This is...what makes me happy

Thanks so much to Jacinta from One Little Acorn for a brilliant This is... theme this week. So. What makes me happy? My goodness, so many things from the huge stuff to the tiny little things I am lucky enough to take for granted every day. But to keep things simple, here are just a few things that have made me feel very happy lately:


Kate's second birthday. With eighteen extended family members. Watching my kids feel so happy and loved, surrounded by both sets of grandparents, and all the people who love them best. Oh, and seeing both Granddads wearing birthday tiaras to please the birthday girl - now you don't get much more happy than that :P


Yummy pudding made by my sister, with beautiful crispy-on-top meringue...


Followed by gooey meringue underneath, with lemon curd, blueberries and custardy filling....mmmmmm..... happiness in a bowl!


Making puppets of our family with the kids (the puffy white-haired person is apparently 'Dad'...he he he... and for some reason, the 'Kate' puppet had to be a 'superhero baby', complete with a cape!).


And then, of course, sitting back and enjoying the puppet show. Kate and I were the audience, and Kate sung along and clapped with gusto. And at the end the puppeteer came out and took a bow. And that was ear-to-ear happiness my friends.


Finishing a project.This particular one is for the shop, but really, it doesn't matter if a project is for the shop, for myself, or for someone else - just 'finishing' something always feels so great. There are not a lot of jobs involved in a stay-at-home mum's role that ever get 'completed'. Raising happy, healthy, beautiful kids, doing housework, cooking food....these things are always 'works in progress'. Which is fine. But it's also nice to be able to tick things off a list sometimes and get that short-term sense of achievement. It makes me feel happy :)

Thanks again Jacinta for reminding me to walk down happy lane and appreciate all the good things along it. And now I'm off to enjoy more happy moments from everyone else's blogs. Cheers!

This is...a bit of a catch up...

I've had so much trouble keeping up with blogging lately, so here's a catch-up from the last two 'This is...' themes.


Last week's theme, as chosen by Betty Jo from Lino Forest was My Best Op Shop Find. And basically I was paralysed by the choices, as I've found so many great things over the years. In the end, I chose my favourite most recent find, which is this little embroidered tablecloth (sorry, I really should have ironed it, but hey, I think I may have confessed here once or twice already that I'm lazy like that!).


I just love the little Scotty dogs around the edge, and the little matching napkin (shown in the middle of the cloth). It's in perfect condition - looks to have never been used!

And this week's theme, as chosen by Danielle from Teacups on Treatops is My Most Treasured Childhood Possession.

Again I have lots of things from teddies, to plastic jewellery, to poems written in Grade 2.


But the thing I love most is this tin. Looks pretty unexciting really doesn't it! But it used to belong to my Grandma, and it was always filled to the brim with buttons. I would spend hours at her place playing with this tin, or rather with the buttons within. I would sort them by colour, then by size, then by pattern, or even by interestingness. I even loved the feel and the sounds of them.....are you starting to get the picture of where my button addiction may have originated? Anyway, this button tin became mine a long time ago, and before I discovered sewing, it just sat in my special meatsafe cupboard (another treasure that once belonged to Grandma and Grandad - it is a rickety old thing with a stained-glass window in the top cupboard door, with wire mesh at the sides. Grandma used to keep her potatoes in it. But I digress...).

Anyway, once I discovered sewing, I realised I could actually start using the buttons I had loved so much for so long. And then I realised that I actually had an excuse to start a button collection of my own, adding to Grandma's stash.


And of course my button collection fast outgrew this old tin, and is now sorted (by colour) in glass jars by my sewing area. But this tin still has pride of place. It now contains pieces of elastic, because I like to think it would still prefer to be useful. And I never tire of looking at it. If I am stuck for inspiration, this tin always takes me back to a childhood filled with colour, texture, and imaginative wonder.

All this from a tin eh?....who'da thunk it!!

this is...

OK, so once again I'm a day late. Just can't seem to get my act together on a Sunday lately. This week's this is... theme, as chosen by Kitty's Kaboodle, is this is... my most favourite outfit that expresses my individual style. And of course this picture is just a joke....no really... it is...really...ahem..

Anyway, this week I'm just going to cheat and show you some pics you've probably already seen before. Because sometimes I'm just lazy like that. And also, all my favourite outfits are summery, and right now it's too cold to put them on for a solo photoshoot. And trust me, you don't want to see me in my trackies, fluffy socks and pilled old turtle-necked jumper. Really.


If I had unlimited time and funds, my preference would be to make most of my own clothes. One of my favourite outfits is this dress that was made with op-shopped fabric and some old buttons. I used the Built by Wendy pattern. I love it!


I also love this top, also made with thrifted fabric and buttons. It's a happy top. Some might say 'clownish'. I say 'happy'.


The one part of my wardrobe that I do like to spend a lot of money on however is shoes. I like them to look great,feel comfortable, and not put too much stress on my hips. Hence, the selection of shoes in a previous this is... post.


But usually, I'm living in my favourite pair of wrangler jeans, with any old top thrown on. I love that I can wear a t-shirt, a handmade blouse, or a classy 'going out for tea' top, and the jeans dress up and down really well. They also have just the right amount of stretch and just the right amount of bootleg cut.


And of course, no outfit would be complete without a few accessories. And a nice bag.

And speaking of bags (I'm sorry - was that a bad segue or what!!!).


Here is one more for the shop.


The Briony reversible handbag. Made with 100% recycled fabric and buttons. I really love deciding on the button details on these bags - not sure why but it really makes me happy :)

And speaking of happy (yes I know, I should get a job on Today Tonight as their segue writer)....

...have a happy Monday all :)

Flower power

I think I've been channeling my inner hippie lately....


Genuine flower power pants for Kate, made from a 1970s pattern. The fabric is a really fine corduroy, and it sits beautifully. Made in under an hour during her nap. I love projects like this - ie. instant gratification.

And a new reversible bag for the shop.


This fantastic fabric was actually an ironing board cover.


Reverse side is made from blockout curtain fabric.


Art cards (or ACEOs) from Jellygnite - an Etsy purchase I couldn't resist.


They are now making me smile as they brighten up my sewing space.


They came in a gorgeous package with a lovely postcard and little handmade notebook too. Isn't it funny how the packaging and little extras count for so much? It just feels so thoughtful and personal. You don't get that from ordering things from big corporate companies :). Oh, and Ali has also started a new blog (called Charlie and Grace), full of everything from art, craft, sewing, book reviews, and lots of retro loveliness! I highly recommend it - check it out :)

Lastly, I know I'm late for the 'this is...' meme (the theme this week, as chosen by Quilting Mick, is the space in which I create). But I still can't decide if I can bear to show you my sewing space in all its messy glory. It's really a disgrace at the moment, and I'm worried that a photo of it might be, like, oversharing, you know? And I know, I could just clean it up - but (puts whiny voice on now) I have SOOOOO much to do this week, and if I start then I won't be able to stop there, and I'll end up cleaning and sorting the whole rumpus room, and then I'll notice the outdoor area under the deck and suddenly I'll be sweeping and tidying and gardening, and sorting out sand-pit toys.....aaaaahhhhhh. A job for next weekend I think (*wink*)....

Oh bugger it. Here it is, don't say I didn't warn you!


Slinking away to feel embarrassed now....

This is...a road trip

Well, the theme for this week's 'This is...', as chosen by Hila, is 'my favourite travel memory'. This one is definitely up there, but the main reason I have chosen this road trip, is because I already had the digital photos on my computer, and I'm feeling too lazy to go through my photo albums and scan old pics. I know. Slack. Oh well, life's like that sometimes.

Anyway, here it is. Our road trip from Brisbane to Melbourne, pre-kids. Or rather, when our staffy was still our official 'child'.


We actually planned the whole road trip around our dog (Anouk) because we were going back to Victoria to visit family for Christmas, and couldn't bear to leave her in a kennel, or to put her on a plane to travel down. So we did the logical thing, and drove the 1700 odd kilometers down to Melbourne, then swung past Swan Hill on the way back. All in all it was an over 4000km trip. But so free and fun.


We camped along the way.


We all slept in a tent together (armed with our 'travelling with dogs' camping book we knew which places to head for), and with our doggy 'baby' safe in her special dog seat and doggy seat belt, we had a lovely time driving through the Australian outback.


Anouk even sat with us while we lunched in Chapel St (Melbourne), and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the trip every bit as much as us.

As with all big trips though - I was glad to get home.

This is...something I got, but still haven't used

This week's This is... theme, brought to you by the lovely Flossy-P, is something I got but still haven't used.

Well, I bought these colourful little ceramic pots at least six months ago, with visions of baking little individual puddings in them. I am a complete sucker for bright multi-coloured crockery, and I LOVE individual 'anythings' (think individual pies, tarts, you name it, I probably love it). So of course I couldn't resist them.

And yet here they are. Pristine, and as yet unused. I almost used them tonight, as I had thought of doing little self-saucing chocolate puddings in them for dessert (we are doing a big Sunday roast lamb dinner for the extended family). But my sister offered to make an apple and rhubarb crumble...and who in their right mind says no to that!!!

So in the cupboard they stay, for yet another day...

This is...my way of recycling

Thanks to Angela's mum for this week's this is... theme.

We recycle a lot. I could show you some very unattractive boxes of paper, plastic and glass waiting to be taken out to the recycle bin. I could show you a ridiculously messy bookcase full of things saved for kid craft (think paper scraps, cotton reels, cardboard tubes and fabric scraps). I could even show you the lovely black hose we plug into the washing machine to drain the water onto the garden, although this has currently been chewed by the dog and brittled (is that a word??) by the sun, and is in dire need of replacement.

But you know, sometimes recycling can be a bit ugly. And I do try to keep this blog space...well...un-ugly (surely this one is a word?...).

So here is my pretty, sanitised, 'tv-world' version of my recycling.


First, my latest recycling project - bookmarks made from vintage sheets, pillowcases and buttons. Having lots of fun making these. Lovely and tactile to touch, and the button stops them slipping down into the book (a pet hate of mine, and one which sometimes leads me to 'dog-earing' (ok, I'm sure this one must be a word...right?) my books - which in turn is a pet hate of my husband's.

Like most crafters/sewers, I guess I do a lot of fabric recycling. All the bags I make are at least 33% recycled. Some are even 100% recycled if you include fabric scraps and remnants found in Op Shops, and exclude new sewing thread. Of course, when I first started making bags, I pretty much only used recycled fabrics. Here are some of the earliest bags I made, mostly from things which were once other things...:


1. I used to be a tablecloth, 2. I used to be a cushion cover, 3. I was a pilowcase and unwanted fabric scraps, 4. I was once an ugly dress, 5. I used to be an ironing board cover, 6. I used to be a tablecloth, 7. I used to be a pillowcase, 8. I used to be Grandma's tablecloth

For a little tour of recycled things I have blogged about previously, check out:

Mixy-Matchy napkins from bed sheets, pillowcases, and vintage fabric scraps
Hippy pants made from a bed sheet
Girly smock made from a bed sheet
Apron made from a bed sheet
Christmas wreath made from fabric scraps

This is...Mother's Day

This is...what we did for Mother's Day. We had a lovely big family day with the extended family, which included five mothers and one mother-to-be, a nearly four-year-old, two nearly two-year-olds, a six week old, and two works-in-progress!!

It was lovely. We found a quiet park,


and had it all to ourselves!

We drank sparkly wine. We feasted on homemade finger food including egg and bacon pies, roast vegetable sandwhiches, crumbed chicken,


scotch eggs mmmmmmm,

mini banana loaves, oaty chocolate and almond cookies, and...



the best chocolate caramel slice I've eaten in years (thanks Jade).

We also filled the afternoon in with frisbees, football,


boule (...ahem...I do believe Dad and I were the champions!!)

and knitting. Could there be a better way to spend a Mother's Day? I think not.

And whose idea was this fantastic day?

My mums! As usual Mum, you always come through with the goods. Thanks for being such an inspiration to me.

XXXXXXXX

I'll leave you with the Mother's Day cards my kids made for my Mum and my Aunty (who is really like a third Grandma to them). They are all pictures made from a fantastic book called Hand Art (KLUTZ - Chicken Socks) where each page shows the child how to hold their hand (shadow puppet style) so that you can draw around it, and then you turn it into an animal. It is perfect for Lee's age group. He works out how to hold his hand, then I draw around it and put in the details, then he colours it in as per the picture, and glues on the eyes etc. This book has kept us all so well occupied over the last week, and our house is filled with creatures from Aliens and Elephants to Peacocks and Frogs. My lovely mum also bought Lee the Superhero Starter Kit in this series yesterday, and it is also really great. Not a big price tag either which is nice. Whew, that turned into a mini-book review for kids didn't it! Oh well, it's a mother's prerogative to waffle on isn't it??????

Kate's Art


Chicken


Octopus

Lee's Art

Butterfly


Cat

This is...my favourite book - and 123 meme

Firstly, continuing the This is... meme this week (theme brought to you by Dees from Daisy in LaLa Land). This is supposed to be my favourite book. I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it. Asking for a favourite book is like asking for a favourite song - honestly, it depends on the day, on my mood, etc etc. I really did try to narrow it down, but this is the best I could do.

I imagined that I had to get on a plane right now, and could only take three books from my bookshelves - so what would I pick? First, I grabbed this one - because I'm in that kind of mood today:

The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918. Chosen and Edited by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. I've no idea where this book came from. I know it once belonged to my mum and she let me take it with me when I moved out of home. But only because she'd never opened it before, and I'm sure it came to her from someone else. Maybe a grandparent? I'll have to ask. Anyway, I spent much of my Uni days pouring over this book - lost in the romantic imagery of poets such as Keats, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake. I have so many poems bookmarked in this book, and I lost an hour this morning going back through them. In fact, I enjoyed flipping through this book again so much, that I've decided to start doing a Monday's Verse on this blog. And I will post a favourite poem (not just from this book - I have many!!!) each Monday. Not sure for how long - until I get bored of it I guess. So for now, here's my favourite from this book:

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare? -

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

- William Henry Davies

I know poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, so for those who are starting to nod off, here is another book that I would have to take on that plane with me.


Actually, I could have grabbed any Tom Robbins book - I've read them all more than once. But today I would feel like reading this one. Skinny Legs and All - here's a bit of the blurb:

...An Arab and a Jew open a restaurant together across the street from the United Nations...It sounds like the beginning of an ethnic joke, but it's the axis around which spins Tom Robin's gutsy, fun-loving, and alarmingly provocative new novel, in which a bean can philosophises, a dessert spoon mystifies, a young waitress takes on the New York art world, and a rowdy redneck welder discovers the lost god of Palestine - while the illusions that obscure humanity's view of the true universe fall away, one by one, like Salome's veils...

It's a great read. Trust me. Read it!

And lastly, I would also take a very recently read novel - Eucalyptus by Murray Bail.


I read this book for Book Club, but I really rushed through to get it read on time. And it was a bit like scoffing a very fine meal. I want to go back and savour it. It is written like a fable, although set in a one-horse town in New South Wales it brings the fable into the bush which gives it a unique flavour. This is a book to read not only for its story, but for its stories within the story - and for its meanings within those stories. Which are all too easily missed when trying to rush through the narrative. It is a gentle read, and I started out quite non-plussed about it - but the aftertaste has lingered, and I keep finding its subtle magic swirling around in my mind, whispering to me to come back to it.

And on a not entirely different note - I have been tagged by the wonderfully literary Paula from Great Stories, for a 123 meme (if ever you need inspiration for reading suggestions or book reviews, please head on over to visit Paula - I've had many a great book recommendation from her). Anyway, I figured what better place to do it than in this post about books. So here's the deal.

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

It's an interesting meme, to find out if three sentences can convey a writer's style, or the feel of a novel. So the nearest book to me is actually none of the above three, but the book I have just finished reading (for Book Club again).


Water for Elephants. By Sara Gruen. And here they are:

The voices drop. There's a shuffling, and someone shushing someone. "What is it?" calls August.

Hmmmm, not sure if the above is really telling much about this novel - but I do recommend it for an absolutely absorbing read, with a cracker of an ending. And after all this, I really don't know who to tag, so I think this time I will leave it open. If anyone would like to take part in this easy literary meme, please do, and leave me a comment so I can come and check it out :)

Happy Monday everyone, and happy reading :)

This is...my latest discovery

I had no idea what I was going to do for this one. I actually thought my discovery was going to be that I had discovered nothing lately......which is probably not entirely true, but I just couldn't think of anything...until I gave up, went blog/flickr-hopping and stumbled across this:

THE MOST GORGEOUS CARDIGAN EVER

by Flintknits

You really must check out this knitted beauty. Isn't it just the best? Now I'm completely sure my knitting skills are nowhere near up to making this. But this is going to be my knitting Everest. And one day I will conquer it. How could I not? I really want it!

Find out what others have discovered recently by visiting Angela's blog at Three Buttons. And thank-you to Knit Owl for this week's theme.

This is...my perfect dinner party guest list

Boy was this one hard! Only six people to choose for the perfect dinner party. For you AND your significant other...

Well, in the spirit of fairness, I picked three people that Matt would also like to chat to over dinner, and he picked three that I would also be happy with. So our party would include (my picks first):


John Safran. Because he would talk a lot, and would, I imagine, provide both interesting and amusing conversation (I would love to hear him chatting to my next guest).


Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo. After reading A cave in the snow, I would love to talk to this British born buddhist woman, I mean, she spent 12 years in a cave, sleeping in a three foot square meditation box, and has dedicated her life to overcoming sexism within Tibetan buddhism. She also has the goal to attain enlightenment as a woman. Full on!


Noel Fielding. Do I need to explain why he's here? OK, so I'm quite sure I would enjoy his witty conversation and humour. But come on, it's nice to have some eye candy too :P

And here's Matt's picks (as OK'd by me!)



Tom Robbins. As Matt said, "the guy's a tripper!" What wouldn't be interesting about a dinner party with him there!" I would also love to ask him when his next book is coming out. Because they just don't come out often enough.


Johnny Depp. Of course I was particularly happy with this pick. And when I asked Matt why Johnny Depp, he just said "I dunno, there's just something about him that appeals to me". Also, Matt has loved just about every movie he has ever been in. So that could also have something to do with it.


Justine Clarke. Matt's reasons for inviting Justine Clarke are pretty much exactly the same as my reasons for wanting to invite Noel Fielding.

Now I'm off to check out everyone else's lists. You can see who else is playing at the Three Buttons blog. And thanks to Lily and Agathe for this week's theme!