Posted on December 14, 2012
Done and dusted. She did destroy 2 of the light bulbs in the process.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and blessings for 2013. Thanks for reading this blog and for everyone who have supported D’vine Little People.
Posted on December 10, 2012
Here is our first pair of baby boy shoesies for sale.
R 175, including postage in South Africa.
Please note that we are closing for the holiday season Friday 14 December to Wednesday 9 January. So get your orders in before then.
I am super excited about making a custom order for a very special baby boy’s christening in January. Can’t wait to share the pics with you guys.
Here are the last baby girl shoes available for this year. They are all R 175 incl postage.
We will have loads of new designs in January again.
Posted on November 28, 2012
Hi Guys, just quickly popping in to let you know these shoes are still available.
I will upload new newborn – 6 months shoes tomorrow.
Check out these two baby girls with their new pairs of DLPeeps.
Please send me a picture of your bambino in her new pair of shoes.
Have a great Wednesday.
Posted on November 13, 2012
The following pairs of DLP’s are still available, plus four new pairs:
Rosa: Made from white velvet with a chiffon rose on the toe. It criss cross over the foot and ties at the heal with a pink, satin ribbon.
Blossom: Made of pink velvet with a chiffon rose on the toe. Super tiny, will fit a newborn.
Blue Bliss: Taking infant style to whole new level. Made from navy velvet, a satin ribbon on the toe with a crystal button. (one of my favorites)
Joli Bebe (Pretty Baby): Peep toes have never been any cuter. Made from charcoal velvet with red satin bow and rose.
High Tea: These little newborn peep toes are a champagne, pearl colored velvet
with chiffon and lace flower.
Viva: This woven fabric is gorgeous and soft. It has a pale pink satin bow on the toe with a crystal button. It ties across the foot with a soft, satin string.
Dotted Glam: Made with green velvet with felt circles on the toe.
Red Riding Hood: Pair this with a denim or a little dress and it is true glamour. Made with red velvet with a red satin rose. Velcro closure.
Black Beauty: Make a statement with these black velvet DLP’s with a red velvet ribbon on the toe. These shoes are perfect for Christmas family dinner.
Vintage Love: These pale pink shoes are made with 100% pure cotton with a satin bow on the toe and diamante clasp. A elastic band over the bridge of the foot.
Thanks to everyone that have bought a pair or two. You ave made my dream come true. Please send a picture of your bean wearing her first pair of DLP.
To order, send me an email at idonette@dvineliving.co.za
Posted on November 7, 2012
We all know why Movember November is Viv’s favorite month. But wanna know why I love November? Well, November is when we decorate our house for Christmas. If I had my way we would have already started decorating our house in October, but Viv says that November is ‘you seem less Christmas creepy in November’.
But this year, I wanted to see what I can do on a veeeeery tight budget. I spend way to much moola on Christmas decorations each year.
I dug out all of my Christmas decor and tried to work with what we already had. I decided to go with a red, green, blue, gold and silver colour scheme. Sounds non-Chrismassy right? Even Viv noticed that I am going against the so-called Christmas scheme. Well, besides the fact that I had to work with what we already had, I wanted to go more colourful.
First, I made a garland for the fireplace. So, I grabbed my bag of ribbon, a pair of scissors and a string of lights.
And then I just cut small pieces of ribbon and tied them to the string of lights.
Then I added some crystals that we used at our wedding, just to add a little more spark.
Soooo easy, quick and cheepo.
The only things I bought were 2 strings of green tinsel and the wrath at Crazy Store- R 41. Not bad huh?
I just used candle holders that we had lying around the house to give the mantel some height. The little Christmas tree we already had and all of those Christmas balls. Another string of lights were draped around the black screen.
These little green thingies were lying around in the house and I thought that they look quite Chrismassy, so I tied them to a ribbon and at the bottom added another wedding crystal.
Miss Gloria (my wire angel) sits in our hallway, with her angel buddies all draped over the mirror. A hallway filled with angels. All I have to do is play some angel music whenever people walk in. Wouldn’t you want to be welcomed by a choir of signing angels? No? Ah well. Just a thought.
I absolutely love Miss Gloria. She is also draped in a string of lights, so she lights up at night. Viv has wanted to throw her out numerous times!!!!! I have to fight for her all year round. He says she takes up too much space. But she is worth it even though we only take her out once a year 
We bought her next to the road a couple of years ago. Look at the craftsmanship. Do you know how long it must have took for someone to make her? Now that is creativity. Bless that man and his crafty hands. I admire him. That is why I love buying from these guys. Their work is every penny worth. Same as my favourite wire chandelier that I got made also by a guy next to the road:
So next time you see these guys trying to sell you something, consider it. It is worth it. The guys that I drive past every day sell these small wire Christmas treas, I am thinking of getting one and use it as a center piece for our Christmas table.
Well, my mantel is not finished yet. There is one DIY project that still needs to be done, so stay tuned.
Total spend this year: R41.
Lola Bear Loves!!
Have any of you guys decorated your house for Christmas? Or am I the only “Christmas freak”.
P.S: Thanks for all the AMAZEBALLS comments and reactions re. D’vine Little People. It makes me so happy and excited for the future of DLP. DLP has its very own facebook page. Pop on over and like the page. I will be posting new products on there as well as exciting new ranges to come: http://www.facebook.com/DvineLittlePeople
Remember if you want to order a pair of DLP, pop me an email at idonette@dvineliving.co.za and let me know which pair you want. I am sending off our first 2 sold pairs tomorrow. I hope Taylin and Eden are going to LOVE them just as much as I do.
Posted on November 5, 2012
The day has arrived. One that I have been waiting for, for a very long time. I have been dreaming of starting my own baby shoe range for a couple of years now.
I got the idea one day as I was walking the isles of a chain store, looking to buy newborn shoes for a special friend’s baby. The spread available were boring and limited. Barbie and Winnie The Pooh was not what I was looking for. I was looking for something special, something different, something unique. Then I realized it would be amazing to have a range of baby shoes available that were just small replica’s of woman shoes. Baby shoes that were desirable even by grown up woman.
There, in the baby isle of a chain store, the idea was born. I decided to start my own handmade, unique, comfortable, one-of-a-kind collection of baby shoes. The idea was perfect and Viv supported the idea, but then I realized, who am I going to get to help me make all of these handmade baby shoes?
The next weekend my parents came to visit us and as we were sitting at the dinner table I realized, what better person to team up with, to make this dream come true, than my mom, my best friend and the most creative person I know. She has been sewing for more than 32 years and is a perfectionist. She would be perfect.
She loved the idea! We decided to use the D’vine Little People brand and so, we started on our new venture.
All pairs are:
As soon as one of the pairs below gets sold, it will be replaced with a new pair. Thus, if you see a pair that you like and it gets sold, we will not be making a duplicate pair ever again. We can also make a custom made pair for you according to your specifications. We recently made custom made pairs for friends and family for special occasions. Like 1st birthdays, baby showers, baptisms, weddings and now for Christmas.
I am so excited to present to you the first ever pairs of D’vine Little People available:
High Tea: These little newborn peep toes are a champagne, pearl colored velvet
with chiffon and lace flower.
Green With Envy: Your little girl will be the talk of the town with these green velvet beauties.
Joli Bebe (Pretty Baby): Peep toes have never been any cuter. Made from charcoal velvet with red satin bow and rose.
Blue Bliss: Taking infant style to whole new level. Made from navy velvet, a satin ribbon on the toe with a crystal button.
Natural Beauty: These little guys crisscross around the ankle, giving the ballet look a whole new face. Made from a woven fabric, with a satin and chiffon ribbon on the toe with a diamante clasp.
Black Beauty: Make a statement with these black velvet DLP’s with a red velvet ribbon on the toe. These shoes are perfect for Christmas family dinner.
Vintage Love: These pale pink shoes are made with 100% pure cotton with a satin bow on the toe and diamante clasp. A elastic band over the bridge of the foot.
Red Riding Hood: Pair this with a denim or a little dress and it is true glamour. Made with red velvet with a red satin rose. Velcro closure.
Framed Memory: Made with charcoal velvet with a satin silver ribbon across the toes with diamante clasp.
There you have it. Our first ten pairs available. We are constantly working on new designs and new styles. So keep posted.
To order, pop me an email: idonette@dvineliving.co.za.
‘Giving a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.’ – Marilyn Monroe
Posted on November 1, 2012
Okay, I know I said that I am launching my new project today, but because of an unforeseen glitch, I will have to postpone to Monday.
This specific project has been a dream of mine for years and the best part of it is, I partnered up with my bestest friend to make this dream come true. I am very excited about it and can’t wait to hear what you guys think about it.
Here is a clue:
Yes, it has something to do with D’vine Little People. So, pop in on Monday morning and see what I have been up to the last couple of months between the house hunting expedition.
On the house hunting front… it is not going anywhere. We have looked at, what feels like, hundreds of houses, but no luck. We are leaning more towards building our next home at the moment. I will keep you updated, but for now I think we will have to rent for a couple of months until we find our next home. Well, I don’t think we have any choice, because we are running out of time. Wowzer it is already 1st November. We have to move out in two months!!! We don’t want to feel rushed into buying our next home. So, for those of you in the Stellies area that knows of a house to rent, let me know.
Have a great Thursday and remember to pop in on Monday.
Ps. Happy Movember to all. This is Viv’s favourite month of the year. Mine, not so much!!!
Posted on October 23, 2012
Even thought it was painful, both Viv and I wanted Raybelle to sell fast. It was more like, “let’s just get this over and done with P-E-L-E-A-S-E!!”
We had absolutely now idea what to do or how to sell a house.
So, after we got the house re-evaluated by two estate agents, (both valued her at same price) we had to start prepping her.
There were a couple of things outside that we had to get done before she went on the market.
1) Put an awning over the front door. It is a DIY awning from Builders Warehouse. It took us about 15 min to get it up. Easy Peasy.
2) Tile the front steps. (lola loves to photobomb)
3) Pave the area at the garage.
As you can see we spent some money to make money out of Raybelle, but we just knew that these little expensive tweeks will make her look more appealing.
Then came the showings. Ah man, the showings!!! I hated it. I hated having strangers in my house. The worst part was keeping the house clean (like in super duper clean. How my mother’s house looks like 24/7 clean) at all times. Especially when you have a puppy who drags everything into the house.
At first we had only certain times that we allowed the agents to show the house. Which worked perfectly at the beginning. But then it just got out of hand and we had to work around the clients’ times. Which was terrible, because some people could only view the house at ridiculous times during the day.
Which meant that before every showing the following routine played out (while thinking I am Speedy Gonzales)
Then all that had to be done was to lock Lola away or Viv took her for a walk while the people viewed the house. Why? Reason #1: when Miss Lola Bear sees strangers she pees. Yes, you read correctly, she urinates. She pees all over the shiny, clean floors. Luckily she is over it now, but we had this one guy, really smart looking young chap, came to look at the house and when he wanted to pet Lola she peed all over his really fancy shoes (he didn’t buy the house )
Reason #2: When she hears a knock on the gate she goes insane! Like in someone is trying to catch her and sell her to Cruella de Ville.
Reason #3: When she eventually calms down, she follows the people around the house like a FBI agent.
Now imagine trying to view a house with these three listed factors above. Lets just say that I am so glad that animal welfare never pitched.
So, in summary, it is hard to sell a house. Viv and I never did it before, so we didn’t know what we were in for. It definitely challenges your patience.
To all of you reading this who is trying to sell your house, good luck and just be patient. It will happen at the right time.
Posted on October 17, 2012
The day we decided to sell Raybelle, I acted somewhat similar to Gollum in this scene of Lord of the Rings.
It was devastating to say the least, because we renovated and changed this “ugly house” into our perfect home. (yes, I admit, she was not so pretty at first)
We have not even been living here for a whole year and we are already leaving again. We moved in on 31 October 2o11. That is why I do understand why people would think that we just wanted to flip this house.
We are not house flippers! And we will never be! Every single thing that we have put into this house: every light, every fitting, every tile, was because we loved it. Everything was dreamt about, saved up for and appreciated. We never intended to upgrade the house just to sell it at a profit and to move on to the next house. We dreamt of living here for quite some time.
Flipping houses is just not for me. I put too much love into the smallest thing. I am all emotional because I have to leave my checkered floor behind
I was in Johannesburg last week for work and on my way home I read an article in the in-flight magazine about house flipping. It was quite interesting. The article went something like this: 5 ways to flip a house… something like that. I think we broke like 3 of the 5 rules of flipping houses. One of them… do not over capitalize. Do not do it for yourself. Take your own style and needs out. Keep in mind what the next owner want. I am so glad that the new owner of Raybelle likes a checkered bathroom, a shower room and white screeded floors with a white kitchen. ‘Cause I don’t think it is anyone’s cup of tee.
And that is probably why I feel like Golum at the moment. I can’t let go. I got so attached to my house that it is heartbreaking to think that we are moving out soon. First lesson learned: do not get attached to your house. Maybe it might have been easier if we were house flippers. Because it never really is your home. You always know that you will be moving on again.
I do believe that people that came to look at the house, noticed and valued the love that we have put into the house. It has definitely set our house apart from the rest of the houses for sale in the area.
The worst part is, that there is so much that we still wanted to do in and around the house.
These things were still on my to-do list:
As you can see the list is endless. We did give this list to the new owners in case they want to proceed with our ideas.
I would love to flip your house though Gimme a call. But my house, I want a forever home.
Posted on October 16, 2012
After dropping the bomb that we sold Raybelle in yesterday’s post, I thought I would take the emotions down a notch in today’s post.
Remember the couch that I got from my granny?
Yes, the really red one that clash a bit with my red, exposed brick wall.
(read more about all the furniture that I got from my granny in this post)Well, I just got it back yesterday from Mr. Meyer. The same magician that covered my 2 Queen Anne babies.
And I am in love. I think my gran would have liked it. She told me that I should cover it in a white-ish fabric, because it will go really well with my 2 Queen Annes And well, I listened to her. It is her couch after all. And the old lady was right. (She also said that I might have a problem with all these white furniture one day when we have kids, and I think she might be right on that one too. But lets cross that bridge when we get there)
You know I’ve been dreaming of a white Chesterfield, like in forever. As you can see in my side bar under “I heart”. So I thought I might as well try to live that dream by putting buttons on this couch and pretend it is a Chesterfield.
I absolutely love the colour. It is quite difficult to capture the correct colour. I think this picture is the closest to reality.
Now, what do you think? Have you recovered an old ugly duckling recently?
Anemone Coco Sticks
Bosch Fine-Spray System
Bosch Multifunction Tool
Nespresso CitiZ
Sagaform Trio Herb Pot
Young House Love
