A Merry Christmas To You!

As 2017 draws to a close, I want to wish all of my faithful readers a very merry Christmas, and a blessed and joy-filled 2018!

Helping those in need

As 2017 draws to a close, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of my supporters for all your encouragement this year.  And for everyone who has supported Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia through making purchases, an extra special thanks goes to you for helping me to support some worthy charitable causes too!

So far this year, our beautiful customers have helped us to support Samaritan's Purse, World Vision and SIM Australia in the work they do to fight poverty and exploitation in Asia and Africa.  It means a lot to me to know that Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia can help to fight for those less fortunate, even if it is in little ways.  So THANK YOU for your support in this important work!

Have yourself a very gourmet Christmas

As you should all know by now, I absolutely love Christmas time, especially the fact that I get a few days off to celebrate the birth of my saviour Jesus Christ!  At this time of year, I also especially love to spoil my friends and loved ones with delicious meals and desserts.  So today I'm sharing four decadent-looking recipes which are perfect for spoiling your family and friends this Christmas season.  Enjoy!

1. Cheat's vanilla star Christmas pudding ice cream sandwiches

2. Roast pork rack with cherry ginger relish

3. Christmas ploughman's pate

4. Salted caramel chocolate tart

Obstinate Janeites

As I sit here wrapping up another "obstinate girl" necklace ready to head to its new forever home, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all the Janeites out there for your overwhelming support of Two Cheeky Monkeys' Austen-inspired creations!

Here are just some of the obstinate necklaces that have headed to new homes in the past few weeks, with customers evenly divided between those who chose plain lockets and those who chose to personalise with a Czech glass bead in their favourite colour.  Let me know in the comments which option you would choose!

Etsy Made Local Melbourne Market

Hi all!!!  Just a quick reminder from me that I'll be at the Etsy Made Local market in Melbourne this coming Saturday, the 25th of November.  I'll be bringing all of our Two Cheeky Monkeys stock as well as some of our favourite Domum Vindemia pieces.  So if you're in Melbourne, please come along and enjoy some Christmas shopping in person!  The market will be held from 10am - 5pm at the Batman Market on Gaffney Street in Coburg.  See you there!!!

Boho chic cuff bangles

I have been madly re-stocking the stores and preparing for the upcoming Etsy Made Local market on November 25th, and today I wanted to show off a few brand spanking new items!  I've been making floral and literary cuff bangles for some time now, and there are finally a few new designs in-store.

These two offerings have a similar design to each other but differ in the colour schemes I've chosen and the text used for the focal point.  The orange bracelet celebrates Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, with the orange symbolising Anne's hair and Gilbert's "carrots" insult.

The multi-coloured bracelet was an adventure in colour use for me and features darling vintage and contemporary cabochons in bright summery colours.  The central cabochon includes the inspirational "she believed she could, so she did" quote; perfect for celebrating a young lady's graduation or other achievement!  Which bangle do you prefer?

Send my love to your new lover 🎶

I wouldn't call myself a massive Adele fan, though I do like and own quite a few of her songs.  But whatever you think of her music, there's no denying that she has an amazing voice and some stirring lyrics in her works.

Which brings me to a recent bespoke order, created for a customer to give to a HUGE Adele fan as a Christmas gift.  I was commissioned to create a set of wine glass charms featuring six of the recipient's favourite lines from Adele's songs.  Do you recognise any of these lyrics?  And which lyrics would you choose for a set of wine charms?

A Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia Christmas Gift Guide

As the shipping deadlines for orders being sent via standard post rapidly approach, I've put together a quick Christmas gift guide to help you as you shop Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia this festive season.

For the kids:

Let's start with the kids, because we all know that they're most excited about presents come Christmas morning (or eve, or whenever you open presents in your family).

Domum Vindemia's storybook buntings are beloved by little ones all over the world and would also make a sweet gift for a mother-to-be this Christmas.  And for the little or tween girl who loves her bling just like her mumma, Two Cheeky Monkeys has a range of floral-inspired rings and hair accessories.

For her:

Whether you're buying for the woman who loves big, sparkly bling, an avid reader, a lover of shabby chic or the woman who loves to decorate her home, you'll find something for most tastes.

Two Cheeky Monkeys' range of vintage and book-inspired jewellery is customisable to your recipient's favourite colour or piece of literature, as are many of Domum Vindemia's homewares and accessories.

For him:

We haven't forgotten the gentlemen either!

Make sure dad or grandpa never loses his place in his latest read again with a bookmark featuring his favourite character, and snazz up your man's outfits with book-inspired or lusciously vintage cuff links.

I am now stronger

I know I've mentioned many times how much I love working on bespoke creations for customers, but that's only because it's completely true!  This past week I've had a bit of a production line going, working on a delightful custom order of six quote necklaces.

Each necklace features the inspirational words "I am now stronger".  And while I don't know who the recipients of these necklaces will be, I'm sure these words mean something significant to each of them as well as the lovely lady who commissioned the necklaces.  Are you a fan of inspirational jewellery?  What words would you feature in a locket?

Christmas Shipping For 2017!!!

Right, I don't want to set off widespread panic, but did you know that there are only 8 WEEKS TILL CHRISTMAS!!!  Which means that if you are wanting to give the gift of Domum Vindemia or Two Cheeky Monkeys to your loved ones (or spoil yourself), then PLEASE take note of the following Christmas shipping cut off dates:

AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMERS: 2nd December 2017

CANADIAN CUSTOMERS: 2nd November 2017

REST OF THE WORLD: 15th November 2017

 

Due to the high amount of mail being processed at this time of year, all purchases made after these dates will need to go via Express or Courier Post to ensure timely arrival for Christmas giving.  As with any time of the year, expedited shipping options can be selected at checkout for all orders. 

To Kill A Mockingbird

A few weeks ago I shared a special, bespoke Atticus Finch necklace created for a customer to give as a special gift.  And this week I find myself yet again sharing photos of a bespoke Atticus creation!

This design of pocketwatch necklace used to be regularly stocked in Two Cheeky Monkeys, but I had been winding down their creation in recent times.  However, a customer commissioned the creation of a special Atticus watch necklace as a Christmas gift for a good friend who is an attorney - how sweet!

This pocketwatch necklace is different from my previous designs in that it doesn't have a coloured bead charm, but instead features a flying bird charm (to represent the mockingbird) and a charm of the recipient's first initial.  Do you love this new design?  And should I bring the line back to my virtual store shelves?

Freekeh Salad Roundup

While I try not to be one who easily jumps on the latest "superfood" bandwagon, I must say that I am a fan of grains like quinoa and freekeh.  And, thankfully, so are the rest of the Cheeky Monkeys family.  So today I'm sharing four freekeh recipes which caught my interest and which will be slowly added to my repertoire of salad recipes.  Enjoy!

1. Fig and freekeh salad

2. Maple roast pumpkin and freekeh salad

3. Freekeh salad with minted sumac dressing

4. Freekeh salad with pomegranate seeds

Miffy and Friends

I hope all my Aussie readers have survived the school holidays and are gearing to go for the last school term of the year!  I found an amazing haul of battered old picture books while out and about with my Cheeky Monkeys, and have been busily adding new buntings to Domum Vindemia.

My absolute favourite of this current batch is the Miffy and Friends bunting, something I've been wanting to add to the store for some time now, but haven't been able to due to the rarity of such finds!  As I said, this is the ONLY Miffy bunting in-store, so if your little one is a huge Miffy fan (or you are!), then get in quick before this one finds a new home with someone else.

I've also added several of the ever popular Jungle Book and Beatrix Potter buntings as special made to order listings with YOUR CHOICE of binding colour for the buntings.  That means that you can better match your bunting purchase to your little one's room or celebration, making it all the more special. 

If you have any binding colours you'd like to see me stocking, please send me a message so that I can get an idea of the colour choices people love - thanks!

Regular scarves versus infinity scarves

I know there are many out there who love the look of regular scarves which can be worn in a variety of ways, but it's also clear that infinity scarves seem to be the scarf trend that isn't going away any time soo.  Which is why at Domum Vindemia, I have decided to offer our shabby chic doily scarves with the option to purchase them as a regular scarf or as an infinity scarf

So now when you shop for scarves with us, you can choose to purchase your scarf as is, or you can ask us to turn your choice into an on trend infinity scarf which you can easily wrap around you on those milder days.  Would you choose a regular scarf or an infinity scarf?  Or do you have a whole wardrobe full of all manner of scarves to suit your daily mood? 

Finger Knitting Projects For Kids

We have somehow reached the second week of school holidays relatively unscathed (thanks Mr Cheeky Monkeys for taking the week off work so that I could have a break!), but still have one more week to go.  If you're wracking your brains for new ideas to keep your kids productively entertained (like me), then this post is for you.

My Monkeys love to finger knit and finger crochet, but we are often left with the dilemma of what to do with their lengths of finger knitted goodness.  So here is a roundup of DIY ideas to use the metres and metres of finger knitting chains your kids create!

1. A finger knitting tutorial to get you started.

2. Turn your finger knitting into a warm scarf.

3. Create a word-inspired cushion.

4. Finger knitting is perfect for turning into headbands.

5. Create a rug by combining weaving and finger knitting.

6. Delight a little one by turning their finger knitting into a darling octopus soft toy!

Atticus Finch

Here at Two Cheeky Monkeys I like to update our jewellery ranges every season, adding or removing certain styles and lines to keep our product range streamlined and on trend with what customers are asking us to create.  But, I am usually happy to re-create out of stock lines for customers who want variations of the original pieces they purchased, or who missed out when the range was originally stocked.

Which is what I found myself doing this week after a customer approached me to re-create one of our multi-strand chain necklaces for a friend who was a huge To Kill a Mockingbird fan.  I haven't made one of these necklaces in about six months, having decided to end the line when the last of our stock sold out, so I really enjoyed working on this one off creation for my customer.  If this necklace had been made for you, which literary character would you have chosen to feature in the pendant?

Fairy Bread Inspired Cake

I've been told that fairy bread is one of those distinctly Australian things which originated in Australia as a way to please children at parties and is now loved the world over.  I don't really know if such claims are true, but my Cheeky Monkeys certainly love fairy bread at parties!  So much so that oldest Monkey requested a fairy bread-inspired cake for her most recent birthday.

I'm not normally one to share decorated cake recipes, but I decided to share my recipe because of the amount of excitement this cake inspired in the party guests and their parents.  I went for a two layered fairy bread/jam sandwich concoction because I thought that a cake made to look like a slice of bread was too thin, and because my Monkeys ADORE jam sandwiches.  And I also chose to make a simple quick mix vanilla butter cake for the "bread", though you could go all out and make a white cake to mimic the white bread traditionally used in fairy bread.

Ingredients:

For One Cake (make two)

- 165g butter

- 1 cup milk

- 4 eggs

- 1 1/2 Tb vanilla essence

- 1 1/3 cups castor sugar

- 2 cups self-raising flour

Buttercream Icing and Decorations

- 125g unsalted butter

- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar

- 1 Tb milk

- 100s and 1000s/sprinkles/jimmies/whatever you call nonpareils in your part of the world

- strawberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 180⁰C.  Grease and line a 23-25 cm square cake tin.

2. Combine butter and milk in saucepan; stir constantly over heat until butter is melted.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

3. Beat eggs and vanilla essence in a bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved between each addition.

4. Stir in half the sifted flour and half the butter mixture, then stir in remaining flour and butter mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

5. Stand cake in tin for two minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.  Repeat steps 1-5 to make the second cake.

6. When the cakes are cold, slice the top off each cake to level out the cake and give a "bread slice" appearance.

7. To make the buttercream, beat the butter in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).  Gradually add icing sugar, beating until well combined.  Beat in milk to loosen icing slightly.

8. Place first cake on your serving tray.  Generously spread strawberry jam over the top of the first cake, as you would when making a sandwich or jam on toast.

9. Top the first cake with the second cake, making sure that the cake is facing sliced side up to look like "bread".  Spread the buttercream icing over the top of the cake, leaving some space around the edges so the "bread" shows.  Sprinkle with nonpareils of your choice and wait for everyone's squeals of delight!

 

Lego DIY Roundup

With the Spring school holidays rapidly approaching, I have been researching ways to entertain the Cheeky Monkeys and keep my sanity!  They are huge fans of Lego (as is Mr Monkeys), so today I've put together a roundup of fun Lego DIY ideas for young and old.

1. Build and re-build challenging mazes out of Lego!

2. Older Lego fans can use their childhood toys to create a charging station.

3. Lego picture puzzles celebrate a little one AND Lego.

4. Turn your favourite Lego character into a keyring.

5. No kid will be able to resist a Lego candy dispenser!

6. Chess geeks can also enjoy Lego while playing in a chess tournament.

Etsy Made Local Melbourne

Today I'm finally sharing some exciting news - Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia will be heading to a handmade market this November!!!  With the success of the Etsy made local markets the last few years, I am so excited to have been accepted to the upcoming November market in Melbourne!

The market will run on November 25th, from 10am to 5pm, at the Batman Market site in Coburg.  So if you're Melbourne based and have been eyeing off Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia creations, then save the date and come along and get your Christmas shopping done before the December shopping madness descends.

Count your blessings

Today I'm sharing a special custom order I recently created, which was inspired by the design of our bridesmaid locket necklaces.  As much as I love creating locket necklaces with special quotes, there is no possible way for Two Cheeky Monkeys to stock every single inspirational quote customers could want.

Which is why whenever customers ask for a bespoke quote piece, I am usually more than happy to find an existing design which will fit their chosen quote nicely as well as suit the recipient of the locket.  This custom locket includes the beautiful quote, "When I count my blessings, I count you twice."  I really loved making it and am thinking of including it as part of our normal range.  Who else loves this quote too?

It's always story time

If your little ones are anything like the Two Cheeky Monkeys, they probably love story time before they have to head to bed, especially if you "do the voices" for each character!  And even though it's kind of frustrating when we find them still awake and reading books under the bedcovers with their torches, I still love the idea of decorating their rooms with book-themed decorations.

And because I know that many of my customers love to do the same, I've been busy adding new storybook buntings to Domum Vindemia.  I've been wanting to add some space and astronaut-themed buntings to the store for a while now, and I finally found an old Golden Book about the planets (back in the days when we still counted Pluto).  I think this bunting is PERFECT for all the budding space explorers out there and can't wait to create more!

I have also been busy re-stocking the popular Jungle Book buntings, with this offering now available in-store.  I'm hoping to add more of these buntings with a different choice of bunting ribbon, so keep an eye out for new additions as they fly out the door very quickly.  So before I got, let me ask you, which of these two buntings is your favourite?

Obstinate, headstrong girl!

Fans of Jane Austen's most beloved piece will recognise this quote immediately!  Although Lady Catherine de Bourgh meant it as a reproof and an insult to Elizabeth Bennet, Elizabeth owns the title and doesn't hesitate to put Lady Catherine in her place.

This short quote gets me every time I read it, so, inspired by the many Janeite fans of my creations, I have set it into a locket necklace.  This necklace is the perfect gift for Austen fans, especially the ones who are bold and courageous in the face of obstacles!

It is now available in-store either as a simple locket necklace, or with your choice of Czech glass bead or glass pearl.  Would you wear this cheeky locket, or give it to a fellow Jane fan?

Mothers and Daughters

As I've mentioned before, Grandma Monkeys and I have a great relationship and I love my now not so little Cheeky Monkeys dearly.  And it was these relationships that inspired the mother-daughter necklace sets which have been so popular in Two Cheeky Monkeys.

And now, due to popular demand, the mother and daughter quotes seen in the necklace sets are now available as keychains!  You will have the choice of ordering individual mother or daughter keychains, or a set including both a mother and a daughter keychain, perfect for gifting to your special mum or daughter.  Would you purchase an individual keyring or a matching set for you and your mum/daughter?

Same, but not

One of the things that I love about handmade items is that no two creations are exactly identical when created by hand.  The differences may only be small, but it's beautiful to know that each handmade item I own is unique in its own little way and not something hundreds or thousands of others will own.

And the same can be said for each of Two Cheeky Monkeys' book and music-inspired creations.  While each music bracelet purchased may have treble and bass clefs and musical notes, each one is uniquely individual because the musical notes chosen aren't identical and the clefs come from different parts of the the musical score, reflecting different key signatures and so on.

So in this vein of thought, let me ask you, what is your favourite thing about handmade items?

More Avengers!

About a month ago I announced that there was to be a new superhero range of buntings added to Domum Vindemia, and showcased an Avengers bunting.  Well, today I am excited to show off three new additions to the range!

I've decided to create buntings with both scallop shaped and pointed shield/pennant shaped flags, though the majority of the superhero range will feature the pennant-shaped flags.  The new additions focus on the stories of the incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor.

The original Avengers bunting has, excitingly, gone to a new forever home.  So I'm now on the hunt for more battered old copies of the story to recreate that bunting as well as hoping to find some superheroine/superwoman stories too.  Which of the new buntings do you love best?

Father's Day Gift Guide

Things have been pretty hectic here at Two Cheeky Monkeys HQ, so I was a little shocked to realise that Father's Day (for us Aussies) is fast approaching!  I love giving Mr Monkeys appropriately geeky gifts, but today I'm sharing a roundup of gift ideas to suit a range of dads, not just the geeky ones.

1. This patchwork R2D2 quilt is perfect for the Star Wars fan.

2. Bake up a batch of Papa Smurf cookies for dad.

3. Something for the old school dad who still prefers to put pen to paper.

4. Help dad to bling up with a pair of cuff links in his favourite colour.

5. Librarian dads can rock a library-themed tie at work!

6. A leather phone case will help dad protect his phone in style.

Calling all bookworms

I realised the other day that I have been creating book-inspired bookmarks for Domum Vindemia for over four years now, and I am so thankful for how well they've been received by everybody!  Today I'm unveiling a new line of bookmarks, perfect for those who don't have a favourite author or literary quote or for gifting to bookworms if you don't know their favourite author.

The first bookmark is for all those who have found themselves still reading a gripping book at 2AM after thinking to themself, "Just one more chapter..."!  The second bookmark is for the bibliophile who despairs of ever having enough time to read all of the books on their "must read" list.  Which one of these bookworms are you?  And which bookmark do you love best?

In my creative space: Swarovski crystals

I recently had the pleasure of designing and creating a lusciously sparkly pair of earrings for my sister's birthday and I can finally show them off to the world!  This simple, but eye-catching pair of earrings was created to match my sister's Pandora bracelet and features ruby-coloured Swarovski crystal chatons.  At 8mm in size, these earstuds are no shrinking violets, but can still comfortably be worn without fear of catching on anything or pulling earlobes until they're sore.

Although I make a lot of vintage and antiqued brass Swarovski earstuds for Two Cheeky Monkeys, this is the first time I've made something similar in silver.  So my question for all of you is: Who would like me to add silver-plated versions of the Swarovski earstud range to the store?  And what colours would you like to see in-store?

Marshmallow rice bubble slice

My Cheeky Monkeys are huge fans of Rice Bubbles for some strange reason, probably because we don't usually purchase it (yes, we're those terrible parents who insist on high fibre cereals).  So when it came to making a fun treat for youngest Monkey to share with her classmates on her birthday, making a rice bubble-inspired treat was the obvious choice.

These sweet treats are ridiculously easy to make; the Monkeys made them on their own with me only intervening when the plastic wrap covering the bowl in the microwave had a minor burst (thankfully no melted marshmallow escaped the bowl!!!) and when they didn't press down the mix evenly enough.  Today I am sharing our super simple recipe with you - have fun creating sweet treats with your little ones!

Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups Rice Bubbles
- 200g marshmallows (purists might like to only use white marshmallows, but I say use whatever you've got)
- 100g butter, chopped
- hundreds and thousands (we used Monster 5s sprinkles)

Method
1. Grease a 23x27 cm slice or lamington pan.  Line with baking paper, making sure the paper extends a few centimetres past each edge.  Don't worry if your pan is a little smaller, you'll just have a thicker slice to eat!


2. Place the Rice Bubbles into a large bowl and set aside.  Place the marshmallows and butter into a medium-sized microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high (100%) in 30 second bursts, stirring after each round until mixture is smooth.  This should take 1-2 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave.

3. Add the marshmallow mixture to the Rice Bubbles and stir well.  Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan, making sure to spread the mixture as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle the Rice Bubble slice with the hundreds and thousands (or whichever sprinkles you're using).  Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.

4. Cut the set slice into bite-sized squares or bars and serve on a fun dessert pedestal or place in patty pans to delight little ones!

Notes:
- It is not necessary to use the Kellogg's brand of Rice Bubbles for this recipe; using an alternative brand (such as Nestle's Rice Pops) should not affect the taste or consistency of the slice
-  I highly recommend using a good brand of marshallows (e.g. Pascall brand) as this does affect the taste of the rice bubble slice
- You can decorate your rice bubble slice with anything fun: think drizzled chocolate, silver cachous or any other sprinkles you can find in the cake decorating aisle at your supermarket