Art + Love = Gift

It's just a few days before the countdown to you know what.
This year Charlie has decided to leave out Diet Coke(?) and Chocolate chip cookies for Santa and lettuce for the reindeer. This makes me feel all pensive and nostalgic as it may be the last year Santa is embraced with optimism and belief in our house. I'm sure by seven the doubts and realization kick in.I have started to notice Christmas wish lists popping up in a few places.
Here is Moose's "Santa's Little Helpers" e-flier. I don't think I was quick enough to get one of these cuties by Lady Monicle.This year I'm thinking I'd like some Arty Crafty goodness for Christmas. Maybe this beautiful Partridge print by Andrea Smith
Or maybe one of these 'bird cluster' mobiles by Madeleine Stamer.Or this Folk Face Cushion by Beci Orpin.There, I've made my own wish list. Now I have to stop faffing around as I always do and get serious with the gift buying.

Eye Poppin' colour

I'm up to my eyeballs with orders......which is good. Crazy , but good.I have just rediscovered my colourful floral vintage dress, which I have now dubbed the "Curly Pops" dress. And my kitchen curtains are pretty much "Curly Pops" curtains too.
Have a great weekend and Good luck all you marketing folks.
As my friend Tracy from"Fat Mummas" reports, "For the record I just want to say, that 'lucrative' is a word with subjective levels of interpretation and in market terms, 'lucrative' may not be what normal people consider! Lets just say, I classify minimum wage as 'lucrative'! "
The rewards in the life of Creative Women can not always be measured in monetary terms.
Thankfully there are many different rewards that make the hard slog worth it!

Owls Live Here.

Owlie sites chocka block with owls.....
-My Owl Barn, ...the Owl goodies just keep coming!
-%@#* Yeah, Owls....tumbler Owl collection.
-Owl Forest,...one of the loveliest Owl pools on Flickr.
Do you know of any more????

Ballet Anyone?

Four Tutu brooches. For a Custom order.
Off I go to make another twenty two!!!!

Three's a Charm!

Yesterday Charlie and I were lying on the bed admiring my Madeleine Stamer prints. The two figures and dog reminded him of Mr BJ and I with Chester.
The pretty pink girl could be Lily, so I said I would have to get a third one featuring a little boy figure. Charlie requested the figure be holding a CHAINSAW!
Mmmm, that may be a stretch my boy. Maybe a skeleton or a Rooster!

Madeleine's beautiful perspex birdie cluster mobiles caught my eye at the "Three of a Kind" exhibition opening on Friday evening.And I adored the 'porcelain embroideries' by Iggy and Lou Lou. This is a beautiful show! See it if you can.

Xmas stuff.

A Xmas flavoured Colour Collage....available as a greeting card so you can wish your friends "Happy Owl-idays" (corny line compliments of Double Winky) .

Over at Fontok, it's beginning to look a lot like shmish-mas.
Very excellent "shmish-mas" cards featuring those sad and lonely used Chrissy trees abandoned in suburban laneways and on naturestrips to wither and die! Available from the Fontok website!I got my set quick smart!

Suburban Girl

This has been one of those weeks where most of my activity has happened around the Burb'.
For example, TinnieGirl's fun Crafternoon on Saturday (in Thornbury), a pick up of some very vintage floral lino from a stranger who happened to live a few streets away ( in Thornbury), a drop off of some greeting cards to Thornberry (in, you guessed it), and me realizing I'll have to get busy creating goodies for the market in December (Made n Thornbury).But I will be crossing the Yarra this evening to attend the opening of........
"Three Of A Kind" new and recent work by beci orpin, iggy & loulou and madeleine stamer

Three amazing Melbourne artists in the one show. This girls' just a bit excited!!!
After the opening I will be hitting the Prince of Wales Hotel with a buddy to relive some of my hazy years. Like a time warp. Going backwards . Yikes!

Welcome Summer

This Summery group of Betty Jo goodies will be heading up here today...Please Sir, may I go too?!?

Who's a pretty Boy?

This little fellow is a pet cockatiel. Specially made for a customer who visited the Eco Innovators showcase.
I had some cute pictures sent to me for reference.

I wonder if I could start a sideline business.....Lino Pets?
Last year I made a scottie called"Hamish" which was present especially for Sharon's (Handmaiden) Mum.

The Owl Dress from Heaven

I was alerted to this dress on etsy by my vintage lovin' daughter. At first I couldn't believe it was true 50's as the print is so contemporary, but if you look (I mean drool ) at the other fabo dresses in this shop you'll be convinced this is the real McCoy. It would have been my size pre kidlets , so no need to bother encouraging me to go for it. I'm a online clothes buying chicken anyway.

Where do you get it?

You know, that gift for your crafty, hipster girlfriend. Or your arty Auntie that likes Scottie Dogs. Or the friend overseas who loves unique jewelery that she won't see anywhere else.
Pop over here to check out all the Betty Jo stockists. If your closest one doesn't have what you crave, tell them to get it in for you!A pretty little shop in Barkly St. St Kilda,"Curious Oyster " is Betty Jo's newest stockist.
Petranilla's in Sth. Melbourne (just opposite the Market) has some new Betty Jo goodies just in.
If you're in Melbourne's CBD, visit the Eco Innovators Showcase on the corner of Little Collins St. and Swanston St. Retailing all locally designed and produced environmentally responsible products, gifts and art! The Eco Innovators Showcase is great for supporting local designers and reducing your environmental impact! There's a great selection of goodies including Betty Jo and BodyParts.
The Cool place to shop this Festive Season!
And why not purchase a set of Colour Collage Gift Cards - great for giving or keep them for your self! Get them from Etsy, or straight from me. Just drop me a line.
Right, that's enough self promotion for today. And if the title of this post reminds you of that majorly irritating "Tuckerbag" ad with the paperbag screeching "Where do you get it?", big sorries!

Going Green

Due to a lovely Lino find (once again while walking Chester, that doggy's a charm I tell ya), I'll be turning out some green themed goodies over the next few weeks.

Yay & Sheesh!

Back here I wrote a little post on some good and not so good things happening in Betty Jo land. Then subsequently I noticed there is a regular "What's Hot and What's Not" thing happening over at Loobylu. This is my version:
Yay !
- Having fun making more Colour Collage greeting cards.-There is a Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs show coming up at Festival Hall in Dec. Very good news if the girls in the house can score some tickets. But if we miss out -see Sheesh! EDIT-We got tickets!!!!
-The summery weather is gearing us up for "The Heat", so we've got all our whinging out of the way early. See sheesh also.
- My vintage summer dresses have been getting a good airing!
- Glad to have a family membership at the local pool where we have been everyday this week (with most of the population of Northcote, Thornbury and Preston- another sheesh.)
- Contemplating BIG changes for Betty Jo which will hopefully include participating in theFinders Keepers Market next year (see sheesh about this year's market ) as well as local markets aplenty.
Sheesh!
- The Heat!
- The Stress of buying concert tickets online. ( I don't like roulette , but it's kinda the same)
- Crowded pools with warm water ( this could be from the sun, but also something else?!?)
- Unfortunately having to turn down a market stall at Finders Keepers this year due to family commitments. Big disappointment.
- Shops leaving their Christmas orders till the last minute.

Lino Royale

A selection of Betty Jo's new Collection "Lino Royale " are now available at "Pussycat Black" in Brunswick. As both brooches and pendants.
Pictured from top left: Charlotte, Victoria, Adelaide, and Margaret.
Also available: Beatrice and Elizabeth.
If you can't get to Brunswick, they are also available to order from Lino Forest's Corner Shop.
Pop over and have a look.

Mellow Yellow

A lovely customer ordered a yellow and cream necklace to go with her yellow vintage style shoes with cream trim. I'm picturing the shoes going perfectly with this bag.Coincidentally, just before I took the picture to send her, I read this sweet story by "Strawberry Lemonade" about this particular yellow Orla Kiely bag, and the serious dilemma she faced in having to choose between the yellow and the red version.
I know which Colour I would have chosen.........P.S. Do check out the dreamy Orla Kiely website!

Hoot Power!

I did a wee interview the other week, and there was one question about Owls.
I'm still waiting for them to fall totally out of fashion, but in Betty Jo land there is no indication this is happening any time soon.My first figurative Betty Jo brooch was an owl, and since then my fondness for them has grown. I must have made thousands of owls since that first rudimentary fellow, and to this day they are still the most popular item in my range. I use big round buttons for their expressive eyes. Buttons are the perfect design component for my owls. When I fossick through my button tins the owls almost create themselves!
I admit I have a lot of Owl bric-a-brac at home, but it’s all for inspiration!

Just the other week a lonely Owl tea cosy was calling to me from the op shop.He has joined my lovely crocheted collection.

And seriously, tell me you couldn't leave these two cute wind up owls sitting behind in the same oppie. They waddle!If your looking to be a bit creative in the Kitchen , try these......Night Owl Cookies

Sweet Greetings

Are you after some sweet Greeting Cards? The New Betty Jo Colour Collage Greeting cards are now available on Etsy.
There are cards in other colours as well, and they will be available to purchase in Australia for $3.50 ea or $12.00 for a pack of four. Purple, turquoise, beige, pink, tortoise shell, yellow, blue, and Multi. Mix and match! Email me if you are interested. Or look out for them at a market near you!
A sweet greeting from a lovely blogger arrived last week. It's great to hear from happy customers.
"Hello Liz,
Thought you'd like to see a couple of your old friends (Parachute and Zelda), they are happy here in Sydney and send you their love.
Eleanor and Miss Commentbox xxxx"

Beach Litter Collection.

I told myself I wouldn't shoot any more colour collages. But after a trip to Elwood beach on Tuesday, the sign was speaking to me! As I collected more beach plastic, the folks looking out from the fancy restaurant on the foreshore were probably thinking to themselves, " that girls a bit weird, but bless her for cleaning up our messy view".
So as I went on my merry way, I skirted around a huge dead rat , numerous broken bottles , rusty old cans, then finally brought my fossicking to a halt when I spotted a sharp and shiny syringe, pointing up at me from the waters edge.
Elwood is a very desirable place to live, but the beach can be pretty dumpy.
And in future when I have Nori rolls for lunch, I am going to refuse the fish soy sauces.
I must have seen over 50 washed up on the sand. As ubiquitous as the red coke bottle lid!
And thanks to "Happy Cavalier"for posting about my Colour Collages. I will be selling them as prints very soon...I promise!