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.