{In The Spotlight}

Click heading to visit the facebook page...

Going through little boubbas albums on facebook, i laughed to myself after recognising about 5 of the fabric covered note books - I bought these as gifts last christmas and ended up keeping two for myself! it brought back memories of my car getting broken into while i was at work, it was a Sunday and before getting into my car to drive to work i checked the mail box, strange i know as mail doesnt get delivered on Sundays, but i checked anyway, and, inside my mailbox i found a big package from little boubba containing my 5 note books! How excited i was! Before getting out of my car to go into work, i put them under the seat as an after thought, and when i finished work at around 11 (after a most eventful night of girls fighting and heads being put through glass doors, police being called and the rest, i worked at a cinema mind you!!!) i walked to my car and hopped in only to find that the passengers side window had been smashed in and the contents of my car searched. Various things were taken but the first thing i did (after making sure they hadnt stolen my new car seat) was to reach my hand under the seat and amidst the broken glass i found my notebooks! i was so happy they hadnt found and taken them!
I LOVE my little boubba notebooks so much! I have been a fan of Donnas magnificent work for quite some time now, I was so happy to see her page leap and bound and grow in numbers (thousands to be exact :) and i love seeing what Donna will come up with next.

It was only natural for me to ask her if she would be willing to be a feature on my blog, and i was elated when she agreed, so, as i write this up and listen to the rain outside and Norah Jones on the inside, a cup (or 4) of hot sweet tea and a big thick chunk of warm banana bread covered generously in western star butter (because is there anything better!!??) I urge you to do sit back and take a read about how Little Boubba came into being and some insights from Donna herself :) and of course some wonderful pictures of her amazing creations!

The Start....

Of course one of my first questions is a golden oldy, The old 'How did you end up here' & 'WHAT made you start a business' I think its a good place to start and so we will :)

Donna has always been a sewer, knitter, drawer and basically very crafty over all, she had always wanted to have her own line of childrens linen and so when she and her family moved down to the Peninsula a little under a year ago, with no friends and feeling very lost and isolated it seemed like just the opportunity she had been waiting for to dust off her sewing machine and give it a serious working.

It started with bibs, but she always had the intention to make it so much more, although, with 2 young children at a new school, in a new area, and starting a new life with her youngest at home, everything was a little bit all over the place. Sales ended up becoming a regular occurence on her madeit store and it gave her the boost she needed 'Maybe i DO have a product people want' is what was going through Donnas mind and she quickly went into over drive with all the ideas of other things she had always wanted to make - and so, her business was born.

Taggy Blankets

'Little Boubba' the meaning behind the name.....

I asked Donna about her business name 'Little Boubba' it interests me alot to know why people choose the names they do for their businesses. She explained to me that all 3 of her children have very strange pet names, and Little Boubba is one of her youngest childrens many little names, there apparently was a time that Donna considered another name that she still loves, but Little Boubba just 'stuck' and so it is :)

Donna has always loved childrens clothing, so much so, that she started buying it when she was only 18 for the day when she had her own babies!! (She added, that of course by the time she did end up having children, she didnt like any of the clothes she had bought any more, but it did make one hell of an eBay sale!!!)
She's a constant buyer of childrens magazines and loves to surf around online to see whats happening.
Her fabric choices reflect her love of colour and a little bit of the 'retro' feel, and finds this gives her most of her inspiration as she can visualize designs in her head before she has made them.

I for one am very attracted to the fabric choices Donna makes, this (as well as a quality made product) is what draws me in in the first place, for me, its all about fabric choices, if i like a design but not the fabric, im not going to buy it!

I asked Donna if there is anyone she admires and her responce was that she admires anyone who is living their dream, and, when she finds herself day dreaming her minds strays to Peter Alexander, not just because of her love affair with Pyjamas :) but because he too, started off on his dining room table.

Some advice Donna has for other women 'If you want it, go and get it! No one else can do it for you, but remember, Rome wasn't built in a day.'

{Down That Little Lane - Make Over Give Away}

A gorgeous page i have been following on facebook for awhile now is having a make over give away on her blog! 
Head over to 'Down That Little Lane' Blog and check out the conditions! Also check out the facebook page! Its full of wonderful little unique findings!! One of Jeffrey&Hildas favourites!!!

*Free♥ Pretty ♥Things ♥For ♥You*: ♥Etsy or Blog Makeover Giveaway!♥

*Free♥ Pretty ♥Things ♥For ♥You*: ♥Etsy or Blog Makeover Giveaway!♥: "Are you as EXCITED as I am!!! This is a Totally Unique kind of giveaway for FPTFY so Please read carefully so there is no confusion :) ..."

Happy Mothers Day ♡

Sending a big happy mothers day to all the mummy's out there, and to the daddy's who raise children by themselves and do both mum and dad jobs!
This is the first year in SO many years that I haven't lived close to my mum, every year we would do something on mothers day, but this year she was 600ks away and closer to my brother and sisters who got the chance to spoil her rotten! My mother and I have had our fair share of ups and downs, and as much as we would like to ring each others necks sometimes, i wouldn't trade her for the world!

Here are some pics for the Mums! ♡

Beautiful art work by such a talented lady! See her blog here

In The Spotlight.......

For anyone that knows me, knows how obsessed I am with pears, so when i first came across Melindas page 'moose & bird' the first thing that drew my attention was the pear pillow - I don't think I looked any further than her Pear Pillow album for the next hour. I ended up buying three, one for myself and one for each of my sisters for Christmas. Wrapping them and giving them away was heartbreaking, and I imagine the feeling was not too unlike the feeling of giving away a kidney or a million dollars!!!

But Melinda does so much more than just that, her creations are so unique and stunning that it makes me want to boil the kettle and settle down with a nice hot cup of sweet tea and just look through her albums or Etsy store forever!! I want to decorate my whole house with things from moose&bird! And Im well on my way to doing so :)

The Beginning of a very beautiful friendship was started with one of these pillows...

One of the cutest bottoms i have ever seen, 
including my daughters. 
The pear pillow bottom :P

Normally I would write up the interview but Melinda answered it so well I am just leaving it as is this time :) 

Below is how it went ...

How did you end up where you are.... with moose & bird? What made you start you own business?

I’ve always been a ‘crafty/arty’ kind of girl from as far back as I can remember. Dabbling in lots of different crafts including sewing, embroidery, ceramics and paper craft. It was never really something that I took seriously though, it was purely for fun and relaxation in my free time. After finishing high school I embarked on a number of different university degrees which never quite sparked the passion within. In my early 20s I decided enough was enough and I took a leap of faith and studied Design. I enjoyed every minute of it!  To this day, I still believe it was the best decision I ever made. I learnt so much.

After I completed my Design studies I worked as a machinist for a sportswear company before landing my ‘dream’ job with a childrenswear label. I started out as a Production Assistant, then moved onto an Assistant Designer position before finally being offered a position as a Designer.  I thought all my Christmases had come at once. After a number of years, however, the lifestyle was just not for me anymore. The overseas travel and long hours had worn me out.....as they do!!!  It was then that I embarked on my moose & bird adventure. And what a fun adventure it has been!

Patchwork Pincushions 

Tell me a bit about your business name and how it came to be...

It took me months to think of a business name! Every name I thought of just wasn’t right for some reason or another and I wanted a name that had meaning to me.  I think my husband was getting sick of my indecisiveness so one day he said ‘just call it moose & bird’. Perfect, I thought! My Mum and I are very close and when I was growing up I would fondly call her ‘moose’. Don’t ask me why! I have no idea. And I am a big fan of all things ‘birds’, hence, moose & bird!

Doily Brooch..

What inspires you when u work...where do you draw inspiration from?
Inspiration is a funny thing, it can come from the most unlikely of places at the most unlikely of times.  I love reading magazines and blogs, these never fail to inspire me and I am also really inspired by reading the stories of other creative types and the successes they have had!

Patchwork Pillows

Who is someone you admire, like a designer or business person?
I really admire crafty people who just give everything a go and are just so passionate about their art or craft! Some people who come to mind include Alarna from Little Jane St, Michelle from Nook and Laura from Kit & Nancy!

Scalloped Buntings..

What is some advice you would give to other women? About anything...
Be true to yourself.....always!

{Ive had the pleasure of dealing with Melinda several times, her products are impeccable, i couldn't fault them even if i wanted to! Such talent coming from one lady is amazing!! AND She is the most WONDERFUL lady, so sweet and such a generous soul.

I wish her all the best in her business venture now and in the future, I for one cannot get enough of her work and will be a regular forever! I also look forward to our growing friendship and feel honoured to have met such a person :)}

Franny Doll..

Melinda also has a fabulous blog of her own - read all about her finds and work here 'moose & bird blog' 

Winking Girl Pillow..

COMING UP

Stay tuned for my next 'In the Spotlight' on moose&bird! Im so excited to write this one up and share Melinda's awesomeness with you all!! 

Rainy Days Always Make Me Want To Blog....

Some pictures i came across today while watching movies with my sick little Miss C. I love Pictures that give me inspiration ~ I hope they make you happy as they have me :) Not a real subject here, but rather a mixture of different pictures that i find beautiful!! 
   Enjoy....

What a beautiful, amazing shot...

....

Wow, a stunning bathroom if i have ever seen one!

Sometimes i can imagine myself being in this balloon, floating away into the sunset...

All things beautiful, the yellow design on the bed is amazing.. i do LOVE yellow.

Just imagine the dreams you could have in this bed...

Sometimes simple is best...

Bold wallpaper with white wooden floor boards... Id love a mansion to do every room different, this would be one of them...

Caption says it all :)

More subtle yellow... love..

Down the rabbit hole..

There was something just beautiful about this picture.. maybe the vintage fan, or the suitcase... I love it all!

Yes, i love all things yellow

a fairy tale..

kind of modern, but i love the wallpaper and the yellow touches of course :P

up up and away...

Chasing Butterflies...

The Birthday....

So we made it through the birthday and birthday party!!! Chelsea's big day went off smoothly and a great time was had by all (or so im told....) I am most disappointed at the lack of photos i got on the day, compared to her first birthday (where i got hundreds) I got next to none this time round and am finding it VERY hard to find any good ones!! To all who know me would know that I am a HUGE photo taking person, I LOVE to take photos, knowing that I will have those memories forever is a great joy to me, I think Harvey Norman could purely run off the money they make from me printing my photos! Anyway, I will put a few below, but please note, they aren't my best!!

    The Cake...

The cake came together after hours of work the night before and then again in the morning, a 6 layered rainbow cake with handmade fabric mini bunting for the top and a spotty number '2' candle.

Each layer had to be baked individually as silly old me only had the one round cake pan the right size! So each layer, divided out at 1 & 1/2 cups mixture each and added with their chosen colour were baked for approximately 20 mins one at a time. Then they were all cooled (on the ONE cooling rack i had!!!) and prepared for getting iced with the butter cream icing that my mother and i slaved over to make perfect!! All this sounds simple enough, yet the man power and time put into this cake were phenomenal!!

Butter cream icing was made and so the stacking began, layer ~ icing ~ layer ~ icing ~ layer ~ icing and so on - until we get to the top layer and realise we have run out of icing!! 

At this stage it's 1am and my eyes are being held open by toothpicks, so i decide its time for bed and will finish the rest in the morning!!

The below is the end result:

Also on the menu:

~ Prawn with Lime & Pepper Aioli Mini Sandwiches

~ Curried Egg and Cos Mini Sandwiches

~ Rosewater Meringues with Persian Fairy Floss 

~ Custard Tartlets 

~ Buttermilk Scones With Jam & Double Cream

~ Fruit Platter

~ Mini Sponge cakes with Jam

~ Party Pies & Sausage Rolls

~ Puffy Dogs

Vintage Sheets and Doilies for a High Tea Feel.

Chocolate Muffins With Whipped Cream

Rosewater Meringues with Persian Fairy Floss

Paper Balloons and Fairy Lights 

The Bunting I Made from Vintage Sheets

Fruit, Custard Tarts, Scones W/ Jam & Cream, Mini Sponges with Jam

The Birthday Girl - Her Daddy Bought her a Tinkerbell dress ♡