Christmas Rush

The busy-ness of Christmas and the End of the Year seems to have overwhelmed me,
so I will be taking a break until the New Year!


I just want to say how much I appreciate the blogging community and the friends I have made.
God Bless you all at this special Christmas time!
Pic - Royal Paintbrush in our garden and indigenous to our area

Paper Birds

My friend Kerrin gave me a pack of cute cocktail stick birds.They have made a funky substitute for flowers on my coffee table in my sitting room! And they last a lot longer in the humid summer heat!I am feeling inspired to make a flock of my own paper birds...
Watch this space!

The South African Etsy Team!

Jesse of Jezzeblog has written a great article on the Etsy South African Team! Have a look here to see a whole bunch of us South African etsy shop owners featured on The Storque! Also visit our Flickr group!
How great to be part of such a fun and supportive community!

Rough and Raw

This series of chairs are so delightful. Just the basics are upholstered, revealing the inner structure of the chair. The upholstery 'fabric' is peanut bags! Innovative stuff from Mueble Tapizado
[via El Beso]This morning I read about Casamento's gorgeous Raw Settee [via Elle Deco]All of this reminds me of these too!

Huisie Huisie

I have finished another 1 of my tapestry bags. This one I have called Huisie Huisie, which is Afrikaans for Housey Housey - a game I played as a child. [I believe it can also mean this.] The bag is made from a strong cotton fabric and is lined with a shwe-shwe print.
I sourced a series of House Tapestries that had never been framed - so - I am happy to give them their debut and there will be more to come!

Urban Grounds

Urban Grounds is a one-of-a-kind coffee shop in Durban. It is set in a very quirky, eclectic environment and the owners are passionate about coffee.I visited there recently and just loved the fact that most of the furniture in the shop was for sale!How is this gold finished cabinet?! It seems that Urban Grounds will be closing down it's present shop, but here's hoping they pop up again somewhere around here soon! Keep up to date and visit their blog!

Cash Covers

With Zimbabwe tragically in the news so much at the moment, these Cushion Covers have a poignant aspect. I finished making them out of vintage screen-printed dishcloths on Saturday. They are filled with lovely soft feather inners, backed with a broad black and white stripe and are on their way to their new home today!

A Patchwork of Hands!

From MONA

A bit of Fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers Chinese Proverb

From Karina El Beso

If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive Dorothee Solle

Making my Glove Cushions

Would those of you in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you just rattle your jewelery John Lenon

Past Presents Shop

Photo Shoot!

I thought I'd show you some behind-the-scenes pics from a photo shoot we've just had in our home. It's all in preparation for some exciting stuff happening with Freshly Found in the New Year. My house was turned upside down, as we used different corners for different shoots. It was such an exciting and creative time despite the humid weather! That's all I can tell you for now. But watch this space!
PS - I enjoyed the humour in the styling of these pics I saw on Elle Deco!

Retro Fluff - Only for the Brave!

In my wonderings around thrift shops, I came across a vintage latch hook wall hanging. I decided to take it home with me and resurrect it to new Retro Life as a pair of cushions. My family have threatened to leave home if I actually display my recycled handiwork! But I reckon that a brave sort of minimalistic, industrial home with a few retro touches could embrace them well!
The type of home that has a whole lot of stuff from Studio Stalinga - Like this quirky clamp chair and these lively containerswith a pair of recycled telephone salt cellars on the table!Perhaps you agree with my family on the cushions... but I am sure you will agree with me about the innovative Dutch creativity of Studio Stalinga

Packaging Try-Out

This is the first of my Packaging Trials for my Beaded Fabric Necklaces. I am trying to use as much recycled material as possible!
I am off to Gauteng for the night and am taking some fabric beads with! I finished this just in time, using a page from an old travel book for strength and then a collage of vintage print pages for the outside covering. I cut the bird shape out to reveal some colourful tissue paper underneath. In future versions I think I will use some of the fabric offcuts for the colour! I put a Freshly Found label on the back and then stitched the whole lot together on my machine!Will be back on Wednesday!