Candystripe Cloud Made By White & Friends The Storybook Rabbit
Follow us!

Go to the Made by White Website

 

Friends

Visit Candy Stripe Cloud

 

The Storybook Rabbit

 

Find us on facebook

 

London Calling!

4 October 2011

We have finally made our way back home! After four weeks, five countries and ten hotels (or places that advertised themselves as hotels…this can be debatable) it was time to come home. We are very glad to be reunited with Juno, boy did we miss her little face.

Now that I’m home with real internet, I’ll continue the journey via blogs. Here are some highlights from our three days in London. London was quite an experience and despite staying there only three days, I felt I had kind of had enough by the time we got outta there! There were some great places to see and luckily I had a few people send me fantastic lists of their fave spots in the city (Thanks Jo and Gemma)

One of the best things in London was the beautiful St James Park near Buckingham Palace. We wandered along the road here and when I spotted the squirrels all bets were off. I may or may not have fed them peanut M&M’s, which they promptly buried for later.

We did all the usual sights in London, The bridge (not falling down) and the tower, which we refused to pay 30 pounds to walk around… but we came, we saw, really theres only so many historic relics you can be enthused about.

We also visited Harrods. Wow, how much overpriced stuff can they cram in this place, really? I did like the Christmas room though!

We also went to brick lane to check out some vintage shops and despite stumbling upon a vintage market which was happening only that day, I was supremely disappointed when I purchased nothing at all out of 4 or 5 stores I visited! I think the quality to price ratio was a little off kilter for me, but it was still fun to wander about and browse through the racks.

A beautiful store I did seek out was Anthropology. I’m a fan of their online store (though I’ve never purchased anything from there) but their brick and mortar endeavour is amazing! The “living wall” on their staircase was a highlight, made from 100′s of real tiny plants living in their own little dirt capsule in the wall.

Probably the highlight of Seven Dials for me was N2, the sister brand of french brand Les Nereides. Here I made one of my only purchases from London, a super cute sewing machine brooch (you can probably spot it in 3rd photos below). N2 had a world of crazy, quirky, cute and extremely well made jewellery, I could have taken home one of everything. I was especially impressed by the hilarious peanut themed jewellery (2nd photo below).

Finally after fighting through four hours of traffic on the day we left and missing out on seeing the Rob Ryan store due to track works and stupid bus timetables, we were so glad to finally drive away and head for the country after three days of craziness that I cant say I’m dying to return to London anytime soon. Kx

Postcards From Amsterdam!

19 September 2011

Wow has it been a long time between drinks, hello everyone! Hope you’ll forgive my absence, as I have some photos to share from the Amsterdam leg of my trip! I’ll go in order of how the events unfolded.

Starting off with Laura Dols Vintage. On thursday before Trev had to head into work we swung by this super cute shop, full of beautiful authentic 30′s-70′s vintage dresses, bright floral linen (like…a room full of it), aprons, dress up outfits, accessories… you name it, they have it. Friendly ladies who work there, great selection of everything which was a little on the higher budget side of things but all worth the pricetag. I was pretty chuffed to see a dress I purchased in Australia for $5 on the racks for 90 euros, clearly worth every penny I paid for it.

On Friday I met up with the very lovely Nikki aka Liefgeval, who was SO incredibly fun to hang out with! We had a great day and luckily got along really well. As with meeting anyone you dont know personally, its a daunting and risky business, but Nikki was super friendly and together we wandered around Amsterdam in search of some vintage shops!

We had a quick coffee at Cafe Gartine who serve organic food grown in their own garden plot! I recommend you visit it if in town.

We then proceeded to Zipper and Marbles Vintage where we both made easy purchases. It was a fun day and it was so nice to meet someone living on the other side of the world! (p.s. Nikki wrote about our day here too)

The next day I checked out Episode Vintage on Nikki’s recommendation. Oh. My. God. I could have (and may have) spent HOURS here. This place was HUGE and so full of stuff you would not believe it. I later found out they have another shop on the other side of Amsterdam too, very dangerous!

There dress selection was rather mind-blowing. I picked up a number of amazing 70′s cotton sun dresses for around $3o AUD.

But then….I head back outside and found the flea markets on Episodes’ doorstep. These so called “rummage piles” are like…well…christmas. I bought 5 or so vintage cotton dresses for 5 euros each here. SO amazing, I had to calm myself down several times.

And there were lots of funny gypsy type people selling all sorts of stuff! Even their dogs….(no not really).

After all that crazy shopping I stopped off for some frozen yoghurt in the sunshine. I must say I think I was amazingly lucky with the weather in Amsterdam. It rained on and off a little bit, but no major downpours the whole time!


Just on the border of the markets was a cute little place called “Shop De Ville” which sold Miffy and Rabbit Lamps, furry animals (not unlike made590′s very own creatures) and lots of cool homewares by people like Donna Wilson. The owner was a very lovely guy and had on the skinniest purple jeans I’ve seen in my life.

There was also beautiful fruit stalls at a little deli/cafe type place around the corner…

And this shop! 1953 retro en chic. One of the prettiest shops I’ve seen in Amsterdam (my photos do it NO justice at all). Everything about it oozed special and despite the generous price tags, I felt everything was worth the money. Very special (and authentic) pieces indeed.

Here’s a quick pic of  (some of!) the dresses I nabbed in my travels.

And the pretty Amsterdam canals!

Which are filled with REAL SWANS!! just living there, floating around.

Dutch pancakes from the pancake bakery :)

And some cute market stalls from Nooderplatz markets. Crockery and shoes galore here. Sometimes I wish I wore heels (but only for a fleeting moment). I also wish shipping things home was a little cheaper, as my bags are already full again!

I think thats about all for now. Sorry to slam in all into one huge post, but the internet here has been BEYOND crap, and nowhere in holland or the UK has allowed tethering from an iphone, which means we cant get on our computers to do anything! We’re in the UK countryside at the moment, after leaving London a couple of days ago. All in all its been an amazing trip so far, as you can probably tell I especially LOVED Amsterdam) and I cant wait to share more. Kx

3 New Made By White Brooches!

6 September 2011

Have you ever seen a slow loris? We encountered this video long ago, and fell instantly in love with them. Of course, we knew we had to make a brooch! And here it is! Complete with laminate scarf and beady plastic eyes!


You may or may not have encountered this cute little creature, he’s called a Capybara and is the largest living member of the rodent family! We were amazed at these fellas being kept as pets in other countries, completely house trained and sleeping on the end of people’s bed like puppies! Obviously, we REALLY want one, but in the mean time we made a brooch dedicated to the cute Capybara (in a cape no less).


And last but definately not least is our little friend Mr Tapir. He’s a funny looking fellow that really made us laugh. They come in lots of different breeds, but our brooch is based of the Malayan Tapir, who has a funny black and white body not unlike a panda. Though of course our Tapir is a little more special, dressed in his very best top-hat.

We hope you like all of the new brooches as much as we do making them!

Stay tuned for new more things very soon too!

What I Wore – Red and Navy

5 September 2011

 

 

Might be my last one of these for a little while, unless I snap some interesting outfit photos on holiday!

I wore: Vintage cotton dress- Cloud Nine Vintage on etsy, who has lots of cute 70′s style pieces (I bought two!). This was a maxi dress but alas, I have half the height I need for a maxi dress, so I chopped it off to be a little more wearable. I cant resist floral and puff sleeves. too cute!

Navy embroidered Cardy- from Dangerfield

Scarf and belt -op-shop

Slow Loris Brooch – soon to be released on Made By White! Stay tuned!!

Good Things Lately..

1 September 2011

Spring Flowers.

Bunny Sunbathing.

Brownie Baking.

Milk From a Thistle new Summer Range! I nabbed these two pieces (and have one more coming) from work because none of us can resist Danielle’s beautiful prints. Are those seagulls not the prettiest thing ever?

And speaking of, made590 has some of the most amazing prints EVER this season. The green “roomance” print skirt by me and oli’s Lalita is a stand out favourite, second only to this amazing bunny skirt made from japanese fabric. Sometime I feel like I must have the best “work uniform” of anyone in Australia.

Sally Hansen’s Salon Effect real nail polish strips! Hello!? IT’S FLORAL NAILPOLISH, in a stick-on strip. Which I have had on my nails for an entire week, with only one chip on my “perspex peeling” fingernail. This stuff is the bomb! Next I’m going for the leopard print or the “frock star” glitter. SO. DAMN, GOOD.

Hope everyone’s week is treating them kindly. It’s my final day at work tomorrow for an entire month. SO. EXCITED. Kx

What I Wore – purple and navy

29 August 2011

Last week I took advantage of the last bit of cold we’re probably going to get this season (yesterday seemed ridiculously warm!) and wore a new long sleeved dress I got off etsy from this cute little shop. Its pretty 70′s and amazing.

Dress: Vintage from Diet Coke Vintage (see above)

Cape: Asos

Stockings: Jonathan Adler

Hair Bow: op-shop (think it one of those nylon head scarves for covering your curlers!)

Shoes: The Horse. I am currently DROOLING over their new summer sandal colours, which will inevitably be mine after our trip. But do I get Jade, Green or Pink?!

Cat Brooch: Mitchell Rd Antiques, handmade from fimo! I was recently reunited with this guy after thinking he was lost forever, and boy am I glad!

Trippin’..

25 August 2011

My boy and I will soon be heading off on a trip to Europe, to visit lots of places I’ve never been to! I am so ridiculously excited, and it’s less than two weeks till we go. We’ll be checking out the following cities:

Amsterdam….

London…

Paris….

And switzerland! 

And fingers crossed we might even fit it a quick hello to our old friend Berlin, who will hopefully be a lot warmer this time around.

If you have any “must see” places you think we might like, I’d love to hear from you! Or any great places to stay, eat, drink and especially to shop…again, I’d love any tips you or your friends might have! And when I get back, I’ll give you mine! Deal?

All photos via Pinterest, except the last one, thats mine :) Kx

Baking

24 August 2011

 

Last week I made a batch of lemon curd, which was easier than I thought it would be. I used this recipe which I just found on google. I then made cupcakes from scratch and used frozen raspberries the ones I didn’t fill with lemon curd later. They were good!

And luckily we now have an abundance of cupboards in our new place, which means plenty of room for a “baking section” to keep it all together in one place. How very domestic! Kx

What I Wore – red and yellow

23 August 2011

 

Last week I wore one of my new dresses which arrived in the post. It’s a Lanz Original (one of my new fave vintage brands) and I bought it from a lovely little etsy shop called Quite Frightening, along with two other cute dresses (and there are more there right now I’d love to get my hands on!). I love the bows down the back and its a perfect fit. She also sells really cute handmade things, and even gifted me with an adorable leather bow bracelet!

Dress: Lanz Original Vintage from Quite frightening

Yellow Cardy: (yes, another one…I know, obsessed!) from op-shop, but originally by sportsgirl.

Yellow Dot Socks: gifted from the lovely miss made590 from Melbourne’s Obus store (my advice is don’t bother with their website, it’s beautiful but completely useless and FRUSTRATING!!!)

Golden Heart Belt: DJ’s outlet at Birkenhead Point.

Red Leather Oxfords: Golden Ponies

Nails: Chi Chi, OPI and Sportsgirl (the sportsgirl one has already rubbed off – dont bother!)

You may also notice my Cabybara brooch, which is somewhat of a sneak peek at our new brooches we’re designing over at Made By White! It was complete coincidence it matched my outfit perfectly, I swear :)

Sunday

22 August 2011

Snapshots from our windy, cold, wet sunday drive in search of tea and scones. Stanwell Park is lovely and contains all the essentials: a cute art gallery which holds works by lovely local people and talents such as Lynds’ long-time friend Liz McKay, a cute little antique shop, a cafe that serves afternoon tea (and crumble to die for!) and a few other bits and pieces, but really what more do you need for a lazy Sunday afternoon (other than a lovely man to share it all with)? We stopped on the way home to snap some ships in the distance and a picture of my outfit but sadly the wind stole to spotlight and made my hair mega crazy. Next time! Kx