The Heidi Brooch Series is part of the work that I showed in the recent fräuleins orchard exhibition at Urban Cow Studio.

The fräuleins show might be over but Heidi is not going away so easily, in fact let’s call this an online mini Kitty exhibition, for those who didn’t make it to the show or who missed seeing the intricate details of the Heidi’s amongst the big gallery setting.



















This is one of the six Heidi Brooches. Cut from a branch of an Apricot tree with my Japanese wood saw, I then sanded a nice smooth surface & stamped the image on. My dear friend Holly gave me this vintage set of rubber ink stamps a few years ago.

They are ladies from different regions of Italy

Take a look at the original ink tin that came with the set

Once I had stamped the Italian ladies onto the wood I felt that they needed some colour. This is the part where I called upon the expertise of my neighbour Christine McCormack, a brilliant artist & lovely lady, who said to me when I showed her this work in progress “oh they remind me of Heidi”, referring to a children’s book by Johanna Spyri, called Heidi



















Oddly enough I found this copy of Heidi in at Salvo’s store just yesterday, which inspired me to make this post. Somehow I managed to skip this classic book through my childhood so I will begin reading it as my next bed time story.



















Special thanks to Christine who hand painted each brooch with acrylic paints which we then sealed with layers of varnish.



















Riveted & glued in from a second secret layer of wood on the reverse of each brooch is my carefully crafted brooch pin. The spring loaded steel pin is finished to perfection & will remain secure without leaving any gaping holes in the garment you wear it on.

So now I hear you wondering where can I buy one of these 6 treasures? Please snap them up here if you would love one!

I confess, it has been 366 days since since my last kitty clutch upgrade. Since this post where I snatched up the jewellery bling clutch, I have been using & loving it every day since.

Stuffing around 20 cards, cash, coin & receipts in there, throwing it in my bag & fishing it out again, for 366 days without it’s original good looks fading much at all is, I think, a testament to the longevity of the Kitty Came Home clutch!

Today the jewellery bling clutch goes into early semi-retirement (her services no doubt be called on again) and I finally gave in to the temptation of this amazing geometric black & cream clutch as an absolute must have!

This fabric came from a box of sewing scraps I found in a northern suburbs charity opp-shop. There was only enough fabric to make 2 clutches, one for me & one for you potentially…

Yesterday I was op-shopping with my friend and fellow jeweller, Ewa Card Trinket Maker and just as we were about to leave empty handed & a wee bit disappointed, my eyes caught a sideways glimpse of something special! A beautiful stack of never been used vintage, pure Irish linen tea towels, each with a different kitschy cute animal design. Of course I couldn’t help myself and purchased six of them, Ewa took one & the volunteer lady behind the counter who failed to notice them earlier took the rest.

At first I thought I would keep them all to my greedy little self but have since decided to share the love & list one tea towel per day for the next six days on my Etsy shop.

Day 1 – giddy up horses

I have been meaning to post about this exhibition for weeks now, but I have been so busy making the work for it that time has slipped by! This is the second fräuleins show following on from last years fräuleins playthings success.

If you happen to be in Adelaide for the opening night please come along To Urban Cow Studio from 6pm on Wednesday June 2nd or RSVP to the Facebook events page.

I have been making some wooden gem neck pieces for the show as well as some other surprises.

Meet the other fräuleins, Georgia Gabrielle, Joelie Crosser, Naomi Murrell, Elisa Mazzone, Anna Creasy, Ruby Chew & Peta Alannah Chigwidden.












Ramble down an orchard lane
Climb a ladder in the dappled shade.
Pluck sweet fruit for jam, then
Lie back on lawn and listen to the leaves

Hope to see you there!

This is something I started doing about 12 months ago and to date have had 18 sales, all of which make me smile! Personally I love shopping on-line. I can avoid the crowds and cues. The best bit of course is a couple of days later when the post man knocks at your door with a parcel. It’s like Christmas! HOORAH!

Check out this months issue of Frankie magazine. Kitty Came Home has a little feature & Frankie gives us two thumbs up! HOORAH!

The latest shop to stock Kitty Came Home goodies goes by the name Pussy Cat Black sounds like a match made in kitty heaven!

Check out their super cute blog or even better… visit their store in person at 3 Edward Street, Brunswick VIC

This week the lovely ladies at Finders Keepers dropped me a line to ask a little bit about Kitty Came Home. Take a peek at their blog article here

Button stitching

This December Kitty will be venturing out of Adelaide & heading to Sydney to show off a bundle of goodies at the Finders Keepers Market.

Finders Keepers Market

Friday the 4th & Saturday the 5th of December at Carriage Works. A great chance for Sydney – siders to get a good dose of Kitty’s ever popular vintage clutches as well as checking out the 2010 diaries, shopper bags, jewellery, the KCH wallet & heaps more including of course a wee bit of nanna craft!

Pop it in your diaries now so as not to forget & miss out. There will be around 80 talented little independent artsy types, designers & makers to tempt you with their wares!

A great opportunity for shop owners to source new stock for their stores and for everybody else to snap up some of the best Christmas presents your loved ones could wish for!

Hope to see you there.

The newest design from the Kitty Came Home studio, The KCH wallet, is for boys, girls and the environment. Hand made from 54% reclaimed PVC, this wallet is functional, well wearing and easy to clean. Available in clear or as one of four screen-printed designs, when filled the KCH wallet becomes unique to you: cards, currency and wallet wares can be arranged for display or hidden away.

KCH Wallet architecture in box

Check out more pictures of the KCH Wallets there are 4 different designs plus a clear version.

Want one now? Check out the Kitty Came Home Shop Finder page for a store near you!