Sunday, December 29, 2013

looking forward

 
Don't you just love the end of the year with a fresh and new one beginning.
 
Last year was pretty crap for me so I'm declaring 2014 my  year.
 
By the end of June I will have no children left at home
and although I am incredibly sad about this (shattered really)
I know that it is not healthy for them or me to wallow about it.
 
So I will put on a brave face and look forward to the next phase of my life.
 
In 2014 I hope to .....
(see I said hope not will)
 
not have another heart attack
do an online design course
spend more time with friends
do more crafting
not have another heart attack
read more, watch less
enjoy mothering from a different angle
rest a bit
relax a bit
grow my blog
release at least 3 new patterns
look at turning my patterns into PDFs
do more family tree research
try some new things
be happy
 
None of these are huge goals but they are important to me
and I know that I don't need a new year to begin these things
but this is the year that everything is going to change and
it really doesn't get much bigger than having
all your children gone.
 
 
What about you?
Do you set goals or unrealistic expectations?
How did you cope with your empty nest?
Were you miserable or happy when they left?
 
As some of you may know I don't get very personal here
but I'll let you in on a little secret .....
 
I'm going to cry for days when my kids are gone.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, December 21, 2013

hot snowflakes



 
I've been crocheting little white circles all year.
 
 
I eventually threaded them together
and added buttons and pearls.
 
They are strung up on my verandah door and
with the sun shining through they look really stunning.
 
As I said the sun shines through so I couldn't get a
decent photo to show you.

 
So I put them on another wall and took another photo



 
and then another spot and took a photo


 
and yet another spot.

 
Every time I moved them they would get
 all tangled so I just gave up .
 
It was also a million degrees the day
I tried to decorate with my snowflakes .
 
You'll just have to believe me when I say they look beautiful.
 
Wishing you and yours a merry and safe Christmas.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

jingle bells

 
jingle bells

 
jingle bells

 
jingle all the way

 
oh what fun to have a jingly jangly tree hey!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

an end and new beginnings

 
The teen girl is finishing school soon and
looking forward to continuing her education at Tafe.

I will have an empty nest next year
and looking forward to doing an online design course.
 

 
Of course this means we are looking at new , spiffy stationery.

 
We are going to be the coolest students ever!
 
All pictured above are from Spencil , an Australian family 
company based in Brisbane.
 
I do believe Santa will be shopping
there for some of our gifts.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

winners are grinners

 
Sorry it's taken so long to get back with the winner
of the $20 Bookworld voucher it's just that
it has taken me so long to decide on my Christmas gift
books from there, decisions , decisions.
 
Anyway the winner is ~ Jess from Scrappy n Happy.
 
Congratulations Jess, Bookworld will contact you
and pass your voucher on , thanks for entering.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

bookworld voucher giveaway

 
When I was asked by Bookworld to do a post for them
I hesitated for less than a millisecond.
 
I was given a voucher to spend so I now had a legitimate
excuse to do book shopping  research.
 
Would I buy a craft book or fiction?
 
 
The crime section narrowed it down for me but I yet to decide
I think this one Takedown Twenty may just be the one.
 
There are soooo many great discounted books!
 
Would you like a $20 voucher to spend there?
 
If you are Australian and looking for a fantastic Christmas gift
just leave a comment here.
 
Too easy.
 
Thanks Bookworld it was a pleasure collaborating with you,
 let's do it again soon. 
 
This giveaway is now closed , thanks for your interest.
 
 

Saturday, November 23, 2013

just a quickie

 
Things have been a little frantic around here lately
so I thought I'd pop in and say hi and show you
a very quick and easy decoration that you can do for Christmas.
 
Simply wrap some coloured thread around jars
 and drop in a tealight.
I used baby food jars and battery operated tealights
because I don't like/won't use candles of any sort.
 
I have found a stash of baby food jars that I will be using
for Christmas crafts so I will show you more in a
couple of days , I hope you can come back then.
 
 

Saturday, November 9, 2013

moving on

 
I'm always a little sad at the end of Winter to pack
my crochet blankets away.
 
All during the cold weather
they have been snuggled in and cuddled in.
They have been cried on and laughed in.
They have been fought in and fought over.

 
For now they are clean and being packed away.
 
Next Winter will be very different in my home
with my kids growing up and moving on.

 
So I guess I will be making blankets for their homes...

 
and cuddling the pets that are left behind.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

and the winner is

 
Sorry I said I'd come and tell you the winner on Halloween
but life sort of got in the way.
 
Without further adieu the winner is ...
 
 
Gnomeangel! Hooray!
Gnomeangel please email me with your address.
 
Thanks everyone else for putting up with my strangeness
I'll be having a pattern giveaway very soon
so check out my store and see which one you'd like to win.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

a strange giveaway

 
Strange for me anyway as we don't do Halloween at my place.
 
Strange that quite a few months ago an American magazine
asked if I would be interested in doing a Halloween project for them.
Of course I said yes and bought a few bits and pieces
and started planning a project for them.
 
As some of you know I became very sick and all work
was put on hold.
 
Anyway although all of this post is a bit strange you might be
 happy to know that as I can't really use this fabric
I'm giving it away!
 
Because this is already such a strange post I need to tell
you that the giveaway is open to Australians only
and as Australians we aren't as into Halloween as other places
this is extra strange!
 
If you would like to spread the word about this strange giveaway
go for it and give yourself an extra entry.
 
Just leave a comment here and say BOO!
 
I'll draw the winner on Thursday night , Halloween .
 
BOO!
 
 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

we all fall down

 
My favourite part of Christmas is the decorating.
 
These old, old Christmas trees of mine have seen better days.
Each year I drag them out and each year when they're not falling
over they just look very uninspiring.
I have had these daggy trees since I was a tiny thing
so I couldn't really get rid of them and I could have
sprayed them but then they wouldn't be the same.
 
I just gave them a very good dust and popped them into
some jars I had and poured some rock salt in the base.
This has kept them the same and stopped them falling over
but now they look really pretty sitting on a mirror.

 
I can't wait till I can start decorating for real!
When do you start?

Saturday, October 19, 2013

if I can do it you sure can!

 
I have wanted to make my own labels for such a long time.
This week I was finally able to do it.
 
There are quite a few tutorials around so I thought
if I put a few together here it might be
helpful in case you wanted to try making some too.
 
 
I have only listed ones using twill tape and t shirt
transfer paper because this is what I used but there
are lots of others out there using ribbon and freezer paper.
 
Just ask Mr Google he'll show you the way.
 
Now I'm off to make something to sew them onto.
 

Sunday, October 13, 2013

bling bling

 
I do love a bit of sparkle , I really do.
None of it is expensive so I can get a pretty
necklace every now and then.
 
The problem is they get all tangled up and
I'm just not a patient person to spend ages untangling them.

 
So I covered a wooden coat hanger in washi tape
and then I screwed some little hooks in.

 
Now I can hang some from the mirror without them
getting all twisted together.

 
Do you love some bling too?

Saturday, October 5, 2013

coffee? yes please

 
I was approached recently by Griffiths coffee to do a post for them.
They know me well , I love my coffee!
 
Coffee is big business and growing rapidly.
Unfortunately as it grows the small farmers are mistreated
and often robbed of their meagre earnings.
 
This is where Fairtrade comes in.
 
Under the Fairtrade system producers are paid a minimum price and
the co ops receiving an extra amount to further their communities development.
If the market price rises the Fairtrade price rises too.
Visit the Oxfam site for more info.
 
Why else would I promote a coffee business on a craft blog?
It's an Australian company and has been since 1879
so I think they must be doing something right.

 
My decaffeinated coffee arrived and I couldn't wait to have a cup.
 
Decaffeinated by mountain water ~ tick.
Organic ~ tick.
Ethically grown ~ tick.
Fairtrade ~ tick.
Australian company ~ tick.

 
This all won't mean much if the coffee doesn't taste good
but the coffee was just delicious!
 
Yes Griffiths did give me a tin of the coffee to try but
they asked for total honesty and I have to say I won't be drinking
any other coffee from now on .
 
(Griffiths have called it Just Fair Coffee but maybe they should have called it Just Great)

Sunday, September 15, 2013

the one where I have something to show you

 
On the off chance that I may have another hospital visit
I went on the search for a Summer dressing gown.
The stores in my parts are very limited so I was out of luck
and decided to make my own from my stash of vintage sheets.

 
A tiny pom pom trim was added for a little zing
and nice big pockets.
 
It is so lovely and soft and worn.

 
It's almost as beautiful as my daughter who is modelling it for me.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

hanging in there thanks

 
Just popping in very quickly to let you know
I'm still hanging in there.

 
My little family have been amazing
and I have started on some sewing yeehah!
 
I hope to be back in the next few days to show you what I am making.
 
As a thank you to you for hanging in there with me
my little shop is having a sale.
When you buy two patterns and put the code THANKYOU
in at the checkout you will receive your second pattern at 1/2 price.
 
Thanks again so much for all your kind words of support.
 
See you in a couple of days xxx
 
PS The sale ends on Friday.
 
 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

it's the little things

 
Slowly , slowly on the mend.

 
I'm still not able to do too much
 

 
but I did manage to gather all the old bits of necklaces
and ear rings that the teen girl and I had no use for
 

 
and connected them to an old fan cover.
 
They sparkle and shine as they hang
and looking at all the different things makes me so happy.
 
It's the little things.
 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

just in case you were wondering

 
Yes I have been absent a bit lately but I do have a doctors certificate.
In fact I have spent the last few weeks in hospital
after suffering a major heart attack.
 
This 51 year old spent quality time in a coronary ward
with a few 90 year old men , sheesh.
 

 
Anyway I'm not here to whine but just to let you know where I've been.
Unfortunately at this stage I don't have the strength for much crafting
but we all know that won't take me long to get back to it.
 

 
My family are taking me for my first walk today.
 To think just a few weeks ago I was enjoying 5k walks
every morning and posting beautiful photos to instagram
 
Obviously this whole thing has shaken my family and
we are all getting by as best as we can.
 
I really don't know where this leaves my craft business but
in the mean time my bigcartel shop is closed.
I will probably reopen it in the next few weeks but my priority
at this stage is my health.
 
 
 

 
Thank you so very, very much to the people that already
knew about this and have contacted me with much love and kindness.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

trust me

 
I don't really know what to tell you about my latest craft project.
I love old cutlery especially spoons and I have lots of them.
When I came across some little spoon charms I thought I'd like
to combine the new with the old and hang them in the kitchen.

 
To say I was thrilled with the result is an understatement.

 
They tinkle and shine and swirl around.

 
But they are very , very hard to get a decent photo of.
So you'll just have to take my word for it that they are beautiful!