Mad March Christmas

Every year I celebrate Christmas with various groups of friends and family and last weekend it was the final Christmas of 2009 - late for a very important date indeed! I met up with two of my best friends in London for the festivities. We went to Angel (thematic, no?) and found small district of antique shops and market stalls selling vintage jewellery and goods.




Last pic by my good friend the Shoegazer We could have spent hours looking around but we had to scarper to see Alice in Wonderland! Which incidentally, we all loved despite the extortionate ticket price. The design of the Queen of Heart's castle was particularly delicious, as were the costumes, but seeing the hat's the Mad Hatter made rekindled my strange desire to be a milner...

Anyway, after the film we opened presents! I got some lovely gifts...

I'll be making the miniature zoo in a separate post so look out! The brooches on the left were a welcome addition to my Hannah Zakari collection. All in all it was a wonderful time!

You Could Be My Flamingo...

Robots, bears, cakes, owls, elephants, teapots, origami and bees. Having themes makes shopping even more fun! Adopt a theme and go hunting for items that carry it. It makes finding a pair of robot knickers even more fantastic! (Just the one pair so far...)

A particular favourite theme of my friends and I is the mighty flamingo! My collection is pretty humble so far. Once I get a house with a garden I'll be after some of these babies for sure:


Lawn flamingos available at Get Flocked! and watering can from Love thy Space.

But who needs a garden when you can have a lawn flamingo chandelier?!

This whimsical creation is by Palmerschallon at etsy. And here I was thinking my conflicting love for pretty vintage and bright 'n' bold tack would never work.

If you're after something a little more subtle, how about these fab earrings by fellow Brit nelli D over at etsy.


I hope you'll forward me any fabulous flamingo finds (it's so easy to alliterate, and no, I won't apologise). I might focus on a theme a month, we'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll show my robot knickers one day. Probably not whilst I'm wearing them...

Mad as a Hatter

These personalised party hats were fun and simple to make. Using an A4 sheet of card each I rolled and stuck the hats in place then collaged them with various bits and pieces with the 3D first letter of my guests names as the focal point. A few fabric and parcel ribbons plus a white feather made the top a little more interesting. Finally I added some multi-coloured elastic and the hats made a nice touch to the tea party.

London Love

I traveled up to London recently, and made a point of checking out a couple of craft markets. First up was the Sunday Up Market in Brick Lane. I was completely taken with the area, immediately feeling a great atmosphere. The market itself was full of handmade items, predominantly clothing, cards and jewelery. A few small retailers I'd been following online had stalls, including Buddug, who have to sell the most beautiful jewelery and trinkets. Also came across a lovely lady who sold crocheted fascinators and interesting brooches. Her website is underway at Twinkle Bug so keep an eye out!

I bought a brooch from Rosie Wonders. I have a thing about robots, and this little fellow was a must have, since I was informed it had only been made the previous day! Meant to be.



I can't wait to save some money and go again (without the burden of my luggage!). I highly recommend a visit. If you decide to go, make sure you get your money out before you get to the area as the cash machines often run out before lunch!

Fascinating!

A boredom-inspired eBay search led to my discovery of fascinators. I had the notion to search for 'burlesque' in the clothing and accessories section, and these curious hair ornaments kept popping up. There were some beautiful ones about, most of which predominantly used feathers. A few went a stretch further and played around with materials, which I what I decided to do when I tried my hand at making one.



Using mostly bits and pieces I had lying around, I'm really pleased how this turned out. Black, white and red is a favourite colour scheme of mine and I'd wanted to usde some old playing cards in an accessory for a while. The only new purchase for this creation was the red feathers.



The piece is attached to a slim red alice band, and so can be worn on either side of the head. I had a lot of fun making this and can't wait to make some more. This, and others, will eventually be sold on my forthcoming online store.