Valentine's Day Finds

As the "day of love" approaches, I thought I'd share a collection of fun, love-themed items which you can spoil loved ones with all year round.  Each piece is handmade by an individual creator, meaning that it is unique and supports a small business - enjoy!

1. Star Wars-inspired keyrings

2. Rose bath melts

3. Love magnet set

4. Bird art print

$15 or Less - the Domum Vindemia Spring Clean

The remarkable thing about my method of scheduling blog posts a week in advance is that, when I wrote Monday's post, I didn't realise that when the post was live, I would be in the throes of a rather nasty sinus infection.  And even as I write this post, partially recovered from my illness, I wonder how I managed to get so much creating done last week!

Cecily Stand

Anyway, sitting in my messier than usual home got me thinking that I really needed to start my Spring cleaning a little early this year.  Therefore, I have decided to hold a quick sale on Domum Vindemia cupcake and dessert stands!  Discounted items are $15 or less, so if you have been wanting some vintage fun for your parties, now is the time to act.  You could also be super organised and purchase birthday and Christmas presents for the rest of the year!  And for those of you who haven't heard, new postage conditions mean that all cupcake and dessert stands mailed within Australia will now be trackable, meaning that you should always know when to expect your Domum Vindemia delivery.  Sweet!

Retro Stand

Things I Love - Yevgenia

Shrooms and Grass Ceramic Tea Set

I stumbled across this BEAUTIFUL artwares store when I was browsing through Etsy the other day, and I had to share my finds with all of my readers!  Yevgenia is an amazing store full of handpainted artwares ranging from travel mugs to wine glasses and teapots.  Yevgenia's creations are all botanically-inspired, and I especially love the mushroom and floral ranges.  Sadly, postage costs make these items prohibitively expensive for me, but maybe next time I'm in New York (where Yevgenia is based - a girl can dream, right?), I'll be able to purchase one of her pretty pieces for myself.

Botanical Glass Decanter

Things I Love

Lotus garden paperweight

 

I adore glass creations and have long had a bit of a thing for lampwork glass items, be it beads, pendants, jewellery, sculptures or homewares.  So I am pretty stoked to have found Morning Light Glass Lampwork Art on Etsy, a store full of stunningly beautiful lampwork creations!

 

Seahorse ornament

 

This amazing store is full of the most gorgeous lampwork paperweights and glass cabochons as well as pretty ornaments and glass artworks for your home.  I am especially loving the paperweights and floral glass sculptures, though I fear that with two small monkeys, such items wouldn't last long in my home before they were "accidentally" knocked off a shelf or display spot.  Perhaps one day I will own one of these pretties...

 

Glass flower bowl sculpture





Things I Love...

Dr Who Chess Set

I don't know about you, but the Dr Who TV series used to really freak me out when I was a kid (okay, it still freaks me out a little now too as an adult) because not only were the Daleks pretty scary, some of the doctors were pretty weird too.  But since marrying my husband, who is a bit of a Dr Who fan, I have learned to appreciate the new series of Dr Who and am quite fond of the more recent doctors.  And now that the show doesn't scare me quite as much as it did when I was little, I find myself regularly surfing Etsy in search of fantastic Dr Who creations.  I think this has got to be the coolest one I've found so far, a chess set comprising many favourite characters from the more recent series (and some from past series), including the tenth doctor as the white king.  I'm not really a big fan of the game of chess, but I think it would be fun to play a round or two on this board!  So tell me, who is or was your favourite doctor?  Or do you still avoid the show?

My Creative Space and a Special Birthday Discount

Yes, the day has finally come when I have to admit, grudgingly or otherwise, that I am very much in my mid-30s and that FORTY is getting closer and closer!  Today I turn 35, which feels sooooo oooold to me, but I know it's not really, especially when you think about my husband's gran who just turned 95.  Anyway, since it's my birthday, my creative space this week has been filled with my attempts at making myself a purple ombre birthday cake.  My first attempt failed since I did the lazy woman's option of making layers and ended up with a marbled cake, LOL.  My second attempt has worked better, although my cake is not going to win "best in show" for the prettiest cake!  I am teasing you with the outside of the cake (yes, that's a dark chocolate ganache, so I will be going for a run this morning!) and hope to show off the inside layers in another post this week.

Two Cheeky Monkeys

And just so you don't miss out on the gift-receiving fun (and I have gotten some great gifts already), I'm offering a special discount in both of my Etsy stores to my faithful readers and fans.  For the next 24 hours only, receive a 20% discount at Two Cheeky Monkeys when you use the coupon code BIRTHDAY at checkout (excludes shipping).

Domum Vindemia

For those of you who prefer my vintage upcycled homewares and decor, I'm offering a 15% discount at Domum Vindemia for the next 24 hours too.  Get your discount by using the coupon code BIRTHDAY at checkout to receive your discount (excluding shipping).  If there's anything in my Madeit stores which you have been eyeing that aren't in my Etsy stores, just send me an email and I'll be happy to reserve the item(s) for you with the discount already included.

Things I Love...

I was browsing through Etsy the other day (okay, okay, I might cough browse there every day) when I found these sweet pears by Skye Art.  They are made out of polymer clay and come in two colours and a variety of phrase or word choices.  I think these pears would look adorable sitting on a kitchen window sill or on a craft or work desk!

Pretty Things in My Letter Box

In the past few weeks I have been blessed to receive some beautiful goodies in the mail care of winning a few handmade giveaways.  The first is a cute brooch from the lovely Tess of Planet Treasures.  I "met" Tess via DUST on Etsy and have long admired her bright and funky jewellery creations and her beautiful sewn creations, especially the fabric brooches like the one she sent me!

My other gorgeous package came from sweet Daffy of the aptly named Sweet Heart Studio.  Daffy is another online friend whom I met through CAST on Etsy.  Like Tess, Daffy creates a range of beautiful items from inspiring glass tile magnets, to glass jewellery, to hair accessories and beaded jewellery.  Here is what she sent me:

Thank you to both of you wonderful ladies, it is a privilege for me to know you and count you among my online friends!

Two Cheeky Monkeys Clearance Sale and Store News

Today's post is a mixed bag of news relating to various goings on in my crafting life.  Firstly, I want to announce a very special clearance sale currently running in my Etsy store.  I know I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I have been constantly reminded that, as a mother with young children and many crafty interests, I need to focus my creative energy to more optimally use my time.

In the interests of better running my business, it is also better if I focus on a few popular design styles rather than creating everything which catches my fancy.  Therefore, I am selling off all of my old stock at a 40% discount, that's right 40% OFF.  For those of you who prefer to shop in AUD, I will slowly be discounting the old stock in my Madeit store too, just keep an eye out for the "SALE" tagged items.

Red Berries Earrings

Secondly, those of you who regularly visit my Facebook fan pages will notice a slight change to the options on the left sidebar.  Yes, as I mentioned, I am a little slow, so I have only finally added a "contact" tab to both my Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia pages.  So from now on, you can easily contact me via my Facebook pages without having to worry about looking up my email address to send me an email.  This new way of contacting me should come in very handy for events such as my upcoming Domum Vindemia market night this THURSDAY, 18th August, where I will be selling a mix of old and new designs via my Facebook page.

Gwendolyn Cake Stand

And finally, while I am excited about the recent decisions I have made to try and manage my unruly craft life, this post is written with much sadness as I remember the tragedy which struck a fellow jeweller and online friend on Sunday night.  Those of you who are regular readers of my Feature Friday posts may remember Julie-Ann, one of the lovely DUST team leaders on Etsy and a wonderful woman who committed a lot of her time and energy to both the online crafting and her local communities as well as taking care of her children, some of whom have special needs.

I was shocked to discover yesterday afternoon that Julie-Ann and her teenaged daughter were among the victims of the light plane crash I had been hearing about on the news all day.  Julie-Ann was critically injured in the accident and is being treated in hospital in the ICU, but sadly her daughter and the plane's pilot were both killed.

I would like to ask you to pray for my lovely friend and her family, as well as for the family of the pilot, as they all come to terms with their sudden loss.  As someone who has recently experienced a very personal loss, I can only begin to imagine just how painful the days, weeks and months ahead are going to be for Julie-Ann and her family.

What's New - Jewellery and Doilies Galore

Before I get into today's post, I want to thank everyone for their support and well wishes during this time of my loss.  I still haven't gotten off the emotional rollercoaster which is usually part and parcel of losing a loved one, and I guess I won't for quite some time, so thank you for sticking with me and my erratic blog posts.

The Kitty Bunting

Okay, now for my promised jewellery and doilies galore.  Actually, "galore" may be a bit of an exaggeration, though if you ask my dear husband, he is probably a bit over the seemingly endless piles of doilies he keeps finding around the house, ha ha ha!  Well, some of those piles of doilies were finally turned into bunting and scarf creations for Domum Vindemia.

The Wilma Bunting

Some of my new buntings will feature only crochet doilies while others will continue to feature embroidered doilies and/or vintage embroidered napkins and placemats.  For those who like a bit of colour in their decor, I am also experimenting with coloured bias binding for my buntings, with pink, blue and grey coming soon!  For the smaller doilies, many are now being upcycled into funky doily scarves.  The first such of these scarves is already spoken for, but don't worry, there are more coming as soon as I can get the energy to play with my sewing machine.

The Thora Scarf

And although my Two Cheeky Monkeys jewellery stores are looking a little neglected, there are new creations waiting to be listed in those stores too.  I am quite excited about a new range of vintage glass jewel cocktail rings to complement my range of vintage glass jewel earrings, necklaces and bracelets.  I know it's taken me a while to get into making cocktail rings, partly because they look silly on my little hands and fingers, but mostly due to the fact that sourcing supplies for these rings is not easy!  I haven't decided whether to list my new jewellery pieces on my Etsy or Madeit stores, or both, so please let me know which is your preferred online shopping platform to help me get a better idea of your shopping preferences.     :)

The Marisol, Esmerelda and Undomiel Vintage Glass Cocktail Rings

Domum Vindemia Launch!!!



I am thrilled to announce today that I am finally launching my homewares store, Domum Vindemia!!!  As you will find when you head over to my store, I am opening with a small range of vintage doily buntings and upcycled cake stands.  For the time being, I will only be selling my Domum Vindemia creations on Madeit, but I do have plans to open a store on Etsy once I have more items created.

To celebrate the long-awaited launch of my new venture, I am offering all of my blog readers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers 10% off your first purchase.  Just use the code "LAUNCH10" when you make your purchase and I will refund you the difference via Paypal.  For those of you who would prefer to pay in USD, I am happy to send you a new Paypal invoice in USD until my Etsy store is opened.

Domum Vindemia: A New Venture and Store

Victoria Cupcake Stand

Yes, you read right, I am adding to the craziness and busy-ness here at the home of Two Cheeky Monkeys by trying out a new venture - a new store!!!  This new line of creations, which you will be able to find on both Etsy and Madeit, will be sold under the label Domum Vindemia, which means "vintage home" in Latin.

Louisa Vintage Doily and Napkin Bunting

I was originally planning to launch my new store earlier this year but circumstances led me to postpone it until now.  Actually, not quite now, since a recent kitchen mishap (long story) has led me to yet again delay the launch.  However, I am hoping to open the virtual doors of Domum Vindemia after the upcoming Easter break!  In the mean time, I hope you're enjoying the sneak peeks of what you'll be able to find instore.

Primula Cupcake Stand

So what will you find in this new online venture of mine, I hear you ask?  Well, my love of upcycling vintage crockery and linen has led me to decide to sell my upcycled creations.  I will be stocking Domum Vindemia with cupcake stands, cake stands and doily and napkin buntings - the majority of which have been created using vintage parts.  I might also add my vintage dictionary page prints one day if I can ever work out how to combine the shipping of art prints with kitchenware!

Margaret Cupcake Stand

A New Design of Hair Clips

I hope you have all had great weekends - this past one for me has been pretty busy!  But in between shopping, going for a run, cooking for my sister-in-law's birthday party, attending said party, practising piano for church and playing piano at church (phew!), I managed to put together a new style of hair clip which will hopefully be hitting my Etsy and Madeit stores in the coming weeks.

 

This set of clips comprises a mix of vintage and contemporary cabochons attached to antiqued brass alligator-style hair clips.  I love the way the brown of the brass is complemented by the darker colours of these sweet cabs!  I haven't decided on a name for these clips yet but am toying with Oceania, Peacock and Meadow.  What do you think?

This eclectic set of clips was designed for the two cheeky monkeys and myself!  I have been wanting some new hair accessories for myself and ended up creating a set that would match a range of my outfits as well as the monkeys' outfits, he he.  As you can see, the clips are also available in a shiny black and shiny silver colour.  For anyone interested in ordering a custom set of my new range of alligator clips, I am more than happy to discuss colour schemes and requirements via email (see my "Contact" page).

What's New - Fabric Cuffs

Hello my dear readers and welcome to March!  I know, I know, it's been a long time between posts for me at the moment.  Life has become exceedingly busy this year as the cheeky monkeys' schedules fill up, not helped by my mild obsession with the Twilight series of books, ha ha ha.  I am trying to ease myself back into the swing of blogging, so today I thought I would show off some of my newest creations.

I am still very enamoured of my new line of fabric cuffs and have been slowly working on new designs when I'm not busy being a mum, wife, daughter and obsessed book worm.  This week I have managed to add two new designs to my Madeit store and I hope to add more designs over the coming weeks.

Mocha Royale Cuff

The Mocha Royale cuff above was inspired by my love of hand dyed vintage doilies as well as the elegantly regal Michael Miller cotton fabric I just had to purchase while I was shopping for linen.  I have to admit that when I first purchased the vintage doilies and doily remnants from a talented Aussie artisan, I had no idea what I was going to do with them, especially the remnants.  But, there's just something a little irresistable about ruffled cuffs (to me at least) so I guess there are no surprises that at least one of the remnant pieces got used in this way.

Maharajah Watch Cuff

This second cuff, the Maharajah, has been a design idea floating around in my head for at least a month.  I am absolutely in love with my stash of vintage sari scraps and have been feverishly trying to come up with different ways of using them in my creations.  The piece used in this cuff is a gorgeous violet purple shot through with strands of red so that the colour of the fabric changes depending on how the sun hits it...sigh of pleasure!  And to add more functionality to this cuff, the sweet heart-shaped watch face is attached via two clasps, making it easy to remove when the batteries need changing.

This final cuff has been an idea in my head for even longer than the Maharajah cuff has been in my head!  I haven't been able to quite get the design right, though, so I'm still playing with ideas to fully turn the vision in my head into reality.  I will also soon be playing with darker coloured fabrics and trims to create cuffs more suited to those who prefer to wear darker shades as well as working on more feminine and ruffled designs to add to the range - I can't wait and hope you can't either!

To celebrate the release of my fabric cuff range in my Madeit store, I am offering free regular shipping on any fabric cuffs purchased with another item in either my Etsy or Madeit stores.  For example, if you purchase a pair of earrings AND a fabric cuff, you only pay shipping for the earrings!  You don't need to use any special codes, I will refund you the difference.  This offer lasts until March 8, 2011.

Things I Currently Love

This summer I have had a lot of fun visiting op shops and antiques bazaars in my search for gorgeous vintage items.  I realised that quite a few of them fit well into the "shabby chic" category, although they are not exclusive to this style of decorating and creating!  Today's post is a collection of photos using the vintage items I currently love...sigh of pleasure.

Loooove this "lace" cake from Real Simple

 This funky scarf was made from recycled sari silk which had been turned into yarn.

Pretty eco dress using vintage doilies.

Sewing Projects Continued

You may have noticed that I have been a little quiet in blogland since my last post and that is because I have been madly sewing away at my various projects!  I have managed to finish three projects (including one I didn't mention because it had not originally been on my list of things I was planning to make, LOL) and will soon start thinking about starting another one.

The first project to be completed was Miss 5's library bag for school.  This was a relatively straightforward project until I realised, too late, that the sturdy upholstery fabric I had let Miss 5 choose (I think it is cotton duck) was a bit thick for a library bag.  This has resulted in a drawstring bag that doesn't pull fully closed due to the thick-ish fabric refusing to bunch up any closer - oops.  I did manage to line the bag with a cute mauve spotty fabric, so at least the inside of the bag looks good too!  My "simple" project also hit a snag when I went to put in the drawstring cord.  Miss 5 had requested that her library bag have a double cord, but with the thickness of the fabric and the size of the bag I had made, a double drawstring ended up being too short.  This meant another trip to the fabric store for more cord, though this time Miss 5 agreed to choose a cord which better matched her fabric.  She ended up choosing a sparkly silver cord, which looks great but was a pain to work with since it was essentially a plain white cord with metallic silver strands wrapped around it which kept unravelling as I was working with it...groan.

My second sewing project for the summer was a cute pink and green bunting made for my friends' daughter, whose third birthday we will be celebrating this weekend.  This is the first time I have ever sewn bunting, so I was pleasantly surprised at how quick it was to put together.  The only real issues I had with this project were the inordinate number of pins I seemed to use to keep everything together and all the ironing required to give my bunting a crisp, neat look, he he!  I used bias binding for the top of the bunting, which probably added to my ironing, so maybe next time I will use a wide grosgrain ribbon or something similar.  I think next time I will also make the triangle flags a little larger.  These ones were 13cm wide by 15cm high and although cute, I think they are a little on the small side for my liking.  The best part about this project was finding fabrics which would work well together.  I am not very skilled at matching fabrics, but I had fun and I think the mix of new fabric, lace and fabric from vintage pillowcases works well.

Finally, I have been feverishly working on my new range of fabric cuffs for my Etsy and Madeit stores!  Allow me to introduce you to the Fiore, Amphitrite and Sweet Innocence cuffs (top to bottom) - all made using calico, lace,  vintage buttons, cabochons and brass findings.  Each cuff has been backed with a plain cotton fabric re-purposed from an old pillowcase.  I had A LOT of fun designing these three pretties and can't wait to work on some more designs!  The Fiore cuff has the most gorgeous vintage crocheted lace adorned with a brass filigree, tiny bee charm and a vintage-style sakura cabochon.  The Amphitrite cuff combines vintage lace, hem tape, a floral filigree and a gorgeous vintage glass cabochon and rhinestones.  Lastly, the Sweet Innocence cuff combines organza-style ribbon, vintage lace and a vintage cabochon set into a cameo setting.  Each of these cuffs will be available in my stores once I decide on how I'll label them with my store name.

So that is three sewing projects done and dusted!  I am still planning on making a kisslock frame purse, but I think I need a little rest from all the sewing, ha ha.

Etsy finds - Inspiring art for your craft room

I have been dreaming about setting up a craft room at home for about six months now and am gradually getting closer to achieving this dream.  Of course, it wouldn't be a complete craft room without some artwork on the walls to inspire creativity!  So here are some pretty pieces I found on Etsy...if only I had enough wall space for them.

The Simple Things Print by Lola's Room

Bowl of Colour Print by 74LimeLane

Aqua and Tangerine Love by Freckles & Fairytales

Lovely Day Original Photograph by alice b. gardens

Cabochon Sneak Peeks

I recently received a gorgeous shipment of vintage and vintage style cabs from one of my favourite vintage suppliers (a BIG thank you to them too, they know who they are) and couldn't stop myself from creating a few new designs immediately!  The designs below are mostly earring stud sets, which come packaged in a Two Cheeky Monkeys gift tin, but I will also be working on some new hair accessories and jewellery pieces after Christmas.  None of these items will be added to my stores until after Christmas, so if you are desperate to purchase any of these creations for yourself or a loved one, please email me using the details on my contact page.

The Daisy, Cornflower and Carnation brooches

Peacock ear stud set

Monochrome ear stud set

Scarlet Pimpernel ear stud set

Mediterrannean ear stud set

Sunshine ear stud set