Centro 'Smile' Photo Comp - A finalist - yay!

While I was away, I was notified that this photo of Jude was listed as one of the 100 finalists for the annual Centro 'Smile' Photography competition...I was shocked, happily shocked, that one of my images made it in (I'm no photographer :-P).

And not only did I receive a finalist spot, so did my awesomely talented sister Danielle Q from Curiouser.

Voting is open now, so why not pop over and cast your vote for the photo that makes you smile. (this is where I should be saying 'vote for me! vote for me! but I wont..he he...truly there are some beautiful photos, definitely worth a look). Not only do the winning photographers win cash prizes but so can one lucky voter - $2000 cash! So it might just be worth the few minutes it takes to vote, hey?

Polkadot Lane Debut

I did it - I've committed to a market stall.

Polkadot Lane will be debuting at the Mulgrave Makers Market on Sunday 24th October.


It's been a while since I've set up a little shop front, market style (not since the Kiti Q days) but I'm looking forward to the new challenge, and the figurative kick up the backside to get some things made. Nothing like a deadline for motivation, hey?

Maybe I'll see you there :-)

xx

My Creative Space..

is all about bags at the moment...and I'm having so much fun!

I've nearly completely cut out the two Amy Butler 'Weekender Bags' that I am making..


and I've also managed to make up my own bag pattern..I think I'm going to call it the 'Juliet' bag. I've made 3 so far...








What do you think? To be honest, I am just having a ball mixing up the fabrics. And making a bag that I've worked out myself, completely, from scratch - it feels kinda cool :-)

Plenty more creative spacers over at Kootoyoo.

xx

Kidlets

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.” Isadora James

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero."

Marc Brown

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. "
Clara Ortega

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."
Author Unknown

"Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts."
Author Unknown

Little Lemon-y Goodness

On Friday, I made up a batch of these super yummy mini Lemon Tarts, and thought I'd share...

Ingredients :
4 sheets frozen Shortcrust Pastry

Filling :
125g Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

Candied Lemon, or fresh, whipped Cream to garnish & serve.

Method :
1 - Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Brush/Spray two 12 hole patty tins with oil.
2. Using a 7cm round cutter (or a glass around the right size!), cut rounds from the thawed pastry sheets.
3. Gently press the pastry into the patty tins. Lightly prick each one three times with a fork and bake for 10 minutes, or until the pastry is just starting to turn golden.


To make the filling :
1 - Beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolks with electric beaters until smooth and thickened.


2 - Add the lemon juice and condensed milk and beat until well combined.


3 - Spoon 1 dessertspoon of the filling into each pastry case, and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the filling has set.
4 - Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin.
5 - Garnish with candied lemon strips or a dob of whipped cream.


Delish!

My Creative Space

At the moment my creative energies are flitting between the sewing machine and my hook.
I am over halfway through a crochet baby blanket (8 1/2 squares finished, 6 1/2 to go!) which is coming along nicely, and which I generally work on at night in front of a dvd. I have quite a few friends having babies this year, so fingers crossed one of them has a girl :-P.


Among some other sewing projects I've got on the go (a dress for Lana, zinnia floor cushion for the lounge, and quite a few bags) I'm making this bag for a friend. Just mentally preparing myself for the new challenge...I'm loving my friend's fabric choice though, which is definitely motivating. I think this is just my process...procrastinate for a bit, then get stuck into it and then act completely surprised with how quickly it comes together when I put my head down...would've thought I'd have learnt to just skip the procrastinating part by now, hey?

More interesting, inspiring and fun creative spaces to be found over here.

Woo Hoo...

I just won some of this wallpaper off of ebay....

It's for my study/craft nook, as a feature wall. It's a vintage retro wallpaper that apparently even glows in the dark...how incredibly funky!

Will share once I actually get it up on the wall :-)

(happy dance, happy dance)

xx

Shop Share

So I've finally got some products up in my shop. Here's a quick share :

Apron & Chef Hat sets :

Bunting :

Tote Bag :

Personally, I was tempted to keep the tote bag for myself :-P

What sort of things would you like to see more of at Polkadot Lane - bags? kids aprons? bunting? cushion covers maybe? Are there any particular colour combos that you find fabulous?

Jude's Corner of the World

Jude's room is getting closer to being finished. Still majorly lacking in the storage department, but we will get to that soon, I hope!

So here's just a peek of the finished corner of his room. A room full of robots, aliens, Transformers, Star Wars and of course, buckets and buckets of lego.

My Creative Space..

Has it really been over a week since I last posted? Wow..slack!


On my creative to-do list today is : cushion covers for my in-laws, cushion cover for my lounge, mend a t-shirt for my brother-in-law and maybe finish off one of my many WIP's :-P

Inspiration a-plenty linked over here.

Back soon xx