Spoilt!

I recieved an exciting looking parcel today in the post and opened it to reveal a gift from my DUST secret santa - the beautiful Samara from maddabling!

Opening the package to reveal all these beautifully wrapped gifts was enough to make me squeal with excitement!

Samara spoilt me rotten with a box full of pampering treats including:

• 2 delicious smelling bath tea bags! ...Can't wait to try them out in my claw foot bath!
• Scrumptious raspberry bath milk! ...Smells divine!
• A pretty heart bath bomb! ... I'll be soooooo pampered after using all these!

Samara was so generous to give me all these wonderful handmade items.

But not only that! She also included a cool photo postcard, a set of gift tags and the most beautiful necklace with a bird, key and aqua rose - my favourite color!

I love everything! And this necklace is my new favourite!

Thank you so much Samara! I absolutely love your gift. Thanks also to Samara for organising the secret santa this year, after the sad loss of our much loved Julie-Ann.

If you like the look of the items I recieved, make sure you visit Samara's etsy store, maddabling

-B

Secret Santa

I love participating in DUST craft swaps, but it has been a while since I've been involved in one. I'm therefore very excited about the DUST Secret Santa I'm in this month!

My Secret Santa gift is all ready to go.... I wonder who it is going to?? Stay tuned and all will be revealed .... :)

Shopping Relief

I was very honored to be part of the amazing DUST team when a fabulous store was opened to raise funds for the devastating floods recently in QLD, Australia. Naturally I jumped at the chance to donate a couple of items, and I can gladly say they both sold and are off to new homes :) Thank you to the lovely buyers for supporting such a great cause! I also bought a gorgeous fox screenprint donated by magicjelly and it is sooo beautiful, I love it.

The store has so far raised over $5000 with a mindblowing 400+ sales, all donated items, and 100% of proceeds going directly to charity!

Here is a pic of the Bottle Top Necklace and Owl Earrings I donated;

And here is the gorgeous fox print I bought;

Generously donated by magicjelly.etsy.com

There are still a HEAP of fabulous items, goto http://www.etsy.com/shop/AusDisasterRelief to do some shopping, whilst also supporting a worthy cause!! And if you need any inspiration, here are a few of the goodies up for grabs! (click on the image to go to the listing, or to go to the donator's shop click on their name)

Generously donated by rosieok.etsy.com

Generously donated by paperbyforgetmenot.etsy.com

Generously donated by milkwooddesign.etsy.com

Generously donated by shinyrabbit.etsy.com

Generously donated by wingbysea.etsy.com

Generously donated by littlemoandfriends.etsy.com

Theres never been a better time to buy handmade goods, because you also get to support a charity!

Secret Santa, The DUSTy kind

I recently signed up for a Secret Santa (kris kringle) within the DUST group, and sent my gift off to my secret recipient earlier in the week, hopefully they recieve it soon so I can share with you what I sent!

Today, however, I recieved a gorgeous little parcel in the mail from my secret santa! It was so unexpected, and so lovely. It came from May, from MayBrady and I absolutely love it.. here's what I was very lucky to recieve (thank you May!)

Beautifully Giftwrapped...

A bundle of gorgeous handmade cards and gifttags...

featuring cool retro art prints...

and in her signature style, a vintage scarf headband ;)

Thanks May!

Delightful DUSTy Craft Swap

I'm so thrilled with my second DUST craft swap, I really enjoyed it. I was paired with the lovely Olga from Ellies Pretty Things. Olga said she liked my bird themed jewellery and her favourite color was green... so this is what I came up with for her:

And in return, this is the beautiful parcel I recieved from her - a pale green organza flower headband, pair of flower hairslides and jumbo button hair tie - all gorgeous and all very very useful! (they went in my hair as soon as I got them!)

Make sure you check out Olga's store too! http://www.elliesprettythings.etsy.com/ :)

I hate vacuuming, but I love DUSTing ~ #2

Ok so the second installment of "I hate Vacumming but I love DUSTing", where I pick a few of my fellow DUST (Down Under Street Team) members and feature their items and etsy store, has taken a little longer than I would have liked, but better late than never or so they say!!

Don't forget you can see a whole list of members of the DUST team and their etsy stores at http://www.dustteam.com/

This time around I'm featuring some stunning creations from Maddabling, JulieBlanchette, lafemmejewels and Wiccked ....

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| MADDABLING |

Samara from Maddabling (Maddo)'s shop catchphrase is 'made with love' and her items certainly reflect that. With eclectic jewellery, paper goods, collages just to name a few - her diversity in arts and craft is seemingly endless. Here are some examples...

Clockwise from Left:

♥ The sweetest red heart card "il mio cuore e il vostro" , meaning "my heart and yours" in italian for someone special in your life ...
♥ Industrial but dainty, this necklace appropriately entitled "Green Steel" is a real steal!...
♥ Earthy "Things of Glass and Wood" necklace....
♥ A beautiful and delicate pin brooch named "papilons dans le jardin" which translates from French to 'Butterflies in the Garden'... aww :)

 

You can also see more about Maddabling at her blog and on facebook.

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| JULIE BLANCHETTE |

A visit in this store is like peering into a page of Beatrix Potter's 'Peter Rabbit' or Enid Blyton's 'Faraway Tree'. The gorgeous creations certainly transport you back to your childhood and are so very delicate and sweet you can't help but be enchanted. Take a look at what I mean....

Clockwise from Left:

♥ Super sweet and irresistably cute Needle Felted Art Child with Teddy

♥ I love these Delightful Wool Felt Eco Friendly Bunnies they are just so cute and whimsical :)

♥ Darling Mother and Child needle felted ornaments, both holding a heart, the perfect gift for a mother

♥ Or if you're into DIY, how about this kit for a pocket gnome? All you need to create your own little felted friend!

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| LA FEMME JEWELS |

All ladies love jewellery right? Then La Femme Jewels, with "Exquisite Accessories for every woman" is sure to have something for everyone indeed!

Clockwise from Left:

♥ I adore the rustic elegance of this Sterling Silver and Copper Twisted Tube Necklace...

♥ Delightfully dainty aquamarine quartz earrings will dazzle any ears and illuminate any outfit...

♥ The classic pearl, in a modern style, these Girls Best Friend Pearl Hoop earrings are sure to become any jewellery lover's new BFF.

♥ Modern and futuristic, this Copper Enamel Square Pendant on Steel Neckwire is a stand-out-from-the-crowd piece.

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| WICCKED |

And last, but by no means least, comes an array of jewellery, multimedia arts, and quilting by the very talented Melanie J Cook. Is there anything this girl can't do? Difficult to only select 4, here are some examples showing her diverse range...

Clockwise from Left:

♥ Oozing with rustic and organic qualities, this gorgeous silver and peridot CZ pendant is not only etheral but an example of wicckeds' trademark silver designs....

♥ Vivid and tantalising for the eyes, this original watercolor painting entitled "Abundance" is filled with color, and abstract imagination...

♥ Clarity is definetely something to be beheld in this stunning "Clarity of Lemon" topaz and silver necklace. Breathtakingly beautiful with a delicate yellow hue set against harsh metallic silver....

♥ A handstiched drawstring bag made of pink gingham cotton with hints of lime green from 'Quest for a Cure', Wiccked will donate $1 from the sale of this bag to Breast Cancer research. Like we need any more of an incentive to shop in her store!

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I have very much enjoyed sharing these exquisite etsy stores with you and featuring some wonderful local Aussie DUST talent and I hope you've enjoyed reading. Please make sure you visit their stores....support local handmade.

-Bri

Treasury East Addiction

 I am so loving Etsy's new Treasury East where you don't have to wait til a spot becomes available and can therefore collate etsy pretties til the cows come home! You can do multiple treasuries too and there is no expiry! Love it!

Here's a couple I prepared earlier... hehe

Baby Bonanza by Petaliferous (featuring ALL Aussie DUSTers):
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4be269cee56c8eefed4ffd1a/baby-bonanza?sort=hotness&order=desc

and The Retro Kitchen by Petaliferous
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bdfbdd487808eef6f53beea/the-retro-kitchen?sort=hotness&order=desc

DUST Team Craft Swap

This month I participated in one of the DUST team's monthly Craft Swaps. If you don't know what a Craft Swap is, basically all members who wish to participate in a swap,  register their name, and then the lovely Julie-Ann from DUST (and JulieAnnsJewels) partners each of us up. We then contact eachother and make eachother a surprise to send, and of course - we get one in return! This was my first Craft Swap experience so I was very excited, and needless to say I am very pleased with the result :)

My partner was the lovely Kirsten from KLBaileyART. Kirsten does gorgeous water color paintings in a myriad of dreamy pastel colors and also converts some of her work into wearable art. I really love her stuff so I was extremely happy when my parcel from her arrived in the mail.. and this is what I got: (I was totally spoilt)! A gorgeous original watercolor painting featuring a silhouette tree & bird with gorgeous pastel background, and the same picture made into a wearable glass pendant! Also a card and two postcards of prints of her lovely paintings.

Thank you so much Kirsten!! I adore them!

In our coverstaions Kirsten had told me she liked blues, pinks and purples, liked my rose cabochon styles and also some of my polymer clay bracelets. Therefore I came up with this special package for her... containing a hot pink rose cabochon necklace, purple rose cabochon ring, blue/black/silver swirl bracelet and 3 little mauve courdroy bags I whipped up on the sewing machine. I hope she likes them!

So basically my first craft swap was great, and I'll definetly do more in the future. It's so enjoyable interactacting with other artisans, making a special item for them and recieving something special in return - It's a great way to support your fellow etsian's, and afterall who doesn't love getting a surprise in the mail!!

Check out Kirsten's blog feature about the Craft Swap too at http://www.klbaileyart.com/2010/04/20/more-swappy-goodness/

Autumn in Australia

The Lovely Christina from Billymac put together this stunning treasury featuring all-australian etsy sellers with an Autumn theme in browns, oranges, and reds, and she included my timber bird branch earrings :) Like that wasn't enough, the treasury then got featured on the front page of etsy (Well done Christina!) and thank you for including me. It will now be my mission to get another treasury and feature you back! (I've been waiting for ages, but fingers crossed I'll get on soon).

So here is the original gorgeous treasury by Christina...

and here's how it appeared on the FP (etsy must have slightly altered it)....

I love my mail box

Well it was a good mail day for me today, hence why I love my mail box (not that the parcels I recieved actually fitted in the mail box -the Australia Post lady brought them to the front door) ... I don't think I will ever lose that child-like excitement of recieving and opening parcels!

The first one I opened was my birthday present. I'd put the money I recieved for my Birthday towards a GHD Hair Straightener, that I bought from Ebay. I knew it was going to be coming one day this week but was still beyond excited when it turned up at the front door. And I CANNOT wait to use it. I don't know how many of you use straighteners, but GHD's are meant to be the bees knees in the straighening world, and when you have curly hair like me, you need the best. So now that I have this beautiful baby in my hot little hands, no more $40 priceline straighteners for my hair!! It's so gorgeous too... sparkly, black, silver... When I opened the package, I was breathtaken.

Here's why....

And so like its not enough to recieve one big parcel on a boring cold Monday, I got another one! The second one being a big bag of goodies I won from Kids In Australia. It was filled with loads of loads of discount vouchers, special offers, $ gift vouchers, a bright green girls' tutu, box of baby toiletries and some cute button hair clips.

Believe it or not I'm also expecting a few more things in the mail too, I won a prize a few weeks back on Sunday Night Giveaway from hekoky creations, and also some custom hairclips from byconnie's facebook page. Petaliferous also donated a prize to Sunday Night Giveaway last night, Congratulations to the lucky winner, Amber, who scored this cute retro bottle top badge.

I am also partnered with the lovely Kirsten from KLBaileyART for the DUST Craft Swap... I've got her surprise ready to post, hopefully tomorrow - and once I know she's recieved it I'll share some pics of that on here too....

Wow....so much excitement and mail-love, I think its time for a hot chocolate and an ogle over my goodies...

Autumn Leaves

What an honor it is to be included in this fab new treasury by savage kitten. All items are from australian sellers too, so show your support! It features beautiful bright colors to lift any dreary autumm day! Click on the link to give it some views! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=124317