Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Family Art

This is one of my daughter's recent Art projects at Vega. She had to design a lino print using some kitsch items! Fortunately we have some right here at home! A fake plastic flower in the middle, with swan scissors and the head from my sausage dog vase! So cool! I am a proud mom!
[Remember the scissors from my collection? See the sausage dog, filled with cocktail sausages at the launch on Friday!]

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Launch Day

Freshly Found Online Boutique Launch! Friday was a very busy happy day! I had 3 launch sessions during the day, where we served food, showed the shop's products and I gave a speech! My husband linked his laptop up to the TV screen, so I could show everyone the website and the blog too!
Thank you to all my friends who came to show their support
and
thank you to
YOU
the lovely blogging community for your invaluable support too!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Countdown and Thank Yous!

Things are really buzzing here in preparation. I do hope that you will join me in celebrating the launch of Freshly Found Online Boutique tomorrow. The baking is just about finished. The Pardoemskoek squares are decorated:We've been experimenting with some table layouts, and lots of my quirky vintage dishes have been scrubbed and cleaned - ready for use! Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow, so here's I hoping we'll be able to take some good pictures!

I want to take this opportunity to thank these lovely people for recent mentions of Freshly Found on their websites - Babazeka, Siblingmine and Life in Balance!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Kerplunk Cake!

Things here are frenetic! Friday is the official launch of the Freshly Found Online Shop at my home - and plans are that the site will go live by the end of the day! It is an online shop, but I have decided to mark the occasion by having some friends and family round on the day! The food is going to have a South African theme. We came across Madeleine van Biljoen's Pardoemskoek Recipe. It is basically a fruit cake with so much fruit that as it hits your stomach it sinks to the bottom with a heavy pardoems [in Afrikaans] or kerplunk[in English]! Just the type of cake I love! So we've baked it and made the pastry for some biltong tarts and the crust for some Hertzog Koekies and bought some koeksusters and are ordering some veg Biryani. A friend is bringing Samp and Beans and we are hoping to make ginger beer today. [Friends and family - consider yourself invited. Contact me for details!]

Monday, September 21, 2009

Hartford House

I am not a horsey person, but after getting up close to this lot, my heart melted. These gorgeous animals live at Hartford House in the KZN Midlands.
That's where my husband took me this past weekend because I have a big birthday coming up soon that ends with a 0! Unfortunately I had one of the worst colds I have had in years, but managed to dose myself up to enjoy the lively gracious homestead-that-is-now-a-hotel and thoroughly enjoy the 5 course dinner on Saturday night. Every bit of food was a gastronomic work of art!Staying at Hartford House is a real treat! I have never slept on a bed where I personally had 8 cushions and pillows to myself!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Swing Tags!!

Freshly Found's business cards and swing tags arrived yesterday! Yay! I have taken the greatest delight in attaching them to some of the products - In fact I got so carried away I started adding more than swing tags to the Collar Cushion Covers [made from vintage shirts]! I thought these crochet flowers added a festive touch of Spring, despite the fact that it is very dark, cold and rainy here today!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Dinner, etc

On Saturday night we had 13 people for dinner. Thanks to Graham D who was here early and snapped some of the final preparations. I don't relish the cooking, but I enjoy the decorating and the company!
I found a few tiny sprigs of mint and some rosemary, strawberry and naartjie to infuse into the jugs of water. The azaleas in our garden are magnificent here at the moment, so I enjoyed picking some fresh white ones.The lovely flowers on the sideboard are one of the new products which I will be stocking in my shop. I have not been a brilliant blogger or blog visitor lately as I have poured as much time as possible into my website. I have been on a steep learning curve! And I realise that there is a lot more to go. The plan is that it will go live late next week!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Spoilt!!

With this divine Carrot Cake from Food Matters!Thanks M-I-L!And thanks Amelia for organising!!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

For People Who Go to the Pictures!

More packaging! These packs are made from white grease proof paper and pictures from a vintage Picture Show Annual [For people who go to the Pictures!] I don't always find it easy to take these books apart - but this annual was already falling apart when I found it - which made it easier. I have had such pleasure working these gorgeous signed portraits! They are magnificent. They will be used to wrap the medium sized products in my shop at first. When they run out - I have some other pics lined up! I have some crocheted cords and also some lovely black video tape for tying the parcels up!

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Freshly Found Facebook

I am a relative new-comer to Facebook. I have been blogging for almost 2 years now and have so appreciated the relationships I have built with friends all over the country and the world. I got used to the idea that only a few of my personal real life friends followed my blog. But since I have linked my blog posts to my personal Facebook, I have had a whole lot more of my friends participate! With the launch of the Freshly Found Website imminent, I have been working on a Freshly Found Facebook page. I have updated my photo albums and have enjoyed the trip down memory lane. What a privilege to have been able to capture the things I love to do!Thanks to all the friends and supporters of Freshly Found - in real life, through blogger and Facebook. You are what makes it all worthwhile!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Fresh Veg!

We had our dinner club at friends on Friday night. We are a group of 4 couples who meet once a quarter at each other's homes. The host cooks the main meal and the other couples rotate between bringing the starter, dessert and chocolate!Mariette decorated the table so beautifully. Her home is very sleek, modern and minimalistic and I just loved her spunky veggie decor. My impromptu night time shots do absolutely no justice to how lovely the table looked. I have used veggies for decor before, but never thought of how gentle and round and lovely and green fresh brussel sprouts would look. The carrots with a neat green haircut looked lively too as well as the gorgeous dark baby aubergines.
I came away inspired again to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Sari Boxes!

2 of my Sari Ropes are on their way to Italy. I made some origami-fold boxes to keep them in. The base of each is made from black cardboard and the lid is made from white cardboard, covered with some of the same sari fabric that the rope is made from![I wish I could sell all my sari ropes like that in my new shop - these were traveling to their destination in a suitcase! When it comes to posting them, it will be more cost effective to package them flat. ]
The online shop is almost ready to go live. I will show you some more of my packaging ideas on Wednesday!

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Packaging!

I have been working on the packaging for my shop. Most of it is created from recycled materials. These larger size packets are made from rescued dress patterns!The instruction sheets are topped with some of the pattern tissue and then stitched together. I love the way the print of the underneath layer shows through! I am sure you recognise the flowers I was cutting out a few days ago! [some of the flowers are cut from the pattern envelope]My Freshly Found stamp arrived early this week. I have had great fun stamping blank spaces with it!

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Happy Spring Day!

Things are really in-between in my garden at the moment! Between Winter and Summer! Flowers are blooming even though the starkness of winter is still evident!Wood rounds are piled up to make extra seating for our veranda table. Magnolia blooms breaking the Winter silence with loud claps of colour, before their leaves arrive! Signs of early Spring rain - yet to have an impact!Happy Spring Day in the South! Warm Autumn thoughts to the North!