweeties over the school summer break and I am loving them so much that I want one of very colour!  These earrings currently come in sapphire blue, emerald green and crystal clear, but I will hopefully add other colours and shapes to the range in the near future.  What do you think?

Stash Busting Drink Bottle Carriers

So the other week I rashly promised to make the Cheeky Monkeys a little drink bottle carrier each.  It was sparked by end of school holidays nostalgia (am I the only parent who revels in the school holidays lack of routine and chores???) and a long grocery shopping trip where they carried large backpacks simply so they wouldn't have to carry their drink bottles in their hands.

Anyway, I remembered that there was a cute bottle carrier pattern in my Tilda book, Sew Sunny Homestyle and I set to work after the Monkeys chose their fabrics from my stash (this project is easily made with a few fat quarters).  I decided to alter the pattern a little to strengthen the bottle carrier, though this actually added headaches to the bag construction and sizing, and also led to headaches, a lot of unpicking and a lot of head to sewing table banging.

However, I survived the process, and my Monkeys are very happy with their new (slightly wonky) drink bottle bags!  What do you think?  Do you love their fabric choices?  I forgot to take a photo of the lining fabrics, but they both chose (with my help) some sweet fabric which nicely complemented the outer designs.  Perhaps now that I know what I'm doing, I'll have to make one for myself...