Tuesday, May 26, 2009

++SALE++ Grab yourself a bargain...

We currently have a number of items on sale at Little Diva :

The "Imbi Family" Softies were $22.00 and are now only $15.00



Little girls handbags were $15.00 and are now only $10.00



Small Wall Art was $30.00 and are now only $15.00 - that's 50% off !!!



You'll find all of these for sale in my Markets Online store (AUD). Happy Shopping!!

P.S. Local pickup at Mt Gravatt East, Brisbane, is available. Just let me know before placing your order.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I won.....Yipee !!!

When I turned my computer on this morning I was very excited to open an email from Jacqui at Mee a Bee telling me that I had won her giveaway. YAY!!

The giveaway was for one of her gorgeous kids Messenger Bags:


You can see now why I'm so excited.

If you'd like to purchase one for yourself, visit the Mee a Bee Etsy store. Jacqui also has a beautiful blog called Blooming in Japan.

I'll take some photo's of it "in use" once I receive it.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

the funny things children say...

One of my 4 year old twins, Charlotte, said this to me earlier tonight when she was giving me a cuddle:

Charlotte: "What would I do without you Mummy?"
Me: "I don't know. What WOULD you do without me?"
Charlotte: After thinking for a few seconds "I'd just get somebody else"

Always good to know she thinks I'm soooo easily replaceable.... he he

New name and market location revealed...

"A unique shopping experience featuring some of the best local talent in art, craft and design located in one of Brisbane's premier riverfront dining and shopping precincts!"


The Boutique Markets (formerly known as the Designers Emporium) has recently found a new home at Portside Wharf in Hamilton, Brisbane. Since its inception in 2007 our market has grown in profile and size to become a hub of local creative talent which offers a unique shopping experience; boutique shopping in a market atmosphere. Our expanded market will now be located in the exclusive riverfront shopping and dining precinct of Portside on the second Sunday of each month, between 8am and 1pm.

Proudly supporting local independent design and craft, our market will host the work of more than fifty South East QLD -based stallholders including artists, designers, stylists, crafters and artisans. The market aims to promote and cultivate emerging local talent by offering a forum to promote and sell their work to the public.

This in turn offers design savvy shoppers unique access to high quality handmade and limited edition products not available elsewhere, direct from the region's thriving art and design community. As a locality Portside offers a great day out with an array of waterfront eateries, bars, cinemas, fresh food markets and retail shopping in addition to a first class international cruise terminal. The Boutique Markets offers a perfect compliment to the venue; it creates a festival style ambiance in the outdoor plaza. Spend the day meandering between stalls and stroll the waterfront promenade before enjoying lunch in one of the many restaurants or cafes.

The new Boutique Markets website and our new blog offers a portal to keep up to date on market events or to discover the stallholders which will be featured there. Be first in the know by signing up to our newsletter and stay tuned for some exciting special events and attractions which will coincide with the market day in coming months!

Interested in applying to retail - be quick, spaces are limited.

Visit the trade page on our website for more information.


I had a stall at these markets when they were Designers Emporium held at Everton Park Hotel and they were always fantastic with many lovely stallholders and their beautiful wares. I'm hoping to have a stall at the Boutique Markets debut on 14th June - will keep you posted!

Friday, May 22, 2009

a busy couple of days....

Well it's been a very busy couple of days and although I should be sewing right now while the 2 year old is sleeping and the 4 year olds are at Kindy, I'm filling you all in instead... it's called procrastination!!

Anyway, on Tuesday and with the help of hubby on Tuesday night, I was running around the house cleaning like a mad woman
On Tuesday morning I must have been having a brain snap as I offered to host the Great South East photo shoot at my house. They wanted to do a feature on BrisStyle and our many talented members and they decided to do it at short notice due to the horrible weather and the cancellation of their pre-planned outdoor shoots. I was also fortunate enough to have an extra little feature done on Little Diva.

Anyway, after much scrubbing and tidying (we just won't look in the spare room!!) I think it was up to scratch. The house has never been so clean and certainly the sewing room looked like a whole different area ! I had been using the desk as my sewing table and the overlocker was sitting on a foot stool - not a good look! As luck would have it though, my hubby found an old plan table at his work on Tuesday and brought it home - he cut the legs down a bit and put a hole in the middle for the cords and it was just perfect!! Much more professional...

Here's a few shots of the sewing room/study before it falls back into a horrible mess... I do have to share it with rugby union jersey's on every wall but if I didn't, they'd end up all over the house - he's still trying to put one in the kids rumpus room!!




The first part of the shoot was some of the BrisStyle ladies sitting around chatting and showing each other of things etc like we were having one of our get-togethers. Sandrine from SM Boutique also got to do a little extra part with her hats and then I did my little feature in the sewing room.

Here's a pic of us all after the shoot had finished:


From left to right is Lauren (Raspberry Pink), Amanda (Twinkle Star Art), Robyn (Hot Fudge), Myself (with Charlotte on my lap), Sophie Formica (show host), Sandrine (SM Boutique), Carole Horne (show producer) and Helen (Ruby 2 Go Go & Ruby Red Studios - with Riley on her lap).

Riley and Charlotte even got to do a bit of modelling in my dresses and playing with the Snigglebottom's.

They then headed on over to visit Bec and Jade from Beckybean to do a little feature with them too.

The show at this stage will be aired on Sunday 5th July - 5.30pm on Channel 7. Also, see Robyn's blog for more photo's.

MomDot Blog Roll

Grab yourself a coffee and start looking through some fantastic blogs...

I joined the Blog Link a Thon on the MomDot website a couple of weeks back and here's the final blog roll:



1. Lori@Not Always Charming

2. Fairy Blog Mother

3. Crazy Adventures in Parenting

4. Engineer a Debt Free Life

5. Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls

6. Good Golly Miss Blondie

7. SavvySuzie

8. For The Love of Baby!

9. Tammy@lovemy2dogs

10. Blessings Abound

11. Coupons, Deals and More

12. Hairstyles For Girls

13. Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy

14. A latte in the morning

15. KiddiesCorner Deals

16. 3 Kids and Us | Mom Blog

17. The Ohana Mama

18. Coupon Queens of Laurel Run

19. Today’s Journey

20. Eve @ Confessions of a Housewife

21. My Charmed Life

22. Laurie@DoubleBugs

23. Lisa @ Final Score boys3 girls2

24. New Sue Review

25. Suzanne Calling

26. Just For Me…and You

27. Time Slides By

28. Babes and Kids

29. Declutter a Little Each Day

30. Grocery Savings for Real Families

31. Life Starring Ellie and Eve

32. So Cute Crafts

33. Brea’s Mommy

34. Are Muffins Just Ugly Cupcakes

35. It’s A Beauty Filled Life

36. The crazy suburban mom

37. Donna’s World

38. Momma’s Gone Over the Wall

39. Mommy’s Quiet Time

40. Joyce (Saving My Cents)

41. My Trendy Tykes

42. The Not-So-Blog

43. Confessions From HouseholdSix

44. SiPPyCuPSand FiNGerPriNTS

45. Jennifer@CouponMommie

46. Shasta @ Crackers&Chaos

47. Giftfully Simple

48. Just For Fun

49. Digital Mommy

50. Me And Craig

51. Parenting Princesses

52. Shan@Last Shreds Of Sanity

53. Inside My Head

54. Petit

55. My Love Lucy

56. FreckleBox personalized gift

57. Baby Lulu Dress

58. Blog 4 Mom

59. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

60. Jolly Mom

61. My Life My Journey

62. Maman And Gourmand

63. Jess - Life @ 30

64. The POSHpreneur

65. A Blog of Goodies

66. Christy aka The Write Gal

67. LookWhatMomFound

68. Peanut Butter & Smelly’s Dad

69. Lucy

70. Angry Julie Monday

71. The Mogul Mom Blog

72. Angela

73. Deal-ectible Mommies

74. Christy’s Creations

75. Lisa

76. Courtney@Booksnboys

77. Wannabe Supermom

78. Thre Craft Momma

79. Internet Toddler

80. Jennifer@Life is a Sandcastle

81. Kristen of La Dolce Vita

82. Cranberry Fries

83. Toni @ The Mud Bug

84. The Mom Buzz

85. Tricia @Nightowl Mama

86. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls

87. Mommy Cracked

88. EclecticBird

89. Mama Mentor

90. Moomettesgram’s Musings

91. Moomette’s Magnificents Reviews

92. Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes

93. Diaries of a Domestic Goddess

94. Go Graham Go!

95. NerdFamily Things

96. NerdFamily Blog

97. Making Money Keeping Money

98. NerdFamily Food

99. Flying Giggles & Lollipops

100. Gena @ Morris Bunch

101. Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy

102. A Kindred Spirit’s Thoughts

103. Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House

104. D-Lo’s Lounge

105. Free Sample Freak

106. What Mommies Need

107. Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1

108. icefairy’s Treasure Chest

109. Cheaper Than Therapy

110. Therapeutic Reviews & Giveaways

111. Lily Bean Designs

112. Dirty Diaper Laundry

113. Dance Momma

114. JamericanSpice

115. Mombalance

116. A Pocket Full Of Buttons

117. Ordinary and Awesome

118. Reviews and Giveaways

119. Subjective Beauty

120. Tales From A Shopaholic Mommy

121. Mommiemayhem

122. IE Mommy

123. Nikki @ Blasian Baby Notes

124. Amber Woodward

125. Grammy Janet’s Place

126. Outnumbered 3 to 1

127. ShimmerMeBlue

128. Dev’s Favorite Giveaways

129. Joyful Money Saving

130. 1stopmom

131. A Modern Mama

132. PourSomeSugarOnMe

133. Fancast

134. Lollipop Baby

135. Lola & Ben

136. idoby2celebrants

137. Sue Jackson

138. Cackleberry Kids

139. Gifts By The Stars

140. Jemma

141. Handmade Kids

142. Ollie Rose

143. Babasfarmlife

144. Banquet Manager

145. Monkey’s Momma

146. This Mom Can Shop

147. EcoLabel Fundraising

148. Divine Chaos

149. baby kakes ink alphabet onesie

150. tee from recycle me

151. Elizabeth @ Suzy Q Homemaker

152. marla mandell bread (5/17)

153. ozone socks 5/15

154. Belly Bumps to Baby Hugs

155. Hip T

156. ThenComes Baby

157. Homemade Gourmet

158. Fresh Pure and Simple

159. MomDot Mom Blogs

160. MomDot Mom Reviews

161. Bloggers Give Charity

162. Organic Baby Resource

163. Potamus Prefers

164. The Army Wife

165. Through Hazel Eyes

166. Frugal Rhode Island Mama

167. Just Jingle

168. And Twins make 5!

169. Frugal Plus

170. Christie

171. What Happened To My House?

172. Miracles on Mama Street

173. Heck Of A Bunch

174. Blog Designs by Susan

175. mommy23monkeys

176. Hanna

177. Got Kids Need Valium

178. Womb At The INNSANE

179. Katie & Kimble Blog

180. Kim @ Adventures SAHM

181. The Frugalicious Mommy

182. Penny Pinching Diva

183. Another day. Another thought or two

184. Beauty4Moms

185. Nikki @evilflu.com

186. Little Miss Julia

187. Mrs Zeee

188. Cheryl

189. Frazzle Dazzle SuperMom

190. Florida Mealtime Savers

191. Inspiration Station

192. Mommy’s Kitchen

193. Saving with MamaNordy

194. Saving SAHM Sanity

195. A Little Piece Of Perfect

196. Nodin’s Nest

197. Lil Miss Eco

198. Laryn Strickland

199. HeatherMama

200. The Gerber Babies Blog

201. WhateverSuccess

202. Women Who Win

203. Kat @ The Burb Blog

204. Happy Healthy Families

205. Sweeps4Bloggers

206. dramaqueensmum

207. The Mom Trap

208. Multitasking Mama

209. Mama Michies Musings

210. Little People Wealth

211. Belly Beyond

212. Kim Kihega

213. Mom Fuse

214. Juanita

215. Adopt a Do

216. On the Refriderator Door

217. Christine

218. Little Diva

219. My Household Junk

220. I’m Here….Really

221. Brittany@The Greer 5

222. mary

223. Nicole @ Nicole’s Nickels

224. Lori Newman

225. Kris @ NSQSA

226. Debb

227. Shawn Ann’s World

228. Peke Moe -NZ made baby sleep sacks

229. A Simple Kinda LIfe

230. Sweet Serendipity

231. Bouncing Off The Walls

232. Jane Loedding

233. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

234. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

235. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

236. Musings from Me

237. Veronnica

238. The Adventures of Miss V

239. Mudd Kids

240. Mom Most Traveled family travel

241. Relishing the Dirt

242. Good, True and Beautiful

243. Deb @ Frugal Living and Having Fun

244. The Last Blog on Earth

245. A Wrestling Addicted Mommy

246. Rae

247. kimert@diaries of a coach’s wife

248. Dore’s Diaries

249. Blog by Donna

250. Lisette

251. Pillaging With Buffie

252. Mom of Faith

253. GODSOWN

254. flutterbyechronicles

255. shelley

256. Life In A House Of Blue

257. kristen

258. Alex the Fey Thriller Series

259. MamaCheaps!

260. Donalacasa

261. A Jewish Journey

262. Anissa @ Our Chaotic Life

263. BethinNC

264. Stuttering Shell

265. Don’t Blink

266. Life is Sweet

267. Lisa

268. Sue@Stay At Home Mom

269. m.e (cathie)

270. Run DMT

271. Princess Ratbag

272. Michelle G

273. CF Mama @ Nathan’s Fight

274. Moody Mama Says

275. Laurie Ann

276. Cooking During Stolen Moments

277. A Simple Walk

278. Vanessa

279. middleagedmom

280. Ramblings Of A Wannabe Writer

281. Oh My Baby

282. Fordcast Sunny

283. Lisa Miller

284. Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy

285. Bibs & Cribs {very cute stuff}

286. My Lil’ Budget Book

287. Misadventures in Baby Raising

288. My Mommy Said

289. Milk & Honey Mommy

290. Milk and Honey Mommy

291. Amy O’Neal

292. Parenting Children

293. A Girl And Her Life

294. MarieLynn Boutique Blog

295. Born Fabulous Boutique Blog

296. The Pitter Patter Boutique

297. Stephanie Deese

298. Brea’s Baby Boutique Blog

299. digiscrapping.net - Heather Manning

300. Kids Activities Blog

301. Two Little Whales Cloth Diapers & More

302. 3 boys & a dog

303. Karen ~Georgia Angel

304. JenniferB @ my not so hurried life

305. Shannon Blogs Here

306. A Virtuous Woman

307. Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

308. Dreamer

309. Lollipop Book Club

310. Mommie Daze Virtual Baby Shower

311. Heck Of A Bunch

312. MomSaves4U

313. Barely Domestic Mama

314. Emilie @ Baby Loving Mama

315. Professional Family Manager

316. Kathleen

317. Coaching The Family

318. Frugal Creativity

319. Easy Being Green

320. Dandelion Bubbles

321. Shelly aka The Attic Girl

322. Foxtoybox-Discovery Toys

323. Ashley @ Beauty4Moms

324. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins

325. Playground for Parents

326. World of Discovery

327. Kati @ Country Girl City Life

329. A Little Bit Nutty

330. Mahayla’s Mommy

331. Mommy Goggles

332. The Shopping Mama

333. If I Could Escape . . .


Monday, May 18, 2009

And the winner is.....

Sorry that I didn't post this last night but I was buried under a mountain of my hubby's paperwork. That will teach me to leave it for 4 months.... oops..


Anyway, on with the important stuff!! I got one of my twins to draw the winner of the Little Diva $25 voucher last night


and the lucky person is.....

" Toni Raper"

then of course, I couldn't really leave the other twin out so I decided to give away another little mini prize


one of my magnetic bookmarks:


So, the second winner is.....

"Sarah Gibson"

If you are one of these lucky winners, please leave me a comment, otherwise I'll be sending you the details later today or tomorrow.


Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Snigglebottoms are stars...

I was just checking out the blogs I follow and was excited to see my Snigglebottom's and Etsy store featured on the Kookie blog.


Kookie was created to showcase "Handmade in Australia" products and they also do product reviews and giveaways. So please visit their blog and support handmade in Australia.

The Snigglebottom's are also currently featured on the Haby Goddess blog . They are down the left hand side helping promote this very blog as "Craft Blog of the Week". Jodie, who runs "The Haby Goddess" store is just lovely and she stocks some gorgeous things like fabric covered buttons, cupcake crochet patterns, iron on transfers and lots more cute things.

Click here to visit her online store.... you won't be sorry.

By the way, I've just sold my friend Leroy (the one below on the right) and he's off to a Baby Shower tomorrow. Have fun Leroy...

Last chance to WIN !!!

Just a reminder that today is your last chance to win a $25 (AUD) Little Diva voucher.

All you have to do is sign up for my monthly newsletter. Leave a comment on this post with your email address or email it to me at littlediva@aapt.net.au.

If you win, you can use your voucher to buy a Snigglebottom:


put it towards a Diva Dress:


or a Daisy Dress:


or wait to see what else I come up with - it will be valid for 6 months.

I'll be drawing the winner tomorrow... Good Luck!

(P.S. if you want to see a sample of my newsletter, click here to go to the Little Diva website)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Introducing.... Usew2


Want to start sewing clothes for your very own Little Diva ? I've got the answer for you....

..the Easy Peasy Girls Skirt Pattern..


I've opened a new Etsy shop called Usew2 where you can purchase the skirt pattern on its own or as a DIY Kit which includes the pattern, elastic and your choice of beautiful fabric. Also, the fabric will come pre-overlocked so you don't even have to finish the edges off !! Easy Peasy !!

More patterns will be added later.

Please visit Usew2, let me know what you think and then spread the word...

Can you help? - Fundraiser and Giveaway for Gem...


Gem is a medical assistance dog for BrisStyle member Eliza of Elven Hair. Little Gem is having an operation on her knee today and Eliza is having a fundraiser to cover the costs as well as a giveaway on her blog. If you have a spare moment please pop over to Eliza's shop to help out and/or spread the word about Gem.

Elven Hair etsy shop
Elven Hair blog giveaway

Friday, May 8, 2009

My next creative challenge....

I feel like I've been doing the same thing over and over again recently so I felt like I needed something different to do. Then I read the Handmade Kids blog and they have started a fantastic thing called the "Clever People Challenge".

I put my hand up (well, replied to the post) to do the challenge and in the mail the other day I received my mission...

I've been sent this gorgeous little bundle of goodies and I've already drafted my ideas.


I have to create something especially for kids using some or all of the contents above. My creation will be back to Handmade Kids by the end of May and it will be done as a giveaway during June. Great idea heh !!

I'll keep you posted on how it's going and I guess we'll see if I really am clever.....

Thursday, May 7, 2009

May BrisStyle Giveaway

If you haven't already entered, head on over to BrisStyle for the May Monthly Giveaway...

You could win these little booties and more from Miss Kitty Boo Boo


or these bloomers from Bettsy Kingston (you can choose bloomers for a girl or pants for a boy)


All you need to do is click here to go to the post and leave a comment before 25th May.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The show is well and truly over....

This week it's back to the grind !!! Not that the show wasn't work as such but it was so nice to spend five days doing something different and chatting to all those wonderful people.

I just wanted to say thank you again to all of the fabulous Incubator stall holders for being such wonderful, creative and supportive people.

Here's a few lovely items I picked up at the show:

Cute little felt hair clip from Kenzie and Coco - I got one each for my girls.


Here's a pic too of the Kenzie and Coco/Rourke and Henry stand. For some reason I didn't take one until the last day.


This nifty little gadget I picked up from Hobbysew:


I always seem to lose my little embroidery scissors when I'm hand sewing etc so this has little cutters in between the flower petals and it also has a needle threader in the bottom. AND a cord to put it around your neck so you don't keep losing it while you're working.

This beautiful package was a gift from Old Yarns Reclaimed Linen as well as a beautiful box of biscuits (thanks Kristina).



This little pack is instructions and materials to make a string of paper boats and I've put it away for a rainy day. The girls will love making these...


and lastly here is my fabulous Biddy Bag - I did a swap with Samantha from Biddy Bags for a few of my items.



I haven't been anywhere to use it yet but I can't wait until I do..

So farewell to the show and onto the next challenge - will post about that later!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

the Snigglebottom's are now available for sale...

Now that I've finally had a few spare moments, I have listed the "Snigglebottom's" for sale.


They are 30cm tall and suitable for all ages. No two are the same and they all have their own names.


Click here to see them all in my Markets Online store and here for my Etsy store.

P.S. I'll be doing my final Stitches and Craft show post soon. Just need to take a few photo's...

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Four days down, only one to go.... boo hoo...

Well, I can't believe the Stitches and Craft show has nearly come to a close... I have never met so many friendly and talented people. Those in the other incubator stands and many shoppers and customers too.

I met a lovely lady on Thursday, Lyn, who was telling me all about the sewing she used to do for her kids as well as some magazines. She is now part of the Australian Sewing Guild and I believe she is on their committee and still does a lot of sewing, teaching etc.

Anyway, she dropped back in late on Friday with a whole bunch of old Enid Gilchrist kids pattern books from the 60's and 70's (possibly earlier) and although I haven't had a good look through yet, there are some fantastic patterns there. When I get a chance to take some photo's in the daylight I'll post some more about it.


In the mean time, here's a few more of the fabulous Incubator stall holders at the show:

my stall neighbour Kristina from Old Yarns Reclaimed Linens who uses reclaimed materials such as linen, damask, hemp etc and turns them into beautiful pillowcases, table clothes, napkins etc



Trish and Alan, also members of BrisStyle, from Trishalan Designs, who create and sell Hand Dyed fabrics, threads and lots of other pieces



the lovely Helen, one of the BrisStyle organisers, from Ruby 2 Go Go who makes lots of jewellery, most with recycled materials




Thea from Thea and Sami. She makes the most gorgeous hand screen-printed fabrics and homewears and also runs screen-printing workshops at Capalaba. Click here for her website.



Lou from Made by Miffy who makes gorgeous kids clothes and has just bought out her very own apron pattern. She's been busy doing craft labs at the show - one for apron making and another for her cute no-sew flowers


Well, that's it for me as I need to get some sleep before the last day of the show tomorrow. I've got my Mum coming in for the day so I can have a good look around - and so she can too !!

I'll be back with my final "show" post in a couple of days... and I'll also be updating my Markets Online and Etsy stores so there'll be lots of new stuff there too.