Bored...? Let us help you

we hope your holidays have been going great so far. Now you might have some downtime with the extra family members that are still milling around. We have some ideas on what might keep some of the kiddies and even adults entertained. Above we discovered what great press-on earrings our epoxy stickers can be for playing dress-up. It's great for those girls who are wanting their ears pierced but aren't quite at the age to get something permanent. Our little cousins loved them and changed out their Dill Blossom 'earrings' numerous times throughout the day.

We were testing out some of our new rub-ons from a few of our different lines. The Kitty's Place line has some rub-ons that we used for our own homemade tattoos. **We do warn that they don't wash off too easily, so that could be a good thing or a bad thing. They worked great on fingernails too. And if you add a clear coat it just prolongs the rub-on that much more.

The other rub-ons we used were from our Poppy line. We had a boring old calculator that got beautified. Some other employees said that their kids individualized their hand held PSP's that they got for Christmas!

Drop In And Visit

I think this will be my holiday home when visiting Sweeden. A girl can dream!

Large Christmas Icons

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will know how much I love the community I live in. Living over here in the West is like living in a country town. The community spirit is fantastic and it never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes it does get a little bizarre but that's part of it's charm.

A perfect example is what happened to us yesterday.

While out and about in Yarraville Village we came across these fabulous fellows - The 3 Wise Men, singing carols and generally entertaining all and sundry. They were gorgeous and how they walked all day in those shoes has me stumped.

Later that day we headed to Le Chien in Seddon and came across this gem -

Not only did Mr Christmas Tree stop and talk to everyone, he played an instrument and sang as well. the kids adored him and had a lovely long visit with him. We went back inside to finish our drinks when these two appeared -

Locals to the area, they entertained us with some wonderful Christmas songs and made our outing just that little bit more special.

This is not the end of our odyssey! On leaving the cafe we bumped in to this guy! -

He also had a song to sing and took requests from the kids. He also spent a long time finding out what they wanted for Christmas and making their faces light up.

I want to thank all these wonderful people for making Christmas Eve such a fun day and for making us all feel very Christmassy (which is of course a word) They made my kids day and I'm sure we weren't the only people who had a smile of their faces after encountering one of these characters.

It's been a long and exciting day so I'm off to scrounge up some left overs and watch a bit of mindless TV. (Guess who got seasons 1 - 6 of Dawson's Creek for Christmas??!!) See you on Boxing Day.

Presents And Sunburn

To those of you who are up late checking your blog rolls before collapsing into bed, I say a huge MERRY CHRISTMAS. I happen to know of a few people who are still up wrapping presents and baking Christmas delicacies, and I am sure there are many more. Have a wonderful, wonderful day tomorrow and I hope every ounce of blood sweat and tears are more than made up for by the joy that comes your way tomorrow.





This may be from the 50's but it is still very much what Australia is all about at Christmas, sun, surf, good friends and great food.

To those of you on the other side of the world, it may seem unlikely but Christmas day for us will be hot, and sunny with a BBQ lunch followed by sitting around under market umbrellas with a tall glass of something cold. Yay!!

Merry Christmas!

Hope that these holiday season is going wonderful for you! It's such an amazing time of year to make everyone feel cared for and thought of. If you are still delivering some last minute goodies, Josh had a grand idea. He bought small craft paper bags at the local craft store. He had an old shirt lying around and cut it into strips. You can use double stick tape or hot glue and adhere it to the front. Just add some ribbons and you're done. Simple! Be safe during the holidays and you can always email us your ideas to artdept@shopsei.com and be spotlighted.

Puppy information

Just a puppy update. I have had a few inquiries about Indy's breeder and here's her contact information if anyone is interested in a Siberian Husky in the future.

The breeder is Alice Watt and her website is www.Kossok.com. You can view all her dogs here. Alice is fantastic and has beautiful Huskies. We visited her kennel/home several times and she keeps the place very clean and all the dogs look very happy and healthy. She competes regularly and most of her dogs are champions. She has a few puppies remaining from the same litter as the one Indy was in. We could not be happier with Indy! She is wonderful! Siberian Huskies are beautiful dogs, but a word of caution to anyone interested. Though they are beautiful, they require a household who will walk/run them regularly as they have tons of energy. Huskies are also VERY smart... almost too smart. That said, they can have strong personalities and require either an experienced dog owner or someone who is willing to invest a large sum of their time training their husky pup early on. I am home all day everyday, so it has worked out perfectly for Matt, Indy, and I. She is around people all day, so she doesn't get bored. A bored husky can be a destructive and disobedient husky. With tons of energy, they need an outlet to release this energy. You must give them chew toys, but expect some of your belongings to become chew toys when you are not watching them. Because huskies are so pretty, you have to be careful with your husky as they are often stolen. Seriously! People love their look and theft is common. When I was growing up with a husky, someone attempted to steal him by dragging him into a car on the side of the road. He refused... thankfully!

Some of the benefits of owning a husky: No "doggie" odor. Indy never smells, even when wet (you all know what a typical wet dog smells like). Huskies don't shed much during most of the year if you regularly groom them BUT they shed a ton about twice a year when they blow out their undercoats (you only need to bathe a husky a handful of times a year as they are fastidiously clean). Huskies are very clever and hilarious and you will always have fun with them. Huskies are also great with everyone, even kids and babies if you socialize them well early on... they are a happy breed, but do not make good guard dogs as they love everyone. Indy is a sponge and super quick to learn. The one thing is that huskies get bored easily if not challenged, and will sometimes choose when they want to perform tricks.

Overall, we are 100% satisfied with Indy and her progress. She is a total goof and so much fun to play with. I hope this post is helpful! Please email me at info@twigsandhoney.com if you would like more information on this fabulous breed of dog.

Winter blizzard :: Brrrr...

I am sure many of you have heard of the crazy Oregon weather, but it has really hit Salem, OR hard as of late. Yesterday, there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground and then it rained, and then it froze to make lovely ice. Yay! Not really. In the evening yesterday, Matt and I were bundled on the sofa and saw a huge explosion outside, only meters from our house. The transformer right outside our house exploded! Seriously! I saw the dark sky light up and felt a huge jolt in my chest. PLUS, it sounded like a rifle being shot off next to my ear. Craziness. I called the electricity company and apparently this is happening all over Salem. The transformers cannot handle the ice and they are just spontaneously exploding. As of a minute ago, over 50,000 people are without electricity. We are still without power. Yesterday night, we lit tons of candles and hunkered down for the night. This morning, Matt took off for work and I bundled up. It is FREEZING in our house, literally!! I packed up my laptop, camera and phone and hiked to the nearest coffee house. It was like climbing Everest. A fresh new blanket of about 6 inches of snow came down early this morning and it wasn't just an easy walk in the snow. When your feet land on the ground, it first cuts through the snow, then hits a hard uneven layer of ice. No fun. Even if I wanted to drive anywhere (dangerous), I couldn't get into my frozen solid car! Here are some photo highlights.

Our snowed in home. Does it look cold? It is that cold inside!

My ice cube Volvo.

That would be my car's door handle, frozen solid. Right about now, I'm wishing I took out my umbrella previously!

My feet... buried.

Desolate streets.

"Mommy pleeeeease... let me play in the snow!" Here are some shots of Indy in doggie heaven. Oh, this was last week, before the lovely powder snow turned to crunchy ice... back when it was still fun.

Indy loved looking at her own paw prints in the snow.

Playing in the snow is tiring!

Chilly nose!

Pouncing!

Regal pup.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Click on image to supersize!

Well, this is it....this is where I say goodbye to you all for the holidays! It's been the most amazing year for me, Absolutely Beautiful Things and Black & Spiro and for that I have to thank you all as you are my supporters, my friends and my clients. Your continued interest, support and enthusiasm for me and my work has certainly overwhelmed me this year and I am truly humbled by each and every comment you leave me or email you send me.

Over the holidays make sure you watch out for the January issue of Australian Country Style magazine in which our beach house at Stradbroke Island will be featured {sneak peek above}. Back in October I was very lucky to work with talented stylist Shannon Fricke, amazing photographer Jared Fowler, intelligent and super interesting writer Barbara Sweeney.....and the very lovely Victoria Carey {deputy editor of Country Style}. What a lovely group of people they are and I would just like to thank them so much for including our Stradbroke beach house in the January issue.

Well my friends, I truly hope that you all have an amazing Christmas and that the New Year brings you all that you dream for. I will be taking a few weeks away from the blog to spend with my family at the beach and I will be back here sometime around the 19th January 2009 with lots of 'Absolutely Beautiful Things' to share!

Take care, Merry Christmas & bye for now....

xx
Anna

Christmas Celebrations

Well the staff Christmas drinks went very well....I think there were a few of us with sore heads on Saturday morning...poor Kelly had to be the one who opened the shop up at 10am...I did not envy her at all!

The girls all loved their Christmas goodies which I wrapped in each of their current favourite fabric which I thought they could keep and have a small cushion made using the piece of fabric I gave them....they all loved this idea!!

We all laughed and reminisced about the year that was and all talked about our upcoming plans for 2009. Part of the gift I gave the girls for Christmas was to take them all down to Sydney in February for the Gift Fair. We will also hire a car and I will drive them around to some of my favourite haunts in Sydney. They are all very excited as am I!!

Inspiring Women - Ms Rai

I sat down to change my 'Lovely Lady Lounge' and realised that for this woman I could not just leave it at that. She deserves a post of her own.

I give to you the beautiful Ms Aishwarya Rai.

At the risk of gushing, I think Aishwarya is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I could gaze at her for hours.

Aishwarya was born in Mangalore, India in 1973. She completed a course in Architecture before winning the Miss World competition in 1994 with the highest EVER score!

She knocked back multiple film and commercial offers in favour of completing her degree, finally succumbing to Bollywood's pleas and becoming the biggest actress in India. Aishwarya has over 40 movies to her credit in four different languages. She is the highest paid actress in India and has multiple modelling contracts in both India and the West.

For a lovely introduction to Aishwarya's work (and slightly shorter than her 3 hour epics) see 'Bride and Prejudice' by Gurinder Chadha of 'Bend It Like Beckham' fame.

Flowers, Drinks, Pottering Around...

Yesterday afternoon I pottered around getting the house ready for our Black & Spiro Staff Christmas Drinks which I traditionally hold at home a few days before Christmas each year. I arranged lots of vases of pretty fresh flowers which I placed around the house. This one {above} was one of my favourites which I placed in a old crystal vase my grandmother gave me on the chest of drawers in our kitchen next to one of my most treasured possessions....a Herend tea set for two which was give to us as an Engagement present 8 years ago. Also on the chest of drawers are a couple of Antique spoons which I bought when I was in Paris earlier this year and lots of other special little things which I hold close to my heart!!

Let There Be Light

Why can't my Christmas lights look like this? Maybe it has something to do with the house I live in!

This is my favourite Christmas tree this year.

You can't beat Martha Stewart for a good Christmas barn!

I know these are slightly 'wrong' but I secretly want them grazing in my front yard!

Happy New Year! :: Winter celebration hair piece in the shop right now!

Perfect for a New Year's Eve party, this lovely little number is also great for weddings or everyday. In my Etsy shop today. Enjoy!

Psst! :: New piece to be listed today

In the holiday spirit, I whipped up a lovely piece that I'll post about later today (it's late right now!) and I'll list sometime in the early afternoon in my Etsy shop. It is winter-inspired and a perfect topper for New Year's (hint, hint).

Also, just wanted to say thank you to all the wonderful comments on the previous post on bouquets. The sweater I am wearing was from Anthropologie and the brand was Guinevere. I love that cardigan and originally purchased it for our engagement photos in 2007. The black tank is also from Anthropologie (summer 08)... and the skirt, Target! Mix and match high and low, right? Love it! I have such an addiction to Anthropologie. I need help. I try to counteract this addiction by balancing their pieces with good ole Target and eBay finds. Happy shopping!

Blast from the past... Spring of 2007
Photo credits: Paul Rich Studio

Overwhelmed!

Gorgeous Thank you Cards from Rifferaff

A very big thank you to you all for your generous comments this week about our house and my work. As I said earlier this week, I am truly humbled! Thank you also to the bloggers out there who then posted about the house on their own blogs....you are all so supportive and for that I thank you! xx Anna

Lou vs. Scrooge

Seven more sleeps until the big, fat man comes to our house (And yours too if you've been nice).

I can't wait. I Love everything about Christmas. Lou over at Totally Innocent was talking about how much she loves this season too and it reminded me of all the Christmas Scrooges I've come across lately. You know, those people who do nothing but complain about the expense, the shopping crowds, the commercialism, etc etc. Why don't these people just change the way they celebrate Christmas so they don't find it so tedious. It's not like they don't know it's coming! They have a whole year to organise themselves so it doesn't give them a nervous breakdown. I have very little sympathy and am quite miffed that the whole Spirit Of Christmas thing has obviously gone right over their heads.

For me Christmas is - finding that perfect gift, even if it is March

- it's seeing my kids run to the window to see if there really is an Elf watching to see if they are behaving themselves

- it's making rumballs with Moondoggie

- it's watching as Gidget arranges the ornaments perfectly on the tree

- it's an extra Christmas Day every year so we get a full day with both sides of the family

- it's listening to 13 cousins sing carols together every year for the grown ups

- it's watching my Dad and Father In Law fall asleep after lunch even when surrounded by chaos

- it's a million things that make me so happy.

So thank you Lou for being full of the Spirit Of Christmas, may yours and everybody's Christmas be merry and bright.

Christmas Gorgeousness

Thank you to various blogs for these yummy shots.

The Death of Homemade!!!

I was sent this today and thought I would share it as it affects so many of my wholesalers and friends -

Below is an excerpt from 5 Minutes for Mom, (http://www.5minutesformom.com/5127/cpsia/), and a link to a petition. The CPSIA is a very real situation that will cause an unthinkable number of companies to cease business. Mine is one of those companies. I did the math, and in order to continue offering my current collection I would have to spend far beyond $52,000 in testing. Beyond this, it will destroy the creativity and uniqueness of our industry, forcing our children to be surrounded in mass produced factory products.Please do what you can to spread the word. Post to your blogs, send emails, write letters, and please take a few minutes to sign the petition.

I am a mother.

Nothing matters to me more than the safety of my children and other children. But I can also recognize when a flawed, reactionary law puts countless responsible, business owners at risk of unfairly losing their businesses.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) may have been drafted with good intentions, but along the road it became a law that is impossible to fairly implement.

If it is put into action on February 10, 2009 as it currently is planned, it will have devastating repercussions to both large and small businesses and basically end the handmade goods industry.

The CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys (obviously a good thing) but it mandates enormously expensive third-party testing and certification for all products intended for children under the age of 12.

It’s the ridiculous expense of the third-party testing and certification that will close businesses and make it illegal for work-at-home moms and dads to sell their handmade goods.We will all be affected if this law is not changed.

As parents, consumers, business owners and employees we will all suffer from the economic mess that this law will trigger. Not to mention we won’t even be able to buy handmade baby blankets!February 10, 2009 is already being dubbed National Bankruptcy Day.

We must all take action now to stop this law from destroying responsible businesses.

How to Help:

If you are an American, write to your United States Congress Person and Senator and the CPSC to request changes in the CPSIA.

You canfind your Congress Person here and Senator here.

Write to the CPSC here.

Find a sample letter at The Handmade Toy Alliance.Sign the iPetition for the CPSIA Impacts on Children’s Apparel Industry

Post your concerns on your blog, Facebook or Myspace page.

Send an email directly to the CPSC or contact chairperson Nancy Nord at 301-504-7923Twitter: Search using the #CPSIA hashtagJoin the CPSIA Facebook Group

Join these Etsy folks and send a handmade toy to Congressman Rush.

Learn more about the law and how you can help change it. Here are a few of the many blogs that have helpful resources: National Bankruptcy Day, The Smart Mama, Cool Mom Picks, Z Recommends
Thank you
Susan

Warm Regards,Jesseca Bellemare

Owner and Designer

Quilt Baby

www.quilt-baby.com

Christmas Decorations

As you know each year I buy a few new Christmas decorations to add to my growing collection. The decorations I added to my collection this year I placed on an old plate I had which I then placed on my sideboard in a table vignette {as above}. As I decided not to put up my usual style of Christmas tree this year I had to find an alternative way to use my new decorations. Each time I walk past the sideboard I just love seeing this bowl of pretty glass decorations with their pink bows sitting on the table....just another different way of decorating for Christmas!!

P.S. Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments on our house....wow, you totally bowled me over with your enthusiasm and support!!

Twilight Candy

Last night I went and saw TWILIGHT with a group of friends. We all loved it (apart from Carlisle's hair) and the discussion turned to casting, and to the relative 'hotness' of the characters. We decided that 1. Edward grows on you and we all now LOVE him. 2. James was HOT for such an evil bastard. 3. Jacob is going to be hot and 4. Charlie was not hot but perfectly cast.

So to celebrate the ultimate teenage love story here is ...
TWILIGHT EYE CANDY

Number One - Cam Gigandet as 'James'

and Cam as himself....

Number 2 - Robert Pattinson - 'Edward Cullen'

Number 3 - Taylor Lautner - 'Jacob Black'

and as himself .....

and finally Number 4 - Billy Burke - 'Charlie Swan'