Sunshine in the Mail

Mail swaps can be stressful (as I found out when I overcommitted myself last Christmas!) but this week I received a gorgeous present thanks to Seaweed and Raine's stress-free 'Sunshine in the Mail' swap. My package *all the way from Australia* was so big that I clearly needed help opening it.

The swap was a blind one so I didn't know where it was coming from - what a lovely surprise to be spoiled by designed-to-a-t. This beautiful handmade bag was snapped up by Miss 4 as it perfectly fits her new favourite toy, but I am keeping the matching card with sewn-on ric rac (don't you love ric rac!)

This sweet poster came complete with clipboard for displaying!

And these pretty tags are a welcome addition to my stationery stash (do you think that is washi tape? I  need to try some...) It really was a lovely package, thank you so much Terese   :)

I sent my swap package off a couple of weeks ago because it had to go all the way to New York! I made the rosette brooch from lily pad scraps and sent some stationery from New Zealand designers...

• Pencil from Emma Makes


• Stickers from Nut and Bee (through Moo)


• An oversized postcard I received with a purchase from Sensitive Boyfriend

I hope Lissa enjoys them, you can see her lovely drawings and photos on her blog A Chance of Sunshine. If you have ever thought about entering a swap, keep an eye out for an easy one like this and sign up!

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Blog love: Blue's Quilt at WiseCricket

Last night I had a quick look at some of the Sew Mama Sew! giveaways (I have been entering blog giveaways for a year now and have not won anything yet...) and found the sweetest story. On the blog WiseCricket, a 7 year old girl is making a quilt for charity by collecting sponsors at $10 a square (she is in America but I just paid by paypal - love paypal!).

My daughter is only 4 but I hope she will one day be this empathetic and industrious - check it out here.

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Blog love: check out Kitty as a Picture!!!!

I've found a new blogger in New Zealand who loves fabric, pattern and colour just as much as me. Well, officially, she loves it more - as illustration, pattern and design are the core skills of Brenda's impressive career.

Her new blog just launched is Kitty as a Picture - and I'm serioudly addicted to what she writes about the art of print and pattern. Brenda has gorgeous taste. We share some of the same 'inspirational' blogs coming out of the US and UK in our reading lists, but Brenda is able to explain the mechanics of the patterns expertly, because she's a trained graphics designer who started her career working for one of New Zealand's most famous animation companies.

Overseas she's worked for Walt Disney Animation, and now that she's back in New Zealand and a new Mum, she has turned to working part-time in the children's fashion and gift industries as a designer and now blogger.

She's also launching a gorgeous range of children's artworks based on 'Go Benny Go!' (see the cat image above!).

My favourite blog post so far was about a UK designer using vintage fabrics for little girl's clothes - check out the 'Madeleine' skirt in the blue and grey, I'm pining....- and I loved this one about quirky animal illustrations for nursery walls.

I seriously encourage you to take a few minutes to hop over and check out her blog if you're into design and pattern. To celebrate being already two months old in the blog world, Brenda is also running a giveaway of some gorgeous baby products - why not enter while you're there?

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