Hong Kong Bargains....

Some op shop oddments I picked up the other day...all lovingly made in Hong Kong. If you happen to see me in an op shop buying anymore bric-a-brac please tell me to stop.....
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These blow up hangers do come in handy.

In the 60's you collected these cards from WeetBix then sent 3/- for your VistaScreen to view them in 3D.
A girlfriend for "Little Barry" (Mr BJ's baby toy).

You had to be Quick!

These gorgeous screen printed off cuts from Made with Love by Hannah were made up into swatch bundles and listed in her etsy shop. Within a blink of an eye they were gone, but I reckon if you keep an eagle eye peeled there will be more. I can see bits of my skirts in amongst these yummy selections.
Check out her fantastic skirts and knick knack art while you're there. I've acquired these lovelies in the past few years!

Drowning in a sea of Craft.....

Firstly, a BIG thank you to Nikki for hosting a lovely bloggers morning tea yesterday. It was fun talking craft with some very creative women in Nikki's ACE studio. I came away inspired , but also left with the feeling that if you haven't found your niche or creative pathway, you could easily drown in the sea of craft markets, magazines, blogs and online shops, not to mention the social networking sites that swirl around like miniature Bermuda triangles, sucking you into their vortex.
I'd like to do a few markets this year, but am swamped with the choice. Everyone I've spoken to has a differing view point regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the numerous Craft markets in Melbourne. So if you have some advice, please let me know! (especially about Magnolia Square!!!!).
Now it's a well known fact that if you like to be crafty , you should start a blog to document your "journey" and share with other like minded people. Great, but I sometimes feel I'm floundering in a sea of blogs that I don't have time to read. And I really like reading them, but know I should be doing a million other things instead, so feeding the kids will usually get preference! Oh, and Betty Jo stuff of course.
The magazine thing is another problem. I would love to buy them all. So setting aside a bit of time to flick through the most inspiring ones in a good newsagent usually turns out to be my best option!
How does everyone else "manage " their crafty worlds? I've never been one for following formulas, so my random, do what I can do at the time approach is the way I go about it. And I haven't even mentioned the looming issue of updating my Etsy shop. Ahhhggg.

Scottie Spotting

I was reading an article about Polyvore in the Age last Friday (from the L.A. Times) and am determined not to get sucked in by it's designing charms. I like looking though and just sometimes discover a Betty Jo brooch "borrowed" from Moose or GeorgieLove. It's fine by me if this happens as it always links back to the source, although some people on Etsy weren't so happy about it.

Scottie by ytoowlmcb
Not so sure about this one.....

Happy Australia Day! by miss bryn :)
Speaking of Scottie spotting, The Moose ad in the new Frankie magazine has a lovely spread of products.In fact I spotted several familiar jewellery items scattered through the pages of Frankie. As usual, I always look at the jools first. So don't be alarmed if ever we meet I'm checking out your coat lapel or neck as we speak!

Hotties!

Firstly, I'm sorry if the title of my last post was a bit misleading. No, there are no human babies arriving anytime soon at our place. But nicely enough on the same day this lovely Byron Bay blogger announced her really wonderful baby news. And I know of several other expecting bloggy mums to be. So hooray for real babies and camera babies too.
Now don't be misled by the title of this post. I am proud to be a hottie girl (as opposed to an electric blanket fancier). Our friend Mandy knitted these hottie covers for a wedding present for Mr. BJ and I.

As they are now over 16 years old and a little threadbare, it's time I got me some new ones.

I really like the snuggly patch worked blanket ones by Fontok.
And Gaye Abandon has some cosy Hottie Jumpers ( made from upcycled 2nd hand jumpers).

A cute hottie cover from LaBaleineaPlumes might do the trick for chilly toes.
Or maybe I should knit my own. Pattern for this gorgeous one from lisagrace.

New Baby!

I set out yesterday to bring home my new baby. His name is Canon ESO 1000D. Cute name hey.
I hit High St. Northcote to go and adopt my new guy from here. But first popped into the market at the Northcote Uniting Church where I caught up with the chilly but still in good spirits CurlyPops, Finki and PollyPratt. Then another quick look at the market in the Northcote Town Hall. Much cosier for the stall holders there with the heaters on!So at last some better (hopefully) pics. to post. If I can wrestle the camera away from Lily (who commandeered it immediately and took these shots). Now I just have to read the manual like the nice guy in the shop told me to. I usually can't abide reading instructions. I always seem to waste time with trial and error. Although the other day I dug out the manual for the washing machine and saved myself $100 for a tradesman to tell me it was beeping because the pipe was blocked. A good lesson for all of us!

Betty Jo Out and About....

Look, there's the lovely Megan from The Cats Meow selling some Betty Jo Designs. These pics. are gracing the pages of the Jetstar in flight magazine. They are from an article about Melbourne's charming Arcades and Laneways. Angela from Three Buttons nicely alerted me to this, as she has been Jetstarring to and from Japan. Check out her drool worthy images on her blog of Japanese loveliness from her travels.
Dragstar have a great store in King St. Newtown and a very cute website. This Betty Jo brolly pops up in their "Just In" section...then disappears, and reappears over and over!

Do you have the Sniffles?

Two new extremely politically incorrect brooches from Sniffle Co.
Even though I am a cigarette nazi, a greenie, a vegetarian, and an animal lover, I can't help liking these. Oh, and I refuse to buy rainbow hued cereal for my kids to eat but would happily have it in the house for crafty projects and photo shoots. The artificial colours are just so um, festive!One of my lovely stockists "Kids in Berlin" (a selection of their goodies pictured above) also stocks Sniffle Co. and has had their cute doggy icon made into a Sniffle Co. brooch.

More Snow Globes

For a lovely girl and her sister.

Snow in a Globe

It was 2 degrees this morning. Chilly, icy, probably snowing in the mountains. I can't see myself getting to the Snow fields anytime soon (my skiing days are well and truly over, I like my bones not broken thanks very much.)
The last time we went I figured for the cost of getting there, kitting us all out, chains, park fees, lifts, food, accommodation etc. we could have gone up north and been warm.
I believe the purpose of snow globes are to provide you with a wintry wonderland, without the frostbite.
From top left: 1.Betty Jo designs Snow Globe.2. Walter Martin & Paloma Munoz beautiful handmade Snow Globe. 3.BlackCherry Art Lino Print Snow Globe. 4. Betty Jo Designs Owl Snow Globe.

Good Guys

These Day of the Dead skull badges were my first commission by a guy. Happy to report they were given the thumbs up. Thanks Kevin.I finally spotted my first Junky Projects lamp post face in a Fitzroy side street. Mr. Junky Projects describes himself as an"enigmatic street art avenger who creates creatures from the debris of society,then resurrects them onto wooden telegraph poles and other forgotten places around the globe,(well around Australia so far). all my work is made entirely from recycled or found objects except the nails, i can never find enough nails. "
I've had Jarvis Cocker's new album "Further Complications" on high rotation. I have a bit of a thing for the droll and dapper Jarvis. In the 90's I worked at the Bead Company in Enmore right next to the Enmore Theatre so I often scored free tickets. As I was wandering down the back lane behind the shop, who should be out there milling around after sound check...Jarvis! I smiled. And enjoyed the Pulp gig that much more later that evening.
And I have just discovered this amazing fact. Wes Anderson is directing a stop-motion animation movie of Roald Dahls Fantastic Mr.Fox. Look who doing the voices. Jarvis is the voice of Petey (a role created just for him) and has written music for the sound track...Perfection.I have just finished reading this book to Charlie and can't tell you how much I still love it.

The Colourful Kitchen

The Flickr group "The Colourful Kitchen " sums up my kitchen pretty well. Perhaps a little too colourful for some, but I've never been a slate grey kinda girl. Note my brand spanking new floral potholder. A surprise gift from CurlyPops.Last week I got a box full of Marguerite Pattern's recipe cards circa 1967. Any idea of what I can do with over 1000 of these. Other than use them for actual cooking. Although the bacon and eggs recipe would be useful for someone I know.

Wise Choice!

The 100th person to become a fan of Betty Jo Designs on Facebook wins an Owl brooch like Orlando. Woo Hoo! Orlando Owl lino badge by Betty Jo Designs, Made with a mix of retro lino, buttons and other found objects by Liz Jones of Betty Jo Designs. Each one is produced by hand and has its own quirky character. ...From Inside Out blog.

EDIT Congrats and thanks go to Lisa for being the 100th fan. And to the others as well. xxx
I like these impromptu giveaways....look out for more in future!

Small World

Since taking the photos of the beach plastic I picked up on Sorrento and Portsea back beaches, I've had a look around for other artists who took their beach scavenging to another level.Plastic found by Richard and Judith Selby Lang on Kehoe Beach.Beach family by Virginhoney.Beach necklace by Becky Crawford.
While browsing in my favorite Sorrento bookshop "Antipodes" last Saturday I picked up the exhibition catalogue of the Rosalie Gascoigne retrospective I went to earlier this year. This was so inspiring, I've never stopped thinking about it. So now I have the beautiful glossy publication to keep me inspired.Maze by Rosalie Gascoigne (linoleum on road signs)

Beach Combing...

For many years I have been an avid beach comber. Driftwood, sea-washed glass, ship wreak china. Most of this beachy stuff ended up in some kind of decorative item of the mosaic persuasion.
Much of this weekend just gone was spent walking along the gorgeous ocean beaches of the Mornington Peninsular, and as usual my eyes were drawn to the sand. And I couldn't believe the amount of plastic stuff that was washed up amongst the seaweed. It didn't belong, so it came home with me in a rubbish bag. But then the pretty colours were itchin for a quick sorting.....Can you spy the princess, the angels wing, the barbie handbag and the ninja in amongst the flotsam and jetsam?

Flying Ducks

Artdecadence fabric Flying DucksGuinipig wall paper Flying Ducks.
Betty Jo lino Flying Ducks.The original kind. Looking right at home with Tretchikoff's Lady of the Orient. via Vintage-kat.
Now off for a long weekend...see you next week.