Mine Arrived!

Not the magazine I was expecting to arrive in the mail.......

but 

today it did....

I don't know of any other free sales catalogue that stops households and becomes a treasured read for one whole year......

Did yours arrive?

Have you already worked out  how to give your home a new look?

That is if you win Lotto!

The weekend that was

Not sure I am ready for this weekend to slip away just yet.....

not that anything particularly special happened over the last couple of days....

Nothing other than kids soccer,takeaway coffees, presents to sew for a school friends party.....

Waiting up for said party to end...way past mamma's bedtime!

Meeting together at church...

cars to wash , dishes to wash, cuppa teas to have.....

A little more sewing completed for my stash......

and now thinking about the week ahead.....oh where to start?

A Week of Achievements

For the last couple of weeks Meg has been returning home from school with updated times of her Cross Country trials....now if you knew Meg you would find it quizzical that this even interested her let along cause her to participate in the first place. This was the child that wanted running lessons in year four from dad so she wouldn't come last at the sports carnival........

Forward to Wednesday.....

May I present 

CHAMPION GIRL FOR THE SCHOOL IN CROSS COUNTRY!!!!!

We are so proud of her and her willingness try something new and take the challenge to do it well.....

Now onto the Interschool carnival in a week or so.

This week has also been book week at school...while Meg was focused on running, the little guy has been focused on wanting a cool costume....after many changes of mind and mummy refusing to go and purchase a ready made costume....( after all it is book week and not the Oscars!)

May I present 

Peter form Narnia.....

I convinced him with the sword I borrowed from my work storeroom.  After that I had him in the palm of my hand....

Now the achievement part is that I gathered supplies from around the house and pulled together this "interesting" interpretation of a costume in just  1/2 hour !!!

all except the Lion that was requested on the front...hmmm a dodgy attempt at being a graphic artist...( but remembering it is only book week Year 1!)

He was dressed upon my return form the gym this morning ready to go......

Unfortunately as the time to leave grew closer, he began to give into the doubts...
".what if they laugh at me...how am I going to play basketball at lunch time with the big boys?"

Thankfully a mummy's hand to hold on the walk to school and the envy of the boys in his class over the large sword, soon put to rest all those doubts!
Phew over for another year.

Edited:  We  He won an award  for his costume....   A very sweet new book!

My Creative Space

This week I have been catching some snatches of time to play around with some variations on the journal/notebook covers I have been making over the last year.

I have been combining some  newish skills with my collection of doilies and covered buttons.....

Hoping to have a collection of my wares to show at an up and coming event...must get cracking if I am to have enough.

Lots more creative spaces can be found here.

Cake in a Mug

Ever wish you had some cake in the cupboard for a quick snack?

You know in the evening when you really shouldn't be eating......

Here's something quick and really delicious just for those times....

5 Minute Chocolate Cake in A Mug

You'll need.....

4 tablespoons cake flour

4 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons of milk

3 tablespoons of oil

3 tablespoons of chocolate drops ( optional)

1 Very large Mug

here's what you do...

Add dry ingredients to the mug, and mix well.

Crack an egg and add it to your mug.

Be sure to mix it well to avoid and pockets of flour in the corners/

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate drops if you've got them, and a splash of vanilla essence too!!

Pop your mug into the microwave and zap for 3 minutes   1.5 minutes on max power.

Wait until the cake stops rising and sets in the mug.

If necessary, run a knife around the sides of the mug, and tip the still warm cake out of the mug and onto a saucer.......or eat straight from the mug with a spoon.!!!

 

Meg and a school friend made these for afternoon tea yesterday....and finished eating them for desert!

Another first

After my weekend attempts at quilting I then proceeded onto the "Log Cabin" square another tutorial that can be found here......

This time no phone calls were needed.

I have had a Jelly Roll of fabric for sometime, I bought it because I loved the vintage prints...I finally decided to break it open for my first square......

Not sure this will make it to this cheeky request - a bit too much pastel  I think....

I may have to keep it for myself and build on it over time now I know how simple it was to do.

(Not sure the last green strip was right though.)

Me a Quilter?

After a busy first part to the weekend I decided to spend the afternoon (between church services) learning a new skill.....

Using my friend Kat's tutorial I attempted some "quilt as you go " quilting.......

I managed to do Ok -  I think...and there was only one text and one phone call for help which I thought was pretty good!!

I used the technique and applied it to my journal covers that I have been making for some time......

Apart from misjudging the size a little I am pleased with the outcome.....after all the aim was to have a go at a new skill...

So after refusing to call myself a "quilter" I think i can say I have learned some true quilting skills.

 Back tomorrow with another first for me.

Working and playing

Well thanks to some very lovely ladies ( and Meg) who came and gave of some of their time today ....

we now have finished 100 no- sew scarves and a few dozen library bags for the project

It was so nice to share the load and have a chat whilst doing it...

Thanks guys for giving of yourselves and your talents.

Hopefully a few homemade goodies for afternoon tea were enough of payment....

The orange cake recipe came from here...

Then after all that chatting,eating and crafting we headed to a Quiz Night in support of our  church youth doing the 40 Hour Famine.....

Nothing like going to a quiz night to ground you and remind yourself that you actually know very little about a lot.

Preparations

Today was spent giving my overlocker / serger a total workout........

My scissors also got a fair hammering too......

My busyness was too get prepared for a sewing bee tomorrow with a few friends......

We have 100 no -  sew scarves to cut and a few dozen library bags to whip up....

all for the Samaritans Purse Christmas in a Shoebox Project  my church is participating in.

My Creative Space

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops thats where you'll find me oh
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
And the dream that you dare to,why, oh why can't I?

Well I see trees of green and
Red roses too,
I'll watch them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white
And the brightness of day
I like the dark and I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying, I...I love you
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more
Than we'll know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Someday I'll wish upon a star,
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top that's where you'll find me
Oh, Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dream that you dare to, why, oh why can't I?

Israel Kamakawiwo Ole' - Somewhere Over The Rainbow Lyrics

Now to get cracking on some bright and colourful projects with my new stash of rainbow coloured zippers.

Check out all the other colourful crafty peeps  here. 

and just because I love this song.....

A Helping Hand

Something lovely happened this evening just as I was beginning to prepare the dinner.

My little 6 year old guy jumped up from watching a movie and asked if he could help me with dinner!

Now I am not actually the most patient at this time of the night. A time of the night when all things seem to collide and happen at once. It is also the evening that the Mr has to be back out the door straight after eating.....so the help was not really the thing I needed or wanted.

But ....

I have read enough parenting articles and also being a teacher in my former life, to know  that I should encourage all help, as 
a) it may increase the likely hood of having him eat dinner without any fuss 
and
b)also a great chance to teach him a whole bunch of skills...

All that aside I still would rather have got on and done it my own self!

But his offer to help was different tonight....

He actually wanted to peel,chop, dice and anything else I could allow him to do......

It was actually a pleasure to have him help and be so eager to learn how to do  some "grown up" cooking tasks.....

I really must invest in some kiddie safe knives to make the job a little safer for him....

We were putting together ....

                      Creamy Chicken and Tomato Stew Recipe

found here

So I am thankful for the helpful moment together and we created a pretty yummy dinner as a bonus.

First Fruits

The best part of growing your own vegies is the last days deciding whether or not they are ready for picking.

We have a fine crop of carrots and tomatoes in one of our raised beds....

there has been much discussion over when is a carrot ready for picking?

I was sure that you had to wait for them to push their way to the surface and when the orange top came through you picked..... we did debate, as someone in the family was a little less patient....

But finally they are beginning to be ready for harvest...one by one...bunch by bunch....and yes they are busting through the surface.......

Honeyed carrots are delicious when they are straight from the garden.

Fur Find

I know I have said this many times before but...

I miss my mum heaps and after 13 years of her gone I am still being wowed by the things she left us (that being myself and my two beautiful sisters).

I spent the day with one of my sisters on Friday and we had a bit of fun in her wardrobe space.

I say fun because it is always fun when it is not your own stuff being sorted and parted with ...right?

We came across a bag of clothes that we both knew were kicking around but hadn't seen or thought too much of for some time.

Oh I couldn't believe my eyes when I spied this......

It is so exquisite...so funky....so soft...so vintage....so REAL!

It fits perfectly and the hidden pockets in the front just finish it off.

I brought it home in order to do some research on it's history,,,,,

So far we have come up with not much....maybe a date -1934 but not much else...

 I don't even know what the fur is but it is long and really soft.

I am going to keep trying because such a piece requires some history.

My Meg is horrified that anyone would want to wear such a thing  and I know it is probably socially so wrong....but I would just love the opportunity to go somewhere elegant to wear it!!

I also now know that the correct name for a fur maker is a furrier!

Birthday Star

We were invited to celebrate this little girl's 1st birthday this morning......

The sun was shining and lots of lovely people to catch up with....

I borrowed the photo from Kat 'cause I completely forgot to take my own...anyway I didn't have a small enough peep to model it at home.

It was a little of guess work to down size my normal super cape pattern for such a wee little one.

I love to give handmade...I do get a little nervous making for other crafty friends though..silly I guess because I love to receive handmade, thoughtful gifts. 

My Creative Space

Some things I have started and finished this week......

and......

and.....

(excuse the unwilling models)

This is what I still have to tackle......

A mountain of polar fleece on my lounge room floor. ...destined to be turned into 

"no-sew scarves" ...

100 of them!!!

I co-ordinate my churches efforts for Samaritans Purse -  Christmas in a Shoebox programme and the aim is at least 100 boxes packed full of goodies.....

Now just to round up the volunteers to come armed with scissors, a straight eye and a sense of community to get the job done....

oh and while I have them just 100 library bags will also need to be whipped up!

Wish me luck!

More Creative Spaces Here

Our Very First....

.....Bed!

We have been married just over twenty three years and on Monday bought our first bed....well bed frame...you know head board and foot board....hmmm well you know what I mean.

We have just had a mattress ensemble and always promised ourselves something a bit more special but....you know how it goes ..we never just got there.

Well we finally did.....just what i had wanted a metal and brass number....not to ostentatious or overpowering.

In fact I think I love it so much because it reminds me of my parents bed ...theirs  stood 1 1/2 metres off the floor and was the real deal cast iron  with brass bed knobs...

Oh so many memories .....so maybe that is why I just loved this one.

No, it is not as high off the ground but  just right for us.

I would love to show you the whole bed but then that would require me to have made it up and well the busyness of life just hasn't allowed that to happen to much this last week.......

Now I just need to find the perfect bedding  and cushions to finish the total look....

 

Our Weekend that was..

...a lot of beautiful sunshine...

 a much anticipated sleep in after a hectic week....

a battle with a head cold that I think I am winning....

making pasta for the most delish lasagna.....

two kids programmes and two church services.....

friends over to play......

hot chocolate and apple pies in that beautiful sunshine....

chats with sisters in far flung places.....

custom cape orders finished and ready for delivery....

a little forward planning for the week to come....

not sure I am ready for this weekend to come to an end...

especially as the new week should really begin with an early morning gym session!