Kin & Keepsakes

30/10/2026

Family History Friday
📂 The Case of the Two John Smiths

Every family historian eventually meets them.
Two people.
The same name.
Living in the same area.
Around the same time.

At first glance, they appear to be the same person. But are they?

One of the easiest mistakes in family history is combining two different people into one simply because their names match.

Before drawing a conclusion, look beyond the name.
📍 Where did they live?
👨‍🌾 What was their occupation?
👩 Who was their spouse?
👶 Do the children's names match?
⛪ Which church did they attend?

Sometimes the smallest detail reveals you're actually looking at two completely different people.

Never rely on a name alone. Build a profile using every available record before deciding you've found the right person.

🧑🏻‍🦳 In family history, names identify people. Evidence identifies the right person.

29/10/2026

🦉 W**e Charm Duos | The Loft Owl by Kin & Keepsakes
$12 per duo plus postage
https://www.kinandkeepsakes.com.au/shop

🍷 For gatherings with family. For toasts to remember.

The Loft Owl Duos were inspired by a small piece of history at Clifton Estate, where the carved owl window sits perched above the bed in the loft of the historic convict quarters.

The duos are a quiet tribute to the Stonestreet family story and the places connected to the three convict brothers – Levi, Moses and William, who lived in the quarters. Their heritage-inspired colours draw from the landscape, buildings and history of Locksley and the Fish River near Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.

Choose from four heritage-inspired styles:
❤️ Colonial Red
🪶 Feather & Sky
💙 Riverbank Blue
🌿 Springtime

Each set includes two handcrafted w**e charms, presented in a gifting sleeve and ready for your own table or to give to someone special. Mix and match the different styles to create colourful heritage-inspired table settings for family gatherings and special occasions.

Features
• Two handcrafted w**e charms in each duo
• Silver-tone 25 mm aluminium alloy rings with discreet safety stoppers
• Detailed owl charms with coordinating wooden beads in heritage-inspired colours
• Presented in a Heritage Sip Collection gift sleeve, ready for gifting or your own Christmas celebrations.

Browse the collection in the Kin & Keepsakes shop

**eCharms

28/10/2026

Workshop Wednesday
👯 Celebrating Friendship & Sisterhood

Some designs start with a colour or a particular charm. The Regal Edition started with an idea: celebrating friendship, sisterhood and, yes, being a Queen! 👑🥂

I wanted to create a set of five w**e glass charms for those special occasions shared with the girls, with each charm representing something different about the women we share our lives with.

Choosing the five charms was part of the fun. I wanted each one to have its own meaning, while together telling a bigger story about friendship and sisterhood.

👠 High Heel symbolises confidence and individuality, celebrating women who embrace who they are and encourage each other to do the same.
💗 Crowned Heart represents love and protection, for the women who hold a special place in our hearts and are there when we need them.
🔑 Key reflects trust and loyalty, representing the friendships where we can share our lives, our secrets and ourselves.
🦋 Butterfly signifies growth and transformation, celebrating the friends who support us through life's changes and help us spread our wings.
👑 Crown embodies strength and empowerment, because every woman deserves to recognise her own worth and, yes, wear her crown.

Together, these charms celebrate the women who share the laughter and celebrations, weather the difficult times, listen to the stories, keep the secrets, and simply show up for one another. A little reminder of friendship and all that comes with it. ❤️🥂

The charms themselves are finished, but the Regal Edition isn't quite ready yet. There’s still the presentation and packaging to complete before the finished set comes together. For now, this is a little peek behind the scenes in the Kin & Keepsakes workshop. 👑✨

26/10/2026

📅 Art Calendar (2027) | Australian Fauna & Flora
From $29.95 plus postage
https://www.kinandkeepsakes.com.au/shop

Celebrate the gentle spirit of Australia's native wildlife and the breathtaking beauty of the landscapes they call home. Featuring thirteen original Kin & Keepsakes artworks, this calendar captures the unique character of Australia's fauna and flora while bringing warmth, colour and creativity to your home throughout the year.

Journey across Australia each month, from the graceful Perth Black Swan, the mighty emu of the outback and the Charleville bilby beneath a moonlit sky, to the elusive Tasmanian devil in the forests of Tasmania, the cheerful kookaburra perched in a gum tree, and many more iconic Australian species.

Available in two sizes:
• Statement Wall Calendar, 12" × 12" (30 × 30 cm)
• Compact Wall Calendar, 11" × 8.2" (28 × 20.8 cm)

Professionally printed on premium matte paper with rich, vibrant colours, durable metal spiral binding for effortless page turning, and uncoated calendar grids that make it easy to record appointments, birthdays and special family occasions.

Browse the collection in the Kin & Keepsakes shop:
https://www.kinandkeepsakes.com.au/shop

25/10/2026

✨Sunday Reflection

23/10/2026

23/10/2026

Family History Friday
⌛Building a Timeline for your Ancestor

It's tempting to jump to conclusions when names, places and dates seem to fit.
But one of the simplest and most effective research tools is often overlooked...
A timeline.

By recording events in chronological order, you can quickly spot gaps, inconsistencies and clues that might otherwise be missed.

A timeline can help you identify:
📍 Missing years in an ancestor's life.
👶 Children born in different locations.
🚢 Immigration and migration patterns.
💒 Marriages that don't quite fit.
❓ Two people with the same name living at the same time.

Create a timeline using every record you find, even if it only adds one small detail.

Sometimes a single date is all it takes to solve a family mystery.
🌿 A timeline doesn't just record a life. It helps reveal the story behind it.

22/10/2026

🇦🇺🦘 Mobile Phone Tough Cases | Australian Flora & Fauna
$44.95 plus postage
https://www.kinandkeepsakes.com.au/shop

Carry a little piece of Australia wherever you go. Our Australian Wild Kin Flora & Fauna tough phone cases feature four original Kin & Keepsakes artworks inspired by some of Australia's best-loved native animals.

🦜 Gizmo and Gracie, the cockatoos soaring through the sky
🦔 Eric, the echidna exploring the Australian bush
🐨 Kenny, the koala resting high in a gum tree
🦘 Cookie, the quokka enjoying life in the bush

Available for:
📱 iPhone 12 to iPhone 17
📱 Samsung Galaxy S23 to S25
📱 Google Pixel 8 to 9

Choose from a glossy or matte finish. Each dual-layer tough case is designed to help protect your phone from everyday drops, bumps and knocks.

Browse the collection in the Kin & Keepsakes shop:
https://www.kinandkeepsakes.com.au/shop

21/10/2026

Workshop Wednesday 🌙🇦🇺 When home becomes inspiration

Charleville in Western Queensland is an outback destination known for stargazing, World War II history, and bilby conservation. But it’s more than that to me; it’s my place of birth and hometown. Although I left when young, Charleville has a way of staying with you.

The red earth. The native plants. The wildlife. And those extraordinary outback skies. 🌙✨

When I returned to Charleville a few years ago, one place I visited was the Charleville Bilby Experience, run by the Save the Bilby Fund. Seeing these gorgeous little native animals and learning more about the work being done to protect them made the bilby a natural choice for one of my designs.

I also revisited another thing I love about Charleville, its night sky. With so little light pollution, the stars seem to go on forever, something celebrated beautifully at the Cosmos Centre.

Those memories and experiences eventually found their way into my Australian Flora & Fauna collection. The bilby became the heart of this piece, surrounded by Australian wildflowers and set against the rich blue of an outback night, with the moon glowing overhead.

Sometimes inspiration comes from somewhere new. And sometimes it comes from home. 💙

21/10/2026

Workshop Wednesday 🧰 Creating a special gift

Sometimes the best gifts start with knowing just a few things about the person receiving them.

A friend recently asked me to create a custom gift for one of her friends. They’re both w**e lovers, and so I designed and created a w**e bottle charm with coordinating w**e glass charms, a one of a kind gift.

Celebrating May birthdays, she wanted emerald green to feature in the design, the traditional May birthstone colour. 💚🍷

I had so much fun researching and shopping for the perfect charms and beads. I wanted each piece to be a little different while still working together as a set, and most importantly, to create something unique and special that would be truly one of a kind.

For the bottle charm, I used a gold-tone ring with three clips set with emerald green diamantes. As well as decorating the bottle, the ring provides a lovely way to hang the coordinating w**e glass charms, bringing the whole set together for presentation as a gift.

I then created two different pairs of w**e glass charms using emerald green clover charms, personally one of my favourite charms. They’re so beautiful and really sparkle when they catch the light. I paired them with Austrian crystals for even more sparkle, and gold beads to complement the emerald green.

It was a lovely little project, creating something personal for a special occasion and knowing these little charms would become part of two friends celebrating a birthday and their friendship. 💚

**eLovers **eCharms