thrifty finds

Had a lucky day at the secondhand store today! There is a lovely thrift store on the way to teriyaki (this is our Saturday lunch routine, but today we had Indian) and I always do a lap of the shop to see if I can find any material.

I found two crochet blankets! The yellow is dainty and like a waterfall. It's soft and drapey and I love it.
This one bright and cheerful and heavier and I am going to put my socks on and sit under this tonight.
I found this lovely old apron (I collect them) and this old beauty case that still has the little key for the lock and the mirror inside isn't even broken.

It's a little rusty around the lock, but I will search the net for a remedy. All these old treasures came to $30!

This Christmas I would like to make a quilt. I would like to make one a year and embroider the year I made it onto the quilt. Start a little tradition. I found these lovely fat quarters in pink, red and green.

...and then... (phew!) I went to the reject shop, found some already lined baskets, a few lime green tubs and a big glass jar and cleaned up the laundry.

Everything is neat and sorted into baskets, the washing powder is in the jar (I will no longer have to fight with the cardboard box) and I covered some canvas with material and super glued pegs to the shelf to give the laundry some bling.

Now I am going to have a lemsip. I have a head cold and I sound like Rocky Balboa.

Hope you are having a great weekend.

x

clean week

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A theme has emerged this week - hankies, tea towels, now a post about laundry's. All about being clean. Cleans noses, clean dishes, clean rooms.

We live in a little cottage home and we don't have a room dedicated for a laundry. We have a European laundry, which is a large cupboard.

There is enough space for our washing machine, dryer, sink, ironing board and vacuum, and a large shelf running across the top. This cupboard is a shambles. Everything is shoved in and it's all sitting in a mess behind two double doors, because I just close them and move on.

This weekend I am pulling everything out, making a run to the $2 shop for a heap of baskets. I have some material and I am going to organise the whole cupboard and make a new ironing board cover. Why have I ignored this space? I am using it nearly every day.

These 5 pictures inspired me to organise and remind me that even though it's a laundry, it doesn't have to be ugly. I mean a pink scrubbing brush! That is whistle why you work material!

Happy weekend!

x

PS - A big HELLO to all the lovely new readers that have come across this small, random blog. Thank you! :)

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comfort

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We have all been a tad under the weather this week.

On Tuesday Elton and Audrey took it in turns to vomit on me. Projectile style.

After you have been thrown up on and it's covering your child, your couch and the floor, for that brief moment where your brain is computing what just happened and your body kicks into gear, you think these thoughts very quickly "I wonder if I could just move the house rather then clean up?", "oh hell", "Mum!!" (My Mum is a cleaning genius. She can get rid of any stain armed with Spray and Wipe and a sponge).

After I cleaned up the kids and tackled the mess, I got thinking about comfort. I had to distract my mind from what I was doing.

There are many different types of comfort -

you break up with a boy - you watch sad movies, talk to your girlfriends on the phone, go and buy a new outfit.

you have a bad day at work - you come home and tell whoever you live with about your day, swear, rant, threat to quit, watch tv, go back to work.

you get a large bill - you go pale, shove it in the bill holder, you switch off a few lights, you watch tv, talk to your loved ones.

you clean up vomit from the floor and tend to sick children - you tell your husband, sit on the couch and watch a movie.

There is a pattern forming here by talking to the only other adult in the house, watching a movie or tv.

It helps to have someone you love listen to your whine for the day and then you move on. Not only is my comfort person a cook, a gardener, a bread winner and kills bugs, he is a good listener and provider of comfort.

The movie and tv portion of comfort, allows my mind to take some time out so that I can worry about someone else's problems for 90 minutes. I wish during times I need comfort, I was crafty. But I find that I can't make anything and just have to sit down and stare at the big black thing across the room.

I just thought it was interesting that the hobby I love the most, doesn't provide any comfort to me, but the people I love the most, do. 24/7.

5 weekly

I live in a very crafty part of the world. Melbourne.

Since moving here last June, I can't believe how many crafty folk all congregate here. It's amazing!

Every week I will post about 5 fantastic arty crafters who live in Melbourne.

Gemma Jones is a fantastic painter and she runs a craft group called the Kaotic Kraft Kuties.

Gemma has an etsy shop here and her 60's style art is amazing. Plus she has my mum's name. Can't go wrong with that.

Pip from Meet Me At Mike's in the happening lady in Melbourne. I call her Crafty MacGyver because if you gave her a piece of wood, a pair of clippers and a bit of string, she would create something incredible.

Pip has a book here and a shop here and runs Brown Owls craft group which I am lucky enough to be a member, and she is a lovely lady with great hair.

Kootooyoo is a wonderful blog. So much inspiration here and loads of tutorials on how to make lots of crafty goods.

Kirsty is one clever lady and her step by step how to's are easy to follow and will want you making more.

The Lark is a handmade company run by Allison. Allison lives in the country and her blog with all her beautiful photos makes me feel so happy.

The Lark store is here where you will find so many beautiful handmade gifts including these lovely cupcake baby rattles.

Aunty Cookie has material to die for. A month back I dragged the family all around the Stitches and Craft Show looking for her stall. I had to do two loops and finally found her amazing material.

I have 3 pieces I am saving for that special project.

You have to check out her website here. What a choice! Dolls, bags, aprons, badges, material....sigh. Shannon is amazing.

smile while you dry

Today's post is inspired by this image here.

I love this idea. Tea towels sewn together to make a curtain. How pretty it would look hanging over a kitchen window.

I love tea towels. It is always a nice feeling when you have a brand new, clean tea towel ready to use on your dishes.

I also like the special pair you don't use on your dishes, that are just decorative and used as scone warmers or keep the flies away covers. These are the really pretty pair with embroidery.

With so many beautiful fabrics to choose from, you can make your own and give as gifts. Plus, you will always smile when you dry the dishes if you have nice tea towels. Especially the cutlery...which is the worst thing to dry.

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Turn them into aprons like this gorgeous vintage tea towel apron by Nell Gleason

A beautiful matching set of handmade tea towels by Krispy Banana

Turn tea towels into a bag like this beautiful creation by Back Home Again

Just think you can always turn one thing into something else. It is not just a tea towel.

the hankie

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We live in a hankie household. We have one box of tissues that mum used when she was last here and that was nearly a year ago.

We all have our own hankies. Plaid stripes for Ben. Bears and trains for Elton. Flowers for Audrey and I.

Elton always has one in his pocket. It's his thing.

I love how delicate they are and they remind me of Nanna.

I have been collecting lovely hankies I find and when I have a big pile, I am going to sew them together and make a quilt.

They are also so easy to work with if you are a beginner at embroidery or sewing because the hems are all complete and they are a nice size. You can find two lovely hankies, stitch them together and make a little pillow. You can stitch the words 'blow here" on a hankie for your child to take to school. You can stitch names of the couple getting married and their wedding date and give personal hankies as gifts to all the women at the church.

They are also a dime a dozen. So cheap, terribly cheerful and don't hurt your nose.

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few words

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I have spoken before about my dear friend Jules.

Yesterday I turned on my computer and I had an email.

It was from Jules and it was a few lines long, saying thinking of you and I love you.

Not only did it make my day, I loved how simple it was and that she summed everything up into a few lines that made me feel special.

I then started thinking about how busy people are with life, and that many emails or phone calls are swept aside because we are all under the illusion that when you send a letter or call, you must speak or write forever. If we don't have the time, we simply don't do it.

I think it is more than ok to be brief but say exactly what you are thinking. You don't have to go on and on in a phone call or letter to make someone feel more important because it is based on time or length. You just have to do it.

One of my most favourite scenes from a movie is from Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix. Harry had just lost his godfather and Luna says "I'm sorry about your godfather Harry" and takes his hand and looks into his eyes.

It's just a movie, but every time I see that scene I think "I love you Luna". It is a gentle and loving scene because the words are brief and heartfelt.

This is the scene I will show my children when they are wondering what to say when someone is hurting or feeling sad. Just a few small words and mean them.

ten books

Pip from Meet Me At Mikes always does fun and interactive things on her blog. Pip's blog is as much apart of my daily routine as brushing my teeth and drinking coffee. It's a must read.

This week is "a week of lists" and you are welcome to join in.

I thought I would play along with Pip's Ten Books I Might Buy.....these are my ten I have had my eye on for awhile.

Thanks Pip!

Above image - Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way by Ruth Reichl
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell here

Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching by Heather Ross here

French General: 30 Project for Every Room in the House by Kaari Meng here

The Gentle Art of Domesticity: Stitching, Baking, Nature, Art & the Comforts of Home by Jane Brocket here

Simple Sewing with a French Twist: An Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes and Home Accessories with Style by Celine Dupuy here

Twenties Girl: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella here

The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious and Perplexing City by David Lebovitz here

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Jaddon here

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg here

jane

I love the movie Becoming Jane.

It tells the story of Jane Austen, during the time of December 1795 until January 1796 when she met Thomas Lefroy and fell in love.

If you know about Jane Austen, she never married and died when she was 35 years old. Jane Austen also wrote countless novels and short stories, 6 of which are some of the greatest stories ever written.

If you have read Pride and Prejudice, Emma or Sense and Sensibility, all her characters after a little trouble, had beautiful happy endings.

The movie Becoming Jane is so beautiful, but also so sad that she never got her own happy ending to live with the person she truly loved and died so young before we got to read any more of her wonderful stories.

The movie stars Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy (who has gorgeous blue eyes...make sure to watch the scene in the library when they do a close up) and it's lovely.

all you need is love

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