Crown Jewels

Ok, This is about as Royal as it gets at our place. A vintage souvenir tea caddy and a lovely picture book. But because I have a soft spot for Betty Windsor, and it is her strapping grandson's special day, I made a crown for her to wear.
If your reading this Betty, I'll pop it in the post later today. Let me know if I should send it to the palace or the castle.

Beach Rainbows

Eww, I have never seen Elwood Beach so rubbishy as it was on the weekend. More plastic than sand in parts. I picked up so much that these pictures are only a small portion.

There is a brand of cola that needs to have it's own red lid display as there were so many of them.

All I can say is poor marine animals. Our kids don't have much to look forward to in this disposable world if this is what we leave behind today.

Colour Kitten Giveaway!

I think it's about time for another GIVEAWAY on Lino Forest! To celebrate the launch of The Colour Kitten, and just in time for Mother's Day (two weeks away) I am giving you the chance to win a Colour Collage brooch of your choice.

The Colour Kitten is a new range of colourful collage jewellery by Betty Jo. Each piece is totally unique, made from a selection of my bric-a-brac treasures. Perfect for jazzing up your cardigan, coat, or scarf!
Just leave a comment nominating your colour of choice. And for an etsy bonus, all brooch orders in the next two weeks will come with a colour collage gift card!NOTE: I will draw the winner on Monday evening 2nd May!

You say Fun, I say Funny.

In blogging land we all love a good adjective. I just discovered a comprehensive list here if you ever get stuck for that perfect descriptive word.
BUT, there is a word that is regularly used to describe my work and it's not on this list.
The word is "FUN".

According to this website "There is a tendency in English to make nouns into adjectives. Sometimes this is necessary because there is no related adjective and the word does not sound right when a suffix is added to it. However, sometimes this is done because of a misunderstanding of the language. One such misunderstanding is the use of the word fun."
But I'm not sure I'd prefer people to use the correct description. Is my work Funny? Mmmmm.
I laugh a little when ever "NEAT" is used too. My work isn't that neat? I reckon it's a bit on the messy side.
But I really like the adjective "OFFBEAT" Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: . It conjures up images of beatniks and bohemians going against the norm and searching for a unique way of living and creating outside of the bourgeois mainstream culture.

I was kindly invited to share pics. of my place on a popular American blog "Offbeat Homes".
Alas, I don't live like a beatnik (anymore!) and I think the term bohemian has been so watered down that almost everyone can identify with something of a bohemian lifestyle. But Offbeat I like!

So there you have it. My Funny, Messy, Offbeat "Contemporary Bohemian" contribution to the world wide web.

Egg on your face!

I hit the supermarket tonight to get some emergency chocolate egg supplies just in case the Easter bunny boycotts our place. For the first time in over a dozen years we are now a family of non-believers. Charlie kind of mumbled he thinks the Easter bunny is not true a little while ago, softly so the mystical rabbit wouldn't hear. So we'll see if he still comes on Sunday.
I have catered for everyone in the household except me. I'm on the 12 step program from Chocoholics Anonymous, and have only fallen off the wagon a few times since December. Once being when I found myself in Haigh's in town leaving with a bag of their choccy teddies!

This Easter my eggs of choice will be free range: scrambled, fried or broochy!1. Fried Egg Brooch Scotatto 2.Nesting Mama Brooch -Betty Jo Designs
3.Chicken or Egg Brooch -Betty Jo Designs 4..Boiled Egg and Soldier Brooch Love from Hetty & Dave.

P.S. I just made my first Etsy Treasury! Nobody told me that making a treasury is so much fun.....Happy Easter holidays to one and all!!!!!

Colour Splash

A few newbies now available at "The Colour Kitten"You may know my book of inspiration is "The Colour Kittens" by Margaret Wise Brown.
Margaret (or Brownie as her friends called her ) had a facinating and tragic life which you can read about here.

Who's Bag?

This is my lovely new hand crafted bag. Made by Beccasauras. My big girl has commandeered my first Beccasauras bag, so after finding a pretty tapestry for the front and a sweet vintage sheet for the back , I organised a trade. A bag for a brooch...I like the sound of that!

Speaking of bags and brooches, "Aunty Mabel's Handbag Brooch" is not just for Aunty Mabel.
You can get one for yourself from Betty Jo's etsy store or on Georgie Love.

And this beautiful bag is Nikki's. Or was Nikki's. It's now on the wanted list. I think the devious thief who stole it from under Nikki's very eyes at the Quilting Show should be on the wanted list. I'm sure the whole crafty community out there would like to lynch this no morals individual.

I had a brooch stolen from the Stitches and Craft Show once and it was very disappointing. (especially as I had stayed up late the night before making it!), but it didn't mean as much to me as this bag means to Nikki. If you see it, tell the person it aint theirs!!!

The Colour Kitten

"The Colour Kitten" is a new little venture that was born out of my collections of coloured bric-a-brac (that I have been photographing since 2009) and the need to do something else creative with it all.

It has also been kick started by some crafty workshops that I will be taking in a few months.
Stay tuned for updates, especially if you like to collect things, arrange and assemble things or, dare I say it, hoard things. Even if you don't have the *collecting* gene in your DNA that's OK . There will be lots of instant collections to work with!And speaking of Collections I now possess a copy of Lisa Congdon's book "A Collection A Day"
Alas I didn't win it, but never the less am suitably happy, goodly inspired, certainly jealous of her cool vintage stuff, and am sure to dip into it now and then to let the greatness rub off onto me!

Think Pink

The fifth in the series "small stuff ".

Hmm what else is five? Oh yes, did you know it's Georgie Loves fifth Birthday? Sally has been at the helm of this fantastic online store that promotes and sells local handmade products for five whole years. Great going Georgie and Sally!
To celebrate, everything in the store is a huge 20% off untill the end of April. Just use the code "weare5" at the checkout to get the discount!
Here are some pinky party products from Georgie Love to get you in the Birthday mood!
1.1960s Pink Ruffle Party Dress Erin Pipes 2.Have a Bite Cupcake Brooch Betty Jo Designs

3.Time for Tea Pendant Dick & Dora 4.Vintage Pink Denim Skirt Pearl & Elspeth

Put a Hex on You!

How chilly have the nights been getting! I've had to pull out my woolly blankies and cosy socks to warm me up in bed. As it happens one of my blankets turned out to be a bit of inspiration for some new brooches.

The hexagon shape is not very original I know. Patchworking peeps have been using it with spectacular results for decades.

But I have given them my own twist with layered vintage lino and op shopped button from my collection.
As I hand cut them (without a pattern) they are all a wee bit wonky. So sorry to all you mathematicians out there, I'm not majorly precise, but you get the idea.

I remembered I had kept this very sweet babies patchwork rug (sadly all my bubbus are big now) which has been constructed entirely from small hand-pieced hexagons. Such pretty fabric, and all hand stitched. Maybe it can be transformed into a cushion.

Owl Never Leave You

It certainly looks like the Owl motif will never leave us. Check out some of these recent collections by Jill Stewart,

and Alpha 60.

The website My Owl Barn is always bursting at the seams with new Owl themed products, even featuring some Owlie Makin' Aussies.
So lets give a cheer for the dependable old Owl. It just keeps reinventing itself over and over popping up on every thing from cooking utensils to knickers!
To show my appreciation for the Owl's longevity, I am having a Two for One Sale of Owl Brooches and Pendants in my Shop. Or you can just contact me via the blog if you want to pick up a nice little bargain.

Hang in There

The set of ducks are finished. If you would like me to custom make you a set using my big selection of vintage lino, just contact me.

I picked up these vintage pennants from the Fitzroy Market last weekend from a friend with a great stall of retro goodies. Now I just have to get ruthless with a hammer and hooks on my freshly painted walls to hang the ducks and my funky pennant bunting.
Before the walls were patched and painted I wouldn't think twice about bashing a few nails in the wall to hang stuff. Now I have to think about it carefully, very unlike me.

Mexican Duck Soup

After the disappointment of yesterday (which I'm well and truly over by the way) I thought I would write about some happy things that have happened lately.

Today I am happy to be wearing my sweetly embroidered Mexican dress that I bought at a garage sale last year.I finally got around to sewing in the seams so it fits me (it was size 18-20). Perfect for this sunny Melbourne day.

Last week I spied some wooden flying duck shapes over on Handmade Life.Thanks Ramona for sharing.
Then Cam got her detective hat on and tracked some down nearby and not only got some for herself, but purchased some for me. Nice huh!

This is the first guy of the set hanging with his Trixie Delicious "Legless" pal. His two smaller brothers will be coming soon!

Last Friday I had a lovely time visiting Dawn Tan's Pop-Up Shop at Harvest Textiles. There was bubbly, and soup, and chocky chip biccies! And lots of beautiful illustrations. Now I own this wonderful hand printed Vegy Soup tea towel designed by Dawn that is hanging on my kitchen door (no dish wiping with this baby!)

So Close........

Last night I received this email ....."I’m pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as one of the winners of the Your Prized Collections contest on marthastewart.com.Please fill out the attached form and email it or fax it back to me at your earliest convenience. As soon as you do so we’ll be able to get to work on your prize (Lisa Congdon will be illustrating your collection and sending this off to you with a new copy of her book)."
I think you could safely say I did a little happy dance and quickly went to print my form.
Then...CRAP. It is only open to residents of the USA. Typically Liz didn't read the pesky terms and conditions (who does?). When I saw the link to this on Lisa's twitter I raced over and entered and not once looked to see if it was for USA residents only. Nothing jumped out at me saying so, so I posted my pics, and then didn't think much about it till now.
Now I am so disappointed. And my sucky email was kindly but brusquely disregarded.
Oh well , the added irony is I'd JUST bought Lisa's book on etsy about 3 hours before this email arrived.
Anyway this is the image that would have been illustrated by Lisa Congdon.....:(

Stuff with Owls

I noticed some cute owl game pieces on Curly Pops blog. I was lucky enough to score some and they are helping me plan some colourful activities.
Don't tell Charlie I have *borrowed* his MouseTrap mice.

COLOUR!

This week I have been having fun playing with colour. Inspired by these cute kittens.

I can safely say this favorite childhood book was a trigger for my love of colour. As a little girl I would never have imagined what a huge part colour has played in my life.

I have never been what you would call obsessive compulsive. But when it comes to my huge collection of buttons,beads and trinkets my innate categorizing gene becomes active and I have to sort! Unfortunately this trait doesn't spill over into everyday life. My world is a mix of messy paperwork, neglected housework, and an untidy house...but at least the buttons are organised.