BlossomLuxe Jewels

want want want

printers tray, $38 here

Sew good

I remember as a little girl sitting on the spinning stools at our local fabric shop with my mother, poring through pages and pages of ratty pattern books; most of them far from fashionable. (Given that it was the eighties, perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing.)

But now-- patterns have gone Web 2.0 with Burda Style's online pattern database:

(could this buttercup yellow Talea coat be more on trend?)

It's a very clever move by pattern maker Burda; release free fashion forward (say that three times quickly) patterns to the web, styled sharply in relevant fabrics and prints... the perfect way to snare the younger crafty generation. They've even provided a forum for questions and tips.  Loving it (but could I ever get my seams that straight?)

Jawdropper

By Lin Cheung via 18k blog.

Just earring backs and wire- and absolute proof that simple can equal stunning; all it takes is an idea. (I say that like it is easy- pah!)

Got some time to kill?

Make sure you check out the Delight Network's Delightful Blogs, a moderated directory of blogs including fashion, design, trends, crafting and celebrity gossip. I've been bookmarking like crazy.

Delightful Blogs:
Cutting through the Blog Smog

Their own blog is a great filter of new and interesting blog in their listings.

Awwwwww...

This is the cutest tshirt I've seen in a looong while:

You might need to click for the detail BUT THE ANTS ARE FEEDING IT ICE-CREAM! Guys tee in yellow, girls in bubblegum pink. Courtesy of Threadless of course.

Save at least one M sized tee for me!

Hey Michi!

Michi Girl is a daily e-newsletter that combines a weather forecast with snarky bites of fashion, sales, events or anything else that captures the editors' attention, because "you simply can't co-ordinate your heels with your handbag until you know your Hector Pascals". It arrives in my inbox promptly during the afternoon slump dead-zone of 3 to 4pm which is one reason I love it so much.

Another reasons? The luscious watercolour sketches (above) of artist Kat McLeod (no website sadly - but you can see more of Kat's work in The Cocktail; a book by Jane Rocca she recently illustrated). Beautiful!

The trump card however is that it's one of the few nifty newsletters that's local to me- everything in it is Melbourne-centric. Ahhhhhhh.

Buttony Love

Creative Kismet has been kind enough to post a fantastic Button Bracelet tutorial on her site that will spill the beans on how to make something as gorgeous as these:

Craftlog borrowed the idea and ran with it; have a look at this stunner:

Must.Buy.Buttons!

Tricks of the Blog Trade

There are so many little tips and tricks out there that can really make a blog stand out- I'm just getting the hang of some of them.

Although it's not specificially designed for blogs, the polaroidonizer is a great way to frame pictures; just upload your own photo to their interface, add a title and save the framed image.

It's important you start out with a closeup or a detail shot or you'll lose clarity- see the difference above? (Yes, of course this bracelet is for sale; buy it here)

I've been working on creating my own blog button to emphasise the link to my Etsy store;

Inserting the code is proving to be a bit of a challenge; I'm sure I'll get there!

Yesss! I am an HTML guru (hardly- but I made it work- and that's a big step in making coding my friend)

Good enough to eat: Blood Orange Carnelian

Blood Orange briolettes from Atelier OcularSky (Blood Orange photo courtesy of Gourmet Sleuth)

Faceted orange Carnelian pear briolette, around 8 mm x 4 mm.  Natural gemstone, translucent with no inclusion or only very slight inclusion; as well as exhibiting very attractive shade of orange red. Treated for colour enhancement. Side-drilled on the pointy tip with 0.4 mm diameter hole.

I found these Carnelian briolettes while looking for an orange or pink feature briolette to fulfil a custom order. It's really unusual to see such a strong, consistent colour in a Carnelian stone- they are normally quite a bit paler with bandings of colour from clear to orange.

Based in Sydney, Australia (but shipping internationlly) Atelier OcularSky Beads have amazing quality stones for very reasonable prices and some of the best gem photography I've seen. You can truly tell the quality of the stones you are getting, which can be a bit of a gamble with other sellers. I received my order quickly with great communication (Thanks Gwen!), and they are every bit as gorgeous in person (of course I couldn't stop at one)