Friday Friends - Australian Makers - Small World Dreams

It's Friday lovely readers and the weekend is upon us once again. We are hoping to get out and about, there is a beach that I have wanted to visit for quite a while now, and if all goes to plan, I shall share some snaps in the weekend blog post. 

Today I would like you to meet a new Friday friend, a sweet lady named Claire, who is the creative and Australian Maker behind Small World Dreams. 

Claire makes the most beautiful textile creations, from bags to quilts. 

Here are some of the gorgeous things I found while browsing her etsy store. 

Being a bit of an accessories girl at heart, I was quite taken with this Faux Leather and Repurposed Fabric Shoulder Bag.

I just love this Queen Size Quilt in Earth Colours using mostly up-cycled/Charity Shop finds and natural cottons, with a pure cotton batting inner.

And the last piece of small world goodness is this super sweet Vintage Small Handbag. 

Dear readers, I invite you to put up your feet for a short while and to read The Tale of Small World Dreams. Have a fantastic weekend, see you Sunday for the weekend blog post xo♥

The Tale of Small World Dreams
Who is Small World Dreams….

Small World Dreams is inspired by my life in Africa.  Africa is vibrant, earthy, loud and natural. Small World Dreams symbolizes this. My husband and I owned a backpacker’s Lodge in Harare, Zimbabwe, called Small World Backpackers Lodge.  I moved to Australia in 2006 and live near the beach in a sleepy suburb of Mackay, Queensland.  I have 2 beautiful teenage girls and a wonderful husband who puts up with all my sewing mess. 

How and when did your handmade/artistic journey begin? 


My gran made beautiful handbags with scraps of fabric and my Aunt makes bags too in South Africa.  I think it was in the blood.

It first started for me when my mate and I designed and made dresses to sneak out to nightclubs when I was 17.  My first real foray into sewing was on a borrowed machine to make a patchwork duvet in my first year of marriage, way back in 1992.  After many years of travel overseas in many lands and islands, I fell pregnant and so began my love with creating and sewing for my beautiful girls….. from baby blankets to fairy dresses, fabric painting, wall hangings, quilts and making paper.  But it was not until a few years ago, that my passion and inspiration really kicked in.

What inspires you?


Africa, sunsets, blooms, the beach, the joy of watching someone receive one of my handmade bags or quilts and pottery because it is not perfect, so organic and made with your hands….

What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite?
 
Fabric of all kinds, especially vintage or beautiful charity shops clothes.

What kind of things do you make/create? 
Bags, purses, Ipad covers, quilts, baby bags and baby quilts.

Do you have a favourite piece that you have made/created?


Yes, a patchwork bag for a friend, because it was made with fabric collected from all my travels and with my favourite earthy colours.

What are your future plans/dreams/aspirations?


To be healthy, live long, to be forever creative and to make beautiful things for people.  Nothing better than making people happy and if you can make some money from it along the way, all the better!

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

Buy lovely things at the small world dreams Etsy shop here:  

smallworlddreams.etsy.com

and become a follower on Facebook here: 

facebook.com/smallworlddreams

Cool Blue - Wednesday Wishes

The summer sky has been so clear of late. 

I love it when there are tiny fluffy white summer clouds that punctuate the blue sky. 

Cool Blue is the inspiration for today's Wednesday Wishes.

 Enjoy xo♥

Blue Summer Top - Organic Cotton from ELKandINA

MAYA - Ballet Flats Suede Shoes in Grayed powder Blue from lolliette

Cool Light Sky Blue Resin Chunky Faceted Ring from MarbelleDesign

Blue Eco Friendly Recycled Pencil Set (5 piece) from MoxiePear

Chasing Waterfalls - Handmade Cuff Bracelet from thatBluCat

Hottest 100, In Print and Honey Cinnamon Spelt Cookies

Happy Long Weekend to all those in Australia. Today I share with you Hottest 100, In Print and Honey Cinnamon Spelt Cookies. Happy Reading xo♥

Hottest 100 

Australia Day for me means Triple J's Hottest 100 Day. Listeners can tune into Triple J Radio, stream online and follow on Social Media as the Hottest 100 Songs of the year are broadcast on Australia Day each year. This year a total of 1.4 Million Votes were cast just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this musical democracy. 

This year, I only picked 4/10 songs that appeared in this list, including the songs that came in at Number 1, 2, 11 and 39. For details of the countdown, including a list of all songs that came in from 100-1 check out the Triple J Website here: 

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/13/countdown/

Below, for your listening and viewing pleasure, are the videos for the five songs that were voted in by listeners across the world as the best of the best for 2013. 

5. Flume+ Chet Faker - Drop The Game

4. Artic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know

3. Daft Punk - Get Lucky {ft. Pharrell Williams + Nile Rodgers}

2. Royals - Lorde 

1. Riptide - Vance Joy

In Print 

As my lovely blog readers may know, I am fond of taking a photo from time to time. Our local paper has a segment for readers to send in their photos too called Great Southern Snapshot. It is always a thrill to have your photo selected and this year I have submitted 4 photos and they have all been published. It really is very exciting. I will share these with you now :) I am thinking about making these into a photo book, what do you think? I am also planning on doing a short daily photo challenge for interested people later this year. 

Honey Cinnamon Spelt Cookies
These cookies are so so simple and very tasty. For a softer cookie bake for the recommended time, for a crunchier version, bake a little longer. This recipe came from recipebinder.co.uk. I am thinking about expanding on the ingredients and including some sunflower or pumpkin seeds and chia seed next time around, and a touch of ginger. Enjoy ♥

Honey Cinnamon Spelt Cookies 
Ingredients: 
200g Wholemeal Spelt Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon powdered Cinnamon
100g Maple Syrup (vegan) or Honey (non vegan)
100g Sunflower Oil

Method: 
1. Pre-heat oven to 190 Celsius. 
2. Mix all the ingredients up in a large bowl to make a soft dough. 
3. Place teaspoonfuls of mixture on an oiled baking sheet. 
4. Bake for 8-12 minutes. 
5. Enjoy with morning coffee or with ice-cream or warm stewed fruit or as part of a tasting plate for dessert with fresh fruit and a raw food chocolate pot.

Dear readers, I hope you enjoyed Hottest 100, In Print and Honey Cinnamon Spelt Cookies. See you all on Wednesday for a new Wednesday Wishes Blog Post xo♥

Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Starzyia

Happy Friday readers and YAY for long weekends! This weekend will see Maddabling trialling a cinnamon + spelt flour cookie recipe, preparing a mexican feast for dear friends and listening to Triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown this Sunday. What are your plans? 

This week it is my great pleasure to introduce to you a fabulous DUSTy Diva and Friday Friend - meet the lovely Starry of Starzyia. 

I have long been a supporter of Starry and her work, we have undertaken a couple of creative projects together in the form of set daily photo challenges (which reminds me I really must get a new challenge list together - who's in?) I was enticed to add these beautiful "Tranquil Dreams" turquoise and magnesite earrings to my collection a long time ago 

and I was very blessed to win this sweet prize pack a little while back filled with the loveliest selection of Starzyia goodies! 

Snooping through Starzyia I stumbled upon this sweet floral deer pendant - don't you just love this?

Dear readers, I invite you now to sit back, perhaps indulge in a biscuit and cup of tea, and enjoy The Story of Starzyia. Have a fantastic weekend xo♥

The Story of Starzyia
Hi I’m Starry, the life force responsible for Starzyia and my driving passion is to create meaningful, inspiring jewellery that makes you feel wonderful, divine, and empowered.

I started out nearly 5 years ago by creating symbolic jewellery – knowing that each person is attracted to a certain symbol because it speaks to their soul and will help them on their journey. I added the use of natural gemstone beads to this to give healing energy, and now I also create art and quote pendants that directly speak to you and the world around you.

One of my favourite things to do is to create these positive messages and send them out into the world, I have pendants that literally tell you “be yourself: that’s when the magic happens” or “if you can dream it, you can do it” and there is nothing more delightful than seeing the light in someone’s eyes when they pick up and read the pendant at market and decide instantly that is the message they want to carry with them from that day forth.

I’ve recently begun to hand cut some of my collage pendants – this means I can put the individual elements over actual chiyogami paper this creates jewellery that is so much more sparkly than a digital collage, and I like to type and hand cut the words in my newer pendants too.

When I’m not creating for and running Starzyia, I’m an avid photographer (and thinking about offering product styling + photography service this year), plus you’d be battling to separate me from my teapot and my book, except to walk my beautiful dog Fizzy, rescued nearly two years ago from the local animal shelter, he is the light of my life, we grin at each other like massive idiots when we’re out walking or having a good time.

This year I’ve launched my own independent website with my shop and blog, but I fully intend to continue both my original stores on madeit and etsy because I love them so much. My plan is to continue to work hard and grow with leaps and bounds, I have a lot of people spurring me on just through their wonderful feedback (and the sharing of their experiences) that I have to thank for giving me a massive energy boost.
Dear readers, would you like to see more? Here is how you can connect.

Visit the Website (which hosts the shop and blog) here: 

http://starzyia.com

Buy lovely things on Etsy  here: 

www.starzyia.etsy.com

and on Madeit here: 

www.madeit.com.au/Starzyia

And, become a follower on facebook here: 

https://www.facebook.com/StarryGirlByStarzyia

Australiana - Wednesday Wishes

With Australia Day coming up this weekend, today's Wednesday Wishlist is dedicated to Australiana - enjoy ♥

Australian Wildflowers decorative cushion cover Vintage floral linen tablecloth from DeckyPop

Set of Vintage Antique Australian Canning Labels from  IRestoreStuff

Australian Theme Vegemite - Set of 5 Notecards + Envelopes

from MumandMeDesigns

Australia Day celebratory bunting wall decor from Jabezdesign

Australian Native Flower Linen Napkin Purse from SmallWorldDreams

Atatürk Memorial, Triple J's Hottest 100, A Minty Christmas and Orange Juice with Orange Flower Water

Hello lovely readers, welcome to the weekend blog post. We didn't make it to the bamboo nursery over the weekend as we had hoped, so I will share that with you another time. Tonight, I give you "Atatürk Memorial, Triple J's Hottest 100, A Minty Christmas and Orange Juice with Orange Flower Water". Happy Reading xx

Atatürk Memorial

On a recent walk along the scenic boardwalk that leads from Albany to Middleton Beach, we stopped to admire the bronze life-sized statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the President of Turkey from 1923 – 1938.  The statue overlooks the Atatürk Entrance, which is the body of water between King George Sound and Princess Royal Harbour. Here is a little history lesson for you readers. 

The plaque reads:
"In memory of KEMAL ATATURK 1881-1938 Founder and President of Modern Turkey Against whose brave forces Australian and New Zealand Troops Fought so gallantly at Gallipoli."The entrance to Princess Royal Harbour from which many of those Australian troops sailed is named Atatürk Entrance" 
ANZAC Day - April 25 - 1985"

Mustafa Atatürk, was the founder of the Turkish Republic and also its first President. The statue stands atop a limestone dome representing a globe. "Dressed in a suit (European attire), he clutches in his right hand the poignant speech he delivered to the first Australians, New Zealanders and British to visit the Gallipoli battlefields in 1934. Written across the dome is his motto "Peace at Home, Peace in the World".

Triple J's Hottest 100

Each year, I agonise over my short list of songs for Triple J's Hottest 100. 

Here is a little background as to what it is all about.  

"You can vote for your favourite songs on the triple j website and ensure you've made your voice heard in the world's largest musical democracy. 
Once all the votes have been cast, we'll count down your Hottest 100 songs of 2013 as a part of our massive Australia Day broadcast on January 26, 2014. 

Previous winners all stand out as songs which distinctly mark a moment in time, including last year's catchy 'Thriftshop' by Macklemore + Ryan Lewis, Gotye's world chart topping 'Somebody That I Used To Know' (2011), Angus + Julia Stone's 'Big Jet Plane' (2010) and Mumford + Sons 'Little Lion Man' (2009)."

Readers, these are the songs I chose for my votes and if you click on the highlighted song name, it will link you to the music video for your listening pleasure. 

Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener 

Abbe May - Pony {Like A Version} 

Architecture In Helsinki - In The Future 

Haim - The Wire 

Illy - On and On 

Vance Joy - Riptide 

Lorde - Royals 

Pez - The Game 

San Cisco - Get Lucky {Like A Version} 

Spiderbait - It's Beautiful

A Minty Christmas  

The wonderful peeps at Peppermint Mag had a fab series of giveaways over the festive season called A Minty Christmas. One of the divine prize packs on offer was from Cherry Brown makers of Lipstick and Natural Mineral Makeup. Up for grabs was a pack containing lipstick, lip gloss, and both tinted and natural lip balm. I was very very lucky to win one of these fine packs which has just arrived in the mail. Thank you so much Peppermint Mag and Cherry Brown xx

Orange Juice with Orange Flower Water 

I found this recipe in one of my fave cookbooks "The Food of Morocco - A Journey for Food Lovers" by Tess Mallos. This is so incredibly fragrant and refreshing - perfect for a hot summers day. 

Orange Juice with Orange Flower Water 

( 'ASSEER DEL LITCHINE BIL MA'ZHAAR )

Ingredients:

6 Sweet Oranges

Caster (supafine sugar to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons Orange Flower Water

Ground Cinnamon to serve (optional)

Method: 

Choose sweet oranges and store them in the refrigerator so they are well chilled. Using a juicer, juice the oranges and pour the juice through a sieve into a serving jug.  

Stir in the caster sugar, to taste - depending on how sweet the oranges are additional sugar may not be required - and add the orange flower water. Pour into tall glasses, lightly dust the rim with cinnamon and serve immediately.

Note: You can also pour this into small individual glass bottles to chill and serve, I also dusted the orange segments in cinnamon powder prior to juicing.

Dear readers, that concludes "Atatürk Memorial, Triple J's Hottest 100, A Minty Christmas and Orange Juice with Orange Flower Water". 

See you all on Wednesday for a new Wednesday Wishes blog post xx

Friday Friends - Australian Etsy Sellers - Rosa Oleum

Happy Friday to you all dear readers. What a warm week it has been. I hope you are all staying cool. This weekend may see Maddabling visiting a dear friend at the Porongurups as well as visiting a Bamboo Nursery in the same district. We have commenced work on a small courtyard Japanese inspired garden and need another bamboo to pot to complete our plant selection. 

I wonder if it will be hard to choose from the 260 varieties they grow at the Hillside Bamboo Nursery... we are very happy with the one we purchased last time. This week it is my great pleasure to introduce to you Australian maker and guest blogger; meet Grace from Rosa Oleum. 

I have really enjoyed browsing the products offered by Rosa Oleum and have chosen a few to share with you now. For those who prefer natural skincare, this Rosehip Night Serum is touted to be perfect for dry, damaged or sensitive skin; and it's great to use as an anti-aging serum too! 

I am partial to a good cup of herbal tea and I think that this Organic Chocolate Chai would be no exception. 

I personally find there is nothing better on a hot summers day to soothe tired feet than a good Peppermint Foot Scrub. And let's face it, there have been plenty of hot days of late.

Readers, it is time now for me to hand over the blogging reigns to Grace to tell you more about her story. I hope you find it as interesting and inspiring as I did. Have a fantastic weekend, see you on Sunday for a new weekend blog post xo♥ Happy Reading! 

The Story of Rosa Oleum

Welcome to Rosa Oleum, a one stop shop full of Natural Skincare and organic products that are good for you, kind to the environment and helping others abroad. Everything you will find at rosaoleum is inspired by nature and derived from its amazing ingredients. 

I have used recyclable packaging as much as possible and for every Rosa Oleum product you purchase, 10% of the proceeds will go to Women's Foundation Nepal who implements a variety of social justice and gender equality projects for Women and Children in Nepal.  

So, a bit about me... First of all I am Grace. I am the founder of Rosa Oleum and I make the majority of the skincare found on this website. It all began when I started experimenting with simple ingredients like oats and herbs from my neighbours garden and oils to make skincare for myself. I borrowed dozens of books from the library to expand my knowledge of essential oils and their healing properties and began adding them to Organic bases, creating my own moisturisers and body wash. I shared with friends who loved them and I slowly began to expand my ideas and products to create a range which I know officially call "Rosa Oleum" meaning 'oil from a wild rose'. 

I love nature and truly believe simple ingredients derived from our garden is what our bodies need. Oils make our skin glow, flowers make us smell pretty and herbs and spices heal us. Who wouldn’t want to incorporate nature into the products that we use every day. Everything we put on our skin is absorbed. For this very reason I use 100% certified organic ingredients. All of the products I make are free from harsh chemicals and are designed to complement your skin, not fill it with chemicals and destroy it. 

There are a variety of other products on my website that come from other like-minded people who value natural skincare and organic products. Basically, I want to create a one stop shop for all of your beauty and wellbeing favourites. Everything I love to use daily I want to provide it here for you. Herbal Tea, Organic Makeup, Hemp Lip tints and skincare and the all-time favourite CHAI skincare range are just a few of the delightful goodies you will find. 

Aside from Rosa Oleum, I am a mother to a beautiful 5yr old boy, Zahlan. He is full of life and brings me joy and I am proud to be his Mother. I have learnt so much becoming a mother and absolutely love watching this little man grow and learn about life. So when I am not running around after him I am enjoying the company of my amazing partner Tim. Many say we are complete opposites... 

I enjoy herbal tea and lazing in the sun for a day, reggae music, vegetarian food, markets, everything FAIR TRADE and dream of living overseas in a developing country somewhere. AND Tim, well he is a workaholic that cannot sit still for more than 5 minutes, lazing in the sun for a day is not an option because "babe there is stuff to do"!, he cannot stand reggae music, LOVES red meat, dislikes markets and will not, WILL NOT travel to India and live for a few months. In saying this, he is amazing and I would not be without him. He is what I call home and when I am not dreaming about travelling, reading books, soaking up the sun and ideas for expanding Rosa and decorating the house I am dreaming about life with him and Zahlan. 

AND last but not least there is Lelle. Lelle, is my other half of Rosa Oleum. 

Lelle and I studied International + Development Studies together and have formed a beautiful friendship. Like all of us 'development girls' we share our passion for promoting and supporting development organisations abroad who are directing their efforts to eliminate poverty and gender discrimination and achieve social justice for women and children around the world. 

Hence,our partnership with Women's Foundation Nepal. Lelle, and her amazing efforts is what got Rosa Oleum networked with (WFN). Lelle has being fortunate enough to work with WFN during her time in Nepal so we know from first hand experience that this organisation is doing wonders for women and children and it absolutely worth supporting and raising awareness for.

 

My aim in life is to - Embrace Nature - Respect the Earth - Give to others – and this is what Rosa Oleum is all about. I have a website which has all of the products available to purchase and information about Women’s Foundation Nepal. On the website is our Blog and we also have a Facebook page that we update regularly. Be sure to ‘like’ us and enjoy loads of inspiration, product promotions, recipes, WFN updates and lots more. We also have an Etsy shop and if you are interested in your own Rosa Oleum Party please email me rosaoleum at gmail dot com. Basically I send you a bunch of testers and you can share them with friends and family over food and wine, or some herbal tea.

So, grab a cuppa and enjoy browsing!

Regards,

Grace (Rosa Oleum) xxx

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

Buy lovely things on Etsy here: 

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

Become a follower on Facebook here: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosa-Oleum/182394618475189

Visit the website here: 

www.rosaoleum.com.au

and read the latest news on the Rosa Oleum Blog here: 

http://www.rosaoleum.com.au/#!flowers-in-her-hair/ckz3