much love monday- heart shaped rocks

via o8jo

Has it really been a week already? Oh my. Oops.

I like heart shaped rocks. I really like finding them. This collection is super. Play along too at much love monday, or see what other people love today.

ps. last chance to enter my folk doll giveaway, I draw a winner tomorow!

blog love- birds for brains

Shayla has a lovely blog. She's a lovely person too. She's helping me make a blog button. Even if she wasn't, I'd recommend her blog. She writes about her everyday adventures, with lovely photos and sentiments and craftiness too. Plus she has ace tattoos.

Go see. Go on.

Go Shayla, you rock my blog world.

much love monday- watching clouds

via

I like watching clouds. I like finding love hearts in clouds too. If you like clouds, see some beautiful cloud photos in this photography cloud collection by Alicia Bock. Maybe join the Cloud Appreciation Society, or upload cloud photos to the group.

Or go outside and look up.

I'm playing along with a meme by much love, called much-love monday. To join in, simply do a blog post that includes a picture of a heart and mention something you love. Then leave a link.

flea market finds and Pepper Stitch Vintage

Oops I'm a little late for flea market finds, but here goes. This week I found in my travels a very cute vintage winter dress, more suitcases, a crochet blanket and a teapot cosy. It may be my subconscious begging for cooler weather, I'm dreaming of knitted scarves and leggings, but dealing with the kind of heat that leaves you spread eagled on the floor, panting slightly and wishing for a giant freezer to sit in. Or air conditioning.

I love op-shopping, and finding lovely vintage things, but cannot justify buying them all. Then keeping them. Unless I pass on the love, which is why I've opened Pepper Stitch Vintage.

So far there are some vintage books in there, a pretty vintage tin with puppies, some raggedy ann dolls, and vintage games too. More vintage finding! Yay!

Don't forget to see more flea market find at Her Library Adventures

bottom of the trees

Love this series of photographs. Reminds me of living in the city, and waving to your neighbours, and community gardens, and unexpected flowers in parking lots.

I have been interested in observing how people transform the public space in front of their houses. In Sapporo, Japan, the main city of Hokkaido, the bottom of the trees are usually decorated with plants and flowers by people living around. Sometimes messy, sometimes unbalanced, sometimes crowded, each tree has a different world, a different mind, and a different personality at the bottom of it.

Bottom of the trees, Sapporo, Japan, August 2005 - June 2006.

via junkculture

etsy love- happy

The Best Is Yet To Come print; Smile Pillow ;HAPPY - Vintage Letterpress Word ;

Make something good today print; Print - Everything is going to be ok; McCoy Happy Face Mug;

Happy Way street sign - Fine Art print; Think Happy Thoughts Print.

See more in my treasury,

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and have a happy day x

giveaway- folk man doll

Oops I forgot I was going to have a giveaway. I did. Sorry. Here it is. Just 'cause. You may have picked it from these photos, but here is a folk man doll, ready for a new home. He likes playing the banjo and sitting on the doorstep drinking strong tea from a big clay mug.

If you'd like to have him to sit on your shelf, or on your armchair, or maybe for a little one, just leave a comment. Followers have an extra entry, so do those lovely bloggers who reblog (please leave a comment so I know to give you an extra entry). I'll draw a winner next week. Hooray!

He can't wait to meet you.

lapse into the romantic

Happy Valentines Day everyone
Pepper x

heartfelt and handmade

via

It's impossible to miss Valentines Day posts, and Oh I Do Love them, but it sure can get expensive. I prefer gifts that take time, not money, and I thought I'd write a last-minute Valentines Post full of ideas for the last-minute people amongst us.

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* Write a love letter. A proper one with nice paper and sweet things inside. Write about how you met, list the things you like about them, write your hopes for your future together. Document your silly jokes, anything.

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* Find a nice rock. Write 'you rock' on it. Or buy a wooden ruler. Write 'you rule' on it.

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* Set up a treasure hunt. Leave clues and presents around the house; or do a suburb-wide one, leaving clues at places like where you first met, your favourite cafe or other special places (it takes a bit of explaining, but people love to help out in the name of romance). You can make the last clue lead to somewhere you can wait for them.

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* Bake a cake (Oh-Goodness look at this one), or your love's favourite dish. Anything in the shape of a love heart is pretty swell.

* Google 'vintage valentine' images, choose your favourite and print them on card. There are some really corny and sweet ones.

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* Buy tickets to their favourite band. Even if you don't really like them.

* Leave messages in unexpected ways; arrange all the shoes in your house into a giant love heart, use straws or toothpicks to write a message on the table, or sauce on a plate, or add giant speech bubbles to furniture. Arrange two sets of clothes on the bed holding hands.
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* Write a song. Draw a picture, sew a giant love heart with sparkles. Whatever.

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* Leave sweet post it note messages in their favourite books, movies, in the kitchen drawer, on their favourite mug, anywhere they will find them over the next week.

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Do you have any other ideas?

Love on, peeps xx

my week in pictures

A visit to an old pub in town with a grand staircase and tiled floors

Holding tiny puppies. So cute.

Laying on my bed as it rains, reading an epic tale and eating popcorn

Making Valentines

Handmade burgers. Even the bun was made from scratch (no I didn't cook it. I just cheered)

Cucumber vines in the vege patch

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Hope your week was swell xx

routine

(Bear to do list by boygirlparty)

While I do enjoy knowing that actually I don’t have to do anything in any particular order most days out here, I tend to flounder without a general routine. I kind of drift around with no clear purpose, and spend more time than I mean to on some things, and not enough on others, and then wonder where did the time go?

So I have tackled this like I do so many things. With a list. With little tick boxes that are oh-so-satisfying (and I believe that 'nanna-nap', 'reading' and 'tea break' are perfectly acceptable entries), on the top of my clipboard of 'things to make and do'. It gives a bit of shape to the day, and I know what to expect. I don't do everything every day. But I do most things most days, and I think that's ok.

Do you have a routine? What is a part of your everyday routine?

my creative space

Today I've been sitting right here, in this armchair, stitching antler boys and girls for this shop, and a few for my shop. It rained a bit, I watched movies and drank a lot of tea, and thought about all the things I want to make.

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See more creative spaces here.

telephone animals

I finished these guys last week, but just got around to posting about them. They use a pattern I made years ago, with the addition of ears and noses. (I thought, hmm, telephones, bit ordinary. What do they need? Of course! EARS!)

There's a bunny, a bear, a mouse and a squirrell; and they are made from new and recycled textiles and felt. Soft and squishy, they're safe for kids and cute as, perfect for playing or looking sweet on a shelf or couch. They are in my etsy and blue caravan shops now.

blog love- Jim's Pancakes

Now you know I love pancakes, but this man has taken making pancakes for his daughter into an artform. With instructions too. Holy Cow. He makes some cool pancakes.

my house

I'm planning to move to Brisbane this year, so I justify spending hours looking at pretty house interiors as research. For the pretty house my twin sister and I will share. I'm looking forward to living with her, and having a home again (not that staying in the country with my friends isn't lovely. It is. I like them very much too. But you know, my own place). I want

a pretty letterbox

shoes next to the door

high ceilings and wooden floors

a cosy kitchen with good cooking smells

a big friendly dining table

crochet blankets and reading lamps

bare feet in the vege patch

and some chickens

and of course a nice big bright studio.

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If you live in Brisbane (or visit), I'd love to know: where's your favourite place to go out? what is your favourite suburb and why? Do you think I will like it there?

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(images via frankie, mackapar, green is the new black, designspiration)

cosy lamp

More guerilla knitting turned home decor. Pretty darn cute methinks. This could be the beginning of something (and something to do with those leftover wool bits, and the scarves I knit but.never.wear).

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seen here

my creative space- bunny love cushion

I've been seeing lots of gorgeous valentines day posts in blog-land, and they inspired me to get all mooshy and make this love bunny cushion. It's made from recycled sweaters and is extra soft and huggable. It's in my etsy shop now.

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I've got lots of ideas for Valentines Day, but really should have started thinking about it in January. Not yesterday. Darn.

love letter- urban connections art project

Oh letters, I cannot get enough today. I really love this project on Kickstarter.



Art is what makes life so rich and beautiful... it should be for everyone. It should be for everyone not just to look at, but participate in. That is why I created this project. I want to empower as many people as I can with their own ability to create and enjoy art, as well as each other.

So far, I have left over 500 letters around the NYC area for people to find. Each letter implores the curious eye to "Open me!". Inside each letter is a love letter, as if it was from a long lost loved one. Also inside the letter, is an unfinished drawing. The writer asks the recipient to not only reconnect with them through a letter, but also through the completion of the drawing. To make this task easier on the already perplexed reader, there is a self-addressed envelope and stamp inside to mail the completed drawing to.

If you like it too, you can pledge to help Liz continue with the 'Eternally Yours' project, and you can get stuff too, like a copy of the drawings to colour, or a copy of the eventual book.

etsy love- mail

I Love You Envelope Necklace, 8 vintage inspired notecards with handmade envelopes, Metal X and O, Owl Post Gift Box, 1920-1921 Love Letter, Vintage Royalite Typewriter

More mail love today.

letters & blog love- goodnight little spoon

I've been writing letters since I've been here in the country with dodgy reception. Letters are nice, you can hold them and keep them and are prettier than emails (my messy handwriting aside). I can use my typewriter or my favourite pen, or coloured pencils, and pop in little treasures, like a tiny flat rock I found at the beach, or a photo, or cut-out quote.

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But no one does letters like Bianca does letters. Letters, packages, parcels, postcards; beautifully, eclectically, interestingly, artistically wrapped, full of lovely surprises. She loves mail and red mail boxes and has cute dresses and is thinking of getting a little mail tattoo. I love.

Visit her blog; you can write her a letter, or get a free postcard. You can join her Monday Five meme. There are sweet envelopes, labels and writing paper to download for free, or see some of her incoming mail or outgoing mail and get all letter-y inspired.

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Go Bianca. you rock my blog world.

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(This all reminds me of the Envelope Project. Do you think Pip will have another one?)