And the winner is....

Hiya Y'all!  

Thank you so much for entering in the Dalli Cottage Shabby Chic giveaway!  I am more than happy to report that Leonie from Kiwi at Heart is the WINNER! 

Shoot me an e-mail Leonie and I can't wait to get busy for you! 

Thanks for sharing the love everyone....I wish I could make you all one each....but for now, I am off to unpack bags, put washing on and finish orders.....all while the husbo is home!  

PS  Look what was waiting in the mail for me when I got home......drooool!! 

X 

The limits....

I read a fantastic quote this week:

"If you are going to put a limit on something....make the sky the limit" 

What a terrific reminder to never let anyone stand in your way of your dreams - and if you work hard and be kind....then good things will happen to you. 

This week I am so grateful for all the beautiful, kind people out in the BIG wide world of business.  For my tiny little business to be featured on Style Collective, Fluid Magazine and KID Independent is so surreal for me.  Then to see my beautiful Shabby Chic Aprons available for sale at Little Indigo was enough to celebrate!  How bloody exciting! 

I am also grateful for my darling, beautiful daughter to be smiling again after an awful few weeks of teething.  She is back giggling and being cheeky, loud and happy - causing plenty of mayhem and madness around this tiny little cottage!  The bigger the mess - the happier she is....

And finally, I am so grateful for my gorgeous husbo and my family - both near and far.  I love visits to the cottage - my Parental Unit plus gorgeous sister for a day trip from Tbar...my MIL from up the road or my sister-in-law for the weekend.....they all bring so much happiness and love to the cottage!  Summer planting is now over....so I am definitely grateful for being able to spend the weekend snuggling up to my husbo....I have most certainly missed him! 

Join in on the fun over at Maxabella.....it's a perfect reminder to stop & smell the roses of YOUR life....all while forming some fantastic blogging (you are all real) friends.   X 

Don't forget to enter!!

Just reminding you of the Dalli Cottage Giveaway which is due to be drawn on 1st February 2011!  

Be in the running to win your very own custom-made Shabby Chic Apron!!  

These aprons are so popular and my inbox has been inundated with orders for both personal and wholesale!!

It is SUPER easy to be a part of this awesome giveaway.....and there are more than 2 ways to enter (to gain yourself an extra entry!!)

1. All you have to do is mention the giveaway on your blog and link back to here and leave a comment! You are more than welcome to use the photos of the Shabby Chic Aprons!

OR/AND

2. Become a fan of The Dalli Cottage Collection on Facebook and leave us a note to say hi and tell us that you have come to pop by. Then follow up your note with a comment on our blog to let us know!

Good Luck!! 

5 seconds of fame...

I received a fantastic e-mail today from Amanda at Style Collective to tell me that Dalli's Shabby Chic Apron range for 3 - 6 year olds has been featured on her amazing blog!!  This range is exclusive to Little Indigo! 

Go and visit Style Collective to see the gorgeous feature!  Click HERE!  

Then go to visit Jo at Little Indigo (Click HERE) to purchase your little one an exclusive Dalli Cottage Shabby Chic Apron!  Jo is having a 15% off sale so you better be quick!! 

Another surreal moment for me and a massive opportunity for Dalli!  

Also happy to report that we have had our first happy day at the cottage for over 10 days and the teething has appeared to have settled down, the eating is resuming and the smiles and giggles are on over-drive!  Thank you SO SO SO much for all your fantastic e-mails with tips, love and mama advice.  I love you all!  X 

A whole lot of FAITH...

After downloading the pattern and tutorial for the Dolly Drive, I decided to get right into it and get the dolly made for the Queensland Flood Appeal and sent off before I forgot about it!  

So, I proudly introduce you to Faith....

The beautiful dolly made for a very beautiful little child somewhere in Queensland who has been affected by the floods.  I only hope that Faith brings love, happiness and smiles to the little ones face....but most of all, I wish for faith to be restored in the little one's life...faith that everything is going to be OK.  

For more information on how to be involved in this fantastic cause, please visit here. 

Queensland Floods Dolly Drive

This morning while I had a spare 5 minutes, I had the pleasure of coming across a gorgeous blog called Monkeemoomoo.  It is here that I found the fantastic concept of the Queensland Floods Dolly Drive! 

It is here that Monkeymoomoo are co-ordinating a fantastic Dolly Drive - asking people to make a beautiful dolly for the darling little children affected from the floods.  The poor darling children that have lost all of their toys, their home and even their school. 

This Dolly Drive has been so successful for other children around the world for the Children of Haiti and even Operation Christmas Child for the children of the South Pacific.  To read more about it - click here! 

So, I have signed up to make a dolly (or maybe two depending on time).  I have never made a dolly - but I can't wait!  The tutorial looks simple and it looks like anyone could do it.....so this is perfect if you feel like getting a bit creative, all while doing something fabulous for a little child who needs YOU! 

There is also a fabulous Quilts for Queensland over with Corrie at Retromummy!  I only wish that I could find the time to learn to quilt so I could help this cause.  I am sure there are sooo many of you out there though! 

So what are you doing to help?  I would love to hear all about your kind and creative ways to help heaps of families in need.  

"You will regret many things in life but you will never regret being too kind or too fair." ~~ Brian Tracy

This week I am grateful for...

I have been following Maxabella loves...and especially loved her blog post about Dealing with Difficult People #5 - Toddlers.  My darling daughter Moo is 99.9% of the time a beautiful, delightful and happy little girl.  But this week, she has cut three molars and consequently, it's been a looooong week with plenty of tanties and tears.  Every Mama out there has sympathised with me and I know that I will get my beautiful girl back when the naughty teeth have decided to stop causing her grief....and hopefully that day comes verrrry soon!! 

So, with reading Maxabella loves - I have decided to join in on the fun with "I'm grateful for..." because it is after a week, that you really need to focus on the bigger picture!  

This week I am grateful for....

Swimming dates with our special friends - where the kids get to be kids and the Mamas get to relax, laugh and wet our feet under the hose!  

It's the simple things in life.....

Go and play over at Maxabella loves.....  I can assure you that you will have a great read daily with this gorgeous blog! 

Online vs Real life.....

Recently, I have noticed so many terrific little stores popping up and have been relishing in the joy of online shopping!  I asked myself last night what I loved more - real-life or online shopping......I thought about it hard but decided that online definitely takes the cake.  I can do it while in my PJs, late at night while my beautiful family sleeps - and it saves the tantrums at the shops or feeling obligated to buy something when I walk into a store because I feel bad (Weird I know!).  I especially LOVE online fabrics stores....but you all know that.

These are my latest finds....and you all wonder why I love mail day!  

As Indi from {KID} Independent said 'It's probably a little early to say the 'E' word' but I decided to get organised for Easter and purchased these absolutely adorable Bunny Bags from Tied with a Ribbon.  I know that Macie will absolutely love them and I am super impressed with myself for being so organised!! 

I won the bidding for these gorgeous earrings from apooki in a Flood Appeal Auction at Handmade Kids!  I will definitely be shopping here more regularly as Ange has THE most beautiful collection! 

A beautiful Pinafore for my darling daughter Macie from Button Designs.  Stocked at Little Indigo.  These pinafores are so beautiful and versatile!  I bought it with the intention to wear for the winter months but it could easily be worn in Summer too!  Best purchase yet!!

So you can definitely see why I love online shopping.  There are just so many beautiful, unique and handmade items out there - all made by dedicated hardworking women - most of whom have bubbas to raise, husbos to feed, and households to keep under control!  I think you all ROCK!  

Dalli in the MEDIA!!

Summer on a large grain farm usually calls for ridiculously early mornings to start work to try and beat the blistering 38+ heat....and this morning was no exception with the tractor headlights illuminating our bedroom at 4.10am.  Lucky I didn't mind....because I had something verrrry exciting to look forward to!!  Please note that any other morning I would have cursed the world, put a pillow over my head and declared to my hardworking husbo and father-in-law that they work too hard!! :)   

In the past few weeks, I have been working with the ever so lovely Indi from {KID} Independent and have organised for Dalli to advertise on her very successful blog and consequently received a feature on The Shabby Chic Aprons!! 

Oh.My.God.  I knew it was going to be featured....but to actually see MY creations being featured on such an amazing, successful and stylish blog....well it kinda made me go all 'gooey'....and that doesn't happen very often!!  

So go and check out Dalli in it's 5 minutes of fame & glory over at Indi's {KID} Independent blog and make sure you continue to follow her while she supports all the beautiful items around Australia and the surrounds.  It's beautiful, kind-hearted people like Indi that prove to us hard-working WAHM that it's all worthwhile. 

Today is gonna be a good, good day.....Wooohooo!!  

A good blog....

I treasure the simple things in life....like a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a lingering kiss from my husbo or an extra snuggle from my darling girl at night.  

One thing I especially love is a good blog!  I follow a few blogs religiously because they make me laugh, give me inspiration, remind me to live my life with soul and more importantly, I feel that I can relate to them, in whatever path of life they may be in.  

So here is my top 8 blogs I LURVE reading.... 

1.  Nie Nie Dialogues - every single morning I open Stephanie's blog to read about her journey after a horrific accident.  She reminds me daily to be thankful of those around me and especially the SIMPLE things in life! 

2.  Retromummy - a beautiful family, a loving husbo, 4 gorgeous children and she is happy.  She proves that motherhood is enjoyable and more importantly, she keeps it real.  Obviously, I am addicted to her fabric store too....so that helps! ;) 

3.  Life with Soul - the one blog and the beautiful Amy behind it who constantly reminds me to live my life with soul.  

4.  Seven Cherubs - Naomi and her beautiful outlook on being a mother to her seven cherubs.  Another Mama who reminds me to be in the moment and have a healthy balance between work and family!!  

5. Stark.Raving.Mad.Mommy - this is by far the funniest Mummy blog I have found.  My beautiful friend, Kath, sent me the link and I get my daily dose of laughs when I read it!!  A big thanks to Kath!  X 

6.  I Just Love That Fabric - I drool constantly while perusing through Susie's online fabric store!  Seriously, every.single.bit.of.fabric. is GORGEOUS!  

7.  1000 homes of Happiness - a beautiful blog that is a fantastic reminder to just live and be happy doing it! 

8.  Cinderella at Brindabella - gorgeous photos, inspiration and 'Simple Country Living'   

So, go and make yourself a hot cuppa, sit down and enjoy some quality reading.  You will laugh, cry and be inspired.  The world is an amazing place out there and these blogs prove it!  

Keep Dreamin'

There are so many crafty and creative businesses doing an overhaul of their creative spaces at the moment....and it is giving me the idea to do the same because I really crave some organisation of my fabrics, my bookwork and my ribbons!  At the moment, I have a small area to work in our little cottage - with an old bookcase as my fabric storage that I managed to score from a garage sale for $10, with two desks as my cutting & sewing tables - one of them being my desk when I was in highschool - and another is a fantastic find by my very generous mother-in-law!  Our laptop is set up in the kitchen/lounge room as that is where the sat. internet is connected so it also acts as a mini-office too!  

I dream of ribbon organisation like Kristy at AnK Bowtique!  She posted this picture today on her blog....

Are you drooling? 

So with this in mind, I decided to google 'Sewing Room Creative Spaces Ideas".....and I drooled a bit more....this is what I found! 

Image the creativity that could go on here with a summer breeze through the window and those devine blue walls!! They match the Dalli Logo colours! Drool again.....

 

I love the cupboard - so perfect for protecting all my fabrics away from the harsh bush dust!

But instead of wishing for something I don't have (and that is space) - I declared that I love my little cottage with my little family - so I am going to make the most of it.....with a little inspiration.

Plenty of upright storage, desk-space, inspiration boards and of course, pretty fabrics! 

I shall be devoting a drawer to pure organisation like this!  My cotton collection is quickly becoming overloaded!! 

So, in the next few weeks, I plan to get creative with my storage and my workspace.  I also plan on convincing my gorgeous husbo that my little business is getting too big and I need to claim the spare bedroom as Dalli's HQ!  Wish me luck ladies!! ;) 

Please send ANY ideas, tips and suggestions my way....I need all the help I can get!! :)  

Doing my bit....

While I write this, people in our gorgeous little town of Goondiwindi (32km from the farm) are madly packing sandbags and hoping that the river doesn't break it's banks.  Although the council are trying to reassure it's residents, you can't help but notice the panic rising along with the floodwaters.  My hometown of Toowoomba is picking up the pieces after their devastating deluge on Monday and Brisbane is in the midst of it - running for safety all while leaving their lifelong possessions to be eaten by the wall of water.  

I have found myself totally blown away by how emotional I have been the last few days.  I continually find myself deep in thought - wondering what I would have done with our 14 month old daughter Macie and my husbo if it was us.  What I would do if our house was washed away, along with our car, and to come back with nothing.  My answer has been that I would look towards the generosity of the public and hope and pray that we could get back on our feet.  

So, all while feeling completely helpless and isolated - I have decided to donate to a few more auctions on FB.  It is the absolutely least I can do. The Shabby Chic Apron generated a fantastic $80 for the AnK Bowtique Auction and I hope that it will do this again. 

Dalli Cottage have donated a personalised cushion to the Itty Bitty Butts Auction which will be happening on Saturday 15th January at 8am.  There are such beautiful items up for grabs so be sure to go and visit them.  

We have also donated another Shabby Chic Apron (choice of size & colour) to The Oz Material Girls.  Their auction will be starting on Monday 17th January.  Again, there are some terrific items involved. 

Instead of joining every FB Auction, I have decided to just happily join in on the 'fun' (if that's the right word) and bid on some great items out there.  Here is a list of some great Auctions...

Handmade Kids & Rudy & The Dodo Flood Appeal - starting at Friday 11am EST

Flickwillfixit.com.au - starting on 21st January 2011 at 7pm

  

For any Toowoomba people reading this blog, I just received news on FB that Kate's Place is accepting donations for anything.  Some people have lost everything and only have the clothes that were on their back when the flood happened.  I wish I could get something in the post, but we are isolated from Toowoomba.  

In the meantime, please continue to be safe, high and dry.  You are all 100% consuming my thoughts.  I am so worried for all of you and hope that you all find the strength emotionally to get through this.  You are all in my thoughts, prayers and tears.  X 

A big thank-YOU!

Apologies for the lack of blogging - I packed up the car and went on a mini-sewing holiday to Toowoomba!  Off to my parents we went while I sewed and my darling daughter played with her grandparents and family.  It was a win-win situation and thankfully I completed Dalli's very first wholesale order for Little Indigo.  I was so proud to post it off to Jo today and hopefully all her customers will love them as much as I do!  Here is a little sneak peak at what will be available in the next few days....

A little snippet of Dalli goodness on it's way to Jo at Little Indigo! 

Yesterday after a long trip around floodwaters we arrived home.  For some reason I just felt that we needed to be home and today's deluge on Toowoomba must have been playing on my instincts.  From what I have seen on the news, the flooding was like an inland tsunami - creating absolute devastation to anything that was in it's path.  It makes my heart so heavy to hear that people died and my thoughts are with their families tonight.  Queensland is suffering so much at the moment.  Thank goodness all my family and friends are safe tonight....


On a happier note...the gorgeous ladies over at AnK Bowtique raised over $10,000.00 in the Flood Appeal Auction over the past few days.  That is such an amazing effort and I was so humbled to be a part of it.  Dalli's Apron finished bidding at $75.00 which is terrific.  I can't wait to get creating on a special custom-made apron for the winning bidder, Katie!   Be sure to visit AnK's FB page and blog - they are such beautiful and generous ladies....and even better - they have the most drool-worthy hair pretties, and more! 


So, as our beautiful state continues to be drenched and devastated, please remember to donate and give to those families who need us.  Thank you to everyone who has shown so much generosity!  X 

Dig Deep....

I am sure that most of you are all aware of the large scale of devastation ravaging Queensland with the 2010/2011 floods. My eyes fill with tears every time I watch the news, listen to the radio and read newspaper articles. I can't imagine watching my home go under water and thinking of all our memories and keepsakes just floating in the mud, grime and sewerage. Devastation isn't the right word for it....there is no word for it.

The lovely girls from AnK Bowtique in Alpha are doing their bit to raise money for the Premier's Flood Appeal. They are holding a Facebook Auction of so many beautiful items from Georgie Girl, Oopsidaisi and lots of other fantastic businesses. There is also a Dalli Shabby Chic Apron being auctioned off!!

All proceeds will be donated to the Premier's Flood Appeal in the hope that it helps all those devastated families in Queensland.

So, go and do your bit for Queensland and show your Aussie Spirit. All you need to do is go to the AnK Bowtique Facebook page and keep an eye on when they will be launching the Auction....and obviously you need to dig deep!

It's the least that Dalli Cottage to do. X

A giveaway for YOU!

On Day 3 of the New Year, 2011 is proving to be amazing. Every time I open my inbox, there is another opportunity sitting there waiting for me to take. It all feels so surreal and I would never have been able to make this all a reality without all my beautiful supporters!

So to say a BIG thank-you, I am doing a very special Giveaway! A giveaway of a very sought-after product being Dalli's "Shabby Chic" apron....much like these ones....but YOU will have the choice to have it custom-made and personalised for either you or your little one!

These aprons are so popular and my inbox has been inundated with orders for both personal and wholesale!!

It is SUPER easy to be a part of this awesome giveaway.....and there are more than 2 ways to enter (to gain yourself an extra entry!!)

1. All you have to do is mention the giveaway on your blog and link back to here and leave a comment! You are more than welcome to use the photos of the Shabby Chic Aprons!

OR/AND

2. Become a fan of The Dalli Cottage Collection on Facebook and leave us a note to say hi and tell us that you have come to pop by. Then follow up your note with a comment on our blog to let us know!

One of our big goals for 2011 is to spread the Dalli word - let your friends know on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, feature us and share the beauty of our gorgeous Shabby Chic Aprons!

The giveaway will go for the duration of January and will be drawn on 1st February 2011 when the aprons will be launched in a few shops online!! Fitting really isn't it!

Thanks for the love and support. I am so glad to have you all to share my journey in 2011!

Dalli's very first stockist!

As the new year of 2011 begins, so does my list of goals for The Dalli Cottage Collection.....

Things on my list range from being more organised and sewing more for my darling daughter Macie and then onto the more serious issues of gaining more exposure, being featured in magazines and finding stockists that suit the Dalli brand!

One thing that amazes me is that it is only the 2nd January 2011 and I am already crossing things off the list....the universe works in such an amazing way.

Today Dalli received our very first wholesale order for the Shabby Chic Aprons from the ever-so-lovely Jo from Little Indigo. This glorious online boutique is the home of so many beautiful, handmade creations from around Australia for kids aged upto 5 years old.

Little Indigo will be the exclusive stockist of the Shabby Chic Aprons for the 2 - 5 year old range and Jo will even be taking the aprons on the road as she visits the gorgeous Sugar and Spice Market in Mornington in March along with the Baby & Toddler show!! I am so very very excited about our future with Little Indigo and especially the exposure that Jo will be gaining for Dalli!

All aprons will be individual, unique and ooze charm, with not one apron being the same as the other! Colours will range from pinks to reds, blues to greens! I am madly sewing to meet the order and hope to have them to Jo within the next few weeks!!

So, be sure to go and visit Little Indigo and keep an eye out for the Shabby Chic range!