Quick little note to let you know that we're away pretty much until the end of the year (we're coming back in time to catch the New Year festivities and fireworks!)

There will be sporadic posts here and there but we'll mostly be quiet. 
Thank you for your support and camaraderie during these few months that Gloriousmess! has been around.. looking forward to bigger, better things in 2014 and hope you're right here with us for the ride!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hope Santa made everyone happy, and if not, then moms, dads and family made up for it :)

What do you usually do for Christmas?

Ours is a quiet one with a minimal wooden tree and I bake a gingerbread army :) There's usually a cozy little gathering or two happening during the weeks around Christmas to catch up with friends. Sometimes, it's the first time all year we've managed to meet in person.. that's kind of sad, huh?

This year is a bit different. We had a lovely time at our friends' wedding at the Botanical Gardens, and even though a lot of people balked when they heard it was on Christmas Eve, I think it was really sweet.

Speaking in very general terms, Christmas is about being with family and enjoying the little things we often take for granted for many people who aren't religious. Other holidays can, and are opportunities to do this, but there is something magical and festive about Christmas. The cynics will argue that this "magic" probably has something to do with all the Christmas songs, holiday decorations and mass commercialization of the holiday in more recent times. I guess I'd have to agree with them to an extent.. all of that gets us in the "mood" I suppose. 

As for the Christmas Eve wedding, I think that it can't go too badly when you're mixing the warm, happy vibes associated with weddings and the happy, cozy vibes associated with Christmas. I whipped up a portrait of the yoga-loving couple (in Missy Messy style of course) as a little present for them. Silly me. Was too excited to see it framed and wrapped in gorgeous thick paper from Pulp Creative and forgot to take a picture. So this is all you get to see! And with that.. May this holiday season bring you plenty of Joy and Om!

With Christmas day right around the corner, I'd like to share some very pretty table decorations picked from all over the internet by our friend Agi over at Passion shake!

An eye-catching decor or centerpiece doesn't need to be an expensive, frustrating monstrosity! Here are a couple of little hints and tips to hopefully make your decorating day a bit easier if you haven't already planned it!

• Grouping lots of small things together can create a wonderful bigger piece overall. For some reason, I prefer my groups to have an odd number of things - 3 glass bottles, 7 mini plant pots, etc. If you only have an even number of something, add a little bauble, ornament or small trinket to the mix that will match the style and color.
  
• Elevate it! It's not just about creating more room on your table. Sometimes, less is more. Creating different heights on a table using cake platters. You can make your own by joining together a candlestick and a plate, essentially. If you've got the time, go ahead and paint it, but we've used IKEA candlesticks with wide mouths and just stacked our dishes on top. It's meant to be a last minute, temporary fix after all!
• Bring Nature indoors with potted plants, flowers, sprigs and berries depending on what the season is for you. No point fussing about holly and berries too much if you're smack in the middle of Summer like we are here in the Southern hemisphere!
• Light some candles and tealights, and place them in colored glassware or jars. If you have empty wine bottles lying around, you've got a ready-to-go taper candle holder that you can cover with paint, plaster, glitter.. or all of the above!
• Fairy lights, fairy lights, fairy lights! Or string lights. Whatever you call them.. they don't just belong on the Christmas tree! I'm talking about the plain white ones (I think they go well with any decor compared with multi-colored ones) Battery-powered ones for the table, or chuck a strand in a glass or mason jars and bottles. We attached ours to our entry doorway and also have some secured under the overhanging counter top in our kitchen island breakfast bar thingie. Ups the ante on FESTIVE a whole new level ;)
  
• Personalize it! Decorate large cork coasters/pot mats/stands/sheets with metallic or white paint pens and personalize each one with your guests' names as a take-home keepsake at the end of your gathering. Doodle anything from asterisks to a caricature on the cork.. it will all look amazingly cute regardless.
• And last of all, BAKE your centerpiece :) Here's an example of our little gingerbread tree from a few years back for a cozy lunch we had with just 4 of us around the balcony table. The snowman on top was born when I didn't know what else to do with the leftover gingerbread dough...
  

Do you have any little tricks and hints of your own that you find essential to help you speed your Christmas plans along? I'd love to learn a few more to have up my sleeve!

A huge CONGRATS to Rachel for bagging all the goodies from yesterday's giveaway!! Watch your inbox for our email  over the weekend and remember to reply within 48 hours for us to know where to mail your prizes to!

Like I said on Facebook, I hope everyone had a bit of fun and caught some Christmas cheer with our T'was the week before Christmas Giveaway! Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU for being such good sports and joining in the fun! I think I speak on behalf of all of us prize sponsors when I say that I (we) had a blast with the giveaway :) Hopefully, this will become an annual tradition where we get a chance to showcase a bit of handmade talent each year. If that's something you'd like to see, don't be shy in letting us know! If you know of any awesome artists, or is one yourself and would like to be part of our Giveaway next year, give us a holla and come say hi :)

We're flying off soon to attend a Christmas Eve wedding and will be taking a break from making and shipping our goodies. Our store will still be open to take orders, and all orders received between December 21st and January 6th will be mailed out from Januarty 6th onwards. We'll still be available to answer questions, or to have a chat but it'll be a bit quiet here at the blog and in-store during this time. 

I hope everyone will have a safe and merry Christmas and a , and regardless of whether you can be with friends, family and loved ones or not, I hope that you'll find joy and happiness during this holiday season! And if all else fails and you're still a grumpy little grinch come Christmas day, I dare you to go smile at yourself in the mirror and come tell me you didn't feel a teeeeeeeny tiny bit happy, if just for a split second ;) 

Congrats to Donnalynn! Keep an eye in your inbox for messages from us (Gloriousmess!) and Lady Papery so you can tell them where to mail your prizes to! Remember to reply within 48 hours or we'll have to pick a new winner and we don't really want to do that.

If you didn't know already, or simply just missed the last four days of awesome giveaway prizes, you're still in luck! Today's prize is a whopper of a prize! Valued at over $90 worth of prizes.. you will be winning the following:

• 1 Christmas Tea Gift Box - Limited Edition byLove, Dot & Daisy
• 1 Roly Poly Gift Tag Set by Gloriousmess!
• 1 Blank Wooden Tag Set by Gloriousmess!
• 1 Handmade Leather Bird Brooch by Rulitos
• 2 Medium Hair Bows by Prince + Tower
• 1 Hand-printed Cotton & Linen Snap Purse byRabbit & the Duck
• 1 Doily Coaster Set by Ovieda

Get a clickin' below! You only have until 11:59pm tonight, Sydney time to get your entries in. Don't forget to increase your chances of winning by submitting bonus entries!

P.S. We have to tell you about the boring, but important stuff - This giveaway is open to internationally and winners will be announced tomorrow morning on this blog. If you are a winner, you will need to provide a valid mailing address to the individual shops sponsoring your prize(s). No purchase necessary to participate in this Giveaway. Please refer to contest rules link found on the PromoSimple widget for further terms and conditions.

Congrats to Annabel!! Keep an eye in your inbox for messages from  Strawberry Jam Studio and Rabbit & the Duck so you can tell them where to mail your prizes to! Remember to reply within 48 hours or we'll have to pick a new winner and we don't really want to do that.

Today's your day, fellow stationery addicts! We (that's Gloriousmess!) and Lady Papery have teamed up to giveaway an awesome combination of a 2014 calendar garland and a gift-wrapping set worth over $35! These soft, dainty colors will match any decor or gift you've got.. or you can wrap up the calendar with the gift wrap set if you win them ;) Get a clickin' below! Don't forget to increase your chances of winning by submitting bonus entries!

P.S. We have to tell you about the boring, but important stuff - This giveaway is open to internationally and winners will be announced tomorrow morning on this blog. If you are a winner, you will need to provide a valid mailing address to the individual shops sponsoring your prize(s). No purchase necessary to participate in this Giveaway. Please refer to contest rules link found on the PromoSimple widget for further terms and conditions.

Congrats to Sariah!! Keep an eye in your inbox for messages from Love, Dot & Daisy and So Soap so you can tell them where to mail your prizes to! Remember to reply within 48 hours or we'll have to pick a new winner and we don't really want to do that.


Are you tired of boring blank walls, especially when all your lovely holiday decorations come off? Or you just love a good decor regardless of the season? You're in luck with today's awesome prize! Win a set of four personalized art prints by Strawberry Jam Studio and a bundle of 6 washi tape rolls by Rabbit & the Duck! Oh, the things you can do with washi tape... (like make a frame for your new prints!)


Better hurry and get your entries in! This bundle is worth over $60 and some lucky ducky is going to be very happy by tomorrow morning.. will it be you? Get a clickin' below! Don't forget to increase your chances of winning by submitting bonus entries!

P.S. We have to tell you about the boring, but important stuff - This giveaway is open to internationally and winners will be announced tomorrow morning on this blog. If you are a winner, you will need to provide a valid mailing address to the individual shops sponsoring your prize(s). No purchase necessary to participate in this Giveaway. Please refer to contest rules link found on the PromoSimple widget for further terms and conditions.

Congrats to Bel! Keep an eye in your inbox for messages from Prince + Tower and Rulitos so you can tell them where to mail your prizes to! Remember to reply within 48 hours or we'll have to pick a new winner and we don't really want to do that.


Now, with all the hustle and bustle that comes with the holiday season, it's hard to find time to rest and relax. Getting a whiff of the gorgeous scents from both Love, Dot & Daisy's bespoke tea bags and So Soap's natural soaps might make you rearrange your priorities! They're hard to resist, and are great for some "me" time after the crazy holiday fever has passed. They also make perfect gifts and are handmade in Australia. Aren't you itching to get your hot little hands on this gorgeous bundle worth over $35 for free? Get a clickin' below! Don't forget to increase your chances of winning by submitting bonus entries!

P.S. We have to tell you about the boring, but important stuff - This giveaway is open to internationally and winners will be announced tomorrow morning on this blog. If you are a winner, you will need to provide a valid mailing address to the individual shops sponsoring your prize(s). No purchase necessary to participate in this Giveaway. Please refer to contest rules link found on the PromoSimple widget for further terms and conditions.

Woohoo! Hope you've had a good weekend, everyone! You're going to need be be sharp and quick all this week to win yourself some of these awesome prizes!

To kick things off, we have beautiful fabric hair bows handmade by Prince + Tower paired with stunning sterling silver earrings handmade by Rulitos! They're both handmade in Australia and would make lovely gifts if you don't wear hair bows or have pierced ears. Are you ready to doll yourself (or a friend) up with over $35 worth of pretties for free? Get a clickin' below! Don't forget to increase your chances of winning by submitting bonus entries!

P.S. We have to tell you about the boring, but important stuff - This giveaway is open to internationally and winners will be announced tomorrow morning on this blog. If you are a winner, you will need to provide a valid mailing address to the individual shops sponsoring your prize(s). No purchase necessary to participate in this Giveaway. Please refer to contest rules link found on the PromoSimple widget for further terms and conditions.