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