f the butterfly collector: November 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, November 28, 2006

Sparkly,Pretty things

I've been busy beading!!! My new found skill has come in handy to make my Mum and others some Christmas Pressies!!! I've started this pretty sparkling mobile for her and haven't quite finished but thought I' d show it off anyway! It's got beautiful smoky diamond and clear vintage style beads and some fabulous keys I found and painted up to make them a bit old, worn and rustic! I hope she likes it !!! I do anyway and now want to make myself one too! I've also started one for a friend with chunky old buttons, buckles and beads, it's a bit more industrial looking with found objects!
And here's some of my gorgeous Vintage Haul from the weekend! I went op shopping with my brother and Drew and we found a few wonderful surprises hidden in a couple of stores! This gorgeous Butterfly tray which I fell in love with instantly! Also found lots of wonderful buttons and jewellery bits and pieces to make things from! My Mum also gave me some fabulous things that had been hiding in her garage too! Some great fabric and wallpaper froms days of old and some more of my Nan's wonderful button collection! I lso found some very cute Beatrix Potter Books for my sister, she


wants to collect them for her little girl and I found this pretty little beaded wire box which I'm not sure what will live in their just yet! But it will make something a special home I'm sure!

Now I'm off to visit some of my blog friends, I seem to not be able to keep up with everyone these days and must find out what you all have been up too, see you tomorrow!!!


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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:57 PM 3 comments

Monday, November 27, 2006

Madame B's wonderfulness this week!!!

They're finally here, the gorgeous Paper Fantasia Vintage Wallpaper packs we've created for the Madame Butterfly Gallery have been placed carefully in the boutique, all wrapped up in shiny cellophane and looking for their new homes!!!! There are five sheets in each pack and it's all beautiful! Some are textured, some are satin finished, some have fabulous patterns! Just imagine all the wonderful things you could make a do with these! I've been using them as backgrounds in Collages, wrapping paper and for backgrounds in my scrapbooks! All the pieces have been cut to A4 size and the packs are $12 each! We will have more in the next week in more different patterns and textures too !!!!Our Recipe for Afternoon Tea this week is DELICIOUS Double Choc Chip Muffins! YUMMMM!

And our Project was made from some of the Vintage Wallpaper!!! Cookie Cutter Gift Cards! They are really easy and fun to make and will look fabulous on your Christmas Presents!
Getting these out made me want to make Gingerbread Men!!! So I think they may feature as a recipe for the Afternoon Tea page sometime in the next couple of weeks!

And for an extra surprise this week we are featuring two CREATIVE TYPE Interviews!!! The first one is in the Creative Cabinet Section with one of my favorite Artists and Crafters that I discovered in Flickr! Kathleen writes the Liquid Sky Arts Blog and her site is just the most inspiring and beautiful place to visit and see her amazing jewellery, paper arts and products and gorgeous photographs! One o her creations is just beloW!!!

And we've also interviewed Jewellery Artist Alyssa Beeby in the Dressing Table Section whose beautiful necklaces we've been featuring in the last week! So click over and enjoy and have a fabulous last week of November!





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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:08 AM 1 comments

Friday, November 24, 2006


I've just found out about a fabulous market being held this weekend in Malvern! The Magnolia Square Christmas Market is filled with stalls from new and up and coming labels, crafters and artists! From the pictures on their site it looks like it's going to be great! If your in Melbourne and love arty, crafty markets then this could be for you!!! Check out this link for all the details !!!! WWW.MAGNOLIASQUARE.COM.AU Have a great weekend!!!!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 8:45 AM 2 comments

Thursday, November 23, 2006


Ahhhhhggggrrrrhhh!!! I've just had one of those days where you just want to run away by yourself for ten minutes ( more if possible) with a cup of tea and a good book or some magazines and take a break away from your world! I think I actually need a whole day to do this! Wouldn't that be wonderful!

Today my beautiful little Drew decided to be a little rascal! He has just discovered he can climb up to our kitchen bench and then reach up on top of the microwave for an assortment of goodies! Today I had the whole sugar bowl spilled everywhere, he decided to eat handfuls of it's contents while I was out of the room for a moment! He also emptied half of our Cinnamon container and broke one of my favourite bowls! But the worst thing is he broke the shutter on my camera and put sugary hands all over it! I spend so much time keeping things out of his reach and keeping him safe and looks what happens when you turn your back for a moment! The terrible two's are really here now, tantrums and all! But he is just SOOOoooo adorable and is already forgiven!

The Joys of Motherhood!!!!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 11:06 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

A Vintage World!


I've been in a bit of a creative slump lately with my paintings! I keep creating patterend backgrounds and then not doing anything with them !!! But this week I think I've had a breakthrough with the direction I'm heading! I've just bought myself some new beautiful books with lots of Vintage Style things to inspire me and pulled out my vintage wallpaper collection too! I'm going to make some beautiful collages for my Son's room, in a transport theme! He loves cars, buses and trains! And I'm going to use some of this fabulous wallpaper to inspire me! In fact I have so much, we've decided to make up some wonderful packs of it for sale at Madame Butterfly!!! Here's a sneak Peak! They'll be in there very soon! I'll let you know when so you can snap some up for your own fabulous creations!!!

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:41 PM 2 comments

Monday, November 20, 2006

This week in Madame B's Gallery

So what's new in this week's issue of Madame Butterfly???? Well we've got very delicious Chocolate Truffles to make in the Afternoon Tea section. We've got a great little article on Beading and Jewellery making in the Creative Cabinet, with lots of inspiring ideas! Also in the Cabinet is a
new project for this week by a Guest writer ... the fabulous Maize Hutton on how to create a Freezer Paper Stencil. In the Dressing Table are some fabulous ideas on making over your wardrobe space and clearing the clutter and those clothes we've been keeping forever and know subconciously that we'll never wear again!
And our Creative Type Interview this week is with Australian Jeweller, Artist and Object maker Simone Walsh! Click over and step into her beautiful world!!! Her Sterling Silver Butterfy Wing is below! www.madamebutterflygallery.com.au

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:14 PM 0 comments

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Sunday School


Today I've taken a lovely ride in the car into the country all the way to the tiny town of Dean's Marsh. It's about a 15 minute drive up through the rainforest from Lorne on the Great Ocean Road! If you are a Victorian Aussie you'll know that Lorne is is a posh seaside town ith fabulous hotels and bed and breakfast's and lots of nice shops and restaurants! Anyway, Dean's Marsh is a hippie little town with a general store, a cafe and pub and the centre piece of the whole town ... the Sacred Moon Gallery!
It's a great old weatherboard church revamped into a cafe and gallery by an artist called Cinnamon. She is incredibly talented and makes sculptures, door handles, screens, window decorations, furniture and mosaics from steel, wire, old farm machinery bits, glass and loads of other bits and pieces. The place is fabulous with all handmade art and crafts from artists in the area and it also has a plant nusery and a bookshop too!
Anyway today I did a three hour silver clay workshop there with a silversmith. It was fun but fiddly to work with ( just like working with clay) and I made a pure silver butterfly wing pendant to bring home, finish polishing and add some beads and a chain to! I will show photos when I'm done, I promise!

So in it's place I've decided to show off this necklace I made on Friday night whilst watching Being John Malcovich on Teev! ( great movie, five stars from me!!!). This is only my second attempt at making jewellery and I'm learning a lot along the way already! I think this one is going to a girlfriend of mine for Christmas. She's a bit of a hippie chick and it's turned out very summery too!


And my apologies to any of you trying to access Madame Butterfly tonight. We are having a little bit of work done on it and it may not display until tomorrow if you click over there. Hopefully will all be done in the morning and I can set about posting this week's great things on the site!

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 10:56 PM 0 comments

Saturday, November 18, 2006

in love with MUCHA !!!

Today I went to my local little gorgeous gift shop. It's called Goose and every time I walk in it's with wonder and awe in my expression of the most beautiful things they have displayed in there! Well, today I bought cards!!!! I really should be making my own, but they were just beautiful and I couldn't resist. And I rediscovered this wonderful artist whose work is pictured here and bought some cards with his work on them. This is Art Nouveau Artist Alphonse Mucha. His work is very famous, you have probably seen it elsewhere. His Moet and Chandon prints are kind of everywhere!
Check out more of his beautiful work here and if you love greeting cards as much as I do then visit Flame tree Publishing for MUCHA and more!!!! Tomorrow I am doing a Silver Clay jewellery short course and this Art Nouveau find might be a great inspiration for whatever i end up making! Will show you when I bring it home! Have a fabulous weekend!




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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 8:14 PM 2 comments

Friday, November 17, 2006

some favourite things

Last night I made this mosaic on Flickr of some of my favorite photos that I'd been in love with for a long time! Some of them are by some of my fave artists and crafters in there too! If you click over to my favorites flickr pages you can click on each one and more AND visit the person who created that photo!!!! Believe me when I say they are some very talented people and it's worth the adventure! I love all the colours in these and find them so inspirational to look back over and add to! Some other things that are happening around here ... Sold today ... a lucky soul who bought the Nikkishell created Vintage Girl Craft Roll ( I will miss her, that one was my favorite!) There's lots of things to take to the post office tomorrow and I have a playgroup combined birthday party to help plan! And I stupidly said I would make the plum pudding this year for Christmas!!! I must get started with my fruit and brandy this weekend! ( very scared, never made this before, it must be good, people expect it to taste like Nana's,oh no, HELP, what in the world have I got my self into???)

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 12:03 AM 4 comments

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Bejewelled!!!

Today I thought I would show off my friend Alyssa's amazing necklaces. We are stocking some in the Madame Butterfly Gallery at the moment and I've made up some photo mosaics so we could show off some of the intricate details of them. I'm just so in love with the paua shell one below! Their are five in the Jewellery section of the Gallery if you want to see them all!


I also made mosaic's up of Nikkishell's fabulous craft rolls. They have 39 sewn in compartments so you can store all your craft tools like knitting needles, crochet hooks, paintbrushes and pencils. Roll them up and carry them safely wherever you go! I thought these would be a great idea for Christmas Presents. Very tempting when you own lots of crafty stuff like me!

I especially love the one below, such gorgeous fabric! I love the girls, their dresses and that bird is divine!
And last night I recieved an invite to visit the new Iggy and Lou Lou website which is amazing. The new collection s totally wonderful. The scenery is amazing, the music will make you think you've stepped in to the foest, a pirate ship or you are a damsel in distress. A lot of fun to be had over there, you must visit or I will throw you overboard! Ha HA, me hearties . One of their beautiful butterfly platter's is pictured below!

Oh yeah and I visited Emily this morning and she has been painting her walls now, have a look they are just wonderful. If I did this I think the landlord might kill us or screech with delight????






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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 3:39 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

a hard week!


This week has started as a bit of a struggle. We have had a close family friend die, which has been hard. I just can't seem to think straight or get organised for anything. When that happens and suddenly too, it really makes you think about the fact that we are not here forever and think about what you realy want to do with your life!
I accidently missed Andrew's two year old health check up at our maternal health centre and now have to wait until January. I am cleaning like mad as we have a house inspection this week and I want it to be spotless, they will probably not even notice, but you know! And I can't seem to make it to playgroup because Drew is always asleep when it is on. I miss all the girls and the kids too!
On good notes though, I had my first weigh in and measure at the Gym and have seen results already after three weeks which is great! The house inspection has made me think about having a serious spring clean ... maybe it's time to get rid of my hoards of paper and magazines. I also started a mini garage sale on ebay too! And I found this gorgeous picture above in a recent mag. It's a rack that's been especially built to show of gorgeous books! I aspire to own one of these one day! I'd love one for Drew too!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 3:30 PM 0 comments

Monday, November 13, 2006

Christmas Stockings and Apple Crumble !

apple crumble
nikkishell's craft roll

embellished mini canvas project!


nikkishell's christmas stockings

I've just about got this week's Madame Butterfly Gallery issue in order! There's lots of great stuff in there including a Creative Type Interview with NIKKISHELL and I get to show off the wonderful things she made for our Boutique. The most gorgeous one of a kind Christmas Stockings and some great Craft Storage Rolls! They are going in just in time for Christmas! I've written a cute little project on how to make a little Embellished canvas like the one above and we have a guest writer too, who has written a short story for the Dressing Table Section!!! We've also put in a delicious recipe for afternoon tea... Apple Crumble ... YUM!!!
Click over to see! ...

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 2:19 PM 2 comments

Sunday, November 12, 2006

SNOWFLAKE Tutorial!


Hi from here on Sunday night!!! I thought I would post the Snowflake tutorial from last week's Madame B here, in case anyone missed it and wants to make some for Chrissy! Have Fun!

MADAME BUTTERFLY'S CREATIVE CABINET

This week’s PROJECT ... CREATE A SNOWFLAKE!

Here's a fun and simple project to make for Christmas !!!Its approaching fast and these Snowflakes are quick and simple to make! You can add them to your own tree, give them as presents, tie them on to the top of presents or even get your kids to make their own special one to hangup too! Lets Get Started ...

YOU WILL NEED ...Lots of Coloured Sparkly BeadsA Roll of thin Bendable WIRE Small Pointy Nose Pilers ( or jewellers pilers)Small Wire Cutters ( or jewellers cutters)A length of Ribbon All of the above should be available at your local craft store!

TO CREATE IT ...1. Cut five pieces of wire from the roll. They should each be approx 20cm long.

2. Line them up next to each other and thread all of them through a bead. Place the bead in the middle and then twist the wires tightly at either side of the bead and splay them out like a star! The bead should now not be able to move.

3.One at a time, start threading beads of different colours and sizes onto each piece of wire. Push each one down tightly. Leave a gap of about one centimetre at the end. If it is longer, just take your pilers and cut it to size.

4. Take your pointy nose pilers and bend this end into a loop, place the end back into the last bead to make it neat.

5.When you have completed each beaded arm and loop, splay all the wire arms out to form a Sparkly and beautiful Snowflake.

6. Use a length of ribbon threaded through one of the loops to hang your masterpiece!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 11:49 PM 1 comments

Friday, November 10, 2006

fabulous new jewels





I've just recieved some fabulous new things for the Madame Butterfly Gallery's Boutique that I'm really excited about! My business partner and I have decided recently that we would love to buy a lot more handmade and hand crafted things and art for the site. So here's a sneak peek at what will be arriving in the gallery this week!
We're showcasing some fabulous handmade neckpieces by up and coming Jewellery Artist Alyssa Bailey, a few close up shot of her original work are above! She hand weaves wire and beautiful beads and pendant together to make wonderful jewels!
I'm also really excited about stocking some of Nikki-Shell's handcrafted and sewn Christmas Stockings and and craft rolls to store and carry your knitting needles, crochet hooks and other sewing and crafting essentials! She has used the most delicious fabrics and trims too! I secretly want to keep them all for myself! I am going to spend the rest of the day taking fabulous photos of them all and will place them in their spots in the shop early next week! We are also doing interviews with both girls so you can get to know more about them and their crafting!
In other news , I've been creating my littl Drew's birthday invites, I can't believe he's nearly two already, I been up to Melbourne to visit my sister and Mum. We had a fun day in the city, walked the arcades, had a nice afternoon tea and saw some very scary looking dresses on women heading out to Oaks Day Horse Racing. I stood at the window of Douglas and Hope and wished for everything ( can you believe they still don't have a website!) and I finally made my first visit to the Buttonmania store in Flinders Lane. It was gorgeous, but a lot smaller than I thought. There were some beautiful Porcelain buttons in there though and I'm going back for there big sale soon! Until Tomorrow ...

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 2:30 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

How much is your blog worth?


click on the link below if the one above doesn't work!
www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/
How hilarious is this little piece of interesting information?
I was reading the MirrorMirror blog this morning and she had posted this link to find out how much your blog is worth! Yes, someone really does have too much time on their hands to work this stuff out! I think it is worked out by how many visitors you have etc .... I've since discovered that a few of my fave blogs are worth over a million! Wow! What is really interesting is if they were actually sold, what would happen to them? I feel that the soul of them would be lost! Most of the wonderful blogs I read would be nothing without the personality and creative minds that are behind them! TRUE? Anyway a fun and silly exercise for today, my lovlies!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 9:19 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

morrocan bird


I found this wonderful necklace over the weekend and fell in love instantly! It was destined to be mine ...it was on sale, it was gorgeous and it had Aqua on it too! I Love the bird and it reminds me of pictures of Morroco for some reason!
I actually ended up in a bead shop after that where I spent a small fortune as I've just completed a jewellery making course. ( I've also discovered that they're are lots of internet stores where you can buy the same things at a quarter of the price and quadruple the quantity!!!) But yet another hobby to add to my collection! The plan is to now make lots of gorgeous Chrismas presents for all the girls in my life! I've made two already, but they are sworn to secrecy until Dec 25th. I'll show you then!

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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 7:15 PM 0 comments

Monday, November 06, 2006

Snowflakes, Tea Cups and Pretty Presents

These delicious looking cookies are a creation I've been working on for a while. They are Madame B's Muesli Cookies, they are yum and have lots of healthy stuff in them and I've published their recipe on the Afternoon Tea page this week! In fact there is lots of fabulous stuff in this week's Madame Butterfly Gallery!!!
I've written some fun projects and ideas for Gift Wrapping, Christmas Present Ideas, starting a Collection ( like for instance, TEA CUPS!!!) and showing off some of the things in our Boutique!


I've also done a great interview with self taught Assemblage and Mixed Media Artist, Chrysti, one of her gorgeous birds is below!!! She creates the most fabulous artwork and seems to produce so much! I'm jealous of her never ending energy to create and spend so much time on her work! It's eye candy with so many small, delicate and interesting pieces on each collage!

And in the Creative Cabinet this week I've written a project on how to make Ornamental Snowflakes for Christmas! my favorite on is below. I used lots of pearls and crystal beads! They are surprisingly easy and fun to make! I'm going to wrap mine as decorations around chrissy pressies for my family and friends. What will you do with yours???









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posted by thebutterflycollector @ 8:36 PM 2 comments

Friday, November 03, 2006

owls, deer, squirrels and such!




I wanted to share these lovely little critters I found whilst a clicking about in the Anthropologie website ( yes, I went to visit again, everything is just so beautiful) and I'm looking for delicious chrissy pressies too! That's my excuse anyway! They are terribly adorable though, don't you think? We are also about to start trying very soon to coax our little Drew in to his own bed. So to make it fun for him, we are on the lookout for some fun things to hang from a big mosqiuto net we've bought and make it like a big tent! If you have any suggestions or advice on this one? They would be greatly appreciated!


And today I was reading an english magazine and came across this wonderful artist and her site! Petra Boase designs and creates gorgeous baby clothes and stationary, greeting cards and kitchen ware. I actually think I have seen some of them before in the Douglas and Hope store on Brunswick Street in Melbourne! I Loved clicking on everything in her site! It's all so very cute and tempting! It's a must visit to see her beautiful Owls, Deer and Such!

posted by thebutterflycollector @ 2:41 PM 5 comments