Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Sarahjanedesigns

Happy Friday lovely readers. How was your week? Maddabling was *hoping* to make an appearance at White Rabbit Vintage and Handmade Showcase this weekend (Sunday at the Torbay Hall) but this is not to be.... still battling this nasty virus.Sometimes one has to, quite simply, put their health first. 

This week it is my great pleasure to introduce a DUSTy Diva and Friday Friend - meet sweet Sarah Jane from Sarah Jane Designs.

Crochet and Knitting are skills that have always baffled me, I never could seem to get the hang of it - which is why I hold a deep admiration for those who work in these mediums. If only I could crochet, these would be projects I would love to work on. I am a bit of a hat/bag/shoe/scarf girl and adore this Waffle On Newsboy Beret...

I heart these Rainbow and Laces Socks - perfect for wearing around the house in winter, I bet they are toasty warm! 

And for a stylish accessory (and added warmth factor) I feel this Pastel Confection cowl or infinity scarf would be just perfect. 

I will leave you now, and let you read The Scoop on Sarahjanedesigns. Have a wonderful weekend everyone xox

The Scoop on Sarahjanedesigns
Hi there, my name is Sarah Jane, I design and write crochet patterns under the banner of Sarahjanedesigns (original I know). I have been crocheting for as long as I can remember...so long that I only have vague memories of being taught. The most amazing thing was that the lady who taught me (a great aunt) was blind, having been blinded in an accident as an adult.

I have always’ made stuff’ but never really realised that I was good at it until well into my adulthood. I have dabbled in other crafts over the years, embroidery, sewing, etc and spent a few years making and selling Artist bears but I always go back to crochet...I knit too but I am so slow that I rarely finish anything!

I have 8 children (7 still live at home) after having the last child I needed to find something to do that didn’t involve pins and needles and tools all over the place. So out came the crochet hooks and the yarn again. I had never considered selling crochet patterns until I came across a website for a yarn company over here asking for crochet designers/sample crocheters, I emailed them and have done some work for them over a few years. 

Once I stumbled across Ravelry while searching for a pattern I was addicted. I couldn’t believe you could publish and sell crochet patterns online, the information and knowledge available all in the one place is amazing J. After that it became my goal to self publish my own patterns so I set about learning all I could about the process, 12 months later I released my first pattern.

My inspiration comes from all sorts of places, yarn, colour, places and people. Sometimes it’s just looking to make something that I or one of the kids actually needs.....I love working with all kinds of different yarns but I have a particular fondness for anything with silk in it, the shine and the drape is just beautiful. I usually buy the yarn and then decide what to do with it. I don’t have a favourite piece it is always the one I am working on at the moment and I hate making anything more than once....it’s a problem when it comes to socks and gloves...the cuffs I have been making for my  E-book are all singles...lol

I plan to continue designing and learning. This year I would like to submit to a few magazines and learn about working within their guidelines. Now days I sell on Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy, I also have a facebook page that I just started and a blog I work on sporadically.

p.s. there is a discount running to celebrate the release of my E-book - until the 3rd of June 2013 you can get a $5.00 discount by entering the coupon code "Wow it's here" when checking out from my Ravelry Store after purchasing the book.

Dear readers - want to see more? Here is how you can connect: 

Buy beautiful patterns on Ravelry here:

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-jane

on Etsy here: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Sarahsshoppe

and on Craftsy here: 

http://www.craftsy.com/user/483673/pattern-store

You can also become a follower on Facebook here: 

https://www.facebook.com/SarahjaneDesignscrochet

and read about all things crochet on Sarah Crochet blog here: 

http://sarahscrochet.wordpress.com/

Remedies - Wednesday Wishes

 rem·e·dies

1. Something, such as medicine or therapy, that relieves pain, cures disease, or corrects a disorder.

source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Remedies

Maddabling has been unwell this week and remedies seemed to be the natural choice for this weeks Wednesday Wishes. Enjoy x 

Heal and Cleanse Soap from TheSixthScent

Dream Garden Tea - for peaceful clear dreams from LilithsHerbGarden

Snugly Seed Pillow (Heat Bag)in Ruby Royal from AVisualSensibility

Nourishing Serum THIS WOMAN'S WORK - Natural, Handmade, Vegan, Chamomile Roman Essential Oil from seventhtreesoaps

INTENSIVE HAIR TREATMENT with Argan Oil, Shea Butter+Honeyquat 125ml Deep Moisturizer for Dry or Damaged Hair from AromaticAttars

Sunsets,White Rabbit Showcase and Soulfood Soup

Maddabling would like to apologise for this tardy blog post, it was due out yesterday...instead of enjoying the divine Autumn sunshine this weekend, Maddabling has been busy battling the flu instead. That aside, this week let me share with you Sunsets, White Rabbit Showcase and Soulfood. 

Sunsets 

This past week has seen some particularly gorgeous sunsets. Driving home from work the other night, I was compelled to stop on the side of the road, as were the other 15 or so people happy snapping on the foreshore, to catch some beautiful colours in the sky as the sun set over the harbour and coast hills. Let me show you what I mean...........

Now you may understand why I had to stop and snap! Blessed to live in such a wonderful place.

White Rabbit Vintage and Handmade Showcase

For those in the Albany Area this weekend, why not take a leisurely Sunday Drive to the picturesque Torbay Hall located on Hunwick South Road, Torbay. The hall itself is just beautiful - nestled amongst the Karri trees!  

white rabbit vintage will be holding a vintage and handmade showcase set to tempt you with local Art, Jewellery, Homewares, Vintage and Kidswear available to purchase. 

Soulfood Soup

This recipe is one of my favourite winter warmers or Soulfood if you like. It's easy to make, delicious and you can garnish it with some toasted shredded coconut, chopped coriander and slices of chilli if you so desire. Here it is :) Really this one is too good not to share - enjoy! 

Thai Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped

1 tbs red curry paste

1L (4 cups) vegetable stock

1kg orange sweet potatoes (kumara), peeled, coarsely chopped

160ml (2/3 cup) coconut milk

Fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

Add the stock to the pan. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Add the sweet potato and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.

Place half the sweet potato mixture in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add the coconut milk and combine.

Ladle the soup among serving bowls. Top with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Note: I leave the soup in the pot and use a stick blender, instead of transferring it to a blender - I find this a little less messy and not as time consuming. 

source: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1739/thai+sweet+potato+soup+with+coriander+pesto

Well lovely readers, that wraps up Sunsets,White Rabbit Showcase and Soulfood Soup. Hope to see you back for the Wednesday Wishes post later this week and of course, the Friday Friends feature on Friday xo

Friday Friends - Local Artists - Nazzy Beads

Happy Friday Maddabling readers. How was your week? I managed to remove the weeds strangling our vege patch and planted out some garlic, rainbow chard and beetroot, still deciding on what else we should put in - any ideas? 

This week it is my pleasure to introduce a new Friday Friend, local maker and totally talented artisan, meet Naomi of Nazzy Beads. Naomi crafts wonderful things from soft glass called Italian Moretti Glass. Gorgeous gorgeous things in fact. I have seen Naomi at work and was fascinated by what she was creating with a Gas Hothead to melt and mould the Italian Moretti Glass.

I caught up with Naomi at a local market this week for a chat and want to share a couple of photos I snapped :) I tried to capture the colours and beautiful bead shapes - aren't these stunning?

I also want to entice you with you some of the things I found while snooping around Nazzy Beads photo albums. I simply adore the colours in this bracelet, reminds me of the coast and red red dirt of Broome and surrounds,  

and I love these beautiful entertaining ideas, an elegant cheeseboard set 

and this stainless steel bowls and utensils set, perfect for olives, fetta, dips. 

I will now hand you over to Naomi to tell you all the goss on Nazzy Beads, a  little Nazzy Beads Natter. Be kind to one another and have a fantastic weekend xo 

Nazzy Beads Natter

Hi, I'm Naomi of Nazzy Beads. Nazzy Beads specialises in Fine Handcrafted Italian Moretti Glass Beads and is West Australian Made and Owned. I’ve always been interested in most art forms and genres, and working with my hands, which has included Hairdressing, painting, mosaic, but my heart has always belonged to glass, I started collecting slumped and blown antique glass from an early age. 

Then being taught the art of lampworking Italian Moretti Glass as a hobby in 2010 opened up my eyes to a new and fascinating world of glass. Friends and family took great interest, which in turn has turned it into an enjoyable career.  

I am very passionate about glass, vast array of glass colours, endless ways you can manipulate glass and glass combinations that sometimes bring the most amazing results which you may never be able to recreate!

Travelling around WA for the last 12yrs, moving from the city to the country, from the Great Southern to the out skirts of the WA Desert, My heart always belonged to the country life. Now settling and residing back into the Great Southern, I’m proud to call myself a Local Artisan of Albany.

I get great joy out of my live melting at shows, markets and festivals, showing the public how the glass starts from a rod of glass to the bead. Wanting to expand my repertoire and experiment with other elements and different glass, 

I’ve purchased a large kiln for slumping and fusing large pieces of glass. Allowing me to make large bowls, platters, vases and other art glass pieces, which I am very excited about. SO WATCH THIS SPACE…

Dear readers, do you want to see more? Here is how you can connect: 

Become a follower on facebook here: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nazzy-Beads/269670509736812

Buy lovely things here: 

A range of Cutlery is available for purchase at the Albany Visitor Centre and 

a range of Jewellery and Cutlery are available to purchase at the  

Denmark Visitor Centre. 

Winter Warmth - Wednesday Wishes

Maddabling was talking with her dear friend Lau the other night, and we were commenting on how chilly the autumn nights have become, it's a reminder that winter is just around the corner. This week, Winter Warmth is the inspiration for Wednesday Wishes. Cozy up lovelies, brrrr!

The Victorian Crocheted Womens Slouch Hat in Red from mairwear

you're my favorite Heart Sweater, Eco Friendly from nicandthenewfie

Wrist Warmers Short - Red with Buckles from GayeAbandon 

WEST BAY Soft Warm Cozy Throw in Red from BehindMyPicketFence

Hand Knitted Red Womens Turkish Slippers, Traditional embroidery, from SENNURSASA

LOVE is a Four Letter Word, Autumn Sunshine and Pomegranate Tabbouleh

Happy belated Sundayish more Mondayish blog post dear readers. It hasn't been a terribly eventful week for Maddabling. I didn't quite get to finish this post last night due to other things taking priority as sometimes they do. Today I have chosen to share with you three things - LOVE is a Four Letter Word, Autumn Sunshine and Pomegranate Tabbouleh. 

LOVE is a Four Letter Word
I recently purchased a beautiful "Made in Fabric" piece and it has now arrived at its new home! I really really adore this - the craftmanship is beautiful. If you haven't read about Made in Fabric before, you can check out the Friday Friends blog post here: 
http://maddabling.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/friday-friends-dusty-divas-made-in.html

Autumn Sunshine

We went to one of our favourite coast hills walks on the weekend - we do feel particularly blessed to live where we do. The ocean was flat calm except for these exceptional waves which rolled in as one long wave, we spotted rainbows in the spray on the crest of the waves where the sunlight hit as the waves broke. 

Also spotted were some rather large and beautiful Sundews or Droseraceae (if you want to get technical. These plants are carnivorous and supplement their nutrition by trapping and ingesting small insects. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me. If you would like to read more about them you can check out Florabase here: http://florabase.dec.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/22826

Pomegranate Tabbouleh

We have an absolute abundance of parsley and mint in the herb garden at the moment - to be honest they have gone quite mad! 

I combined a love of tabbouleh and pomegranate and sourced this delicious recipe from taste.com.au 

Pomegranate Tabbouleh Recipe

Ingredients: 90g (1/2 cup) burghul
185ml (3/4 cup) boiling water
1 cup chopped fresh continental parsley
3/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 pomegranates, quartered, seeds removed
3 shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs fresh lemon juice

Method:  Place the burghul in a large heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes to soak. Drain.

Add the parsley, mint, pomegranate seeds, shallot, oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Chill and serve.

Well lovely readers, I hope you enjoyed LOVE is a Four Letter Word, Autumn Sunshine and Pomegranate Tabbouleh. See you all on Wednesday for Wednesday Wishes xo

Friday Friends - Australian Makers - NILLY + BOOTH

Happy Friday lovely Maddabling readers, what did your week hold? Only nice things I hope. Maddabling is trialling a new Sunday Blogpost filled with reading goodness, I hope that you are enjoying this new addition. This week it is my great pleasure to introduce you a new Friday Friend, fantastic Australian maker and the sweetest lady, meet Sharn from NILLY + BOOTH! 

I connected recently with Sharn and NILLY + BOOTH through a facebook giveaway and can tell you from personal experience...........oh my! 

These goodies are so YUM! I had to remind myself that soap IS NOT edible. This is the cute package I received in the mail as a lucky giveaway winner.

And contained inside, a sensational Basil & Lime Lip Balm for totally kissable lips and a divine Soy Chai Soap that actually makes me believe I am sipping on a Soy Chai Latte each time I smell it. The scents are fabulous and so pure! 

I am keen to try one of the NILLY + BOOTH Organic Body Butters next, a perfect treat for dry winter skin.... or at any time of the year really! 

Readers, I now invite you to take some you time and to embark on a delicious Organic Adventure with NILLY + BOOTH. Have a lovely weekend everyone x 

AN ORGANIC ADVENTURE WITH NILLY + BOOTH 
Hi everyone my name is Sharn and I am the creator and maker of all things NILLY+BOOTH.  

By day/night/weekend I am Restaurant Supervisor at a beautiful golf resort down on the Mornington Peninsula (Victoria) and in my free time I love to create luxurious organic soaps and skincare. I was once a ‘professional’ student working towards my PhD in psychology, however, one existential crisis later and a desire to do what makes me happy, the organic handmade apothecary called NILLY+BOOTH was born.

I began my journey into all-natural soap and skincare almost 2 years ago now when I wanted to overhaul my chemical laden, synthetic, and down right not-good-for-your-skin beauty care products.  I began reading blogs and articles on anything and everything about natural skin care and that is how my obsession started.  The more I read the more I wanted to learn and experiment with my own homemade treatments and remedies. Then one day I discovered the beauty of handmade soap and its wonderfully soothing and moisturising abilities. 

I had always been into crafts when I was younger so making beautiful artisan soap was a creative outlet that just seemed to call to me.  So after nearly a year and a half of experimenting and becoming, again, completely obsessed, I decided to start to sell my soap to others to share the wonder and luxury of using handmade soap. NILLY+BOOTH was created for this purpose and along with my organic soaps I also have organic lip balms and organic body butters available.  

I have so many ideas and future plans to create a full line of not only body products but also facial and hair care as well. My brain is bursting with many exciting experiments I can not wait to have them available for everyone else to enjoy.  I absolutely love making and creating organic products and that people love using them too!

It is my goal for NILLY+BOOTH to be completely handmade and to use only organic and natural ingredients that can be found in nature, nothing synthetic, no preservatives, no unnecessary fillers or additives, no animal testing, and only recycled, recyclable or reusable packaging. 

I get asked a lot where the name NILLY+BOOTH comes from.  The name represents a combination of my surname and my mother’s maiden name, shortened, tweaked and turned into NILLY+BOOTH. I wanted a name that represented my family, a name that every time I saw reminded me of how beautiful and supportive they are.  Even if my experiments sometimes made them think I was a little kooky!

Dear readers, do you want to see more? Here is how you can connect with NILLY + BOOTH.

Become a fan on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/NillyAndBooth

and a follower on instagram here: http://instagram.com/nillyandbooth