tiny polaroid magnets

Can't fit all your favourite family photos on the fridge? Looking for a thoughtful, personal gift? Solution: diy tiny polaroid magnets from Ambrosia Creative.

Photos: Jenn from Ambrosia Creative. Via: Row House Nest

etsy success sydney

Are you going to Etsy Success Sydney? I am! Join us at the event on Saturday, 2 June, at the Museum of Contemporary Art from 9am to 10pm. Stylist Lara Hutton and I are speaking on The Basics of Product Styling and Photography. Tickets cost $100 and include access to all sessions, day-long catering and a delegate pack. Etsy Success Sydney is presented as part of the Vivid Ideas program at Vivid Sydney 2012 (25 May — 11 June), a festival of light, music and ideas, and a major celebration of our creative industries. Oh, and guess what? EtsyAU has kindly offered me one double-pass for a lucky reader (valued at $200). To win the tickets, by Friday, 25 May, tell me in a comment (below) or email why you need to attend the event. Good luck!

gardening and other things

Now that Will and I have a garden of our own (it's growing every day!) we're outside pottering around in it every chance we get. I especially love time spent in the garden after the rain when the sun has come out; the plants seem refreshed with squeaky clean leaves and those beautiful, glistening droplets of water. Bring on the weekend! In other news, I thought photo buffs might be interested in Ken Duncan's newly announced one-day workshops around Australia, and the amazing collection of historical New York City images, which are also available to purchase as prints.

Photos: Heidi Adnum

pilli pilli: knitwear for twin boys

These days my day-to-day work covers a few different roles, one of which is picture research. This role has me searching the globe for great photographs, usually of a particular craft. It's something that I really enjoy. (What's not to like about meeting great people and looking at beautiful handmade things?!) I first met Katrien from Pilli Pilli when I was researching images for a book on needlecraft (not yet released). Katrien's work is lovely, as are her photographs. She announced a little while ago that she's pregnant for the first time - with identical twin boys! Since then, she's been knitting the most adorable clothing for her babies and I'm sure you're going to love them. Take a look at these baby hats with pom-poms and baby wrap-around vests.

Photos: Pilli Pilli

country road photo frames

Sorry for being MIA. Over the past few weeks I've been crazy busy. Will and I moved into our very own home, and, now that most of the tricky stuff is done, we're having a load of fun decorating. We're currently working on framing two large pieces of Marimekko fabric that I found a little while ago on Etsy. I also recently picked up a good selection of photo frames from Country Road. I recommend their range. The frames are beautiful, simple, stylish and very high quality. They're also affordable and common photo crops and sizes are covered, including loads of square options, which I love (and can be hard to find.) In-store you'll find more of their larger frames, too. They're offering Australian and New Zealand customers free online shipping until 22 April. 

giveaway winner: gaelle lalonde

Hooray! One copy of Taking Great Photos is going out to Gaelle from Germany. Gaelle, originally from Canada, is a crafter and illustration student. She has crafted with women with special needs, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently working on her Masters in illustration. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. 

Illustrations: Gaelle Lalonde

hibiscus moonshot

When I saw this beautiful Hibiscus Moonshot it was love at first sight. If ever there was a flower that screamed happy and hula'd Hawaii, it has to be her! 

Don't forget that today is your last day to enter my giveaway. Good luck!

Photos: Heidi Adnum

taking great photos giveaway: from me!

I'm so pleased to offer one copy of my book to giveaway. For your chance to win, tell me why you need a copy of the book and how will taking great photos help you. Post your entry in the comments field below or send it to me via email. (If you enter via commenting below, be sure to include an email address so that I can contact you if you win.) You're also welcome to attach or link through to one or two of your photos, if you like. Entries are open from now until Friday, 16 March. I'll announce the winner on Monday, 19 March. Murdoch Books is going to send the lucky winner one copy of The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos (AU/NZ version/cover) to anywhere in the world. Good luck!

useful and lovely from scraps

I've been looking for simple projects to make useful and lovely things using fabric scraps. So far I've found these seersucker napkins from Martha Stewart and this fabric mouse pad from How Joyful. I think they'd make great gifts, too. Do you have any favourite projects from scraps?

linus lohoff: the constructed picture

German photographer, Linus Lohoff, created The Constructed Picture series to show everyday objects floating or disappearing. Linus used nylon thread to keep some things in place (and then digitally removed the thread), but other than that, everything we see was photographed that way. Nice, huh?!

Photos posted with permission from Linus Lohoff. Via: Flickr