Random Facts

There has been a fun little exercise going around my Facebook friends as of late. It's called 25 Random Facts about ....... (enter your own name). Normally I don't go for many of the applications that Facebook have to offer but recently a friend of mine passed away who I didn't keep in touch with as much as I should and this sparked a real yearning to get to know people more...even the friends I think I know well. I've really enjoyed reading the random facts that people pluck from their mind that describe their life, their wishes and dreams and maybe their fears as well.

So I thought I'd carry the exercise over here in Blog land. Here are 5 random facts about me right now...and I would be REALLY happy if you could share 5 random facts about yourself in the comments.

1. I have a tan at the moment which is astounding!

2. My all time favourite book is Persuasion - Jane Austen

3. I really love sweet chilli phillie cream cheese and rice crackers

4. I wish I were more adventurous

5. I have the entire 6 series of Northern Exposure on dvd.

Oh and I'll cheat and add a number 6 ...I just listed this new necklace on Etsy :)


Please share 5 random facts about yourself! I love a good read!

Victorian Bushfire Appeal...Dig Deep, my peeps!!

By now you must be aware of the destruction caused by the Victorian bushfires in Australia in the past week. Over 200 lives lost, thousands of people left homeless and towns like Kinglake and Marysville left devastated. So far there has been over $100 million raised in donations to help with the relief effort. A group of Etsy sellers have also pitched in and have set up a shop with items donated by LOTS of Etsy sellers. All proceeds will be going to Australia Red Cross appeal. Here is the link to the shop... Victorian Bushfire Appeal

And here are some great finds currently on offer!

A Walk In The Forest by SerpentMandalas

Liquorice Wristlet by Meringueshop

Carnelian and Sterling Silver Miracles Necklace by JetFlair

Bronze Ribbon - Hand Cast Resin Bangle by Minty Fresh Fushions

Music and Sunblock

I'm a fan of the ole music festival. Especially this time of year because it seems that nothing says Aussie summer like some acoustic guitar, sunblock, lots of sweaty people and a portaloo. Tomorrow I head off to beautiful Cassegrain Winery to catch Ani DiFranco, Blue King Brown, Jeff Lang and some other acts that I have yet to experience but am looking forward to!

Here is my ode to a bit of blues and music from some awesome sellers on Etsy..

Heavy Metal Pendant by Kahlaw

My Record Collection Bobby Pins by Always Amy

All That Music Print - by Ulaa

Hopefully I will get some pics from the festival and post them on Sunday...Ciao!!

The Weekend That Was

Every Friday morning I am generally in a joyous mood. I have a billion inspiring ideas about what I'm going to do with my 2 days off. What I'm going to cook, what I'm going to add to my Etsy shop, whether I will catch up with friends or spend some time alone (which by the way is completely underrated...I love my own company).

This weekend I had the following small items planned....

Yes they were small but they were things that I was looking forward to doing. Getting my hands into the earth and planting some herbs, enjoying the summer with a swim and a nice new wide brim hat and finally adding some new items to my Etsy shop. As luck would have it however...Saturday and Sunday have simply rushed by with virtually NOTHING inspiring happening except domestic goddess duties (washing, cleaning and dishes) and tending to a sun-stroke victim who is 12 years old and a girl which means that the symptoms are 100 times more painful....apparently. So now it is Sunday afternoon and I have acheived almost NOTHING...I did however make and list this knock out necklace...so I suppose that makes up for it a bit.

The Colour of Rain

At the moment my poor parents are stuck over on one of the Fijian islands due to massive amounts of rain and cyclonic conditions (and hence no planes flying). They are quite fine as they have a lovely air conditioned resort and plenty amounts of wine and cheezels to amuse them while they wait for information about when they are leaving the island and landing safely back in Australia. This freakish weather has got me thinking about the colour of the sky and the view they must be experiencing out their window. When I think of Fiji I think of sun, blue green water and lush green vegetation. Here are a couple of wonderful visual feasts I found on Etsy which kind of invoke the image of a drowned landscape and high winds...


Leap54 - This stunning original oil painting by RozArt





















Silk -What a fantastic image by SoZeSoZe - Not sure if the beaches are looking quite like this one in Fiji...I'll have to wait for the photos!

January 09....Happy New Year!

Woohoooo! The beginning of 2009 started with a somewhat floppy feeling for me. My modem decided to die a horrible but considerably instantaneous death on New Years Eve morning and I spent 4 hours (the time that I had allocated for chatting with Etsy peeps, drinking sparkling white and indulging in soft cheeses) on the phone to my service provider trying to figure out why the little green light wasn't flashing anymore. The news wasn't good and it turns out that a new modem will take a week to get to me. One. Week. That's an eternity to me! Hubby isn't feeling the pinch too much. The only reason he uses the WWW is to play poker on Facebook.

Anyway, on the brighter side, my parents have decided to give up their computer for a little while (as long as I bake some cookies for them). My plans for throwing a January 09 Etsy sale have not changed and today I have started my free shipping sale! This really is an excellent sale, considering I am in Aussie-land and this would normally contribute to the shipping costs. So if you've had your eye on an Early Bird necklace / earrings/ keyring now is an excellent time to purchase!

In other news I found this fantastic blog dedicated to Australian Indigenous art! The above artwork is taken from this blog. Please check it out, it is visually spectacular and contains some really interesting info about the world of Aboriginal art. Go to Aboriginal Art Blog.

Anyway peeps, enjoy your first week of 2009!

First Day Back...oh dear!

Today I properly started back working on my Etsy and Madeit shops and as luck would have it getting back into the swing of things has not proven easy. It seems that when I am on holidays I am far to optimistic about going back to work. As I lounged around the pool last week, white wine in one hand, small chocolate fudge square* in the other, it all seemed so easy. But now that I am back in the land of reality, suffering from a slight sugar craving and missing the wine it is proving to be a lot more difficult. Lucky for me, I was browsing Etsy this morning and came across this particularly fantastic booklet by Orangebeautiful which provided a nice kick up the booty.

The result was the following new necklace for my Etsy shop. Phew, I'm back in the saddle!

* an alarming number of small fudge squares were consumed during the course of the 2 days binge we call Christmas Day and Boxing Day , each one I swore would be the last...but lets face it...it's fudge...and it's small...and most importantly it's chocolate. I rest my case.