Thank you for your support!

As many of you know by now, I am committed to giving back to the community with both Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia by supporting charitable funds that help those in need.  This year, thanks to your amazing support of my businesses, I have been able to support four aid and advocacy organisations!

The first is the ZOE Foundation, an organisation which seeks to prevent the trafficking of children in Thailand as well as rescuing, caring for and rehabilitating unfortunate children who have already been trafficked to Thailand.

The second is the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation which provides free treatment, counselling and physiotherapy and obstetric care to women who have suffered an obstetric fistula and to those who fall pregnant again after recovering from their surgery.

The last two organisations are ones which I have supported in the past, World Vision and Barnabas Fund, both of which work alongside NGOs in Africa, Asia and the middle East to help the underprivileged and oppressed in these areas.  So on behalf of these organisations, THANK YOU for helping me to help them!

Dip Dye Mug Roundup

Youngest Cheeky Monkey recently made me a dip dye marbled mug for Mother's Day, which I loooove so much!  I love it so much that we're hoping to create a few more to add to my ever growing teacup and coffee mug collection.  So today I've gathered together a roundup of dip dye mug tutorials, each one using very similar techniques but with their own tips and advice for making sure your creative attempts don't end in disaster.  Enjoy!

1. Marbled mugs with a metallic look.

2. A watercolour-inspired marbled DIY.

3. Beautifully bright dip dye mugs.

4. A dip dye tutorial with a boat load of tips to avoid disaster.

Bookish Wall Art

All the way back in 2010 I launched a new range of bookish homewares, our dictionary page art print range.  Four years later, I stopped creating this range to focus on other creative lines, but now these quirky prints are back in-store at Domum Vindemia!

I will only be doing a limited edition range of art prints, so it is very much a situation of order your favourite while it's still available.  The current range features some of my all time favourite designs, with vintage chandeliers, darling seashells and retro motorcars gracing beautiful old dictionary pages.  Which is your favourite?

Birthday Cakes For Grownups

As is my wont around my birthday, today I am sharing a roundup of cakes I think are perfect for celebrating birthdays, especially once one is past the age of wanting train or butterfly-shaped cakes!  What's your favourite cake to bake up for a birthday?

1. I find it pretty hard to resist a giant macaron cake.

2. My all time favourite even as a child - black forest cake.

3. Neapolitan baked cheesecake is on this year's menu!

4. Combining two of my favourite things, tiramisu cake is a must.

Avengers Assemble!

Hands up if you're a mad keen Avengers fan!  And hands up if you've seen the latest film, Infinity War!  And triple hands up if you have or know some mini Avengers fans!  Domum Vindemia's Avengers buntings have been popular for birthday parties and nursery decor, so I've been adding more to the store.

The newest bunting features some of my favourite Avengers: Wasp, Ant Man, Thor and Captain America.  And I love the story's theme of the Avengers being strong on their own, but being much stronger when they work together!  Which is your favourite Avenger?

Monstera deliciosa

Now that Mother's Day is done and dusted (at least in Australia), I am thrilled to finally have time to put the finishing touches on Two Cheeky Monkeys' new Monstera range of jewellery.  This new range currently consists of ear jacket style earrings featuring classic literary characters, of course!

These earrings come in the perennial favourites of Lizzy and Darcy and Anne and Gilbert, as well as the quirky Mr Sherlock Holmes.  I will add more favourite characters as time permits, but am also happy to take custom orders featuring YOUR favourites.  Who would you choose?

We have a winner!

Thank you, thank you all who entered our tea infuser giveaway here on the blog or over on our IG feed!  I've had fun seeing which infuser people would choose if they won - very enlightening!

But as with all good things, the giveaway had to end.  And without any further ado, I am announcing Katie (aka l'il red) as our giveaway winner!

Thanks again to everyone who entered our giveaway.  If you didn't win, don't fret, I'll be sending all giveaway entrants a 10% off coupon code for our Etsy store as a consolation prize.

A roundup of scone recipes!

I've been posting about afternoon tea and high tea quite frequently of late (because how could you NOT love afternoon tea and high teas!).

So I thought it only appropriate to share a roundup of recipes for one of the most beloved afternoon tea treats (at least in the British-influenced world), scones!

My US-based readers will know these delights as biscuits, but don't ask me how the differences in terminology originated.  Meanwhile, enjoy these scrumptious recipes!

1. Soda water scones are my failsafe go to recipe.

2. The only scone recipe I've ever seen using eggs.

3. White chocolate scones, oh my!

4. I am a big fan of savoury scones.

Tea is always a good idea - Autumn/Winter 2018 range + a giveaway

My friends and family all know that I am a HUGE fan of drinking tea, especially if it's accompanied by a luscious high tea or afternoon tea!  And, of course, my love of high tea has been represented somewhat in Domum Vindemia with our range of dessert stands.

And this Autumn/Winter 2018, my love of tea will be further represented in-store with the launch of our new range of bookish tea infusers!  They are currently available in a choice of four literary quotes, but, as always, I am happy to create bespoke pieces with my customers' favourite quotes.

And to celebrate the introduction of this new range, we are having a giveaway!!!  ONE lucky blog reader will win their choice of tea infuser from our new range.

How do you enter?  

• Simply HEAD IN-STORE, check out our tea infuser range, and leave a blog comment letting me know which one you would like to win.

• Share our giveaway on social media and you will receive extra entries - just leave a comment with the link to your giveaway share and use #domumvindemia as a hashtag.

* Fine print: This giveaway will run from 1 May 2018 until 8 May 2018 (AEST).  Entry is open worldwide to entrants 18 years of age or older.  All entries must be verifiable to be valid. Winner will be chosen randomly. *