...and LO it was awesome!!!

I must admit, I'm a teensy bit worried. The market was so good, I fear I am spoiled for all future events. The bar has been set terribly high. Firstly they were just so much fun. The vibe going on was amazing - I guess because although many of us had not actually met in real life before, we all felt like we knew each other anyway, after weeks or months of chatting online. It really was a case of 'we are all in this together' and everyone was so supportive of each other and super friendly.


Add to this some great crowds, which flowed steadily throughout the day, and everyone making a fantastic number of sales (I sold almost two thirds of my stock, so I was stoked!!) and you really can't ask for much better than that can you?


We had some lovely jazz tunes pumping from Betty Kingston's corder of the hall inside, and then at 11am we had some fantastic live music in the courtyard. It really did make a fantastic atmosphere. Even the food was awesome (my homemade iced-billy-tea and roast vegetable wrap went down a treat!!). We also had Olivia from Scampsville doing a live radio cross with 4ZZZ (she hosts the fantastic program 'At the Local') and she actually interviewed Helen from Ruby Red Studios & Ruby2GoGo who coordinated this whole shebang, Hayley from REread, and myself - you can listen to it here if you're interested. She also interviews Karen from Knitting for Brisbane's Needy, which is the charity we raised money for on the day as well.


Best of all though was sharing the day with my sister, which meant I had someone to chat with all day, someone to share my excitement (and remind me to eat) and someone to take turns with manning the stall so that a little (ok a lot) of shopping could be done. I could so easily have bought something from every stall. The quality and variety of goods was so fantastic. Alas, I didn't buy something from everyone....I did give it a good ol' aussie go though. Wanna check out my loot? Here it is:


Notecards from Twinkle Star Art - these are completely handmade, and are perfect for writing thank-yous to people when sending out orders.


Reindeer brooch from Pedrosprout - now I can be festive and funky on Christmas day. Yay!!!


Uber-pink ruffle bottoms from Bettsy Kingston - Kate is going to LOVE these. And so am I. They are just so so gorgeous. And the super-generous Benita also threw in a gorgeous red polka-dotted nappy cover.


I couldn't wait for Christmas to give these to Kate. She's wearing them already. This is her fluffing up her skirt so I could take a photo :P


Zip purse from Little Mary Moo - boy were these gorgeous. I think my friends and family alone must have depleted at least a quarter of Therese's stock (Jade couldn't decide which fabric she liked best so she ended up buying three purses - one in each of her favourite fabrics, and my mum also couldn't resist. Oh, and I know a couple of ladies from my book club came back holding up their purses saying "how cute are these". They really were the perfect little Christmas gifts!!)


Glass brooch from Hot Toffee - there was no way I was leaving Hamilton that day without some kind of Hot Toffee goody on my person. In fact I also bought a hairband with a gorgeous green glass square on it, but I was wearing it when taking the photos, and I've learnt my lesson about taking ugly close-up shots of my hair....ahem. Moving on...


Brooch from old books by REread - are you getting the idea I may have a bit of a brooch thing going on? Yep, hair accessories and brooches. I can never resist. What I love love love about this brooch is that the illustration on it is by one of my favourite children's illustrator teams, Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. So so cool!! Oh, and Hayley is actually giving away one of her gorgeous brooches on her blog right now - so go enter!

But wait, there's more!!!!!


I was lucky enough to do a little swap with Catherine from Made by Maisie, and Kate will be receiving this beautiful Missy Mermaid for Christmas. She is currently obsessed with all things mermaidy so will adore this gorgeous doll.

And I couldn't come away without some more gorgeous kids' clothing.


A stop by the Ogekko stall helped me get my fix, with a beautiful paneled skirt for Kate,


and some very cool pants for Lee.

Some gorgeous handmade Christmas decorations for our tree. If anyone read this post as soon as it went up you'll notice I have just added these in. I forgot them originally as they had been put on the tree as soon as we got home, and they looked so at home there I forgot to take them down and photograph them. So from left to right - star ornament that Kate chose from Raspberry Pink (Lee also chose a green tree one for himself but I can't find what he's done with it....). Peggy Rudolf from Sharlzndollz, a gorgeous gift from Bel from EmBelISH - Kate keeps pointing at her and saying "that's mum"...awwwww), thank-you SO much Bel, I love it!!! And a little Christmas Jelly from Jellygnite (and Kate points to that one as says "that's Kate"....once again...aawwwwww).

Whew, and I think that's it. I'll be doing up a post of the BrisStyle blog in the next day or so, which will include a lot more pics of market stalls. So check that out shortly if you're interested.

Oh, I almost forgot, kinda yesterday's news now, but a couple of weeks ago my bags were featured in the Courier Mail paper. Two days in a row!!! First in an art-lovers gift guide, and then in an Eco Gifts article. As my scanner is on the blink I can't scan the articles in, but here is a link to the blog post by the journalist who wrote the Eco Gifts article. It's the same article, just posted on his blog - The Green Blog.
(oh, and please note, I was a bit misquoted. When asked where I got my inspiration I answered vintage fabrics, Enid Blyton, and my Grandma's button tin. When asked where I found most of my fabrics I answered at local op shops. This transpired into me being quoted as saying I was inspired by op shops and a biscuit tin....he he he ...mmmmmm biscuits......)

And that's about it from me for a while. On Sunday I will be taking off for Christmas in Melbourne, and will be away for a couple of weeks. I have closed my Etsy shop until 26 January, and am making no promises about blogging until then either. I'm getting ready for some serious chill-out, play with the kids, sew some clothes, have some fun and bake some bikkies time.

Hope you all have a wonderful stress-free, healthy and relaxing Christmas and New Year. My very best wishes to you and your loved ones. See you in the new year. XXX Bec

Makin' merry at the market!!!

Only two sleeps until my first ever market. Eeeeekkkk!!!! I think I'm pretty organised, but I guess I won't really know until I get there and get into it.


Hopefully it will be a fun day. In fact, who am I kidding, of course it will be fun. It will be a market where I actually know all the stall holders, so of course it will be fun.


And there will also be live music (which will be nice), and yummy food, and strong coffee (which will be essential), and I will also have my lovely sister helping me, so hopefully lots of opportunities to shop shop shop as well!!!


If you're in Brisbane I'd love it if you stopped by and said hi!! Here's the details:

BrisStyle Christmas Markets
Saturday 13th December
9am - 4 pm
Hamilton Hall, cnr Racecourse Rd and Rossiter Pde, Hamilton
More info: http://brisstyle.blogspot.com



Oh, and if anyone has any last minute market advice for a complete market novice then I would LOVE to hear it!!!! OK, now I'd better get off this computer and back to making up swing tags....wwwhhheeeeee!!!!!!!

Lots of lovely things

Last weekend we had our first BrisStyle Christmas meet-up, which not only included drawing the winners of the BrisStyle blog giveaway but also a 'not-so-secret Santa swap'.

My 'secret' Santa was Helen from Ruby2GoGo and Ruby Red Studios and she gave me the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts.


My favourite item is the 'TV Temptress' bracelet, made from salvaged materials in my two favourite colours.


And the matching brooch is just perfect. Oh, and they also match so well with my two favourite rings, so I've been a well-accessorised girl lately :)

Not content with giving only beautiful handmade jewellery, Helen also gave me some gorgeous upholstery fabric samples, two absolutely beautiful huge vintage buttons (maybe bakelite??) and a block of my favourite chocolate!!! Thank-you so much Helen, I adore your gifts, and can't wait to catch up again at the BrisStyle Market!!!


Oh, and speaking of the BrisStyle market, I've been lying a bit low lately and just sew sew sewing my heart out. I've never done a maket before so I'm so excited and also nervous. I've just got everything crossed that I'm going to have enough stock. It's silly but every time I get a sale through etsy now my first thoughts are "oh no, now I have to make another bag to keep my market item numbers up..." Is this normal - does everyone who sells at markets get like this before a market. Or is it just me? I've an awful suspicion that everyone is now looking at their shoes, the ceiling...oh I think I just heard someone shuffle their foot and start whistling...

Anyway, back to lovely things. Another lovely thing is that my lovely sister has started blogging. Yay!!! She has recently been learning to sew (have I mentioned that my evil plan is to lure her into the world of crafting, sewing and blogging, so that she will then be addicted and we can both run a little handbag making business and we'll never have to go back to our old jobs when the kids go to school....EVER!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok, that was an evil laugh as I threw my head back with my hands in the air....somehow I feel that nuance was lost in the literary translation. Sorry.) So back to Jade (my sister).


She is married to a very successful Brisbane chef, so her blog is a mixture of her new foray into sewing and craft, and also a foodie blog (with a measure of 'new mum' stuff thrown in as well - you know, feeding, sleeping, pooing. All that good kid stuff.) You might guess the foodie part by the name. Just Needs Salt. Being the blanderamo eaters that Matt and I are, we often kid Jade and Kym about their sodium intake. So check it out - she writes well (not that I'm biased) and may I say that she is making some AWESOME bags (ahem...again, not that I'm biased) and I'm sure that not only will it put a smile on your face, but I'm sure that if Jade actually gets a comment on her blog from someone other than me it will put a huge smile on her face too!!!

Oooh oooh oooh, last lovely thing (I promise). A while back I treated myself to a new knitting needle necklace from Liana Kabel, a local Brissy designer with gorgeous taste in recycled plastic. And while having the obligatory 'dress-up' session that one must have after purchasing something new (ie. working out which outfits said item looks best with etc). I realised that my favourite outfit was Brisbane through and through.


So I took a photo - necklace by Liana (Brissy jeweller), top by Dogstar (Brisbane clothing designer), bag by me (sleep-deprived Brissy mum), and jeans....well, unfortunately they were probably made in a sweatshop in China I guess, but they had worn out some time ago, and instead of throwing them away I decided to mend the knee, and keep on keeping on with them. And I'm really glad I did. Instead of being embarrassed by my darned knee, I am actually quite proud of it. And of course I've convinced myself that it is the height of fashion. I even asked my biggest critic, and he agreed with me. Hey don't laugh, my four year old has great taste!!!!

Happy Manic Nervous Excited Inspired Grateful....

I think this title pretty much sums me up at the moment. Life really is whizzing along at a spectacular speed, but mostly in a good way. Perfect timing really to receive this lovely Pay It Forward gift from Big Cat on Monday.


The beautiful artwork she made was just the reminder I needed to stop and have a cup of tea (Melbourne Breakfast Tea in fact, which was delightful) and start reading the book that was also included in the package. Thank-you SO much!!!!! It was just the best way to start off the week.


And just a little note to my own Pay It Forward recipients, I have not forgotten you. I have put aside 6 weeks over the Christmas/New Year break which will be dedicated to all things fun and crafty, which includes getting those Pay It Forward gifts finished and posted off :)

And if getting a very special package on a Monday morning was the best way to start a week, then hopefully the Reverse Garbage Renaissance Christmas Exhibition will be the best way to end it.


I am both super excited and super nervous about turning up to the opening on Friday evening to see some of my bags and bookmarks displayed with so many other talented artists. Also looking forward to having an 'adult' and 'kid free' evening - we're even going to grab some Vietnamese afterwards which will be a fabulous way to finish up the night!


So yeah, if you find yourself in Brisbane this Friday and with not much else to do between 6pm and 8pm then come down to Reverse Garbage for the exhibition opening, and check out all the lovely exhibits (two other BrisStyle members - Helen from Ruby2GoGo and Ruby Red Studios, and Ali from Jellygnite will also be exhibiting, as will fellow blogger Sally from djbebe).


Everything being shown will also be for sale, and in fact the whole of Reverse Garbage itself will be open, so you can grab a paper bag and start filling. Go nuts!!!

And of course, don't forget folks, that the BrisStyle Blog Giveaway is still open until this Friday, so if you haven't left a comment, make sure you pop on over for your chance to win some fantastic gift packs, made up of a variety of handmade goods donated by the BrisStyle members.


And speaking of all things BrisStyle, I'm madly sewing away trying to get ready for the BrisStyle Christmas Market on 13th December. It will be my first ever market and I'm SOOOOOO nervous. I still haven't got my signage or display stuff organised. I've been collecting bits and pieces that I think will work for displaying my bags, but I really need to pull out my table and see if it is all going to come together. I'm starting to feel like I'm really running out of time.....eeekkkkkkk!!!!

Well that's it from me. I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date.....with some nappies (which will be off to a new home in the Blue Mountains soon - hopefully Kara will find them useful). And I will have a whole storage tub free to fill up with some other useful junk...I mean...stuff...I mean really useful and uh, necessary items....:P

So last post I was a busy elf, this post I'm the white rabbit. Just wait, by next post I may be the mad hatter...

Secret Santa Elf Business

Yes, I've been giggling madly and working furiously and basically doing an all round impersonation of what I imagine one of Santa's elves to be like. Which is why I've been absent from blogland lately. But now it has all come together, I'd like to bring your attention to:

THE BIGGEST BLOG GIVEAWAY EVER!!!!!

Yes, there's been good reason for being away folks!

The giveaway is being run by BrisStyle, a Brisbane based Etsy Street team that I belong to. And I have been madly collecting goodies, making lists (don't worry, I've been checking them twice) and doing lots of other associated elfy things :P

Basically, as part of a big pre-Christmas promotional exercise, we at BrisStyle have put together 3 huge gift packs of handmade goodies from 17 of our members. Each pack is valued at over US $100, and is chockers full of great gifts including jewellery, softies, accessories, bags and artworks.

So what are you doing here? Get thee to the BrisStyle blog - you may win something very cool, and you'll make me feel like I've been a good little elf :P

Looking forward to taking off my pointy hat off now, and catching up with everyone around the bloggy traps again!

Cheers,
Bec

Bouncy castles are STILL genius!

Image by mrmoorey

Due to lots of things happening over the last week (none which are interesting enough to talk about, but all of which kept me from doing anything even remotely bloggy-related) I missed Drewzel's Blogtoberfest Fave Friday (sorry!), where she posted her fav all time song. Well I don't think I could possibly have narrowed it down to one. However, I realised that I have had a certain song stuck in my head for quite some time now, and it's got to the point where my husband and I have been singing it so much that my son now even knows the words. Actually, it's not a song, so much as a 'crimp'. Mighty Boosh fans will know what I'm talking about. Check it out here - it's fantastic - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNgL0E2BFEM (sorry, the BBC won't let me embed it - you'll have to watch it on youtube. Trust me though, it's worth it.)

And if you REALLY love it, then you can learn the words here - they're very easy, and SOOOOOOO addictive.



I think I've become a bit of a crimping machine. I've been singing it to my 7 month old nephew lately to (I sing the song, he does the 'bouncy bouncy' moves) and he LOVES it. What can I say, the boy's got taste!!!

I've also been tagged by PinkLizzy for the 6 random things meme. I know I've done this one before, but I figured since I've been thinking about music a lot lately (I'm also re-reading High Fidelity for book club, so I've developed the habit of categorising things into 'top five' lists) that I'd just adapt this meme a bit, and make it a bit of a High Fidelity meets RocKwiz kinda theme. (And sorry, but I couldn't stick to just 6, so I've added an extra random question).

I won't tag anyone, but play if you want, and let me know so I can come check out your answers!

1. Your first musical idol.

When I was a kid my musical idol was Tiny Tina Arena. I desperately wanted to be on Young Talent Time and be the one singing "someone left the cake out in the rain..."

2. Your biggest musical shame/embarrassment.

When I was a teenager I was a headbanging metal fan. Not the hardcore stuff like Metallica. I was into Motley Crue, Guns n Roses (the early stuff, not the later stuff), Poison (eeek, I know!), and all the other glam metal bands. I even played bass guitar in my own little garage metal band. We were called Mary Jane. Of course.

3. Your special musical talent?

I know the words to more kids' songs than my kids' music teacher. This never ceases to amaze me (I also know the associated actions and dance moves, and it also amazes me that other parents don't....is this not normal???)

4. A musical thing that you wouldn't do in public.

I am great at changing the words to songs on the spur of the moment to fit whatever it is I want to tell my kids. I can even make them rhyme in the right places (maybe I should have been a freestyin' rapper). And scarily, my son seems to have inherited this talent, so we sometimes conduct whole conversations 'in song'!!! Not in public, of course.

5. The last band you saw live.

Machine Gun Fellatio which was about 4 years ago. They were pretty good.

6. Favourite live music experience.

Seeing The Eels play about 8 years ago. And I didn't even pay for the tickets (won a RRR giveaway). It wasn't a 'jump around and go nuts' kind of event. More a sit down and watch and listen carefully because you didn't want to miss a thing because it was all so intricate and subtle and well....just awesome!!!

7. If you could see any band/musician live tomorrow, who would it be?

They Might Be Giants. Because I've never seen them live and I'm afraid I never will, and I'd SOOOOO love to. I mean, come on, how awesome is this song.



It's jumpy, it's happy, and hey, it's even educational :P

I'm a mean green machine!

Lately I've been discovering some absolute gems that have sprung from the world of green. And I'm considering it my environmental duty to share :)

Firstly, I recently chanced upon the discovery of a new publication called Peppermint Magazine - a mag devoted to fresh green fashion. And I can't rave about it enough. It is a slick, classy, 'fashion forward' (can you tell I've been watching Project Runway) magazine that was put together by a one-woman show in Brisbane. From big name labels to local SE Qld designers (djbebe's recycled fabric brooch and Rebecca Wards' shark shards recycled glass necklace are paired with Gorman and del forte's organic ranges of clothing in a gorgeous fashion shoot spread) this magazine has it all. Great articles (I SO want to get to a Clothing Exchange event now), a visual art/design competition in every issue, and all printed on beautiful glossy 100% recycled stock and printed with vege/soy inks. The first issue is free if you pick it up at one of their stockists (Meet Me at Mikes fans in Melbourne can find a copy there) or you can order it only for only $5.95 inc postage. I know I sound like I have some sort of vested interest but I really don't. I just really enjoyed this mag - even the ads were interesting to me!

Happy green news number 2. Check out these vintage lovelies!

The wonderful Meika from Meika's Little Treasures hosted a vintage sheet fat quarter swap, and these are the lovely fabrics that I received. Can't wait to make some more fabric bookmarks with them. In fact, this segues nicely into my next bit of green news, as the reason I have to make more bookmarks is that I have been accepted into the Reverse Garbage Christmas Exhibition. So very exciting!!! I will be displaying some bookmarks, some reversible handbags, and a shoulder bag - all from recycled, reclaimed and reused materials. I've never taken part in anything like this before so I was very chuffed to have my submission accepted. Now I just have to get to work!!!

Photo by Jones.Emma

And the last of the green news is of the cleaning variety. In an effort to reduce the chemicals and toxic substances around the house we have trying out various 'green cleaning' methods, so I thought I'd share some of the crackers.

1. Leather conditioner (used on our couch) - 2tbsp linseed or flaxseed oil to 1 tbsp white vinegar. Mix in bowl and rub into leather with a soft cloth, then buff with another dry cloth. Seriously - this is AWESOME!!! It actually worked heaps better than the proprietry leather conditioner we had from Freedom.

2. Bathroom cleaner - sprinkle bi-carb soda over surface, dip cloth in white vinegar (or pour a bit over the bi-carb so it fizzes) and wipe with a cloth. Using this and an old toothbrush to clean around the taps and other tricky bits was just the best. Worked so well, and for once I wasn't worried about getting nasty bathroom chemicals or bleach on my hands or clothes.

3. Clothes whitener - in an effort to whiten up some of my greying white clothes, I soaked them in a bucket of water with a cup of white vinegar, then put them out in the sun. Awesomely white. Napisan eat your heart out!

4. Personal care products - I've been trying out lots of different brands, and am SO happy with the following. Trilogy hair care products (natural, organic, no creepy stuff), Trilogy hydrating toner (again, organic, yummy rose, geranium and lavender oils), Jurlique cleanser (natural, non-creepy, smells great - expensive, but lasts for ages), Jurlique sunscreen (now I don't know how 'green' sunscreen can really get, but I can say that this facial sunscreen is 30+ and absorbs so well, and best of all smells really really nice - not like sunscreen at all!!)

And that's it for my mean green tips today. Do you have any special green cleaning tips products or general news you'd like to share? Because I'd love to find out more.

Gratefulness

Now this post could be huge. Of course there is always so much to be grateful for. But in the spirit of my last two posts I will try and keep it short(ish) and sweet. Firstly, I am once again grateful for the generous spirit of crafty bloggers, and in particular I want to say a HUGE thank-you to Net from Area Thrifty-One. A little while ago Net ran a giveaway on her blog, and the winner was a friend of mine (Ali) who belongs to BrisStyle, the Brisbane Etsy Street Team that we both belong to. When I mentioned to Net how pleased I was that Ali was the winner, she sent through a little pressie for me with Ali's giveaway pack. Isn't this little brooch just too gorgeous. I've been wearing it at every opportunity this weekend, and so far I've discovered it goes just as well with a plain black bonds t-shirt, as it does with a crisp white blouse. Thank-you so much Net - it is such a lovely and thoughtful gift and I really do adore it :)


In other bloggy gratefulness news, I have been very lucky to be honored with the Love Your Blog award from Ingrid of LottieLuLu, and also from Beccasaurus. The idea of passing the award on is kind of stressing me out though, as I have over (ok, well over) 100 blogs in my bloglines, and I really do love reading them all. I also know that many blogs I read have already received this award, and I'm worried about doubling up.....I know. Neurotic. I'm making steps though. I now accept my neuroticness (is that a word!!!) and I'm no longer neurotic about being neurotic :P So let me just say that if I have commented on your blog, then I can guarantee that I love it.

But I will leave you with some cool linky links, as there are some very sweet things going on in Blogland at the moment, and it would be simply remiss of me not to mention them:

• Amanda of Twinkle Star Art is doing another giveaway for one of her gorgeous children's prints. If you have a little boy, or know of one, who is into automobiles, then get ye to Amanda's blog asap. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I have seen her prints in person and the quality of them is just superb!
  
  

• If you've been reading the Betty Ninja blog over the past 12 months, you will probably, like me, have been in awe of some of her beautiful viewfinder photographs. Not content to be an awesome quilter, sewer, thrifter, crafter and adventure girl, she also takes amazing photos. And she has finally set up an Etsy shop (lost in the woods - isn't that a lovely name!) selling prints of her work. To celebrate, she is currently hosting a giveaway, where you can win not one but three of her gorgeous prints. I think if I don't win I might have to just buy one of her beautifully etherial photos for myself.
  
  
  
• If you'd like to join in a festival of blogging in October, then you may want to consider participating in Blogtoberfest, hosted by Big Cat's Emporium, which involved a post a day for the month of October. Unfortunately I think I am just a little too sporadic in my postings to commit to something so ambitious, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun. The lovely Flossy-P has even produced a little button for it - how cool is that!

Now I'm truly sorry folks. I know I promised short punchy posts....and I tried...I really did....trust me, this could have been heaps heaps longer :P

Productive

I have actually been pretty productive lately. I have a whole heap of new bags that I can't show yet because I still haven't taken photos of them, but I do have photos of a little gift pack I sent off recently to my Sister-in-law and Brother-in-law and their new little baby Angus. I really wanted to try and do a completely handmade pack of goodies to send them. Unfortunately with illness hitting the household at the time of the birth, it took me a little longer to finish everything, but I got there eventually. The pack included:

* reversible bibs for little Angus - made with a mixture of reclaimed vintage and new japanese fabrics.
* cloth ball rattle - pattern found here. It was so super easy, and lots of fun (although I used felt for the circles on the end, which made it even easier!). I can't remember where I got the idea of using a cat toy for the rattle bit inside (i'm sure I read about it on a craft blog somewhere), but it worked a treat.
* casual market tote - just a little pressie for the new mum, whose favourite colour is purple (fabrics used are reclaimed purple linen, reclaimed wool fabric, and new Hollabee linen/cotton blend fabric with hand screenprinted rubine swirls. Strap was a recycled fabric belt, with vintage buttons for detail).

(reverse side of bibs)
OK, so this is one short post (for me!). Look out everyone. I'm on fire!!!

Bird nests and deep breaths

We are very lucky to have two bird nests in our back yard at the moment. One big messy one up very high in the top of a big old gum tree at the back of the yard, and one little neat one at the top of a much smaller spindly tree near the kids' cubby house.

Whenever I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the lists of things to do I have floating around the place, I go out onto the deck and stop for a while to look at these bird nests and listen to the chirping. To come back into the moment I guess.

I had a good look at those nests before I sat down at this computer actually. Because I have so much to say and show and acknowledge, and it's been so long since I posted....you know how it is. I was going to try and say everything in one big post (yes, the mammoth posts seem to be a hallmark of mine) but then I thought I should maybe try breaking it all down into bite-sized portions. Manageable tasks, if you will.

So here comes a series of little posts - I hope. I do have trouble with conciseness sometimes. But I will try. It is Spring after all. A good time for new things. Hurrah!

PS. If you look closely in this last shot, you can see a little head and beak poking out of the nest. Sorry my nature photography skills are not great - plus I was balancing on the edge of the cubby house holding my arm above my head and trying to use the zoom function on my little happy-snaps camera....

A welcome distraction

Boy, after my last post I really jinxed myself. I felt great for 3 days. And like I said - I was 'popping' with energy and enthusiasm. And then suddenly it wasn't me that was popping, it was just my ear. I've been laid out flat with a horrendous ear infection for the last week. My first one ever, and boy are they horrible - the worst pain ever, the dizziness, the nausea, and the walking into walls because balance is totally shot. Blah - who invented that one!!!

Anyway, I'm still deaf but starting to pick up, and I have been tagged by the lovely Flossy-P for the 'on my walls' meme. This couldn't have come at a better time, as I have nothing at all crafty to show or to talk about, and I'm pretty sure there's only so much whining about feeling crappy that people will put up with reading.

So I will do some show and tell instead, and I won't feel like I have totally neglected my blog.


Firstly, above is my favourite piece of wall decoration, and my only original piece of art; Inner Peace by Alesha Cox, who is an artist that lives on the Sunshine Coast. I'd had my eye on her paintings for a while, and watched her delivering some of her pieces to a gallery once - she seemed like such a nice person, which made her work appeal to me even more. So when the opportunity to buy one of her pieces arose, I jumped at it. This is in our lounge/dining area, and I like that it always reminds me to stop and breathe when I'm having a day that's a bit of a shocker.


Framed print of The Ride by Elsa Mora (Elsita). This hangs in our entrance at the bottom of the stairs, and puts a smile on my face each time I enter the house.

Green Birds On Flowers - a limited edition gocco print by Bernadette Sipkes (Sugarloop), a printmaker and illustrator from NZ. This hangs on the wall leading into our kitchen, and I love how it looks with all the natural light falling onto it, and our fire engine red kitchen tiles in the background set it off so nicely (I couldn't manage to get them into the shot, sorry!)


This original batik painting, stapled to a wooden frame, was bought by Matt before I met him, while he was traveling through Indonesia. Matt has always loved it, and I was never much of a fan, but it has grown on me over the years, and I now find the spooky faces familiar and comforting.


These are actually paintings I did when I was pregnant with Lee. I wanted to decorate his nursery, but we couldn't afford to buy anything at the time. So I decided to have a crack at some simple paintings myself. They now live in the kids playroom, but will probably be outgrown soon. Now you can see why I sew, rather than paint :P

And what would a family home be without kid art and photos.


We have some beautiful professional photos of the kids, but I'm afraid I'm not going to show them in any detail here - for one thing, I think we are always much more enamored of our own photos than other people are, and also it's just a bit too personal for me. But I will proudly show off my kids' bedroom, which for me is a little work of art in itself, complete with colour, their own artworks, and many many treasures.


Train Collage by Lee. He told me what pieces he wanted - I cut them out for him and he put the whole thing together. We then framed it in an old frame I bought in an Op Shop for $1.



Rainbow Painting, Christmas Tree Collage, and Rocket Mobile by Lee, and Wiggly Picture by Kate. I love these, they are so happy!



Stained Glass Windows by Lee and Kate. After seeing something similar on Playschool we decided to have a crack at making some windows ourselves. Admittedly they look a bit crap when you're standing outside looking in, but they look lovely from inside the kids' bedroom, and they love looking out from them.


Bling Bling Mountain Bike Collage by Lee - a Father's Day present for Matt last year. This one has pride of place in Matt's little office.

And now I get to tag some people, and I'm going to choose three very creative gals who always amaze me with their own works of art. So I'd be very interested to have a sticky at what they have on their walls, if they have the time and inclination to play :)

The Tiny Little Girl
Twinkle Star Art
Hey Harriet

Play if you'd like to. Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. No pressure :)