The "Luscious Lace" Range

Those of you who are on Facebook or Twitter with me may recognise some of the images above (sorry for the quality).  These are the first five additions to my new "luscious lace" range of bracelets.  Each bracelet is made from a strip of vintage or vintage-style lace, braid or sewing trim, making a delicate and feminine addition to your jewellery collection.  Every bracelet also comes with a chain extender (complete with a cute charm or bead on the end) to allow them to be adjustable for a range of wrist sizes (approximately 6-8 inch wrists).  I will gradually be adding more bracelets to my new range and would love colour or lace design suggestions from those of you who love the idea of wearing lace and trims not just on your clothes!

My 2nd Blogaversary and a Giveaway!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who entered.

Wendy Cocktail Napkin Set

Yes, it's giveaway time!  It's been a while since I've hosted a giveaway on my blog and I thought that a giveaway to celebrate two years in blogland was a great idea.  I can't believe it's been two years since I finally decided to join the blogging world (though, actually, my 2nd blogaversary was a few weeks ago but I forgot about it in the aftermath of my overly friendly cold...)

Hannah Cocktail Napkin Set

I've met a lot of fascinating people and read a tonne of great blog posts in that time and I am grateful to each one of my blog followers and subscribers who faithfully read my posts and/or leave comments.  So what can you win in my celebratory giveaway?  Well, up for offer is YOUR CHOICE of either the Hannah or Wendy cocktail napkin set.  Both sets have been made from clean, repurposed bed linen and I think they would be a lot of fun to use at a backyard barbecue or party!

This giveaway is open worldwide and will run until midnight, 1st April 2012 (AEST).  You'll also have to bear with me as I'm trialling Rafflecopter for my blog giveaways and have no idea how well this will work.

Retro Cupcake Stands

I have unearthed some beautiful secondhand crockery recently so I am avidly back into making cupcake stands and jewellery holders for my Domum Vindemia stores.  I am really pleased with this latest batch of finds, the majority of which date to the 1960s and some even came in matching tea plate and saucer sets.  I have also been having fun hunting for "old-fashioned" names for my cupcake stands and buntings, but if you have any suggestions which I'm not already using, I'd love to hear them!

Clockwise from top left:

Ella cupcake stand

Anne cupcake stand

Retro cupcake stand

Sophie cupcake stand

My Creative Space

I know I've been a little quiet in blogland of late, and that has mostly been due to catching a cold which seemed to want to be my best friend (I'm only now feeling like I have recovered some two weeks after falling ill).  But, my time has also been taken up with several creative projects when I have had energy to spare.  The work in progress pictured above is the project which I'm most keen to finish.  It is a pleated clutch which I am making from a pattern in Tanya Whelan's book, Sew What You Love (which is a great book).  I'm waiting on the arrival of my order of magnetic bag clasps before I can go any further with this project, so in the mean time I'll be working on some shirred blouses (also from Tanya's book) for the two cheeky monkeys as well as a baguette-style handbag for myself (yes, I like bags).  What are you working on at the moment?

Things I Love...

You should know by now how much I love beautiful wreaths!  And lately, I have been seeing a lot of delightful yarn wreaths in blogland, Etsy and Pinterest.  Here are a few inspiring yarn wreath tutorials for you to get cracking at decorating your home!

A Beautiful Mess Blog

Simply Salvage

My Blessed Life (this one has a mini bunting!!!)

A Design Story

Wednesday Whimsy

I was going to start my post with a comment about how today's post title is a bit of a misnomer since there is no whimsy in the post, but actually, there is.  These vintage compass cufflinks are a little present I made for my husband on a whim (do you see where the "whimsy" bit comes in now? He he.) and gave to him as a "just because" gift.  As you know, I have a bit of a thing for vintage supplies and items, but I bet you didn't know that I have a bit of a thing for cufflinks too.  Which is why I made this pair for my husband since he only owns one pair and has yet to wear them as most of his shirts do not support the wearing of cufflinks.  I had fun making these cufflinks and am in the process of making some "Mr Darcy" cufflinks to sell in my Two Cheeky Monkeys stores.

The two cheeky monkeys loved the cufflinks (they like anything shiny and which has moving parts!) and so did my husband.  And look what he brought home for me on the day I surprised him with his new cufflinks - we surprised each other!

  

Things I Love...

I may not entertain often, and any cupcakes I bake usually get devoured before I even get a chance to ice them, but I absolutely ADORE cupcake toppers!  There are a myriad of commercial and handmade cupcake toppers available, including edible ones and DIY kits which allow you to make them yourself.  Here are just some of the fun cupcake toppers I found on Etsy, which should inspire you for your next celebration!  And should you need a cute stand for your cupcakes, don't forget to visit Domum Vindemia on both Etsy and Madeit, wink wink.

1. Woodland cupcake toppers
2. Ballerina cupcake toppers
3. Owl cupcake toppers
4. Under the sea cupcake toppers
5. Cat in the hat cupcake toppers
6. Robot cupcake toppers

Bows, bows and more bows

I feel like I have been almost literally chained to my sewing machine these last few weeks as I tackle various sewing projects for the two cheeky monkeys.  The hair bows you see pictured above are a result of a late night whimsical decision to make hair bows for the monkeys after seeing this simple tutorial on the see kate sew blog.  I made one hair bow for my girls to share, which they did amazingly well and with good grace, and it was a hit with them and their little friends.  So much so, that I ended up making a second hair bow with some of the leftover fabric from the girly skirts I showed off in my last post.

In fact, the bows were so popular that it was decided that I should make a batch of them as my contribution to the fundraising craft stall that will be run at oldest monkey's school fete at the end of the month.  Now, I had a lot of fun making the first two bows, but the subsequent eight have been a little painful.  Probably because I thought that I should hand stitch the central strip and hair elastic to each bow, which is fine if you're doing only one or two bows, but not so much when you do eight at once!  Anyway, I hope the bows are popular and bring in some nice funds for the school.   :)