My new baby!

Just got back from Perth Upmarket. It was a pretty good day all in all, nice and steady all the way through instead of the usual massive rush and then almost no customers for the rest of the day. I was situated near the entrance again, next to Allambie Grove who sell the greatest home made olive oil, dukkah and olive oil soaps.

Anyhow, so many great retailers today! So much stuff I was totally tempted to buy... but I restrained myself! I still have my eye on the great jewelry from Bellymoo. The designs are soooo beautiful!

I am thinking of taking a break from markets for a while.. perhaps just list all my remaining stock online and see how things go from there. I really want to learn to sew! Since I have a brand new sewing machine that has never been used before it will be a good opportunity to put it to use :) It would be so great to make my own dresses and things.. !!!

So I now have a new baby.. I bought a kit thing from Australian Geographic. It is a set to get you started growing bonsai. I think bonsai are sooo amazing and beautiful that I would love to have my own. Here are some pictures of how it is faring so far.. The first seedlings started appearing! Woohooo!!! ^_^ I have been checking on them every day to see how they go! It is a Tasmanian Eucalyptus and the flowers are supposed to have a lemony fragrance. I can't wait (I will so cry if they die =<). I'm crossing my fingers about my nurturing skills >_<>

Lazy Jane

OK.. So I have been totally totally lazy and haven't blogged for 2 whole months!! >_<>

I spent December totally busy preparing for markets and such, and once those were over my mind was only focused on my holiday!

I went to Hong Kong and stayed at my aunt's apartment for 2 weeks for an awesome shopping + eating trip! I had already been before but I haven't been on holiday for so long that it was definately overdue. Unfortunately I went alone, as my significant other couldn't get time off work. Luckily, some of my friends were also travelling so we could meet up.

We visited all of the best shopping locations, including markets where already-cheap fashions can still be bargained down in price, and huge shopping complexes totally filled with every designer brand a girl could want! Ahhh.. it was delightful!
Not to be missed of course, were tourist destinations such as The Peak, Ocean Park and Macau. The Venetian casino/hotel was amazing! Absolutely huge and packed with hardcore gamblers even in the afternoon. ^_^ Of course I had to try my hand, and came out with winnings to cover my day's costs! heheh
For those who will be travelling to Hong Kong, these are some must-visit shopping locations:

- Flower Street Market (Fa Yuen Gai) <-- latest fashions for the cheapest prices!

- Women's Market (Lui Yan Gai) <-- lots of gadgets and fakes and fashions but MUST bargain!

- SOGO, Times Square and Harbour City <-- brand shopping heaven!

anyways i ended up getting myself LOTS of clothes, filling up my suitcase and being 20kg over weight so freighting that back to Perth.. hehe :) I also ate ALOT since the food was so cheap and tasty!! yum yum!

Now.. to snap out of holiday mode and start preparing for the Oxford St Market (Leederville) on Sunday [edit. oops - its Saturday!], and the Perth Upmarket in March!!!

As for Valentines Day, I had a great evening out with Jeff. We ate at the SunMoon restaurant in Scarborough. The food and atmosphere were lovely. We spent a little time together at the South Perth foreshore where we could see the ferris wheel lit up beautifully and drove over to see if we could take a ride to see the Perth City views from a height. All in all, a lovely evening that could not have been better. ^_^

Buhnii !!

Had a great day at Perth Upmarket on Sunday ^_^ Was quite a busy day with lots of different customers and lots of interest in j2aney :p The customers were so friendly and bubbly.

The Etsy girls are always so helpful! Always there when someone needs a bathroom break !! hehehe :) I met so many lovely people at the market, including at the stall next to me selling bio-dynamic olive oil and dukkah. Of course I had to take some of that home with me - a 'present' for my parents, which I have already cracked open to try - delicious!!!

Niina (NiinaAoki) came by and dropped of my new adorable Buhni cushion! It is sOoo kawaiii~~ I love it! And there is so much detail in the little flowers, all hand stitched :) I was also quite naughty and bought a lovely necklace from Jacquie (RamsdenDesigns). I love the two girls and of all her work they are my favourite! The colours are so beautiful and they just look so pretty! Can't wait to wear to wear it!As for today, I'm off to BoyGirlDog to deliver some more stock and check out Sioux's awesome store again. And in more good news, apparently, the drop in interest rates mean that there will be more investments in Australia and hopefully the Australian dollar will go up - preferably by the time I go on holiday! Keke

Have You Had Your 2 and 5 Today?

Two fruit and five veg?

Well here are some vegies anyway.. No fruits :p My work in progress for Vegiez Necklaces ^_^ Aren't they cute in a bunch like that! Heheh :)

Oh and check out what I got at Subiaco Unwrapped - prettyyyyy..~~ I did have photos of my stall but since my mobile phone and laptop are incompatible, I can't get them on at the moment =< Anyway, tis necklace was made by 'cheir', a girl named Celia. Her laser cut jewellery is awesome! Love it ^_^
The market turned out quite well, although it was quite windy and it rained! Much to my dismay.. Luckily I was able to steal a plastic sheet from NiinaAoki. I also bought one of her adorable Buhni cushions in red ^_^ Will post a picture of it when I get it (she ran out of red ones.. :p).

My next markets are Oxford Street Market in Leederville (December 13th), Perth Upmarket at the Perth Town Hall (December 14th) and Oxford Street Market in Leederville (December 20th). My weekend is going to be a busy one! :) I am mostly prepared, I think!

And after all the rush of markets is over, I will be heading straight to SPotlight with a friend to take advantage of their sale! Dressmaking patterns are half price and I will be picking some up to work on my sewing skills - and use my new sewing machine! I won it from a raffle at Spotlight weeks ago and haven't had the time to even open the box yet! Can't wait and I hope I'm not too bad at sewing.. hehe ^^

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens

"when one door closes, another one opens"

That is what I am hoping! The recruitment company I am working at no longer has enough work for me.. but who better to find me a job than the recruiters themselves? Im hoping that a new door will open so I can save up enough for my holiday! It would also be great to learn from another company and see their style..

On a brighter note, I had a great weekend with them at Southern Cross. A little travel sickness on the train, but it was fun. The food and hospitality at the Railway Tavern was just fantastic! Thanks to Jo and Robert! We had a roast dinner, played darts, sang karaoke and woke up to be treated to a delicious cooked breakfast - yum! It is a nice little town (although I am more of a city gal myself.. ^^).

I have been working on some little toadstools to be used in my little glass bottle charms. Thanks to Liza for sending me some lovely flocking in different shades! In these charms, I have used the autumn and forest flocking and love the way it turned out. I have also been at Ali J's making button badges! Pictures to come ^_^ They will make a small, cute gift to show someone you have thought of them this Christmas :p

Subiaco Unwrapped market is tomorrow!! A bit panicky.. I'm spending the whole of tomorow preparing.. but still!! aRghhHH~~ >_< *fingers crossed for the weather too!!!!*

BoyGirlDog

Just got home from BoyGirlDog, an awesome little store in Mount Lawley that will be stocking some of my work! I almost had to tie my hands behind my back to keep myself from buying anything there, they have such a fantastic collection of jewellery, t-shirts and some SUPER-cute figures and stationery from 'tokidoki'. kawaiii~~ !! >_<

I still have some more pieces to make as they were sold out when the lovely owner of BGD ordered from me - keeping busy tonight !

AND.. the new business cards I mentioned in an earlier post finally arrived! I just love the way they turned out, and had the same design made into hang tags for my necklaces ^_^
AND.. more good news -- I booked my flight to Hong Kong yesterday! I will be leaving on the 25th of January and I am super excited :) On my way home today, I saw a plane in the sky and thought "that's gonna be mee~". It is a little childish I know, but I haven't been on holiday for yonks and I can't wait! Hong Kong has so much cute and stylish clothing, way ahead of the fashion here in Australia. Also, I will be scouring the streets for cute charms for my jewellery ^_^ Now for the hard part.. saving up enough money for a two week shopping spree~~

Made On The Left

Phew felt so tired after Made On The Left - but it was great fun! I was a teensy bit late arriving, so frantically tried to set up while doing last minute finishes to some of my pieces! I threw together the necklace stand a few days ago and love it, although it would be better if it could hang more than 10 necklaces! But Jeff (my boy) bought the lovely white stand for me - its really stable and looks great ^^ I also had lots of good feedback and was approached by a retailer, which I am really excited about - now to get off my backside and make a catalogue-y type thing :p The photos of my stall from MOTL didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but I had a great stall spot between Polyclarific and a nice lady namd Marina who made the most beautiful tutu-style skirts for children and lovely chunky jewelry. Her and her lovely little helper Ash (ley/leigh?) were great company and great help for getting me food and watching my stall while I stole away for a browse of the rest of the market ^_^. It is always so lovely to see when others enjoy your work, and I was so happy to see that a visitor to the MOTL market had blogged about her purchases (two of which were from my stall!). For a newbie into crafting and selling like me, it is so exciting to be mentioned! I also got these lovely brooches from Niina (Sinipuu) - her illustrations are absolutely amazing, I am a huge fan and was sooo tempted to get one of her lovely bunny cushions.. but I had to refrain since I'm saving for a holiday to Hong Kong! I have hinted to my boy though that I would like one.. hehe ^^ Last week, I went to Sarah and Moz's house to discuss with Moz some new designs for my business cards. I have been meaning to change the look of my cards/banners to something more professional, yet cute. After hours of playing around with an idea I had, Moz turned it into something so simple - but totally cute and exactly the stye I wanted!! I also got to see Sarah at work making her beautiful polyclay jewelry, which was lovely :) The cards and hang tags are already off the printing press and should be arriving tomorrow or the day after - can't wait!