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Cool Shops

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.Cool Shops! HOOKED ZPAGETTI.

It’s been quite awhile since my last Cool Shop blog post.  I’ve got a great new one for you tonight though, have you heard of Hooked Zpagetti?

I was first introduced to Hooked Zpagetti when I was at the Craft & Quilt Fairs in Sydney and Melbourne earlier this year.  There were people walking around everywhere with these great big cones of chunky yarn and I was intrigued!  After a little questioning and was directed to the Hooked Zpagetti stand and after seeing some of their funky creations, I guess you could say I was hooked!!

Zpagetti uses offcuts of latest knit fashion material and makes a chunky yarn ideal for crocheting and knitting.  The yarn is avaliable in a huge range of colours and designs.  The number one draw-card for me was that because the yarn is so chunky anything you knit or crochet with it is going to be a FAST project!

You can quickly and easily make handbags, soft toys, cushion covers, scarves, bowls, baskets and other home ware items with Zpagetti.  I was immediately taken by some lovely bowls they had displayed on their stand so grabbed a couple of spools of yarn, a pattern and bamboo crochet hook and was set!

Being a novice crocheter, it did take me a few tries to get used to the weight and elasticity of the yarn and to work out exactly how big I wanted my bowl to turn out, but once I had everything sorted out I had TWO bowls crocheted in under 2 hours!  So if you think you can’t crochet, don’t be scared to give Zpagetti a go – it really is simple.

First off, I made a fruit bowl for the kitchen bench – love the rustic, earthy feel the crochet look and chunkiness of the yarn gives.

I had a bit of yarn left over so started on a second bowl, it ended up a decent size and at the moment is housing eggs!

I couldn’t believe how cheap the cones of yarn are – $17.95 and you’ve got yourself two funky bowls!  These would be great to give away as gifts, and don’t have to be used in the kitchen…pop them anywhere to attractively store odds and ends.

I’m enjoying mine in the kitchen at the moment though…

Here’s a pic of the Hooked Zpagetti stand at one of the Fairs…they have HEAPS of colours to choose from.  There was also a gorgeous big floor rug on display at the fair, would love to make one of those…or some big floor cushions…or maybe a big round pouffe…

If you would like to try your hand at a bit of Zpagetti (and you really should!) then order now because until the 7th November, all Make It Perfect readers will receive a 10% discount on all orders placed through the Hooked Zpagetti website!  Use the code “Makeitperfect” during checkout to activate the discount.

Hooked Zpagetti Links:
October 19, 2011
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.Cool Shops! SIMPLE SHAPES.

It’s been a little while since I last shared a Cool Shop! with you – but it’s back again today and I know you will love it – welcome to Simple Shapes…
 
 
Simple Shapes is a gorgeous online store full of tasteful, unique and modern removable wall decals.  We have been looking at wall decals for quite some time…something to put on our long green entrance wall…but were having a hard time finding a design that was just right.  When I discovered Simple Shapes, we knew we had found a winner!
Simple Shapes vinyl wall decals are cut from high quality removable vinyl – so if you ever want to remove them, there will be no damage to the wall or paint.
They are so easy to apply, with very thorough instructions and helpful videos to watch, we had no trouble putting them up.
 

I actually stumbled across Simple Shapes one day and was taken by their chalkboard vinyl wall calendars.  I am a diary/calendar freak and love having everything written down and organised, however, I haven’t had a calendar on the wall for a few years because I can’t find something that I like.  Simple Shapes Chalkboard Decals are perfect!

I ordered the Weekly Planner Chalkboard Calendar and have been using it for a few weeks and it is amazing – even Jaron has been commenting that he is happy that he knows what is going on with everyone now!  I’ve been using the Chalk Ink Marker Pen with the calendar and it is much better than regular chalk – no dust, nice and bright and once it has dried, it can’t be wiped off unless you use a damp cloth.
 
We also got a Blowing Leaves Tree decal to decorate our green wall.  Ever since moving into our house, I have wanted a statement on the wall – the green is a statement on it’s own, but I wanted something a little more arty to pretty up the hallway a bit. 

 

We stuck with all white (you can choose from a heap of different colour combos) and love how it looks against the green.  This decal is HUGE – 4m long and 2.2m high, and it took Jaron and I almost 3 hours to put the whole thing up.  It was really easy to do though, I had visions of stuffing it up and ending up with a deformed tree, but everything was smooth sailing.  It could easily be done with one person, but faster and more fun with a friend 🙂

The one thing I was really worried about with the decals is that the kids would discover that they were just stuck to the wall and start picking them off over time, they vinyl is much thinner than I imagined though and is stuck on really well so I can’t see them doing any damage.

And to top things off I asked Simple Shapes to custom make me a speech bubble that I can use as a “To Do” list on the wall behind my computer nook.

It’s a little quirky and brightens up the space and is much more enticing to look at than a scrappy piece of paper!  Maybe I’ll actually start crossing things off my list more often now!

Some other lovely decals from Simple Shapes…

Children’s Growth Chart:

 Daily Dot Chalkboard:

 Weekly Planner Dry-Erase Calendar:

 3 Monkey Tree and Branch Vine:

 Tree with Forest Friends:

 Cherry Blossom Tree with Butterflies:

 Tree with Birds and Fawn:

 Cyclamen Flower Set:

And lucky you can get 10% off your order in the Simple Shapes Etsy store – the discount code to enter during checkout is PERFECT10
 
Important Simple Shapes Links:
August 15, 2011
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.June Cool Shops! Fashionable Fabrics.

Fabric lovers – have you visited Fashionable Fabrics lately?

Fashionable Fabrics is a lovely fabric boutique filled to the brim with fabrics from your favourite designers.  Fashionable Fabrics sent me some gorgeous cotton voile and cotton lawn fabrics to use for my review.  If you haven’t used voile or lawns before, I highly recommend them – especially when making clothing.  They feel amazingly soft and drape beautifully.

I made another Shearwater Kaftan from some Anna Maria Horner voile.  I love the summery colours and light weight feel that voile brings to this top.  This one is going with me to Sydney next week so if you want to see it in the flesh, come along! 

 

 
 
 
Fashionable Fabrics is easy to navigate around, with the store being broken into handy sections to help you find what you are looking for faster.  You can browse by New Arrivals, Home Dec fabrics, Japanese fabrics, Patterns and Books, Trims and Notions, and more!  Here are some of my favourite fabrics…

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about some FREE FABRIC for two lucky winners?  Simply “like” Fashionable Fabrics on Facebook and you’ll go in the draw to win a $25 gift certificate to use towards anything in the shop!

(Giveaway ends Sunday 19th June and winners will be drawn randomly.)

Important Fashionable Fabrics Links:
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June 14, 2011
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.June Cool Shops! Vegie Smugglers.

I know that you are going to LOVE this week’s Cool Shop – Vegie Smugglers…
 
 
 
Wendy Blume is the extremely talented author of Vegie Smugglers – a self-published cookbook aimed toward busy families who still want to eat a healthy, balanced diet.  Like most Aussie Mums, Wendy found it a daily struggle in the kitchen trying to come up with healthy meals that would satisfy her two fussy eaters.  Out of her desperation – and I’m sure after hearing many other Mothers complaining about the same problem – Vegie Smugglers was born.

Not only did Wendy come up with 60 + delicious recipes to feed your family, she was also  responsible for the photography and graphic design of this beautifully presented book.  What a clever Mum!  Vegie Smugglers is bright and colourful, filled with gorgeous mouth-watering photographs – in this case, self-published does not mean tacky.  The book is top quality.  

I own a heap of cookbooks, but for the majority of them there are only a handful of recipes that I might actually cook.  When I first received a copy of Vegie Smugglers I flicked through it and gave pretty much every recipe the “thumbs up” – not just for me, but I also thought that I could coax my children into trying most of them too.  (In our house, the “trying” part is always the hardest, once they’ve had a taste usually they like it!)

Vegie Smugglers is broken up into convenient sections from quick dinner fixes to freezable meals to sweet treats.  

The introduction of the book includes handy information about the nutritional components of vegetables (see picture below) and essential kitchen tools and skills.

 
I love the thoughtful details that Wendy has incorporated into her book – a “Rate It” and “Comments” section for you to jot down your thoughts or perhaps variations for next time.  She also includes a “For the Adults” variation for each recipe – a simple extra addition to make the meal a little more special for the adults you are feeding.  I have friends who cook two dinners a night – one for the kids and one for the parents, a waste of time and energy to me, so it’s good to have recipes on hand that will please everyone.

 In short, this book gets the big tick of approval from me!  We have tried a few recipes so far (although none of them have been photographed because I never seem to have time to pull out the camera during that busy evening meal time!) and they have all been delicious.  Next up, I’m looking foward to trying the Beetroot Tzatziki – it looks delicious and I have some fresh beetroot waiting to be used up.  Vegie Smugglers retails at $24.95 and can be purchased here.  (Word on the street is that Vegie Smugglers 2 is in the making – go Wendy!)

Wendy is genrously giving one lucky Make It Perfect reader a chance to win a free copy of Vegie Smugglers!  Simply “like” Vegie Smugglers on Facebook and leave a comment on this post.  
(Winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday 12th June.)

 
Important Vegie Smugglers Links:
June 7, 2011
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.The stash grows + interseted in being a Cool Shop?.

Oh dear, I have to confess the stash/shop is growing.  Remember just a few months ago I posted pics of my fabric cupboard?  Well, I’m happy/sad to say that there is no free space anymore.  Totally chock-a-block full.  I really need to start sewing more and buying less!
Which is really difficult when there are so many lovely ranges coming out over the next month or so.  My favourite at the moment is Joel Dewberry’s “Aviary 2”.  I love everything about Joel Dewberry and his cute wife, Laurie.  To make matters worse, he has just previewed his new range “Heirloom” at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City and it is really pretty…
I’ve just finished making a Versatile Wrap out of the mustard bird fabric…beautiful for winter.
I’m not much of a purple lover, but it seems to be growing on me and I love it mixed with aqua below.

 Also made a Wrap out of the black damask below:

When I was in Melbourne last week I popped into Textile Offcuts in Lilydale while I was waiting for Jaron to finish some work (thanks for the referral Karen!) I wish I had some specific projects in mind as I find it hard to purchase apparel fabric without a cause, but I did spot a bolt of houndstooth print fabric so bought a couple of meters for the stash 🙂

I love Carolyn Gavin’s range, Spring Street and stocked up on a few of my favourite prints.

And then there’s Sherbet Pips…I have to be honest, this range doesn’t grab me like it does other people.  It’s cute, but I’m just not sure what I’d do with it.  Didn’t stop me though!  I know that in about 12 months when it is hard to buy I’ll be wanting a bit, so got it while I could now!

On a side note…I’m working out my Cool Shop schedule for July/August – if you are interested in becoming a Cool Shop and advertising on my blog for free, read here for more information and send me an email!  toni (at) makeitperfect . com.au

June 2, 2011