Carly (now a redheaded bombshelle) and Paula (wearing a 1950′s party frock from Sassy Sue’s Designer Vintage Boutique) having a grand old time at the Goldfields Arts Centre for Breakfast at Tiffany’s!

Darlings! It’s been awhile but finally here are some photos from our Breakfast at Tiffany’s Frocktober Fundraiser, taken by the super talented & stylish Clair Stanton of Pictures by Clair. An absolutely fan-frockin-tabulous time was had by all, and thanks to the some 220 guests and the generous support of local businesses, we were able to raise a grand total of $5155.85 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation!

It was fabulous to see everyone dressed to the nines, so we had a very difficult time deciding the recipients of our best-dressed prizes; Nola Wolski, Krystal-Lee Miles, John Player and Laryssa Amesbury, whose Holly Golightly costume was just parfait, down to every last detail!

After a cupcake-baking and strawberry chocolate coating marathon, we were so pleased that all our home made refreshments were all gobbled up by appreciative patrons. Our guests were delighted to receive a goodie bag stuffed full of freebies from local businesses, including a voucher valued at $55 from Lush Body & Soul. A number of lovely prizes were given out on the night, donated by our generous sponsors Angus & Robertson Kalgoorlie, Indulge Cosmetics & Fragrance, Gravity Hair Boutique, Kelly Trow Photography, Pictures by Clair, Kelly George Intimo Consultant, Paul Robson Guardian Pharmacy, Lisa Freeth Jewellery Designs, One for the Road Kalgoorlie and Sassy Sue’s Designer Vintage Boutique.

Thanks must also go out to our eager helpers, Tina, Laura and Jess Bryce, Maxine & Nadine Ennor, Adele Leahy, Clair Stanton, and to Lynda & Max Fletcher, who generously donated 5 cases of Yellowglen Pink champagne! And a huge thank you to Peta Adams from the WA Cancer Council, Mary-Lynn Mather of the Kalgoorlie Miner, Beth Richardson from the office of Tony Crook MP, Lisa van Oyen from Wowkal, Elna Wright from Arts & Culture Goldfields, Anna Presser from PaperPak and all the crew at Vissign for helping us to promote the event!

Donna Malec, Andrew Hardman and all the crew at the Goldfields Arts Centre were incredibly helpful and easy-going, and made hosting this fundraiser evening an absolute breeze. We’ve already had some special requests for our next fundraiser, including Priscilla Queen of the Desert and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. We can’t wait for next Frocktober!

The d’vine Kerryn Lockhart and the d’lovely Laryssa Amesbury… and our d’licious vanilla cupcakes!

What would we do without our expert cupcake icers & gorgeous goodie bag stuffers, Tina, Laura and Jess Bryce?
Thank you ladies, you are wonderful!

Y’all might have noticed that the dames have been a little absent over the past couple of weeks. With organising a Frocktober Fundraiser, travelling to Perth to see the gorgeous Sarah Blasko in concert and doting on the new addition to the Dame’s family (more on that later) we have been very busy little bumblebees indeed! You might remember back in October we mentioned attending a delightful afternoon tea with the lovely Trish Little, where she bestowed upon the delighted dames a treasure trove of gorgeous vintage garments. WELL we have finally gotten around to photographing these fabulous frocks and have posted a selection of our favourites for you to feast your eyes upon. As most of the dresses are too tiny to wrap around our ample curves it is likely they will be lovingly re-purposed into something else (that is if we can bring ourselves to chop them up!).

This pink lace and satin beauty screams 80′s prom don’t ya think?

How gorgeous is the lace detail and pleating on the back of this apricot 70′s frock! *swoon*

Another 80′s party delight. The ruffled collar is rather sweet.

More pretty frocks, what a treat!

As a special thank you to all our guests to Breakfast at Tiffany’s this Saturday night, the Two Crafty Dames have made up a batch of these wonderful little badges starring the infinitely beautiful Audrey Hepburn in her role as Holly Golightly! Every guest will receive one of these special pins (picked at random) in the goodie bags handed out on the night.

If you are unable to attend on the night – or just cant get enough of Audrey – why not buy your very own set of 3 Audrey pins in celebration of Frocktober? All proceeds go the the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation!

Set of 3 Audrey Pins- SOLD OUT

Trish & Paula pose prettily on the magic carpet

It was with great delight that the Dames accepted another gracious invitation to afternoon tea with the fabulous artist Trish Little! You might remember from our last visit to Trish’s studio, my gushing about her beautiful decoration of her home with lovingly restored furniture, quirky and artistic objects, especially the various hand hooked rag rugs scattered about the house. And so our merry party did herald a special occasion: the unveiling of a custom-made hand-hooked rag rug especially for MOI!

It was love at first sight, and the love only burned brighter as Trish described the various recycled “rags” that had gone into its creation, a treasured length of fabric that was meant to be made into a skirt (or was it a jacket?), a print designed by an Aboriginal artist with a decidedly “Ken Done” colour scheme, and the green accent fabric meticulously dyed by hand to just the right colour to finish the zig-zag border of the rug. The artist masterfully wrestled with this 1.3 x 1.9m beauty, hooking lengths of fabric through a hessian base in arduous 85+ hour long process. Delicious texture underfoot, and jewelled colours glinting in a gorgeous harlequin pattern, this truly is a “magic carpet” which i will treasure forever…

…and as suspected, it looks completely wonderful against my 70′s “violent orange” loungeroom floor!

As if our delicious afternoon tea and the unveiling of the magic carpet was not enough, Trish very generously gifted to us some more of her vintage textile treasures. Dear readers, it is a great surprise we did not hyperventilate with all the gasping we did as Trish unveiled (with great bombast) one deeply fabulous garment after another. Stay tuned for a studio tour of Trish’s artistic abode and a photo story of the gorgeous garments!

If you would love a hand-hooked rug of your very own, Trish has several stowed away carefully, waiting for a loving home to go to. Email us if you would like us to put you in touch with the artist!

You can find out more about Trish’s artworks and the history of her hand-hooked rugs with this fantastic article and interview by Rebecca McLaren on the ABC Goldfields website.

Detail of the luscious fabric rags used in the carpet

How spoiled are we?! Homemade brownies and fresh mulberries from the garden for tea… Is it just me or are we suddenly characters in an Enid Blyton book?

Heavenly scented roses from Trish’s garden decorate the table

Until the 31st of October Hoola Hoop are getting right into the Frocktober spirit by offering very hard-to-resist specials on some of their beautiful frocks. A generous portion of sales from selected ‘Frocktober’  dresses will be donated to Ovarian Cancer Research, and 5% of sales from all full priced dresses will also be donated if you mention it’s for Frocktober.  So go ahead my lovelies and buy a super cute new dress guilt free, afterall it’s for a very good cause!

Left: The Diner Dress. Right: Fifi Gizmo Dress

Left: Gina Dress. Right: Fifi Ziggy Dress

As part of FROCKTOBER, the Two Crafty Dames invite you to this special viewing on the big screen of the classic film starring Audrey Hepburn. Get all dolled up in your prettiest frock (or most dapper suit) and invite a gaggle of girls (and guys!) along for a fabulous Saturday night out, 30th October 2010.

Every guest will receive a goodie bag including a special treatment voucher worth $55 from Lush Beauty & Wellness Spa! There will also be a swag of door prizes and freebies donated by our generous sponsors, Indulge Cosmetics & Fragrance, Gravity Hair Boutique, Pictures by Clair, Kelly Trow Photography, Kelly George Intimo Consultant, Lisa Freeth Jewellery Designs and One for the Road Kalgoorlie. Don’t forget we will also have prizes for the best dressed lads and ladies, so dress to impress!

Tickets are $30p/p and seating is unreserved (just like at the cinema), so you dont have to purchase your tickets all together- just show up with your friends on the night and grab a row of seats together before the film starts! You will receive a complimentary champagne supper of cupcakes, strawberries and chocolate on arrival, doors open at 7:30 for supper and the feature will start at 8:30 sharp. Tickets available online at http://goldfieldsartscentre.com.au/theatre.htm

Frocktober is a festive fundraising initiative aiming to raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF). Through fun – and sometimes quirky – measures, Frocktober is all about:
• Increasing the public’s awareness of ovarian cancer.
• Promoting women’s health and wellbeing.
• Celebrating the great diversity of shapes, sizes and colours women come in.

If you can’t make it to the event, please consider making a donation: payments are collected securely through Paypal. Thank you!

The Dames looking super proud of our very first market stall

The Dames had a lovely time at the Goldfields Spring Festival, the weather was mostly glorious and it was fabulous to finally have our handmade delights on sale at our very first market stall. Hoorah! We had lots of lovely goodies for purchase including gorgeous aprons, cute fabric button jewellery, adorable tea cup cacti, tasty fruit butters, beautiful silk roses, funky felt flower pins and fabulous art prints…. just to name a few! If you missed us at the festival fear not, you will be able to purchase our handcrafted items online very, very soon so watch this space!

Left: Festival goers were enticed over to our stall with free tastings of our delicious fruit butters and preserves. Right: Ladybird Jewellery by Julia Sutton, raising funds for the Kids Cancer Support Group. Lots of real lady birds visited our stall throughout the day, how befitting!

A selection of our handmade goodies

Beautiful silk rose pins by Studio Olive our Spring Festival honorary dame.

Gorgeous felt flower pins hand sewn by Carly

We couldnt resist giving you a quick sneaky peak at some of the cute things we’re making for the Spring Festival! We hope you’ll pop down to Hammond Park tomorrow (Sunday 10th October) between 9am and 3pm to say hello and enjoy the perfect spring weather– don’t forget a hat and sunscreen, and some spare change for a lovely cool icecream… See you then!

Fabric button earrings by Carly

Paula’s teacup cacti

Ok so it’s not handmade, but just had to share these beautiful girls that burst into flower to say hello this morning!

The dames were delighted to be invited along to “The Airing of the Quilts” at the home of local textile artist and “Crazy Stitcher”, Margie McIntosh on the 25th September 2010. Organised as a fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Margie adopted the idea from an American tradition where quilts are hung in a garden setting for viewing by the public.

A vast array of beautiful quilts by local and invited artists fluttered in the breeze on this perfect spring day- complimented of course with a delicious afternoon tea, fluffy scones with lashings of jam and cream! (Carly restrained herself but Paula helped herself to seconds). It was a pleasure to be welcomed into the home of Margie and for her to share the special stories behind each quilt. We look forward to the next “airing”!

Detail of a quilt by Paula’s primary school Librarian, Mrs Lois Nagle

Beautiful Everlasting “Paper Daisy” wildflowers decorated the tea table

By now you would have figured out that the Dames simply adore tea. What you might not know is that we also like to leave a light footprint on the environment. So naturally we LOVE these environmentally friendly tea cups! Aren’t they just the cutest?! If you want to get your hands on one of these little beauties head over to the Earthology Website.