at our house

we have a visitor coming to our home this week so I have been busy getting the spare bed organised. She is a special visitor. My cousin Louise. All of my Aunties, Uncles, cousins & Nana live in the UK & so when anyone is making an effort to pop over from the other side of the world to spend some time with us we get extra excited!


The sad part is she is only here for a week! {on her way home after some adventures in NZ} so we are planning to fit in lots of activities. Horse riding on the beach, trips to local towns to take in the sights, kangaroo observing & any other past times that Louise needs to complete before she leaves this country we call home.








She is a huge fan of burger rings so we are stocking up on those. Her twin sis Emma will no doubt be anticipating a few packets squashed into the returning suitcase!


Here is the spare bed all ready & complete with my bargain of the year. See that cushion? 
$2.14 from Target - love it!!

Interview with Kim from The Tomkat Studio & a Giveaway

I am thrilled today to bring you an interview with the incredibly talented stylist and party girl Kim from The Tomkat Studio.  In the world of parties Kim needs no introduction - however for those of my friends here who do not live in party world, Kim is one talented lady.  Her blog and party printable business is one of those amazing success stories and her incredible styling abilities are second to none.

I first got to know Kim via this virtual world we live in about 18 months ago - neither of us had been blogging that long but we both had a love of beautiful parties.  We got chatting about pretty things and Kim then offered to feature Sofia's 4th Birthday Party on her blog - my first international feature - I was so excited.  

Since then I have gone on to use Kim's printables on a number of my tables and tables I have put together for friends and customers.

Today it is Kim's turn to let us in on her world - enjoy the interview below and some details of a giveaway over on her blog.


Tell us something about yourself that we may not know?
In high school, I loved photography and almost went to a college in New York to pursue it. Instead, I decided to major in business and graduated from Arizona State. My degree is in Business - Marketing and I was a partner in a real estate firm for 8 years before leaving to be home with my children. The TomKat Studio blog was started on a whim, but quickly turned into my dream business. Not only do I get to utilize my marketing and business knowledge, but I get to explore my creative passions including photography! 

How did your business get started?
The TomKat Studio started as a little blog to share my creative projects after I decided to stay home with my little ones. It quickly gained a following and my readers started requesting designs and products I was making for myself and my children's parties. 


What is the best thing about having your own business?
 The best thing about having my own business is the ability to work from home and be here when my kids come home from school. I love it! 


Where or what do you draw on for inspiration for your own products?
I am constantly inspired by so many things. I only wish I had more time to design because the ideas are endless. My favorite places for inspiration are catalogs and magazines.


Any advice for anyone wanting to start their own business?
My favorite piece of advice for someone wanting to start their own business is to "Be Original". So many businesses are started after seeing another successful business and saying "I can do that, too." I always tell people to find something new, or at least a new spin on it before they start. If you are unique and original, your business is much more likely to thrive. 


What is your current favourite party theme from your range?
My favorite party theme is our Cotton Candy Collection. We recently completed a fun photo shoot for it and love the results! It's a perfectly SWEET theme for little girls (see some pictures below).


How do you like to relax when you are away from your work? 
It seems that I am rarely away from my work, since it does take so much dedication to run a business from home! However when I can, I love to vacation at the beach. I enjoy spa days with my girlfriends, especially here in Arizona where we have an abundance of gorgeous resorts with world-class spas. What could be better for relaxation than a massage, facial and a margarita by the pool?


I am delighted to announce that today Kim has done a little feature on her blog about Sweet Style.  You will also find a little giveaway that is open to all readers worldwide - don't forget to pop over and say Hi and enter the competition.

Kim can be found here
The TomKat Studio

Leanne

My "Mini-Bunting" Nursery Artwork

Howdy, beautiful people! I'm baaaaack from NZ! It was great to get away and recharge the batteries... but there is no place like home, is there? Tomorrow Ill post some more pics from our trip (the blog version of boring everybody with a holiday slideshow - but who can resist!) but today I wanted to share with you a little artwork I made while the kids were asleep this afternoon. It's for a friend's brand-new baby girl and I was playing around with the mini-bunting idea I touched on the other day.

I made the screen with some soft pale pink velvety fabric, then cut out some little triangles with pinking shears and sewed them together in a string. I then stamped the new baby's name onto the fabric with some green ink and added some torn fabric pieces and buttons. I picture it hanging on the door of the nursery, but it would look equally sweet propped up on a shelf or hung on the wall above the crib? Here 'tis:




What do you think?
x

Ikea - playhouse kitchen cuteness

Ikea by Torie Jayne

Plastic mini goblets

Duktig plastic glasses






Felted fruit basket

Duktig 9-piece fruit basket set






Mini latte cups

Duktig 10-piece coffee/tea set, multicolour






Basket of fabric vegetables

Duktig 14-piece vegetable set




This week for my 'shops i love' page I bring you Ikea. I chose Ikea this week because that is where I bought all of the above play kitchen cuties for Molly's playhouse on her birthday.



I started my inspiration for her playhouse back in May with my inspirational pinboard, Playhouse. Since then I have been making and buying little treasures for her house, like the felt food kit I showed you yesterday. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you all the other cuteness I bought and made, so stay tuned... It has been such a fun little project to do along with my sister and her husband. Oh, and Molly loved it!



Have a sweet day!

Ten on Ten: August


I've been talking about my appalling photography skills for as long as I've been blogging. In January I also promised myself that I would try to get better at it this year.

So, it's August now, which means it must be time to do something about my new year's resolutions. I'm joining in with A Bit of Sunshine's 'Ten on Ten' for the first time this month. Once a month on the tenth taking a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours. Finding much life and beauty among the ordinary things of our day!

I confess I cheated a little. I kept forgetting to take a pic each hour. I supplemented two missing photos with ones I'd taken at about that time on another day. Whoops. Plus, I used my iPhone with Instagram for most of the pics. Which I think is cheating even more... Will do better once I get into the 10/10 groove, I promise!

10 AM
Staring at the kitchen bench again.

11 AM
Gardening on the front verandah in the sunshine.

12 NOON
"Badoo bring your shoes inside, Badoo bring your shoes inside, Badoo bring..."

1 PM
My girl, shining.

2 PM
A mother and... a head.

3 PM
After-school cake high.

4 PM
Hanging out on the verandah with Lianne.

5PM
Dancing shoes.

6PM
Jurassic Bath.

7PM
Bedtime Bedjump. (Although she is actually not jumping on the bed, the patient* has obviously improved immensely.)

I loved Ten on Ten this month. I'll be back for sure! Pop over to A Little Bit of Sunshine to check out other Ten on Ten action.


* Cappers 'landed funny' on her ankle on the trampoline on Sunday. Thank god I didn't make her 'hop' into school on Monday and instead kept her home to rest. We watched her ankle grow larger by the hour and by Monday night we were getting a cast put on in Emergency. She's doing just fine, don't worry! But I tell you, it's been a hell of a week... there is something much worse than 'routine' after all!!!


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