Fryday..I mean Friday

Earlier I posted a bit of a rant about the heat, my wilting plants,blackouts, using up energy and global warming. But I scribbled it out (deleted it!) and decided to dwell on the good things.
Swimming all day at the pool. Swearing my son has dolphin genes. Eating lots of frozen treats and knowing we can get through the worst with out going too bonkers.
And I managed to make this non lickable Betty Jo treat! With my Three Big Scoops of choice-chocolate, mango and pistachio!

COOL!

This is my Snowman. I have named him Robbie. He is staying as cool as cucumber in our third day of "The Heatwave".
He is named after my friend and scruffy hat wearing Rob Snarski, the super cool crooner who has a voice that can make you swoon. I was lucky enough to see him sing at "The Triffids and Friends" at The Arts Centre last night and his version of David McComb's song "This One Eats Souls" gave me Shivers !
A very cool way to spend a HOT Melbourne evening.

Snow Man Anyone?

Sorry, I'm not working in the studio today. TOO HOT!!!
Did I hear it has been the worst heat wave on record?
THOUGHT SO.
Did the weather forecast say it was 43 Celsius at 6.00 pm? YEP!
Maybe I'll just imagine myself in this chilly pic. by Boopsie.daisy, and then maybe I might even try to make a Snow Man Brooch.
Would you believe the cute little snow dolly in the pic started out floofy, but was given a ten minute makeover by Miss Boopsie Daisy! (left)
She's almost the same as our mauve and frilly thrifted one(right)

I'm tempted to get the scissors right now!

Gufetto Mania!

It's not long till school returns....sigh. The text books are bought, including an Italian dictionary for Lily. It came in handy when I wanted to translate this post by esauritaMente.
Gufetto means Little Owl. Oh how I love the Italian language. As well as my Olivia Owl, these stunning owl softies by One Red Robin were also featured.While I was jotting down this post I was slurping my coffee from my favorite Gufetto mug (Christmas gift from Lily). Buon giorno!

Australiana

I like "Australiana". So on Australia Day meet Bo Koala. He likes gum leaves and sleeping. And Georgie Love.
If Bo had a snuggley friend it would be Sarah McNeil's adorable knitted Koala Brooch.

Too good to Waste

I love finding other designers that see the artistic potential in mundane , everyday items.
These badges are made from the inside of envelopes. I have noticed the various patterns in the past and wondered why they were there , but milomade has actually collected them and put them to good use.I found these via Twinklyspangles blog. Thanks for mentioning Betty Jo Designs too Twinklyspangle.
There seems to be a huge number of Flickr groups dedicated to Recycled creations, but the newest one I've joined is called "A arte em reciclar" or the English version "The art on recycling"So far I have only come across one other jewellery designer using recycled linoleum in their work.That was a few years ago at Cambewell Market. But the World is big and I'm sure there are others.
Edit- Thanks to Renae, I have found another designer who uses the security patterns on envelopes. Ugly Kitty's pendants are very cool. There is always someone across the globe with a similar idea!

Fresh Moose & Black Apple for Dessert!

Some fresh Betty Jo Designs at Moose!My fresh Black Apple print. I first saw it here, then here, and felt it must be mine. Sitting pretty in my Camberwell Marketed frame.

But I like it!

I made this "May I Take Your Coat" pendant yesterday for an order for FORM. But I like it.
I don't ever manage to make two exactly the same of any of my pieces and I don't actually want to.
So this one may not be going to Perth today........but in reality I can't afford to be dithering around, as March will be here all to soon.

Good Signs.

Sunday was a doing stuff day for the Betty Jo clan.
The boys went to celebrate the re-opening of the Coburg Pool. We have spent many summers at this great "old school" pool until the council shut it 2 years ago. I even felt the first twinges of labour swimming there one hot February evening in 03. So here's a big heads up to the local residents who lobbied hard to have it re-opened. It even has it's own Flickr site.Sign in female changing rooms at Coburg pool.

Meanwhile, I was partaking in afternoon tea with four lovely blogging chicks. Putting faces to names and having crepes no less!

Then it was off to the Corner Hotel to pay tribute to Linda Geber, who passed away last year just ten days after having her second little girl. The Melbourne music fraternity all came together and put on a great and moving evening. Money raised will give her daughters a good start without their mum.
On the way home we spotted this sign in the back streets of Richmond. Charlie chose this game from a pile of stuff. Talk about reliving some childhood memories.

NEW things.

New Stockist. "Sunnibel" in Currumbin Beach Queensland. Betty Jo goodies arriving early next week.New red shoes. Found on a brief op shop jaunt to the eastern suburbs. (I'm going to have to fight Lily for these).New machine. It sews and everything! My old machine finally blew up in a puff of smoke (literally).

Owls and Bettys

How can one combine three of my favorite things...Owls , aprons, and the name Betty? Well go and visit my nearly namesake Bettyjoy where you will find this very owlie apron. It's perfect for cooking, crafting or hanging out in the vegie garden. Bettyjoy sells plenty of lovely hand made things and also has a blog where she nicely featured a few Betty Jo brooches like Oscar Owl...........Crafty Bettys of the World unite!* And thanks to Little Whippet for providing me with this old saying: "One is pretty, two is nicer and three is a collection".
So it seems there are collections aplenty in the Betty Jo household! Time to get the duster.

Knitting Nancy's

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My 2 knitting Nancy's (top)and some very special items from the flickr pool Spool Knitter.
Having only two does not yet constitute a collection in my book. How many is a collection?
I truly don't have the room for another assembly of trinkets, so stop me if you see me about to acquire some more!

Ship em' out

I didn't realize how much packing of goods is involved in this business. I am for ever wrapping, addressing and posting. I sometimes feel there is as much bubble wrap in my life as there is lino.
And how exciting when I find a huge heap being thrown out. Bubble wrap is a must recycle product for me, can't bear having to buy it.So today this girl is heading off to USA , the cuckoo clock is finding a home via Georgie Love and yesterday a Sunny cloud like this one went to Sunshine, Victoria. What a suitable destination. It was ordered by a lovely girl who used to work for Nylex , so she had a thing about lino!
Another Betty Jo Cuckoo clock has popped up on this brand new blog by my friend Bettina. It's the Pussy Cat Black blog and I'm sure it will be full of juicy tit bits and lovely products available at the very gorgeous Pussy Cat Black shop in Brunswick.

Pinny love

The clever Ms. Curly Pops has devised a lovely way to re purpose tea towels. As I've got a drawer stuffed to capacity with numerous vintage lovelies, I commissioned two aprons from her and here they be. Beautifully crafted!One for my M.i.L. who has made us a Christmas cake in her Mix Master for the last 18 years. And one for my Mum who was a big fan of the Sunbeam Frypan. It even had it's own bench space in our kitchen.The apron represents a conflicting set of ideals for me. I have vivid memories as a child of Dad coming home on payday and Mum holding out her "pinny" while the housekeeping money was dished out into it. It was meant to be a joke, but even as a girl, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable.
I knew I didn't want the bloke to control all the money. I wanted to earn money too.
Luckily I have always been financially independent, and able to contribute to the family coffers.
That said, I love the domesticity of the apron. I'm not that domesticated, but I can dream.......
I've been reading the growing debate around women who are embracing the domestic arts, be they cooking, crafting, or gardening. I don't believe this heralds a return to the days when my Mum held out her pinny, made many of our clothes, baked cakes and cooked regularly in her Sunbeam fry pan. "Pinny porn" is the term that's been bandied around.
I believe it's women making a choice and having the ability to direct their lives in the ways they see fit. Contemporary crafting is clever, healthy and environmentally aware, and not just for the comfortably off, idle women who have nothing better to do. Tanis Taylor sums it well.
So, sorry Germaine, crafting today is modern and progressive, not regressive.
We Craft and love pinnies-so there!
Cute book found at Camberwell market on Sunday. I was a little Elizabeth that helped her Mummy. Look at her gorgeous apron!

Mr. Meddle's Mischief

Last week my son must have been perusing the book case and decided he'd like this book for a bed time story. I was a bit hesitant at first. The delightful Enid had a somewhat dated way with words and I'd been caught out reading Noddy before and finding myself modifying the text as I read.
But I gave it ago and Charlie and I have been chortling with laughter at these very amusing adventures.The irony is that I'm reading "Mr Meddle's Mischief" to a Mr. Mischief who Meddles! But we love em' both!

Thats Where!

A while ago I posed a few questions regarding etsy, treasuries, front page screen shots and such like.
I stumbled onto this in flickr in that strange convoluted way you do on the web. And it has answered most of those questions. I knew if I waited the answer would come. Thanks etsy admin for picking my cuckoo clock and sorry for those snippy emails I sent last year when I couldn't work out how to do a showcase listing.
Now that mystery is solved any ideas for kick starting some sales?
Oh, and check out a bigger version of The Black Apple print on the same page. It's called "The Button Collector" and features the cutest buttony cardigan in the entire universe!

Time is Ticking Away......

OK, I was a bit premature saying things were cranking up slowly. It's not that slow, it's getting busy in fact, which is very good considering it's still holidays for some of us.
Yesterday I picked up 2 good size pieces of this lovely lino from Natalie at Arthur's Circus. It was lining some old kitchen cupboards and is very 40's floral. It also came with this 40's splodgy deer silhouette. (well i think it looks like a deer!)I can see it's going to be very useful for some Betty Jo clocks.Thanks for remembering the "Lino Lady" Natalie. Your shop is looking splendiferous by the way. And, a few select Betty Jo goodies are now available from the Arthur's Circus online store.
Picked up the summer issue of Attitude magazine today and there is a very cool interview with Pip and Amelia from Ambiguous Horse. A few of the jewellers who are part of the Ambiguous Horse stable had their work featured.
If you want to find out more about this great agency (that I'm lucky enough to be a part of) you can read the article by flipping through here.And if you signed up for a Betty Jo Pay it Forward gift....that would be Fi, Ren, and Gillian, keep checking your letterboxes as they are on their way.

Serendipity

Serendipity must be one of the prettiest words in the English language.
Yesterday I recall using the word serendipitous while speaking to a plumber no less.
I think it sums up a lot of Betty Jo's adventures online and in the real world.
On a totally different note, while strolling around the Melbourne Museum today with Lily and Charlie a guy called my name. He was one of my first students. He kissed me and introduced me to his fiance. They were both holding cans of rum and coke and were very happy. He had just got out of jail this morning.
This is me and him on camp at Wilson's Prom. many moons ago.