We ❤ Ruffles!! | Our Market Stall Re-vamp

After almost 2 years our little business is getting a market stall makeover! We wanted to inject our love of fabrics, patterns and colour into our stall and show our faithful followers (the ones who know what people mean when they say "the table with the blue and white polka-dots") how much we have "grown up". We are big kids now!! 
It has certainly been an A-mazing time we have added a baby to the mix, juggled a hubby who flys in and out for ridiculous amounts of time, as well as a shift working hubby, toilet training children, tantruming toddlers, first time school kids and pre-pubescent boys! We have been lucky enough to meet some incredible people along the the way and learnt a heck of alot about ourselves, each other and the business world that is work-at-home hand-crafting mums!! So the time has definitely come to have a market stall that reflects how much we have changed from those 2 clueless first timers to where we are now!

Inspired by this lovely creation at Bella Studio, we started searching online for where we could purchase something similar. All the ones we found were $200-$400 and no where near as nice as what we envisioned and didn't quite meet "The Owl and the Elephant" criteria, so of course we decided we had to make our own! This meant it was time for one of our all time favourite things -  fabric shopping! And that was where the fun stopped..... next came the not so fun part MATHS! It was certainly an interesting time figuring out how to get the right amount of each fabric, how many strips of each fabric we would need to sew together to get the right length of fabric to go all around the table, and then getting the ruffle ratio to look pretty. What a flashback to high school algebra! You should see our 'working out' sheet. Josie was TOTALLY the brains behind this one *cough* she sucks at maths and Nat had to work it out pretty much single handedly whilst Josie entertained the m&m's (Max and Mischa!) with various forms of "spalarkaly" stuff *cough* copious amounts of snacks.

So for those of you wanting to play at home...here is a 'semi-tutorial' for figuring out your fabric requirements:

Trestle table = 180cm wide. We wanted to ruffle the front and sides and leave the back open for stock access and to avoid bulk and weight. So our overall length that we were wanting to ruffle was 330cm (75cm side + 180cm front + 75cm side)
We had 7 fabrics we wanted to use. The length of our table from top to floor is 75cm. So 75cm ÷ 7 = 10.7cm. We then added allowance for the top of the ruffle seam and an overhang so each ruffle covered the next one slightly, and made our strips 12cm 'deep'. 
After purchasing a ruffling foot (best....thing.....EVER!!!) we did many trials to find the perfect number of ruffles and the perfect depth that gave us the look we wanted. This worked out to just under a 2:1 ratio, meaning for every 2 metres of fabric we got just under 1 metre of ruffled fabric. So our 7 gorgeous fabric prints were cut into 12cm strips and we used 6 full fabric widths, sewn together to make around 6m per fabric type.

 Sooo bearing all of the above in mind....all up we have 42 metres of strips ready to ruffle!!
Here are some pics of the during stages...

All our strips joined together and edges overlocked (or serged) ready to put through the machine with the ruffling foot. 

Some closeups of our fabric combinations...

Feeding the strips through with the ruffling foot attachment. Best money ever spent, would have taken DAYS to sew gathering and gather them all up by hand...

Close up of the ruffling foot

Ruffly goodness glinting in the sunlight....sigh!!

And that is not all! We have more pretties in mind for our stall! Think lace canopies, Anthropologie inspired ruffle backdrops, patchwork logo-banners, shabby chic frames ad more....ahhh its is going to be divine! Can you smell it???? See us at the next Market Girl and Perth Upmarket.


If you love ruffles, be sure to check out one of our favourite Perth designers, Alana from Yuminess Textiles. Her ruffles are sought after nation-wide and we are so proud of how her business has grown. She puts the awesome in amazing!

Thought of the moment: 

Sewing: A creative mess is better than tidy idleness.  ~Author Unknown

Babylove | A baby shower for an Elephant

So - want to know what a baby shower for an Elephant looks like? With a little girl on the way and a nursey decorated in red and white (with a splash of blue) it looks a little like this....

Recycled repurposed book decorations......

A few (million) doily "puffs"

Doily bunting......

Helium balloons (which the Owls LOVED inhaling afterwards - does that make me a bad mother? Squeaky voices are so funny though!!)

Plenty of food! Chocolate coated strawberries made just for Mrs Elephant by the eldest Owl child, cupcakes from Kustom Cupcakes and more!

My present to Mrs Elephant? A vintage style pram hunted down and kept secret for weeks
(which near killed me!)

As promised - a "forced" photo of a very pregnant elephant - she looks so happy don'tcha think??

Also from the Owl - a handcrafted elephant by the VERY clever Emma Maker 

and an "I don't have a sewing machine" handsewn quilt and pillow (dont look toooo closely!!) to match baby's own cot set. Look how beautiful this little elephant is!

Gosh those stitches look extra dodgy on camera! Lucky it was made with so much love!!

Also wrangled up some handcrafted name blocks...clever (and modest) much?! :oP 

Gorgeous gifts from gorgeous friends...

Lots of chit chat and laughs....

A more natural "hahaha I just took a photo of you and you didn't see it coming" style preggo shot - how lovely is that baby bump??

More presents.....

Including this BEAUTIFUL handcrafted gift from the very lovely Shelley who will soon be opening her own business. For more information email us at sales@theowlandthelephant.com.au and we will happily pass on your details. (and stay tuned - we will definitely let you know when she is up and running)

My favourite "game" by far was "Nat's hospital bag" - each guest was asked to bring something practical or fun to put into Nat's makeshift hospital bag. There where lollies, chocolates, condoms (tee hee) and one of our favourites....... cabbage leaves!!! (We love you Pauline!! And I love this photo hahahahaha)

What did I think was absolutely essential for Mrs Elephant's hospital bag? Well seeing she point blank refuses to let me in to witness the birth first hand 

(no way, when hell freezes over, all my bits, blah blah PFFT whatevs!!!) ....

A photo of me of course!!!! (I WILL be in the delivery suite - I WILL!!!) 

What would YOU have put in Mrs Elephant's hospital bag?

Thought of the moment:

If I had my life to live over, instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realised that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

Irma Bombeck

Sweet Dreams | Shabby Chic Bedhead

Ever since buying our new ensemble bed almost a year ago I have been searching high and low for the "perfect" bedhead, one that suited my "style" and was not going to cost me an arm and a leg.
After months of frustration I turned to Pinterest. Why on earth did I not do that sooner? I dont need to hunt down a bedhead - I can make one!! (with a little bit of help from Mr Owl!)
I am so in love with it! Made with repurposed recycled wood, white washed and laquered and shabbied within an inch of its life, I love how rustic it is! Heck i just plain LOVE it!! Everytime I walk past my bedroom with its perfectly arranged throw cushions (an ocd habit I learnt off Mrs Elephant) I cannot help but *sigh* its just so damn lubly..... So tell me - what do you think?

If you love it as much as we do - we would love to make you one! Stay tuned to our website as we will be listing them for sale very soon.

Thought of the moment:

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me.

Steve Jobs

Sometimes people are just plain lovely | Little Brown Owl

Sometimes its so easy to get caught up in our own little worlds and focus on the negatives. Who can blame us? Turn the news on at night and count the "happy" stories (and no I dont mean the one token oh look a cat got caught in a drain pipe lets finish the news on a high kinda story!)


But sometimes,there are moments which just make you smile, and sometimes people are just plain lovely...


Here is one of those stories.


A week or so ago I posted a link on our Facebook page to a tutorial to make a coffee cup cosy with of course another moustache on (yes, we ❤ moustaches at The Owl & the Elephant and aren't afraid to admit it!! See here for more moustache lovin'). Now I would have LOVED to have added it to my projects list and found the time to make it, but let's face it...I am having a BABY in 6 weeks!! Prioritise!!


Anyhoo, a number of our lovely likers commented on it and one of them was Lori from Little Brown Owl. This gorgeous lady offered to MAKE ME ONE!! YES!! I was so blown away with such a gesture. Now Josie has been known to refer to me as the Ice Queen, in the most affectionate way possible and I fully acknowledge I am not one to show my emotions and aren't the 'huggy type'...but this offer actually made me get a little misty-eyed! I was totally blaming the pregnancy then thought, nup...you know what? That was a REALLY nice thing for a stranger to do! So without further ado...I hereby present my lovely gift that arrived in today's mail...

So thank you Lori!! I love it!!!!!!!

Thought of the moment: 

Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything it covers

What does an Owl make an Elephant for Christmas?

Josie The Owl is one of those 'awesome present givers'...you know, the type that spends ages thinking about the perfect present for someone? No gift vouchers, socks or chocolates from that gal...she takes present giving very seriously!

So what did The Owl make for The Elephant this Christmas? Something she was bursting out of her skin to show me and tell me about days before Christmas...that's what!!

NOW I know why she was asking me what my favourite scripture was...I couldn't pinpoint one so she had to stalk me on Pinterest and see which ones I had been pinning!

Seen here with Earl the Elephant, yet another awesome gift from The Owl, made by the ever so talented Robyn at Focus on Art

We love doilies here at The Owl & the Elephant, and are busy pinning LOADS of projects to captivate their frilly goodness! Have you seen any good doily repurposing?

And if you like the look of this one, be sure to check out Josie's hand-made rustic wooden signs made from repurposed palettes on our website. She custom makes a fantastic We Are Family sign which incorporates all your family names in a scrabble board style format. Or do you have your own favourite inspirational quote you would like? Contact us for a quote.

This is another of our favourites: 

Available on our website

Stay tuned to see what The Elephant made The Owl for Christmas!!

Thought of the moment:

Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock.
Walter Benjamin

spending our hard earned dosh....

The hardest part by far of working at the markets with so many other amazingly fabulous retailers is trying hard not to spend all our takings! We have also developed quite an addiction to online "browsing" in search of further handmade goodness! The credit card does not thank us but it is however an absolute joy to support Australian handmade.

Here are some of the beautiful items we have not been able to pass up from Perth handcrafting geniuses!.....

We both bought two dolls each from the lovely lovely lady behind Elsie and Jim. They are simply too cute to pass up, she is just lovely and her prices are ridiculous!

The littlest Owls are receiving these gorgeous playhouses from the beautiful Nicola at  Poppy and Bea - check out the photos, they really speak for themselves!!

I (Mrs Owl) can now be seen proudly strutting my stuff with my simply divine Charlotte shopper crafted by the clever Maz at  Tex & Joe  :

This stunning upcycled ring:

is a christmas present crafted by Robin Gage designs and purchased from the lovely ladies at foxes of fancy. They have so many beautiful goodies which are all entirly 100% eco friendly to boot!



Robyn at Focus on Art is the mastermind behind this beautiful elephant gifted to MY beautiful elephant earlier this year:

and another of her amazing pieces is heading to a lucky family member in Sydney for Christmas as we speak!

We are both proud owners of delicious handmade necklaces from Handmade by Elbie - can you really blame us?

ALL The Owl and the Elephant offspring will soon be spending their time madly playing these amazing handmade games crafted by Amber from Mollydagmade

This cute as a button "superhero" dress was custom made for Miss Owl by the wonderful Victoria at Brusselsprouts and is definitely a favourite! As is the matching pirate set modelled by Master two!

What have been some of your favourite handmade purchases? We would love to hear about them!!


Thought of the moment:

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping.  Men invade another country.  It's a whole different way of thinking.  ~Elayne Boosler