Where I Surf….
Just a quick post to update you with the current sites I surf. I am giving up social networking but still love my daily surfing. I follow craft sites, fashion sites, and lifestyle sites.
Sites I love (a motley mix I agree). Click the ♥ to visit:
The Cherry Blossom Girl♥ A very cool Parisienne who works as a stylist, with a penchant for beautiful shoes and vintage-y things.
Bleubird Vintage♥ James, another fashion blogger, everything vintage and fantastic.
Ismoyo♥ A crafty designy blog, a lovely girl half-Dutch, half-Indonesian living in NYC. Cute, quirky style.
Fashion is Spinach♥ Betsy a fashion writer and blogger, living in Washington DC. Great fashion blog written in a very down-to-earth style. Always well written and interesting.
Not Martha♥ A crafty site by Megan Reardon, Seattle girl. lots of crafty links and great product links. No fuss, quick to read and always interesting.
One Lucky Duck♥ Sarma Melngailis dishes on raw food benefits. Will get ya drinking green juice and eating raw foods. Eat raw, sparkle more!
We Like it Raw♥ Raw foodists site, interesting articles.
Crazy Sexy Life♥ Chris Karr has set up an on-line health community. So many super-fantastic health experts and amazing people in one place. Always interesting, always great read (even if you eat meet this will interest you. i’m sure). Vibrant.
Crazy Aunt Purl♥ Laurie, a southern girl living in LA. Funny. Funnier. Knitting blog (sort of), more just tales of living in la la land. She’s a staple in my internet diet.
Andrea Scher♥ Another staple. Berkeley girl, photos are wicked. Jewellery designer. Posts to lift your spirits.
Gala Darling♥ A New Zealander living in NYC. Lifestyle, fashion, articles, photos. Such a fun, amazing blog. Always makes me smile.
I think I have covered everything I love, making things, eating good stuff, having fun, dressing up..
Oh how could I forget…Each time I get a chance I am working my way through all the episodes at..
Darryl Hannah Love Life♥ All I can say is…go and have a look. It is the best!
Mia
What Ya Makin’ Wednesday
Wednesday 8.19pm in Perth Western Australia. I am sitting in my study writing on my big clunky computer, surrounded by boxes (more about that later). The sun is setting bright pink in the sky and the evening is very pleasant (not too hot) due to a cool breeze. The cat is by my feet licking his paws and the dog has stopped barking after being fed. All is well in my world.
And here’s what others are doing…
- Pam is making (well, a little while ago anyway) a coffee filter garland. Easy Peasy and so shabby chic.
- Hop Skip Jump is designing a very interesting looking mustard-coloured stripey quilt.
- Alicia is cooking coconut custard. Yummy recipe at her site.
- Gisella at Ox Hill is constructing these gorgeous bracelets. So tempting to try to make something like it. What do you think she has wrapped the thread around? Rubber? Looks so good!
- Tania has been making the cutest bird clock.
- Shim at Shim and Sons is making gorgeous Lunar New Year cards.
- And. My very favourite. These are so pretty and I just dream of being in weather this cold so that ice doesn’t melt outside. Ice would melt in approximately five seconds where I live. Think long hot dry summers and mild winters. Benita is so clever. She is making Ice Lanterns. I want one!
- I am making a very cool scarf with a tutorial to follow in the next few days. And apart from that I am organising my craft supplies. After writing a book for well over a year and making enough things to sink a ship, my house is still over-run by crafty loveliness. Everywhere you look. Basically my house is one big craft studio from the front door to the back door. And it just dawned on me that the others who live here may well appreciate some culling, placing boundaries and some organisation. And I think I may need it too. Photos to follow.
I imagine a lot of you (in the North) are just stumbling out of bed to begin another day…. Let me know, where are you from and what are you makin’ this Wednesday?
Mia
xx
What ya makin’ Wednesday?
Hi ya everyone,
Things seem to change really quickly in life don’t they? Well as luck would have it my circumstances have changed quite a bit and it seems that this year I will be full-time blogging at onehourcraft.com and working part-time. I have wanted this freedom for a very long time and it appears that my time has come to do this!
If you remember back to the olden days (not quite) when I started this site and I was posting about two or three times a day – well that is where we are headed again. But. The first thing this blog (*still hate the word) needs is a bit of structure. So I have been brainstorming some regular posts for certain days – and I came up with ‘What ya makin’ Wednesday?’.
On Wednesday each week I will be linking to really interesting things people have been making in the past week. I also want you all to leave comments with links to what you have been making. That way everyone can see what you have been up to also. I can’t wait to see what you all have been up to each week.
Today….
- Artsycraftsy babe is sewing the loveliest linen bags with a patchwork inset.
- Bella Dia is decorating rocks with transfers for presents. Clever way to use scrapbooking materials. Scroll down and see my favourite rock with the floral transfer.
- How About Orange is making paint chip bookmarks. Free and so cute. I am definitely going to make some.
- Kitty Genius is making miniature porcelain artwork. Simply divine.
- Ismoyo is embroidering cherries. So pretty and delicious.
- Love forever is making mosaic mirrors using cut-up old credit cards. You gotta love recycling!
- The Small Object has is mixing and bottling Grapefruit Sugar Scrub. And I think I will make some too.
I’ve been making some very funky little bags, a tote bag, and some more things I will be posting here in the next few days.
And finally, what are you making?
Mia
What to Make
Hello Craft Lovers,
We are back – with a plan for this site- and we are going to get that plan into action in the next few weeks. I was very surprised that the day after I wrote the last post I was offered another book deal! Unfortunately I decided it was not THE right one, so turned it down. We are, of course, open to other book deals still!
For now here is some random crafty loveliness for you to make:
- We love Megan’s Surprise Balls. What a great idea for a party or wedding!
- These Firefly Baby Booties at Craftzine are the cutest things we have seen in a long, long time. Quick, someone have a new baby so we can make these! Hmmmm maybe our next monthly craft challenge (yes, they are starting again due to popular demand) should be baby booties?
- And… for those of us who just can’t get enough of Marimekko fabrics, these Marimekko-Inspired cupcakes are so lovely!
- Mini Canvas Magnets from Heather at How About Orange.
- Covered Tape Measures from A Spoonful of Sugar.
- Fabric and Crochet Mushrooms at Resurrection Fern.
- Yummy Vanilla Lemonade at Inside a Black Apple.
Enjoy!
Mia
PS I have been trying to sort out all the bugs I have on my site. Or I have been hacked, I don’t know but there are loads of problems to sort out. I do so want your comments – and thanks for the emails, I am trying.
Hermes Paper Kelly Bag Template
I love the little paper Kelly handbags from Hermes! Visit their site to download these for free. We have a birthday in a few months and I am definitely going to make these for the lolly bags. So cute. Nice to see that even the fashion houses understand the power of giving something away for free. One of the many things I love about the Internet – the freebie.
And, hello everyone. Yes. We are officially back in action. With lots of lovely treats and projects coming your way. We will be getting the monthly craft challenge back on track and plenty more. There will be a site relaunch in July. So happy to have the free time to re-connect with you all. Thanks for the well wishes while we were so busy!
Miaxx
links: free patterns to make a stunning christmas dress
(free dress patterns from burda open source sewing. from left to right, jonny dress, danielle dress, anda dress)
is there anything better than a new dress with a gorgeous pair of heels? when i was a little girl mum said that if i was in a grumpy mood, all she had to do was put me in a pretty dress and all of a sudden i became a happy little princess, twirling and dancing. and really. nothing has changed. i still love getting all frocked up.
in our family we really get dressed up for christmas. we go all out. i know that it is an aussie tradition to have a laid-back casual christmas in your bathers and board shorts. but not for us. all the children in the family get a new outfit for christmas and all the adults too. it is so fun.
here are some free pattern links for some pretty christmas dresses for you…
- for those in the north where it is winter, i love this burda tunic pattern. especially the tartan one with the belt around the middle. looks comfy too which is good for a long day with lots of socialising and party hopping.
- this danielle dress is adorable and so romantic. it is a free download as part of burdastyle.com’s ‘open source sewing’. this is a site to completely rave about. it is like an on-line community for designers and sewers who share sewing and styling tips. once a week you can download a new pattern – and they are so funky! join. join. join. in the new year i am planning to host sewing parties where all the participants download the same pattern and then sew it. i can’t wait!
- this anda dress looks amazing. great for a summery summer in perth but you could wear it with long socks and a thick cashmere coat for a northern christmas. download the pattern here.
- this jonny dress is amazing and great for a colder winter.
- you may like this off-the-shoulder little dress from fitz patterns. Fairly slinky. Maybe more appropriate for an evening do than a family function.
- or if an aussie beach christmas is what you are doing, try this sassy little sundress. I am loving the white chantilly lacey version.
but whatever you choose to wear, just be gorgeous and you can’t go wrong!
any more links to great free dress patterns?
have fun frocking up!
mia
xx
links: very quick, stylish christmas gifts to make for your colleagues..
…or not just your colleagues but anyone who deserves a quick, gorgeous gift crafted by an artistic goddess like yourself. these gifts are great because they are really not too personal but are sure to be adored by those you work with.
- marble magnets at not martha. they look so gorgeous when displayed in little tins!
- cookies in a jar for those who just love homemade food. these are so cool and i intend to make loads of them in the near future. basically, you take a cool jar and layer all the dry ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies or other cookies. then the lucky receiver just adds the eggs and milk and voila, gorgeous cookies.
- oooh i love this. what about mexican taco mix in a jar or mexican hot chocolate? or you can make up curry mixes. the sky is the limit really and these are the sort of presents that are not too personal if you know what i mean? the only thing may be to check (subtly) if your recipient is allergic to anything.
- a hanging evergreen basket would be a lovely present to receive -oops i mean, give. or what about a different type of potted plant or basket. so versatile. it does not even require that you know if that person lives in an apartment or house. good one.
- feel like baking? these cute and easy little sugar cookies might take a while longer but they are gorgeous. beautifully wrapped these make gorgeous presents.
- a 2008 calendar designed by little hut. you pay a very small fee for the pdf which is then emailed to you. then put together the calendar in no time at all. so stylish. i intend to make one of these for myself.
- cute. beaded wine glass charms.
- fizzy bath bombs. make some of these and add them to a basket with other soaps and things in it.
- why not make some candles. if you have never tried before, they are so easy to make. or if you just have too much on your plate, why not buy a white pillar candle and decorate it with puff paint like Alicia has done. clever.
i am working on some other projects. They are very quick and cute. Will show you soon…
enjoy!
mia
xx
Here kitty kitty!
Hi everybody. Back with a quick, little post – all I seem to be able to produce for the moment being. In a few weeks I am on holidays so I promise more then. And there are some great little tutorials brewing in my head. So, expect the drought to end soon and a proliferation of posts to ensue. I promise I am not just teasing you…
What’s kitty got to do with anything? Well our lovely Luciano has a lot to do with our house. Once he ruled it as a tyrant, but this year, at the grand old age of four, he seems to have mellowed into a cat who purs at the slightest comfort and has taken to sleeping on Milly’s tummy in the cold (well as cold as it gets in this climate) winter nights. He is now impossibly cute. So much so that we have forgiven (and almost forgotten) his mid-night attacks on our faces (I kid you not), the multiple scratch scars on our faces and the other antisocial behaviours.
Yeah, that’s cute. But why all the cat talk? Well, I was just reading Crazy Aunt Purl who has a severe case of feline obsession, and I found a link to her feline-friendly competition. I thought that some of you may share these cat-loving sentiments and be inspired to knit or crochet a cat sweater. Check out this competition and make sure that your winning enty arrives by 31 October, 2007.
Good Luck!
Mia-owwwwww
More Quick-ish Craft Tutorial Links I am Loving…
- Shoulder bag tutorial at U-Handblog. This ROCKS!
- Shirred dress tutorial at Kuky Ideas. Perfect summer dress for a little girl.
- Knitted headband at Oeillet
- Book Cover Tutorial at Moonstitches.
- Gocco Tutorial at Crafttutorials. I still haven’t even used mine and I bought it for myself for my Christmas present. Well I tried, twice. But I will try again thanks to this little tutorial.
Enjoy!
Mia
