Sharing my stash with Mike - Day One

Pip is hosting a week of stash sharing over at Meet Me at Mikes....
My stash is just slightly disjointed at the moment. I did have it all jammed into one big cupboard in the spare bedroom.....but that cupboard had to be emptied and relegated to the shed to make the room look larger. Now my stash is living all over the house....

Fabric strips for bias binding....hanging on a wardrobe door.

A shelf in the craft supplies cupboard...

Containers in the bookshelf above my sewing desk....

Shelf 1 in the hallway linen closet...

Shelf 2 in the hallway linen closet.....

Shelf 3 in the hallway linen closet.....

Shoved up the top of a wardrobe.....(note Humphrey B Bears naked bum on the left). I've had Humphrey since the 70's....

Down the bottom of the craft supplies cupboard....

As I moved it all, I actually packed up about three garbage bags full for my MIL. There is no way that I can take it all with me so I had to part with the fabric that I didn't completely love.

Mind you, the garbage bags are still here and I feel the urge to retrieve some of that fabric!

Later in the week, I will show some of my absolutely favourite pieces... you know, the ones that have to stay in the stash because you just can't bear to actually cut them up.

Just a minute......in September

Quick as a flash, September is coming to an end....so it's time for Just A Minute.

Reading
Some lovely craft magazines from Liesl...looking for some inspiration.

Watching
I watched the last episode in season one of Dexter. Can't wait for season two.
I haven't been watching much else apart from a few new episodes of Martha.

Listening
To all my spring / summer cd swaps. It's always great to get some exposure to new types of music that I don't nomally listen to.

Eating
Drowning myself in lots of chocolate and cake...always works wonders.

Making
Not much this month, I have to get back on the bandwagon...just waiting for the full on crafting mojo to return. I'm definitely getting out some craft supplies thisafternoon.

Looking
For a new place to live to start my new independant life. It must have a pool room....and a nice kitchen and bathroom wouldn't go astray either! It has to be all on one level, no stairs, a small courtyard (just enough for me and the cat), three bedrooms, and a garage.

Head on over and visit Jen to join in....

Enough already...

The house has been primped and preened. I've decluttered as much as I possibly can while still trying to live a normal life....and I've really had enough!

I love my kitchen. I designed it so that it was absolutely perfect just for me...it has a cooking zone, a baking zone, a tea & coffee zone, and a washing zone. Everything under bench height is a pull out drawer so that there's no bending to get into the back of any cupboards.

There's a whole pantry dedicated just to crockery, and two pantry cupboards for food. There's even a broom cupboard at the end to store the vacuum cleaner and broom so I don't have to go all the way to the laundry, and a separate cupboard for the rubbish bin too.

I'm really going to miss my kitchen when I leave.....

This is a sure sign that there's something up at CurlyPops HQ....I actually ironed the tablecloth! Anybody who knows me in real life knows that I don't iron anything...with the only exception being sewing projects.

Nobody is allowed to have a piece of cake until the real estate photos have been taken tomorrow morning.

You may also notice that the craft book nook has been moved to the kitchen. The little bookcase is the perfect size to hide a bit of dodgy plasterwork (ssshhhhh, don't tell anyone).

My mum bought over some more orchids to pretty up the place, and I bought some nice fresh fruit today too. Somebody better buy this house really soon because I just can't keep this up!

Linky Links

Just in case you missed it, go and check out Pip and Aunty Pat in The Age!

Also I found a couple of new blogs in the last couple of weeks (well, they're probably not new, but new to me...get it)!

Poppy Lane

Loz and Dinny

Ideyspidey

Midgee Moo

The names are fabulous...

and my little sister has started a blog - you can find it here!

This is.....show off time

Wowee Katie picked a hard one this week!

I've been trying to think of something that's sort of arty or crafty related.....this is a little bit lame but it's the best I could do.

Twenty years ago (sheesh I'm feeling old right now), my design was chosen as the front cover of the annual school magazine. This was back in the days before computers, and in the days of the very old photocopiers so everything had to be hand-drawn in black fineliner pen.

1988 was the bi-centennial year, hence the tall ship and the whales. I find the whole thing quite amusing now....I still have 2 copies of the magazine that I been dragging around for the last 20 years.

For more of This is, check out Angela's blog...and of course you should go and visit the lovely Sharon who has been doing a fabulous job filling in while Angela has been away.

Art on the hop

Now that we're selling the house, we have to tackle all of those horrible pesky boring trivial items that haven't been fixed up over the last 6 years. One of which was fixing the wall in the loungeroom where we put a new wall up during the kitchen renovation of October 2006.

To disguise the join even more, I whipped up a canvas in 15 minutes flat. A bit of leftover Dulux Chalk USA low sheen wall paint, some raw umber, yellow ochre, and red ochre and this is what I ended up with. The pattern underneath is plastic beads on some fishing line that I glued on with some PVA.

More of the same droll tomorrow (de-cluttering and cleaning)....I'm not looking forward to it.

Love Fridays.....

I'm a little bit late with Love Friday today....
After my little spree at the oppy, I whizzed up a 5 minute orange cake in the blender. Whilst that was in the oven baking, I sat out in the garden with a cup of tea, the magazines from Liesl, and some shortbread biccies and had a lovely relaxing afternoon.
Just what I needed!

Head on over to visit Cathy and play along with Love Friday too...

Frifty Friday

I decided to treat myself to a little op-shopping today. I was extremely restrained because I should actually be de-cluttering my life at the moment, not adding to it!

I found my all time favourite book....Womans Day Handicrafts (1973 version). I know I already have a copy of this, but if you don't already have a copy then keep your eyes peeled for a little bloggy giveaway coming very soon.

I also found another kiddies craft book and a toys to make book to add to the overgrown craft book collection.
I also found a lovely small yellow gingham tablecloth, a floral pillowcase, and a fantastic brown 70's tablecloth that still has the original label stuck to it.

I checked the letterbox when I returned home to find a lovely cheery letter in the letterbox from Jess at Button Beauty. It's just so nice to know that there are so many wonderful, caring people in the world. Thanks so much Jess for cheering up my day today, it means the world to me!

.....and now for something crafty!

My crafty mojo has been in hibernation for nine excrutiatingly looooooong days.......

......but after receiving such a lovely inspiring gift in the mail from Liesl over at Hoppo Bumpo, I actually dragged out some sewing supplies and whipped up a new curtain for the ensuite.

The house goes on the market next Tuesday and I needed something to disguise the window because it's old and ugly. I used an organza tab top curtain for the middle section. I just turned it sideways and chopped the tabs off. Then I cut up some fabric from one of my favourite vintage sheets and added a pocket at the top to slide the curtain rod through, and another section at the bottom to make it the correct length.
It was impossible to get a good photo because the sun was streaming through the window, but the vintage floral print works really well as the ensuite is painted pale green and the shower still has its original green 70's mosaic tiles.

It will make me happy to see that lovely vintage floral print every time I walk into the bathroom from now on!

Hoppo Bumpo Mail

A couple of weeks ago I commented on the magazines that Liesl had posted on her blog. I absolutely adore magazines, so I purposely stay well away from any newsagency so that I'm not tempted to buy 10 every time I walk in the door.
I'd never even heard of these ones (yes, I just may be living under a rock), so Liesl so generously offered to send me a few so that I could check them out.

....and look what else was in the package....

Some gorgeous corduroy fabric (my favourite), some absolutely divine chocolate (I'm not sharing...it's all mine) and a sweet little card. All just to cheer me up!

Thankyou so much Liesl, it's just what I needed today....

Now I'm off to sit on the couch, read a lovely magazine, have a cup of tea....and eat some choccy...yum!

No Title

I'm still a little lost....trying to find my way back to my normal life....
At least the nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach has subsided.
One week over.

Mirabunny

I was just checking out the Softies for Mirabel auctions over on Ebay and found my Mirrabunny.
She's a very happy bunny and he doesn't eat much, so please make a bid so that the Mirabel Foundation can help out some lovely little kiddies....

Thankyou Pip....you put a smile on my dial.

This is.....what I want to be when I grow up

I didn't want to miss Cindy's theme this week, and my 'This is' is really simple.

When I grow up, I just want to be healthy and happy....nothing more, that's plenty good enough for me.

A very special thanks to everyone who left me a message or sent me an email this week. I haven't been able to reply to everyone personally, but please know that I really appreciate all the love and support from everyone in blogland. I'm hoping my blogging and crafting mojos return very soon.

Broken.....

Unscheduled bloggy break.....back soon......

Mikes Week of Baking - Day 3

I'm joining in with Pip for A Week of Baking over at Meet Me at Mikes.

So for day three....another new apron. This one is a lovely silvery grey fabric with a subtle butterfly print and a gorgeous floral trim.

It's in The CurlyPops Shop!

Pretty in Pink

This one also fits in with the baking theme....it's a custom order for a little 9 year old girl. Of course, I don't have any little girls around for test fittings so my 9 year old nephew was the best I could do....

Let me just say that he really really wasn't impressed with me putting a pink apron on him and then taking photos! I had to explain that I was going to photoshop his head off, and then he stood still for about 60 seconds so I could take a couple of snaps.

It fits!

Mikes Week of Baking - Day 2

I'm joining in with Pip for A Week of Baking over at Meet Me at Mikes.

.

So for day two....a lovely little gingerbread cookie set. My sister bought this for me from Sovereign Hill in Ballarat.

.

I haven't had a chance to test run the recipe yet, but here it is if you would like to try it:

.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups Self Raising flour

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup

3 teaspoons ginger

.

Mix flour, sugar and ginger in a bowl.

Melt butter and golden syrup and add egg.

Pour in dry mixture and mix well.

Roll thinly and use cutter to cut shapes.

Cook in 180 degree celsius oven until biscuits are brown and then lower heat to 150 degrees celsius. (About 10 to 15 minutes all together).

.

Last step: EAT!

Mikes Week of Baking - Day One

I'm joining in with Pip for A Week of Baking over at Meet Me at Mikes.

So for day one....a new apron. This one is made from one of my favourite vintage sheets and some lovely yellow spots from Cathy.

I think I should be baking a 5 minute Orange cake in this one......back to the kitchen!

This is......what I do with a spare 10 minutes

If I have a spare ten minutes and if I'm not blogging, or reading other blogs then........

.....you'll find me sitting at the kitchen bench cutting things up and glueing and stitching things together. I have lots and lots of projects cut out but not many actually sewn together (that's when I start procrastinating).......
The kitchen bench is now constantly in a state of disarray, but it's extremely handy because I can instantly plop myself on a stool and get into something crafty immediately.

Thankyou Liesl for such a fab theme this week, and to Sharon for filling in while Angela is on her overseas jaunt!

Oh...and I'd probably have a cup of tea in that 10 minutes too!

Babushka News

Head on over for an update!

A Super Secret Toy Society Mission

Last week I received this beautiful babushka softie in the mail from The Toy Society. I was given a super secret mission to make a drop somewhere in the world where it would be appreciated. Ms Babushka lived on my kitchen bench for a few days (it's ok, she was well fed and watered) while I made my super secret plans......


The day of my super secret mission finally arrived. I strapped Ms Babushka into the car seat (she's very safety conscious and wouldn't sit in the front seat).....

We drove and drove until we found a pretty place with a big sign out the front. Ms Babushka wanted to go and live at The Sofitel Mansion and Spa but I explained to her that she had a greater mission than to live a life of luxury.....

So instead, we pulled up out the front of The Open Range Zoo. It was quite busy and there were lots of people around so we had to be super sneaky....

I left little Ms Babushka hanging in a tree just near the Hippo Crossing sign and waved farewell.....

Head on over to The Toy Society to find out more....

A bit of yellow for Spring...

My sister came to visit yesterday and we decided to whip up a pressie for her Auntie-in-law's birthday......
Lovely yellow spotty fabric courtesy of Cathy, (thankyou) and some stripey binding.
A perfect colour combo for the Spring sunshine.

Love Friday

It's another beautiful sunny day for Love Fridays.
Look what arrived in the mail!

My Aunty sent me her collection of buttons that she's been collecting for the last 40 years.....

Now that's a great reason to Love Friday!

Head on over to Big Cat's Emporium, say hi to Cathy, and play along....

Making

I've been super busy this week making some custom orders outside of The CurlyPops Shop. This selection of bibs is heading off to a new home tonight along with some flannel wrap blankies.

Todays mission is to sew my little touchie off..... in between cups of tea and chocolate breaks anyway!

Eeeeeeeeeekkkkkk part 2

Well yesterday I opened the letterbox and squeeled with delight again!

There was another gorgeous package waiting for me to rip it open. This was a gift from Kristie over at Missie Krissie just because..... Isn't that sweet!

Inside are some beautiful fabrics (the goldfish fabric is really cute), some ribbon and vintage buttons and the cutest little quilted zippered pouch. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it's a quilted block (I think it's log cabin but I don't know much about quilting) which has been turned into a pouch...such a great idea.

Thankyou so much Kristie, I love it all!

Also in yesterdays mail was this sweet little postcard from Jhoanna. I wish I lived closer to Balaclava so I could go and check out all of her gorgeous softies in person......

This is heading straight for my inspiration wall in the half craft / half spare room!