f the butterfly collector: October 2006

the butterfly collector

A Collection of Fashionable Finds,Jewel Box Treasures,Exotic Art and Decadent Decor! Handmade Delights, Luxurious Shopping, Wonders from the China Cabinet and Secrets from behind the Wardrobe Door, Dramatic Books and Delicious Treats!. Read on to find out more...

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

circus, colour, cards!

So, here's what I've been up to the last few days! Madly off to the gym every day, I am determined to get fit and I just found this fabulous women's gym near my house where you go for 30 minutes every day and train on a circuit with strength training machines! It's fabulous, is over before you know it and I am really enjoying it! Which is great because I have never been one to love exercising at all and I hate participating in team sports. I can already see a difference in my arms after 8 sessions! Really must keep this up and eat better too!
The gorgeous little geshia girl above is by artist Stephen Mackey, who I just love and I have put him in the creative cabinet of Madame Butterfly today, click over to see more of his beautiful work!
And I made this card over the weekend to go with the present I made below for my beautiful friend Ange who is about to have her first baby! It's a memory board for the nursery in "Circus" theme! It's quite a bit lilac and purple, her favorite colours! I used lots of vintage buttons, lot of gorgeous ribbon and made bunting flags from felt on the sewing machine! I hope she liked it and that it fits in with her nursery theme! Oh and lastly , I still have my heart in my mouth from last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy. I have been all teary so many times from this show lately, I can't wait for the next season. I feel like watching the whole thing over again, I missed a few episodes! The characters and actors are fabulous and besides who would'nt want to to tune in to just watch Mc Dreamy every week? I'm off to lunch with my sister and the kiddles today! Hope you have a great one too!




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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:26 AM 1 comments

Monday, October 30, 2006

A Creative Week ...

Hi hope you had a beautiful weekend! I've been a busy girl creating, finishing some projects and writing some fun things for Madame B! I also attented a Baby Shower for my good friend Ange in a restaurant on a country estate, it was a beautiful day out and gorgeous food!
Another fun and very creative week coming up in the Madame Butterfly Gallery too! I'd love you to come and visit! We made a delicious and rich caramel slice which you really must try, it's quite easy too! It's lovely with a cup of tea and a good book , I know I tried it, it comes highly recommended!!!
We also go on a shopping Adventure to Melbourne's GPO building in the heart of the city, which was lots of fun! And we got to listen to the songs of these lovely birds ( above )whilst there!

Madame B's project this week is to create a Mosaic, which is lots of fun if you've never tried it and is like doing a jigsaw puzzle in a way! So if you like puzzles, get ye to the olde Op Shoppe and get your hands on some beautiful plates and dishes to smash to smithereens!


And our Creative Type this week is the gorgeous and talented Sarah L Hanson. She tells us all about her creative pursuits from her home in Texas, her new line of original jewellery and her beautiful mural paintings! Plus of course there are new fairytales all week and today we feature Antoni Gaudi, the famous architect and his beautiful buildings in the Creative Cabinet! See you there!



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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:18 AM 0 comments

Friday, October 27, 2006

I came across this site the other day and it just took me to another world!!! I think Tim Burton might live there, it reminded me so much of his beautiful work! Miss Clara is an amazing French site and you just have to visit to see for yourself all the amazing creations over there! The paper bags and shoes, the characters, the fairytale like scenes with the gothic architecture thrown in, the music, the whole site is wonderful, unfortunatley I cannot read French ! I am speechless and must go back for another visit myself soon! AMAZING!



posted by thebutterflycollector @ 4:35 PM 3 comments

Thursday, October 26, 2006

A Bird in the Hand or a Box ?



I am just recovering from the excitement of a great window shopping experience on the web! I clicked and clicked until I could click no more, everything is gorgeous and inspiring and wonderful and I especially loved the wall Decor section where I found these gorgeous shadow box artworks! Anthropologie is a sight to see, thankyou Emily for sharing your fave store, unfortunatley they don't post overseas ( maybe that is actually a good thing for me?) I really must start a Christmas pressie hunt though, I've only bought one so far, a gorgeous piece of jewellery from here! I'm thinking about only buying gifts from Indie designers this year! Original and unique gifts will be a plenty from under our tree! Oh and I still have hardly any Tree Deco's, any suggestions????

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:54 AM 2 comments

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

a wandering!


This week I wrote a little project in Madame Butterfly about going for a walk in your own Neighbourhood and finding something new and wonderful you've never noticed before!
I actually walk a lot around mine ( not having a car at the moment ) and I always try to walk down a street I've never visited before! I found these great berries on a tree recently and just fell in love with their colour! The photo doesn"t do them justice at all and I have no idea what they are! But they inspired me to go home and paint! And Drew is starting to explore and pick up interesting things too, so I am making up a little shadow box of the things he brings home for him to keep!
I've also been busy making up mini show bags for Madame B for guests at an upcoming cocktail party! They will all recieve a little something from the Gallery, lucky ducks!! Better get back to it, I have 100 to do!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:05 PM 1 comments

Monday, October 23, 2006

A new week and a new Background!

Lamington's are our recipe for the week on the Afternoon Tea page in the Madame Butterfly Gallery! I thought we should include this very Aussie and delicious treat that I have eaten since I was very small and they are not very hard to make either! We've also updated all the other sections for the week too ... A new fairytale and a trip to the Beauty Cabinet in the Dressing Table Section. There's a new "Creative Type" Interview with fabulous crafter Little Miss Meshell and new projects in the Creative Cabinet too! And new fun updates everyday! We are hoping to inspire you into Creative Action!!!! Check them out !

We had a busy weekend! But I did manage to get this background painted! I actually like it so much that I don't really want to paint on top of it now! I also ordered my first books from Amazon on jewellery making, something I've always wanted to try and can't wait until they turn up!
We also visited a cute little seaside town near here and had lunch at the bakery. They make beautiful food, so we keep going back even though they seem to get something wrong every time! This time they overcharged us by $10, last two times they burnt my husbands crossiont. Drew got to play at the great playground there too and climbed his first tree with help from his Dad! He is getting more adventurous every day and insists on wearing gumboots everywhere!
We also had our car broken into and the stereo and one speaker and about 20 of our favorite cd's are missing! My husband is now walking around complaining that the heart and soul of our car has been ripped out! I hate the thought of replacing all those cd's, bad karma to those who know where they are right now! I probably won't be really upset until I go to put one of them on and it's gone!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:09 AM 2 comments

Friday, October 20, 2006

Queen for a Day!


Oh my Goodness I miss painting and drawing! I have done nothing for over a week and I just can't seem to get a moment to think about what I'm doing!!! I've got some great ideas stuck up there in my head, if only there was more time! I think I need to MAKE time! I have too many unfinished canvas's and this little lady above is still not complete! I called her Queen for a Day! I need to be paintbrush queen for a day very soon!Maybe SUNDAY! Having lots of fun at Madame B though with some great new inspiring projects in there! And I came across this wonderful site and fell in love, please go visit, it will put you in a great frame of mind with it's gorgeous music, make you smile and make you want to dress up for a grand day out too! Have a fabulous weekend all!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 11:14 PM 1 comments

Thursday, October 19, 2006

I love Jezebel too!




I just love these cards! They are so fairytale like and inspiring! They are Letterpress gift cards from I love Jezebel in New York! They make me think about Cinderella and story books of old! Click over there to see them all!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 6:04 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Showing Off Toys and Galleries!


Ok, everyone must skip over to check out the Creative cabinet in Madame Butterfly!!! Yesterday I posted a fabulous interview with Kate from 2 Little Banshee's all about her beautiful handcrafted Toy's!!!! The giraffe's are just gorgeous!!! And Today I'm showing off an Artist I've recently met's country Gallery set in an Old Beautiful Church! I'm inspired and we are off to the country again tomorrow ...Ballarat!, will post about the great things I find there too!!!!! Have a great Wednesday!!!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 12:12 AM 1 comments

Monday, October 16, 2006

Hedgehogs, Collage and the Festival

This is my little Drew at the Birregurra Festival ( a little Town in the hills up behind the coastal town of Lorne on the Great Ocean Rd )where we had a bit of fun Yesterday! We found this kids Rocking Chair at a trash and treasure stall which my sister is now the proud owner of! He had a great time on it and she is going to recover the cushions for her little girl! We saw vintage cars, line dancing, jack russell racing, homemade everything and some of it was quite scary and hilarious!!!
 The Town was overflowing with people, there were loads of Market Stalls, with some great Vintage books and wares and lots of yummy food too! My sister also bought a few kids books and I was very tempted but restrained myself from buying more jewellery! Drew got to meet lots of cute Animals in the Petting Zoo too, his favourite... a TURTLE!
 I've created a little Project in the Madame Butterfly Gallery for this week in the Creative Cabinet on making Gorgeous Collage Greeting Cards. I'd love to see what others come up with if you make some! They are quite easy and fun to make and I'd love to see you ideas too!


And Madame Butterfly is also featuring her favourite homemade Chocolate hedgehog slice as her Recipe for the week in the Afternoon Tea section of the site! Quick click over and get some ingredients today, it's quick and easy and you won't be dissapointed!!! Hope you have a fabulous day, I'm off to the Post Office and back to being a busy bee with too many projects going on at once again!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:02 AM 0 comments

Weird, wonderful, WOW



Here's an artist that I have admired for a long time ( I always seem to run into his work as prints stuck somewhere obscurely in someone's home or studio) and I recently found his gallery online and spent ages staring at his beautiful works. Mark Ryden has exhibited all over the world in Museum's and Galleries. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles with his famiy where he says he paints slowly and happily amidst his countless collections of trinkets, statues, skeletons, books, paintings and antique toys. Go and visit, you'll be Amazed!!!!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 8:47 AM 2 comments

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Look what came in the mail!



Marianne sent me these totally gorgeous handmade postcards in the mail featuring some of her favorite recipes and they all sound so yummy I can't wait to make something over the weekend! And they came wrapped up so cute too!!!!
I also wanted to say thanks for yesterday's comments on my CONFUSION post! I seem to go through this at least once a year! It's frustrating but a good thing to think about where things are headed! Thanks for the positive advice and I think I am making some progress! Does anyone else have these strange periods in their Art or Craftiness?

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 11:30 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

confusion sets in!


Look at this cute little palette I bought from my local art store for $4 dollars, it has a lid too! I can't wait to use it! Only one problem! I am having a bit of a crisis! It seems I am going through one of those periods where I don't know what direction to take with my work! I have three themes going on at the moment ... my fashion illustration type line drawings and painting which I love doing, my cute cartoon like girls and every now again I'm off on another track painting birds and flowers! What to do! I'm going crazy over it, it's consuming my thoughts! Help!
I have also been talking to a few Gallery owners over the last few weeks and asking their opinions and some arty friends too and I've realised I need to concentrate on creating a style now which is distinctly mine. I am so easily distracted and want to try something new all the time! Ideas are whirling around my head, AAAhhhhhh!
Has anyone got any suggestions or advice?

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 2:58 PM 3 comments

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

New Shoes!


Today was a beautiful sunny day and we did lots of walking, a trip to the park and I bought myself some new shoes for Summer! They are just so cute and comfortable too! And I didn't by BLACK!
I am well known in my circle of friends for buying black everything, it's the staple of my wardrobe! A true Melbourne Girl at heart! I have decided to have a colourful season! with lots of Aqua, colbalt blue and red! What will you be wearing?

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:16 PM 4 comments

Monday, October 09, 2006

This week in the Gallery



I've just updated Madame Butterfly for the week and wanted to show off some fabulous people that we have featured this week! Above is an Illiustration by UK Artist extrordinaire Jenny Llloyd, whose work I love and we have Interviewed her about her work and her influences in the Creative cabinet!
Also featured in the Dressing table is San Francisco Jeweller Designer Kimberly Quon and her beautiful Pearls! Audrey Hepburn is our Style Icon, there is a Inspiration File on Vintage Crafting, a new recipe and Afternoon Tea is all about TEA this week ( visit this page to win a prize!).
I am really enjoying doing these little interviews! It's really inspiring to read about other Artists and Crafters lives, how they work and their influences and I get to show off their beautiful work too!
I'd love you to come visit and hope everyone had a great weekend too!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:14 AM 1 comments

Friday, October 06, 2006

a little house on the hill!


Just a quick one tonight! I am exhausted! A big day out and not much sleep last night! Drew decided he didn't want to go back to sleep from about midnight till two am!
Here's a sneak peek at the corner of my new painting. A sweet little house on the hill, soon you will find out who lives there, I promise! Have a fabulous weekend my blog friends , I hope you all get to leave your homes' on a little adventure!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:52 PM 0 comments

Thursday, October 05, 2006

my little headline!


Today I made myself a cute little banner collage with buttons, pretty paper,feathers,stamps,embroidery thread, beads etc ... to post on my new ETSY shop! Yes I've joined in on the fun and added some art prints in my own little Shop there too! I was very excited when I saw some of them come up on the most recently listed page! I am also going to use this as my Blog Header too! Still working out how to do that though! I have no idea what size it should be to post up there! Can a lovely reader out there in Blogland please let me know!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 4:41 PM 3 comments

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Pencil Prettiness and my day off!


Last Saturday was AFL Grand Final Day here in Aussie Land! There were many excitable people about! But I wasn't excited about the Football, Oh No, I was excited because I decided it was about time I had the Day off!!!! My husband took care of Drew all day ( they had a Boys day!) and I got to go shopping!
I started out at my favorite Art store and had a great time browsing the giant wall of paper and couldn't resist buying even more watercolour pencils, I just love all the colours and their names too! I also bought this beautiful Anna Chandler Greeting card ( above).
I then wandered around in Our local Tea shop and bought some Red Green Vanilla Tea which has no caffeine and tastes delicious. I bought myself a Raspberry and Chocolate yoghurt and tried clothes on for the rest of the day and bought some great new summer tops, including this fab one above! It felt great to have a break by myself and I was extra excited to see the Boys when I got home! Every Mum deserves a day off sometimes!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 2:33 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

YUM!


We've been busy Bee's baking around here!The latest Creations are pictured above and are the most Yummiest Cookies! They are really simple to make and the Recipe is in the Creative Cabinet of the Madame Butterfly Gallery until Sunday! They are Orange and Passionfruit Yo YO's If you make some let me know what you think! I bet you will think they are divine!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 8:24 PM 1 comments

Monday, October 02, 2006

Madame B's Glamour Pack!


Very Excited! I finally posted my prints I had made in the Gallery today! They are on some very lovely Satin Matte Heavy Paper! I think they turned out quite great and I'm thinking of posting some in ETSY too, just to get some more art exposure in the big wide world! Has anyone any advice for the girl with the newest etsy shop on the block???



And Today I got to inform our lucky winner of the prize pack she has won for sending us the best comment on Madame Butterfly's Afternoon Tea! She commented on my crazy magazine addiction and told us a few of her own ... like knitting needles and golden books! People are really addicted to some great things you just wouldn't even imagine! I took a few pics before we wrapped it as you can see above! Lucky Whizzme won a Chinese silk bag, a pretty lilac and gold perfume bottle and a Necklace and Earring Set too! I am really looking forward to sending it and there is a new competition in it's place right now for this week! I'd love you to enter, go and take a peek!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 3:17 PM 2 comments

Sunday, October 01, 2006

a Gypsy Caravan !


I found this beautiful photo whilst a wandering in Flickr! It's from a french magazine and was posted by Eclectic Gispyland and there are so many other fabulous photos in this set of the interior and exterior of this fabulous Gipsy Caravan! They are a must see! I am just in love! They all make me want to paint! And I'd love to go and live in it for a while too!
Oh and we've made some changes in the Madame Butterfly Gallery too! It will now be updated Weekly, and we've made it more reader friendly too! There's just the right amount to read now and we've had lots of fabulous and constructive feedback too! And we'd still love to hear more, so come over for Afternoon Tea and Visit!
This week we have Great new people to meet, Wonderful new things to be inspired by, a new Recipe and new Horoscopes for October! See you all in there!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 11:36 PM 1 comments