A truly beautiful Minxy mix of charm, inspiration, practical advice, and pretty projects to simplify and beautify your life and home. - Jane Brocket, The Gentle Art of Domesticity
Felicity Hall needlepoint kits
Silhouette needlepoint by Felicity Hall
Since The Crafty Minx was published in the UK in April, I’ve been receiving more and more emails from UK readers, which is very exciting. Felicity Hall got in touch to alert me to her divine needlepoint kits, which I love so much I couldn’t resist popping them up on the site here, in case you fancy ordering them direct from the UK.
They remind me a little of The Six Week Boutique kits I featured here earlier: very fun and funky.
Cuban car rectangular needlepoint kit
'In the frame' cushion by Felicity Hall
Three Swallows needlepoint
More inspiration on Daily Imprint
Daily Imprint’s Natalie Walton asked me recently for a post on what inspires me for her site. This is what I wrote:
Late last year I went to see UK comedian Daniel Kitson at the Opera House performing his show, 66a Church Road – A Lament Made of Memories and Kept in Suitcases. I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought of it since – it really struck a chord.
Kitson performs a monologue about the time he spent renting the house of the title in London, and all the recollections tied up in it. It’s funny and sad and really got me thinking about the notion of home… how it’s not just where the house is, and how we place so much importance upon material things both to ground and define us.
I love my own home and being around all my things, but it reminded me that I can be happy anywhere, and with very little – a house is just a shell, after all. It’s the weight of our memories that makes it a home, and those people we share them with.
Too hot to handle
Fab stripy oven mitt
With the rain pelting down and Sydney gridlocked in traffic last Wednesday, I headed off to No Chintz for a workshop to make some nifty oven mitts. The women I met in the class were so fab – all mothers, all crafty – and we each made an oven mitt and half a matching mitt to pair with the first.
Once you get the hang of these handmade pieces, you can knock one up in half an hour. And a pair make a great gift for a friend who loves to cook.
A while back, I was visiting all the people in my old office, and my former MD mentioned the book: “One thing is certain,” he said. “I’m sure you won’t be writing one for men”. I think these could be a contender for The Crafty Minx for Blokes, don’t you think? Maybe I should add a bit of padding and call them boxing gloves.
Love this embroidered fabric
My mitt
One stylish oven mitt
The Society Inc.
I love these belljars, specimen bottles and numbered linen napkins, all available from stylist Sibella Court’s beautiful concept store, The Society Inc. in Sydney’s Paddington.
Her range of paints for Murobond is gorgeous also, with new ones added every few months, and if you subscribe she’ll send you out a lovely inspiring newsletter every once in a while.
Do it in Paris
Flowery dresses and pretty accessories for a successful garden party
Are you all addicted to this site after my last mention? How I love the look today!
Accessorize clutch
To bring a little Sacré Cœur sunset to your evening, how about adorning a favourite item with silk flowers, as per this Accessorize clutch suggested by Do it in Paris?
Life is sweet, non?
This week’s inspiration…
Crushed roses and velvet
Comes in the form of these lolly-like fripperies: a silk rose, sequinned starfish and a tattered black feather or two… what to do, what to do? I’ve already wasted a good half hour this morning calculating; turning them over in my hands, and wondering.
Michaela picked up the unusual sequins up for me from Spotlight when last there – see here for her solution. The silk rose is from Diva and the starfish, or firework burst, or whatever manner of shape the black sequinned business is, was picked up on my travels somewhere (along with the feather and Whitman’s sampler tin full of leftover bits and bobs).
See here for another flight of fancy with feathers and studs.
A tin full of possibilities
Imagine these beauties washed up on the shore
Bright and shiny
Shake your tail feather
Dress the walls
Yellow dress makes a bold statement - from Selina Lake's book, Bazaar Style
We have picture rails in our home, so it’s easy to chop and change the art about on a whim – and you know what they say about change being (almost) as good as a holiday.
Occasionally I pop an inspiring frock or kimono up for a burst of colour on a grey day as well. See these lovely images here for inspiration.
Jackets on hooks
A vintage frock to match the wallpaper
Satisfying upcycling
My old/new picnic kit
Look inside
We’ve just returned from a lovely long weekend in the Hunter Valley, spent wine-tasting with a bunch of favourite people.
Shauna, who’s an auctioneer at Lawson’s Auction House (for her insider tips on bidding, click here) brought this picnic basket away with us, which she won in a job lot last Friday. When I commented on it she insisted I keep it, generous lady that she is.
My old/new basket’s missing its original glasses, plates and cutlery, but came with matching napkins and a tablecloth. I’ve added my own hardy plastic cups, but will be on the lookout for the right bits and pieces to store inside when on my travels.
Olive in her thrifty skirt
Another recycled find is this $2 skirt from a flea market – Olive loves to twirl in it, and had a bit of a dance to the bands put on by the vineyards on Sunday.
Old oil panting
As is this oil painting, which I bought for $5 at a charity store and liberated from its ugly frame. It now lives in our teeny tiny bathroom, simply attached to the wall by a 3M hook. Staring at a peaceful scene like this from the bathtub is definitely the way to start a day off on the right foot.
A few top picks from Decor8
Egads, I’ve fallen in love with these cushions by The London Cushion Company… first spied on Decor8, along with the link to this fabulous site in Amsterdam: All the luck in the world.
I’m loving some of the ideas here for recycling less-than-precious antiques. Très inspiring.
All the luck in the world store in Amsterdam - beautifully recycled collectables
Daily Imprint / Sharyn Cairns
Roses - picture by Sharyn Cairns
I’ve just spent an enjoyable half hour reading through the latest entries on Natalie Walton’s lovely site, Daily Imprint, and came upon these pics by Sharyn Cairns.
How funny – I clipped out these exact same images from Inside Out a while back and stored them in my inspirations folder. I even took the one above along to an art class I was taking, to put me in mind of something I could draw. It may also be the reason I felt so drawn to chemistry bottles for a while there: I bought some for next-to-nix from Brady’s Used Furniture, but if you’re looking for something similar, Mitchell Rd Auction House usually has a good selection of antique medical and science equipment to bid on as well. They do indeed make excellent vases.
Click here for Natalie’s interview with Sharyn, and more divine pics.
Dreamy bedroom - image by Sharyn Cairns