A Gift For You!

I was thinking the other day, that despite having donated items for giveaways run by other bloggers, I'm yet to run my own!  So here it is... I'm offering one lucky reader a $25 voucher... yes that's USD... towards anything that takes your fancy from the shop!

Here's how to enter  -  one entry for each of the following:

1.  Visit IndigoElephant, pick your favourite item and comment here telling me what it is.

2.  Follow the blog, and leave a comment letting me know you're following. If you're already a follower, leave a comment letting me know!

3.  Tweet this giveaway, and comment with the link.

4.  Announce the giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment & link.

5.  Blog about it and leave a comment with a link!

The giveaway will finish on April 16, 2010 at 12:00pm (AEST). The winner will be selected by a random number generator (or my toddler will pull a number out of a hat).  Good luck!

Relaxation

I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday. All four, under general anesthetic - because I'm a sook and have a very low pain threshold!  Today, I'm a bit swollen, no bruising yet but have been told to expect that in the next couple of days.  The only good thing to come out of it - apart from the removal of useless teeth - is the opportunity to lay around reading.  In the waiting room, in the recovery room, at home on the lounge and in bed... it's been a long time since I spent so much time reading.  And this is what has kept me occupied:

The final installment in Sara Donati's Into The Wilderness saga... it was great while it lasted, but now I'm on the lookout for something else.  Let me know if you have any recommendations!  

A Happy Coincidence.

Just before summer ended, we had a cold snap here.  It was a taste of autumn with crisp, cool mornings, mild days and chilly nights... unfortunately it didn't last long and summer has been back with a vengeance.  Anyway, back when it was cool, I started looking around for some winter pyjamas for my boys.  I was after something fairly simple... flannelette, single coloured, or checked, or striped...   Do you think I could find anything out there to fit my requirements?  Absolutely not!

Around the same time, I kept coming across a particular book.  On crafty blogs and on recommended reading lists, with links to it from Very Attractive Things others had made.  I seemed to stumble across it everywhere, and I was so close to putting in an order on Book Depositry asking for it for Mothers Day!  But on one crazy visit to the library  -  Atticus is attracted to the automatic doors and keeps trying to slip out to the street while one is searching out some decent reading material -  there it was, on a stand facing out and asking to be borrowed!  Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross,  with some wonderful projects and both pattern sheets still in the sleeve!  It even has a pattern for simple, wide legged pyjama pants, sized from kids small to adults large!

Of course I was busy for a few weeks with my market preparation, but on Monday night, I decided to give them a go.  I'd never realised making an item of practical clothing could be so simple!!  And, Spotlight happened to have a decent range of flannelette in stock!!!

The pyjama files!

 

I was quite happy with my efforts, though my applique skills need fine tuning!  Now I'm determined to make some for the rest of us, in fact, there's a gorgeous cloud-filled-sky fabric I've been eyeing off for myself...

Gifting Handmade.

I've recently had the very good fortune of being involved in a couple of surprise gift/mail exchanges, and have also been to a few - more than usual - baby showers and kitchen teas!  So in the spirit of handmade, have been making a few things for the various gift recipients in my life... Unfortunately I haven't been photographing everything so can't show you much!

However, the lovely Deb, who was my DUST craft swap partner, was much better organised and not only documented what she sent, but also what she received!  If you'd like a sticky beak, just head over to her blog Two Cheeky Monkeys.  Needless to say, I love the gifts I received!!

I have been on a bit of an apron making frenzy lately! In addition to the one I sent Deb, I decided to make one for my soon to be cousin-in-law's kitchen tea gift, which also doubled as gift wrap for the utensils she received...  while I was at it, made one for myself {purely because her invitation stated the dress code as dometic goddess prepared for work!!!}.  These aprons were photographed...

And then there are the babies!  I seem to be surrounded by pregnant friends and newborn bubbas, which is fantastic for inspiration!  Though I'm again lacking in photographic evidence!  One thing I did capture was a new owl toy, made for an ex-colleague Summer, who had a little boy in early March.  This owl is so cute I had to replicate it for the shop...

With many more babies on the way, I think I need to get moving on expanding my collection of quirky critters and cuddly creations!!

Market Time!

Today marks the first ever market for IndigoElephant!  It was Allie's Attic at Cronulla, so picture lots of very clever makers all gathered under one (air-conditioned) roof, with tempting displays of gorgeous treats for the kiddies!  It was wonderful to put faces to the names of other sellers as well as meet the people buying your products and see the expressions on kids faces as they tried to pick their favourite elephant or owl!

Special thanks to my amazing husband, who came along for the day, and was a huge help in so many ways and also to the lovely friends who popped in to visit and offer their support - you guys are tops!

 Me and the table.

 Some of the stock...

 ... and some more stock!

Preparing for Markets.

Edited: Due to the busyness of the last week this post was missing pictures until today! 

I had no idea how much effort goes into getting oneself ready to sell at market, and now have a whole new respect for those who do this all the time!  This week has been an endless cycle of cutting, sewing and ironing, working out how to display items, ordering, cutting, gluing, painting, sewing, cutting, you get the picture!  I really don't know whether I'll make everything that I want to take...   I'd love to be working on my display this time next week, so Friday can be spent tweaking!!  Below is sneak peek at work in progress, and you can see it in person (and finished) if you visit Allie's Attic on Saturday, 20th March at Cronulla Leagues Club! 

 Elephants, waiting for eyes, ears, tails and stuffing!

 Pacifier clips, ready for snaps and cards ready for hair accessories.

 Bibs, bibs, bibs... all set for binding and snaps!

Too Busy To Blog!

I have been so slack with writing lately...but with a very good reason! IndigoElephant is heading to market.  Allie's Attic in Cronulla on the 20th of March, to be precise, more details are available on the website... But what that means is all my *work* time has been spent sourcing, washing, cutting, sewing... you get the picture! I'm hoping it'll go well, but also really looking forward to meeting buyers in person and interacting face to face!

So far today, I've managed to cut out 8 bibs...that's it!  But my mum came over this morning for a bit, and because I was having a very productive (housework) morning I had a cake in the oven before she arrived... It was a recipe for French Style Yoghurt Cake with lemon from one of my favourite food blogs, Orangette. I'd been meaning to try it for years and finally got around to it today, but due to still green lemons on our tree, I made the almond version with raspberries through it. It's kinda like a giant friand, but less eggy and more cakey... you'll just have to try it yourself!

 Image from Orangette

I really love food blogs, and I love having updates sent straight to my inbox, it's like a paperless magazine subscription... but free!! Apart from Orangette, I also love Smitten Kitchen, Exclusively Food, Bakerella and Tartelette.  While I don't get to make most of the recipes I read, the photography is a feast for the eyes!  I also love that Exclusively Food is an Australian site so I don't have to convert oven temps and tin sizes, in fact, everything I have made from there has turned out perfectly.  Where do you get your favourite recipes from?