Do You Pin?

I joined Pinterest ages ago, but with a lot on my plate, I kind of never got around to doing anything more than accepting my invite.... Until this week.

Suffice to say I'm totally hooked - it is just so darn cool!

While looking at new stuff on there this morning (circa 5am), I came across this image and I must say it seems quite fitting.

{source}

I've managed to pin everything from wedding dresses to home decor to puppy dogs! (And apparently tapped into a slightly cheesy side of my personality along the way!)

So my question for today is - do you pin?

Have a fantastic Friday!

Plumo Love-o!

I just recently came across the gorgeous Plumo website, filled with loads of lovely items. This online site has everything from fashion to homewares to vintage items. The products come from across the globe and the underlying ethos is fair trade and fair pay for the maker.

Here are some of my favourites:

{all images via Plumo}

If you haven't visited the site before I strongly recommend checking them out! :)

Have a lovely day!

Wool Week

Since it's that time of year when the weather is getting cooler and I've started unravelling balls of wool ready to begin making warm scarves, hats and gloves for the cooler months - it seems fitting that this week is the annual Wool Week for 2011.

The Campaign for Wool is an international campaign that was started to promote an awareness of wool and encourage people to use this material over other forms of man-made fibre and wool substitutes.

{source}

Wool Week has events throughout the UK and also in Australia and New Zealand and you can find out more about it at the site here.

Since I couldn't let the week go by without finishing at least one wool project, I've been looking through some of my favourite patterns on Ravelry and I plan to have some to finished projects to show off this weekend!

Have a wonderful (woolly) week!

London Fashion Week & Introducing Lucille!

I'm running around trying to cram everything I need into a suitcase, I've just put the finishing touches on my dress - and first thing tomorrow I'm off to London for the opening day of Fashion Week!

(Did I mention I'm a little excited?)

I was contacted about a month ago and asked if I would attend the shows I'm going to for my Australian fashion blog blog.

The shows I'm attending are by Australian fashion designers presenting their work at London Fashion Week - and well - how could I say no?

Of course, as I mentioned several weeks back - going to fashion shows means you have to have a dress to wear - and after looking at about a zillion options - I decided in the end to make one and buy one. That way I had more than one outfit and the opportunity to go wearing something of my own creating.

I wasn't too adventurous because I was super pressed for time (basically, I threw some fabric at the dummy and tried to work some magic) - but I'm quite happy with the final result...

So introducing my super duper model, sadly meeting you all for the first time in what I admit are a not my best photos ever - nonetheless, styled up and ready to go - here is Lucille wearing a creation from Lulliloo!

(She's not well pleased to be stuck in the corner of this messy room and photographed at a less than flattering angle - but she is very patient!)

I really should have taken the snaps during the day, because this photo doesn't really do the dress justice, but I think you get the idea.

I probably won't have time to blog while I'm away - but I will definitely have an update and details of my first English Fashion shows when I get back!

Have a lovely weekend! M x

Blog Love - Beautiful Blogs to Read

Emily Blunt in Christian Dior Couture

I love finding great new blogs and seeing how other creative people express their thoughts and ideas in their own way on their blogs. This week I've come across some lovely blogs that are quite new and well worth a visit.

Rocio at My Fashion Dolly - a lovely lady who is well worth visiting, you simply have to check out her gorgeous, girly fashion illustrations.

Melissah at Scrapbook - a blog by interior designer, Melissah. I could spend hours looking through this girly, colourful and delightful blog which is just beautifully put together.

Liza at Hello beautiful street - a very talented young lady, who is very handy with the sewing machine!

Ivy Black at Vintage Stitches - a lovely blog full of vintage styled goodness!

I know that there is nothing nicer than seeing people start finding their way to your blog, so I'm sure these lovely ladies would be thrilled if you popped by and said hello!

Have a wonderful weekend! xx

Say Hello & Wave Goodbye

Happy New Year! I hope you have a fantastic evening whatever your plans and where ever you may be saying goodbye to 2010 and celebrating the start of 2011.

Wishing everyone a fabulous evening and hoping you have a wonderful, exciting and invigorating new year ahead! xx

A Winter Wish List - English Fashion Trends

The cold weather is definitely on the way and with the weather dropping to minus 3 tonight, I think it's definitely time to put together my winter wishlist....

In very English fashion, a pair of wellington boots...

A warm winter jacket...

A long fluffy one of these...

I'll wrap up in one of these...

And make sure that I snuggle in close to one of these....

Hope you're having a great week everyone, M xx

Wellington boot photo from Washington Post site

Travel in style

Once upon a time, (circa 2007) I boarded a plane to leave Australia for the first time (Disneyland at 5 doesn't count!). With just the belongings I could stuff in my suitcase I travelled to Croatia to teach English - on my own. While things didn't quite work out as planned and I had to return home after injuring myself - I spent 7 months in Croatia and Serbia teaching kids and getting a whole new persepective on the world. I learnt a new language, I braved the buses in Belgrade (which is really something else), I lived in two very divided countries, I travelled daily past the still uncleared bomb sites in Belgrade, I soaked up the sunshine in Croatia, I watched as a million people arrived in Belgrade to prorest the independence of Kosovo and I saw countless memorials to young people born at the same time as me - who died fighting while I was in my final years of high school. I also experienced an incredible level of warmth and hospitality and I fell a little bit in love with a place that at times frustrated me to the point of tears.

Since leaving the Balkans, I've been home to Australia, I've lived in Florence and I now live in the UK. I'm decidely unadventurous these days and can tend to be a bit of a homebody - maybe it's because moving to the other side of the world seems like enough. However, I've finally been coaxed back to the Balkans, and this week I'm heading off to Belgrade, then travelling through Croatia to visit friends, before returning to England in 3 weeks time. (I'll try to blog when I can! :) )

I'll be taking my battered suitcase with me and I'll probably just be rushed and stressed during the initial travel bit, but I can always dream of travelling like the truly stylish!

Hope you've had a fabulous weekend! xx

Tres frou frou - Vintage inspired fashion

I don't have a lot of opportunity to do dresses, I'm more a jeans kind of gal... Jeans are practical and kind of go with my everyday life. It's not especially glam I know and definitely not as pretty as a beautiful silky, floaty dress, but somehow gliding around looking like I'm off to the red carpet doesn't really fit with village life (or not the village I live in at any rate!)

Every so often however, the girly girl inside me wants to play dress up - and one of my favourite things about being in England is English fashion. I love vintage fashion and the influence of this style on a lot of current fashion trends.

The lady-like glamour of vintage fashion is one of the thing that really appeals to me - I can be a bit of a romantic and like harking back to times past imagining myself into my own Jane Austen-eque day dream!

If some of these dresses were in my wardrobe - I think I could seriously get excited about wearing dresses a whole lot more!

Happy Tuesday! xx

If I Were A Rich Girl (& Lullilloo at The White Shed)

First of all, my apologies for being a very bad blogger this week. With so much going on I've just not had two seconds to sit down and write a post.

One of the most exciting things that has happened this week is that some of my cushions are now for sale at The White Shed. This lovely homewares shop is now also a super duper online store as well - and sells many handmade items alongside the regular homewares in the store. You can find them online at The White Shed Store or by visiting The White Shed Blog.

If I were a rich girl - lalalalalalalalala....

I would wear one of these....

And maybe one of these....

While sitting on one of these...

I'd surround myself with these....

And maybe bag me one of these...

The End! x

Red Carpet Gala Dress - $760; Liason by Kat Swank - Luxe Alphonsa Headband - $1,200; 50s Hollywood Regency Gold Lounge Chair - $1,250; Cushion Cut Diamond Engagement Ring & Band - $7,699 - All handmade items via Etsy (click pictures for source)
Roses via Google Images

Hope you've had a fabulous weekend! xx

I ♥ Handmade

Well, I would wouldn't I - I did name my blog Hand Made Me after all! :) I know my fellow handmakers know exactly why handmade is so beautiful and important, but I thought I'd share a bit about why I love handmade so much for everyone who is perhaps not a maker themselves.


1. I ♥ handmade because it is unique - Handmade is not mass produced. The chances of walking down the street and seeing someone else with the same bag, scarf, necklace etc are very slim.



2. I ♥ handmade because it is made with exeptional attention to detail.



3. I ♥ handmade because it is environmentally friendly. Locally made and upcylced handmade items are stylish and reduce our environmental footprint.



4. I ♥ handmade because it doesn't limit others from achieving their potential. Handmade didn't come from a sweatshop in a third world country only to be sold at a vastly inflated price. The person who made it didn't have to move hundreds of miles from their family to take up the only job available to them. They didn't have the profits of their labour taken away from them. A handmade item is made by someone who has control over their work (possibly someone in your own community), and who receives all the financial benefit for the work they do.




5. I ♥ handmade because it is exclusive. Handmade can be tailored to your particular specifications, you can have something that is made to fit, incorporates your initials or made unique for you in any number of different ways.



6. I ♥ handmade because it makes me happy. Handmade lets me bring my ideas to life. I love sketching something, thinking through the process of making it, cutting out a paper pattern, cutting into a new piece of fabric and stitching it together to create something new (yep, this last pic is one of my designs!)

Handmade is beautiful because it is original, unique, fabulously well crafted, better for the environment, shows respect for the person who makes it, chic, charming and individual.

Each of the images in this post is from handmade site Etsy. If you've not explored this incredible community of handmade designers and makers, I urge you to do so. If you're not sure where to start, you might like to look at some of my favourites on the side bar here, or click on the Buy Handmade tab above to see more chic handmade and vintage items on Etsy.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of these and other handmade items - I hope you're having a fabulous day xx

Found on Friday

Nothing says glamour like beautifully handcrafted items. I can (and all too often do!) spend hours browsing beautiful items from Etsy and other handmade stores and sites. Here are some of the lovely treasures I've found this week during my online handcrafted explorations...

All items can be found on Etsy


To find out more about the talented people who make these gorgeous items or to lose yourself in a world of chic, handcrafted loveliness - click on the pictures to follow links to the sites.

Have a wonderful weekend xx