My Creative Space 'around this handmade country of ours'

Greetings all,
Another Thursday, another Creative Space. 
This week we're going on a trip around Australia, starting with the creative space my children have made on the floor.  How about these these amazing Miller Goodman wooden shapes from Lark in Victoria.  Not only are they divine to touch, look at & play with, the creations are limitless with curves, eyes & colours!!  This 'elf' was something girl child number 3 came up with.  In her words "adorable", i agree!!  Expect many more creations in the Easter school holidays, which for the Australian Capital Territory, start a WEEK after Easter, go figure??   

Now to Sheep's Clothing in Victoria, i asked gorgeous Stacey to create a red, white & blue beanie to match my son's Country Road scarf from last Winter, we LOVE the results.  It was a 35C day when i asked him to model, thus bare chest (actually because it's Stacey, make that a Bear Grylls chest, giggles!!)  I'm a long time fan of Sheep's Clothing, thus our collection of beanies for the children, BIG fans.  Sweet Stacey popped in 4 extra brooches too with my latest order, so generous & kind!!

Now over to the lovely Gilly from Koo-Toor Creations in Western Australia who knitted this gorgeous scarf for the HeadsUp @Calvary Hospital - a great shop offering head dress options to ladies suffering hair loss during chemo!!  Donations of fabric for chemo cushions, scarves, beanies, all very welcome.  Thanks Gilly, it's so incredibly kind of you to send a donation to the other side of the country.  It's so beautifully presented & thoughtful!!

I'm testing a pattern for a cute pull-a-long doggy for Craft Schmaft in New South Wales.  I'll let you know how i go, thanks for picking me Claire, a non softie maker, but want to be at heart!!

Now down to Art Viva in Tasmania who make the most gorgeous knitting needles from Tasmanian Oak, available in these fun tubes too.  They were a huge hit at Handmade Market, well actually every market i've taken them too. 

These cushions are technically on their way to the Northern Territory, however, being delivered to the Central Coast NSW on the way up.  Farewell to my lovely school mummy friend/ Navy wife Jenna, all the best in the Darwin with your family, we'll miss you.  Hope your auntie loves these cushions, 'Owl Good' are they??!!

Now back to Canberra, where i've spent the last 3 days doing Easter Egg Decorating at Creative Clubs with year 3 at school.  One daughter was doing Easter Craft - nothing says Easter like a hot pink flamingo??!!  Her twin sister made a traditional Easter Egg basket with painted/ dyed/ patterned & crayoned eggs.  Only some workmen knocked them over & cracked the eggs (hard boiled but still, crushing, literally) & there were tears!!  I was working with a lovely teacher who is from Finland, she rather enjoyed my simple, bold, colourful style, yippee!! 

Back to the reality of orders, housework & preparing a trip to Sydney on Friday to see the family.  We are not religious, but we have a dozen Aries birthdays to celebrate so big weekend with the family!!  Do your children understand the story of Easter??  My 6y.o. told me it was "when God came out from under a rock to go on an Easter Egg hunt".  Close but no cigar matey & i'm afraid, no help from me!!  I'm off to see Allie's Attic Market in Mosman this Saturday, love my Corrie from Retro Mummy & Katia from Plushka, plus many more.  Shall blog on Monday!!  Love Posie

are you ready to SHOP?? SHOP Handmade all year round??!!

Greetings all,
Super exciting behind the scenes snaps at Shop Handmade, which is opening on Friday 16th April!!  I was allowed in, because i have a clue with an Allen key & BYO power drills.  So this is what i can show you so far . . .(please excuse my 9a.m. photos on an overcast morning) . . . coming soon posters teasing the foot traffic . . .

the totally ace 'point of sale counter' . . .

mannequins waiting for a makeover in the large Shop windows & tables ready for products . . .

Shop Handmade on City Walk Civic, opposite the Myer corner of the Canberra Centre . . .

near these stairs, Design a Bunch Florist & Sour Cherry cafe & the casino . . . oh how i'd love to paint a giant Shop Girl & arrow on these stairs!!

If you want to have your handmade products in a beautifully laid out store with happy, friendly & informed handmade loving staff, where you lease a shelf & receive 100% of your sales in the Shop, join in the amazing Shop Handmade - the retail Shop spin off the amazing super popular quarterly Handmade Market which has an incredible reputation & following.  Email Julie & Rachel at Shop Handmade for details NOW.  Prices are as low as $25 per week, incredible, the foot traffic is brilliant, but Shop Handmade will soon become a destination shopping experience.  Don't delay & miss out, it's an awesome opportunity.  Love Posie
EDIT: i should further add, interstate handmade designers are welcome at Shop Handmade, you don't have to be a Handmade Market stall designer to apply.  It's a neat way for you to tap into the faithful following the Handmade Market has, without living or doing the market here in Canberra. 
Spaces include rack/ wall/ table top/ shelves/ cubes/ floor & Shop window options!!  Ask for the Designers' Policy, it's so clear, comprehensive & fabulously well written, gosh, what super clever person wrote that i wonder??

Handmade Market all wrapped up for the quarter & another success!!

Greetings all,
I can & do & will continue to go on & on about the success of the Handmade Market in Canberra.  It's just quarterly, it's only 6 markets old yet continues to blow stall holders, customers, media & the most discerning "isn't handmade craft still daggy" kind of doubters away with crowds, sales, atmosphere & the love of all things handmade.  In a city vineyard location, beautiful weather & enthusiastic shoppers, it was for me, the best single market day ever!!  What a boost to my family's bottom line, you can have new shoes children!! 
I will be forever grateful that people like Julie Nichols exist.  When Julie turned her PR, marketing & creative genius to founding this Handmade Market in November 2008, it became a phenonenom - the last 4 markets had crowds of over 10 000 people!!   

My stall neighbours under the trees - scuptures & water features (this one sold at $5.5K) & wood turning display.  Who knew a combination of patchwork, woodwork & water features would work so well??  Um, Julie!!

This gorgeous white painted bird feeder came home with me along with a 9' post to perch it on & everyone thought the bird houses (on posts, looking divine) were part of my display or merchandising, he he!!  Well now they can be.  I imagine gazing at this while i'm at the clothes line, pretending i'm in the Hamptons, NOT Canberra!! 

My patchwork quilt stand worked a treat, recycled poles from broken clothes racks, $11 on wood (included cutting) & a new $15 drill bit, voila, quilt stand!!  Sold 4 quilts too, including the one from Cosmo Magazine, yahoo!!  This craft cupboard display was so easy to set up in no time.  Washi tapes were very popular too!!

Thank you & good bye Market Girl, see on Saturday 5th June, another Winter Warmer, non??

It was so exciting to meet lots of bloggers too, Liz from Lino Forest - we both had ace Betty Jo lino creations on, loved Liz's energy & vibe, up from Melbourne with her Mum; then lovely Lisa from The Red Thread - with a super nice friend, checking out the market, down from Sydney.  Plus a blogger friend via the phone, how cute is Sheridan from ChaletGirl - sent a friend to buy something, anything from me.  Also Sue, the clever brains behind HeadsUp @Calvary Hospital (head dresses for chemo gals)!!  Got to love this blogging world!! Really appreciate you coming along to say hello, you all must come & join in the Handmade mania too!!   Lots of other nice crafty bloggers had stalls at Handmade too (love you Corrie from Retro Mummy & Katia from Plushka) - great to see you here.
If you're not up for a market in Canberra, consider Shop Handmade, puttnig your handmade stock in a beautiful retail space in the heart of Canberra's shopping district 'City Walk Civic'.
I think my new merchandising & French theme did the trick, lots of new things for my devoted regular customers to enjoy, fresh new badges, fabrics & purses were very popular!!  Just having new products made me feel fresh & exciting.  My $10 sale basket went nuts too!!  Love Posie

My Creative Space 'it's a sign'

Greetings all,
Yes, it's a sign, THIS sign in particular brings out the best in Canberra . . . handmade & organic food, craft, jewellery, design & wine PLUS the most awesome crowds EVER!!  Also brings out sheer panic in many a stall holder, only as it's the most successful market we have ever done!!
Handmade Market, Kamberra Winery on Northbourne Avenue (Federal Highway) & corner of Flemington, opposite EPIC in Lyneham, minutes from Canberra CBD, open 10 to 4!! 

note authentic wine barrel top right of banner

my love of colour as expressed in coasters

baskets filled with cute, quirky, limited & all round sweet fabrics -
LOTS of triple packs this time, 3xFat Eighths are looking so fun
& a bit of a French theme going on . . .

pretty Parisian box for Frenchy style coin purses

Hands up who likes having their mug shots taken??  Me neither, but another blog wanted an image of me, so this is me.  I wear glasses, as i'm blind & i pretend people can't notice i'm not wearing make up; i wear hair clips, as i hate my fringe flopping in my face; i wear a chunky strong necklace so when i had babies, they couldn't yank it off & i didn't look bare; i have about 6 blue & white stirped Ts, so no coincidence i was sporting one in this shot; i laugh a lot, so if you find my stall i'll no doubt be smiling!! 

Happy Creative Spacing people, have a beautiful weekend.  Love Posie

market stall merchandising . . . i'm going with my Euro theme

Greetings all,
Busy sewing up a storm this week for Handmade Canberra's UpMarket on Sunday, very excited as it's the first for the year.  It's normally on a Saturday & the next 3 are all Saturdays, but i can't tell you how handy it is to have a day up my sleeve to pack & prepare.  Then it will be time to crash on Sunday night, revive myself for Easter Egg decorating at school on Monday. 
So check out this handy wooden medicine cabinette i bought at our local Revolve centre at the tip, $25 & it's a fantastic size.  I instantly thought of laying it on a table, open & using it as a craft  First Aid supply centre at markets.  So i've filled it with . . .

Art Viva 1960's newspaper tubes (60mm & 40mm), Dumpling Dynasty sewing kits, Cavallini stamp kits, Jurianne Matter paper craft, children's learn to sew card kits, Lark knitted pin cushions, Craft Books, Tres Divin ribbons & MT washi masking tapes in all their pretty colours from Japan. So now i have all the non-handmade-by-me things in one spot!! I'm allowed to sell these things as they promote your own sewing & handmade, the rest of my stall is fabric & handmade products - um, all 4 trestle tables worth!!

Onto themes . . . i've continued with my Euro direction & purchased a subtle Eiffel Tower & matching planters to display products & look eye catching on my stall.  They will be filled with products in French fabrics.  Also used a damaged hula hoop, wrapped in pale pink polka dot fabric & with 7 x $2 sticks of faux flowers from a $2 shop, i tied them to the hoop with organza ribbons to make a pretty hanging feature for the centre of my marquee.  Can't wait to put it up!!

I'm using up some gorgeous European prints from AGES ago, time to share them.

Of course it's the weekend before Easter so i have some Lark knitted eggs to sell & the cute wooden bunny is from Bed, Bath & Table (they're having 30% off Easter things in store).  The lovely open handled basket was a whopping $2 from Revolve!!  Also, see that huge tool box, it was $5 from Revolve & is still empty, trying to work out the perfect product to display in there.  Finally, more $5 letters from Typo, to spell out POSIE on my table.  I'm aware i bought a T for the I, i thought an upside T would be more stable as the table gets bumped.  Um, realised the P is not self standing, so P is propped up by a cute wooden mushroom, ahhhh, thank goodness for blue tack!!

 
Yippee, new Kristen Doran prints, love her!!

This is how Canberra looked on the way to school . . . brrrr . . .

 

only to look like this an hour later??!!  Canberra pretty much has beautiful blue skies all year round, even when it snows, looks gorgeous until you go outside & loose feeling in your toes. 

So i went shopping on the way back to school - um, shoes $130 original price, but i got ALL of this haul, killer peep toe heels & cute grey sneakers for me; hat, body wash, black sequin beret & silver headband for my girls, the lot was $80!!  Nothing like a further 30% off all sale items at Sportsgirl.  The black shoes are really comfortable too, i can reach the top shelf in the pantry now!!
Have happy weeks everyone, see you at My Creative Space on Thursday, until then, sew sew sew.  Love Posie

if you EVER need a reason to cheer yourself up . . . try Cake Wrecks!!

Greetings all,
While I’m not a fan of blog posts which don’t relate or use the images of the blog owner, I’m going to make an exception here.  Ever since my friend Lisa from Canberra’s Got Style blog put me onto Regretsy, which I think is the funniest name for a blog ever - if you haven’t ever visited, go immediately, all the things on etsy which are . . . regretful.  Anyway, when I heard about this Cake Wrecks blog, I knew I’d love it.
As a bit of a try hard & fail cake icing disaster myself, I can laugh out loud at these efforts as most Cake Wrecks are by professional cake decorators aka “Wreckorators”.  Wreckporters email in images of sad sad cakes they have witnessed, ordered or had the misfortune of tasting – from spelling mistakes, writing word for word instructions on the order & those which are just plain wrong with a capital R. They even have a book with my favourite of all Cake Wrecks on the cover - decorating with this winner . . . "Best Wishes Suzanne, under neath that, We Will Miss You".  Imagine a Woman’s Weekly "How NOT to Decorate Children’s Cakes"!!
The blog post images go something like this . . . with their whitty & hilarious captions . . .

I've had a bandaid in a shop bought cake before, but scissors??  Poison challis from this bakery perhaps??

Tell me, was your wedding cake cute, fun & quirky or slasher??

Did you watch the Supper Bowl or the Super Bowel??

On Sundays there is some light relief with beautiful, amazing, stunning, award winning cakes . . .

. . . which make up for entries like this, shudder!!

How is it that so many icing efforts end up looking like a penis or poo - instead of, you know, a first birthday cake for a sweet baby in the shape of a number one??!!  Now quick, deep breaths & get over to Bakerella for some more beautiful, amazing & inspirational decorating ideas on cookies to cakes!! Awesome Julie from Handmade Market put me onto Bakerella, love her.  Enjoy, love Posie