Thank God that's over.....

Well, 2010 is almost done. I, for one, am glad for it to be over. This time last year I had such high hopes for 2010, and it all pretty much went downhill from the start. This time last year I did know that Rabbit photo was closing and that myself and many others would be out of jobs, but at that time I tried to see it as a good thing for me. Time for change and all that. I made plans that when my job finished up in March that I would try and make a real go of my crafting and try to make an actual living out of it. Then we had to have China put down. I was devastated, I was working too hard at that time and my health was suffering for it.

When my job ended, I ended up in hospital and trying to get myself back on track. Then Max got sick. I've found it hard to express just how much this upset me as I sometimes feel a little silly saying how much his loss has affected me, I mean, it's not like he was a person. But since Max died, I have not been the same. I lost a lot of my passion for things. I had lost my little man. After losing Max, again I ended up in hospital with my doctors starting to worry. Which of course made me worry. Which is something I try very hard not to do. And by this stage, it was only June. So for the second half of the year I spent a lot of it grieving and trying hard to move forward. On several occasions I almost shut the blog completely down, I was just finding it too hard to keep everything together. But then I reminded myself of all that I've gained from having this blog, the friendships, the connections with like minded people, and I kept on chugging along.

When the clock ticks over tonight to 2011, I'm hoping I will feel like a bit of a weight will be lifted, and I can then look forward to all the good things that are coming my way. I'm working on my health and fitness. I've made some decisions about where I want my crafty endevours to head. I've settled into my new job and am really starting to enjoy it and even make some new friends. I want to get my passion back for photography, and have started a photography blog for this. And the most exciting thing of all, my long awaited trip to France in April. Yes, 2011 is looking a little brighter indeed.

Thanks for sticking with me this year. Thanks for all your kind words. Thanks for the encouragement when I needed it. Thanks for being awesome. Here's to 2011!

My crafty friends

A little while ago I bought myself a little crafty Christmas gift. From the Queen of Craft herself, Jodie. Isn't my little message-bot cute?!


The other gift I tried to buy for myself turned into a sneaky little gift from another Supercrafter, CurlyPops. I'd got myself a tiny ipod for Christmas to get myself motivated to exercise, so I asked Cam to make me a custom gadget case. Well, being the gorgeously generous person she is, she made it, and then sent it to me as a gift. How wonderful is she?!


I managed to snag quite a few beautiful gifts this year, (including a mixmaster, woohoo!) I hope you all scored well too!

Christmas aftermath

Just quickly popping in to say I hope your Christmas was as fun as Millie's!

Advent blog-a-long day 24

Merry Christmas everyone! Eat, drink, be merry, but remember to stay safe, we want to see you all back here after Christmas in one piece.

Much love,
Selina xx

Advent blog-a-long day 20

I haven't really been keeping up with this years blog-a-long now have I?

Anyway, today was the first day I have actually done any Christmas related craft. I have had an idea for a vintage style Christmas wreath after seeing all of the gorgeous ones on flickr. But with limited funds, I wanted a more minimalist version of one, and it took me forever to find white tinsel! So here it is. Do you like? This took me all of 5 minutes and I'm really quite happy with how it turned out. I was going to hot glue everything down then changed my mind, so everything is just tied on. Except for the little toadstools. They are little wire picks so the wire is wrapped around the wreath. That way then if I change my mind, I can take it all apart and start again!

Busted!

Seems someone is a little eager to start Christmas proceedings. Funny thing is, that present actually is for her.

And more bloody storms!

I thought I'd pop in quickly, before another storm hits, and show some pics from the aftermath of yesterdays storm. That one was probably the wildest we've had here, yet we didn't loose power (just phone line.....again!!).


The new water feature in the front yard. Note the lovely waterfall affect.


And the new plunge pool, just step out the back door, and plunge straight into the water. Ahhh, just lovely (not).

I hope others are faring well throughout this wild weather, I really shouldn't complain, it could be a hell of a lot worse!

Bloody storms!

The storms have certainly put a dampener on my hurried last minute Christmas preparations. Should teach me a lesson about not leaving things until the last minute (it should, but it probably won't!). For days now we've had intermittent power, then we've had power and no phone line (no phone line = no internets, arrrrgh!) and out here on acreage we have tank water, so no power also = no water, so nothing is getting done around here at all! And there are more storms predicted every afternoon until Sunday!

Anyway, on a lighter note, I have reduced the prices of my Christmas stock in Handmade Heaven. All my stockings are now only $18, and my Christmas bears are only $60, down from $80. So you'd better be quick!

Sorry for the break in transmission!

Sorry about that rather long unscheduled bloggy break there. It wasn't like I've been that super busy or anything, just felt like I needed the time off. Haven't been doing much crafting either, must be the weather! I very briefly even had the idea of just completely shutting the blog down, don't really know what I was thinking there!

Anyway, I hope to be back on board tomorrow continuing with the advent blog-a-long. And if you're one of the few people waiting on things from me, they're coming, I promise!

Oh, and the picture, not really related to the post in any way, just pretty darn cute!

Advent day 6

All this procrastinating on housework has seen me spend a lot of time on the internets hunting down Christmassy inspiration. When Car mentioned the other day about wrapping presents it got me thinking about gift tags. So I got searching and have come across a few free printables you could use for gift tags, that I thought I'd share.

First are these gorgeous little gnomes from Happy Zombie. Go here for the full size pdf link to print. The colours are just beautiful.



Check out these super cute vintage style reindeer printables. Go here for the full size link to print.
There is always the Martha Stewart website where you will find heaps of free gift tag printables.

And this site has some really cute tags for stuff made lovingly from your kitchen. Check them out here.

I hope these will help some of you out there, and if you do use them in your giftwrapping, please let me know, I'd love to see what you do with them. Personally, I'm a little smitten with those reindeer!

Advent day 5

1. Christmas wreath with vintage decorations, 2. Vintage Ornament Wreath, 3. vintage haberdashery wreath, 4. Vintage Ornament Wreath 2010, 5. White iridescent Christmas wreath, 6. Petit Four Yarn Wreath, 7. gumdrop wreath, 8. Christmas candy wreath, 9. My Gumdrop Wreath


I'm becoming a little obsessed with Christmas wreaths at the moment. I was looking around flickr for some wreath inspiration and I think I've made it worse! I now want to make all of these! Gumdrop wreaths, vintage ornaments wreaths, they're all so sweet! Oh how I love procrastinating on the (ahem) Spring cleaning.

Advent day 4

Miss 13 and I wanted a little rainy day, no real skill involved kind of project this morning. We're meant to be cleaning. Oh well.

I came across this flickr image the other day and absolutely fell in love. So we whipped out the button stash, a polystyrene cone, some pins and some green felt and got making. It was actually a lot of fun. One more Christmas tree to add to the collection.

Advent day 3

Have you all got your decorations up yet? Traditionally we put ours up on the 1st of December every year, so ours were up Wednesday. Starting to feel Christmassy now!

In some blog surfing I came across this tutorial from crazymomquilts to make a gorgeous Christmas tree skirt that hopefully I can get done before Christmas actually gets here, but I did put together this little tree skirt from a vintage tablecloth I found in my op shopping travels awhile back. Do you like it? I've decided to put it up for sale in my shop with free postage in Australia.


There is also a little sale happening today over on the Handmade Heaven facebook page where if you purchase one of my bears or a bunny today you'll get your choice of my handmade Christmas stocking (that is currently in stock) for free! Go and check it out here.

my creative space...

Advent blog-a-long #2


Hoping I can get this kinder boy done in super fast time and express posted down to Pip for Softies for Mirabel. Wish me luck!

More creative spaces here. Check them all out, the last for the year!

I'm blogging along....are you too?

1. christmas 09 red light tree, 2. tinsel tree, 3. First Etsy Listing!!!!, 4. Red Christmas Trees, 5. Vintage Christmas ornaments, 6. Christmas07, 7. MAD Trees (Check it out vic-cyn!), 8. LittleTrees: pink, 9. finished recycled trees, 10. Vintage Napco Miniature christmas girl, 11. Bottlebrush Trees, 12. Gifties under the Tree, 13. bleached bottle brush trees two, 14. some 'whatnot tree' glee..., 15. Christmas tree, 16. vintage haberdashery christmas trees


Wow. December already. I usually look forward to Christmas for months, but this year.....not so much. It really hasn't been the best year for me. But then, just yesterday, I walked into my local $2 shop and spotted the sweetest little silver Christmas tree, just 30cm high, $3.50, and I was sold. Sold on the little tree, and sold on Christmas 2010. So I'm going to move forward, I have so many things to be grateful for and so many things to look forward to, how can I not get excited about Christmas this year.

I'm going to join in again this year with Car and her advent blog-a-long. I've got a few Christmas themed posts planned and hopefully a tutorial or two (if I can manage it!), why not head over to Car's blog and let her know you're blogging along too!

Some news......

Meet Shaz. Made with one of my all time favourite vintage chenille bedspread purchases of all time, a thick and fluffy chocolate peacock. I was asked on the weekend about what she was made from and I promised I'd put up a picture of the bedspread before I cut it on the blog. So Janie, this one's for you.


And the news.....well, I finally decided to list stuff in a Big Cartel shop I actually opened sometime in May. Or June. One of those. It was a rather crazy and emotional first half of the year for me, and all my good plans just never came through. So, it's time to change that and move on.

So, go and check out the new shop, and come back and tell me what you think. There are just a few things there at the moment. If things go well I will probably upgrade, only time will tell. I'd love to hear your input! Oh, and Shaz is there too, just waiting for you!

Did you know....?

That etsy now lets you list and receive payments in 21 different currencies? Yay! This now means that if you pop by my shop you can pay in Aussie dollars! I think this move by etsy is fantastic as I believe the currency issue may have prevented people from joining and purchasing on etsy. Go etsy!

Shop talk

So these two bears and a scrumptious bunny have made their way over to Handmade Heaven today. Along with a heap of my Christmas stockings. The shop is full to the brim at the moment with some gorgeous handmade goodies, your one stop shop for unique Christmas gifts for the whole family! Go and check it out!

Handmade Expo wrap up

Well, the decision is made, I am not cut out for markets! I was hoping to do a lot better than I did, but at least I suppose I did come out ahead for the day. Lots of people did take my business card, so maybe there will be some follow up trade, one can always hope!

It certainly was a great atmosphere with lovely, friendly neighbours, great food and gorgeous surprise visitors. I was extremely restrained and only came home with this card (could not resist! from here) and my gorgeous flower pin prize from the ever lovely Janie.


Thanks to my Mum for coming and helping me, and thanks to the Handmade Expo team for your great organisational skills, set up and pack up ran a lot smoother than I anticipated with over 130 stallholders and only one way in or out of the venue.

I'll ponder on what to do with all my leftover stock from the market and let you all know in the coming days how you can get your hands on all the goodies! For now though, I need a rest!

Oh, and this next pic is for you Lara, enjoy!


xxoo

My Travelling Companions...

Eeek! One more sleep until The Handmade Expo!

Now it wouldn't be a selina's vintage market stall without a few of my friends tagging along now would it? These guys and girls will be there tomorrow for your viewing (and buying!) pleasure. If you're heading to the market tomorrow, make sure you pop by and say hello, it's always nice to meet you all!

This months market is set to be the biggest yet. I've been informed that there over 130 stalls booked in! That's over 130 stalls of handmade, homegrown and handbaked all for you! So remember to bring plenty of cash, most of the stallholders (including myself) do not have eftpos, and you don't want to miss out on some fabulous purchases now do you?!

8am - 2pm
20th November
Ipswich Turf Club
Brisbane Road, Bundamba
FREE ENTRY & PARKING

my creative space...

Again going through the neverending box of my vintage chenille scraps. As I have vowed to never make two bunnies the same, I love to go through the scraps to find the right little accent piece to use in the bunny. Some pieces in this box are pieces I know I'll never find again and it's nice to think they will actually be used rather than just coveted.

More creative spaces here.

Market preview #4

I made a heap of Christmas stockings for Gattons Christmas in the country and ended up with a few left over so they will be coming with me on Saturday to The Handmade Expo market. I currently have some of these in Handmade Heaven as well and they sell for $25 each, but I thought as a market special only I'll have them for sale for $20. Bargain! The perfect thing to get for the kids that have everything. They're big enough to pop some sweet little goodies inside too!

If you can't get to the market but you'd still like to grab the market special of $20 each, let me know and I'll honour that for you until Saturday. I have more available than just those pictured, if you'd like to see more, let me know.

Oh, and thanks for the encouraging words on Monday, they did mean a lot and I'm feeling a bit more on top of things now. Thank you guys, you rock!

Week 9

I've really taken my reasonably good health for granted. Ended today's walk in tears. I have to keep the end goal in sight.

Flea Market finds

Don't you love it when those hard working ladies at the op shops go that little extra mile and bag up Christmas decorations into matching baggies? They group all of the same decorations together and make up a little theme for each baggie, and then sell them for the princely sum of .50c. As soon as I saw these little deer eyes poking through a bag I had to grab it. Aren't they sweet?! There were 4 of these little deer, one little lying down and deer and two other little standing deer. I do go a little crazy for Christmas deer!

More Flea Market finds here.

Market preview #3

After putting together the little cushion to match the robot quilt, I kind of got a little sidetracked from some things I have actually planned to make and went off and made these kids cushions. I'm totally loving them! These are a size bigger than the robot cushion and would be great to add that little something to a kids bedroom. So far I have the cowboy print and the cupcake print. I wonder how many more I can get done....

These will be $35 with the insert or $30 without. Personally I think they could probably do with an insert one size bigger than what they are currently in, but I don't have the time to get them! Just that bigger size would make them extra squishy and nice I think. The robot one is of course included with the quilt from yesterday.

Again, if you can't make it to the Handmade Expo and you would really like one of these, let me know and we'll work something out. Eeek! There is only one more week to go until the market!

Market preview #2

I was really itching to use that robot fabric I found, and I just knew it had to be a new little baby quilt. I know it's not really chenille and flannelette weather here in Australia, but these little quilts make such great new bubba gifts I made one anyway. They're great to just add that bit of colour to a nursery. For this one I even made this sweet little matching cushion. I love the way it turned out! I'm going to sell these as a set for $95. Considering I normally sell this size baby quilt alone in Handmade Heaven for $89.95, I think this is a real bargain.

If you can't make it to the The Handmade Expo market on the 20th of November and you really must have this, let me know and we'll work something out.

my creative space...

A bit of a long rambling post ahead so you'll be forgiven for just looking at the pictures and moving on to other creative spaces.


When the company I worked for closed down in March we were told to dump all of the photo display stock. The hoarder in me in just didn't sit right with that so I ended up bringing a lot of the display stock home. Which of course means I have some quite random objects with pictures of people on them that I have never met before. I've managed to use a photo canvas or two so far, but when I started up my new job and saw there was no mirror in the back room (gasp!) I pulled out this compact from my stash of crap and did some quick recycling.


I just simply pulled the photo off and used it as a template to cut into some scrapbooking paper, then glued that onto the compact. About 5 minutes work and now I can check my teeth and hair are good to go after lunch and head back out to the selling floor with confidence!

Countdown to the Handmade Expo

Eeeek! I've gone and booked myself in to the next Handmade Expo market on the 20th of November and I'm going to be sewing like a mad woman to get enough stock to take with me. I thought in the lead up to the market I would share some of the things I will be taking with me.

I made these cushions yesterday using bits from my vintage sheet stash and a dresden plate panel from a 1930's vintage quilt. I really love how these turned out. I hope to get a few of these done to take with me. They would make great Christmas presents I think. These will be $40 each with the insert included or $35 without the insert.

I'm hoping to get a chance to blog at least every couple of days between now and the market so my readers can get a bit of a preview of what I'll be taking. If you can't make it to the market and you see something you like, let me know, I'm sure we can work something out.

Week ummm.....8?

Ok, so I suck. Last time I actually went for a walk, according to my last walking post, was October 4. Yep, I really suck. Walking this morning was so hard it felt like day 1 all over again. So much so that technically this should probably be week 1 all over again. But for the sake of chronology we'll just say week 8 and move on from there. I've got 5 months now before we go to France and I need to be fit!

And hello pasty white legs!

Stocking swap goodness!

I received my absolutely gorgeous stocking from my swap partner Lyn the other day. Lyn doesn't have a blog but she seems to be an old hand at these swap things, just look at all the goodies she packed in with my fabulous stocking! Thank you so much Lyn! You really did a wonderful job, so much work!


And I've also received word that the stocking I made has arrived with the lovely Tracylea, so now I can reveal it! I am so happy with how it turned out, it ended up turning out exactly how I imagined it would! Got to be happy with that!


There are still a few stockings yet to be received and I can't wait to see them all. Thank you to all those who took part in my little swap, it was really fun!

A busy few days....

I finally managed to get most of the stock done that I wanted to get done to send off to Gatton's Christmas in the Country Art and Craft Show. Liesa will be there over the two days, the 5th and the 6th of November with mine and some other lovely handmadies items to sell. Hopefully it goes well! Along with a heap of Christmas stockings I've sent along some new bunnies and a new bear that I whipped up in record time. Nothing like a looming deadline to get you moving! From left to right we have Rosie, Penelope and Marigold. I really hope they find a new home! Randall managed to score a lift there too.

So if you happen to be looking for something to do on Friday or Saturday, why not head out to Gatton and stock up on some crafty goodness. Click on the link above for all the details on where and how to get there.

Now I've got to chain myself once again to the sewing machine as I've gone and booked in for this months Handmade Expo! Eeeek! November is always the biggest one with everyone thinking about Christmas presents etc, so hopefully things will go well there too. It will be the first big market I've done and if this doesn't go well, it will be my last! I don't take rejection well! My Mum is coming along with me and making some of her world famous chutneys. lemon curds, gingerbread and lavender shortbreads to sell. Mmmm, lavender shortbread...........

Hmmmm.....

I'm a bit undecided on the new header. What do you think? Too much?

edit: o.k, it's unanimous! new header stays!

Bunny giveaway winner!

Bright and early this morning I checked out random.org and drew myself a winner for my biggest giveaway yet. I just have to add before I announce the winner that when the number came up, and I scrolled through the comments to find the matching one, I was actually quite happy that the winner was the winner (does that even make sense?!). You see, this person has probably been my best customer. From day one of putting my stuff into Handmade Heaven she has been there, shopping her little guts out.

So, without further ado, the winner of a custom bunny, made by me, is comment number 7......
......Rocknwrap! Thanks so much for entering Eleanor, your email address wasn't attatched to your comment, so if you could just let me know your email address we can get the bunny making ball rolling!

Thank you so much everyone for entering and following along, it really does mean a lot to me.