yesterday

Thank you all so much for the kind birthday wishes! I had a lovely day. Also, I hope some of you have printed out the stationery and put it to good use :)

I didn't manage to get any good photos from the night, but here's one from earlier in the day. Hanging out in my vintage stripey dress at Fed Square, right after we went to ACMI to check out the Mary and Max exhibition. If you still haven't had a chance to see Mary and Max yet, you should! Seriously. Probably one of my favourite stop-motion animations.. no, make that favourite movie ever. I've done a blog post about it before here, in case you missed it. Anyway, the exhibition was wonderful and I might actually go back because it was pretty crowded yesterday and I couldn't enjoy everything as much as I would have liked (don'tcha just hate it when that happens?).

birthday freebie

Today is my birthday, and I thought I'd do something a little different on the blog to mark the occasion. I want to give you - my dear readers - a little something. It's like a giveaway, but without the whole random winner thing, and everyone gets the prize!

Okay, so here it is: a free printable stationery designed by me, for you. On the left is a blank note paper, and on the right is a to-do list (with hearts for check boxes!). Just download the PDF (it may take a few moments), then print and cut them out for yourself.*EDIT* I have taken down the PDF and it is no longer available for download.

I ask for nothing in return, but it would make me so happy if you do print it out and then let me know how you used it and what you think! You could even take photos to make me proud ;) Oh, and do tell me if there's any problems (I am new to this, after all).

Enjoy! I'm going out to a birthday dinner with a few close friends tonight, and will maybe take some photos for tomorrow's blog post.

much love monday

I love: having some favourite comfort food after a rough day
I also love playing with plasticine.

If you want to join me in Much Love Monday, please do!
1. Do a blog post that includes a picture of a heart and mention one thing you love.
2. Leave a link of your blog post in the McKlinky space below. Put in the thing you love in the form's title space. Please do this AFTER you've done the post. Thanks! :)

david hamilton

I was so happy to discover this beautiful 1976 David Hamilton photography book at an op shop (Savers) yesterday. There was no price sticker, so the lady said I could have it for $2.99. Score!

I first knew of David Hamilton's work through Thrift Candy. His photography style has a gorgeous feminine and delicate quality. It's almost surprising to know that such work was done decades ago, as it's the type of dreamy photography that seems very popular today. I instantly thought that they looked very Lula-esque. The muted colours, soft hazy focus, dreamy stillness, graceful movements, beautiful ballerinas, long flowy dresses, flowered floppy hats, ... there is much to love!

Here are some of the amazing photos included in the book. It was terribly hard to narrow it down to a mere few, so unlike my usual posts (who cares about consistency?), this will have to be a bit more image-heavy. Hope you don't mind!

hide that dress

I can't believe it took me ages to figure out that I could wear this dress as a top, when paired with my trusty AA skirt. I quite like it. Both the skirt and the floral dress are almost exactly the same length though, so the dress hem tends to peek out every now and then (as you can see when I - for no reason at all - try to twirl in the last photo). This skirt is probably one of the few non-thrifted items in my wardrobe that I get a LOT of wear out of. Speaking of AA skirts, I want to get the Interlock High-Waist one soon. Looks like a terrific basic, and I'm thinking the longer length would be even better for hiding those dress hems!

P.S. I'm doing a guest blog post over at the gorgeous Here Comes the Sun today! Take to look? :)

giveaway ♥ stationery set from amelioratic

For this giveaway, a lovely new Etsy shop - amelioratic - is generously offering this handmade stationery set for one lucky Much Love reader.
* Includes: 4 patterned envelopes with address labels stitched on, 4 blank cards, 4 stickers for sealing
* Size: envelope-6"x4.5", cards-5"x3.5", stickers-1"x1"
This stationary set includes four envelopes made from recycled scrapbook paper in four complementary black & white patterns, four blank cards for decorating and writing as you please, and four white stickers to seal the envelopes. It's perfect for writing notes of love, thanks, and wishes to anyone who makes you smile :)

To enter, simply visit the amelioratic shop, then leave a comment on this post.

This giveaway it open to everyone worldwide. Ends next week, on Wednesday (31 March) at 10am GMT. The winner will be randomly drawn then contacted via email soon after. So please make sure you leave an email, or a blog link where I can find it.

Good luck!

merci Stéphanie

My first birthday presents came early this year, and they are from the very creative and lovely French girl, Stéphanie. I spotted her beautifully hand-stitched felt "polaroids" on her blog not too long ago, and she so generously sent one especially for me! It is, as they say... très magnifique! She also sent an adorable "Anna" badge. Too cute!

Sadly, as you may have noticed, Stéphanie decided to end her blog last week. I'm not sure how many of you had been reading her blog too, but it was definitely one of my daily favourites, and I will miss it so. Seeing an end of a favourite blog is like saying goodbye to a dear friend (see my last post, point 5).

Merci Stéphanie. Bisous! :)

much love monday and a tag

I love: Peanuts

I thought I'd also use today's post to do a tag. I've been tagged by Calico & Co to list 7 things about me. Now, these probably don't seem particularly interesting, but just in case you are curious to learn a little bit about me, keep reading.
1. Continuing with today's Much Love Monday theme: I grew up reading comic books, and still do. Not the superhero stuff, the funny ones. We have them all: Peanuts, Asterix, Beano, Disney, Archie, I could go on and on. There's something comforting about reading a familiar comic book that still makes you giggle over and over.
2. It's my birthday in about a week from now. Not sure if I'm looking forward to being reminded of how old I am (which only makes me feel that I'm underachieving), but I'll look forward to the presents.
3. I just started taking a short course in photography.
4. I'm very shy, and sometimes really hate myself for it.
5. I care about my online friends just as much as I do my "offline" friends.
6. I love old English TV shows. Especially loving the reruns of Blackadder and 'Allo 'Allo! that we're getting.
7. Almost all of my "new" clothes in the past couple of years are either vintage or second-hand. For several reasons: environmental, the joy of thrifting, the love of vintage fashion, etc. Luckily, living in Melbourne, there are plenty of op shops and vintage stores to go to.

P.S. If you want to join me in Much Love Monday, please do. Just do a blog post that includes a picture of a heart and mention one thing you love. Then leave a comment here so I can see it! (I no longer use Mr Linky, as not a lot of people used it, and it ended up looking kinda empty and sad!).

vintage camera photo blocks

I am absolutely loving the vintage camera photo blocks by Susannah Tucker. The subjects, the simplicity, and the beautiful soft tones are just perfection.

vintage pink

I bought this dress from a vintage store sale last weekend. I pretty much fell in love with the lace-like print all over it. I noticed a couple of tears in the dress after I bought it, but luckily it wasn't anything too frightening and even my poor sewing skills was able to fix it (and that's saying something!). A closer look at the print:

So sorry for the lack of blog-visiting lately. I really need to catch up on my blog reading. I've been so tied up these past few days, and now that I have some free time, my internet has deserted me (currently borrowing my brother's laptop to blog). Hopefully it's only for a few more days though. Hope you're all well, and looking forward to a good weekend!

new postcards

I've recently added some new postcards in my Etsy shop. Each set includes either 3 or 4 of the same design, but if anyone is interested in having a mix of different cards in 1 set, or maybe want more, just convo or email me - I'd be happy to make a custom listing for you! For the Australian shoppers out there, I'm also selling some at madeit (in AU $). The Teacup of Buttons had been selling pretty well there, so there's only one set left, and it's over at Etsy.

Until this weekend, blog readers get 10% off the total of any purchase from the Etsy shop (not just postcards!). Just say "I read your blog!" in the Message to Seller box during purchase, and I'll refund the discount amount via Paypal.

where would you go?

photo source: top - middle - bottom

Something I like to ask my friends lately (just for fun):
If you could go to 5 cities in the world, anywhere at all, where would you go?
My answer changes all time time, but right now it's: London, Paris, L.A., Singapore, and Seoul. Ask me again tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll have a different list. What about you?

much love monday

I love: photo swaps.
I've recently started doing photo swaps with my dear friend Emily of Resplendent Tranquility. We send each other prints of photos that we have taken on film. Here is a little look at the photo she sent me this month. The flower petals are in the shape of hearts! It's so pretty.

Want to join in Much Love Monday? Please do! I'd love the company. All you need to do:
1. take a photo of anything with a heart shape
2. write down one thing you love
3. put it in a blog post
4. leave a link of your blog post here (through Mister Linky) so I can see it:



Please submit the link after you have done the blog post. If there is no Much Love Monday in the blog, then the link will be deleted. If you have problems, you can leave your link in the comments instead. Have fun!