Bamboo Blossom

Savoury Monkey Bread

2012-02-02T23:07:00.001+02:00

I tried some savoury monkey bread. I rolled it in a mixture of sweet basil, paprika and garlic flakes. It was good, but I prefer the sweet version.

Monkey bread

2012-02-02T12:32:00.001+02:00

Today I tried making Monkey Bread. You roll little balls of dough in cinnamon and sugar and then bake it. I used pre-made dough from the supermarket. It's so easy and delicious.

I also added a little margarine and rice milk after taking this photo to keep it from drying out.

Next time I'll try adding some bits of apple, raisins and nuts.

Valentine's Wallpaper

2012-01-31T23:04:00.002+02:00

You can download some beautiful free Valentine's wallpapers from the Better Homes and Gardens website here. Here's a few of my favourites.

Thank you Pakco

2012-01-31T13:15:00.002+02:00

The other day I bought some lentils and when I opened the can there was a loud bang. I sent an email to the complaint department and it turns out it was only due to the new ring pull and the vacuum that gets broken when you open it and not because there was anything wrong with the lentils. They said they'd replace the lentils and today I received this package. It had the replacement lentils and some extra products. What great customer service.

Fire

2012-01-29T14:05:00.002+02:00

Last night when we were taking our dogs for a walk we could see there was a big fire on the other side of the mountain. One side of the sky was completely filled with smoke and we could see the glowing of the flames as it got darker. This morning the fire is much closer and on our side of the mountain. It's not visible on the photos, but the air all around has a yellow tinge from the smoke.

From our backyard.

The village green.

Spice and all things nice

2012-01-26T11:10:00.001+02:00

I bought these delicious Poppadums from Spice and all things nice yesterday. I love the packaging.

I baked them in the oven. It only takes a few seconds to cook, so you have to watch them. It was really fun to see the little bubbles appear. I think I'll be making these a lot in the future, they have great packaging, they're made in South Africa, they are fun to cook and they taste great.

Busy week

2012-01-19T17:47:00.001+02:00

This was a good mail week for me, I got two more postcards with Postcrossing

From Denmark

From Norway. This was a direct swap with someone I sent a postcard too as well. Usually you'll only get a postcard from another random user.

I made this necklace a while back, but I only took photos of it today. I got the little Wade ceramic bird from an antiques store for only R5 because there's a small chip on the wing. I glued a little metal tube on the back to attach it to the necklace.

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My boyfriend participated in the Baardskeerdersbos Art Route with some other illustrators last weekend. It was a fun two days. I didn't take many photos, but here's a few of the ones I did take.

Niel Jonker's cats.

It was difficult to take good photos inside with the framing, but you can see more photos on his blog if you want.

The cats again.

A beautiful view at the after party.

Package project

2012-01-12T12:00:00.001+02:00

I got my package from my partner, Alex from Adventures In TV Land this week. I love it, it's the perfect little package with lots of interesting beautiful things.

It was all packaged in a vintage tin.

Book and tin.

A sweet note

Close-up of tin.

Australian magnets.

Black swan salt and pepper set. The other salt and pepper set I have is white with black birds, so it even matches!

I love these brass buttons. I started sewing originally because of brass buttons I'd bought at an antique store.

Retro earrings on a Monopoly card.

I love this wooden duck brooch.

Cool vintage photos.

A vintage matchbox.

The other side of the matchbox.

Inside the matchbox. I think I'm going to make a necklace and brooch using these.

Notes with red ribbon.

A zine by Alex.

Fortune teller fish.

I put the fish in my hand and it starting lifting at the head and tail.

Then it curled up entirely...

...flipped over...

...and curled up again.

Thank you for an amazing package Alex. I hope yours will arrive soon.

First postcard

2012-01-11T22:55:00.002+02:00

I received my first postcard through Postcrossing last week. It's all the way from Ukraine.

Jewellery roll

2012-01-08T16:23:00.000+02:00

Welcome to the first post of 2012. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year's. It was so busy here with all the house guests and holidays.

This is a jewellery roll I made for my boyfriend's cousin for her birthday. It's something I've wanted to make for a long time. I used a pretty floral flannel for the inside and some purple linen for the outside. I looked at other jewellery rolls on the internet and then came up with my own design to suit what I had.

A ring holder made from grosgrain ribbon and a zipped compartment with lace edging. I also made this necklace with the shell pendant. The shell is from a bracelet I bought years back that was too tight and full of shells. I think it looks much better like this so the shell really stands out.

I made these earrings to match a necklace she'd gotten for Christmas. Earrings can be hooked onto the pink lace strip and tucked into the pockets beneath if they're long.

Rolled up and tied with a ribbon.

Keyboard stickers

2011-12-20T12:11:00.001+02:00

These fun keyboard stickers were one of the advent calendar presents for me.

Before

After

Sugar cookies.

2011-12-15T12:10:00.000+02:00

I made some sugar cookies using this recipe.

First up were the double layer cookies with jam and icing sugar sifted over the top.

I used jam made from tea for these.

The jam wasn't very smooth, so I put the cookies back into the oven for a few minutes.

Next were the lemon dinosaur cookies with chocolate chip eyes. (I know, they're huge)

Last were the small cookies from the cut centres. I added some almond essence to the icing and decorated them with almonds.

I got out six of each cookie.

DIY Advent Calendar

2011-12-14T14:25:00.000+02:00

I made an advent calendar for my boyfriend while he was away. I bought little presents for us, wrapped and numbered them and pinned them to a string I tied to the bed. (I couldn't find anywhere else to tie it.) There are some things for him, some things for me and some for the house.

These cards are bigger than my hands! I just love oversized and miniature things.

Cute notepad.

Corn holders.

There's a whole set of animal cookie cutters.

Pretty coasters.

A rubber luggage tag.

I added sweets to a few of the presents. I wrapped them with wax paper.

These heart sweets are just adorable.

Chocolate and sweets wrapped in foil.

I couldn't find stickers with numbers, so I made my own numbers with these dots.

Doily decoration.

All strung up.

Surprise gift.

2011-12-10T00:01:00.001+02:00

My boyfriend did this beautiful little painting of my dog for me.

It captures Jeff's attitude so perfectly.

You can see more of his work here if you want to.

I'm a winner!

2011-12-09T17:52:00.001+02:00

Wow, I just won this cool scarf! There was a give-away by Narrow Wear on Paperie Boutique and I won. This scarf is called The Mrs Claus. I can't wait to wear it.

Soap!

2011-12-03T16:30:00.001+02:00

I ordered some things from The Soap Barn and received the package this week. This bar of soap was included as an extra. I got the cute soap dish for R5 from the charity shop.

Package inspection:

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

2011-12-02T18:04:00.001+02:00

Grosgrain is having a giveaway for this beautiful dress from Shabby Apple on her blog. Find out more here.

Sun-dried tomato and basil pesto

2011-11-27T23:56:00.001+02:00

This is my own recipe I came up with after looking at lost of different pesto recipes on the internet.

Ingredients:

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic, peeled

¼ cup macadamia nut oil (you can also use olive oil)

½ cup walnuts

Directions:

Blend everything in a blender or food processor until it's as smooth as you want it.

Bicycle giveaway

2011-11-26T09:34:00.001+02:00

Another cool giveaway on Lucky Pony. This beautiful bicycle is from Starling & Hero, they restore bicycles. I love this idea, if you have an old bicycle or even just part of one like this frame, they'll turn it into an amazing bicycle again.

Sneak peek

2011-11-19T08:48:00.001+02:00

Something new I'm working on.

New camera

2011-11-18T16:54:00.001+02:00

Our new camera was delivered this week, a Kodak EasyShare M575. I took this photo of a frog in our garden this morning.

Here's some photos I took from the car on the way to Cape Town.

Lollyloves Giveaway

2011-11-15T12:41:00.001+02:00

Lucky Pony is having a giveaway with a R500 voucher from Lollyloves as the prize. All you have to do is choose your favourite product and comment on this post.

Here's my favourite:

Treasury list

2011-11-12T17:26:00.001+02:00

I've started creating some treasury lists on Etsy. I did one and then I liked it so much that I did a few more :)

Gifts for him

Gifts under $5

Click here to see more.

New stockist

2011-11-12T12:16:00.001+02:00

Bamboo Blossom handbags are now available at Jaipur Rose clothing in Stanford, 21 Queen Victoria Street.

Brass light

2011-11-12T00:15:00.001+02:00

I bought this brass light at a flea market years ago. It was only R6. It has been standing around waiting for me to fix it and I finally did it this week. I can't remember exactly what the lady at the flea market told me it used to be, but I think it was something to do with a cannon.

This is what the inside looked like before I started, full of dust and cobwebs. I started by removing the light bulb and it's cover. I really like this metal shell thing and I hope I can find something to do with it. I tried to remove the metal rod, because I wanted to put the new light bulb at the bottom of the tube, but I couldn't get it loose. So then I had to figure out a way to attach the new lamp holder at the top of this tube. I was going to use cardboard, but then I discovered that an upside down yoghurt tub lid fits on it perfectly.

I covered the lid with fabric. I just used wood glue, folded it over and kept it in place with clothes pegs until the glue dried.

I also glued some fabric on the inside to cover the edges of the striped fabric. At first when I plugged the light in, nothing happened. It turned out that I'd wired the plug wrong, despite the very clear diagram that came with it.

I have no idea where this switch came from, but I know I've been keeping it for something for a very long time. I was really scared that I'd be electrocuted when I switched it on, but it worked. I had to do a lot of searching on google to find out how to wire it. It took a while to find instructions I understand, I don't remember any of this from school.

The very professionally taped up bottom.

Ta-da! After years and years of standing in the corner this is finally a light again.

It's not as bright as this in reality. I have a new light and I wasn't electrocuted, a very good week :)

Package partner

2011-11-11T13:31:00.001+02:00

You might remember from my post a while back that I joined The Package Project. After weeks of waiting I've finally found out who my package partner is. I sent her an email all about me and I can't wait to learn more about her so I can start putting together a special package.

International sales

2011-11-10T10:58:00.000+02:00

I recently sold two Bamboo Earring Holders on Etsy. One is going to America and one to France. It's so exciting to know someone on the other side of the world is going to be using something I made.

From 365astronomy.com

Update: One of my customers featured the earring holder on her blog here.

Mannequins

2011-11-09T11:31:00.002+02:00

I'd love one of these mannequins from Delicious Display to use when taking photos of my handbags.

Local online gift guide and Christmas sale 2011

2011-11-01T09:30:00.001+02:00

I've put together a list of beautiful, unique products that are available online locally. Buying online is so much faster, easier and more relaxing than going to a busy store. Supporting local sellers also means that shipping costs will be lower and there's no customs duties. There's sections for women, men and kids, but these are all just things I love.

I'm adding photos and prices, please follow the links to get more info about the products and buying. I'll link to the shop pages or items where available.

I'm also having a Christmas sale on my Etsy store with 25% discount on everything, just use the code XMAS2011 when checking out.

Women

Bokkie Wall Hooks from ilovebokkie.

R355 each

Punky Heart Silver Pendant from Starbright Girl

± R300 ($38)

Floral Oversized Floor Cushion from Jeanette Gibson

± R1600 ($200)

Pink Petals Embroidered Brooch from HenriKuikens

± R280 ($35)

Float Away With Me Pendant from Lola And Cash

± R455 ($55)

Hollywood Bracelet Tutorial from Debger Designs

Why not make up a DIY kit with this tutorial and the materials to make a cool bracelet?

± R50 ($6.50)

Whale Keychain from HoopoeCoZa

± R57 ($7)

Vintage Tennis Racquet and Fabric Lace-ups from Beatnik Bazaar

Mount the racquet on a wall and use it to hang your earrings.

R90 R400

Cherry Blossom Heart Earrings from Genevieve Motley

± R120 ($15)

Quotation Mark Studs from Hello Thula

± R275 ($34)

Wood Blewit Mushroom Brooch from Vilua

± R230 ($28)

Abacus Apron from Skinny laMinx
You can also visit the local shop here.

± R345 ($42,30)

Crocheted Flower Hair Pins and Cross Stitch Cupcake Magnets Set from m0hu

± R16 ($2) ± R50 ($6)

Cookie Paper Clips from Small Idea

± R73 ($8.97)

Message Mug from Love Milo

± R180 ($22)

Mini Botanical Solid Perfume Set from Rose En Bos

± R250 ($31)

Red Bird Notebook from didsworld

± R120 ($15)

Men

Oat Fingerless Gloves from Strawberry Lane Crafts

R50

Red Leather Wallet from matblac

R420

Upcycled Belt and Cam Belt Cuff from Change Room

± R580 ($72) ± R185 ($23)

St James Tie from Good HEAVENS

± R270 ($33)

Knitted Bamboo Scarf from Scarecrow Organics

There's a choice of 24 different colours.

± R355 ($44)

Wooden Bicycle Cuff Links from Genevieve Motley

± R193 ($24)

Hammered Ring from Chantal Mayer

± R565 ($70)

Kids

Bippity the Basset from MIE Arts and Crafts

± R400 ($50)

Embroidered Pillowcase from Banini Baby

± R225 ($28)

Arnie the Aardvark from Mamma4earth

± R300 ($37)

Owl Baby Toy from Fresh Potatoes

± R28 ($3.5)

Retro Recycled Clock from Metamorphosis Knysna

± R234 ($29)

Felt Finger Puppet from ALTT Creations

± R97 ($12)

Toddlers Organic Cotton Waistcoat from Scarecrow Organics

± R315 ($39)

Childrens Wooden Wash Set and Wooden Handmade Doll from Mistress Miller

± R363 ($45) ± R242 ($30)

Baby Booties from Heart Felt Stuff

± R73 ($9)

Puppy from Keiskamma

± R57 ($7.12)

Doilie lampshade

2011-10-26T13:35:00.001+02:00

I saw this great idea for a lampshade and tried my own version.

I bought some large thin beige doilies from a charity shop. Then I draped them over balloons and brushed them with fabric stiffener. My doilies were too big to both fit around one balloon and also had frilly edges, so I used a balloon for each one and let all the frills hang to one side. When it was all dry, I popped the balloons and attached the two sides with some thin ribbon and tied it to my light fixture.

It's a little uneven from the side. I'd like to try this again some day with doilies that's lay flat.

Lucky Pony Giveaway

2011-10-25T10:11:00.000+02:00

Lucky Pony is having a giveaway with a product from Depeapa as the prize. All you have to do is choose your favourite product and comment on this post.

Here's my favourite:

Handcrafted and illustrated felt brooch

Two new bags.

2011-10-23T15:30:00.002+02:00

I'm so happy with how these new bags turned out. I used ideas I've been wanting to try for a long time on both of them.

Pom pom and lace bag with chain strap

I love pom pom trim, but this is the first time I've used it.

For more photos go here.

Blue bow bag

I've wanted to put a large bow on the front of a bag, but I usually use patterned fabrics and it would've been too much.

For more photos go here.

Presents from Thailand

2011-10-21T17:02:00.000+02:00

My friend went to Thailand recently and brought back this cute wooden keyring and zipped pouch for me.

Olive and Burgundy Tapestry Bag

2011-10-18T13:23:00.001+02:00

This shoulder bag was upcycled from beautiful leftover floral tapestry fabric and an olive green cotton curtain.

I made the strap extra wide on this bag to be comfortable even if it's heavy. The bright pink quilted lining doesn't seem like an obvious choice for these toned down colours, but it brings out the lighter shades of the tapestry so well.

I've started making the inner pockets extra strong to resist wear and tear from constant use.

Here are my new care instructions cards.

For more photos, see the listing on Etsy.

Hermanus picnic

2011-10-14T16:00:00.002+02:00

I haven't taken photos of the new bag yet, but here are some photos of our picnic in Hermanus. I love that a picnic on the beach is something we can do in the middle of the week now instead of just once a year.

I made this phyllo pastry samoosa. It was so easy. I just put 2 pieces of dark chocolate, some dessicated coconut and some crushed pecan nuts on a strip of pastry that I'd brushed with oil. Then I folded the pastry into a samoosa shape, brushed the outside with oil and baked it until golden. The chocolate might harden again when it cools, but I made these just before we went to the beach so they were still delightfully soft and amazing.

New recipe website.

2011-10-10T14:03:00.004+02:00

I found this great website last week, 101cookbooks, it's a collection of recipes from different cookbooks. It's all vegetarian recipes and there's also a large vegan section. I made the Coconut Red Lentil Soup and Easy Little Bread. The soup is delicious and has a surprisingly meaty taste. The bread is so easy to make and is especially good when toasted.

Next were the Peanut Butter Cookies. They only have a few ingredients and are very quick to make. I used stone-ground cake flour. I replaced the maple syrup with honey and only used half the indicated amount. These cookies taste almost like eating pure peanut butter and you can only eat a few at a time.

I melted some dark chocolate to spread on a few of them. I will definitely add chocolate chips to these next time.

I made a beautiful new handbag this weekend, I will take some photos of it soon.

Exciting new discoveries.

2011-09-27T22:25:00.001+02:00

Last week I found out about this amazing website called Postcrossing. It's a project that connects people from all over the world to send postcards to each other. When you register, you can request up to 5 addresses to send postcards to. You will also receive a Postcard ID to write on the postcard with your message. When the postcard is received the other person has to register the Postcard ID on the website to prove that your postcard was sent. Then your address will be given to someone else to send you a postcard. My postcard will be going to a girl in Germany.

I was even more excited when I learned about The Package Project this week. With this creative people send each other packages. You need to have an active blog to participate in this. You can see some of the packages from last year in the Flickr group. I can't wait to find out who my package partner will be.

Inspiration and new ideas

2011-09-24T18:49:00.000+02:00

Here are some of the things I want to try on my new bags. I've been collecting these images since before I started sewing, so I don't know who the original sources were anymore.

I want to add more 3d decorative touches like these flowers and ruffles:

Or some bows. This bracelet clutch is a great idea.

I want to try some more bags that are adjustable, like my strawberry bag with the two different strap options. This ruffled backpack makes me want to try a bag that can have a regular strap or be turned into a backpack.

This is a small handbag with a strap or it can be a clutch with a separate necklace.

I also want to add more texture as seen in this lace clutch and sequinned coin purses.

I finally unpacked the last of my fabric boxes today and my workroom is almost ready for some serious bag making.

First bag on my new sewing machine

2011-09-22T10:49:00.000+02:00

My sewing machine was stolen before we moved to Stanford, but I have a new Bernette 56 so I am sewing again. I love this machine, it is stronger and more accurate than my previous one and it also has more decorative stitches. I made a handbag for my friend and wanted to try out some of the new stitches.

I used a decorative scallop stitch on the front of the bag in three different colours. I also used a pre-knitted acrylic wool strip as a border for the stitches.

This bag is very different from my previous ones. I will be using more unpatterned fabric in the future. I have split up my products into two ranges; using new or upcycled materials. Most of the upcycled bags will be plain fabric with added decoration, because they are generally made from clothes.

I also used the pre-knitted strip for the straps. This is the first time I've done this, so I'm curious to see how it holds up. I have so many ideas for new products and it will be so much easier with this sewing machine. Look forward to many new products soon.

Flowers and cake

2011-09-21T20:43:00.000+02:00

We went to the Caledon Wildflower Show last weekend. I took close to a hundred photos, so I'll only add a few of the most interesting ones here.

I love proteas.

These ones look so much like little people to me:

We bought stone ground cake flour from the Bio-Wheat stall and I baked a cake yesterday using the easy recipe on the back of the bag. Here it is:

Bio-Wheat "Eezy-Peezy" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

750ml (3 cups) Bio-Wheat Cake flour
20ml (4 tsp) baking powder
5ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
80ml cocoa
Pinch of salt
500ml (2 cups) sugar
250ml (1 cup) oil
500ml (2 cups) boiling water
50ml vinegar
10ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence

The owner told us his wife only uses 1.5 cups of sugar, so I used less too.

Method

Sift dry ingredients together.
Mix liquids together and pour slowly into dry ingredients.
Whisk mixture until smooth.
Pour into greased cake pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool.
Decorate to taste

This is a very quick and easy recipe and it's even vegan. I made icing by melting dark chocolate, coconut cream and cocoa butter. I then added some whisked egg-replacer. I wanted to try using a piping bag to decorate it, but I only had enough icing to cover it, so I just sprinkled some almonds on top.

Labneh and pizza

2011-09-20T18:40:00.000+02:00

We bought some Labneh balls at one of the Hermanus markets this weekend. It was incredible delicious. I remembered reading once that is was very easy to make so I looked it up when I got home. It's just plain salted yoghurt that's strained to remove the whey. We'd also bought yoghurt from the same stall so I immediately started making some Labneh. There are many recipes on the internet. I used two cups yoghurt with about a half teaspoon of salt. The mixture is then drained through muslin cloth or even a few sheets of paper towels. We have a muslin bag that is used to make nut milks, so it was very easy. I placed the bag in a sieve over a bowl and left it in the fridge for two days. It can be used after one day, but I didn't need it that soon.

I shaped the Labneh into balls and rolled them in a spice/herb mixture of my own:

- Mixed Italian herbs
- Sesame seeds
- Paprika
- Chilli flakes

I won't add the Chilli flakes next time. I also added a tiny bit of olive oil.

We used these on pizza, made from the same bread recipe I used the other day. I rolled it to about 1cm thickness and it worked very well.

Here's a close-up of the Labneh that has been broken into pieces again for the pizza.

The cooked avocado doesn't look very good here, but it was a delicious pizza.

I baked a chocolate cake today and will post photos tomorrow after I have iced it.

Homemade bread

2011-09-07T15:55:00.001+02:00

I found this great recipe for easy homemade bread. You mix the ingredients and leave it for 2 hours. No kneading. Then you keep the container in the fridge and take out dough to bake whenever you want. It's supposed to keep for up to 2 days. I tried it the other night. You should refrigerate the dough overnight after the first 2 hours, but I couldn't wait any longer and baked one roll right away.

I used white bread flour from Eureka Mills. It is stone ground and much better than regular over processed flour. The dough will rise dramatically after the first 2 hours. It will collapse again in the fridge and only rise when you bake it.

I brushed the dough with olive oil and sprinkled it with sesame and sunflower seeds. It is meant to be baked on a baking stone, but I don't have one, so I just used a regular baking tray lined with baking paper.

My delicious freshly baked roll.

I had it with some fried plum tomatoes and red bell pepper and this easy Home-made apricot chutney.

This is a very easy recipe and the results are amazing. The flavour of the dough is said to develop over time, so I look forward to the next time.

New life.

2011-09-05T00:00:00.000+02:00

I haven't updated this blog in months and so much has happened. The biggest change is that I moved to a beautiful little town called Stanford with my boyfriend. Stanford is in the Western Cape, about 20km outside of Hermanus. It looks like an English country village.

We take the dogs for a walk every day and see the most amazing scenery. It still feels like I'm just on holiday and not really living here now. We get to walk right up to the Klein River.

The dogs love exploring the long grass and getting their feet wet.

We live in a beautiful big house with wooden floors and a brand new wood burning stove. We haven't tried making a fire yet. We only moved in a few weeks back and have been so busy unpacking and organizing everything.

Our first night after
a 2-day drive.

The Elliot movers were great.

Lots of boxes to be unpacked. Didn't I just pack these a few days back?!

A gigantic backyard for the dogs (and us) to enjoy.

Now that I'm taking so many photos of all the new things around me, I will hopefully be able to keep updating the blog more regularly than before. One more photo by the river before I go.

I can't wait to show my Jeff dog the sea.

A new wallet

2011-05-07T12:21:00.001+02:00

I want to make a few wallets to sell and this one was the tester. I like it, but I'm going to make the next ones slightly deeper.

Blue jacquard shoulder bag.

2011-05-03T11:37:00.000+02:00

This was a custom order. I love how the jacquard pattern changes with the light.

It’s the first time I’ve done a pocket like this

Upholstery fabric is the best for handbags, it's so sturdy and soft.

I hand embroidered the name on the inside.

I like the hand embroidery, I think it's a very special touch, I want to do it more in the future.

My first wallet

2011-04-26T14:26:00.000+02:00

This is a custom order for a friend. He wanted a simple small wallet with a cold colour and a warm colour. This is basically a simple zipped pouch with some fabric for credit card slots and a button closure.

I love how it came out and I'm a little sad to let it go. I'll have to make more soon.

Blog feature.

2011-04-15T20:42:00.000+02:00

This is so exciting! In addition to my online store, my products are also available for sale on bidorbuy.co.za and this week I was featured on their fashion blog. Go here to see the short piece and interview.

Pink Summer Shoulder Bag

2011-04-04T19:55:00.000+02:00

Here is my newest bag. I've decided to start making only one of each bag. I'll make different bags from this fabric, but never one that is exactly the same as this one.

This is a very classic, stylish print and less colourful than my previous bags, I find it quite calming to look at.

I used bright pink buttons and quilted lining to highlight the colours of the fruit.

For more photos see here.

Market Fleas

2011-02-21T18:48:00.000+02:00

I was introduced to this website by a friend. Market Fleas is an online South African flea market. I'm putting some of my products on here as well. They have so many cool handmade products. Here's a few of my favourites.

Hand-painted handbags

Felt dragon

Organic cotton/bamboo fingerless gloves

I've only added one of my bags so far, but I'll add more slowly. You can see my products here.

Strawberry Fields Forever Shoulder Bag

2011-02-09T16:15:00.000+02:00

I've been wanting to make this bag for a while and I finally got around to it.

I bought this fabric last year to make bags for the Women's Show, but I didn't have time to finish them. I decided to use a different pattern than I originally planned, because it suits the cute strawberry fabric better.

I saw a handbag with an adjustable handle like this and I wanted to try it here. The strap can be worn full length or looped through the D-ring and connected to the base of the handle for a shorter length.

I was nervous about sewing the oval base, but it was easier than I expected. I'm very happy with this bag.

Valentines Market

2011-02-08T23:13:00.000+02:00

I haven't updated the blog since before I went to the Hazel Food Christmas Market last year. It was the best of all the markets I've been to and now I'm going to Hazel Food Valentines Market. I'm making new bags for the market and I'll post the photos when they're ready.

Here is a discount voucher for the market as well.
See you there

Hazel Food Christmas Market coupon

2010-11-27T13:14:00.000+02:00

Print this coupon to get 20% off Bamboo Blossom handbags at the Market. Please come visit me there.

Panty pouch

2010-11-20T13:59:00.000+02:00

Cute little panty pouch to put in your handbag for tissues, make-up etc.

First man bag

2010-11-09T20:05:00.000+02:00

This bag was made as a birthday present. I made it from my dad's pants. They are wool pants that shrunk in the wash.

I used the back pocket of the pants on the flap.

I put the keyring on a rope, instead of the ribbon I usually use.

Contrasting red lining.

I also posted it on Burdastyle, a sewing website and I've gotten more comments than I have on any of my other projects. I'm very excited, I'm definitely going to be making more bags for men.

Discount coupon

2010-11-05T13:56:00.000+02:00

For anyone in the Vaal Triangle area tommorow, download and print this coupon to get 20% discount on any purchases at the Country Crafters Market at Brandmuller Garden Centre in Vereeniging tomorrow.

New banner

2010-11-04T13:44:00.000+02:00

I made a new banner for the top of the website. What do you think?

I also made a new logo for the Bamboo Blossom Facebook page.

New photos!

2010-10-20T21:38:00.000+02:00

I had professional photos taken of my earring holder and I got them today. They look so much better than the photos I took at home and really show the product beautifully. They were taken by Kenosis - School of art and creative services.

Mario sweater vest

2010-10-17T23:16:00.000+02:00

I want to learn how to knit, just so I can make this:

You can download the pattern here.

Handbags from The Women's Show

2010-10-16T18:16:00.000+02:00

I finally took photos of some of the bags I made for The Women's Show in August and added them to my store.

Grey clutch bag

Tie-dyed bag

Striped bag with tabs

Cast Iron Bathtub Couch

2010-10-12T12:14:00.000+02:00

I don't know how comfortable this is and I would probably just prefer an old fashioned bath, but it looks very cool.

Made to order. Available here

Dramatic orange and black handbag.

2010-10-08T14:22:00.000+02:00

This is the first handbag I made on my new sewing machine.

It was a custom order. While I was ironing the pieces before sewing them together, the fabric started wrinkling and pulling out of shape. Luckily it was only the backing that started shrinking and the fabric was perfect again after I removed the backing.

The handle is slightly longer than my usual pattern.

The velvety flowers match perfectly with the velvet ribbon on the handle.

Monster Skin Rug

2010-09-08T21:43:00.000+02:00

Very cool rug, available here.

Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens

2010-09-06T17:54:00.000+02:00

I used to go there all the time with my boyfriend. We decided to join the Botanical Society, because members get free entrance, but since we joined we've only been there twice.

There was something wrong with my camera's lens and all the photos were blurred around the edges. It looks really cool on these, but it's not something you want on every photo.

This was on one of our first visits, right after we'd started dating.

I love trying to take photos of insects and animals.

This was our last visit, before winter.

Hearts and stars pleated shoulder bag

2010-09-04T16:55:00.000+02:00

This is one of my favourites from the newest bags I've made.

It's so bright and fun. This fabric is from the kids section.

I love the cute pleats.

All the larger bags have pockets on the inside and a keyring holder on a ribbon.

It's for sale in my online store.

Birthday cake

2010-08-21T21:35:00.000+02:00

My friend, Jesse Dymond, sent me a photo of an amazing cake and I decided to try make a similar one for my birthday. I used my own recipe - orange and vanilla flavoured cake layers with lemon flavour icing. I used gel food colouring to get the bright colours. Here's the icing recipe. Mine wasn't as neat a the original photo, but I think it still looked pretty good and it was delicious.

Original inspiration.

My birthday cake.

Me!

Valentine's present

2010-08-20T22:31:00.000+02:00

My amazing boyfriend made this for me for Valentine's Day this year. We both love Mario.

You can see more of his work on his blog.

Spot the bug

2010-08-18T10:33:00.000+02:00

For more weird bugs go here.

My denim clutch

2010-08-17T16:09:00.000+02:00

This is one of the first handbags I made. It was also the first one I sold. The buttons are antique military brass buttons. I bought a lot of antique buttons in December and that's what originally gave me the idea to make handbags.

Thick & Rich Hot Cocoa

2010-08-16T16:32:00.000+02:00

One of my other favourite websites is EatingWell. They take regular recipes and change them to be healthier while still tasting good. I made this thick hot cocoa today. I halved the recipe, used low-fat milk and added a teaspoon of instant coffee, because I've read coffee enhances the chocolate taste. I also added extra sugar for my brother, but it was too sweet for me. Next time I'll stick to the recipe.

This is just like chocolate pudding, which I love, and it works out a lot cheaper than buying it ready-made. It's easy to make, chocolatey and healthier than eating chocolate every day.

Fun fact: Cocoa has more anti-oxidants than red wine and green tea.

You can see how thick it is in this photo.

I will definitely make this again.

Cool seats

2010-08-16T10:31:00.000+02:00

One of my favourite websites is Not Quite Nigella. It's all about delicious food.

She recently visited Cafe Sydney and I love these seats.

The most amazing sunset

2010-08-14T23:49:00.000+02:00

Woohoo, my first blog. I'm going to post thing I like and made and saw and maybe even thought. I'll start with the best sunset I've seen in my life.

I went to Port Elizabeth with my boyfriend in April. We saw this sunset while we were driving. The whole sky was fluorescent pink. Photos couldn't possibly capture it, but we tried.