Welcome to my blog. I work full time and creating is my sanity. I like to use many different mediums and was a finalist in the Fire Mountain Beading Contest in 2008. I am a passionate blogger, and a promoter of handmade goodness.

I love : my husband, my fur kids, family, music, sunshine, creating, chocolate, handmade soaps, the DUST Team, gardening, friends, Triple J Radio and photography. Comments welcome, I hope you enjoy the adventure with me.

Please respect my copyright and that the original ©photographs and ©text published on this blog remain the property of ©Maddabling (Samara). Please do not reproduce, crop or alter my original photographs.

made with love.........................maddabling xox




proud member of the down under street team

Friday, August 2, 2013

Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Collecting Feathers

Good morning Maddabling blog readers, welcome to Friday. It's been a quieter week in the Maddabling household, if the promised sunshine is delivered by the weather man this weekend, we are planning to find one of the walk trails listed in a local council book and to explore some coast line that we haven't seen before. For those in the Albany Area it's called "Walking Naturally in Albany" and is available from the City of Albany office at a small cost. There are some 20 walk trails listed - we have only completed 5 of the 20 so far! 

This week it is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you a new DUST Team Member and Friday Friend - meet Nick from Collecting Feathers! 
Nick strives to create through up-cycling and re-purposing and I really do love her work. Here are a few pieces I found while snooping about her online stores. Even though this one is sold out, I needed to share it. My sister and I used to have the Plush Rainbow Bright Dolls and Horses so this struck a special chord with me. It's Rainbow Brite Vintage Little Golden Book Bunting. 
Adore!
I also heart the LOVE Bunting Cake Topper - it is just too cute and would make a great addition to any special occasion table.
And how cool is this "Danger" card made from a re purposed vintage 1962 Ladybird Book. Perfect for men, women or children for any occasion.
Dear readers, I leave you now to enjoy The Collecting Feathers Narrative. I do hope that you enjoy this story as much as I did. If all goes according to plan, I should have some pictures to share with you from our weekend walk - see you all on Sunday night. Have a wonderful weekend xo
The Collecting Feathers Narrative
Thanks so much for having me on your Friday Friends Samara…and hello to all your readers! My name is Nick and I am the creator of the label Collecting Feathers.

It initially began three years ago when I was at a crossroads in my career. Should I continue full time work in an office job I hated, should I commit to work as a full time artist making ‘real’ art, or should I just go with the flow and potter, waiting to see what life holds?
I was lucky in my situation, and I opted for the latter, choosing the activity that caused me the most pleasure, which was making ‘stuff’ from vintage objects…re-purposing, up-cycling, reusing to create new objects.

As one of my obsessions is with all things paper, my creativity manifested itself with, what else, but making garlands and banners! My garlands are all hand embossed and hand cut. That is, I use scissors rather than punches to create the shapes. It results in shapes that are irregular and individual. In addition to vintage children’s books, atlases and music, I use vintage hankies to create these memory garlands.
My Little Golden Book banners are just that. Banners made from Little Golden Books. I adore the saturated colours of the older books and the different styles of illustration through the different decades.
Initially I had a few concerns about cutting up books, but I rationalised my fears with a few arguments. Firstly, by putting the books on the wall, their artwork is appreciated. Secondly, they not only look good, they are educational. Children can construct their own stories to the individual pictures, using their imaginations to create narratives.

To compliment the banners, there are also cards made from vintage books, cake toppers and gift tags (when I get the time to make them!).
Another of my obsessions is vintage clothing, vintage fabric, vintage anything! My massive stash of vintage tea towels is now slowly being whittled down as I transform them into cushions. I mean, how many dishes can you dry! 
And in the middle of my journey, a bride-to-be asked me to create a printed hessian banner for her special day. As I had studied printmaking at uni, I took up the challenge…and I am still printing ‘em! Now whenever a client comes to me with an idea, I am completely open to its possibilities.
So there duckies, is a rather long-winded tale of my label. But if you think it stops there…it doesn’t!  I have another shop, Laughing Duck Vintage where I sell dress patterns, tea towels that can’t be made into cushions, fabric, clothing and anything else I have time to list!

If anyone would like to see a bit more of my work and life…I have a blog, that is currently concentrating on documenting a recent trip to Italy, or you can keep up with day to day creations on my facebook page.

Thanks again Samara for having moi! 
Collecting Feathers

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

Become a fan on facebook here: 


Follow the Collecting Feathers blog here: 


Fancy a bit of shopping? 

You can buy lovely things on Etsy

You can buy lovely things on Madeit:

You can buy lovely things on bluecaravan


And you can buy vintage goodies on Etsy here: 


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