Ceramic tea kettle

Love this ceramic tea kettle by Sunbeam Australia. It is available in pale blue, cream or black.

Flavia Del Pra

I am falling hopelessly in love with Flavia designs. Especially the Flavia lamps. They come in so many different colors. Anthropologie is carrying a few of her designs right now and others can be found online. She also designs tiles, ceramic plates and rainboots!!!

Rebecca Wetzler

My latest issue of Australian Home Beautiful featured a print of a sketch by Rebecca Wetzler. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on one (or some!) of her prints? You can see her folio on her website www.rebeccawetzler.com

Its a party!

I was asked to put together a couple last minute invites for Bethany's 2nd birthday party. A few scraps of paper, some glue and some foam squares and the result was as cute and colourful as she is!

Colour me happy......

If you love colour then this website will get you going ..... www.colourlovers.com

Puzzle tray for kids...

Since moving into the apartment and selling my sewing machines (pending our BIG international move!!) I have not had the outlet to be as crafty as I would like so I have found myself on the internet and leafing through magazines and books feeding off of other people's great ideas and creations.... so please forgive me if this blog has temporarily become a scrapbook for all the delightful designs and ideas I currently obsess over.... everything in this blog is something I truly adore and therefore very Miss-Jane-esque!! So...after getting that off my chest, here is my latest favorite thing: The Puzzle Tray. Very simple, very cute, very modern, very me!

Oliso Iron

I am blown away by the design of this iron. When you touch the handle it lowers itself onto the table and when you let go it raises itself up. No more standing the iron on its back (no more aching wrists!).
Could this be God's gift to seamstresses!!

Book Splurge

A crafty friend came into town so we piled the kids into the car and zoomed off to our local Barnes and Noble's. We grabbed a latte each, a pile of design books and sat on the floor in the kids section reading, giggling, drinking coffee (gasp! Miss Jane drank coffee and not tea) and sharing craft ideas while the kids played happily with trains. Needless to say I couldn't walk away without taking my favorites home with me. Here's what I bought ...

Modern Midwest - Amy Butler, Simple Sewing with A French Twist - Celine Dupuy, Bend The Rules Sewing - Amy Karol, Simple Sewing - Lotta Jansdotter

Now I would love to give you a running commentary of each book since they are all fantabulous and so inspiring but I will simply share my highlights ...
Amy Butler : now she is one talented woman! I WANT that studio/living room on page 84/94. I have always lusted after a white room with white floorboards and colorful accessories. It almost has an art gallery feel to it. SO inspired!!!
Celine Dupuy : I adore the wraparound robe on page 138, the bright fabric belt and edging on the sleeve is such a fresh take on a traditional terry robe. I will definitely be making myslef one of these and most likely be making a couple more for gifts!!
Amy Karol : Well we all love Amy and her book doesn't disappoint. On page 61 she asks 'What Kind of Crafter Are You?' and she describes 4 types of crafters : The Perfectionist, The Artist, The Miser and The Speed Demon. I am definitely The Perfectionist and I am going to take her challenge of giving someone a less-than-perfect gift!! I loved so many ideas from this book especially the Doorway Puppet Theater (page 118) and The Charming Handbag (page 64).
Lotta Jansdotter : My most favorite thing in this book is the doorstop on page 109. How super cute! I want to make one for every single door in my house!! Something original and a more modern version of the sausage dog doorstops my grandmother had (although Cath Kidson has done an update on that!)

Please share your comments on your highlights from these books!

Apartment Therapy

I just love looking at other people's homes. I can't resist walking through showhouses and doing a bit of design snooping!! Apartment Therapy is just the best because it lets you look through real people's homes and the bonus is they are all located in really artsy cities so the interiors all have that creative je ne sais quoi that I lust after. Go on, have a snoop for yourself!!

Teacup Girl

Could this print from The Black Apple of a girl trapped in a teacup be any more mysterious? I wish I was that girl, how fabulous life would be from inside a giant teacup!! It won't be long before I give in to my desire to own this print.

UPDATE (Oct 22. 2007) : I finally bought this print today. WooHOO!

Craft Fairs

I recently flew to Chicago to visit the Renegade Craft Fair. I felt myself come alive as I walked between the white gazebos filled with all things crafty and clever. I spent way too much money and came away inspired and in awe of every talented person there. I found myself searching online for more craft fairs (not the traditional stuff but the contemporary cutesy kinds). I found a great list put together by MyMy. I did not realize there were so many. If you have been to more than a couple of these then please leave me a comment and let me know which ones are biggest and best - I will be saving my pennies to visit another one!!

Wallpapered Notebooks

I am in love with these wallpaper covered notebooks from hargreaves-gervis.com

Super cutie japanese...

I just purchased my first copy of Japanese craft magazine Cotton & Paint (www.cotton-paint.net). It is filled with adorable crafts and gorgeous photographs plus a pull out pattern sheet. Now I just need to learn Japanese....

If you have an issue, here's a tissue....

I had such fun making these little pocket size tissue holders (for a craft open house that a few of my girlfriends and I put together). Choosing the fabrics was the most fun. Once they were made I was so excited I ended up giving most of them away to my friends.
I have scattered them around ( into drawers and bags and the glovebox of my car) so I can always find a tissue when I need one!!

A Cup of Creativi.tea

This is my favorite cup to drink tea from. I feel like it was made for me. I'm very fussy about my tea cups, the rim can't be too thick or too thin and the handle has to have the right shape and space for your fingers. It needs to be comfortable to hold and to sip from. This one is perfect. And the bonus of this cup is the inside is a gorgeous shade of purple (one of my favorite colors) and just inside the rim it says ' n.having more creative ability while drinking tea ' This is so true for me. A cup of tea gives me time to take a break and think. When it gets really chipped (which all well used teacups do) I'll plant a violet inside it and then buy a new one!

Girls are Giddy...

I'm in love with Giddy Giddy hair clips, they are so girly and fun and almost edible!

While dreaming up a craft space I came across these inspirational pictures....