camera: Olympus OM-10, film: Kodak Ultramax 400.

I got my latest roll of film developed, and just picked them up today. Can't say I was thrilled seeing only less than half of the 24 exp roll resulted in some decent photos *sigh*, but I guess it's still better than nothing (ugh, can't wait to stock up on loads of cheap 36 exp film when I go to Indonesia!). I've also come to the realisation that I like taking photos of food, and I'm glad that these 3 came out alright. I took each one on a different day, but obviously I have a thing for strawberries and strawberry flavoured treats.

From top: a bowl of strawberries; a macaron from Lindt; a delicious "Wimbledon" strawberries & cream cake (chose it for the name alone!), also from Lindt.

surrender to the strawberries

camera: Olympus OM-10, film: Kodak Ultramax 400. I got my latest roll of film developed, and just picked them up today. Can't say I was...

surrender to the strawberries

33

Photography by Coni Dietrich

It's often the unusual that grabs you. I do love her flowery hat.

what is normal, anyway?

Photography by Coni Dietrich It's often the unusual that grabs you. I do love her flowery hat.

what is normal, anyway?

14

This giveaway is sponsored by Dear Golden, who is kindly offering this beautiful black and white round cameo brooch.
For your chance to win:
♥ Visit Dear Golden, then leave a comment with your email and mention your favourite item from the shop.
♥ For an extra entry, leave a separate comment if you follow Dear Golden's twitter.

Once again: please remember to type in your email in the comments!

As always, this giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. It will end next week, Wednesday (4th of August) at 9pm GMT, and the winner will be randomly drawn soon afterwards. Good luck!

giveaway ♥ Dear Golden

This giveaway is sponsored by Dear Golden , who is kindly offering this beautiful black and white round cameo brooch. For your chance to win...

giveaway ♥ Dear Golden

97

scarf - thrifted; top - Sportsgirl; skirt - Indonesian department store

I made a sudden decision a couple of days ago that I'm going to fly home (to Indonesia) in just over 1 week from now. This is around the time of year when I always feel terribly homesick, and luckily some things just fell into place, the timing was right, so I just had to go for it! To say that I'm excited is an understatement! So right now I'm arranging a bunch of scheduled blog posts for when I'm away, and hopefully I'll be able to do some photography and blogging while I'm there as well.

Another thing I need to do before I go: ETSY SALES!! I'm having a massive 50% off sale at Dahliaville, and a 25% off sale at Much Love. Both are storewide, and both will end on Monday, August 2nd. So do check it out asap and I really really hope you'll find something you like! Not only will I love you forever, I'll also add in a little surprise for all purchases made during the sale ;)

a house is not a home

scarf - thrifted; top - Sportsgirl; skirt - Indonesian department store I made a sudden decision a couple of days ago that I'm going to ...

a house is not a home

25

clockwise from top left:
Vintage 1950s Shirley Temple DRESS, Vintage 1960s Art Deco EVENING Handbag, Vintage 1940s Grace Kelly JEWELRY BOX, Vintage 1960s Twiggy MILITARY COAT, Vintage 1940s Mary Poppins TAPESTRY Handbag, Vintage 1960s Jane Birkin HANDBAG

I'm really happy to have Mod Human Vintage as the latest Much Love sponsor! This online vintage boutique is just filled with stunning items. I have a major crush on so many of their gorgeous bags.
Mod Human Vintage is kindly offering Much Love readers a 15% discount on any purchase from the shop. This offer is good until 24 August 2010.

discount offer from Mod Human Vintage

clockwise from top left: Vintage 1950s Shirley Temple DRESS , Vintage 1960s Art Deco EVENING Handbag , Vintage 1940s Grace Kelly JEWELRY BOX...

discount offer from Mod Human Vintage

14

I love: getting mail from faraway friends!

I received a fantastic box of goodies in the mail today, which was kindly sent to me by the wonderful Gabbi from Felinofelice. She sent me a beautiful hand-painted Kokeshi doll, which I won through a giveaway on her blog. Along with the doll, Gabbi also very generously sent me so many lovely gifts, which includes a box of yummy Jelly Bellys (see the heart shaped speck?!) and a fortune-telling "book of names" (which was spot on when it came to mine). Thank you so much Gabbi!

♥

To join in Much Love Monday, simply do a blog post that includes a picture of a heart and mention something you love. Then leave a link of your blog post in the Linky space below, and put it in the thing you love as the tile.
You can also add your Much Love Monday photos to the Much Love Monday Flickr pool.

much love monday [mail and a kokeshi doll]

I love: getting mail from faraway friends! I received a fantastic box of goodies in the mail today, which was kindly sent to me by the wonde...

much love monday [mail and a kokeshi doll]

22

Finally! I'm at the end of the "made this myself" Week, and I must admit I'm happy and relieved that it's done. It's been interesting challenging myself to create something all week, and the fact that I promised to blog about it did add to the pressure of wanting to make things that are at least interesting enough to post. I hope you've enjoyed the week too, and thanks for sticking around! An extra thanks to those four who submitted their creations to the Linky :)

For my final "made this myself" Week post, here is a necklace I made, using some craft supplies that I just got this weekend at a craft fair. As you can tell from the title, I've also decided to give this necklace away!

So if you'd like to win it, go and visit the Much Love shop on Etsy, then leave a comment here with your email address.
For extra entry points, leave an extra comment if you:
♥ follow my blog
♥ have EVER bought anything from my Etsy shop (let me know your Etsy username).

As always, this giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. It will end next week, Sunday (1st of August), and the winner will be randomly drawn.

P.S. The winner of the Silent Mint giveaway is number 80: e-btrfly . Congratulations! I'll be in touch shortly.

necklace giveaway ["made this myself" Week]

Finally! I'm at the end of the "made this myself" Week, and I must admit I'm happy and relieved that it's done. It...

necklace giveaway ["made this myself" Week]

56

A couple of love birds I made with plasticine a couple of months ago. His name is Manu; Her name is Rose-Minnie.

Make sure you check back tomorrow, as it will be the last day of my "made this myself" week (which has proven to be more challenging than I thought, btw!), and I have a little surprise in store for you *coughgiveawaycough*.

love birds ["made this myself" Week]

A couple of love birds I made with plasticine a couple of months ago. His name is Manu; Her name is Rose-Minnie. Make sure you check back to...

love birds ["made this myself" Week]

35

Sorry for the really late post today! I've been having trouble with the internet, but it should be okay now. Today's "made this myself" is a digital creation of the above hot air balloons, which I did in Photoshop. The patterns are either things that I've scanned myself or files which I've had in my computer for a while. The clouds and border were made with Photoshop brushes.

Another thing I made today isn't anything crafty, but I did make this 5 minute chocolate cake for the first time! I don't remember where I found it, but if you google 5 minute chocolate mug cake then you'll find plenty of sites that give the recipe. It cooks in the microwave, which is great for me because my place doesn't have an oven (oh how I miss baking!). I used a bowl instead of a mug, which explains the flat shape, and it's surprisingly pretty good! I can see myself making this again and again, especially when I need my chocolate fix (which happens pretty often.. oh dear).

Thank you to those of you who have been submitting your links already! I love seeing other people's creativity :) I'm keeping the "made this myself" week going on through the weekend, so you still have time to share your creations until then.

balloons and cake ["made this myself" Week]

Sorry for the really late post today! I've been having trouble with the internet, but it should be okay now. Today's "made this...

balloons and cake ["made this myself" Week]

16

Here it is, some proof of my recently acquired knitting skills :) I took a break from the scarf I've been making, and made a little blue bow brooch (try saying that fast).

If you'd like to know how I made it, here's how:
♥ Knit a small rectangle, in whatever size you prefer.
♥ Use some extra yarn to wrap around the middle to make the bow shape. Tie it up to keep it secure.
♥ Attach a brooch pin base at the back, and a button at the front. Sewing them on is probably the best way to do it, but I just used some super glue.
♥ Done! Easy, right?

Are you blogging about something you've made this week? Then add your post to the Linky at the end of Tuesday's post so I can see :)

knitted bow ["made this myself" Week]

Here it is, some proof of my recently acquired knitting skills :) I took a break from the scarf I've been making, and made a little blue...

knitted bow ["made this myself" Week]

27

For the 3rd day of this "Made This Myself" Week, I thought I'd do some illustrations: a flapper from the roaring 20s, and a groovy girl from the 60s! I'm not entirely happy with the end results (a little too sloppy), but I did say from the beginning that my projects weren't going to be about perfection. They were just something different and fun to do. So there - that justifies the sloppiness ;)

Are you blogging about something you've made this week? Then add your post to the Linky at the end of yesterday's post! I'd love to see it!

girls from the past ["made this myself" Week]

For the 3rd day of this "Made This Myself" Week, I thought I'd do some illustrations: a flapper from the roaring 20s, and a gr...

girls from the past ["made this myself" Week]

23

I thrifted this cube photo frame ages ago, and although I have used it for displaying photos before, it's been gathering dust in the corner of my room for way too long now. So, comes the idea for my 2nd little project for this week. I thought I'd fill the 6 frames with a floral theme. I cut some squares from some thrifted wallpaper and scraps of old fabric.

And now I have my floral cube sitting nicely on my desk!



Are you making something this week too? Then maybe you'd like to blog about it and join me in this "Made This Myself" week. If so, feel free to add your blog post link below.
NOTE: As the Link Title, please type in the thing you made.

floral cube ["made this myself" Week]

I thrifted this cube photo frame ages ago, and although I have used it for displaying photos before, it's been gathering dust in the cor...

floral cube ["made this myself" Week]

30

thanks to Jennifer (thylady) for the love-heart paper

I love: making things.
So I'm challenging myself to make something new every day of this week. I'm often inspired by the many creative people out there, and I'm always scribbling down ideas of projects I'd love to do - yet I rarely actually do it. It is always for whatever clichéd reason: "I don't have the time", "I'm way too busy", "it has to be perfect", "I'm having a creativity block", you know how it goes. So this time, I'm not making any excuses. It may not always turn out as expected, it certainly won't be perfect, it most likely won't be anything big, but it'll force my creative juices to flow - and that's what I need. I'll be blogging about my every day creations. I've never done a weekly theme on the blog before - so I hope you don't mind seeing something different from my usual posts this week. I'm starting off the week with this origami crane and gif.

Perhaps you'd like to play along with me? You are more than welcomed to! There's no rules. Just make something artsy/crafty/creative this week. Simple things that you can finish within a couple of hours would be just fine! It could be a couple of photos, a quick sketch, maybe you'd like to cook something, or maybe there's a DIY project you've always wanted to try? You don't even have to do it every single day if you don't want to.

As for the rules if you'd like to join in Much Love Monday:
1. Do a blog post that includes a picture of a heart and mention something you love.
2. Leave a link of your blog post in the Linky space below.*
3. Put in the thing you love in the form's title space.
4. I do appreciate it if you link back to my blog.
5. *NEW* You can now add your (old or new) Much Love Monday photos to the Much Love Monday Flickr pool.

much love monday ["made this myself" week]

thanks to Jennifer (thylady) for the love-heart paper I love: making things. So I'm challenging myself to make something new every day ...

much love monday ["made this myself" week]

22

My friend Jennifer hosted a sweet "knitting + tea party" yesterday. The table was completely filled with her adorable teapots (seriously, how cute are they??) and delicious treats from everyone. I brought those Viennese biscuits in the first photo. Wish I could say I made them myself, but I let my local bakery do the hard work for me ;) Oh yes, there was some knitting involved too. Somewhere. I just started knitting my first scarf, but I guess I was too caught up in the tea and food that I forgot to take a good photo of it! Oh well, those teapots are a much prettier sight, trust me.

munch, sip, knit, chat

My friend Jennifer hosted a sweet "knitting + tea party" yesterday. The table was completely filled with her adorable teapots (se...

munch, sip, knit, chat

38

Pauline from Silent Mint is kindly offering one Much Love reader the chance to win this exquisitely hand-made bracelet, titled the "rover / handwoven cotton and leathery rope with golden star bracelet - in dark blue", in a size Small. Please see length details and further item info here.

To enter:
♥ Visit Silent Mint, then leave a comment with your email and mention your favourite item from the shop.
♥ For an extra entry, leave a separate comment if you follow this blog.

Open to everyone worldwide, and ends on Saturday 24 July at 9pm GMT. The winner will be randomly drawn, then contacted via email. So once again, please remember to include your email in the comments, or at least let me know if I can find it on your blogger profile. It would make life so much easier! Prizes can't be sent if I can't contact you - and yes, unfortunately this has happened from time to time.

Best of luck!

giveaway ♥ Silent Mint

Pauline from Silent Mint is kindly offering one Much Love reader the chance to win this exquisitely hand-made bracelet, titled the " r...

giveaway ♥ Silent Mint

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