Mothers Day Mania and a winner!

There’s not long to go now until us guys and gals in the southern hemisphere celebrate our Mothers :-)  Mothering Sunday falls on 9th May this year, and us girls from Among the Gum Trees have been excitedly preparing for this special week to offer you an abundance of ideas and inspiration… with bespoke-designed patterns and other yummy goodies to be shared on the ‘inspiration menu’!

Today I share with you my latest design entitled “To Mum with Love”…

A vintage-inspired fabric envelope for the mum who (seemingly) has “everything”.  Just pop your card inside, a lace handkerchief or perhaps some scented sachets… It will even fit a pair of reading glasses.

If you pop on over to Among the Gum Trees you can download the pattern and read the poem I wrote for my very own dear Mum.  You are also very welcome to use the poem for your own personal use if you wish to do so :-) For ease, you can also download the pattern here.

Here’s a pic of my beautiful Mum, known to her family as “Gracie”.  I love her to bits!!

Giveaway winner announced!

Wow ladies, I had such a fantastic response to my giveaway and I have had such fun visiting your blogs!  I never cease to be amazed at how much talent, kindness, humour, inspiration and eye-candy there is “out there”!  Thank you so much for your lovely and enthusiastic words about my project. I wish I had the time (and money for postage! LOL) to make hearts for each and every one of you!  I will have another giveaway with my Rosie’s Hearts pattern in a couple of month’s time… but on this occasion the winner of my giveaway is Cyndi from Bee Tree Designs.

Congratulations Cyndi!  Could you please send me your snail mail address so I can send your goodies on to you?  I will also be making you a personalised tag  :-)

I appreciate that Australian Homespun magazine is difficult to come by in many countries.  There is an international subscription available from Universal Magazines which you can check out here.  I hope that helps, but if any of you know a good place to purchase overseas please do let me know so I can pass on the word. :-)

I hope you get lots of inspiration from the Gum Tree Designers… remember, there’ll be something (actually, lots of things!) on the inspiration menu for the next seven days… 

Until the next time, happy creating!  Vikki x

 

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A day at Flemington Market!

Picture this:  The sun is shining on a cool autumnal morning, its gentle rays reaching out to the blue sky with a promise of glory. The smell of freshly cut grass engulfs your senses while the gentle ‘hubble’ of meandering people, caresses your ears.

That’s how I’d describe my relaxing day at Flemington Market.   A beautiful day spent with a dear friend, which began nice and early before all the crowds came out to play!

Want to see some of the sights?

This lovely young man was selling sweet treats… lollipops in all shapes and sizes.  I thought about buying the dummy-shaped one for Mr SUDs… so that I could quickly pop it in his mouth when I told him how much I’d spent while I was out! LOL…

Beautiful paintings and prints by Gail McCormack… very shabby chic and incredibly pretty!  I wish I could have a house-full of shabby chic, but I don’t think the light colours would last too long in my house… I’ll share why later! :-)

 

Leora Abraham from Polymer Clay Creations is a beautiful, vibrant person to chat with… and her polymer creations are amazing!  Just check out these little characters…

The amazing thing is that the face ‘beads’ were ‘sliced’ from one long piece of intricately-created polymer.  It’s difficult to describe, but trust me, this lady is talented!

 

I absolutely loved this stall! “Two old bags”, these ladies had great humour which was so evident in their banner, but also – their bags were just such fun!  Not to mention, beautifully made!  I just wish I’d had more cash in my pocket as I’d certainly have purchased one of these beauties!  The denim bags were patched with just the right amount of either floral or polka-dot fabric… fun but classy!  Check out this link to see more from these fabulous ladies.

 

My friend purchased an exquisitely-made tote from Fraulein Jaeger Fabric Designs (pictured above).  Fabulous fabrics… I could have really dented a hole in my purse at this store!  I have a telephone contact for this designer but no website to link to.  However, she does attend at each market in Melbourne, which you can find out more about here.

Oh my!  Cute teddies!  I absolutely fell head over heels in love with all the little characters made by Sharon Hale from Shaz Bears.  Want a close-up?

Simply adorable!!!

 

Then there was this gorgeous stall run by Kellie Daws of COCOROSE.  She had the most beautiful children's bedroom accessories.  I love those decorative letters!

I was a good girl, really I was!  I didn’t really need to purchase a dummy-shaped lollipop to stop Mr SUDs jaw from dropping when I told him how much I spent!  I bought this gorgeous original painting, I’m sorry I can’t tell you the name of the lady who designed and painted it – she didn’t have a business card but told me she goes to all these markets.

You’ll never believe me if I tell you how much I paid for it!  Twenty bucks!  It is an original painting and there were many more of the same.

I also treated myself to this…

A fabric-covered pendant!  I love it!  I don’t have the contact details for the ladies who created this gorgeous accessory, so if anyone knows can you please contact me so I can rightfully attribute this creation to them?  Thank you!

Last of all I shall leave you with a photo of our 12-week-old puppy (bathed last night, I might add!).  This is why I dare not have shabby chic in the house… I don’t think the soft muted shades would last for very long!!

Until next time – may your days be full of fun and blessings!  Vikki x

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A giant Fawn and a sneak peak!

The month of March was jam-packed full of fun and wedded bliss, and it was also a joyous period of my life because I got to spend some treasured time with my family who were visiting from England.  And that meant… visiting places!

There is so much I’d like to share… pics of places we stayed (a gorgeous little cottage down on the coast which was so shabby chic!) and visits to animal sanctuaries… the beach… the hills… and of course, one of my favourite pastimes… shopping!

The “fashion capital” of Melbourne is Chadstone shopping centre, referred to by the locals as “Chaddy”!  I don’t visit very often but just had to take my SIL and my nephew’s girlfriend to see the gorgeous boutique shops they have there.  But also… I was busting a seam to see the giant Fawn that was gracing the entrance to Sportsgirl, because it was designed by the lovely Jhoanna of One Red Robin, and I LOVE Jhoanna’s work!

Here I am with the giant Fawn… isn’t she divine?!  Jhoanna makes the most enchanting softies.  Here is a link to the softie that this big beauty was modelled on.  :-)

While at the shopping centre, my SIL and I fell in love with these coats…

We “ummed” and we “aahhed” and then we said goodbye to the coats and went on our merry way.  The next time we visited the shops, I purchased the coat (that’s me on the left) and my gorgeous SIL purchased the bag she is holding (on the right)!  My SIL and I are very close, and most people think we look more like sisters than me and my brother look like siblings!  It sure was lovely to have girlie shopping dates together!

On the sewing front I have been falling in love with these…

 

A fabric line called ‘Rouenneries’ by French General for Moda.  I’m enchanted with it!  When I go to a fabric store I am always attracted to pretty florals, retro prints and/or prim tones… so this isn’t the “usual” for me… but gosh I love it to bits!  I can’t show you what I’ve been up to just yet, but here’s a sneak peek!

I know, I’m not giving much away am I?!! LOL…

On a final note for today I’d just like to say a big hearty {{Thank you}} for the lovely comments you have been leaving in my last post (If you haven’t already done so, please go and leave a comment to enter into my giveaway!).  I am absolutely delighted that you like the hearts I made for Homespun.  :-)

So when you create gifts for others… what do you enjoy to make?  Softies? Bags? Stitcheries? Cushions?  Something pretty or something useful?  Or both?  Do you like traditional or quirky?  I’d love to know!  :-)

Until next time – have a great weekend!  Hugs! Vikki x

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Debut in Homespun and a giveaway!

I have been a very busy girl this past few months, mainly behind the scenes because I haven’t been able to show you what I’ve been up to!  But now I am delighted to reveal my debut project in the current issue of Australian Homespun magazine!

Rosie’s Hearts

I designed the hearts five years ago when I was decorating my DD, Rosie’s, nursery.  Four hearts hung from her cot mobile, to coordinate with the rest of her room.  :-)

There are several variations to the hearts; the buttons, the flower, and the reverse side has either a pocket or can be made into a pomander.  The variations will be on Homespun’s website.  You can see the reverse side of the pomander heart in the photo below… it is the top heart with the lace.

I am very excited that my debut is shared with a very talented designer and very dear friend of mine, Dawn Hay.  I know she is having problems with her internet connection at the moment so you might have to wait a little bit longer to see her gorgeous project - but I know she’ll be blogging about it any moment soon! :-)

Giveaway!

I am well overdue with my first year blogaversary! Did you think I’d forgotten?! Ha ha! :-)  I have a good excuse though!  It fell on the same day that I wed my gorgeous Mr SUDs!  I have been racking my brain as to what to offer as a giveaway prize!  But I also know that many of you gorgeous folk who live ‘across the pond’ find it hard to get hold of Homespun magazine, so I have decided to give away a copy of the current issue together with two of the hearts featured in the magazine; make a personalised fabric “tag” for the winner; and I’ll throw in some pretty fabric for good measure! :-)

To enter, all you need to do is leave me a comment on this post.  If you are a follower you get another entry (or if you become one), and if you blog about this giveaway you get a third entry.  :-)  You’re very welcome to use the giveaway ‘picture’ above.  :-)

I shall draw the winner on Sunday 25th April at 12.00 noon Melbourne time.

Good luck!  I’ll speak to you soon!

Hugs! Vikki x  :-)

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Meet Kayla, and some more eye candy!

It is my very great pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of the SUDs family…. 

Meet Kayla!  :-)  Isn’t she gosh-darn cute?!!  She is a Maltese Shitzu cross Jack Russell Terrier and is simply adorable!

Mr SUDs and I have been chatting about extending our family to include a fur-kid for quite some time… and boy have I been broody!  So, I had “half an hour to kill” a couple of days ago (will share with you the reason why in just a tic..) and decided to take my my two kids to the pet shop, you know, just to see some cute animals.  (Oh okay you got me!  Actually it WAS to check out if they had a new family member for us!!!  But that’s just between me and you, right?! <wink>)

Well!  The girl in the pet shop was a born match-maker and when she handed me this gorgeous little timid little puppy, me and my two kids fell in love instantly!  I was able to put our pup “on hold” for a few hours, but gosh it was hard leaving that shop without her!

Now I’ll explain why I had half an hour to kill! My DH’s car was written off a couple of days ago due to hail damage. Melbourne had the most incredulous hail storm a few weeks ago, on the day after my wedding actually, and boy was I glad I got married the day before!  My English family were staying and I’m sure they thought that this kind of thing happens in Australia all the time – but honestly - it was a first!  Check out the size of the hail stones…

They were the size of golf balls!  The storm caused a lot of damage and it has taken weeks for the insurance companies to process all the claims which is why we have only just had the car written off.  It was too dented to repair. 

Back to the story of Kayla!  We are down to one car and needed to pick Mr SUDs up from work… we had visited the pet shop and spent the 10 minutes’ drive to ‘work’ hoping that Mr SUDs would agree that we just HAD to have a furry companion in the IMMEDIATE future!  I honestly thought his response would be, “But Vikki, we need to buy a new car and this just isn’t the right time…”. 

But he didn’t… he said, “So, is the pet shop still open?”!!!!  :-) He did joke about it after though and exclaimed, “Lose a car and gain a puppy… ah well, I’ll just have to put a saddle on her and ride her to work!”  LOL…

If Kayla’s cuteness wasn’t quite enough, I have some more eye-candy for you!

This beautiful felted wrap and the embellishment on the handbag was made for me by my dear friend Narelle (no blog).  Aren’t they sublime?  I will treasure both, along with their creator, forever! :-)  If you live in Melbourne and would like to see these items in person, they will be on display at an exhibition in the not-too-distant future – I’ll keep you posted!

Until next time – extending friendship your way…  :-)  I’m off to cuddle my pup! :-)

Hugs! Vikki x

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