A very Pride and Prejudice stitch marker set

I recently had the pleasure of creating a special set of Pride and Prejudice stitch markers for a customer who needed a set of six, rather than our usual four, stitch markers.  And I got to thinking that the most fun part about creating stitch markers is seeing which characters a customer will choose.

Will they go for the story's protagonists and lovable minor characters?  Or will they opt to include the fictional "bad boys" and miscreants too?  Which characters would you choose, and why?

Happy Chinese New Year!

If you're not in the know, this weekend marks the start of the lunar new year for Chinese the world over.  In 2017, we celebrate the "year of the rooster (or chicken)".  Which means that for those of you turning a multiple of 12 this year, it's your year!

Not that it actually means anything (I don't hold to superstitions and horoscopes), but it's still fun to celebrate with family, friends, and lots of amazing Chinese food.  Hands up all those who will be celebrating this year, even if you're not Chinese!!!  And hands up those of you who are "roosters".

Image source: ChineseZodiac on Red Bubble

Typography-inspired ear studs

My love for all things typography and typography-inspired hasn't ceased and today's post shows off two recent custom orders created for customers who share my love of typography-themed items.  The first is a sweet pair of earstuds, which feature the words "hope" and "wish" as chosen by the customer.  These inspirational earrings come in any combination of (short) words and are lots of fun for me to create.

The second set of earstuds are technically not typography, but feature musical clefs.  But I figure I can get away with calling them typography-inspired earrings as we musicians read music!  These earrings were inspired by the music clef earrings which I regularly stock in-store, but feature all sterling silver parts for the metal components of the earrings as the recipient of these earrings has sensitive skin.

So what do you think?  Which pair of earrings do you prefer?  Are you a musician who would love to show off their love of music?  Or could you do with some inspirational words on your ear lobes?

Welcome Back Paddington!

Last year I had the pleasure of making a few Paddington Bear buntings for Domum Vindemia, which quickly found new homes overseas.  As a huge Paddington fan, I've been wanting to create more Paddington buntings ever since, but have only just managed to source some old storybooks perfect for my project.

The two buntings shown here are the first in the new range of Paddington buntings, with two more in the works, and hopefully more to come.  I especially love the bunting which features a story about Paddington visiting Buckingham Palace!  What do you think of the new buntings?  Did you love the Paddington stories when you were growing up?

Hey Twilight Fans!

I'm not sure if I've ever confessed this on the blog before, but I was (and, cough, still am) a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga.  Admittedly, the style, prose and grammar were rather lacking (yes, the English student in me mentally corrected the grammar and plot flaws while reading), but I can't resist a romance story gussied up in the fantasy or sci-fi genres!

So I was pretty thrilled recently to be commissioned to create a set of Twilight-inspired stitch markers for a Twihard who also happens to be a keen knitter.  Since my copies of Twilight are for reading and not for crafting, I printed out sections of the book to create this fun set of stitch markers.  I am so pleased with how these turned out that I'm thinking I'm going to have to make a set for myself!  Hands up who else had a secret (or not so secret) Twilight crush?

Rockabilly-inspired cocktail napkins

I have been happily getting back into my sewing this week, with several new creations under way for Domum Vindemia.  My absolute favourite at the moment, is this fun set of rockabilly-inspired cocktail napkins.

Although I don't tend to dress in that style and have definitely never mastered the retro pinup hairdos, I love the fun fabrics and designs favoured by those who literally and metaphorically rock this style of fashion.  In fact, I am loving these new napkins so much that I think I'll be adding more rockabilly-inspired designs in-store soon.  What do you think, yea or nay?

DIY Healthy Fruity Icypoles

If you're like me and LOVE all the amazing fruit available at summer time, or simply love frozen treats but want something a little healthier, then I have the recipe for you today!  The Two Cheeky Monkeys family sometimes get a bit carried away and buy more gorgeous summer fruit than we can eat.  So, rather than letting them go to waste, we turn them into frozen icypole treats to enjoy on those hot summer days.

The beauty of these super simple recipes is that they work for any fruit which can be pureed and/or frozen.  Which means that you can enjoy a range of different flavours, and even enjoy your beautiful homegrown fruit in a frozen ice treat!  (Ours are mango-heavy due to the fact that grandma Cheeky Monkeys scored a whole tray of mangoes super cheap.)

Ingredients:

Three layer icypole

- 1-2 ripe mangoes (depends on their size)

- 1-2 ripe nectarines

- 1 tub of fruit yoghurt (we used strawberry)

- icypole mould

- wooden popsicle sticks (if your moulds don't come with their own sticks or if they're otherwise in use - like when we make multiple batches)

Two layer icypole

- 2 ripe mangoes (depending on size)

- plain milk (use whatever you have on hand, be it cow's milk, soy milk, etc)

- icypole mould

- wooden popsicle sticks

Method:

Three layer icypole

1. De-seed the nectarines then dice into small cubes.  Distribute the diced pieces between your icypole moulds.

2. Peel and seed the mangoes; blend until nicely pureed.  Divide the mango puree between the moulds, making sure to get some puree between the chunks of nectarine.

3. Top up each mould with fruit yoghurt and carefully insert the icypole sticks.  Freeze overnight.

Two layer icypole

1. Peel and seed the mangoes; blend until nicely pureed.  Divide the mango puree between the moulds.  Tap gently to remove any air bubbles.

2. Slowly and carefully top up each mould with the plain milk.  Gently insert the icypole sticks and freeze your icypoles overnight.

And there you have it, two different types of icypoles which can be changed up any way you like to create a whole host of luscious flavours.  For those who cannot have dairy, you can use dairy alternatives (such as soy or almond milk), substitute with unsweetened fruit juice, or simply leave out the dairy components.  Enjoy!

Stacking bangles are back with a giveaway!

Hello to my beautiful readers, and a happy and blessed new year to you all!  Life has been pretty full on here at Two Cheeky Monkeys HQ with the Cheeky Monkeys on summer school holidays until the end of January.

Each day has been filled with trips to various activities or catch ups with friends and I am only slowly finding the time to work on brand new creations and customer orders.  But, never fear, I have been happily working on re-stocking Two Cheeky Monkeys' range of stacking bangles this week.

And even better, I've decided to start 2017 with a giveaway of one of our brand spanking new Sherlock Holmes bangles!  (And on a side note, I have yet to see the new series, so no spoilers please!)  How do you enter?  Simply head to the Two Cheeky Monkeys instagram feed and follow the instructions on the giveaway photo over there*.  Easy as that!

* This giveaway open to worldwide entrants 18 years of age or older.  Giveway runs until 12 Jan 2017 (AEDT).  Winner chosen via random.org.