Thats a wrap

It's Friday.... finally! I apologise if anyone was waiting for photos today, I simply haven't had the time to find any (I have a few but to just post 3 feels a little lame).

Instead, I couldn't help but post about the wonderful new additions to A Gift Wrapped Life (this is her online shop, for the blog click here).

If you're ever stuck in one of those "what to buy someone who has everything" moments and you know they like stationery, gift wrap, ribbon and all manner of beautiful things, here is the solution.

It may seem odd to give someone gift wrapping materials as the actual gift but if the person you giving to is anything like me, they'd think they've died and gone to heaven. Included in this lovely wrapping sets is everything you need to re-create what's in the image. Beautiful paper, quality ribbon, decorative labels and even things like the goregous white paper rose above.

I was so inspired by these adorable packages that I came up with a fabulous idea for an engagement party gift I have to have ready for tomorrow evening. While trawling through Lincraft recently I came up with what I thought was a brilliant and cheap idea for an engagement gift - 2 canvases, paint, first letters of the couple's first names and glue. Get the idea? Well, I did (at least in my head).

Unfortunately, when my man asked what I was doing with armfuls of crafty nick nacks and I explained the concept, he pointed out that the weight of my letters was going to be too heavy for the thickness of my canvases.... ooops. Yes, I could have nailed the letters instead of just glued them but I'd then have to have the letters sitting right over towards the edge of each canvas. Not what I wanted.

And so onto Plan B. I decided to ditch the wooden letters and paint the J and A straight onto the canvas. And since I'm not one for painting the straightest line in the world, I simply typed out the letters I wanted, printed them onto A3 paper, cut them out and traced around each one. To ensure they didn't look like baby blocks I turned one slightly to the left, the other slightly to the right and left the '&' symbol dead straight with each letter so big, it's edges just go over the side of the frame.

After completing the canvases, I was at a total loss as to what to do with the leftover wooden letters I had purchased. Neither my nor my man's name begins with a J or an A and I don't know any other couples who are a 'J & A'. Here's where A Gift Wrapped Life came in. I've always thought adding an embellishment to a gift is almost better than a card - why not take the extra time to make the gift itself look spectacular than spend half an hour in the newsagents looking for an overly priced card that you're only going to end up writing the same thing on it that you did the year previous and the recipient will keep for 2 months then throw out with every other card they've been keeping for the last 10 years.

Lacking in funds, I've armed myself with some brown paper, thick brown twine, black, white & red ribbon (to match the black and white letters I've painted on the canvas) and....... those pesky wooden letters. Once I've wrapped the canvases in brown paper, I intend to paint the wooden letters and attach them with the twine and ribbon. Not only will it stand out against everyone elses gifts but it's handmade and the couple will get to keep the little wooden letters to put somewhere in their apartment.

Once I've actually put the whole thing together, I'll be sure to post some photos. In the mean time, check out the letter canvases (note: these aren't actually complete - if you ever paint a canvas and have some white space, never leave it the white of the canvas, it just looks silly).

And in case you're wondering, no the couple who are receiving the gift don't read this blog so I'm not giving away the idea before I give it to them!

Watch this space for more pics after I've attempted to uniquely gift wrap the aforementioned canvases!

Enjoy your weekend.

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A little bit racy

Today's mood board proudly inspired by Melbourne Cup....ok, so traditionally Derby Day is all about black and white but I do like a bit of monotone every now and again (especially when it's clothing, so easy yet so dramatic). Enjoy and I hope you backed a winner!

Credits

Jodi Gordon: Yahoo7

Hat: OperaScurra on Etsy

Sonia Kruger & Jen Hawkins: Yahoo7

Fascinator: Diva

Outfit: Portmans

White dress: Sportsgirl

Race Day cutie: Ninemsn

Lace dress: Birdie on Etsy

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Another day, another mood board

In the midst of getting ready for work and getting the dog some treats, I was inspired by something in my own house today. The fantastic typewriter I picked up at a garage sale a few weeks back is slowly running out of ribbon but there's just enough left to write funny messages and love notes to my man in the hope that he'll see them when he comes home from Melbourne last night!

I just love the bright yellow and black of my typewriter so thought I'd create a mood board to reflect it (and also to try and encourage the sun to come out in Brisbane since it's been raining all morning!). Enjoy.

Photo credits/items:

Table setting: Design Mom

Jar: Tomato & Cantaloupe Salad from Sunday Suppers

Feather Fascinator: Vie Moderne on Etsy

Necklace: Sweet Surprises on Etsy

Absinthe poster: Blue Dog Posters

Singlet: French Connection

Lady in yellow (and blue): The Satorialist

Jordana Brewster: Popsugar

Bouquet: Green Wedding Shoes

Typewriter: Authors own!

Print: Authors own creation!

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Feeling moody

I felt like creating a mood board this morning. I may have been inspired by the colours I saw on a few houses while sitting in traffic on the way to work..... lots of beige, grey, off white and a little pale pink in some gardens. Enjoy!




Photo credits as follows (from left to right, top to bottom):
Flower print: Etsy
Table setting: Sunday Suppers
Maxi dress: Rose and Ruby
Married couple: 100 Layer Cake (don't you just love her shoes?)
Name necklace: Simply U Jewellery on Etsy - this was an uncanny find.... I love necklaces with names on them and I actually found one with mine and my partners names on it!
Leggings lady: Chictopia
Paris gift tags: Etsy
Chandelier: Etsy
Suitcase: Rubie Green
Fascinator: Marilena Romeo Millinery from Madaboochoo (this is my all time favourite fascinator.... if only I had the $400 to buy it)
Floral skirt: Chictopia
Bouquet: Pink & Purple Petals (if you live in Brisbane and want a good florist, contact Danielle, she is AMAZING!)
Invitation: Mae Mae Paperie
Nicole Richie: Google

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Tonal love

I've gone a little tonal today.... and created a mood board comprising of a few things I've recently bought and a few things I want. Starting at the top, check out this gorgeous little cotton dress I bought over the weekend from Sussan. Yes, you heard right, Sussan! It's no longer the Mumsy store it used to be and this great black and beige printed number is going to be perfect for summer, dressed up or down. Worn with a black waist belt, it's even better and a reasonable price at just $119.95.

With such a versatile dress, I've every intention of wearing it for a number of occasions, the first being Melbourne Cup day at the office - all I need to add is a little fascinator. From one of the millions of talented artists on Etsy, the lovely little number top right is from LiveInStyle, a beautiful store full of feathered head pieces and stunning necklaces. Since the Australian dollar is doing so well at the moment, now's a good time to buy up big in the US - total cost of this peacock feathered headband is only AUS$26. Quite the bargain really, hence the reason I just bought it!

A few other purchase I've made in the last week were a cute sale item from Sportsgirl - a girl can never have too many bangles and this wooden & silver animal print one was just $4.95. Not only was it cheap but it works wonderfully well with a great bargain I purchased on Ebay, a cute grey "faux" leather handbag (unfortunately one's bank account doesn't allow for real leather this month). A low, loow $45.45, it's a great piece for when I'm not wearing any black.

Last but not least, on my wish list are these stunning nude coloured heels from Tony Bianco. With a cute buckle and little bit of texture, they'd look great with a dress or jeans (I've got a few light printed tops they would look stunning with!). The "Erin", $129.95.

The reason for my explanation on vintage you ask (since none of the images in the top picture are technically vintage?). This FABULOUS typewriter I picked up at a garage sale last weekend. All I need is some ribbon and I can spend hours writing silly messages to my bloke for him to find when he walks past it next. All for just $25. Now all I need to do is come up with some witty remarks to type..... suggestions welcome!

Enjoy your weekend!

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Friday photos - mix & match

Today's picks (or pics, however you would like to take the pun) are a bit of a mix of everything, inspired by my new found love of a few blogs I mentioned in my post yesterday.

Of course, there's still a few fashion related images for those of you who might be out and about this weekend doing a spot of shopping like I am. My wonderful Mum is coming to Brisbane for the last few days of the school holidays to do a spot of shopping and to check out Trinny & Susannah at Westfield Chermside on Sunday afternoon (3.30pm if you want to check them out - they're at Carindale at 11am as well).

Lets face it, it's impossible to go past a picture of David Beckham (shirtless or not) without pouring drool all over your keyboard. Or is that just me? Either way, I had to include this smashing image of him at an airport (where he no doubt spends half his life). THAT shirt..... THOSE jeans..... THE Louis bag...... can he do no wrong? Now if only I could get my man into an outfit like that (he may not be a world renowned soccer player but one can dream right?).

Wondering who this lovely young lady is? So am I. That's because I found her on The Satorialist. I am normally one who doesn't mix and match colours in an outfit (ie. if I'm not wearing black, I wouldn't carry a black handbag) but something about this pink dress, those pale shoes and the LV bag just works. The drab black suits around her are helping her stand out like the proverbial but hey, isn't that what most women want?

All I can say is if I look ANYTHING like Faith Hill when I'm her age, I'll be happy (just without the blonde hair and country twang voice). You've got to give her or her stylist props for dressing her in something sophisticated but sexy. Of course we all know you can't go wrong with a black suit but to pair it with a silky unbuttoned shirt and a little "bling" (god I hate that word) hellloooo Mama.

So I've mentioned big necklaces before and if you read fashion magazines or window shop as much as I do, you'll know they are THE accessory for the season. I've been after a "bib" style neckpiece for a few weeks now and Sportsgirl has saved me. Fabulous without being freakishly expensive, this $59.95 stunner is perfect for something that could potentially go out of fashion within weeks. If you're after a cheaper version, Dotti has got a similar shape & look for less (as seen in the November issue of Madison).

Slightly off the fashion topic but still adorable are these fantastic party blowers I found on Utterly Engaged. How great that they give you the instructions on how to make them?! If you've already attempted the gift bow from yesterday I know you're going to love this one... In case you're wondering what velum is, I googled it (having no idea myself) and it looks to be some sort of transperant paper. No doubt your local craft or invitation shop could help you track some down.

I was recently telling a work colleague about my parents old business (anyone know Hatz from Oxford St, Bulimba?) and remembered some of the wonderful feathers my Mum used to use on turbans, hair accessories and hats. They started out collecting the dropped feathers from the cages at a pheasant farm but soon realised the accessories were in such high demand, they needed to buy the birds and pluck the feathers themselves (I have heard stories that they would hang them up on the clothesline out the back of our Bardon house and lop the heads off, pluck the feathers, then have the animal for dinner!). This got me to thinking about the fascinators that are everywhere at the moment for the summer racing season.

There's something to be said for making your own piece of headwear and when I saw these pictures from an overseas company, Bando, I couldn't help but think back to my Mum's feather collecting days. The contrast of brown & beige feathers with the aqua of the bead is to die for. I'd wear this with a beige dress and accessorise with a big aqua ring and maybe matching necklace. The gorgeous model even looks like a girl who used to pose for my Mum's business..... uncanny!

Last but by no means least today, a wonderful image from Blue Dog Posters. If you're after cheap and fantastic posters for yourself of for a gift, these guys are worth checking out. This great Guiness number is just $11 without a frame (not including postage). Get yourself a cheap Ikea or Target frame or send it off to a professional and whola! Cheap & cheerful gift for someone special. Thanks to my Mum for passing these guys onto me. I'm highly considering purchasing myself an Breakfast At Tiffany's poster after the last one I had mysteriously ended up with little holes in it after I found the dog walking around our spare room..... seems our pup isn't a fan of Ms Hepburn.....

Enjoy your weekends, whether your hot (Brisbane), windy (Melbourne) or anywhere in between (the rest of the country!).

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Blogs worth checking out

So I've been doing a lot of surfing on the information superhighway lately and have come across some fantastic new blogs. Due to my Internet Explorer Favourites getting to be a list as long as about 100 laptop screens, I've started writing them down in a notebook to refer back to. The only problem with this of course is I forget to check them for updates as they're not staring me in the face every lunch time when I sit down to have a sandwich and search the world wide web.


And so today I'm going to post a few blogs that are worth checking out - each one a little quirky, fun and different in their own kind of way.



Free Range Duck
First up is a hilarious website I found whilst looking for some vector images for a work project. I searched for stickers on Vecteezy. I found some. I also found some weird duck images that were totally unrelated but decided to download them anyway. I noticed the web address. Free Range Duck.


A cool project designed to get the cutest little duck image spread to every corner of the globe. I now have my own Free Range Duck on my partition wall at work and intend on taking him for a few escapades around Brisbane to send over to the crew at Free Range Duck. What fun. Completely pointless but fun. Tell me you're not laughing at the hilarious photos from the Secret Garden Party of ducks offering free hugs, right?!




Black Eiffel
I'm a sucker for all things design related - always wishing I'd actually gone to university after high school and studied it (instead of trying to fit in a college course part time while working at the age of 27). I'm also a sucker for a blog with beautiful photos and great links to websites that fill me with inspiration and ideas for things I can make (or design on the computer). I've just started drawing and creating images to start making my own cards for gifts and found a tonne of inspiration on a new blog I came across, Black Eiffel.


You can tell from the first image on the site that Rachel the writer is a graphic designer - her choice of images and words make you want to read through her posts for hours. I also love that she mixes her choice items to post - fashion, photography, music, design and more. One for the list.

How About Orange

So this was actually one of those "stumbled across it through a series of links and found a cool idea" type blogs. I haven't spent much time on the blog How About Orange itself but I noticed it had the BEST idea for crafty types who want to save money, like wrapping gifts creatively and love the adoration when someone comments on how lovely the present is (and they don't want to unwrap it). This is me in a nutshell by the way.

Have you ever wondered how the hell those big bows at the newsagent are made and never just took the time to pull one apart and work it out yourself? (I also can never find the ribbon they use anywhere - can you tell I've tried?). Well, fear not, here is the solution to your craft problems. Grab an old magazine, find a nicely coloured page, cut into strips as instructed, a few pieces of sticky tape and........ tah dah! You've got yourself the cheapest gift bow ever and you've recycled at the same time (ok, so the cost of the magazine may have been twice that of a bow from the newsagent but how many pages are there in the magazine you can make these from?).

Here are the instructions on how to make the bows yourself - and in case you don't have a ruler with inches, here is a quick inches to centimetres calculator.

In case you're wondering, yes I have attempted a bow already. And yes, I did intend on taking a photo and posting it but since it didn't look as nice as the one in the above pictures I decided I'd wait till I get better at it.

Design Mom

I also have to give a shout out to the wonderful Design Mom. I have mentioned her in a few post before but without a doubt, this is one of the coolest blogs I've come across since starting my own. Another designer by trade, the things Gabrielle creates for her kids and the parties she puts together are just wonderful. Should I ever have children, these are the sorts of things I've every intention of doing with them! (even though no doubt at the age of 3 years they are too young to appreciate a fully coloure coordinated get together).

You also have to admire her ability to do all this with 5 children (soon to be 6 as she recently announced she is pregnant again!). Some of the most wonderful images were for her daughters Maude's 10th birthday - a Young Einstein party, just delightful! What 10 year old wouldn't want to eat "brain" cupcakes and make cool science experiments? Not to mention the groovy gifts all the kids went home with (check out the covered clipboards - such a great idea).

I've loads more links to blogs and websites and the like but unfortunately, not enough time to list them so I hope you enjoy at least one of my pick from today. If you have a blog you think I should link to, feel free to comment or send me an email (over to the right is a link to my email address).

Till next time.....

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I've fallen in love with Lonny

That's right. I've fallen in love with an online magazine.

While flicking through a new favourite blog Black Eiffel I came across this wonderful home/design/decoration magazine called Lonny.

I'm a big magazine junkie which I blame my mother for (50 to 100 copies of Vogue in the house at any given time) but I just haven't gotten into the world of online magazines because you can't sit down with a cuppa, feel the gorgeous glossy paper in your hands or turn page corners down when you find something you like. Yes, I know you can pop your laptop on your knees whilst on the couch and click to turn the page but it's just not the same.

What sucked me in most about this online mag was the people's houses featured in the Fall issue (it's American) have decor and homewares that aren't all worth over $5,000 - and that's just for a lamp shade.

Vogue Living and the like are what I call "scratchie" mags. As in, if you ever win $25,000 on a scratchie you might actually be able to afford some of the items in the magazine. Lonny shows you that the right mix of antique pieces (yes, they can be cheap) and chain store finds can actually make your place look like it should be in the next issue.

I'm also a sucker for photographs of people in their own home with their beautiful pets. People aren't the only ones who make a house a home. The best part of my day is the minute I walk in the door to see my man and our dog waiting to greet me with a mouth full of drool (the dog that is).

The positives of this online magazine though - you can have your lunch break at your desk and read it while enjoying your sandwhich. Even better, check your emails on a Saturday morning over breakfast and flick through it then.

Well worth the read and with barely any ad pages (which we love!) get onto Lonny now and be inspired!

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Friday photos - pay day purchases

Family comes before blog.... so in light of my trip to the coast tomorrow to catch up with my lovely Grandma for lunch, I'm posting my photos today.

And this week instead of celeb style, I'm going to let you in on what's on my list of things to buy when pay day hits (after I've paid for my Big Day Out ticket of course - mental note, don't bother to get up at midnight to try and score tickets, 9am the next day on Ticketmaster is much easier).

Anyone who knows me won't be surprised I've got a few items on my list from Witchery considering about 90% of my wardrobe is from there. I've got my eye on the Skinny Tough Love jeans ($129.95), a lovely black and white silk blouse ($139.95), some nice casual utility pants ($109.95) - a great alternative to jeans, and to jump on the White Shirt Campaign bandwagon, the most devine necklace & tank combo ($149.95) - the necklace is detachable so it's like you get two outfits in one!

There's plenty more in the latest release of items both online and instore at Witchery so get yourself in for a look see. They've got some gorgeous beach clothes (a few skirts I have my eye on) plus new season shoes and accessories that are on the list for next month!

Also worth a look at their new season stock is French Connection. These guys can be a bit hit and miss but a lot of this seasons summer pieces are more hit.

I'm loving their dresses and tunics especially with this cute black & white print one coming in at under $100, bargain (Under the Sea tunic $99.95). Another cute tunic that could be the perfect addition to my wardrobe to go with leggings when it's a little on the cooler side is the Polished tunic ($79.95). Their Tom Tom pants in black are also a great option if you want the skinny look with wearing jeans ($119.95) and their wrapped disc necklace would love great with a crisp white singlet or T and jeans ($69.95).

Among a tonne of other shops in and around Brisbane, there is plenty more out there that I've got my eye on but with Christmas now not far away and a few too many festivals to have to save for, I'll have to try and keep my spending to a minimum for a few more months.....

Enjoy your weekends whatever you're doing - I'll be spending a lot of time in front of the TV cheering on Holden at Bathurst (yes, I'm a bogan at heart).

Till next time.....

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Easiest & best summer drink..... EVER

What you need:
- A free Sunday afternoon
- Some great beats cranking out of the stereo/mp3 player
- A few friends/family members (unless you want to enjoy this on your own, then grab a book or magazine)

- Bundaberg Ginger Beer
- Vodka (brand is up to you)
- Handfuls of mint (loads of 'em)
- Ice
- Small tumblers

What to do:
- Turn on music
- Place ice in tumbler
- Pour shot of vodka (or more if you have the day off on Monday)
- Place handful of chopped mint leaves in glass
- Fill glass with Bundaberg Ginger Beer
- Find yourself a seat
- Chill......

Best served with your choice of canapes/nibblies (rice paper rolls are quite good with this, load 'em up with corriander and you'll get double the herb hit).

If this isn't the best drink you have all summer, I'm not a 27 year old chick living in Brisvegas.

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