My Favourite Corner

I thought I'd take part in Wendy's 'what's on your wall' quest this week, just for fun. It's always interesting to have a peek into other people's decor, and art/wall decorating choices, don't you think? Inspiration can abound, and new ideas flourish after doing a bit of blog-hopping - well, that's what I find anyhow.

Ok, so onto my wall space....


My favourite corner of my home, as we speak. I'm sure this will change as I decorate my house bit by bit but at the moment, I love this space.

I love the HUGE canvas of my family (using one of the photos from our photo shoot), that my parents and sister/bro-in-law bought us for our anniversary. Levi's face makes me smile everytime I look at it.

I love the birdcage wall decals that I bought from Etsy seller Chickadee Vinyl. I have a third one which will end up on the other side of the living area, somewhere.

And I love the fact that I am able to make the house our home, with things we love, now renovations are nearing their end.

I have a new wall space currently blank but I am needing some inspiration before I commit to putting hooks in. Anyone seen any fun wall decor ideas lately - would love any hints or links!?

Oh, and if anyone runs into my motivation, can you please send it home to me - I'm in desperate need of it! Thanks :-P

Sew Chirpy

My wonderful friend Kate, has launched her own 'Made It' store - Sew Chirpy - in the past month, featuring little clothes that are absolutely adorable.

Here is just a small taste of what she currently has on offer....






So sweet and lovely, don't you think?

xx

Fun Family Shoot Favourites

In November, we had a studio photo shoot with my super talented sister Danielle from Curiouser.

Dan shared a few photos on her blog, but I just thought I'd share a few of my favourites (although there are many, many favourites!) here...







Love them!

Small Projects

Other than Polkadot Lane bags, I have been making other 'little' projects to keep me happy and my brain ticking over creatively.

This little dress (Frida pattern - Modkid) is in Size 2/3 and was sent off to little Matilda in Adelaide, my oldest friend's little girl. From what I hear, she loves it, which is just great.


I'm quite in love with the blue, red and white combo...


I made my very first batch of profiteroles the other day, and they tasted fine but were all different shapes and sizes. After a bit of googling on technique, I did a second batch which turned out a lot more uniform. This is them, and yes, I shaped them into a heart for our anniversary (I know..cheesy :-P, but romantic too!).

It's actually a bit of a test really, as I want to do one on a grander scale for a future party, but can you picture it about 2-3 times this size, with fresh flowers popped in and around...could look pretty fabulous, don't you think???


A knitted bow, attached to a fabric covered headband for Alannah..


One happy customer there...


And a little felt, fabric and hand-stitching for a friend, and her new bubba Elliot...


Also on the go is an oil & acrylic painting that I'm working on, but it's quite big so it will probably take me a while to finish, and I'm knitting my very first piece of clothing - a little hooded jumper for Levi. I have the back & front finished, and I've nearly finished the first sleeve. Huge learning curve for me, as I had never increased or decreased before, so I'm happy as it's a new challenge that I have been able to meet - yay!

Now, I am off to sew up a couple of custom orders while Levi sleeps, and the other two are otherwise occupied.

Take care
xx

Queensland Flood Appeal Auctions

If you are a regular reader of australian craft blogs then I am sure you have already seen this, but the amazing Toni from Make It Perfect is organising a huge fundraiser for the victims of the horrific Queensland floods, and there are many, many craft blogs participating.

I thought I'd list a few here so you can see what is going on out there in our fantastic craft community...

Melissa Goodsell - Day to Day
Corrie - Retromummy
Chantal - Chantal Vincent Art
Jodie - Ric Rac
Kirsty - You Had Me At Bonjour - auction is already up - a beautiful piece of fabric art
Fiona - Designs by Fee
Rita - Red Pepper Quilts

And that is just for starters. Many crafters are putting their hands up to help but have yet to blog about it. Officially the auctions are starting Monday 17th January, but there are a couple that are up already, including one from Toni.

I'll be showing my support with my bids this time round, and by spreading the word as much as I can. Every little bit helps, right?

And of course, direct donations can be made to the Queensland Government over here.

The devastation and loss these floods have caused (and are still causing) are horrific and widespread. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected, and my heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones.

Take care and stay safe xxx

9 Years

"I followed my heart and found you"

"As we grow older together,
As we continue to change with age,
There is one thing that will never change. . .
I will always keep falling in love with you."
Karen Clodfelder

"It is a risk to love.
What if it doesn't work out?
Ah, but what if it does."
Peter McWilliams

Shop Update

Well, I was super motivated and uploaded a whole lot of stock to my Made It shop on the 1st January - there are blossom bags, sienna bags, tote bags and a couple more girly knick knack sacks. Just have the library bags to go...

Here's just a tease of what you can find in store now....

Blossom bags...12 different designs...



Tote bags...6 new...




Sienna bags...6 designs...



So that's all the new stuff so far. I'm thinking of breaking out the sewing machine today, for the first time in 2011....maybe I'll even make something for me :-P

Just Like Mum Used to Make..

If you are a chocolate fan, and a mint fan, then you will LOVE this!! It's just as yummy as I remember, if not yummier.


Here it is..

Choc Mint Cheesecake

Base:
1 packet ripple biscuits
30g sugar
125g melted butter

Crush biscuits, add sugar and melted butter to mixture, mix well.
Put into well greased springform pan, spread biscuit mix on the base, and a little up the sides until it is relatively even and refrigerate.

Filling:
250g cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp hot water
1 tsp gelatine
1 cup whipped cream
6 after dinner mints
1 tbsp extra water

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Sprinkle gelatine over water and dissolve. Cool briefly.
Add to the creamed mixture, beat well, fold in the whipped cream.
Spoon mixture into crust.
Dissolve mints into extra hot water, cool, spoon over cheese cake mixture and swirl with a knife.
Refrigerate for an hour or so.

Yum!

And just look at my mum's copy of this recipe...a very well loved cookbook and recipe, don't you think?



Happy baking!

Looking at Levi

Learning so much each day...


I love seeing how excited he gets when he does something new...



The drool seems to be never-ending...


As does his chatter, his desire to be with Lana and Jude and his lack of desire to sleep :-P

He hits 9 months this week, and...
* he blows raspberries if you try and feed him something he doesn't like
* he shakes his head 'yes' and 'no' at the funniest times
* he still has no teeth
* and he still doesn't sleep through the night (boo!)
* he loves banana, vegemite toast, custard and watermelon
* he can pull himself up to standing in his cot

Back soon with a yummy recipe for summer.

On My Wall..

With renovations starting to wrap up around here, I'm slowly starting to add some personal touches to the interiors. I'm working on one space at a time.

You see, it's a bit tricky. We don't have much furniture yet, as before the renos our house was all of 4 rooms.

No, not 4 bedrooms, 4 rooms in total. I know...crazy! :-P

Anyhow, we are slowly starting to figure out what we want, and where we want it to go, and are buying things as we can.

One good thing is, that I have been collecting cards, artwork, poems, quotes, decals, over the last couple of years, so I do have things to put up.

Like the clock above...I fell in love with it at Ikea, and it is huge (we get so many comments about its size!) with a diameter of 60cm. It reminds me of an old train station clock, and part of our house is actually from one of the local rail-yards from years and years ago, so it works (and that's how I sold it to my hubby who is a bit of a train history buff :-P)

It's partnered up on the wall with the following two pieces...

An artwork from my lovely and talented sister Danielle...I often pinch her art ..he he


And a print I bought from the Life In Style Expo, a few years ago...it's by Studio Oat and it's just too cute...


So I'm playing along with Wendy this week, with my wall share...why not come along and play too?

xx