Ice Cream Social!

Welcome! My dear friend Jenn at Sweet Eye Candy Creations is hosting an Ice Cream Social, in honour of it being National Ice Cream Month in the US of A. Apparently, in 1984, Ronald Regan said it was so. I wish our PM would get with the program and name January Ice Cream Month here in Australia! Maybe we should petition him.... oh... sorry! You're still there? Excuse my mind wandering!

So, it's the middle of Winter here. But we happen to be a rather Ice Cream Lovin' family here in the Burns house, so naturally, I happened to have photos I took this past Summer, of ice cream!

The little guy's FAVOURITE thing in Summer (or all year!) is ice cream. For the time being, we can convince him ice cream is really a Summer thing, but it's not going to wash for much longer!

Every single Friday afternoon in Summer, anywhere between 4pm - 7pm, the ice cream guy comes along in his van through my parents' street. Every week, it's two mixed gelati with no coffee or pistacchio for the young guy. One for now, one goes on the freezer door for after dinner. Ah the joys, sugar and brain freeze!

These pics were taken at a stationary "Mr Whippy" van one day - not our regular Friday guy - but who cares? Ice cream or gelati tastes just as good when it comes with twinkly music and a van running on a generator!

My personal fave as a kid was good ole soft serve vanilla in a cone that I remember we used to call "Dairy Queen". I think that's some big multi-national corporation now, so we just call them soft serve cones. My grandfather used to stop by the milk bar (like a small general store) after school, and if I was good, I got a "Dairy Queen" in a single cone. I never was allowed to get the double cone :(

I also loved when Mr Whippy came by and I'm convinced that all the Mr Whippies around the world are the same. They know you are scrounging around for change, after hearing them come up your street. Then they see you running out to them, but they keep on moving, as though they are saying "I know you are there, I see you, but I think you should earn this ice cream and burn it off before you have it". When I saw Eddie Murphy's Delirious, I was convinced he did the Ice Cream Skit because he'd been living in my street!

Even now with the young guy, I've had many sprints down the street, barefoot and cutting my feet (because it's Summer, and there was no time to put on shoes in the mad rush out the door!). I've even got in the car and chased this guy down streets away, because all week we've been waiting for the ice cream van, and we've behaved, and then he has the cheek to just DRIVE PAST?!

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For now, my fave ice cream is anything completely and totally indulgent and bad for me - macadamia, cookies n cream... I could go on. But I don't buy them, because I can't stop when I start. So I'll show you the "ice cream" I made last week - a healthier option, made with low fat vanilla yoghurt, blueberries, raspberries and fruit sugar (fructose) ~ all pureed with a stab mixer, poured in a container, frozen and voila! Check out that natural COLOUR!

**A stab mixer is the generic name for a "Bamix" - we can't call them Bamix if the brand is not Bamix so we call them stab mixers - LOL yes, they do sound nasty!**

To leave you with something funny - I found the Ice Cream skit in YouTube

*******WARNING******

VERY rude language!

Don't watch if you have kids around, or you don't want to hear the f-bomb and the sh.. word ~ if that doesn't bother you , then enjoy, because the overall story is absolutely hilarious and really could have been written about our little street here in Australia too!!!

Happy Ice Cream Social!

Natasha xo

Cupcakes, Candles and Come back soon for the Ice Cream Social!

Just popping in for a minute to let you know there's some new faux cupcakes "freshly baked" in some gorgeous new papers and designs, now available in my shop!

Some of these designs were special orders and are not available but there are still plenty more you can choose from. The cupcakes can be found here.

And a new batch of Soy Candles has arrived! This lot burn for twice as long as the first batch. I had the most popular scent made up in 35-40 hour candles, after receiving so many wonderful emails about how delicious they are and how many of you thought Tuberose was the bees knees! You can find them here.

Be sure to come back and visit soon - Jenn is hosing the Ice Cream Social in the next day, so I'll be working on something for that!

And please do come join in on the post below and find something to REVAMP! It doesn't have to be clothing - a hat, shoes, handbag, purse, doll's clothes - they'd all work beautifully too! And you don't have to sew - just glue if you are sewing challenged!

See you next time,

Natasha xo

Revamp It!

Season 2 of Project Runway Australia started this week and I love it already! We've seen some divine designs and hideous creations, in week one!

And it looks like the new season of US Project Runway starts this weekend (yay, LOVE it just as much as the Aussie one!)




So I thought, why not mark the new season/s of Project Runway Australia and US by creating a challenge....


Take a piece of clothing - either one you have hanging in your wardrobe already - or, as I have done - buy it from the Op Shop/Goodwill/Thrift Store/garage sale - anywhere....

and REVAMP IT!

OR if clothing is not your thing - you could revamp a hat, purse, handbag, shoes, doll's clothes....

To join in the fun you'll need to do the following:

Make sure you take BEFORE PHOTOS

Take DURING PHOTOS

and of course, AFTER PHOTOS

so we can see

what you had to play with with,

where you were taking it,

and what it became!

Create a post on your blog on FRIDAY AUGUST 14th, 2009, showing these pics, and any product suggestions or tips on how you revamped your fabulous garment

Visit my blog and let me know you're up and running and I'll add you to the list of participants on the day.

All participants will go into a draw to win your choice of THREE unframed canvas prints that you can find in my shop/lollishop/etsy !!

If you'd like to join in - feel free to snag this image below and add it to your blog sidebar with a link to this blog post. (click it first to maximise the size)

I'm revamping this vintage nylon nightie.... you'll see it again on August 14th!

I hope you will join me!

Natasha xo

More Cuff Beauty

Hello there!

We've had a busy two weeks here ~ it's almost the end of the 2 week school holiday break our kids get here at the end of Term 2, and I am almost exhausted from all the kids parties/play centres/parks/plays/shopping centres/Auskick/swimming holiday program/play over at friends/play over at home.

Don't get me wrong, it's fabulous and fun but I'm not kidding when I say every single day we have had something on these holidays!

I'm dying for our Family Movie Night on Saturday where we'll make popcorn and watch a movie "with the lights off Mum" and just stay home!

One bit of very exciting news was that the little guy lost his first tooth! His face now looks so much more grown up. I'm excited and sad at the same time. He's really growing up now!

But for now, let's move onto the subject of this post ~ More Cuff Beauty! I received two more gorgeous stunning cuff bracelets in the mail this past week!

(you can click on each photo to enlarge to see details)

This first cuff is from the beautiful and talented Christine ~ I love the whimsical and vintage look all combined ~ she has fabulous style and an eye for detail like you wouldn't believe. Her jewellery and creations in her shop will have you gasping! (My fave department is her Parlorette Jewelry section)

Thank you so much Christine, you really are amazingly gifted!!!

And as if that wasn't enough - another cuff bracelet arrived from another of my lovely partners, Jessica!

Oh my gosh don't you just love those sweet forget-me-nots with vintage French sequins?!!!

And that lace, oh the colour and combination is SO adorable, sweet, girly and vintage, and get this ~ it's all hand sewn!!!

Isn't it funny how Jessica and I both made cuffs for each other with lace, velvet and forget-me-nots!

Thank you so much Christine and Jessica, I can't wait to wear these!!!

Oh and I should now reveal the cuffs I made for these two girls!! I showed you sneak peaks here and here ~ well here's the reveal - along with the cuff I made for Lori that I showed you a few posts ago.

Cuff Bracelet for Christine ~ I used vintage French ribbon that I got from Heather as the base, and stitched on three vintage bead motifs that were part of my Aunty's dress-making bits and bobs, then I hand beaded those loopy bits along each edge as well as the pearl beads in between.

And for Jessica's cuff bracelet I hand dyed silk velvet fabric with pink food colouring (truly!), stitched it to double thickness and hand sewed on some lovely old lace I bought from Heather ages ago, and added some forget-me-nots, beads and Swarovski crystals.

I held myself up from sending Lori's cuff bracelet when it was ready because I wanted to be able to photograph all three cuff bracelets together, to make sure I made them as unique to each person as I could. So here they are, so happy together :)

I had a blast making these, and I completely love the beautiful ones I received, how lucky am I!

Well, farewell for now! It's late and I have parcels to pack and ship, before tomorrow, when we are heading out for more swimming lessons and an aeroplane museum!

Natasha xo

Mad Tea Party - I'm Late For a Very Important Date!

Welcome to the party!


Would you like a cupcake? I baked them myself!



Mr Bird has come along, dressed in his finest... finished with a top hat, of course!



Cup of tea perhaps? Maybe some cherries and more cupcakes?

Queen Bird has the best position in the house - perched above a bed of roses and enormous cream cake!


All that sweetness needs to be washed down with bubbly pink lemonade, fruit and little cucumber sandwiches. I know we're eating in the wrong order, but it is a mad tea party, after all.

Mr Rabbit is waving farewell from the Mad Tea Party Top Hat balloon - he had a lovely time and hopes you did too!!!

Be sure to visit all the other fun and exciting tea parties in blogland ~ starting with our exceptional hostess, Miss Vanessa herself! (Her 2009 Mad Tea Party blog post is here.)

Thanks for stopping by even though I was very late for such an important date!!!

Natasha xo

(Yay, it appears the computer is fixed.... fingers crossed!)

STILL down!!!!

Hello blogging friends! I miss you!!!!

I'm at the shopping centre on an awful $2 for 21 minutes computer, with a keyboard that doesn't work very well, and I have to hit the spacebar HARD to get it to put spaces between each word....

Anyway, there has been no further progress on my computer, I am still stuck with one that does not work. It's SO hard, trying to run a website and update my blog without one, LOL! I can't even put a notice on my website since the login details are in an email ON my computer! (Heather, I wonder if you still have that email with that info I forwarded you last year?)

Last time my computer had issues, I needed a new motherboard. This time it is the hard drive. UGH. I'm getting errors that won't even allow Windows XP to open. My computer guy can't work on it until at least next Wednesday, and even then it's a 50/50 shot at him being able to fix it on the spot. So, I'm offline until at least next Wednesday, if not more.

Which means, I'll be SUPER late for the Mad Tea Party. How ironic that "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date" literally!! I created some artwork specially for the party, which I can't wait to show you, so I'll just have to wait. SO annoying!!!

Anyhoo, I can update my twitter account from my phone, so if you want to check up on me, (though I haven't updated it for a day or so, LOL), go to www.twitter.com/natashaburns

Until next time, whenever that may be,

Take care and enjoy your week,

Natasha xoxox

Computer Down

Hello there,

just a little post to let you know that Natasha is having a few computer problems. If by chance you emailed her or are waiting for a response from her, she said to let everyone know that she will be back up in a few days.

;)) Heather

Lovely Mail

Hello blogging friends! I've been super busy lately, and here in the Burns household we've been working hard at making some positive and important changes to do with health, family priorities and work and it's all great. It has meant less time on the computer but I'm hoping once I am properly organised, I'll work out a good balance. Thanks to those lovely people who have been stopping by and if I owe you an email, it's coming soon I promise!!

So a quick catch up on some lovely mail!!! Today this gorgeousness arrived for me! Can you believe Lori hand painted and hand stamped the front of this mailing envelope and added that gorgeous lady image?! And this is just the packing!!!


As you might have guessed if you've been reading my blog lately, one of my cuff bracelets has already arrived! Lori wrapped it in the most amazing little envelope she made with old papers and ephemera.


She even added a button and a loop, she is so clever and comes up with the most gorgeous ideas.


Have a look at the back of the cuff bracelet! Isn't that label the sweetest?!!!


But wait, check out the FRONT of it, it's divine!!!!


How seriously gorgeously vintage beautiful is this!!!


The lace is so delicate and beautiful, the softest shade of pinky peach.


And how lovely it is when it's worn. I love love love this, it's just perfect and I can't wait to get some warmer weather to wear it. Thank you so much Lori, I'll treasure my OOAK cuff bracelet always!!!

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Last night I wrapped the three cuff bracelets I made for my three partners all pretty, and today I put them in envelopes ready to ship off in the morning.


I made tags by printing sneak peeks of what's inside onto canvas and tearing and fraying the edges.


I bundled them each with my most-favourite-ever delicate wallpaper (I must show it to you properly one day, remind me to take some proper pics, it's utterly divine!) wrapped over this fabulous pleated paper Tiffany and I found at a market while she was here.


And on each package I included a little bit of trim that was used on each cuff bracelet as a hint of what's inside.




And I attempted to play with my crown wax seal I got a couple of years ago now that I also forgot to show you. I love those old fashioned wax seals and I even use the old fashioned wax and not the glue gun type of wax you can buy. There's just something about the imperfection of it all that is just so perfect. Truly makes for a OOAK seal!

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Keeping with the lovely mail theme, I received this gorgeous creation in the mail just yesterday! I was lucky enough to win Andrea's giveaway and it's just so cute! I've hung this gorgeous birdy vintage ball up in the lounge room inside a little unit I have on the wall.

Thank you Andrea for the super sweet creation and for picking out my name!

And for the gorgeous surprise new vintage millinery still with the original tag!

I'll come catch up with you soon! I've got some commitments at the little guy's school, and some custom orders to finish and new ones to begin. Right now though, it's time to prepare tomorrow's lunch and get some shut-eye!

Thanks and see you next time,

Natasha xo

Cuff addict continued...

A few posts back I showed you the first and second cuff bracelets I had created for a little swap among some friends - well I worked on my third and final cuff bracelet and here's a few sneak peeks to show you.

This one is for Christine, one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet. (I was lucky enough to have spent a day with her in LA last October, she's adorable!)
She is the beading queen so I thought I'd use that as my inspiration for this one.

Hopefully she will love it! For those who asked, I'll definitely be sharing full photos of the three cuff bracelets, once the girls receive them. Now that all three are made, I'll get them ready to ship off after the weekend.

I'm heading back to the kitchen now, baking cupcakes for my brother in law's 40th birthday tonight.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Natasha xo

Show Me Your Crown

Andrea is hosting a Show Me Your Crown party. Well, she was yesterday - I'm a bit late, oops! But I'm late with good reason - I wasn't going to get time to make a crown for her party, but I stayed up late last night and a few hours later, voila!

I decided I'd make a crown for my old doll that belonged to my grandmother. (The crown also doubles as a great base to place a candle jar into!).

You can make one just as easily (but it really did take me a couple of hours as it is super fiddly and I couldn't decide between pink or clear rhinestones, and went back and forth a lot!).

I started by getting some heavy gauge wire, twisting a circle base. Then I used that same wire and created the loops, pinching them at the base at the bottom of each loop, with some small jewellery pliers.

Then I got the finer gauge wire out, and reinforced each bottom point of each loop, by wrapping the finer wire around it several times, to make sure those loops didn't move a bit. I'm all about overkill when it comes to not wanting something to move! I figure, do a bit more, just in case.

Then I got a length of rhinestone chain (as you can see, I decided on the pink one), and wrapped fine wire over the end of it, attaching it by wrapping tightly onto the crown base ring. (Start at the back so any joins are not visible at the front). Wrap and wrap and wrap all the way around, in between every little rhinestone until your hands bleed! Well, not quite, but it felt like that by the end of this!

Then do exactly the same for each loop, wrap each loop with fine wire, between each rhinestone. Make sure your rhinestones are facing the front so you get to see them properly and not upwards. At the base of each loop (you know, those points where we secured them just in case?) you'll need to cut the rhinestone chain and start the new loop with a fresh cut bit of chain, because the chain won't bend around with such a sharp base angle.

OH, nearly forgot! When you get to the top middle of each loop, string a crystal drop onto the wire, then keep wrapping the chain. Those are your lovely dangles!

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So, before I had made the above crown, I was going to post about the crowns I find around my home, thinking I wouldn't be making a whole new one. I'll show you these anyway because they're cool and I love them.

Crown keyrings that I have in my shop here are just gorgeous!

And also gorgeous are these two large crown pendants, that are here and here in my shop too



Then there's a crown in our newly renovated bathroom (that I keep forgetting to show you!). It's a crown hook I got on my first day in the US, at the beautiful shop that is no longer, Shabby Chic, in Santa Monica. I made a beeline for this hook and it makes me smile every day!

This gorgeous green crown ring was a fabulous surprise from one of the lovely En Le Jardin ladies - from memory it was Sherry Williams, it was used to decorate her home made pink chocolate pretzel sticks - is that right En Le Jardin girls? More about En Le Jardin another time soon, it's a whole post of its own.

Don't you just love this crown pendant I found? I love it, it's 3D too which is SUPER cool.

And last but not least - the beautiful crown that I received in a swap from my friend Karin that takes pride of place in our room. My favourite of all crowns.

Hope you enjoyed the crown parade.

Have a great week,

Natasha xo

Cuff addict

This little cuff swap that I organised with some of my friends has become such a breath of fresh air creatively for me. Sometimes I just want to do something new and something fun without any pressure. I really NEED to do this in between orders, it helps to recharge the batteries!

My last post showed you the beginnings of one of the cuffs I'm working on. I took three partners because I couldn't decide what kind of style cuff I wanted to make - pretty, vintage, ornate - so I thought I'd attempt all three!
Here's some glimpses of cuff #2, for Jessica of Such Pretty Things. One look at her blog and you just know she's into pretty! I hope she'll like it!


The base I stitched together by hand, using 100% pure silk velvet that I hand dyed pink. I wanted it to feel soft and pretty against the skin. Sorry, Jessica, for all the hand stitching on the back though!!!

Continuation of the post below this, with cuff #1 again - a few more glimpses of the one I created for Lori of Vintage Flair. Every single element except for the Swarovski rhinestones is vintage, including the thread I used to hand sew it all together. I am so lucky that I had a grandmother who gave me lots of her old sewing stuff, that I can still use today.

I actually want to hold off sending these first two cuffs, just a little longer, so that I can take a photo of all three cuffs together, once I complete #3. I guess I'm just odd like that. I'm interested to see how each looks, and if I achieved the look of three totally different OOAK cuffs for three unique people!

That means I better get a move on with Christine's cuff (Dollybelle's Peepshow). I'm heading off to the warm part of the house to do some stitching right now. Brrrrrr it's ccccccold tonight!!

Enjoy your day,
Natasha xo

Comfort Creating and learning to going with the flow

Well it's been a busy week here. We've had various guests the past few days and nights and that meant I had to get the house clean enough, and not just a that'll do clean, know what I mean?!

But today, after the cleaning was done, I managed to squeeze in an hour of creating for a little swap that I'm doing with a few friends.

I started out with something totally different in mind, some structured lace and other things. But as I started putting that together, it just didn't seem right. It didn't flow.

So I just scrapped any plans, or any preconceived ideas I had in my head about the end result, and just started creating. I grabbed bits of this and that, and started hand stitching.

As soon as I started, it kept flowing naturally, without me thinking too hard about it. And, as it turns out, it's just the look I'm after.

There's plenty more to go with this - I had to pack it away to do the school run and entertaining. I can't wait to pick it up again tonight, after everything is settled, and I'm alone with the lamp and the TV in the background, with the heated throw rug on my lap (yes, a blanket that's like an electric blanket only you put it over the top of yourself!).

There's nothing like good old fashioned, "comfort creating" in the warmth while it's a fresh Winter night outside. Aaaaah, recharging those creative batteries..... :)

By the way - it is the beginnings of a cuff bracelet ;)

Bye for now,

Natasha xo