To the best of my knowledge, there is only one problem with loving so many international blogs.  It’s the out-of-season temptations that are constantly dangled in front of you.

These beautiful owl fingerless gloves jumped off my screen when Dooce mentioned them a couple of weeks ago, and I snapped them up immediately even though we’re only halfway through Summer.  They arrived yesterday (in record time!) and I couldn’t wait to try them on.

I’m in love.  They’re soft too – made from a blend of wool, alapaca and acrylic.  And hello, they’re owls!

Feel free to start whenever you like, Winter – I’m ready now.

This project looks like So Much Fun!

Every day in 2011 Madeline shot some video of her life in LA.  At the end of the year she compiled it into one 7.5 minute video, with each day represented by about a second of footage.  The end result is so much fun and the ending is perfect.  It looks like a happy year!

My birthday is in March, and this looks like a really fun way to document my year of being 32.

I have six weeks to decide whether I’m this disciplined…

After organizing our bookshelf almost a year ago (http://youtu.be/zhRT-PM7vpA), my wife and I (Sean Ohlenkamp) decided to take it to the next level. We spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating books at Type bookstore in Toronto (883 Queen Street West, (416) 366-8973). 

Everything you see here can be purchased at Type Books.

Grayson Matthews (http://www.graysonmatthews.com/) generously composed the beautiful, custom music.

But none of it could have been done without all the volunteer hands who shelved and reshelved books all night, every night.

This is absolutely magical.  Thanks to Sophie of Her Library Adventures for sharing this!

Can anybody think of a single good reason why I don’t have a pet owl?

Pro tip:  if you really must have a sick day, I highly recommend doing it the way that I did.  It’s essential that you stay in your PJs for three quarters of the day, and only change half an hour before your boyfriend is due home so that you can pretend that you’re all grown up.

Of course, this means that when the delivery guy shows up to your house in the middle of the day you’re not going to be wearing a bra.  He’s either going to feel incredibly embarrassed or extraordinarily fortunate, but you know what?  It’s too late to be worried about these things.  This is one of those times when it’s okay to ignore your mother’s advice about standing with your shoulders back though.

And anyway, there are bigger things to be thinking about at a time like this.  For example, “Why don’t I remember ordering something from a shop called Edible Blooms?” and, “oh shit, it’s not our anniversary, is it?”

(Relax.  It’s not your anniversary.)

This amazing (and unexpected!) gift was from two Twitter friends that we’ve never even met!  A couple of weeks ago we were almost resigned to the fact that our pretty old couches were heading for the footpath for hard rubbish collection.  We’d tried to re-home them a couple of times, but although some of our friends were interested in them the timing was wrong.  The charities didn’t want to take in any more couches either.

I was really sad about their fate, so I had a little whine about it on Twitter.

LUCKILY, @brethred was reading at the time and replied that she and her boy could give them a home!  We were really happy that somebody else could use them and that they’d been saved from becoming landfill.

So today’s little surprise was a completely unnecessary but lovely gesture.  We’re just happy to have helped somebody out, and to know that our couches live on!

Farewell, little couches!

Day 4 of the 30 Day Photo Challenge is The Sky.  This is a quick and dirty long exposure of the sky above my house at about 9.30pm tonight, since the daytime sky was completely grey and uninspiring.

I wish I’d had more time to make this photo as good as it could be, but I’m trying to not be a perfectionist while I tackle this project.  Enjoy the stars.

Just a quick post tonight, since yesterday’s post was a marathon!

I came across the beautiful blog Diamonds for Dessert tonight, and I’ve spent the past half hour drooling over all the photos.  How talented is this girl?

Ukelele shortbread – complete with a detailed “how to”.

Wii controller cookies – instructions for making the buttons are included too!

Yup.  That’s a “manly cupcake“, for last year’s Movember.  And it’s on fire.

It’s on FIRE, you guys.

I could spend ages showing you all of the incredible cookie creations on Diamonds for Dessert, but I recommend heading over there yourself to check it out.

Would you be able to handle seeing somebody eat your amazing BBQ or wii controller?  I think I would cry.

I’ve had a craaaaazy week at work and all of my happy bloggy plans have fallen by the wayside.  I’ve been falling into bed at 8.30pm each night this week and there was just no more juice in the tank to blog.  Sadface. 

I’ve been pretty good at keeping up with my Google Reader though, so I thought I’d share all of the wonderful things that other people have been writing!  And boy do I have some pretty pretty things to show you…

Let’s start with a party:

Lou from Sunny & Scout put together the sweetest little icecream sunday party for her daughter, who turned one last week! 

She shared lots of photos of the Scout-a-licious Icecream Shoppe right after the party, and did a little wrap-up post of the little details here.  So sweet.

Happy birthday, little Scout!

And speaking of little people, Rachel Denbow has created a fantastic e-course called Baby on the Way, and it’s full of cute little projects for tiny people.  Beginner sewers will gradually build up their skills as they work through the course, so even somebody like me could find something to make! 

As soon as I have my sewing machine serviced I’m planning to sign up and sew for all of my friends’ new bubs.  I can vouch for Rachel’s courses – she always gives clear instructions and has excellent style.

Katie and her cutiepie Hope came up with this adorable costume, and shared the tutorial at A Beautiful Mess!  Even though it’s not Halloween yet I’m pretty sure that they’ve won first place this year.  And maybe even next year.

We Aussies don’t really do Halloween but it’s so much fun to watch the Americanos do it with style!

Any Neighbours fans out there?  I was so happy to discover that actor Jane Hall keeps a beautiful little blog about her interior design business, and this week she also launched a line of soft furnishings at Salvation Jane.  I am a huge fan of her work and have my eye on those flat-stitched sheets!  Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I looooove this DIY mug design from Amanda of Wit & Whistle.  If I can find a non-toxic, dishwasher-proof pen by Christmas I’ll be making a stack of these as gifts.  Cute!

Pip Lincolne wrote this excellent post about hate mail (boo!), and Danielle from Sometimes Sweet shared some great advice for new bloggers.  Both of these ladies are such positive and inspirational people, and I always look forward to their posts!

And finally…

You’re welcome! x

I have this terrible habit of keeping my favourite posts “unread” in Google Reader for weeks at a time.  I always mean to come back and share them with the world, but for some reason I just never get around to doing it.  My newest resolution is to stop being such a selfish blogger and share more of the beautiful things that I discover on my online travels!

I hope you enjoy these little gems.

Kellie from 74 Lime Lane is sharing a printable “thank you” card in a couple of different colourways.  They’re stylish, they’re pretty, and they’re free!

The lovely Pip Lincolne shared a link to a DIY wooden washi tape dispenser.  So cute, and really practical too.  Although, I’m really not sure that there is a dispenser in the world big enough for my collection…

Lou from sunny + scout shared this photo of her gorgeous new vintage table that she found at The Vintage Shed on the Mornington Peninsula.  I keep reading about this magical place, and I think Tim and I really need to take a quick trip there soon to see what treasures we can find!  So in love with Lou’s new hall table.

Natalie Malik is a creative journal artist who has generously created a blog full of free prompts and inspiration for summer.  The course is finished now, but the timing is still great for us Aussies who are just getting ready for summer to begin!

Her main blog is Awkward & Beautiful, and documents her artful life.  So much inspiration here, and it makes me crave my poor neglected journal more than ever.

Just one more for tonight – a delicious looking recipe for Liz’s Luscious Lemon Cake from the very stylish Salvation Jane.  I was so excited to discover this blog over the weekend, and to discover that Jane Hall kicks butt in real life as well as on Neighbours!

What treasures have you found online lately?  I’d love to know!

Mel Stringer is a name that pops up pretty often in Blog Vegas, usually in conjunction with Frankie magazine and her awesome zines.  She has this cute distinctive illustration style that I love and she just happens to be a Brisbane girl like me!

Yesterday I read that Mel was trying to raise some money for a video camera by selling sticker packs of her illustrations.  They’re only $5 and feature 10 drawings of girls with cameras.  Totally up my alley, and for such a good cause!  I bought a pack yesterday and then started clicking around the rest of Mel’s etsy shop to kill time until the mailman arrived.

That’s when I discovered her stash of printable stuff to buy!  She’s got mini stationery kits, cute little DIY print & fold cameras, and best of all – these kickass paper dolls.  It took me about 3 seconds to put them in my cart (and for $4 it was a no-brainer).

31 Photos in 31 Days

My PDF arrived in my inbox today and as soon as I got home I printed them out and started cutting.  I couldn’t have hoped for a more therapeutic activity to cure me of my week from hell and so I had to share it with you guys.

Aren’t they cute?  I already have plans to print out a bunch of girls and create some sort of fridge art with all the cute outfit combinations.  You’ll have to believe me when I say that a desk lamp and an iphone camera don’t really do these girls justice – they look much better in reality!

Mel is pretty much everywhere on the web, so if you want to keep track of what she’s doing you can find her at the following places:

Blog – Mel Stringer & her plastic camera
Etsy (zines, printables, original art & brooches) – girliepains
Etsy (felt creations) – sweet little felt
Fine art prints at Society6
Tumblr – Girlie Pains

Meanwhile, it’s Friday you guys!  I am going to go to bed right now and then sleep in until NINE O’CLOCK.

Scandalous.

I sometimes dream of having a pretty Christmas tree, covered in tasteful handmade ornaments that I’ve whipped up in my spare time.

Until then, there’s Etsy!

There are so many beautiful treasures to be found there, just as long as you’re willing to sift through pages of the bad stuff. I think it’s pretty awesome that there are so many talented people sharing their handmade pretties!

Here are a few that stood out.

5 x custom owl ornaments by EvelynX – $38 (US)

Pretty acorns! Get this set of 12 for $28 (US). However, something tells me that Australian customs would say no to the real acorn caps.

Nevermind though, how about these instead?

I am so in love with these little toadstools! A set of three is $20 (US)

Felt toy soldier ornaments from cowboybunny – $9 (US) each.

Centrepiece by hasenpfeffer – $28 (US)

Cute! A little gingerbread man from bagladee is £4.50 (or about $7.50 AUS)

… and that’s when I had to stop looking, in case I went broke!

We bought a beautiful big tree this year, to replace the funny little one we bought a few years ago when we were young and destitute. It’s very tall and a little bit spectacularly perfect, so I am secretly feeling an urge to mess it up a little and make it less “department store”. Part of that is finding the perfect topper, and although I’ve been looking for a few weeks I just can’t find one that isn’t depressingly generic.

Are there any Aussies out there who have spotted something more interesting? I’m starting to contemplate making my own… but where does one begin?