Friday Favourites

First an old favourite (old as in I have been following since I started blogging). Tania Kindersley is a woman with the most exquisite turn of phrase. Her blog is a daily delight and now I find that she has a second more "instant" blog, here, with one-liners and magnificent pics like this one:

Secondly, I have found (at last) a maker of ragdolls I can truly love. Her name is Angelica Pelati and she makes a range of speciality cakes and custom homemade plushies. She'll be at the i heart market on Saturday and I'm hoping to get my paws on one of these:

News just in - i heart market's new location

Ladies & gentlemen (trumpet, drumroll etc): the i heart market has a new home at the Moses Mabhida Stadium north podium (oops, nearly wrote North Pole!). I'll see you there on 1 October 2011 between 9am and 2pm.

Vintage fan club membership cards

How sweet is this? I found it on Hurricane Vanessa's blog here. There are quite a few including The Beatles Buddies and the Barbie Club.
But...

I always thought the Lone Ranger said "Hi-Ho Silver".
We live and learn.

The Magic Faraway Tree

I was talking about The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and could not remember the name of the fairy. So I googled her and here she is...

Illustration by Dorothy M Wheeler from the first edition.

Shopping and writer's block

Today, right in front of me and blocking my way, is writer's block. My mind is very very busy and stringing together a coherent sentence is proving to be an impossible task. So instead of the usual text-supported by image, it is my pleasure to present (as the circus-master says) some images supported by text.

Last Wednesday, while out looking for new Globe chairs (the centre chair in the photo below)...

I popped into Caboodle at 106 Bulwer Road and got a chance to catch up with Denise from Freshly Found. She has so many charming crochet items and I fell in love with this excellent crochet bracelet which hopped into my bag and came home with me. 

Talking with Denise got me all fired up about the i heart market on Saturday where I bought this ceramic trinket box with the little heart and miniature roses. 

To my surprise and delight, the inside of the lid has a repeat of the pattern that is embossed on the outside of the box.

The market was wonderful. We were treated to music and singing while we shopped (what could be better) and the whole school was buzzing with activity.

Mid-month I Heart Market

This Saturday, the 17th, there's a bonus i ❤ market. It's at Chelsea Drive School upper campus on Northway in Durban North. The school is holding an arts festival so there will be music and singing and dancing (would that there were "music and moonlight and love and romance" but since it's raining today, just sunlight will be welcomed).

Creativity in bucketfuls

These birdie characters are handmade by Abigail Brown in London. Her website describes her as "creature textile designer extraordinaire" and her bird sculptures are so lifelike and characterful that I have to agree. They are made with a fabric body, a wire frame, wire legs and feet and their feathers are coloured scraps of fabric. I found out about her through a lovely article in the September 2011 issue of BBC Homes & Antiques magazine (the magazine itself receives a rave review here on the Cuptake Couture website). These little fellows (particularly the robin) are at the top of my Christmas wishlist.

And to start off your weekend

A drunken elk in a tree

From BBC News today at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14842999, a drunken elk was discovered in a tree by a homeowner in Southern Sweden. Drunken elk are not an uncommon sight in Sweden during autumn, when there are plenty of apples about. Mr Johansson said the elk appeared to be sick, drunk, or "half-stupid", the Associated Press reported

How could I have missed this?

Funny bunny made from locally-manufactured shingles

Thanks to Coelho Culture, today I've been introduced to another awesome (do I use that word too often - answers on a postcard...) made in Durban website called I Love Bokkie. Not only does Wendy stock lovely lovely creative goodies, she also posts inspiring images like these sculptures by Florentijn Hofman.

Monkey made from 10000 flipflops

I'm so excited...It's time for The Package Project 2011

Nadia from Cupcake Couture is calling for participants in this year's project which basically creates links between bloggers in realtime and via snail mail by swapping packages that are put together with thought, love and care. As an experiment in social networking, last year's project was a huge success and was featured on the Frankie blog, PSFK, Google Blogs of Note and Trend Central to name a few. This year the lovely Nadia is aiming to go international, so I'm alerting friends, family and blog followers worldwide!! I've sent her my email (deadline 15 October - check out her website for comprehensive details) and I'm already dreaming up possibilities to go in my package...

Cuptakes - awesome and cute!

It is possible to be girly and also love tech stuff. Last night I found Cuptakes and I'm hooked! 

Lauren, of Restored 316 Designs, has created a fabulous iPhone, iPad and Mac application that offers a selection of exclusive wallpapers called, “Cuptakes”. She says: “My goal was to offer something I wanted myself, and that is, true original girly girl wallpaper designs for my Desktop and that complements my iPhone and iPad. The Mac has been such a joy since I switched, and I just wanted to complement something that’s already awesome!”.

There are matching designs for your iPhone and iPad home screen and lock screen and now also your Mac Desktop (all screen sizes and the app auto-detects your screen-size). The whole app is really easy to use and the designs are too cute. My favourite for today is the screenshot on the right.

One of the reasons that I like the app such a lot is that it has quite a few "text" designs and I like words. For example, these cushions that I had made for my wedding (right), and this wallpaper from "Cuptakes" (left).

There are also calendar pages that co-ordinate with the home screens and lock screens and a selection of Christmas themed "Cuptakes" including my favourite that says: "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas"

It has arrived... at last!

Electronics kit from Adafruit Industries

Limor Fried (check out this month's American WIRED magazine here) is my personal female empowerment hero. She's GORGEOUS & GEEKY and today excitement reigns in our home because the electronics kits from Adafruit Industries have arrived. My husband ordered them on the 29th of August and we've been counting sleeps (well almost) until they arrived. Stay tuned for progress updates...