Thursday, 29 May 2014

My Creative Space - Girls' Ring Sets

image children's ring set girls two cheeky monkeys brygida peach apricot cream pink owl rose flowers
 Brygida ring set

It's hard to believe that it's been three years since I first started creating my range of girls' ring sets for Two Cheeky Monkeys - how time flies when you're having fun!  Of course, I made the decision to branch out into this line of children's jewellery because of my Two Cheeky Monkeys, who already had me making cabochon rings for them and their little friends.

image agnieszka ring set children's jewellery jewelry two cheeky monkeys cream yellow green mint lilac purple rose flowers leaf
Agnieszka ring set

The girls' ring sets seem to be a perennial favourite with customers from around the world.  I guess little girls the world over can't resist a cute ring with a flower on it!  So needless to say, every few months I sit down and work on another batch of ring sets to add to my online stores.  This week was one of those weeks where I worked on new sets, which garnered many oohs and ahhs from the Two Cheeky Monkeys.  Purple, blue, red and pink are all popular colours in this household.  What are the favourites at your place?

image children's ring set trio two cheeky monkeys owl blue red chocolate brown rose flowers cabochons kazia
Kazia ring set

Monday, 26 May 2014

Things I Love: Creating With Felt

image pretty little felts book

I have always loved creating with felt because it is a versatile, affordable and very easy to use craft material (very important when little ones want to join in the creating).  I love the fact that it comes in a multitude of colours and prints as well as in several types (wool, acrylic, recycled, etc).  Last year I borrowed the delightful Pretty Little Felts from my local library and had a lot of fun creating one of the projects from this book (see here).  So, this year I am thinking that I should use some of my birthday money given to me by various lovely family members and purchase a copy for myself.

image made in felt magazine

Another great publication for felt crafts is Made in Felt, from the team which publishes Mollie Makes.  It is full of cute felt projects, many of which can be attempted by crafty novices and children.  And it also has links to great blogs, books and websites which share felt-based DIYs or sell beautiful felt creations.  Do you love to create with felt?

Friday, 23 May 2014

Upcycled Storage Solutions

image wall pocket upcycled book caddy from kayte terry's paper made!

If you personally know me or have been a blog reader for some time, you will realise that I struggle with messiness, hoarding tendencies and a need for clever storage solutions (see here and here).  Unfortunately, the Two Cheeky Monkeys have inherited my messy tendencies and need help too.  So when I was given Kayte Terry's fun Paper Made! for Christmas, I knew I had to try out the oh so cute and practical wall pocket/caddy.

image wall pocket loom bands storage upcycled book caddy

I haven't decided what I'm going to store in my new wall pocket as yet, but Monkey #2 has already almost filled her little caddy with her huuuuge collection of loom band creations and Monkey #1 has started to put a few odds and ends into hers.  Maybe I should use mine to store the various bias tapes I use for my sewing projects?

image green and pink upcycled book caddy storage solution wall pocket

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

More Birthday Celebrations

I hope you have all been enjoying my birthday month and Mother's Day celebrations on the blog!  Today I am unveiling the third, and final, celebration I have planned.  As I mentioned, this surprise is for those who love all things Domum Vindemia.

image domum vindemia birthday discount peter pan bunting

So...for the next 48 hours, I am offering 15% off in both my Etsy and Madeit stores!  Simply use the coupon code BIRTHDAY at the store checkout to receive your discount.  But hurry, because the birthday discount offer ends first thing on the morning of the 23rd of May.

Monday, 19 May 2014

My Creative Space

image hollin asymmetrical necklace two cheeky monkeys avocado green lilac purple mauve rose flower vintage beads lucite

Do you remember my post last week about the new necklaces I've been creating?  I have been having so much fun working on more necklaces all week, especially these brightly-coloured ones which feature vintage plastic beads.  It's been like playing in a lolly/candy store with many of the beads reminding me of the Kool Fruits lollies I used to eat when I was a child!  What do you think - are you loving the bright colour combinations as much as I am?  And what is your current favourite colour combo?

image quendi necklace two cheeky monkeys asymmetrical yellow grey gray silver jewellery

Friday, 16 May 2014

My Running Playlist

Things are still pretty crazy chez Two Cheeky Monkeys, so today I'm sharing a little bit of music fun which keeps me entertained when I go running (and distracts me from the fact that my legs are hurting and that I don't like running!)  These three songs are just a small portion of my running playlist which is pretty eclectic but full of upbeat, thumping and generally activity-inducing tunes.  Enjoy!


1. Boomin' by Tobymac (Mr Cheeky Monkeys introduced me to this one).
2. Warrior by Havana Brown.
3. Firestarter by Samantha Jade.

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

My Creative Space

 image asymmetrical necklace yavanna rose cream blue stone agate two cheeky monkeys

Things have been a bit crazy here at chez Two Cheeky Monkeys care of a minor carport cave-in (long story), but I still managed to find some time to work on new creations.  I'm re-visiting my love for asymmetrical necklaces for my Spring 2014 range and I am so excited!  The new range will include necklaces with glass pearls, stone beads as well as vintage lucite beads (my absolute fave at the moment).  I will also be including colour combinations I haven't used much in the past.  What do you think of the upcoming range so far?
P.S. If you're looking for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway, then head to this blog post.

image indis asymmetrical necklace rose lilac mauve snow white glass pearls two cheeky monkeys silver