Fleamarket finds

A trip to the opshop is high on my list of the ultimate leisure time activity. I always find something, and I look for things that serve a purpose. Such as this canister above that will be filled with thread, or ribbons, or perhaps brooch making bits & my hot glue gun.

A little mouse came home with me too. She will be flying over to Vietnam shortly. More about that later.

I just love finding treasures and discarded beauties, it's one of my favourite things in the world. A great place to find interesting bits & pieces is the 'pet blanket' or 'rag' section at the opshop. This is where I found these lovely old faded linens last week. I think they may find themselves part of my my scrap quilt.

This old fashioned clothes hanger is so sweet too.

One of my best opshop finds would have to be my red Camper shoes. I found these quite a while ago and they are still my favourite shoes. They are a little worn now but when I found them they were in excellent condition, practically brand new, and only $3!! At first I thought one of the buttons was missing until I looked closer and saw that the button is linked to a silver thread & needle. I love them, they are my lucky sewing shoes!

Now I mentioned earlier that Little Mouse is leaving for Vietnam, she will be going along with a whole shipment of goods that are destined for an orphanage. I received an email recently from this lovely blogger who has put out the call for items that could help the children of the orphanage. The background story is very moving, her friend's husband served in Vietnam and is now very ill with cancer. He has a strong connection to this orphanage and is taking a shipping container of goods over when he next visits, with his four children. If you live in Victoria and have any good children's clothes or toys or some money you would like to contribute please email me and we can chat about pick up & bank account details. I can also forward you the photo's and details so you know more. For me I feel it is so important to give to those who need help and I couldn't be happier to be helping these children in a small way. This has given meaning to my opshopping adventures as I have been collecting lots of baby clothes and children's wear lately to add to my big bag bound for Vietnam. Pop over to Sophie's to check out some more Fleamarket finds, I hope you are having a happy Sunday, see you soon! xo

My Creative Space

I found a sweet apron recently and thought it would make a lovely skirt for Sunday.

So I sewed a panel of white into the back & kept the pretty bow.

It has a handy pocket

for egg, flower, or treasures collecting.

She loves the colour & flowers & I like the way it is unique, just like Sunday. I might try to make some more apron skirts, they are easy and fun.

Meanwhile Rosie has been helping me make Love Hearts,

she loves to push the rice & lavender through the funnel. It slows me down a bit but it's worth it to see her little face concentrating so hard & her sense of achievment.

The piles of Love Hearts are growing,

into colourful stacks & will soon be finished to take to Mary at Big Dreams.

My little scrap quilt is making slow progress. I think it's a bit wonky too.

I'm not that great,

at keeping the lines straight.

I was in the opshop the other day and found this funny knitting book. The dolls are fine but it was the other things I instantly fell in love with. The accessories, the extra's, the props!

Check out these little cakes & plates,

the scrubbing brush, broom & bucket,

and the doggie & tiny balls of wool in a basket. Now I'm not a knitter so if you fancy this cute pattern book just leave me a comment telling me your favourite item and I will pick out a name & send the book to you, asap! This is open to overseas friends as well, of course.

How is your day going? Are you on top of things or in a muddle? I had a crappy start to the day with four tired & cranky kids (school pool party last night) and so am feeling a bit weepy & drained. Sometimes it's hard to be a mum. The sun is shining though so I'm off to walk away the blues in a minute, the fresh air and blue sky is sure to make me feel better. Hope you have a happy & creative day, pop over here to see some more Creative Spaces xo

'

Monday, Monday

It was a beautiful, warm weekend but I do have a kind of longing for cooler nights and I'm sure Autumn is not that far away. Meanwhile the kids have been making the most of the weather, playing outside

and having fun.

I loved swinging on my swing when I was little.
It felt like I could fly.

The duckies are happy and getting bigger. They are funny creatures, shuffling in and out of their little yard, looking curiously at us. One of their favourite things is when we change their pool water, they frolic and play and preen. Fun to watch!




Our vegie garden has been in slow motion...still only a handful of red tomatoes but millions of green ones. Rosie has been waiting patiently but is getting a bit antsy...come on tomatoes! The watermelons are growing well though, but can someone tell me how to tell when they are ripe?

Bill has been updating his blog. He & Ruby set up a shot with all his Tiger memorabilia. Looking good Bill!

The girls had some fun with our new dollhouse. We need to do some work on it, the wallpaper in some of the rooms is pretty ratty but it is so charming and sweet anyway.

I'm in baking mode at the moment. Yesterday it was Jam Roll! Basically you use a basic sponge cake recipe.


Pour it into a shallow pan and cook for 10-15 mins.

Turn out on a teatowel sprinkled with sugar,

And roll up the cake while still warm. When it has cooled on a rack you carefully unroll and spread with rasberry jam. Or any jam that tickles your fancy.

It worked out pretty well, next weekend I'm going to try a traditional sponge!

Passionfruit icing maybe?

Cake is good but so is salad for dinner out on the deck.

Lots of vegies including some delicious radish bought at the

Daylesford Organics farm gate stall.

Wow, this is turning into a mega post, are you still awake? Would you like to have a little rest in my new sitting nook? Come on, sit down and I'll bring you a cup of tea and a slice of jam roll.

We can have a chat about what you have been up to lately.

Hang on a minute, I'll just go and put the kettle on, xo

Dollhouse dreams

A tootle up to the Daylesford tip shop is always fun. I found this lovely old handmade pink dolls house this week & $5 later we were heading back home together.

It looks like it's been hanging out in a shed or attic for some time and is in need of some serious tender loving care. I love the little bathroom mirror and each room has different wallpaper, cute! I'm going to pull up the shag pile carpet and look for some carpet off cuts to give it a lift. Or I might just paint the floors white and add some rugs, painted on or fabric? Who knows. It's so much fun dreaming up what might be with this little house.

This weekend has been fun so far but I am also feeling a bit burnt out. It was a busy week and today's trip to Ballet-rat was exhausting for some reason or other. I'm feeling like I am doing such alot lately and am needing some quiet time.

To make myself feel better I started a kind of scrap quilt/bedcover today using some of the offcuts from Love Hearts & Blanket Bunnies, a few vintage hankies & other random bits & pieces. No actual sewing yet, I'm still working out what bits to put where. Anyway it was quite meditative & satisfying (even though there were five kids flying about the house, in and out to the garden, dogs wandering around and the odd chook squawking by the back door) & the only frustration was that I had to stop to make dinner. I'm looking forward to making this for my bed, all the different pieces of material make me feel good.

Another reason to smile is this fab book that my beloved MS Opshop offered up this week.

I adore these illustrations, the colours, the layout and

the everyday scenes depicted so endearingly. Love it.

Other happy goings on have been a mega dressing up session.

See my sleepy lion? Don't be fooled, she can be scary!

If you want to check out some lovely & interesting Flea Market Finds then you must zoom over to Sophie's pretty blog and have a look. Go on, run, see if she is awake yet! Hope your weekend is a fun one, may many treasures (and treasured moments) come your way xo

My Creative Space

Last night I found my dreams were full of Love Hearts.

Not surprising as yesterday I finished cutting out another fifty for Big Dreams, in Northcote. The cutting out bit is my least favourite part of the process, but I love it when there is suddenly a pile of fifty, all different colours and patterns. I never get sick of the heart shape.

Today I will be sewing them up and hopefully getting out to Lavandula to buy some more lavender. But to start the day off I went for a walk with Shell around the two lakes. We're trying to walk three times a week, it's a good way to clear my head and keep active.

It's a beautiful day here in Daylesford and the summer seems to be backing off, the seasons changing. I love this time of year. The light is different, the air smells fresh and the nights are cool, good sleeping weather!

I really feel like my creative life is blooming at the moment. I'm so happy to have some orders for shops, to have some new ideas, to be surrounded by lots of lovely creative people who are so inspiring. I love living here in Daylesford with it's rich history of creativity. Artists and crafts people have been coming to this area for many years, attracted by the beautiful surrounds and other like minded people. It isn't something that has happened in the last couple of years - our town has long been a mecca for creative types, and this is continuing today which makes it a wonderful place to live. I'm so looking forward to Handmade starting up on March 8th (venue to be confirmed) so if you are interested in coming along (everyone is welcome) please put the date in your diary!


As some of you probably already know I have another small business with my mate, Michelle, The Organic Paddock. You may have followed the planting of our second garlic crop last year, the harvesting and then storing. We are so excited as our blog is now up and running and we are selling our biodynamic garlic online! Pop over and have a look if you have a sec. I had fun taking the photo's, I really like this one above.

I'm hoping to catch up with lovely Peta from Pippiwillow today for a coffee. She has just moved into town so I'm looking forward to welcoming her. I don't think she has blogged much lately as she has been busy moving. Meanwhile I should be emptying the dishwasher, planning tonights dinner, feeding the chooks, hanging out the washing...oh, that's right, I'm meant to be sewing up Love Hearts! Better get a wriggle on. Hope you are having a wonderful, creative and inspiring day. Pop over to Kooyotoo for more inspiration, xo