Summer Festival Goddess - Wednesday Wishes

Maddabling had the wonderful privilege of seeing some truly amazing musicians play at Southbound Festival in Busselton on the weekend, this Wednesday Wishes post is dedicated to all the Summer Festival Goddesses out there - enjoy! 

Rainbow Peace Festival Top With Fringe by GoldenHandsDesign

Crochet Cotton Barefoot Sandals by Lunaress

Festival Water Bottle Holder by MyshkasCaravan

friendship wrap bracelets, festival by ExistentialElla

Mini Wrap Skirt, Bohemian Festival Skirt by Cloud9Jewels

Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Mystic Mine

Hello lovely readers, welcome to Friday and the first Friday Friends feature for 2013. Hope your New Years Eve celebrations were filled with love and cheer. Maddabling has an exciting weekend coming up, a road trip to the Southbound Music Festival! The lineup is amazing and even though we are only going for one day, what a day it will be! The hardest decision is which band to watch when - very exciting :) 

I digress, back to today's fabulous DUSTy Diva and Friday Friend. I want you all to meet Angie from Mystic Mine. 

Angie quite simply makes gorgeous things, focusing on contemporary hand made jewellery and fine art. 

Here are some of the finds I made when browsing the Mystic Mine store. I really am a sucker for all things Chanel and this sweet Mini Chanel No. 19 Perfume Pendant on Pink Satin and Gold Chain is sublime!

I also really love this Satin Braided Wrap Peace Charm Bracelet in Blue which instantly reminds me of Summer Festivals and road trip adventures

and these vibrant statement earrings made with Polka Dot Feathers and Blue Gems in Silver Frames are just beautiful!

Dear readers, I will leave you now to go and pack my road trip bag and let you enjoy reading The Mysterious Tale of Mystic Mine. Have a great weekend everyone xo

The Mysterious Tale of Mystic Mine

My name is Angela and I am the creator and owner of a jewelry shop called Mystic Mine on Etsy. 

Since graduating from high school, I have embarked on a long journey looking for my love profession. I enrolled in numerous courses in numerous universities and promised myself to only settle down on something I was 100% happy with. After attending bachelor of international business, science, journalism and fashion design courses I finally found something I was thoroughly interested in: bachelor of arts majoring in jewelry and small objects. 

Only after this did I find my true self and realised how fascinated I was by nature and all its creations. Through researching about ancient cultures, their relationship with nature and modern gypsies, I have gathered many ideas for my work. 

I wish to capture our living essence into my pieces, such as the handmade Silver Cosmic Love Necklace, 

and the Mini Polaroid Necklace, where it is made so that whoever wears it can put their own memory into the frame. 

I work with whatever materials that fit with the idea that goes through my mind at the time, sometimes going through almost every material I can think of just to make one piece of jewelry. 

As a metalsmith I am so lucky to be able to create almost anything I want using metals as a base. As of 2013, I will have a proper metalsmith studio at home (I work from the university studio) and therefore will have greater time and opportunity to create more customisable and intricate pieces.

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

Buy lovely things from Etsy here: 

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


Follow Angie's metalsmith blog here: 

mysticmetalsmith.blogspot.com.au/

and follow Angie's personal blog here:

mysticmindsociety.blogspot.com.au/

and become a fan on Facebook here: 

http://www.facebook.com/MysticMineJ

New Year, New Leaf, New Growth - Wednesday Wishes

It's a New Year, time to turn over a new leaf and allow yourselves new growth; whether spiritually,creatively or whichever path you decide your New Years resolutions need to take you. I hope you enjoy the first of the Wednesday Wishes compilation for 2013 xo 

 

New Growth -  8x12 Print, Portrait Photo Art by caryn drexl

New Sprout necklace  by Constant Baubling

Turning Over A New Leaf hand stamped Spoon 

Garden Art by Vintage Garden Art

All Natural Bath Salts Jasmine Bergamot Violet Leaf in 

 recycled glass bottle by Garden Apothecary

Unfurl Earrings in Sterling Silver by Full Spiral

Friday Friends - DUSTy Divas - Kookki Design Studio

Hello dear readers, welcome to Friday. I trust that you survived the Christmas mayhem and are recovered and refreshed. This week it is my great pleasure introduce to you a new DUSTy Diva and Friday Friend - meet the super talented Shani, the face behind Kookki Design Studio. 

The Kookki Design Studio shop announcement describes the beautiful work that Shani does - "Fun, quirky, unique handmade jewelry and accessories for all ages. They all come gift wrapped ready for gift giving. Custom orders welcome, you can turn your own photos, kids drawings into wearable pieces of jewelry and accessories." Sounds to me like a perfect gift opportunity, something unique - imagine your own photos or kids drawings made into wearable art! I wanted to share some of the beautiful things I found while browsing the Kookki Design Studio store.

Aren't these Hand Painted Red Poppies - French Style Glass Earrings just gorgeous? Such pretty detail! 

Know anyone getting married ? How cutely quirky are these "I Do" cuff links - perfect for the groom, father of the bride, or the groomsmen? 

While on the subject of weddings, I LOVE the concept of this keepsake fridge magnet, which you can personalise with your own photo, dates and words - the perfect handmade memento for your bridal party. 

I will leave you now dear readers to read a more about Shani and The Story of Kookki Design Studio. Enjoy your weekends xo 

The Story of Kookki Design Studio

Hi, I am Shani from Kookki Design Studio. I have always loved handmade products and will always be inspired by people’s creative ability to make unique items. One of my passions is travelling to different countries which I always make sure I visit craft shops or markets to admire and bring back something special and beautiful with me.

Here is a bit of a background about me. I have always been a scientist; science was the path I fell into (that made sense to me, and still does). I studied engineering and used to work as a process Engineer until I fell pregnant with my first child in 2009. That is when I decided to leave my hectic engineering career behind, and dedicate my time to my little bundle of joy. While waiting for my daughter’s arrival I set out to decorate her nursery.

I was determined to decorate her room with things that meant something to me, something she can keep when she grew up. I just started painting Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit characters to hang on the walls. That was when I realised I had a creative Gene in me. I have always admired others creativity and never really thought that I could be one of them. With this new discovery about myself and the arrival of my baby girl I had a new dream to explore my own creative side, to do something that I would really enjoy and be proud of while being there for my baby.

So I began my creative journey making cute hair clips for my little girl that I was unable to find in any shop and keepsake jewellery for myself and close relatives. It became my hobby, passion collecting paper, taking photos and coming up with new designs for my creations. With the arrival of my son in 2011, being a stay- at- home mother became much more challenging. Designing and creating jewellery became a form of meditation for me. Once the kids were in bed I would sit and make jewellery which relaxed me. My jewellery started being noticed and people wanted to know where they can buy them. With this encouragement Kookki Design Studio was born. I opened my Etsy store http://www.kookkidesignstudio.etsy.com/ in 2012 to see where it can take me.

My inspiration for my creations comes from all the things I love and find beautiful around me. Nature plays a big part in my creations. The beauty of natural world had amazed me since I was a little girl. Bush walks never fail to make me feel creative, my husband always complaints when I gather fallen tree branches, leaves, and rocks. I love to travel, and a lot of my pieces are inspired by my travels, I carry my camera whenever possible and love taking photos and turning them into jewellery for myself and close relatives. My other inspiration is my little daughter, she gives me ideas, and I love making things for her and her little friends. I find inspiration anywhere, when I see or hear something that inspires me I get ideas to communicate that through my pieces.

At the moment I mainly use glass for my jewellery. I use my own drawings, paintings, and photos, as well as beautiful vintage books, prints, paper, illustrations from other artists and beautiful hand painted paper from all over the world to make my jewellery. For some of my designs I use paper decoupage techniques. The specially protected paper layers are then covered by a clear glass to achieve the final product. I really do not limit my creativity to one area or one medium, I like to explore as I create. 

I make jewellery to suite all ages; fun quirky pieces to more elegant pieces. So far I have made earrings, pendants, hair clips, cuff-links, fridge magnets and even coffee table coasters. I love taking custom orders where I can give someone something very special that they can’t buy from a shop. Photo jewellery can make wonderful keepsake gifts. Turning kids art works, photos of pets, photos of kids into wearable pieces of jewellery can be rewarding knowing that they will be treasured forever. I can never pick a favourite piece from my collection. Each and every piece I make is very special to me.

I would love to keep growing my humble Kookki Design studio, learning new skills, cultivating my creative abilities. I dream of a day when I can have a gallery shop where fellow makers/creators can showcase their handmade items. I aspire to be the creative, loving mother my kids will be proud of when they can understand.

Lovely readers, want to explore the gorgeous goodies of Kookki Design Studio some more? Here are some links for you to check out. 

Buy pretty things here on Etsy:

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

Become a follower on Facebook  here:  

http://www.facebook.com/KookkiDesignStudio

and catch sweet tweets on Twitter here:  

http://twitter.com/KookkiDesign

New Years Eve Glamour - Wednesday Wishes

A little New Years Eve Glamour today for my Wednesday Wishes.

I hope you love these pretty things xo 

Happy New Year 2013 banner by CowCountryCreations

Vintage Mid Century Libbey Silver Leaf Champagne 

Tall Sherberts Set of Four by jenscloset

Champagne-All Natural Eyeshadow by CMarieMinerals

White lace sequin dress by allfieruth

Champagne Lip Sugar Scrub by briarmuse

Ivory Black Lace Organza Bow Clutch by mojospastyle

Silver Poinsettia Holiday Headband by deLoop

So this is Christmas

So this is Christmas........ 

Maddabling has been so fortunate this year, and I count my blessings often. 

I am part of an amazing Australian creative collective - the DUST Team (short for the "Down Under Street Team"). Part of my role as a DUST Team Admin is to co-ordinate Craft Swaps and the Secret Santa Craft Swap is one of my favourites to do. I received this sublime package of goodies from the lovely Donna Duncombe Designs 

and I sent off this little swag of goodies to Inner Earth Soaps. 

I was also very lucky to recently win two wonderful giveaways - one from Starzyia and one from Two Cheeky Monkeys. Both little parcels arrived just before Christmas at a time where life was so frantically busy that they were truly appreciated. Here are the fab goodies that I won, both came beautifully wrapped!

So how did your Christmas Day Celebrations commence ? We decided to go for a coast hills walk as it was such a beautiful morning and most of the food preparation had been done yesterday. This is the view from one direction - all is calm, all is bright...

and this is the view looking back the other way. So lucky to live in such an amazing part of Australia. 

And if you look very carefully in the photo below, you can see a very keen fisherman that has braved the 1000 plus steps (down and back up) to make the most of this beautiful morning.  

Santa was terribly kind to us and delivered a stunning framed paper cut "Bird House" lovingly created by This Paper Cut Life by Sue Codee.

After our walk and unwrapping of gifts, it was time for Christmas Lunch. We sampled a lovely wine from Oranje Tractor Wine. This sweet little vineyard doesn't use pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fungicides to grow their grapes. They produce small quantities of wine from a sustainably managed organic vineyard in Albany. So refreshing on such a hot Christmas day. 

As with many Australian Families, we opted for a cold lunch which consisted of cold meats, salads and this year, the addition of a zucchini slice. 

We also had a yummy trifle made by one of our gorgeous lunch guests and a fabulous festive fruitcake from my dear friend at Sugagirl Cakes.

And of course I had a nice cup of Earl Grey Tea to finish off the festive feast. 

Lovely Maddabling blog readers, I hope your festive season brought you lots of love, happiness and good cheer, that many new memories were created and that you had treasured time your loved ones. If you are travelling these holidays, drive safely.
Merry Christmas everyone xo 

Christmas Wreath from This Papercut Life by Sue Codee