If you follow SPW’s Facebook page you might have seen this photo (left) that I posted a  few days ago. One of my great friends Charlene works for ADRA, a NGO at their New Zealand office. She’s currently on a 6-week trip visiting communities they are supporting. At the moment she’s in Nepal.

Here’s her most recent status update:

(Sorry Charlene, you’re in Nepal and I can’t call to ask your permission to post your status update to the world. But I’m pretty sure you would want the world to hear your message. Not that the whole world reads my blog… xo)

BTW, this is what she wrote for the first photo (top-left): ”seriously lol… I thought we were coming up to a wedding or something but it was my welcome to their village! They even wrote a song about thank you new zealand for changing our lives! ”

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You can make a donation to ADRA New Zealand Projects here.

I tell not a lie, as we drove and neared the small wooden church the scenes before us were magic to behold. Driving down a narrow but perfect country lane, ribbons of light danced between the small openings in the trees which created a canopy of natured we wished would never end.

One couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The ceremony was held in the cutest wooden church in Eureka, North NSW, Australia. Followed by the reception at the Fig Tree Restaurant overlooking Byron Bay. As promised, photos from my good friend Amber’s wedding. A photo says a thousand words, so I need not say more… except, that their talented photographers were Dom and Heath from DEC Creatives. Enjoy.

Well, before I get into that, I  just want to say how much fun this has been!

From the sweet to the silly, seeing the entries roll in over the days has been a highlight! Being introduced to things I’d never seen before (like the cleaning slippers, and the squirrel whisk!) was almost as good as some of the entertaining comments (see Zosias!).

So now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

da dum da duuuuummm…..

Prize One: Morris Donkey Memo Holder goes to (Activating random number generator.)… Louise M who suggested the Dr. Who badge for her boyfriend! Congrats on winning the cute lil donkey! 

Prize Two: $30 Amazon.com Gift Card go to (Sheesh this was a hard decision!)… Kimberly M who suggested the Genie Slippers for her husband!

Thanks to Kimberly, the next giveaway will be two pairs of the Genie Slippers, one for the lady and one for the lad! (plus another Amazon Gift Card) Update, the 2nd prize will be the item mentioned in the entry.

Be the first to know when the new giveaway is open by subscribing to SPW via email here, or RSS here!

Thanks to everyone that entered and hope to see you here next time!

Oh, and before I forget, I’m putting together some of my favourite suggestions from you to create a reader gift guide!

With a newly purchased 4L tin of Ledman Charcoal paint waiting to be the new feature wall colour for our master bedroom, my mind has already turned to what new artwork could be the crowning piece on the wall. Here’s some inspiration I found for some DIY artwork that won’t break the budget!

① Loving the vibrant colours against a crisp white background! {found here}

② Jordan from Oh Happy Day gives a fantastic step by step tutorial on how to create abstract art. (fyi – This chick has moved from the US with her family to Paris for a year – jealous much?)

③ I find this way of making abstract art very intriguing and quite stunning. A full tutorial from Salvage Savvy here.

④ Such a great idea from A Beautiful Mess! Turn a cheap canvas from an op shop/thrift store into a typographical work of art! Step-by-step tutorial here.

⑤ From Two Girls Being Crafty, an abstract circular piece of art. See the tutorial.

⑥ I just love this from California Callahans! The materials and tools included an $8 piece of plywood, a dremel, and chalkboard paint! Think of the possibilities! 

⑦ I really am in love with this eye chart! Gus and Lula even have a free download so you can use it too!

⑧ While this isn’t a diy, it just shows the impact of using scale and alignment with something so personal like your own photos – Ace Hotel

⑨ I’m smitten with these racquets! While I don’t think they’ll break up the dark feature wall I’ll be painting, it’s something to keep in the back of my mind. From countryliving.com (Unfortunately I couldn’t find the original link.)

⑩ This artwork from Oh Happy Day just makes me smile. Definitely will consider doing something like this one day.

⑪ I saw this and though, “That’s just gorgeous.” Little did I realise it was fake moss, and it cost $6.99 for 3 pieces! Tutorial from Crafts ‘n Coffee.

Hmm.. so many options! What to do?