Savage Kitten 30 Day Photo Challenge - Days 8 - 14

Welcome to another special edition blogpost - and of course the photographs I have taken for Days 8-14 of the Mid Month Savage Kitten 30 Day Photo Challenge. 
Savage Kitten + her friend JP came up with this 30 day photo challenge. THE ONLY RULE IS - ALL photo's must be taken on the day, no holiday pics from a couple of years ago etc, the challenge is the immediacy of it and working with what you've got! 
Savage Kitten will pop them up on her blog at http://savagekitten.wordpress.com/  so we can all see the photos submitted.
note : all copyright remains with individual artists.
I hope you enjoy my photos - days 15-21 will be published next weekend xo 

day 8 - light

day 9 - car 

day 10 - underneath

day 11 - borrowed

day 12 multi-colour

day 13 - white

day 14 - road

Friday Friends, Western Australian Street Team Members, Lamonster Handmade Clothing

Happy Friday readers ! Maddabling has decided to do something a little different on the blog over the next few weeks - features on wonderful handmade things for children ! This will predominantly feature creators from Western Australia - I hope you enjoy this special series as much as I do ! There is not much to report from the Maddabling household this week, it has been cold and grey in my part of the world, not particularly inspirational ! 


This week I want you to meet a new Friday Friend - the fabulous Kathy from Lamonster Handmade Clothing. Kathy is a fellow West Australian and member of the Western Australian Street Team on Etsy. 

By her own admission, Kathy of Lamonster Handmade Clothing creates modern clothing with an old fashioned twist. Kathy specialises in practical and completely gorgeous clothing, often in limited styles to ensure they really are unique. These creations really do make excellent gifts ! I really enjoyed browsing through the albums of Lamonster creations, and want to share a few of my finds with you now. Have have you ever seen a cuter outfit for the fellas - these rompers are just too sweet !  

I also love these outfits for the girls - they are still girly but in much more practical colours for the little ladies in your life !

I also want to take a moment to send a SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to Kathy who was recently featured in Frankie Magazine too - how wonderful to see West Australian Handmade on show for all to see ! 

Dear readers, time now to read The Terrific Tale of Lamonsters in the Wardrobe - wishing each and everyone of you a fabulous weekend, have fun whatever you are doing. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the photos I took for days 8-14 in the Savage Kitten 30 Day Photo Challenge  and there will be a special blog post on Sunday announcing a giveaway to celebrate the 300 Maddabling Blog Posts milestone ! 

The Terrific Tale of Lamonsters in the Wardrobe 
Who is Lamonster Handmade Clothing ?
I am Kathy Lamont, mum to a gorgeous 20 month old girl called Greer and wife to a very supportive husband who does my photography and graphic design. In February this year I created 'Lamonster' handmade clothing for children.

How and When did my handmade/artistic journey begin ?
I started sewing a few months after the birth of my first daughter - so in early 2011 .
A few months later - leading up to my daughter's first birthday I decided to make us both matching dresses - they turned out quite good and I entered a picture of us wearing them into a sewing competition and won first prize. I then started to focus on making cute clothing for my daughter and before long was making children's clothing for family and friends. 

What inspires me ?
Primarily its seeing children in my clothing! It makes me so happy to receive pictures from happy customers showing their child wearing their Lamonster outfit. I'm also inspired by my daughter and husband, fabric/buttons/trim, vintage patterns (such as Enid Gilchrist ), and photographer Loretta Lux. I love being part of the sewing community and seeing what different people do with the same pattern so you'll often find me browsing sewing blogs.

What kind of things do I make/create ?
I specialise in tunics with bloomers, dresses, and rompers, all made using contemporary patterns but given a vintage vibe. I make in sizes 0 - 4.

Do you have a favourite piece that you have made/created ?
Although I only make items that I would like to wear myself - I would have to say that my rompers are really cute. When my daughter wears hers  she looks so adorable and also my Peter Rabbit dresses and my Children on Parade Dress.

What are your future plans/dreams/aspirations ?
I have worked in law offices since I was 17 - so for almost 13 years. I enjoy it but after a hard day working and then devoting the early evening to my daughter my creative time is very limited. I would love to have more time to create.I have big dreams for Lamonster and eventually would love to be able to earn a living through it or some other creative job.
Since its very early days at the moment I will spend the next year building up my stock, focusing on market stalls and trying to get exposure about my brand. 

Want to see more of the darling creations made by Kathy of Lamonster Handmade Clothing? Here is how you can connect : 
Become a fan on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/LamonsterHandmadeClothing
Buy beautiful things from the Lamonster online store here: http://www.lamonstershop.com
and on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lamonstershop

blue day - wednesday wishes

blue day 

banish the winter blues with these pretty blue day finds .......... oh and dear readers, stay tuned for details of the Maddabling 300 blog posts giveaway in a special Sunday 1st July blog post. see you all on Friday for a new edition of Friday Friends xo 

                          Japanese garden Kimono Dress in pale blue by lilybrush

Light Blue Sloth Necklace by gnomesweeeetgnome

                                            Rabbits in Repose 8 x 10 by WildLifePrints

Bottle Vase Garland - in amber or cobalt glass by HeartsongFineArt

Hand dyed shibori tights in Cobalt, Dark Blue,Black by BaibaOsite

300 Blog Post Milestone and a 30 Day Photo Challenge

Dear Maddabling blog readers, today marks a special milestone for Maddabling. 
This is my 300th blogpost - my very first was written on the 4th May 2010. As a thankyou to all of those lovely folk who take the time to read, leave comments and share the posts that I make, a giveaway will be announced in the next few days. Due to the nature of the prizes, the giveaway will only be open to Australian followers. I certainly enjoy the challenge of continuing to find new artists to feature and handmade goodness to share with you all.

On a different note, Maddabling really really enjoyed her last photo challenge - so much so that she decided to undertake the Mid Month Savage Kitten 30 Day Photo Challenge. Savage Kitten + her friend JP came up with this 30 day photo challenge. THE ONLY RULE IS - ALL photo's must be taken on the day, no holiday pics from a couple of years ago etc, the challenge is the immediacy of it and working with what you've got! Savage Kitten will pop them up on her blog here : http://savagekitten.wordpress.com/ - so we can all see the photos submitted.
note : all copyright remains with individual artists

I hope you enjoy my photos - days 8-14 will be published next weekend xo

Savage Kitten photo challenge topics

day 1 - books

day 2 - graffiti

day 3 - water

day 4 - wood

day 5 - eye

day 6 - mail

day 7 - umbrella

Friday Friends - Etsy Western Australian Street Team Members - Homegrown + Handmade

Happy Friday dear readers - this week seems to have disappeared so quickly. I really love winter weekends - especially getting outside and catching a few rays of winter sunshine. We have some friends coming to share a mexican feast on Saturday night - I LOVE to cook ! I have created a beautiful fresh salsa style side dish that we eat with mexican food, it's made with coriander, a squeeze of lime juice, fresh sweet corn kernels, red capsicum and chopped cherry tomatoes. So refreshing !This week it is my great pleasure to introduce the wonderfully talented Kallista Bolton, designer and owner of the Homegrown and Handmade of Boddington range which features her own local brands Crossman Cookie Company, New Vintage Homewares and Squashed Olive as well as an array of other locally made gourmet produce lines. Kallista is also a fellow sandgroper and member of the  Western Australian Street Team on Etsy. 

The products on offer from this wonderful store are just luscious. I know I would LOVE  to receive a subscription to a 3 Month Nutritious Cookie Delivery Service from the Crossman Cookie Company - just imagine a family box of 14 mixed fresh cookies which can include a combination of most (if not all) Coffee and Hazelnut Choc Top cookie, White Choc Spelt cookie, Dark Choc and Orange Gluten Free cookie, Choc Chip Linseed cookie, Pistachio Cranberry and Lime cookie and  Honey and Lavender Shortbread delivered to your door. Almost Guilt free cookie eating, the recipes have been developed on low GI whole food, organic and sustainable food principles, Kallista has researched and sourced organic wholefood ingredients.

Fathers Day is just around the corner too - why not surprise the Dad in your life with this 3 Piece Mens Gift set comprising of 1 x 280ml Jar of Lime and Lemon Marmalade, 1 x Jar of Roast Hazelnut Honey (230ml size) and 1 x Bar of Goats milk + Olive Oil Soap in Lemongrass and Patchouli.

And I swear hubby would never pinch these glam gardening gloves - a white leather glove with a Pretty Pink Floral Cuff !

Dear readers, I will leave you now as I spread the love of the sweet story of Homegrown + Handmade. See you on Saturday for the first seven days in photos from the Savage Kitten mid month photo challenge !

The Sweet Story of Homegrown + Handmade
What is Homegrown Handmade ?
Homegrown + Handmade is a West Australian “cottage industry” enterprise making gourmet produce and textiles owned by me, Kallista Bolton. I ran away from Sydney in 1994 for a dreamy life in the country and despite a glamorous career in marketing I'd always wanted a small scale rural based business of my own. With my husband and 3 little boys, our slice of heaven appeared in 2009 the shape of a 10 acre olive farm in Crossman, just outside of Boddington in rural Western Australia. 

Homegrown + Handmade started in Feb 2010 with my original New Vintage Homewares textile products; gardening gloves and cushions for sale at my local markets. Soon after a collection of healthy gourmet cookies were added to the stall, they were so popular that Crossman Cookie Company was born specialising in nutritious and delicious wholefood cookies. Along with our Squashed Olive gourmet oils and inclusion of other delicious local products, the whole lot was pulled together to become the Homegrown + Handmade range. 

How and When did your handmade/artistic journey begin ?
My handmade / artistic journey began just after I had my first child in 2004. We had bought a dilapidated 100 year old weatherboard cottage in East Vic Park, Perth, I had quit work to stay home with bub. We had no money but I wanted to create a beautiful home. We couldn’t afford to purchase items so had to be resourceful and started sewing. I soon discovered I adored the creative process not just with the sewing but the entire innovative, resourceful, design style. Twins soon followed so here we were with 3 small boys (3 kids in 26 months !!) and that made me even more resourceful. I must have done OK as when we sold it to move to Boddington, the beautiful finished home made the front cover of the West Australian newspaper real estate liftout.

What inspires you ?
Being resourceful and the idea of creating my own financially viable cottage industry lifestyle business.  Also the SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT, all of the values linked to this movement completely resonate with me.
What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite ?
I work with food and textiles. Food wise – my fav would be the range of custom labeled wedding products.

Textiles wise - my favourite fabrics would be linen and velvet. They are both classic, richly elegant and casual. 

What kind of things do you make/create ?
In terms of the gourmet food, I make cookies and olive oil, then I collaborate with other local foodies to produce sauces, vinegars, jams, preserves, soaps etc. In terms of textiles I make all of these…my best sellers are my leather gardening gloves, then I also make cushions, bunting and have a range of childrens throw rugs and embellished garments to come. 

The cookies are the cornerstone of my business and I should give them some more airplay here as it's quite an achievement ! I have gone on to create Crossman Cookie Company which specializes in producing delicious but nutritious wholefood cookies. 
In fact they are guaranteed to be Australia's most nutritious range of gourmet cookies or your money back ! 

After studying with renowned Perth Wholefood Chef – Jude Blereau , and following the work of the iconic Australian nutritionist Cyndi O ‘Meara,  I started baking nutritious cookies for our kids. When we moved down to the farm my husband said one day, these are so good you should sell them. I took a batch down to the local Boddington Markets where I’d been selling my textiles and the rest is history. They were so popular. I now have a number of outlets (cafes, roadhouses, health food shops) and bake weekly, I must have baked over 20,000 cookies since then, selling individually and in boxes and also I make “packet mixes” of my nutritious cookies for the home bakers out there. The cookie business really could take over my time 100% but I am wanting to stay diversified. 

For something a little different, here is my latest You Tube Promo for the Crossman Cookie Company entitled "5 Unique Features of Crossman Cookie Company Products"
                          
Do you have a favourite piece that you have made/created ? 

My emerald green circular velvet pillow and my infused olive oils, my favourite being the 23 carat gold leaf olive oil “Dazzling Dinner Party”

What are your future plans/dreams/aspirations ?
To keep fine tuning things to make this really work financially, to create my ultimate rural lifestyle venture that fits harmoniously alongside my family life. 

Dear readers, do you want to explore further ? Here is how you can connect :
Become a follower on facebook here :
http://www.facebook.com/HomegrownHandmade
http://www.facebook.com/CrossmanCookieCompany
Buy beautiful homewares and delicious goodies on Etsy  http://www.etsy.com/shop/homegrownhandmade