Audrey!

Well, after Bette Davis, it just followed that I had to do something with the late, great Audrey Hepburn, right? Who hasn't been charmed by the actress who single-handedly made the word "gamine" part of everyone's vocabulary, or who, more importantly, did her best work when she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF?

"I believe in pink," she once said. "I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles".

I made a quartet of collage pins for the shop, made with cutouts from vintage magazines and other sweet little bits. Two of them are with dogs, and I added a cat in for good measure. Like the Bette Davis pin, they're intended for sassy, environmentally-friendly kids or adults!

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Beach Walk, by Sidereal, maker of exquisite hand-embroidered home decor and jewelry. The entire list is here.

1. Ocean Water print by Bree Madden

2. Seahorse necklace by PoleStar

3. Batik Guppy fish softie doll by Bikbik & Roro :)

4. Sand dollar lapel pin by Fairyfolk Weddings

5. Starfish earrings by Bridal Classique

6. White whale sign by CastawaysHall

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending in just a few hours!

old Hollywood collage pin!

Wasn't she a beauty? They sure don't make 'em like they used to. Remember the song Bette Davis Eyes? It was actually written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon (DeShannon co-wrote other hits like Put a Little Love in Your Heart), but became a hit when Kim Carnes recorded her version of it in 1981. Apparently "Bette Davis admitted to being a fan of the song and approached Carnes and the songwriters to thank them for making her 'a part of modern times'" (sourced from Wiki).

Bette Davis was a source of some memorable quotes, including "It's better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for someone you're not. It's a sign of your worth sometimes, if you're hated by the right people"; and "Basically, I believe the world is a jungle, and if it's not a bit of a jungle in the home, a child cannot possibly be fit to enter the outside world"; and of course, "When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch".

A sweet, yet attitude-y, collage pin I added to the shop, made with a cutout from a vintage magazine and other bits. It was inspired by some custom ones I did for a recent order of hen party favours -- I think it would look quite swell on a sweater or coat lapel, don't you? Intended for a sassy, environmentally-friendly kid or grown-up! Available here :)

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending May 5th!

lookie-look

It's such a treat -- and certainly not a common one -- to win a giveaway, so you can imagine how delighted I was when I actually won Chelsea's Gratitude Giveaway! As Chelsea put it, she was having the giveaway "because I am in Gratitude for being here, right where I am now.

"I want to celebrate all the support, encouragement and community I feel in social media. I have made many friends online, many people have stopped by my blog (108,632 pageviews) to date, left comments, commissioned paintings, handmade cards and jewellery. Many have attended my exhibitions and artist open house events. For all of this and more I am in deep Gratitude. So I wanted to express my gratitude by doing a giveaway". How awesome is that?

Well, I won the gorgeous handpainted pendant above, which I just received yesterday, but there was more! Chelsea actually made and sent along two lovely sets of goodies for the kiddos as well! Just have a look at these:

Adorable handmade hair slides -- which my girls love to wear -- plus candy (it goes without saying they love that)! 

Aren't these pretty? So festive, and Great Gatsby-ish. I'm going to let the girls fight over who gets what when they get back from school.

It's so, so wonderful to receive gifts that reflect such care, thoughtfulness and attention to detail -- thank you so much Chelsea! Pop by Chelsea's artistic blog here :)

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending May 5th!

random bits

Lovely rain the past few days.

Post-exam cheer.

B's favourite shoes.

The garden welcomed the rain too, and revived a little.

Happy.

Wiggle all grown up.

Sophie under the table.

This kid actually begs for homework.

8 months.

Fridge humour. Happy Tuesday everyone!

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending May 5th!

flora

1. Flower fridge magnets by janedean

2. Daisy flower earrings by Linohandmade

3. Lichen hydrangea necklace by Love n Lavish

4. Plate wall hanging by GlassPaperScizzors

5. Queen Anne's lace necklace by The ScrappinCop

6. Rustic garden thank you cards by DawnCorrespondence

7. Dangling charm necklace by Earrings For All

8. Peter Pan collar blouse by d4discus

mini giveaway!

Hee hee... Rebecca is having her own giveaway -- have a looksie here!

collage pins!

Or ornaments. In the shop now :)

birthday fun!

Guess who had a birthday?

Yep, my number one baby :) She was full of excitement on her birthday morning -- I'd organised a little party for her at Build-A-Bear (more on this later)!

Satisfied customers! See more here :)

That evening, she opened all her presents. That one there was from a friend who had been invited, but couldn't show up because she'd fallen sick; another friend had brought the gift along with her. See that wrapping paper? It's Japanese, covered in bears and cats. I was struck by how sweet it was, and decided I'd make something out of it for the girl who had missed out on the party.

There wasn't a lot of it that wasn't folded or crumpled, but I decided to milk it for all it was worth -- hey, Earth Day should be every day right?

So I cut out what I could. And mounted them on thick reclaimed board. 

I embellished them with shiny stars, and made them into pins.

And since I'd gotten started, I made some more.

These ones got bought as party favours.

But I still have these, and I've decided to pop them into the shop. The Panda one has been sold, but the one in the top left corner -- with the (to me) intriguing phrase "days marked with a white stone" -- will go to the first reader who expresses an interest in having it (teeny giveaway here hee hee!).

Then I felt inspired to make these lol. They're crazy collages of multicoloured goodies, little OOAK pieces that could you could wear, or hang, or prop up on a shelf or door. I'll be getting them listed in the shop soon -- happy Wednesday everyone :)

nothing quite like...

... a little ballerina to make one smile :)

Happy week everyone!

are you normal?

Pepper Sneeze, by Flying Mouse 365

O, hahahaaaaa... I'm sorry, I'm just sitting here laughing -- out loud -- to myself, while reading all these people's posts. You see -- weirdo that I am -- I actually get really, really annoyed with myself when I sneeze. I guess it has to do with self-control or being interrupted or something. But anyway, there I was working on something, and I sneezed, three or four times in a row -- which I hate -- and I actually felt compelled to Google, "Do you get really mad when you sneeze?"

And, as to be expected, someone, somewhere in this big, wide world actually thought the same sort of thing (though the top Google results all had to do with people being annoyed when other people sneezed, not themselves). First though, I was amazed, nay fascinated, in fact downright tickled, that there was a site called, Is It Normal? "Are You Normal?" the subhead asks. "Curious how others might perceive your situation? Ask your question today and find out what others think..." O, fascinating, just fascinating!

So then, this was the question I clicked on: "Is it normal to just get absolutely FURIOUS when anyone around me sneezes? I have almost gotten in a fight because of it". O, hahaha... someone who actually feels the same sneeze-induced rage, albeit toward other people (he/she does sound a bit extreme though...)! And then -- o, this was the best part (well, to me, anyway) -- a whole bunch of people who actually bothered to reply! And what replies LOL!!!

For example: "I only get annoyed when the sneeze seems excessively loud. My mom and fiance (they're separate people, not one in the same) get mad at me when I tell them to sneeze quietly. They say they can't help it. Poppycock! I can hold back. They should, too. Stop scream-sneezing". YOU SAID IT, man!

Or: "I get irritated when people sneeze and then keep saying things like, "Whew" and "Oh man" and "That was a big one!" Like I need to give them attention cause they sneezed". I KNOW!!

And what about: "I agree with Satellite, My dad SCREAMS when he sneezes, He goes HACCCHEEWWWW instead of just a normal sneeze but some people are ridiculous sneezers". I TOTALLY get this!!

This one I just love: "OMFG LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Dude, i suddenly remember my grandma used to sneeze really loud like over and over and YES DAMMIT THAT PISSED ME OFF!! And my dad sneezes really loud too plus so does my mom! its because they don't hold their noses when they sneeze. sometimes they startle me!!
I on the other hand always hold my nose cause otherwise its painful for me. and i'm not too loud... but man i had a good laugh at the comments!! THANKS YALL!!"

And: "omg...so funny! I think it is normal to get mad at your family members' sneezes...because I have been dealing with my stupid brother's LOUD ASS AAAAACCCHHHHOOOO!!!!! without even covering his damn nose....my whole damn life. in the next room late at night, when I would give him a ride, at dinner....I hate it. But also, my brother just kinda bugs me. My mom also has a realllllyyyy loud HEP-CHU! sneeze that is very obnoxious....however, I don't think you should get so angry, it's just natural and don't be so high strung over it, mellow out!"

Or perhaps the most clear and concise of all: "F*** it, smack them one". O hahahahahaaaaa!

I'm sorry, I don't know if this just makes me really weird (but Jacqueline, that's not such a bad thing, right? ;)... It seems the original poster was considered "20% normal" hahahaa... So while I didn't get a direct answer to my own question, I did get over how annoyed I was with myself lol! I'm going to go check out the rest of this wonderful site now -- already I see the question "Is it normal that i don't feel alone when I walk into my bedroom?" Wahahahahaaaaa...

fauna

1. Rabbit original painting by Céline ArtGalerie

2. Pillow cover by inourgardentoo

3. Winter Bear brooch by Meghann Rader

4. Porcelain fox face necklace by Made by me me me

5. Reindeer necklace by Liliana Design

6. Horse necklace by By Beep

7. Personalized baby onesie by Simply Sublime Baby

8. Henry's Head print by Sea Lily Studio

Guppies!

I made a whole school of these sweet little fish for a lovely lady in Derbyshire, and decided I really had to add them to the shop!

Batik Guppy...

... and Sun Guppy are two of the fishies in the shop at present (the rosy turquoise one is a third). 

The Guppies were inspired by Ro's drawing of a flying fish (maybe I'll add wings at some point!).

I think they have such friendly smiles. 

These sweet, happy fish would look lovely in a nursery, or on a shelf or sofa -- anywhere really! They would love to listen to you ramble or watch you try to figure out how your computer works.

Guppy photo shoot outtake haha :)

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Animal friends, by Besty, crafter of elegant prints, cards and other handmade goodies. The entire list is here.

1. Giraffe photo by Lori411

2. Forest Festivities greeting cards by Jahna Vashti

3. Sailor Animal Boy softie doll by Bikbik & Roro :)

4. Vintage toy donkey from Bellalulu

5. Bunny cameo necklace by Five Forty

6. Animal magnets by Piping Hot Papers