Special project reveal

I'm one of those people who is addicted loves browsing on Pinterest.  Some time ago Genevieve was looking over my shoulder and saw the image below and fell in love with it.  I fell in love with it just a little bit too.

Image dottieangel.blogspot.com

Genevieve has her room decorated with French elements, lots of white and old worldy type things. After viewing a few more of these gorgeous images below, I started to hatch a plan which has been brewing for a couple of months.

Image from Pinterest

Image from Pinterest

Image from Pinterest

Today I finished my version of a lace patchwork curtain for Genevieve's room.  I used calico for the header (already on hand), off cuts of sheer fabrics, (op shop), lace hankerchiefs to fine to be of any practical use (inherited from mother-in-law and grandparents), cotton and lace doilies (op shop), lace fabric from a tri-pillow slip, deconstructed (op shop), assorted blouses made from sheer fabric, cheesecloth and lace, deconstructed (op shop) and old lace (inherited from grandparent).  Total cost of supplies about $25.00 including the curtain rail, curtain ends, calico fabric from my stash and cotton sewing thread.

 

I encountered a number of problems when making the curtain.  The most difficult was dealing with the different weights of fabric and lace used.  It made for rather uneven sewing and of course I'm lazy and cut most of the fabrics free hand so of course they weren't particularly straight.  The beauty in my opinion with a project like this is it doesn't have to be perfect. In fact a little shabbiness adds to the character.  I hope.  :)  Anyway overall I'm very happy with how it turned out and the most important thing is Genevieve loves it.  She came home from uni this afternoon, went to her room and came out with a big smile and her face and said thank you.  That is reward enough for me and the satisfaction that I have actually finished a project in about a week and a half instead of it turning into an eternal W.I.P. or U.F.O.

Thank you for taking an interest and trying to guess what I was making.  Cherrie from the blog Willy Wagtail was closest to guessing what I was making and where my inspiration came from.  Go Cherrie!! 

I have another project for Genevieve's room in mind which I might start next week.  I'm on a roll.

Anne  xx

Portrait update and a little sewing project

Hi every one, how are you?  .  

During school holidays, I have a break from painting classes so I decided to do a little painting at home.  My poor lady has undergone about four facial reconstructions and the photo below is from my work at home.

This next photo is from art class yesterday and I worked a little more on the face and arms.  I'm finding it extremely difficult to get the skin tone right and there is much tweaking and painting to do yet.

I'm not sure if I like the changes I've made to her eyes as in the first photo she looks much softer.  I'll be so glad when the poor woman has more hair but before I do that, I need to paint the areas around her head some more.

I decided to make a travel jewellery roll this week.  I found some nice fabric and decided to use a pattern and tutorial  found on the internet.  Unfortunately, I was unable to follow the instructions, (I even asked hubby) so had to wing it.  It's not perfect, I will change a few things with the next one I make, but considering the mess I was in, it didn't turn out too bad.

The mess!!

I spy some sneaky threads that need snipping.

The next project is a travel sewing kit and I might have some Christmas star bunting to show too.

Have a lovely day,

Anne  xx

A little bit Bohemian

Yesterday I had a bee in my bonnet about tidying up and rearranging my bedroom space.  I love colour and bits and pieces, especially if it has a bohemian feel.  So I put together some things I already had in my room and this is what happened.

I made the collage of images years ago.  I bought a big canvas and pinned some images I love from my many collection of magazines.  The written content is a poem Genevieve wrote about  six  years ago titled "The Midsummer's Night that was Cold", and I love it.  On the top of the tall boy is an ethnic scarf I bought a couple of years ago and had draped of the canvas elsewhere in the room.  The jewellery stands/hangers are a recent purchase from K-Mart and are chrome mug holders.  They were $4.00 each which I thought was an economical solution to a storage problem.

The little blue lidded jewellery chest I've had since I was a little girl and holds pieces I can't bear to part with. 

I very proudly have on display a vase made by my Dad on his wood lathe from a Banksia spike.

A Banksia spike or more commonly called a cone, looks like this.

Image found here http://geographelandcarenursery.mysouthwest.com.au/Nursery%20List/Banksia%20grandis

When I was very small, I remember a little night lamp that Mum used occasionally.  A number of years ago I saw one just like it in an antique store.  I decided not to spend the money on it although I was yearning for it.  My lovely sister who was with me at the time bought it for me.  It was so very sweet of her.

Mum recently gave her the one from home, so we now have one each.  Childhood memories, so special.

This little owl coin purse was a gift and as I love owls, it has to be displayed.

I think he sits very well propped against Dad's Banksia vase and a bottle of perfume.

My lovely sister-in-law gave me this four leaf clover she found which she framed and gave me as a birthday gift nearly 11 years ago.  It's so very special to me.

This is now a very special place in my bedroom with colour, memories and things that mean a lot to me.    I also have a small photo of my best friend from when I was twelve years old.  It was taken when we were in our early 20's.  It's very sad that she is so very busy with her career and living in another state, so we don't share quite the same relationship we once had.  Despite that, this photo is a reminder of those happy times we had, and perhaps if and when she is able, we can once again share happy times.

Friendship is one of the most valuable things we can have in life.  So to the many friends I have made since starting this blog, thank you so much for making time for me.  It means the world to me.

I'd like to share Genevieve's poem with you.  Every time I read it, it gives me tingles.  I hope you enjoy it.

Take care,

Anne  xx

THE MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT THAT WAS COLD

Once a year when Midsummer’s night comes

And welcomes the moonlight to glow

When the frogs croak a rhythm to the dragonflies’ dance

To the oceans the rivers do flow.

And the pale white roses that sway in the breeze

Seem to close up and rise to the light

And to accompany the moon, the fire-flies sing

This is what happens on Midsummer’s night.

But once it was dark at midnight of midsummer

When the rays of the moonlight were cold

And the dances of the dragonflies just were not right

And the roses felt stiff and felt old

There came a time when the ripples just were, and

All happiness they seemed to smother

They were just there, just there, just there

With cold indifference they followed each other

That night, the fire-flies, instead of glowing

Retreated and did not come out

Those wee little candles were tucked away, and so

Their beautiful singing did not come about

On this night, the leaves that swathed the great flowers

Had to help; there was one thing to do:

They became dresses for the stems and they shielded

And curtained their flower from view

The owls that came swooping one night every year

Were usually forthcoming and cheery

This time they were silent, swooped once and were gone

And they left it so bleak and so dreary

The poison ivy that twined around the big trees

Desperately clung to and clutched the bark

To save it's own skin or the tree’s is not known

But it certainly left it’s own mark

The snowbells and Bluebells that usually chimed

Sat unmoving and silent all through

What would normally have been a time of celebrating

But never at all did they move

Then the call sounded loud to let every one know

That for another whole year it was over

That Midsummer’s night was once again gone

And the first to break the silence was the clover

She sang soft and sweetly and diminished the moon

And the first whispers of dawn came to

The ears of those who had long wished to hear it

In the sky came streaks of orange, then blue

But the dawn was well on its way

So the blackness relinquished its hold on the world

Into the west it slunk away

So once more at Midsummer when the dragonflies dance

The frogs must croak their rhythm before

Midnight, when the moonlight will blind them so brightly

It was once cold but is not any more.

By Genevieve M.

21st Birthday Celebration

This past Saturday our gorgeous and beautiful eldest daughter Charlotte turned 21.  We celebrated with family and close friends at a Thai restaurant, thoroughly enjoying the food and atmosphere.  Afterwards we came back to our home for celebratory cake and general fun and mayhem.  Here are a few photos from the birthday celebrations.

 I made the cake which was a white chocolate cake with cream cheese, white chocolate and butter icing and decorated with fresh pale pink rose buds.  The cake was delicious, a first time recipe too.  :)

 

I made the table decoration, hung pink and white streamers, fairy lights and pink balloons

The birthday girl while we were singing Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Charlotte!!

It's hard to believe we have a 21 year old daughter, I don't know where those years have gone.

Anne  xx

Throne room improvements

Sometimes the smallest room in the house gets neglected, it's just not a priority when it comes to decorating.  However, this small but important room has been bugging me for some time as I like things to look nice.  I think the following photo says it all adequate but not very nice.

I'm sorry about the quality of this photo as it was taken very late in the day and using the flash made the colours look all wrong.

Here is our improved throne room.

 

I didn't want to spend too much money on this improvement and the only thing I paid money for was the metal storage unit which I found on Friday for $22.  All other improvements came from using what I had.  Frugal decorating, I love it.

The first thing I did was spray paint the basket that previously held the toilet paper with a flat white paint.  I only gave it a light coating so that some of the natural cane colour would show through.  I had thought I would buy a new  rubbish bin but suddenly hit on the idea of putting the bin in the basket to hide it.  It also hides the toilet brush.  Yippee!  Cost $0.

I wanted to add some sort of all day fragrance to the room but wasn't prepared to buy an expensive solution.  So I copied an idea which is in many of the lovely home wares shops.  I've seen these priced at $38.  I found a small glass bottle I already had and filled it with water and added some drops of my favourite essential oil.  I found wooden satay sticks in my kitchen draw and added them to the bottle to diffuse the essential oil.  I found disused saucers from espresso cups and used one to go under the bottle to protect the surface of the metal storage unit.  Cost $0.  

 

To add a little more decorative interest, I placed some pebbles on another saucer.  The pebbles were in the garden and were originally found on a beach visit some years ago.  After a good scrub they came up looking gorgeous and just the right colour.  Cost $0

The toilet rolls were  placed on the lower shelf and for a little more interest, I added the hanging heart which I made years ago and was previously hanging on the toilet door handle.  Cost $0.

Here is a closer look.

Such a long post for such a little room.  :)  What do you think?  I'm very happy with the outcome.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone,

Anne  xx

Storage

 I recently discovered a blog called Full of Great Ideas by Stephanie who is one very creative lady.  She recently set herself the challenge of a $0 spending month other than for things such as bills and essential food items.  As she loves to create and decorate, she is looking at what she already has in her craft room to use.  I am fascinated by what she is creating and how inventive she is becoming.  I've been encouraging her because I think we can all fuel our passion to create and decorate without spending, especially if you have a well stocked craft room like me.

Can you identify what this is?

It's supposed to be a CD holder.  It's a useless piece of wire that doesn't function as as a CD holder.  Check this out.

CD's spilling out all over the place.  We don't have room for CD towers due to limited floor space and besides they are so ugly.  So what to do.  Light bulb moment inspired by Stephanie, dig out a cardboard box from the recycling bin and make something.

Cut box in half and glue top and bottom flaps and reinforce the bottom with some heavy card saved from some other packaging at an earlier date.

I've used curtain fabric samples to cover the boxes with.  I used craft glue as the hot glue gun just wasn't doing it for me.  (All tips on how to get a hot glue gun working properly would be greatly appreciated.)  The fabric has been tucked away for years (given to me by someone who had a shop) and while it's not my favourite fabric, it serves perfectly well for this project.  The boxes aren't going to be on display after all.

I have white card strips also tucked away and I stamped them with fancy alphabet letters for a bit of whimsical nonsense.  Can't have CD's out of alphabetical order now can we?

I

Here is the second box covered in outrageous fabric.  Can you imagine curtains made from this fabric about 10 -15 years ago?  Of course I used the same outrageous colours to stamp the alphabet letters on the card strips for this box.  My stamping skills leave much to be desired, but hey, out of sight again.

This is a slight improvement on what was there before. 

I just have to tackle the cassettes now.  Yes, I still have cassettes and until I find some way of converting them to CD's, they are staying put.  I probably could have used plastic boxes to store these in, but plastic is so ugly and I would have to go out and try and buy something to fit.  This was so much more fun and it cost me zilch as everything I used was in my craft room.  As a side note, the blue box contains classical music (hubby) and the big circle box is for contemporary, boppy music (me).  :)

Enjoy your weekend and if you live in Victoria, enjoy your extra long weekend.

Anne  xx