I spent last Saturday making my vintage doily brooches. I made 64! Now I'm just waiting for an order of brooch clips so I can sell them. Hurry up postman. I also decided to start selling my brooches online, but will make a new etsy shop to sell them in - alfalfabunch. I've found that I am making more upcycled and vintage items, so want to create a shop just for them. I'm really excited about this, but want to do it right, so haven't uploaded the items yet. That will be my aim this weekend.

Also, this weekend I'm planning on having a stall at the Magpie Markets in Lawson, weather permitting. Hopefully I'll get some Christmas spending money from it. I've never done the Lawson market, but it looks really good. Wish me luck.

I had a great time at the Mathilda's Market last Sunday and sold heaps. One thing I found was that lots of people wanted silver lockets - which I didn't have much of. That was because I couldn't find cheap lockets in the shape that I wanted. A way to solve this - I got my brass lockets silver plated. I'm really excited about doing this, as I can get all of my jewellery plated in different colours. I used Armen Plating, in Camperdown - right around the corner from my work. They did such a good job. I had a whole lot of old tarnished lockets that I couldn't bear to throw away, but thought I'd never use them. Now they are brand new. I'll load some silver lockets on etsy soon.

Mathilda's Market showcases and sells beautiful handcrafted and limited production baby and kids goods. Carefully handpicked stallholders bring the most divine and original clothing, accessories, homewares and toys for the little ones. Exquisite wares are lovingly made by some of Australia’s most talented crafters and designers – many of them parents themselves. It’s a shopper’s heaven for those who want to stylishly dress their children or decorate their kids’ home environment, but don’t want to buy mass produced, chain store items. At Mathilda’s Market you’ll see the funkiest and most gorgeous of outfits for the kids, chic bedroom decorations and furnishings, bright and brilliant toys, must-have accessories, pretty and practical bags and shoes, dreamy vintage-inspired creations, handcrafted musical instruments and jewellery, fabulous dress-up costumes, striking linen ... and so much more! As most of the stallholders don’t have a shop front, you are guaranteed to find something truly unique. Come and see our stand at the upcoming Mathilda’s Market on Sunday 1 November, from 9am to 1pm at St Ignatius College Riverview, Tambourine Bay Rd, Lane Cove. With 80 stallholders, great kids entertainment and yummy food this will be a fantastic day out for young & old. For a sneak preview, have a look at the website (www.mathildasmarket.com.au). I look forward to seeing you there!

I've got laryngitis, so am having a rather frustrating weekend. My Doctor said the best way of getting rid of it is no talking. No antibiotics. Its really hard to not talk - I don't want to be rude when people start talking to me. I really should stay at home, away from everyone, but today I've visited Reverse Garbage, Victory Antiques, and a Vintage Clothes Fair in Sydney (Mrs Peel had a stall there). I really haven't spoken much, but more than I should.

Speaking of Vintage, how cute is my weather thingy. Whats the name of them again? I had one as a child and saw this in a newly opened Vintage shop in Katoomba. It sits on my reclaimed coffee table (tv gone). Right now the woman is out, which means the weather is meant to be dry. It isn't, but she makes me much happier than the eye sore that was our tv.

We're in! After a lot of nail biting waiting, we (Alfalfa and Meeabee), found out we are in the November Mathilda's Market. I was told by another fellow stallholder, at the last market, that November was full, so I feel very lucky to get in. We've got six weeks to stock up (less for Meeabee as she has to send them from Japan), so I'm buying lots of supplies from etsy. My lockets were the best seller, so I want to make heaps. I need to buy a jewellery stand for them too. Any suggestions?

My new crafty adventure - trying to find placemats and doilys with cute embroidery, in op shops, to make jewellery. I was trying to find some cross stitch patterns online, when it occurred to me that I had a supply of embroidered fabric placemats ready for me to use. I played around with them and they are perfect for my large rings and brooches.

As soon as the op shops were open on Saturday I was there, as I want to buy a large supply of them. I didn't dare go into the vintage shops in Katoomba, which there are many, as I knew their placemats and doilys were $5 - $15 and I wanted to buy a few. I knew that if I went in them, I'd end up spending, as I can't control myself. At the end of my shopping trip, I had a few placemats and doilys, but I had the feeling that the vintage sellers had already visited the op shops. I'll just have to visit them regularly.

This week I'll be playing around with my stash of placemats and doilys. Yay.

I've been playing around with making cross stitch rings. The cross stitch fabric is quite large, which limits my patterns. I'm going to buy some really small cross stitch fabric, so that I can make some more detailed patterns. What pictures should I make? I'm thinking of trying some antique floral patterns. I'd also like to do some embroidery ones. I'm not going to make heaps of rings though, as it all puts stress on my arms and hands.

I've just made cooked playdough for the kids at my preschool. It is much better quality than uncooked playdough - less playdough crumbs on the floor and carpet after playing with it. A teacher at work suggested that I sell it at my next market. Thinking about doing that. Today is a bit of a test, as I've separated the mixture into three lots before adding the dye.

If you are ever in Blackheath you have to visit the beautiful quilt shop Ribbons and Rainbows. I seem to find myself in there every weekend, looking for any treasures, and coveting the beautiful fabrics.

I had mentioned to the staff there, a few weeks ago, that I was in search of bezel settings and wondered if they knew of any shops that I could find them. Since then, I have been totally spoilt, with the owner looking through her cupboard for her stash of settings (I post my creations with these another day). Also, today I received these five settings from a staff member, who found them at the charity shop she works at. I think I will embroider something in them, as they are really quite beautiful, and deserve something special. I'm thinking of something classic, maybe using bullion stitching (her suggestion), or cross stitch. Any suggestions?

I've updated my shop a bit with some new things. These pegs did really well at the Mathilda's Market, so I decided to make some more. I'm also going to make some for my stationery crazed sisters and friends as part of their Christmas presents. Etsy have some great suppliers of pegs, but I'm trying (failing) to curb my spending. These pegs were really cheap from kmart. I've promised myself that once I sell out of them I can buy the funky Japanese pegs I have my eyes on.