From Paris, with Love - Wednesday Wishes

Some treasures found by searching for shops in Paris, France on Etsy........
Enjoy these Wednesday Wishes - From Paris, with Love.

french silk shirt blouse gillier vintage retro 80's from ManonLauraVintage

Ring Oh la la Paris with Eiffel Tower and red heart balloon from HoKiou

amazing vintage rare Lido de Paris bra 1950-1960 from pinkbanana3 

Vintage French Medicinal Bottles from ParisMadame

Baby pink Paris Paris silk Sleep mask with Eiffel Tower print from lovemesugar

Local Theatre, A Gardening Triumph and Flavoury Almond Pate

Hello readers, I apologise for the lateness of the weekend blog post. 

Tonight I share with you Local Theatre, A Gardening Triumph and Flavoury Almond Pate. Enjoy x 

Local Theatre

It has been a long time since I went to see a local theatre production. We had the opportunity to go and see the last show in season of Albany Light Opera Company's "Phantom of the Opera" at the Albany Port Theatre.

I first saw Phantom of the Opera at the beautiful Princess Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1990's - ironically the Princess Theatre is said to have a friendly resident ghost! "The theatre's ghostly presence dates back to 1888 when opera singer Federici died after a performance of the opera Faust. On every opening night, a seat in the Dress Circle is left empty for Federici and it is a sign of good luck if there is a sighting on that night." 

I am absolutely thrilled to report that for a local production, this really was the bomb! The costumes, the set, the lighting and orchestra really did credit to the talented team of thespians that took to the stage. The vocals and acting were wonderful and at times one forgot one was watching local theatre. This was a really charming take on the classic musical and it was thoroughly enjoyed by the theatre goers on the evening, evidenced by the thunderous applause at the conclusion of the show. So next time you are thinking of something to do, why not check out a production by your local theatre company!

A Gardening Triumph

Some time back we revamped a tired garden bed with some stunning local plants. The love and time invested have paid off years later. We have our first flower on our Banksia Coccinea tree. This is also known as the Scarlet Banksia or Albany Banksia. These are quite hard to grow and can be quite prone to disease. So to us, a little Gardening Triumph. Here's to many more! 

Flavoury Almond Pate 
Today's recipe comes from The Raw Food Sisters. A delicious and summery appetiser for all to enjoy. Something that tastes good and is good for you too! Flavoury Almond Pate served on juicy cucumbers and topped with cherry tomato. Why not visit the raw food sisters site here for more fantastic recipes: http://therawfoodsisters.com/

Flavoury Almond Pate, served on 
Juicy Cucumbers, topped with Cherry Tomato

INGREDIENTS 
2 handful of fresh basil 
1 cup almonds 
1 cup parsley 
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
juice from 1 lemon 
1 tbsp olive oil 
pinch sea salt
1-2 cucumbers/zucchini
cherry tomatoes 

METHOD: 
Start by making the almond pate. 
tip: soak almonds for at least an hour, if not two before processing. 

1. Place almonds, basil, parsley, garlic, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt into your food processor or blender.

2. Blitz until well combined and of a pate consistency. Scrape into bowl. 

3. Slice cucumber or zucchini and top with a spoonful of almond pate and a 1/4 or half cherry tomato ( depending on the size of the tomato). Serve and enjoy! 

I hope you enjoyed reading all about Local Theatre, A Gardening Triumph and Flavoury Almond Pate. See you tomorrow for a new Wednesday Wishes blog post. xo

Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Angie's Studio

 

Welcome to a new edition of Friday Friends dear readers. There are no set plans this weekend for the Maddabling household, except to start on some prep work for Summer Street. If the weather is nice, the gardens beckon, hopefully the black tuscan kale seedlings I have on order will arrive at the nursery for me to pick up so I can get them planted! 

This week it is my great pleasure to introduce you to a new Friday Friend and DUSTy Diva, meet Angie of Angie's Studio. 

Angie creates exceptional hand dyed yarn in every colour, shade and hue of the rainbow. I myself, have not been blessed with the ability to knit or crochet and wish that I could, just so I could create masterpieces from these gorgeous yarns. 

Let me share these treasures with you - hand dyed Mulberry Silk DK Supersoft Yarn, with 112 metres to 50gm skein. I love the blend of coral and orange! 

Want a unique stocking stuffer for the knitting or crochet-holic this Christmas? Try the made to order Bright Rainbow Yarn! This is 10 ply and machine washable.

I also love the shades of aqua, pale blue, jade and green in this hand dyed Lace Weight blend of 70% Baby Alpaca, 30% Silk. There is 800m per 100gm skein. 

Dear readers, time now to commence Unravelling the Yarn on Angie's Studio. Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading! See you on Sunday night for the weekend blog post xx 

Unravelling the Yarn on Angie's Studio

Hi, I’m Angie and I’m a yarn dyer. I think of myself as an artist whose canvas just happens to be skeins of yarn.

I began dyeing yarn for myself to work with as a knitter and crochet artist, and quickly fell in love with the craft of splashing colours around and watching them soak into the fibre.

It is so therapeutic, yet an adventure at the same time…its so exciting.  The excitement comes with watching the finished product reveal itself after the heating process is done, and as the yarn dries, and then again when I reskein the yarn to see how the colours blend together. I work with a variety of protein (animal) fibres such as merino wool, alpaca, cashmere, angora, and mohair.

Generally when I start a day in the dye studio (my dining room actually), I have a few ideas for colourways floating around in my head, sometimes I write a list, and other times I just have a look at the colours of my pots of dye powder and see what pops out at me.

I tend to go with brights, and bold colour mixes…they cheer me up and just make me feel fantastic. Dyeing yarn is a process which very much depends on my emotions. Pretty much, I do what makes me feel good. I play with colours that I enjoy. And with luck, I am able to translate that raw emotion (happiness, joy, fun, warmth, and well…all the good stuff) to the yarn and in turn to my customers.

I love that the process I use to lift my mood and brighten my day, then results in supplies (in the form of yarn) which can then be used and handled by others in their crafting process. Be that knitting, crochet, weaving, and where-ever their imagination may take them. I really get a kick out of seeing photos of finished items made by the people who buy my yarn. Makes me smile! 

And that’s what its all about. One day, I’d love to have a space dedicated to all my stuff that I need to work with, so an actual studio. 

For now I work around my very tolerant family, but they know it makes me happy so the don’t complain, in fact sometimes my kids and Hubby also like to dabble with the dyes too, they all enjoy it. Anyone can do it!

I also dream of my “Works on Yarn” to be in demand worldwide, and would love to one day kick production into a larger scale project. Dream big, they say…so I will! In the meantime, I will focus on the smaller steps of improving my equipment, increasing my production, and improving my service.

 

I actually enjoy the business side of things too, and have been doing lots of reading on the subject and even studying the topic through an online course. Plus networking with other small businesses both other dyers and crafty business people and more general small businesses. 

I am pretty passionate about supporting each other and learning from each other. There is a great support system there at the ready for small business if we just have trust and tap into each other’s areas of expertise.

I never want to forget to enjoy what I’m doing and to have fun. After all, the good time I’m having while I dye the yarn translates into colours which people connect with and want to use for their own craft. If I had to give any advice to other artists, it would be don’t lose the enjoyment…it truly translates into what we create.

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

Buy lovely yarn on Etsy here:

http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/AngiesStudioYarn

Become a fan on Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/Angies.Studi0

and follow Angie's blog here:

http://angiesstudioyarn.blogspot.com.au/

and connect through Ravelry here:

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/angies-studio-hand-dyed-yarns-australia

Out-Foxed - Thursday Thoughts

the inspiration for today's Thursday Thoughts comes from all the lovely fox-y items I have noticed of late, I present "Out-Foxed" enjoy xx

Surrender - Masked Fox Girl - Tamer Animals Greeting Card from DollsInTrees

Handprinted Fyn the Fox Cushion Cover in Burnt Orange from FynLand

Fox Face Batwing Top - bone jersey from RoEnArt

Finn the Fox, Felt Woodland Critter from ThistleandFox

Cameo Brooch featuring a girl with a fox from Berlinroses

Mini Prints and Greeting Cards + Fresh Beetroot Relish

The weekend weather didn't lean so much to enjoying the great outdoors this weekend, so I have no hiking snaps to share. Instead, I present Mini Prints and Greeting Cards + Fresh Beetroot Relish. Happy Reading! 

Mini Prints and Greeting Cards
A while back I saw a post by the lovely Chantelle over at the Fat Mum Slim blog about "5 ways to create goodies from the millions of photos you've snapped" 

Being an instagram addict of sorts, I decided to try one of the providers to create some adorable mini prints 

and some really lovely gift cards with their own brown kraft paper envelopes. Both the Mini Prints and Gift Cards will be available for purchase at Summer Street Fair in late November.

You can see all the different goodies and links info on the Fat Mum Slim blog here:
http://fatmumslim.com.au/instagram-products-5-ways-to-create-goodies-from-the-millions-of-photos-youve-snapped/
Fresh Beetroot Relish

Our patience with the vege patch has paid off and we are reaping some delicious young tender beetroot at the moment. I don't recall where I spied this recipe, but it had only four ingredients and makes a fantastic dip or relish for burgers or sandwiches. Perfect for summer bbq's and gatherings! 

Ingredients: 
150g fresh beetroot, washed, peeled and cut into small chunks
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
50g green apple chopped
50g low fat fetta chopped

Method:
1.Place Beetroot chunks and lemon juice in a food processor and blitz until just combined.
2.Add apple and fetta, blitz until a rough (not too smooth) paste is formed. 
3.Chill and serve.

note: try to retain a more chunky rather than a smooth consistency with the relish, it has a lovely texture that way.

Readers, I know this post was a little short and sweet, thank you for stopping by to read my blog. Have a fantastic week. I hope you enjoyed Mini Prints and Greeting Cards + Fresh Beetroot Relish. xo

Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Love, Dot + Daisy

Happy Friday readers - welcome to another weekend. I am looking forward to a very relaxing weekend and road testing a new recipe to share with you all, from the tasty young beetroot we have growing in our garden. Stay tuned! 

This week it is my great pleasure to introduce to you a new DUSTy Diva and Friday Friend - meet the gorgeous Justine of Love, Dot + Daisy. 

I heart a really good cup of tea, and have been to no less than 3 high tea events over the past couple of months. There is nothing like the decadence of fine china to drink your tea from. Let me tell you a little about Love, Dot + Daisy. Justine makes the most divine bespoke tea bags, wall confetti and other  gorgeous things. Here are a few favourites that I must share with you! 

Tea drinking does not have to just be for the girls - I am quite smitten by these Moustache Tea Bags for him - what a fantastic gift for the bloke in your life! 

I also adore this Wedding Giant Wall Confetti - Paper Heart Shaped Confetti in a pack of 50 pieces! You can use Love, Dot + Daisy's wall confetti in so many ways: 
♥ as a backdrop for your lolly or dessert buffet
♥ wall decoration
♥ scattered on your tables
♥ add a heart to your helium balloons, by attaching to the string (Justine will even hole punch the hearts so you easily tie to the balloon string)

And if you know of anyone having a baby shower....love this idea for a really personalised tea party - teabag cuteness overload! 

Dear readers, I invite you now to relax with a cup of tea, and enjoy Reading the Leaves of Love, Dot + Daisy. See you on Sunday for a new weekend blog post xo

Reading the Leaves of Love, Dot + Daisy. 
Who is Love, Dot + Daisy?
Love Dot + Daisy was born, from the love of making and beautiful things.  My Nanna’s {Dot + Daisy} were talented ladies.  Dot a book binder by trade and mad crazy knitter.  Daisy a lady who would overdress for breakfast, serve biscuits on doilies and drink tea in fine china; regardless of the occasion {or the grubby grandchildren}. Both ladies inspired my passion and Love Dot + Daisy was born in late 2012.

What inspires you ?
My friends.  I'm blessed to be surrounded by creative people.  Beautiful, personal, thoughtful gifts.  Old things – preloved furniture.  Someones trash really is somebody elses treasure. I'm addicted to hard rubbish.  Taking something old and giving it new life. 

What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite ?
I love working with paper, it has so many uses, it can be cut, folded, rolled…all giving a different effect.  Paint – a fresh coat of paint livens anything up.
My favourite is hard rubbish!  Re-purposing.

What kind of things do you make/create ?

I’ve been making and decorating my whole life. My business is in the early days, but has a long history.  With a love of craft and handmade I was always tinkering, constantly re organising and re-decorating my bedroom as a kid and later my own home.  I was raised to give thoughtful gifts and to wrap them with love.  I am always on the lookout for something different, something personal and something beautiful to give.

There has been lots of trials, some successful, some not.  Until one day I made a teabag with a pretty little label.  Overwhelmed I made more…and I wrapped them.  A match made in heaven for me.

I make teabags, with messages on them.  All Love Dot & Daisy products are handmade by me in my home on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.  Each piece starts its life as a thought – a moment, a colour, a pattern in life.  Each teabag is individually hand tied and stamped by me.  All Love Dot + Daisy teabags are thoughtfully packaged and gift ready. The results are delightfully wonderful warm wishes in a cup of tea.  Meant to be shared. I think that sharing a cup of tea with a friend is such a lovely moment.  I never serve tea in a mug.  Always a cup and saucer.  It just adds a touch of warm and fuzzy to the moment I think.  

I'm working on my Christmas line at the moment, I have the teabags sorted, now I'm playing around with the packaging – which I love – its always so nice to receive a beautifully wrapped gift.  I'm trying to create some of that in my packaging.  I'm launching my Christmas line at my first market on November 16^th @ Emu Plains Market in Balnarring.  The closer it gets the more excited I get.  I can’t wait. 
Do you have a favourite piece that you have made/created ?
Probably my pallet Christmas tree with paint chip baubles.  I live in a tiny flat and a Christmas tree just would not fit.  So I made a tree out of old pallets.  I love it.  It has a star and an angel, apart from that there is nothing traditional about it.  I gave it a summer  feel, adding flamingos and cocktail umbrellas. 

What are your future plans/dreams/aspirations ?
I would love to quit my day job and spend more time creating and doing what I love.  I'm sure that’s what we all want to do?!  Oh and I want to live in Sweden. 

Dear readers, would you like to see more? Here is how you can connect: 

Buy lovely things on Etsy here: 

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

and become a fan on Facebook here: 

https://www.facebook.com/LoveDotandDaisy

Sombre Ombré - Wednesday Wishes

Sombre Ombré, the inspiration for Wednesday Wishes..

 beautiful shades of grey that graduate from light to dark; enjoy xo

Painted Mason Jar Set from TheCraftyEngineerx

BZR Ombré tights in Coal from BZRshop

Stormy Weather // Ombre // Gray Polymer Clay Spike Statement Necklace from DesignTheory

Stormy Weather Dress - Sz 2- ombré vintage inspired handmade tulle gown from FancyFoxClothing

Quilled Black Ombré coils in a glass ornament from 

YakawonisQuilling