treat

yesterday when i got home there was a lovely little parcel in the post from michvanetta of some earrings I bought through madeit as a treat to myself. I love her simple styles, the colours and the great photos. And all beautifully wrapped with some lovely button hairclips thrown in. Thank you!!
These are going to get a lot of wearing, starting with my cousins wedding this weekend. I love a treat.

white

in todays heat i made a few more purses, again keeping to a light summery feel. Some of these have gone into ‘The Local Shop’ in Northcote (262 high st). I hope they go well!

I wish I had a pool.

winner

the Jan 09 giveaway winner is Em of Emma Rose Art. Congratulations!

Here is my very scientific method of names on paper drawn from a wooden bowl.
Thank you to all of you that participated and the lovely comments, it was fun, and I’ll look at doing this again in another couple of months. Thanks!

And I have just found through Emma Rose Art, Our Shabby Cottage has a lovely competition on too! Click here for the link, and good luck!

treasures

I had a massive tidying day yesterday, and apart from attacking the filing in-tray that was as big as Uluru, I also sorted out my jewellery drawer. This has unearthed some of my treasures.
  • a sparkly hair clip from when i was 12
  • a colourful chicken brooch
  • a very old horse pendant
  • a smiley pendant that was once an earring (until I lost one)
  • a lovely inlaid green fish ring from Barcelona . . slightly too small but i couldn’t resist it
  • and my old horse tie-pin
Some of these got more use than others when I was growing up . . and now I have re-found them they’ll get some more!

Plus I have made a couple more purses for the shops, bit of a blue lining theme today, to go with the summer blue skies.

ethel

As part of my Granny’s stash, I also was given this unfinished wool embroidery piece started by my Great Aunt Ethel. This was handed to my Grandma after her sister-in-law Ethel passed away, and with all the other projects she had on it was never completed. So this lovely treasure has ended up in my hands. Rather than trying to complete it, which would take me ages and probably get passed on again unfinished, I have made it into a cushion that I can enjoy now.

I love the detail in the stitching and the bold art deco design. I added some twisted cord piping, a black zip from Savers and used a seeded cream cotton drill for the back. I think it’ll be for my bed.

giveaway

In the spirit of the New Year, I am giving away this lovely bell bird softie.
This delightful little bird is a one-off handmade softie made with a soft cream and beige fabric with a ribbon crest. With dangly legs and a bell inside for a little jingle, this softie makes a great present for littlies. It has large french knot embroidered eyes and is filled with non-allergenic polyester fibre filling. This bell bird is about 13cm (5in) across and retails for $26.
Just leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner out of a hat next Sunday night, the 11th Jan 09. Good luck!

cushion

Just whipped up this NZ cushion from a tea towel as my holiday souvenir. Love the bright colours. I used an old long zip and a current couch cushion as the filler which has about 4 previous covers still on it . . I think I need to buy some more inners.


sunshine


Happy New Year to all! I have just returned from a great family holiday in Nelson, New Zealand, where the sun shone, the wine flowed and the food was delicious! Nelson is a gorgeous lush part of the world with stunning beaches and bush, rivers and mountains. I even found tiny pansies growing in the lawn of where I was staying.
It was a good holiday loads of fun being aunty to 4 kids under the age of 6, I know, my brother & sis-in-law are very busy! But they are all gorgeous. 🙂

cucumber

For afternoon tea we are having cucumber sandwiches and forgotten cookies! Yum.
Forgotten cookies are a great one to make the night before and forget about in the oven as you turn it off when you put them in.
cucumber sandwiches
some dill – chopped or I used the dill in a tube
a Lebanese cucumber finely sliced
soft butter or mayo
fresh white bread with crusts cut off
assemble the sandwiches, and cut into thirds, and serve freshly made
forgotten cookies (my granny’s recipe)

2 egg whites beaten until firm

2/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup chopped peacans
1/2 cup chocolate drops
pre-heat the oven to 185C. Beat the eggs till peaky and slowly add the sugar. Add the essence and fold in the chopped peacans & chocolate. Spoon onto a tray lined with grease-proof paper. Place in oven and turn the oven off! Leave overnight in the cooling oven or at least 5 hours. enjoy!

rose

Delighted to see Rose the Rabbit was on the front page of madeit.com.au yesterday! I must fix my images so that the thumbnails are not so blurry.

Meanwhile I have my last day at work today before my holiday to New Zealand for christmas with my brother and his gorgeous family. I can’t wait! Here are a couple of scenic shots from another christmas in NZ.