Handmade 365

 

Well, I'm excited!!

 

Joining in with the inspiring Rachelle aka Ted and Agnes (co author of "Granny Chic"- probably my fav ever craft book) I am aiming to wear something handmade each and every day for a year!! It could be anything from a small handmade brooch to a full on handmade outfit. We are starting on October 1, and you can join in too if you like! Click here for all the deets.

 

I have never taken part in a "365 days" challenge before, and I'm sure that at some point I'll forget or feel uninspired, but I am looking forward to the challenge. I do wear a lot of handmade already, so hopefully it won't be too much a of a new thing! I will update Instagram daily, so if you haven't startedd following me over there please do, and I'll blog occasionally about it as well!

 

Wanna join us?? Sure will be fun!

 

Mezz xx

St Andrews Market

If you live in Melbourne, you probably know all about the St Andrews Market.

It's one of my all time favourite markets, partly because St Andrews is gorgeous, and also because it's very random... stalls seem to sell anything and everything.

You can find things from raw honey to second hand clothes, old tools, plants, arts and crafts, tie died hippy clothes, dried fruit and used books.

It's not a long drive from our place in Melbourne, once you're out of the suburbs its about a 30 minute drive through the beautiful Australian Bush.

The local community have held a market every Saturday morning for as long as I can remember, and I love heading out there every so often. As an inner city dweller, it's important every so often to see and smell some gum trees!!

My favourite stalls are the second hand stalls, (of course) ...people will often chuck all their old clothes on the ground and you can rummage through them. I like that!

We headed out there this last weekend and once again, it was a great morning. We didn't buy as much as we usually do, but found a few treasures.

If you are not from Melbourne, but you come to visit one time, I would definitely add this market to your "things to do" list!!

 

What's your favourite market???

 

mezz x

Handmade Card Swap-it's a wrap!!

Thanks to everyone who took part in my Handmade Card Swap. It was so much fun! I loved making cards for my partners, and then even more excitingly, recieving pretty cards in the mail!! Woohoo!

It was so lovely to hear from the swappers about how much they've enjoyed making and creating, and most importantly, connecting with others. If you missed this one, I'm planning another swap with a Christmas theme for mid-October, so stay tuned!!

Below are some pics of handmade cards that got sent all over the globe as part of the swap. They are all so lovely and I hope they inspire you!! A lot of pics were also posted in Instagram, but my computer doesn't seem to like saving pictures from there, so the only photos I'm sharing here are those which I've taken or were emailed to me.

Some participant blogged about the swap, check out the links below. Make sure you check them out, they are all great bloggers!!

http://butterandbuntings.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/handmade-card-swap-what-i-sent.html
http://butterandbuntings.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/handmade-card-swapwhat-i-recieved_10.html
http://daintyandivory.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/handmade-cards-summer-swap.html
http://theowlclub.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/handmade-card-swap-received.html
http://theowlclub.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/handmade-card-swap-what-i-sent.html
http://florandpaws.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/handmade-card-swap-part-1.html
http://wassupbrothers.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/handmade-cards-swap-sent.html

Hope this post has inspired you to get making and next time you want to give someone a card, consider making your own!!

Mezz xx

PS- If any participants blogged about this and I didn't share your link, let me know and I'll add your link to another post.

music, magazines, swaps and more!

Why, hello dear friends!!

Just a quick post to say sorry for my lack of blogging recently! I have been super busy. Not only with health stuff (migraines for me, croup and asthma for Miss 2), but with magazine making and music making.

I am at an interesting place with my music at the moment. Me and my band went really hard recording and performing for 5 years, and I was pretty exhausted after working on, launching and promoting our album, so took a break after Miss 2's birth.  Over the past 18 months I have played the odd "solo show", supported at times by my fantastic younger brother, Pete. I've been writing a lot this past year, and feel really ready to form a band again, and am currently thinking about how I want that to sound and look, and what dynamics will work for my music. It might be a bit different to the Mezz Coleman band line up you've heard in the past, so STAY TUNED!!

Scattered through this post are a few pics taken at my gig on the weekend. I'm wearing a thrifted dress found in Taipei (Taiwan) a few years ago, and a handmade doily hair pin. You can see how I made it here.

Before I go, just thought I d mention that its been so wonderful seeing all the handmade cards that have been floating through the mail due to the little swap I organised! I'm really inspired, and hope you are too! I am hoping to host another swap again soon!!

I'm sure I'll be back at the sewing machine soon too. Miss 2 will become Miss 3 in October, so I'm planning on getting busy with some handmade gift making and party decorating!!

Mezz xxx

I am making a magazine!!

My sister in law Taz and I are currently working on our starter issue of "Hundreds and Thousands," a little handmade mag celebrating all things handmade. Music, craft, food, thrifting...this mag is about the things we love!! It's also very grass roots, DIY and collaborative. We are pretty excited and have felt very supported by our crafty blogging community. So, thanks!!

Anyway, we are looking for a logo for the mag...and I reckon you might be able to help!! We are after crafty and cute ideas. So if you're interested in submitting an idea head on over to www.hundredsandthousandsmag.blogspot.com

Love!!

Liebster Award!

Mezz Makes Stuff has been nominated by the lovely Laura Valentine for a Liebster award. A what, you ask??! The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. I'm chuffed that someone would bother to nominate my blog (thanks Laura), and have had fun answering her questions and coming up with my own ten questions for the next nominees!!

The rules of this award are:

1. Link back to those who nominate you
2. Answer the 10 questions the nominator has for you
3. Nominate 5-11 bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. Create 10 questions for your nominees
5. Be sure to notify your nominees'

01. What is your guilty pleasure?

Watching BBC period drama adaptions on my own!!

02. If your house was on fire what three things would you save?

This sounds weird, but as much as I love all the little nick nacks we have created and found over the years, stuff is just stuff, and nothing we have is worth much. I think I'd be happy to get myself and everybody else out and wouldn't worry about much else.

03. Growing up, Who was your celebrity crush?

I had four crushes. John, Paul George and Ringo. Yes, they were too old for me. Yes, one was already dead. But look at them!!! I've always felt I was born in the wrong era!!

04. What is your favourite item of clothing you own?

Hard to choose between all my Op Shopped dresses!

05. If you could change your name, What would you change it to?

 I've recently been thinking about the fact that my real name "Maryanne" is actually very pretty. I've been "Mezz" to everyone since I was 5 or 6, and nobody calls me by my real name, but for the first time in my life I'm kind of wishing someone would call me Maryanne.

 06. What is your "signature" dish?

I'm a crap cook, but I'm pretty good at Christmas baking. I save up all my cooking and baking powers for December and then unleash them on all my friends and fam, and them we all regret eating too much.

07. What has surprised you the most about keeping a blog?

I heard someone once say that "inspired people inspire people" and really, blogging has just opened me up into a wide world of inspired people, and in turn they are inspiring me! And to think that I am inspired and possibly inspiring creativity too is pretty great.

08. Have you ever broken a bone? If so, how?

Nope. But had heaps of fun (not) when my son broke his arm on an overseas holiday. We became well acquainted with the UK's NHS system, and missed out on sight seeing in Wales. Oh well..

09. Who would play you in the movie of your life?

I'd love to say Judy Garland, purely because she is my favourite ever person to grace the silver screen, and she can sing!! But, I've been told a few times that I look like the actress who plays Chevy Chase's wife in the National Lampoons movie series. I think it might be the strong teeth/jawline/cheekbones, I don't see it myself, what do you think??

 

10. If you could have a magical power, what would it be?

I would add 4 secret hours to the night time. I am a night owl, which turns out to be completely incompatible with being a mum.

S,o there you have it, I hope you had a bit of fun learning a bit more about the Mezz behind the blog!! And thanks again to Laura for you kind nomination.

 

But now for the really fun part! I get to nominate some other wonderful bloggers for this award too! So, (drum roll please..) I'd like to invite and award the Liebster to ....

 

Butter and Buntings

The Owl Club

Cosmos and Cotton

Op Shop Mama

The Perfect Hiding Place

 

These 5 blogs are lovely!! Please go and check them out.

 

 

Here are 10 questions for the nominees if you feel like joining the fun guys...

1. Favourite time of year?

2. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

3. A place you have never been to but hope to someday...

4. did you like school?

5. Favourite EVER book?

6. you gave yourself a high five when.....

7. who inspires you?

8. what do you love about where you live?

9. why did you start blogging?

10. when was the last time you did something really, really silly??

 

lots of love to you all! And if you have just found my blog, feel free to start following along!!

 

Mezz xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...

Something old (Vintage Wallpaper)

Something new (glitter alphabet stickers!)

Something borrowed (my kids scissors)

and something blue (yummy bright blue ric rac)

Makes a nice wedding present for a dear friend!!

My friend Mel and I have been through a lot together!! We became friends in our first year of High School, and to this day she is one of my closest and dearest friends. We have journeyed through teenage life and High School, and into adulthood, careers, relationships, births (she was at Miss 2's birth!) and more...She is a dear friend, and is marrying her Irish sweetheart, Andy, in California next week. Sadly I couldn't make it (a few too many overseas weddings for our family's budget over the past few years) but my thoughts are with them both during this special time. I wanted to give them a gift before they left and knew that something handmade would be appreciated!! The bunting says "Mr and Mrs Crawford" and I'm told it fits perfectly on their piano!!

Mel, if you're reading this, love you heaps and can't wait to see you when you get back!!

Do you like weddings? Are you married? I am. I did it when I was very young. I fell in love with the boy and married the poor chap pretty quick smart!! I'm still not sure if getting married as young as we did was an act of rebellion (no one else seemed to be doing it at 19!) or just something we had to do because it felt so right. My guess its a little of the two.  I have only stopped getting weird reactions in the last few years when I refer to "my husband." It was pretty funny for a while. We have been married nearly 10 years and have grown into adulthood together, which has been lovely. Are you not married by the way? Coz I think that's cool too. I'm into people doing whatever floats their boat.

I am very nostalgic about things now days, but I was so young when I got married that I didn't give tradition or nostalgia or even other people's feelings much thought. I sometimes regret that. I think it would have been nice to wear "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue" for the wedding, or something special that had belonged to my mum or nana. I also sometimes think that I should have given a bit more thought to my friends who were in same sex relationships and therefor couldn't get married in Australia, and how my wedding may have made them feel.  But you learn to think about such things as you get older, I guess when I was 19 my world view was pretty small!!

What's a tradition that you know of or have seen at a wedding, either yours or someone else's??  Love is in the air guys, so feel free to talk romance....

Mezz xx