Finally, new things in the horizon!

It's already May. So far it's been as though I've been paddling upstream in a tiny soon-to-capsize boat.

And to be honest, with the number of things on my plate, I was starting to feel a little put off my craft. Esp since crafting is such a zen thing for me, but how to be zen if you are constantly buzzing from stress and the list of a million things to do?

I've also been moving off online sale venues as Etsy, Madeit and Zibbet have proved to be absolutely fruitless and with me spending pointless money in listings, I see no point in continuing on with them.

Thankfully, craft markets have been going good, and my stockist and wholesale ventures have been fantastic too! I really should have mentioned but Little Waltz can now be found at House of Balaklava down at St Kilda as well. (Exciting!) but curiously, my offline sales have not translated to online sales, so I guess my online ventures should go.

Having said that, I'm not closing down online sites completely. I'm just going to stop paying Etsy/Madeit/Zibbet my hard earned money and concentrate on actually getting my own Little Waltz website up.

With the end to my Postgraduate course in sight, I am finally getting that second wind and hopefully by July, I will have a brand new shopping site and a brand new blog to unveil to all of you.

I'm so sorry I haven't been around, but do tell me. How have you been?

Finally, new things in the horizon!

Of Cupcakes and blogs.

I know, I know. It's been real quiet around here. I really should have dropped by earlier to mention that I haven't been able to craft too much recently. I've been bitten by the cooking and baking bug so my Food Blog has been getting all my love instead.

But the latest cupcakes that I baked is definitely relevant to the crafting world, so I thought I'd give you ladies a heads up. It was written as a guest post for another food blog: Jeroxie so you will have to run to her blog to read about my creating process of these little buggers.

But do drop by my food blog - Travelling in Mary Janes, there's even a Zebra cake in the works!!!

Of Cupcakes and blogs.

There's a question, and

Image by Simon Filip

the answer is no.

No, I've not forgotten the existance of this blog. No, I've not had that much time to spare on my hands. And no, I won't let real life beat me at my own game, which is why I'm here now, telling you that I am still here. Promise.

Bear with me, and I'll be back with more tutorials, more features and beautiful photos than you can ever imagine. If you are realllly patient, you might even get kitty cat photos. What do you say to that, hey?

I hope if you were in Melbourne over the weekend, you are doing well and the storm didn't do any damage to you or your property. While my suburb was pelted with cricket ball sized hail, I escaped unharmed. The property seems intact with no water damage to it. Can't say the same for the driveway though: it seems like quite the war zone out there.

At any rate, I'll be back. Mark my words.

There's a question, and

MooBeeTees Giveaway Winner: Janil's Tee

Do you remember this amazing feature with Karen from Moobeetees?

If you remember, it was Janil who won the giveaway with her suggestion of a little village.

Being a custom made Tee, the whole process took awhile, but it's finally done! And the result? Astoundingly beautiful.

Don't believe me? See for yourself.



From:


Drafting the design


Comparing the fabric

To:


A finished product


With a beautiful personalized village to boot!



How amazing was that? Karen's definitely gone an arm and a leg out for our lucky winner Janil. It is an incredibly beautiful piece of art, and I personally am dying for one. I'd wear that out everyday if I could. Maybe that's what I should do. 7 days of personalized Tees.

So don't wait. Get clicking and typing and join in our giveaways here on Petitevalse. The prizes will never disappoint!

MooBeeTees Giveaway Winner: Janil's Tee

Waltzing through with Talent: Carley from VanillaPixie

I love Hair Clips and I cannot lie.

So the beauties from Carley from Vanillapixie are really hard to resist. Want to know why? Read on to find out more!





Who are you & what do you sell?

My name is Carley. I am a wife & stay-at-home mum to three (a job I thoroughly enjoy!).
For me, Vanilla Pixie was born out of necessity. I went looking for something specific & couldn’t find what I was after.

I wanted beautiful, stylish, well-made & hard-to-lose hair accessories for my girls. Inside information told me they just weren’t available. So, with nothing to lose, I made them myself.
Now, 16 months down the track, Vanilla Pixie is closing in on 400 Etsy sales, has stock in 3 different children’s boutiques across Sydney & continues to grow!!

What are your inspirations & muses?

I make anything that my daughters (2 years & 5 years) would love to wear. When creating, my 5-year-old will ask “is that for me or another little girl?” Often, I will do 2 or any given design – one for sale, & one for my girls.

Any good craft store can get the creative juices flowing too. I would just love to be let loose in a ribbon warehouse…



Set of Two ' Girly Punk Skulls' on Black Classic


What does your creative space look like?

I have the use of our study as my creative space. It is *reasonably* organized J Lots of ribbons in baskets, clips in various vessels & fabric exploding from the cupboard.

My work table is under a big corner window allowing lots of natural light into the room.
It also gives me a view of the letterbox, perfect for watching for the arrival of new supplies.

Tell us a little about what makes you, you.

I crave the escapism of books (there is always one on the go), shopping, hanging out with friends & family.
My background is in administration – in my pre-children life I was Administration Manager to a top Australian hairdressing salon.
My retail obsession is bags (in any form) & I have a sweet tooth… mmmm, donuts.



Amethyst Purple Army Camouflage Ribbon Bow Non

What are you most proud of in your crafting/art life and your personal best achievement?
Craft – I’m easily pleased… the fact that people like my accessories enough to want to buy them makes me happy.

Personal – my family. The last decade has been amazing – finding the man of my dreams & having 3 kids. Perfect!

Complete these sentences:
• I love… my family
• I cannot live without… books
• I hope… that the value of handmade continues to be realized & appreciated
• When I grow up… I want to own a bookstore/coffee house/craft boutique



Set of Two 'Whimsy Fancy Bands in Pink'

What do you like most about the crafting/art world?
The sense of community. The artists & crafters I have had the pleasure to meet, network with & buy from are incredibly encouraging.

I feel privileged to be part of a team of exceptional women who are not only talented in their various fields, but are also amazingly supportive of each other, no matter the situation.

Where can we get more goodies from you?
Etsy – Vanillapixie on Etsy
madeit – Vanillapixie on Madeit

Selected styles available from Retrospections (Cammeray, NSW).

Blog – Vanillapixie on Blogspot
Facebook – Vanillapixie on Facebook
Twitter – Vanillapixie on Twitter





Want a little something to brighten up your hair? Or something to help you get over that bad hair day?

Consider yourself incredibly lucky as here's the chance to win $30 USD dollars worth of store credit with Vanillapixie. That's quite a number of different sets of hairclips and hair ties! Have a colour for every day of the week even!



Golden Y ellow Gingham Heart Non Slip Hair Clip

How to win

• For one entry: Go to Vanillapixie's shop and let us know what your favourite item is. Don't forget to bring us back the link!
  
• For one entry: Follow Petitevalse's blog.
  
• For one entry: Follow Vanillapixie's blog.
  
• For two entries: Blog about this giveaway.
  

And that's it! You have until: 12th of March, 2010 midnight Melbourne time to get your entries in! So don't wait, quickly quickly now!

Waltzing through with Talent: Carley from VanillaPixie

Waltzing through with Talent: Shenevski from Etsy

I didn't forget! I've just been really behind with my blog posts, now that I've started full time work. Still trying to learn how to juggle the balance, but I'm confident I'll get there soon.

But in the meantime, here's the winner of the last Waltzing through with Talent giveaway:




Congratulations to Abby !

We'll be in touch shortly.



Next Waltzing through with Talent coming up on Friday!

Waltzing through with Talent: Shenevski from Etsy

Flea Market Finds

I've always wanted to play along with Sophie's Sunday Flea Market finds. But never had the time to take the photographs.
But after running by a garage sale yesterday, I was so pleased with my haul that I dug out a few minutes to take some really quick (and dodgy) photos!

A house a few doors down was having a garage sale, and while I don't normally have time to go to garage sales (much to my dismay) I couldn't possibly not go to the one just a few doors down.

And it was a good thing I did for I came away with these:



A whole tub of craft, diy and cooking books

AND


More books and stacks upon stacks of old craft magazines.



All for a grand total of 20 dollars.

How awesome is that? I'm slowly wiping the dust off the books and mags and putting them lovingly into my shelves.
Wasn't it good that I recently scored myself a whole bunch of new book shelves?

Here's another shot of the stacks of magazines:





Mine, it's all mine!

Flea Market Finds

Little Waltz: Next market ahoy!

Want to catch up with the latest with Little Waltz? We have many new offerings, but no time to photograph them all!
Don't wait for it to come online, catch it before it sells!

Little Waltz will be at the North Melbourne Market next!



North Melbourne Market
Lithuanian Club
44 Errol St, North Melbourne

Sunday 28th February
10am - 2pm
$2 entry

If you've been eyeing the pieces from the Kimono range, better get in quick, they are selling out!

Little Waltz: Next market ahoy!

New Stockist for Little Waltz!

Just a quick post today to say that Little Waltz's Kimono range jewellery can be found at Little Shop Of

So if you'd like to see more of the Kimono range, and other lovely handmade by local crafters, remember to swing by the shop in Carnegie!

Little Shop Of...
8, Woorayl St, Carnegie, Melbourne
Wed - Fri: 11am - 6pm
Sat : 10am - 4.30pm

New Stockist for Little Waltz!

The Handmade Show for 2010

Tell one, tell all!

Our next market is March 20th, so mark that date in your diary and we look forward to seeing you there!

There's cafes for lunch (really good food too!), a kids craft table, a playground, and while the ladies are busy coo-ing over the beautiful handmadies, the blokes can go peek at the footy or the cricket over a cooling beer (in the room next door!).

There's something for everybody, so come along!

The Handmade Show for 2010

Oakleigh Brown Owls February Meeting

Image by Merry Crafts



Hey all

It's that time again for the next Brown Owls meeting !

Where: RSL Oakleigh (95-97 Drummond St)
When: 21st Feb (Sunday)
Time: 1pm - 3pm

It's going to be a lovely afternoon for a crafternoon so please bring something to busy your hands with.
Also bring (if you have any)

Your favourite craft magazine

Doesn't have to be the latest issue, and it can be about beading, knitting, crochetting, anything crafty under the sun.
Bring something you really want to share and introduce to others!

Please RSVP below in the comments or email me at petite.valse (at)gmail.com.
I look forward to seeing everybody!

p/s: For all who come, there's a mysterious door prize from me.

Oakleigh Brown Owls February Meeting

The Handmade Show: January Edition

Stepping back into the past for a bit.. Time flew by so fast that I didn't even get the chance to report on The Handmade Show that was organized by myself last month.

It is such a hot day that I don't really have words right now. So I'm going to leave you with photos and the assurance that the Show went terribly fantastically and our next one is March 20th with applications to open up soon for more stallholders.



Absolutely adorable softies from Holi Goddess


Pastel beauties in the form of cushions and pillows from Vintage sew and so


Detailed artwork from Ep Designs


Beautiful hair accessories for the ladies from BowerBird Inc

And of course, Little Waltz, was there as well, but you've all seen photos of my stalls before, so I'll skip on that.

If you'd like to stay up to date with news and what's up with The Handmade Show, please follow our blog at : the handmade show ... which is in desperate need of an update, but I'll get around to it this week. I promise.

The Handmade Show: January Edition

Daylesford Makers Market - February Edition

I've been gone for awhile, I do apologize.

Work has started again, and the first week of work had me waking early, sleeping late and trying to figure out my schedule. I enjoy my work immensely (I'm a music teacher) and I'm quite willing to drive the 1+ hour just to get to work. I don't know if my petrol bills agree with me though.

But I'm slowly getting back into the groove, slowly sorting out my time problems but I'm a fair bit away from sorting out all my problems. That's what keeps life interesting, perhaps. If one day you are faced without problems to solve... I know I'd be bored.

Over the weekend, I headed over to Daylesford for the 2nd market of the year. My first was The Handmade Show but I seem to have slacked off and forgotten to post about that. I promise a catch up post very soon. But Daylesford first:

I had a bit of drama in the morning - I overslept. I had been working on very little sleep the past week, so when I crashed on Friday night, I must have crashed real hard. I even managed to shut all my alarms off without me realising it! I woke up 45 minutes after the time I was suppose to leave, and went through a huge panic trying to get myself into the car and on the way to Daylesford. Thankfully, I got to Daylesford at 9.30am without any major delays after the initial 45 minutes setback. It's one crazy drive up the freeway I would like to say : Never again.

Other than that, the day went without a hitch. I met Alison, the fantastic lady behind Lark who was sweet and understanding when I burst into the hall panting like a dog. Not a pretty sight, quite unlike the hall which had been magically transformed into the handmade heaven on earth for a short few hours. Everybody's stalls were incredibly well-presented and it took all of my willpower not to dish out my hard earned money for some of the amazingly cute plushies that were up for sale at the market. However, I was so out of it that I didn't get any photos of other stalls, nor business cards, but you can head over to the Daylesford Makers Market blog to check out the other fantastic stallholders.

Here are some photos of my own from the day:



I've changed my display! It's now Cream / Light Yellow and White instead of Pink.
I will be changing the table cloth soon too.


Some of my latest necklaces. Sweet offerings for a very low price!
(They are only 10 dollars each)


Many people asked for it, so here they are!
The return of my roses bracelets!


A limited edition set of necklaces that I named: The Working Lady necklaces.
I rather like them. Again, only 10 dollars!


This year, I've also added a shelf to my display collections.




It houses my ear studs collection!



It was a fantastic day at Daylesford, I really enjoyed myself! I'd love love love to do it again, just without the crazy maniac driving at the start of the day please. The drive back was lovely, and the next time I'm up in Daylesford will be for the April market, plus I'll be doing a little holiday away for the weekend then too!

Oh yes, don't forget that we still have a giveaway going on: Shenevski's crochet shawl is a beauty to behold, I want it for myself but since I can't be part of it, please please please win it and love it on my behalf!

Daylesford Makers Market - February Edition

Waltzing through with Talent - Shenevski from Etsy

Waltzing though with Talents is moving to a new time slot! (I say this like it's a radio show..) because from next week onwards I will be spending my Mondays at work, so I cannot gurantee that the segment will go up on time. So Friday it is now! In 2010, I have many more features lined up, more giveaways and a lot more exciting to share with you, so stick around and you won't be disappointed! (I'm hoping anyways...)

For this week's segment, we have Ana from Shenevski here to share a little bit about herself with us.





Who are you and what do you sell?
My name is Ana – a married woman with two kids – a 7 year-old daughter and a 5 year-old son. T my shop I sell hand-knitted and crocheted clothes.

What are your inspirations and muses?
The first incentive for me to create is the love of knitting/crocheting. This has been my biggest hobby since childhood. Now, the new techniques, new pattern, new types of clothing, other peoples' creations really motivate me to experience and create. And the most satisfying thing is to see that people like my creations and are willing to spend their money for hand-knitted/crocheted clothes. With every sale I feel the need to start a new and more interesting project.



Beautiful Knitted Shawl

How does your creative space look like?
There is no specific space for my craft – I may be knitting while sitting by my PC or on the couch while watching TV, and sometimes in my bed just before sleep. Contrary to the general idea of an artist space – mine is very tidy – just the ball of yarn and probably a sheet of paper with the pattern.

Tell us a little about what makes you, you.
My mom showed me the knitting and crocheting techniques when I was about 9 years old. Since then I have been perfecting my knitting abilities. Besides knitting I love gobelin tapestry. I have a few gobelins that I am proud of. The other hobby I hope I will have more time to practice is photography.
My day job - I am a secretary at an attorney’s office. I love it and it satisfies me a lot.



Colourful Handknitted Scarf

What are you most proud of in your crafting/art life and your personal best achievement?
People’s appreciation and satisfaction from my products make me proud, especially when they come back.
My personal achievement – my family and my kids.

Complete these sentences:
I love … my life.
I cannot live without my … family.
I hope … my children will achieve more than I did.
When I grow up… I will still be happy with my life.



Handknitted Skirt

What do you like best about the crafting/art world?
Crafting/art world is an enormous world of ideas where one can see the power of human imagination.

Where can we get more goodies from you?
You can get my clothes at my shop: Shenevski on etsy
I also accept custom orders with client’s desired measurements, patterns, yarns and colors.

My other creations can be seen on Flickr





Ana's fingers must be magic, for nothing I've ever knitted ever looks quite as beautiful as her creations. And as if having magic fingers wasn't enough, Ana has a beautiful and generous giving soul as well. To Little Waltz's readers, she has agreed to give away a beautiful crocheted shawl valued at 50 dollars.





Here's how to win:

Compulsory entry: One entry for following Shenevski on Twitter: Shenevski on Twitter

For additional entries:

• Tweet about this giveaway - please link your tweet back here for verification purposes.
  
• Follow Petitevalse
  
• Go to Shenevski on Etsy and pick a favourite item, remembering to come back here with the link.
  
• For four extra entries: Purchase anything from Shenevski on Etsy during the giveaway period.
  

Would you like to be considered for this feature? Send me an email at petite.valse (at)gmail.com and tell me why you'd like to be in the feature!

Waltzing through with Talent - Shenevski from Etsy

It's a birthday giveaway - the winner!

Did you have fun twittering? I was amazed by the number of entries pouring in. Thank you so much!

I also had a beautiful birthday. A very nice and relaxed one that I really enjoyed despite having no friends to keep me company on the day itself.
However I did have friends around me on the day before and after my birthday, so I think I'm pretty lucky and am really happy with my lot.

Did you wonder about the significant of the number 271 ? Other than that being the number needed to win the giveaway, it was also when my actual birthday was on. 27th of January. Thank you to all those who wished me a happy birthday! It made me smile rather happily.

At any rate, everybody have been twittering up a storm to win one of these beauties:





And after so many entries, I finally have the winner!

Congratulations to:

Morgrain24

So Morgrain24, please do contact me back on twitter and let me know what your preference is (red or blue, do remember that the photo above is for illustration purposes only, and the pattern may not be the same) and your contact details and I will send them out to you asap.

Remembering that the crucial rule is: The winner will be contacted through Twitter, if the winner does not contact me back within 48 hours of winning, the win will be disqualified and the next person in line will be the next winner. Hurry!

Watch out for the next giveaway guys. It will be up today!

It's a birthday giveaway - the winner!

January Cookoff 2010: Mexican

As part of my 2010 projects, my friends and I have started a Monthly Cook Off Challenge. You can read the rules and regulations of the challenge here.

So for our very first challenge for 2010, we started with the theme: Mexican.





It was such awesome fun! Awesome food, awesome desserts, awesome drinks and awesome company made for a fantastic and... you guessed it: awesome night.

You can read more about the food (and recipes) that were cooked and shared that night on my food blog.

Feel free to leave a comment here or there... and feel free to join in the fun! I will be posting up the theme for next month really soon! So stay tune.

January Cookoff 2010: Mexican

It's a lazy sunday afternoon.

It's a lazy sunday afternoon.

How lazy?

Allow my cat Tinsel to tell you exactly how lazy:


It is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssss lazy.

I have a proper blog post in the works, I assure you, but for now let us join Tinsel in the lazy afternoon mood and laze around a little...

In the meantime, have some cat photos:







Distracted cat model is distracted.

I don't think Tinsel was too amused by me taking photos of her when she was really just trying to go back to the bedroom to sleep.

I'll be back later with the winner of the giveaway! So stay tune!

It's a lazy sunday afternoon.