Textile and craft tours

Hello friends,
I know many of you share my love of travel, silk, fabrics, craft cooking and eating! This might interest some of you .....

Yesterday, my lovely customer Narelle from www.2worldtours.com.au came to see me to collect some lanterns. We got talking, and I'm fascinated with what she does - I think she has the best job in the world! She organises and accompanies small group humanitarian and cultural tours to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India and Africa. These tours specialise in hands-on textile and craft classes, markets, silk embroidery, weaving and cooking with local villagers.

This has caught my eye - learning how to make the silk lanterns in Hoi An, Vietnam!!










Images from www.2worldtours.com.au


The Textile Arts Festival is on this weekend 25-27 June at the Convention Centre. If you are in Brisbane and this interests you, pop in and see Narelle.

I think I'd like to spend some time in Cambodia or Laos as I haven't been there yet! Who wants to join me????

What a great week!!

Aside from getting up at 4am to watch Australia get thrashed in the soccer, we all had a very lovely week.
Frankie is settling in very nicely, and Patsy is very happy to have such a sweet baby sister.



We have put her to work straight away - she has her own little bed set up in the warehouse in case she needs to nap!



Patsy has been showing her around!



And teaching her to check the paperwork!



Sooooo tiring though!



We are busy preparing for the next shipment - only 6 weeks away, but so much to do. I can't wait - there's so many new things coming!!! More on that later!

Keeping my fingers crossed Australia can win their match this weekend .........
or at the very least give us an exciting match to watch!!!!

Happy weekend :-)

Meet our newest assistant!

Hello friends! Meet Frankie :-)


She is our new assistant to my hardworking assistant Patsy!! She is 10 and a half weeks old, Shihtzu-maltese and has just joined our little family today!!

So, now I am a busy mother of 2!!! - when am I ever going to get time to blog!!!! ;-)

My new favourite .....

Hello friends - thanks for all the birthday wishes!! I had an especially nice day!

One of the reasons I enjoy travelling so much, is the excitement of trying new foods! And I was not disappointed on this recent visit to China. I discovered a brand new fruit I have never tried before - YANG MEI.



I spotted the lady selling this interesting fruit, and decided I must try this immediately :-) So my friend and host Mary bought me a bag to sample!



Mmmmmmmm - they taste as delicious as they look!!! Sort of like a cross between a raspberry and strawberry!!!



I have not seen this anywhere else in Asia that I have been, so was very curious ....
This is how it looks after a bite :-)



Have any of you tried this before?? I hope you get the opportunity one day!!! I even brought back home with me a bag of dried yang mei which I'm saving for a rainy day .... or a day very soon i think!!!!

Wishing you all a very lovely week!!

Custom-made silk signage

Hello friends! Look what I got in China!!

A custom painted silk scroll in Chinese characters for 'Lanternshop'. I just love it. Its now proudly hanging on my office door - I'm positive it will make me more prosperous!! :-) I also have some other styles which I'll show you when they are photographed - these will go in my warehouse/shop!



And here's my happiness hanging - love this too :-)



I've just about finalised the details for the next container!! So many great new designs of solar, led, paper, metal lanterns, fans, party decorations and more!! Very exciting .......

Also, its my birthday tomorrow!!! :-) Yippeee!! I'm having a 12 hour sale at www.lanternshop.com.au to celebrate!
Guess this means I'll be extra busy on Wednesday!! Have a happy week!!

Tranquility ....... Chinese Style!

Luckily, I had one and a half days of free time in Shanghai at the end of my very tiring trip! And in a busy city of a few hundred million (feels like it, anyway), its just about impossible to find a quiet place!! But I did!!!! :-) - and here's the proof.








I got up very early, and it was raining, so thankfully the gardens were quiet! Although, after about an hour it was pandemonium when the thousands of tourists started to arrive.

Located in the old town, the Yuyuan gardens are stunning - definately my favourite place! I was able to recharge my batteries before heading to Nanjing Road - the famous shopping strip, which is approx 10km long of shops :-) More on that later!

Have a lovely day - I hope these pictures give you a lovely feeling of tranquility! :-)

Back from China!

We're back!! Its been a long absence, as I couldn't access my blog or any others from China - I've missed you all!!

Got lots to tell, but I'm too tired right now. A big thankyou to sweet Patsy, who worked so hard while I was away taking your orders and running the business (with Mr Dragonfly's help)! Here she is with her souvenier Panda. She loves it!!




So many great new lanterns and wedding accessories are on their way to Lanternshop. More details soon!!!! Will share my China pics too as soon as I can!
Have a great week!!