Oooo…shiny….

I love bling. That is all.

My reward for finally tidying and reorganising the studio was to sit for for half hour and have a play with some new beads I ordered a few weeks back. Czech fire-polished glass, Japanese glass, Swarovski crystal and some sterling silver beads combined to make my new favourite piece of bling. I was also pretty chuffed that after posting a photo on Facebook, that I’ve been commissioned to create a piece to match a necklace. I’m excited to take up the challenge!

The children are tucked up, though that is not to say they are sleeping. A quick tidy of the kitchen and I’m back to the sewing machine. Some quilting just about done. A mug rug in progress. My crafty mojo is back with a vengeance! Hope you all had a great Monday, back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

And. Resume.

After two weeks holiday, including 10 days at the coast, it’s a hard slog waking up and hitting the ground running for preschool this morning. Ten whole days we spent in a gorgeous, sleepy little seaside fishing village, with absolutely nothing to do aside from bike riding, boating and going to the beach. It was bliss. I took a basket of craft with me, and aside from from 2.5 books read, and two knitting projects half done, I also managed to finally finish the binding on those two green and orange d9p quilts. From January. *blush*. Upside is it’s a good excuse to photograph then in an “exotic” location!

Monday has hit here with a vengeance. Washing overflowing from the laundry. Raining. A big boy with a tummy ache. A little boy back at preschool. Lots of inspiration begging to be let out to play, but where to start. Possibly with the cleaning of the studio. Have a wonderful Monday, I need to get my mojo rocking while children sleeping. Let’s do this!

Peek-a-boo

Remember me? Please excuse my lack of blogging recently, I have both my big school boy and his daddy home on holidays, so I’ve been busy enjoying them. A bit of crafting has been happening, a Dear Jane block finished and another started, some knitting cast on. Fabric and beads arriving. Pinning some new “one-day” projects. And soaking in the moments that fill my days and my heart. Hope you are all having a great holiday too!

Holidays, at last

The last day of school is upon us. No more lunch boxes. No more uniforms. No more prodding and cajoling and pushing to get out the door. Two whole weeks of our big boy back with us. As a special treat, I let him have a lunch order for today, much to his delight. But of course, then came the tears. “I want a wunch order, mother. Pwease? I has a wunch order too, I wite it, see?”

It’s shopping day, so as I made my list, I perched Buster Boy up on the island with a lunch bag and texta, and he “wrote” his lunch order. A peanut butter sandwich, a squeezy yoghurt and a pink milk. The necessary supplies procured at Coles, and I bundled it all in the bag for him.

One lunch order, and more tears avoided.

And Miss Evil herself pinned a very cool idea this morning. Cheesecake Easter eggs. So. Um. Yeah. Some stuff fell in the trolley.

Our afternoon is planned – easter egg cheesecakes, maybe some easter bikkies. I’m plodding through a little project I hope to get finished and blog later tonight, or tomorrow some time. Buster was sent to his room with some quiet toys for a rest, and has instead tucked himself into bed and is catching a quick nap. Butterfly is just waking from her nap and chatting happily in her cot, though when I went to her, she wanted to stay, so fingers crossed she might go back to sleep. 1.5 hours until the final school pickup. 3.5 hours until we declare it holiday time all round. Easter is here already. I’ve intercessions to prepare, house to clean, photos to edit. And maybe sneak a coffee and some blog reading as I wonder where on earth the last three months have gone. Hello long weekend, hello resurrection and salvation. What a gift. Thanks be to God. Happy Easter everyone. Safe travels if you are on the road, and I’ll catch you on the flip side!

my helpers

 

In our recent renovations, my studio was the only room completely untouched – not even new carpet. For now, I still have the rough, ugly, rental nylon from before we bought our house. I have big plans for this floor. I want to rip up that ugly carpet, sand back the floorboards, and paint them a bright cheery yellow. In the mean time, crappy carpet is perfect for the days when my little helpers come to visit and craft with me.

 

It’s been one of those weeks where everything is rolling along nicely. I feel organised, all my boxes are getting ticked, and I’m even finding time for me. Finger crossed it keeps rolling that way. A bit of work today, and then I’m off to kick back with Bubba Boy and my crochet hook for an hour or so. Nice easy downhill run to the weekend. Happy Thursday!

friday

{photo from last week. An 8.15am announcement that a fancy hat was needed saw a mild panic attack, a quick session with the hot glue and a big dose of “close enough”, and 15 minutes later, we had a “hat”. The things we do for our children.}

Friday. The sun is setting. The children are slowly drifting off to bed after a busy day. Music lessons. Drama lessons. Errands. Naps. Cuddles. Campouts. The weekend beckons, and it’s time to log off and kick back. Have a great weekend all!

sweet birdie…

Without thinking, I flicked up the back of the mailbox, and pulled out the envelopes, not really paying attention, distracted by the chatter of a small boy. My thumb sank into a soft envelope, and I stopped, Looked down. A jiffy bag with my name on it. Could it be? Oh yes, yes it was! I ripped it open, and inside was the cutest little mug rug, made by Nic as part of a recent swap. Isn’t she pretty?

Rolling over the hump on this sunny autumn Wednesday with the help of some friends coming for afternoon tea. Which makes for a busy day. Groceries done, children in bed, time to get into high gear and get cleaning. A cake to bake. 500 loads of washing to hang and fold. A little painting ready to come off the board for blogging. A quilt to plan for a small boy. Cuddles and snuggles and sandpits. Two days to the weekend, down hill run starts NOW. Let’s do this!

my space

 

Hello Tuesday. It’s a grumpy, grey, overcast kind of day. My to-do list is a mile long, and time is short. Friends to visit, painting to finish, housework to do, blog posts to prepare. A wee girl to cuddle and tickle and tease. And 3pm will roll around all too soon, nothing will have been done, but my boys will be home and the sound of playful laughter will fill the house and my heart. Time to make every minute count. But first, coffee. Let’s do this!

hello baby. or toddler.

• The piles on my desk slowly dwindled as I pottered about, moving piles from one side of the studio to the other. Under a pile, old enough to be carbon dated, I find a package. Wrapped in brown paper, covered with pink handprints. I stare at it blankly, confused for a moment, and then recognition dawns, bringing with it a healthy side-serving of embarrasment. A gift for a friend’s baby. Born in July. Ooops. The card sitting on top has suffered more than the parcel. Marked, creased, I turf it and make a new one. A hasty arranged courier to get the present to little miss, and crossing everything it still fits!

  

   

  It’s been a busy kind of Monday, something about the weekend always seems to create more housework than your expect from two days. We managed some gardening, and hanging with small people. Today I’ve done my best to sneak some painting time in amongst the to-do list. But tomorrow looks craftier. I hope. Monday’s been nice, keep the trend going Tuesday.Let’s do this!

Little Elves

Come as a fairy or an elf, the invitation said. And so, I walked the streets, looking for an elf costume, or anything vaguely elf like. A fortnight before Halloween, I’ll be sure to find something, I told myself. But no, not a single elf to be found. Which is how I found myself at the fabric shop. The day before the party. A couple of metres of homespun sat before me, I called over Bubba Boy, and with a piece of green cotton folded in half, held it at his shoulder and roughly measured the length of him. Snip snip snip, and then he was back, arms outstretched, as I measured out his sleeves. A couple of quick seams, and the top was together. A similar theory for the pants – a rough waist measurement, some tailors chalk to mark out a shorts shape for a left leg and a right leg, a seam and a casing for the elastic, and the shorts came together. Half an hour at the machine, and I had two little elves. The off cuts from the shirt hems piled on the table were too tempting, and with a couple of quick folds, a seam and some bobby pins, two little caps topped off the ensemble.

Then, Running Bear came in to admire our efforts. “Oh, are they going as Peter Pan?” I burst out grinning – having used Peter Pan as my inspiration, it was confirmation I’d got it right. “Yep”, I beamed proudly. “But aren’t they supposed to be elves? Peter Pan isn’t an elf.” “Yes he is” “No” “Yes. Well, what would you say he is?” “i dunno, but not an elf” “well, close enough. I don’t have time for anything else”.

And so, two happy little Peter Pans went off, and were the hit of the party. Not a bad effort for half hour and $10!!

Tuesday is rolling along slowly. A sore throat is threatening. Bubba Boy is on the improve, but still home from preschool, so we are rocking out to Land Before Time. Again. My to-do list is piling up, but my body is screaming for rest, so that’s what I’ll do. A cup of tea, and a lay on the lounge with some cartoons for the other sicky. The housework will wait. The folding will still be there. The baby sleeps, the boy is happy, it’s rest time for this mama.