Our New Supplier – Penny Scallan!

We’ve been excited to be able to welcome Penny Scallan products to our Moo Woo range! This is yet another favourite brand, particulary for mums and children! One of my favourite ‘family friendly’ accessories are the Penny Scallan Totes. They are fantastic for the beach, pool, family outings, anytime you need to drag along extra supplies! They can fit so much, infact probably occasionally too much!!

Our Wet Season Treasures!

With our monsoonal ‘wet season’ rains come many opportunities to explore and visit the waterfalls and water holes around Kununurra! During the wet these special places come to life. The frequent downpours fill the dry holes or flush away the stagnant waters which have sat still during the dry.

Recently we’ve been spending our Sunday mornings on family outings to one of our favourite spots called Champagne Springs. A little retreat where the kids can swim and we can relax and escape our everyday routine at home. As you can see we are well and truly relaxed!!

Champagne Springs, Kununurra during the Wet Season

Four...soon to be five!

An Ocean Treat…from KiaSynnoeve Jewellery Design

This beautiful necklace has been designed and created by KiaSynnoeve Jewellery Design. Handmade by Kia, it features a large sterling silver sea turtle charm with seahorse and cluster of stunning red coral.

Kia’s ‘treasures of the ocean’ collection are a tribute to the ocean and the creatures that live in it, for everyone to wear and carry with them.
Having spent half her life growing up in northern Norway, when Kia returned to Australia the beach became her favourite past time which is where her admiration and love for the ocean and its creatures has developed.
This is a beautiful summery tribute to our ocean treasures.

Our Christmas Break is over….Bobble Art has arrived!

I have four new boxes of delightful Bobble Art Stock sitting in my dining room! It has arrived today and it is time to get busy again! Penny Scallen should also come this week!!! Note to myself….no more ordering! Only two months left till the baby arrives and I’m meant to be winding down! Hah!

2010 – What We Know and What We Hope!

What will 2010 bring for you?

We all have our little hopes and dreams for each New Year and Cam and I have a few. Personally I’ve tried being realistic as I know 2010 will be busy! Probably my most important one is to try not to sink, I’m having days already where my head is just bobbing above the water!

So what do we know it will bring:

~Most importantly a new baby! Come late March our family will expand to three little ones!!! We’ll have a Mia Moo, a Tyler Woo and a…funny but all that comes to mind when I say this is ‘poo’. Yes, we’ll have plenty of that again too!

Our little baby girl - Mia

~The new baby will bring family, YAH!!! My parents are in Tasmania and the last time I saw them was when Tyler was born nearly 2 years ago. This is one of the disadvantages of living in the Kimberley. I often feel quite isolated and ache for family time. Unfortunately the cost of flying out is huge and the distance to travel (with kids especially) is tooooooo far! So here we stay!! Cam’s Mum came up last year which was great and we will also see her again after the baby is born!! I’ve told them all – “Stay as long as you wish!”

We know these thing WILL happen, so what do we hope for?
~For Moo Woo to grow , for more people to find the shop and love it!

~To save some dollars…hard one considering I won’t be working (hence the above wish!!!)! Ultimately we would like to buy land and build our own home, perhaps here in Kununurra! I definitely think I’m the one that needs to work on this one, a little more impulse control perhaps!

~To complete our Camper Trailer! Cam’s working on this one and is making some nice progress. Once finished we can try it out, maybe camping at Home Valley Station or Elquestro Station. There will certainly be some practice anyway before we launch into a great road trip with the family.

That should probably do it! Of course there are the usual New Year Resolutions – eat better, exercise and sleep more but I figure there is no use worrying about any of these for quite a while yet!

Hope your dreams and hopes come true in 2010!

Quality Quilts

Whilst I know little about quilting, and lack patience or time to sit and quilt, I do know that Bev Hayden is an immaculate sewer and a very clever woman.

Bev is VERY local to Kununurra and is a family friend of my husband’s family. Cam grew up here with Bev’s children. I’ve got to know Bev myself not only through the family but through her amazing generosity. For each of my children she has created amazing, single bed sized quilts – one displays the alphabet with corresponding images for each letter and the other depicts life in Kununurra. Bev creates these very unique and special gifts for friends and relatives alike, out of pure kindness and her love of quilting.

Some of Bev’s work is for sale in our handmade sections. We have a range including lap quilts, single and double bed quilts and small baby quilts.

These beautiful baby girl, panda themed quilts would make a lovely gift for a special friend or family member on the birth of their new baby. This size is perfect as a floor rug for baby to kick on.

The centre of the quilt features a rail fence design and the corners are embellished with beautifully quilted vines of flowers, leaves and butterflies. The white sections of the quilt have been finished with small stipling giving the quilt a perfect finish!

Rail and Fence Design Single Bed Quilt

New Bobble Art range now in stock!

We have received an exciting new range of Bobble Art products, many perfect for the commencement of the school year! Our new range includes just some of the following beautiful products, all found in our ‘More Children’s Gifts‘ catalogue page.

Backpacks, Library/ Swim Bags, Pens, Lunch Boxes and Stainless Steel Drink Bottles

My favourites include these gorgeous case sets and jewellery boxes!!

And of course for our little Aussie men, this great Aussie Rules footy money box suitable for young and old!!

More of the new range will hopefully arrive soon and will include a greater range of the above products plus trinket boxes and jewellery!

My Child Magazine

My Child Magazine’s Editorial Co-ordinator Ellie Baker recently found our Moo Woo Store and reviewed some of our lovely art created by artist Kerri Blades. The review is featured in their My Style Blog.

This site is definitely worth checking out as you will find links to many little online stores with some unique and creative gift ideas!! My Child, My Style Blog. It is also a fabulous site for families with a great range of resources available.

A lovely Christmas and PLENTY of Rest!

Luckily my Christmas tree at home received more gifts than the Moo Woo Christmas Tree!!! How appalling!! I will admit to being totally unsuccessful in wrapping Moo Woo gifts for you all!

I had smartly made the decision, prior to Christmas that I shouldn’t be wrapping for Moo Woo when I hadn’t even wrapped and sent my own families gifts off. So it was time to focus some energy on Christmas preparations, my beautiful family and me!!! I got to work and successfully prepared and posted parcels to Tasmania, New Castle and Perth in time for Christmas, completed the shopping for Mia and Tyler, prepared (with the help of Cam and Mia) some lovely Rum Balls for friends, spent a little more time with my two beautiful children and tried to put my feet up a little!! My feet have only really had the rest they needed over the last couple of days!

Even with this focus I really didn’t quite achieve all I aimed to achieve! I managed to send ZERO Christmas cards to friends and extended family and completely failed to get out a group ‘Christmas email! Very unlike me…considering last year I sent EVERYONE a Christmas card which I had handmade!!!!!! OH how life has changed!

So I do hope that you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas, filled with love, laughter and the presence of loved ones! We enjoyed a beautiful Christmas here in Kununurra with our gorgeous children, some lovely friends and of course plenty of good food! Unfortunately for all of the build up the day goes far too quickly…and already Mia has asked about next Christmas!!!

I received (hand picked by me of course!) a great new Canon Digital camera which I will soon put to work on some new products coming online in the New Year! I need to work out how to use it first to achieve the results I’m looking for…a photography course could really come in handy! Whilst it does the full automatic thing it can also be manually operated and has many great features that I need to investigate. Better start reading the manual!

Unique, Handmade Baby Gifts

Unique, affordable and beautiful!

Don’t you love that text or call, the one that marks the arrival of a new little treasure to the world! We have waited 9 months, often wondering the sex, debating the size and joking on the name! Finally the special moment arrives and all our wonders are answered!

It is such a special occasion and at Moo Woo we have a range of beautiful and unique handmade baby gifts for you to choose from. Each is something completely different, something you won’t find in a shop, so you certainly won’t have to worry about double up!

We have a range of gorgeous paper bag albums from Kimberley Red Cards and Papercrafts. New parents can display special photos, ultra sound images and write comments. The paper bag pages double as pockets, allowing you to store memorabilia, such as letters or emails from friends, hospital tags, etc. These are truly special gifts, immaculately made and one-off designs!

Cath Menzies at Totally Scentual, a local Kununurra business, has supplied us with a divine range of natural handmade skin care products. We have a beautiful pack prepared for babies, which includes the following products:

Baby Massage Blend
A special blend suitable for newborns and up. A mild, natural and non-greasy blend of Hazelnut and Jojoba with Pure Essential Oils of Lavender and Chamomile to help calm and soothe your baby. Suitable for a loving massage after a bath, or more topically to help ease colic, settle your baby to sleep or soothe nappy rash. Experience the magic of touch.

Baby Bottom Balm
A soothing cream rich in oils to calm and heal tender bottoms.It allows the skin to “breathe” and create its own protective barrier against the irritation of nappy rash. Includes Sweet Almond Oil, Calendula and Lavender.

Baby Soap
Naturally unscented, this soap is especially designed for the skin of newborn babies. With extra Sweet Almond Oil to keep the skin nourished and prevent dryness, this soap is 100% natural and is also excellent for those with eczema, dermatitis or other sensitive skin problems.

White Singlet (000) x 1

These products have been tried and tested on my own babies and are absolutely wonderful. It feels great as a parent to use only natural products on that lovely new skin. Personally with my two children I loved knowing that I was not subjecting their little systems to the chemicals and toxins found in synthetic, commercial products.

We also have some lovely handmade soft toys in stock. These include designs from Samia at tullykat alley – rabbits, itty bitty blankies, superhero’s and poppettes! Samia is a mother of three living in Victoria. She designs and creates all items in her spare time and has a knack for using lovely fabrics and creating unique toys.

Summer Lee Little Poppette

Beautiful vintage chenille handmade products are included amongst our range. These are made by Leah, mother of four, living in Queensland, Australia. Leah collects beautiful vintage chenille and designs and creates the sweet babushka dolls, Scottish dogs and carrot rattles. These are so special and sweet! The will be absolutely loved!

More baby products can be found online at Moo Woo – Handmade Baby and Children.

Frogs, frogs, frogs

Our green tree frogs

Frogs are our number one garden friend, we are definitely a frog loving family! My children adore them, in fact my daughters friend ‘Jesse’ (which is the name for every medium sized frog in our garden) comes in for a play quite regularly.

Samia’s frogs from tullykat alley have also proven to be quite a hit. They have such character, a beautiful big smile and gorgeous long, dangly arms and legs! They make a wonderful gift for adults, children and babies.

Christmas is coming and so is our rain!!

I LOVE this time of the year in the Kimberley! It does get very, very hot and humid but it also begins to get nice and cloudy! This means rains, storms and lightning, and often lots of it! We have had many beautiful storms already over the past month, which is quite early. Usually we expect them late November/ December.

Our Kimberley Moon!

Because our kids see very little rain for a great part of the year they are usually, initially quite scared. My little man who is only 19 months has only just ‘recognised’ and seen rain for the very first time, and is scared. To alleviate our daughters fear I talk about the wonders our tropical rain brings. I tell her how it helps our plants grow (quite rapidly), how our rivers fill and how the fish are happy, how ponds and puddles form for birds to splash in and the frogs to lay eggs in. This is the time for tadpoles which of course she loves – we can physically watch the cycle of life happen before our eyes. And how everything else gets a great big clean!

Our daughters little friend 'Jesse'

She can relate to these stories and she will now occasionally strip off her gear and play in it. Something you can only do in the tropics!

Crimson Finch or Blood Finch

Cam and I love the wet, it’s a time for swimming, enjoying waterholes and fishing! This is the best time of the year to catch Barra and already he’s caught a few. My days of fishing are on hold at present, it’s a little difficult taking 2 small children around croc infested water.

Great Catch!

Middle Springs during the wet

A little too much rain!

New Cards from Kimberley Red Cards and Paper Crafts

Kimberley Red Cards and Paper Crafts - New Cards on Moo Woo

We now have in stock a new range of gorgeous greeting cards from Sara at Kimberley Red Cards and Paper Crafts. Visit our Handmade Cards section to browse through our newly ‘renovated’ catalogue page.

Oh poor blog!!!

Our new range of beautiful stock!!

Oh dear, how neglected has this poor blog been!! Where did it all start…well off to Darwin we went well over 3 weeks ago now for a little break. It was wonderful with many kiddie outings, coffees, market’s and shopping! The deprived were well and truly satisfied, the shopping done manically but successfully!

This being our first ‘holiday’ with a 1 and 3 year old we realised that holiday’s were actually quite tiring and not so much restful anymore. So yes luckily school holidays greeted us on our return and rest, routine and spring cleaning were on the agenda. How refreshing, just what we all needed!

I managed to do a MASSIVE amount of Christmas stock ordering for Moo Woo during my break…then we toddled back to work – that’s my other job as a teacher. Of course shortly after my stock has started rolling in! Busy photographing and uploading…NOT BLOGGING !!!

So it’s hopefully time to get back into routine and I really don’t know where to start!

I MUST announce the winner of my Newsletter Competition – oh so late!!! It was Fiona Bohn, a local Kununurra Resident!! So well done to Fiona and thank you so much to all for joining up to the newsletter!

We have had a massive amount of new stock arrive at Moo Woo – both handmade and commercial products so here is a glimpse of some of the products you will find as you peek through our store.

Our little parcel from Russia has arrived!

It arrived!! Like Christmas at our house!

It was a little like Christmas on Wednesday when our little parcel of goodies arrived all the way from Russia…and I certainly wasn’t dissapointed!

Our little keeper!

Our dolls are all available now online in ‘More Children’s Gifts’ section. You will find all but this little set! Yes I just had to keep one, how could I not! Our little girl is delighted!!

Our Clever Aunt!!!

Indian Doll

Jeanette's Butterfly Doll

You can look and admire every inch of these two beautiful dolls as ALL that you see has been handmade by Jeanette Carson, our very clever Aunty! Jeanette has spent months and months creating the dolls and their costumes for entry in the Victoria Doll Show, starting this Wednesday in Melbourne! All the very best Jeanette, you will do well!

COMPETITION Details – Moo Woo October 5th Newsletter Launch!

Prize Pack valued at over $70.00

We will be launching our newsletter on October 5th and have decided to mark the release with a little competition! ALL those who have signed up for the newsletter since our opening will be in the draw to win!

The prize pack, valued at over $70.00 includes an Alimrose Anya Cow Cuddle Toy (valued at $32.00), a Splosh White Frangipani Desk Clock (valued at 19.95) and White Frangipani Magnet ($3.95), 5 x Moo Woo Greeting Cards (valued at $20.00) and a Moo Woo Butterfly Hair Clip ($3.50).

All you need to do is SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter by OCTOBER 3RD to be automatically placed in the draw. The winner will be announced in our first ever newsletter, launched on October 5th!
Subscribe NOW!

Magic Reversible Hats

Magic Hat made by 'Creations by Gaysie'

More on Sale at Moo Woo Handmade Cards and Gifts - Handmade Children's Gifts

Finally I have spontaneously captured these hats in action…so excuse dribbles on our little man’s shirt!

They really are very clever and beautifully made! Reverse the hat and you get a totally different look, making them a versatile fashion accessory.

We have a range of hats on sale at Moo Woo for babies and toddlers, boys and girls. For sizing we recommend you measure your little one’s head circumference at the forehead. After trying them the recommended sizes seemed quite accurate! Please note I will refund returns where the hat does not fit!

‘Creations by Gaysie’ featured on Handmade Kids – ‘Fabulous Friday Finds’

This beautiful little reversible hat has been featured on Handmade Kids and is a ‘Creation by Gaysie’, a local Kununurra resident and yet another extremely creative and clever woman! I do need to take some shots of my little lady wearing them…a job to add to the list.

The hat is featured along side a Tote Bag – by Your Cheeky Monkey, a gorgeous skirt by Tilly Tom Designs and a Smallish Ducks Cot Quilt by smallishdesigns

Moo Woo ‘Too Cute’ and ‘Too Creative’ little discovery !

Wild Things Blue Bouquet Bloomers

A little baby bottom tucked into these gorgeous colourful bloomers!! They definitely win my vote of ‘oh too cute!’

A gift!

Kerri Blades - 'Dream', 'imagine', 'Wish upon a star' & 'Believe'

On Saturday Kerri dropped off some new creations to our Moo Woo market stall, Kununurra! As my customers were pouring over these beautiful paintings one of the customer commented ‘I have goose bumps’! These four beautiful originals were responsible for this reaction. Such is Kerri’s ‘gift’, her ability to reach into and touch something inside! Dream, Wish upon a star, imagine and Believe are available on Moo Woo in the section – Children’s Handmade Gifts.

Honey Sticks

I LOVE my little man drawing but tend to avoid crayons because I absolutely loath him eating them! I then came across Honey Sticks and was about to launch in and buy a packet when I though…mmmm why don’t I buy packets for everyone to access! Let’s protect as many little bodies as we can!

• These crayons are made from made from New Zealand Beeswax
• Contain Non-Toxic ingredients
• Are safe for children
• Are environmentally friendly
• Have a unique durable and ergonomic shape
• And are difficult to break

These will be in-stock around mid September!

Dichroic Glass Pendants – New creations from Caren!

New to Moo Woo are these extremely artistic and beautiful pendants made by Caren Burns from Caren’s Creations! Caren has spent alot of time developing her pendants to create real art, and is exploring new techniques and colours. Check out our new selection in ‘Handmade Adults Gifts’ and keep an eye on the site as we increase Caren’s range.

Traditional Handmade Russian Stacking Dolls

10 Piece Red Daisy Collection

Olive Green Wood Burn Russian Stacking Dolls

As a child I owned a set of beautifully detailed Russian Stacking Dolls! They captivated and intrigued my little mind! Moo Woo will soon have it’s own collection!
Flying across the globe, and hopefully arriving in 2-3 weeks time are these gorgeous handmade creations! I will be eagerly checking the mail, awaiting their arrival!

Relaxing day in!

As a mum don’t you just love the days when the car doesn’t move from the drive, you stay in your favourite comfy clothes, the kids are content, playing beautifully together and YOU GET A LOT DONE!!! I’m presently revelling in the day I’ve had and hoping tomorrow brings the same! Thank goodness for the sane moments!

Our little dress from Ollie Rose

Lola Dress from Ollie Rose

If you haven’t checked out Kobie’s new collection of designs at Ollie Rose, you need to! This Ollie Rose ‘Lolo Dress’ looks absolutely beautiful on my little angel…well – ’sometimes’ angel! It’s one of Kobie’s new creations. Kobie’s work is of exceptional quality and her choice of spring fabrics just perfect. Thank you Kobie, I’m sure we will get many years of wear out of this one.

Time to meet Kununurra, the home of Moo Woo!

Elephant Rock - Lake Kununurra

Time to visit the home of Moo Woo Handmade Cards and Gifts! What a great place to showcase our beautiful Kimberley region, the inspiration for many of the handmade products on show at Moo Woo Handmade Cards and Gifts.

This is Lake Kununurra, as seen from Celebrity Tree Park in the heart of Kununurra! Lake Kununurra was formed after the creation of the Diversion Dam in Kununurra. It fringes the Kununurra Township and stretches to the Lake Argyle Dam wall, 56kms by boat or a 40 minute drive from Kununurra.

It is the place we can retreat to for a nice day out on our boats – fishing, skiing, sightseeing or simply relaxing!

The above photo’s were taken by a friend of mine, Adrian Broughton, during his stay for our wedding in 2005.

Kimberley Red Cards and Papercrafts

Imagine a mother of a new baby girl receiving this very special gift!! These handmade paper bag albums are created in Kununurra by Sara of Kimberley Red Cards and Papercrafts.

Sara has a talent for combining beautiful papers and embellishments, quotes and poems to create these unique gifts! The albums fit one photo (or two small photo’s) per page, which can be mounted using various types of photo mounts.

The other useful feature is they have pockets and tags which provide the opportunity for journaling, adding special memorabilia or more photos. They come beautifully presented in a tulle bag, including pamphlet and gift card.

Moo Woo Handmade Cards stocks Sara's albums for both adults and children. Themes include new baby boy, wedding, nana, sister, friend and someone special.

Cupcake or….?

I was recently given the mission to create a card for a friend. A girl friend of his had had an operation to improve the size of her bust. He wanted to congratulate her! I needed the card to be classy, not tacky. This is what I came up with!
This card will soon be added to the Moo Woo ‘Celebration’ range.

Kerri Blades Visual Art

Kerri Blades recently moved from Perth to Kununurra with her young family. She brought with her, her amazing talent – the ability to create earthy, heart warming visual pieces of art. I absolutely loved the poised, tranquil owl, symbol of wisdom.
The Kimberley region has also inspired many of Kerri recent pieces, in which she captures the beauty of our ranges, the earthy tones, outback travel and indigenous life.