In With The New...

So, it's almost here already...  2013!!! Oh my goodness, where has the last 12 months gone?!? Only 2 more days {here in Australia} and everyone will be yelling HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

To start my New Year I have decided to have a little fun - and create some memories along the way..  I am going to participate in the "Photo A Day Challenge" over at the wonderful Fat Mum Slim!! Even though I know my business 'plate' will be full straight from the start of 2013 {Yay!! Thank you my wonderful clients xx}, I think taking 10 minutes a day for ME by doing the January Photo Challenge is a great way to start off the year with a little balance..

Here is the January Photo A Day List, click here for all the information!

I'll be sharing my photos here on my Blog as well as on the FMSphotoaday Facebook Page, so feel free to follow along in my fun - or join in yourself!!!!

Hope you all had a 'fascinating' Christmas and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the support with Litte Miss Fascinated over the past 12 months. I look forward to sharing the next 12 months with you all too!! Let's 'Enjoy The Journey' !!!

Smiles and Happiness, Haylie xx

Phone Home...

You are wandering through a Junk Market or Garage Sale when you see that one piece that no matter how bad in shape it is, or how random a piece, you can already see the finished result in your head...

Well, that was this gorgeous Antique Telephone Table I found at a secondhand market last Saturday!! I knew as soon as I saw it what I wanted it to look like after it had come home with me and had some loving put into it...

Antique Telephone Table Original

And the end result..

The After..

 

The drawer was left in its original wood and a dark stain added... 

I had been saving this DIVINE fabric for the right project and I knew this was it.. 

Some finishing touches - Like my parents Wedding photo taken 41 years ago..

The Before and After..

I'm SO, SO happy with the finished look!
Now, if I can only find that perfect antique telephone to go on top one day...

Smiles & Happiness, Haylie xx

Christmas has arrived at LMF...

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around the Little Miss Fascinated office at the moment with the start of our Xmas stock starting to take shape!!

Shabby Stocking available in store (click the pink link here)

Our first lot of Shabby Christmas Stockings have been uploaded in our Made It Store 

Shabby Christmas Stocking available here (click on this pink link)

Shabby Christmas Stocking here in store (click on this pink link)

Only 11 weeks to go - have you started shopping yet?!?

Smiles & Happiness - Haylie

Spring has SPRUNG...

The sun is shining, the breeze is still cool enough to enjoy and the gorgeousness of Spring/Summer goodies have been calling my name now for a while!! I can't wait to start making pretties to suit the new seasons!

To celebrate the beauty of Spring, I have a 'Vintage Bloom' Patchwork cushion to giveaway to a lucky fan!

Nine individual patchwork panels combine to make this handmade, French inspired divine decor piece
 Left side shows the back of the cushion in floral hues, right side shows the front with all its gorgeous patchwork ~ and it comes WITH AN INSERT already inside

 Cushion is approx 28cm x 28cm in size

For a chance to be in the running to have this little cutie arriving at YOUR door for free, simply follow the steps below and enter in the Rafflecopter! GOOD LUCK!!!!


RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY ~

1.  To gain 2 entries share this giveaway with your friends and family.  To do so click here and 'public share'. (To public share, select "Share" and then choose the public option to make sure I can see it). In your status type "Little Miss Fascinated wants to say thanks with a Spring Giveaway! Head over to the blog & find out how!" AND you can do this once a day!!

Once you have done so scroll down to the bottom of this post to the Rafflecopter application and log in to access your entries!

I will check that you have shared so please don't click 'done' unless you really have done so..

2.  To gain an EXTRA entry (via Rafflecopter again), you can 'LIKE' us here 

3.  How about another entry?! Simply leave a comment below on this blog post!

{Once again, I will be checking that you have done these to gain your extra entries!}

{PLEASE NOTE ~ COMPETITION IS WORLDWIDE AND INCLUDES POSTAGE, EVEN FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS!! Competition runs from Friday 5th of October until Friday 12th October...  Winner drawn & announced Saturday 13th October}



a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Thanks From Me To You...

WOW!!

We have reached an amazing milestone of 7900 Likers on our Facebook Page over at Little Miss Fascinated, and I would like to give away a "Couture Winter Bundle" as a way of saying thanks!
I appreciate every single person that has ever hit that little 'ole 'LIKE" button (or the old original 'Become a Fan' button! Lol) at the top of my page since we started in early 2010 ~ I wouldn't be where I am today without all of you.

 

I have a gorgeous 'Couture Winter Bundle' that is looking for a home amongst our 7900 likers somewhere, and by following a few easy steps it could be yours! It consists of a Pink Crochet Beanie with a Removable Satin & Pearl Fascinator and a pair of matching Couture Leg Warmers - both to fit from 6 months to 6 years.

So, how can this uber cute set become yours?!? EASY!!  

1.  To gain 2 entries share the this giveaway with your friends and family.  To do so click here and 'public share'. (To public share, select "Share" and then choose the public option to make sure I can see it). In your status type "Little Miss Fascinated wants to say thanks with a Couture Bundle Giveaway! Head over to the blog & find out how!"

Once you have done so scroll down to the bottom of this post to the Rafflecopter application and log in to access your entries!

I will check that you have shared so please don't click 'done' unless you really have done so..

2.  To gain EXTRA entries (via Rafflecopter again), you can 'LIKE' us here AND Leave a comment below on this blog post! Once again, I will be checking that you have done these to gain your extra entries!

{PLEASE NOTE ~ ONLY STEP 1. IS MANDATORY TO ENTER THE GIVE AWAY!!!! STEP 2. IS JUST THERE IF YOU WANT EXTRA ENTRIES}



ANYONE can enter from anywhere around the world - Shipping and Handling is included (even for our international friends!) and the competition will be open from the 21st May 2012 until the 28th May 2012.

GOOD LUCK EVERY BODY!!




a Rafflecopter giveaway


THANK YOU to everybody that entered the Giveaway (and keep your eye out for our 8000 liker giveaway coming up next week too!) 

AND THE WINNER IS.......  JESSIE BOAN!!!!

That's a Wrap..

Well, yesterday was a very productive day! I finally got my new sewing machine (after my previous one of only 4 months started playing up!) along with my new sander and upholstery gun, which meant I could finally finished Project Number 2 - 'The Toy Box'!

This piece was one of those things I brought home where dear hubby raises one eyebrow and gives me 'that look'. You know the one I mean - the 'That Should Be In Somebody's Dumpster Right Now, Not In Our Living Room' look. And I don't blame him to be honest. It was damaged, a bad colour and just plain hideous.. BUT I saw past all of that and saw the potential in it to be the last piece of furniture I needed to complete Miss 4's new room :o)

I took the lid off the hinges and ripped up that old peachy cover thing, which then turned out to be like 'Pass The Parcel' because after I pulled the first layer off , there was another random layer underneath! Lol
So 4 layers later it was back to the original lid which needed a good clean and sand, and I also repaired the slight damage to the body..

Few coats of paint later and we were getting somewhere! I found this gorgeous chic floral material in my stash that I thought would look wonderful. I then set the lid with padding (to make it more like a settee on top) and attempted my first try of upholstering with my new gun. It went better than I expected, though I look forward to learning some more about it all!

Screwed the lid back on and I was done...  not bad for a couple of dollars & it holds all of Miss 4's goodies with room for more!

I love that is practical now not only for her toys, but as extra seating in her room too - Let me know what y'all think!

Oh, and here is a Project Number 3 sneaky peek :o)

Smiles and Happiness, Haylie xx

Baby Steps...

Well here I am on my new blog mission - 2 posts in 24hrs, not bad hey?! Lol

I thought I would start sharing my new found creative passion with you all as I run with what is inspiring me currently, and post how it actually all started.

Quick Note - After becoming addicted to Restore Interiors by the lovely Kelli Wright only recently, I have since learnt to photograph your pieces in great light before AND after your restoration...  So sorry in advance to the poor pictures I had already taken, and I have put a new camera on my birthday list (hint, hint hubby!).

I wanted a few pieces of wooden doll furniture for my Miss 4's new shabby chic room (which you can see come together here in From Tink to Chic) and knew that I either had find a budget I didn't have to buy them brand new, or try my hand at restoring some pre-loved items.

I found this great little hand made wooden cradle for a steal online just before Christmas. Once again, excuse the picture. I had more on my iPhone but have recently updated to the iPhone 4S and lost my last few shots - so this is all I have of the cradle  before :o(

I then found a cute little high chair on a garage sale site that was only $4!! Bargain...

After sanding & prepping I decided to paint the cradle in a White Gloss (oh my smurf - gloss paint is hideous to work with & I am trying ever so hard to source an Australian supplier of Annie Sloan chalk paints & waxes!!!) - If you find one or know of one PLEASE let me know!!!

I finished off with a light distressing of the cradle and the same on the high chair. I wanted to make the two pieces a little more vintage feeling, so I added these two moldings to both - which I think worked perfectly!

I still have the bedding to finish off, but had the cutest material ready for it - and Dolly was happy to help too for photo purposes! :o)

So all in all, I am happy with project number 1 - Baby Steps - and am actually almost finished project number 2!! A sneak peek of what's coming up perhaps?!?!

HIDEOUS AT THE MOMENT - but watch this space!

Hope all is going well in your creative space!

Smiles & Happiness, Haylie xx

7 Months Later...

Forgive me Blogger Gods, for I have sinned.
It has been 7 months since my last Blog....

Yes, 7 MONTHS!! And yet, when I started this blog, I thought I would be on here a few times a week! Well, at least ONCE a week at a minimum. But life just takes over at times, and until one has been fully bitten by the 'blogger bug' I think it is just another business tool that some of us think of as "I'd better get onto this blogging business that everyone else is doing, to keep up with the rest of the social media world!"

But I have discovered recently it can be much, much more than that. I'd watch others on Facebook or Pinterest talk about how they LOVE such-n-such's blog, or that they are excited that (insert business/person)'s new blog post has just been published. And honestly to me, it seemed like a LOT of random reading trying to keep up with all these writings!

 

You see, I was feeling a little lack of inspiration for Little Miss Fascinated since the Christmas break. Well before then even to be honest, and those of you that are avid followers of my facebook page would have noticed the lack of posting and goings on with it all.

I think the hardest thing to do was to actually admit it.

Being a WAHM comes with a lot of guilt that you're not pulling your weight work/financially at times for your family when you lose your creative mojo. And as much as I tried, I just couldn't find ANY inspiration to feel creative again. Suddenly, just opening the doors to my office came with this overwhelming feeling of sadness, frustration and guilt for not wanting to even enter the room. And the LAST thing I ever wanted to feel was pressured & burdened into being creative..

Then something interesting happened... I discovered another passion that has simply engulfed me!

I am in love with restoring furniture....   Yes, TOTALLY random I know. And not really a money maker (as of yet) but I am slowly becoming ok with the fact that more than anything, it has finally restored (no pun intended! Lol) my creative mojo. And I have one person to thank for helping get to this place recently..  And that is the GORGEOUS Kelli Wright from Restore Interiors.

This fabulous mother of 3 has one of the most amazingly creative talents I have ever seen - she literally breathes life into old pieces of furniture and items, giving them a whole new lease of life.

I have always been a garage sale/op shop queen and on many occasion have brought something home with a vision of what I could creatively do with it to re-vamp some new life into it. Though I never thought I had the craftiness or talent to actually do something totally new & transforming with something from start to finish. The mental picture was always there, I just didn't know where to start. Until I found Kelli's blog!

So now I can confidently say, I have been bitten by that earlier mentioned 'blogger bug', because the day I discovered Kelli's blog I literally read the ENTIRE blog from start to finish in one go and am now waiting on baited breath for her next post! Lol...  NOW I UNDERSTAND, FELLOW BLOG ADDICTS!!!!

So I look forward to getting this blog & my creative mojo back up & running, and although it may not be about hair clips & fascinators like I originally intended - it will be about me, and the new life I am breathing into myself and my creative side once again. For those of you still trying to find your own mojo, all I can say is don't be afraid to look in directions you never possibly thought of before - it may not be in what you want or even expect, but it is there waiting for you and you will find it again...

Thanks to you all for popping over here & I hope you all stick around - I think it's going to be one heck of a ride!

Smiles and Happiness, Haylie xx