Before and After - Picture Frames

The cheeky monkeys have been eager to decorate their bedroom walls, so during the recent school holidays, we tackled a project which I had been interested in trying out for some time.  I found the project years ago at Living Creatively, which unfortunately, no longer exists (at least not in a format that I can find).  I love this little project because I'm fascinated by silhouette art and I studied French in high school (and amazingly could translate most of the text used in the artwork!)  The monkeys were eager to try it out because it involved painting, cutting and gluing, ha ha ha.

Of course, me being me, I made the project harder by deciding that, instead of just buying suitable picture frames from a store, we would repurpose old, unwanted picture frames from our local op shop (hence the "before and after" in the post title).  Both girls wanted their frames to be pink (of course...sigh) so that's the colour that we painted onto the old frames.  Although I spray painted the undercoat onto the frames, I foolishly let the girls paint the rest by hand rather than going out and buying a can of pink spray paint.  So, turning our old, brown frames into new, pink ones took the better part of a day with all the drying time required between coats.  I know better for next time!  The girls are really pleased with how their artworks turned out and I know they will have pride of place on their walls. 

My Creative Space - Bunting

Adele Bunting

I am absolutely loving sewing buntings for my Domum Vindemia store at the moment!  Although I always get a little nervous cutting vintage napkins and doilies to size for each bunting, I really enjoy the creative process.  And viewing the completed product is a sure way to bring a smile to my face!  This bunting is a little different from my previous creations as the crocheted edges and corners of the beautiful napkins I used inspired me to try something a little more "girly".  Rather than merely joining each napkin "flag" with plain bias binding, I added a strip of vintage, pink ribbon to the bias.

I also folded the rayon ribbon into ruffles to add interest to the design and am quite pleased with how it's turned out.  Unfortunately, I ran out of ribbon just before I reached the end of my bunting, so I am impatiently waiting for my supplies to arrive so that I can finish sewing the Adele bunting and hopefully sew a few more buntings in this style.  So what do you think?  Do you like my extra girly bunting or do you prefer my standard style?

Monday Inspiration

I woke up today to an overcast day which did not help the already present gloom that comes with the start of the school term and the realisation that I am back in the routine of waking up early, making lunches and washing school uniforms.  But I can't help but smile every time I see this little teacup of flowers sitting on my dining table.  I don't know what species they are, cheeky monkey #2 and I picked them on our walk yesterday, but the monkeys and I think they look like cute, little floral pom poms. Perhaps they are waiting for a miniature cheerleader to come and pick them up!

I Love Pasta!

Although titled "I love pasta", this story starts with Chinese noodles.  You see, I have memories from my childhood of using a pasta machine to make Chinese noodles with my parents.  My mum would make the noodle dough while dad would help us kids to roll and cut the dough into noodles with our handy dandy pasta machine which they apparently brought all the way from Singapore to Australia (are you confused yet).  And then when all the noodles were made, my mum would cook us a delicious noodle dish for lunch or dinner!  Now I LOVE noodles and I LOVE pasta, so I decided last year that it was about time I tried making my own pasta with the "help" of my cheeky monkeys.

My faithful pasta machine cranking out the spinach lasagne sheets.

Since my parents were no longer using their pasta machine for pasta or noodles, they passed it to me to bring it back out of retirement, so to speak.  The cheeky monkeys have absolutely enjoyed our attempts at making pasta so far.  Being me, I was not content to make just plain pasta, it had to be flavoured, so we've made herb pasta (using herbs from our garden) as well as pumpkin pasta (which nobody liked, even me, the pumpkin lover).  And this week we made spinach pasta (using store bought frozen spinach) which I turned into lasagne!  Now, at this point my dad would have made some comment about how the Italians got the idea for pasta from the Chinese, but I digress...

 

The lasagne - you can see the layers of green pasta if you squint!

 I have to say that, although I was absolutely exhausted after my mammoth day of pasta and lasagne making, it was really fun making this dish pretty much completely from scratch (it's not completely from scratch since I didn't make the cheese myself or grow the vegetables...).  There's something nice about not eating plain old regular pasta (yes, I get bored easily so like a little bit of excitement in my meals, LOL) and, as you can see below, it certainly helps the cheeky monkeys to eat their meals better (well, faster, at least) when they've helped to make it!

 

The cheeky monkeys enjoying their dinner.

My Creative Space

Skye necklace

After the relative success of making a button necklace for myself, I was inspired to work on more jewellery pieces for...myself!  I wanted a few simple necklaces which I could wear pretty much anywhere, especially as I head back into the world of research science where I never felt comfortable wearing my statement or delicate jewellery pieces while sporting latex gloves and protective lab coats or surgical gowns.  I probably won't be adding either of these designs to my stores, but if you would like a custom version for yourself or a friend, then contact me via email and I can work out a quote.  :)

Freedom necklace

New Beginnings and Directions

Mr Cheeky Monkeys, cheeky monkey #1 (who was 16 months old then) and me (with cheeky monkey #2 in utero) after my graduation.

As you may know, I have a background in research science and my pre-handmade business day job was as a scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.  I spent all five years of my PhD, and the one year that I worked after graduating, studying the biology behind serious side effects of radiation therapy until I decided to quit my job when cheeky monkey #2 was born.  I always hoped to return to the research world when both of my children were older, but the competitive and government-funded nature of the industry meant that it was impossible for me to find anyone willing to hire me on a part-time basis.  And hence, Two Cheeky Monkeys (and now Domum Vindemia) was born out of the time I now had to re-explore my creative side.

Monash Institute of Medical Research



Although I missed my old profession, I have enjoyed my immersion into the handmade world and feel blessed to have met (both online and in real life) so many amazing artisans and craftspeople both from Australia and around the world.  In fact, I have been starting to feel like I was finally settling into this new world of mine when I was offered a part-time job out of the blue, which I have since accepted.  Although I have some reservations about taking up this new position, I am thankful for the opportunity and do realise what a miracle and a blessing it is to receive such an offer.  Because my new job is part-time, I hope to keep running my online stores as well as tending to this blog, although I obviously won't be able to devote as much time to them.  I don't know how things are going to work out, but I hope and pray that I can balance the many facets of my life.  I would appreciate your prayers on my behalf and look forward to enjoying both the science and handmade worlds together.    :)

Friday Finds - Chandeliers

Last week I shared about my love for sushi and sushi-themed items (see here), so I thought that this week I would share my love for something a little more classy, he he - chandeliers!  I love chandeliers and would dearly love to have a big fancy one (or two) in my home but that kind of thing doesn't particularly fit in with the style of our 1980s home.  That being said, it hasn't stopped me from plotting to fill my home with chandelier-themed artwork or creations, although I am yet to make a chandelier dictionary print for myself despite the number I have made for my customers, LOL.  Here are just a few examples of handmade items which can help to introduce a chandelier theme to your home.   :)

1920s Petite Dewdrop Chandelier

Chandelier Fine Art Print

Chandelier Pillow Cover

Chandelier Print T-shirt

Chandelier Canvas