mid century marvelous

My treasury made the front page on Etsy overnight. Dang! ... It always happens when I'm sleeping.

Featured : PsychoticReaction, LBrandt, redmag, sarapaloma, kristapeel, 12fifteen, JennSki, BrightWallPhoto, karaku, mountainavenbaby, soule, AtomicLodge

seesaw

Yay! My upholstery fabric arrived today for the poor lonely Diner that has been sitting unfinished since December. I've had boards cut for the seat back cushions and now that the fabric is here I can get the upholsterer under way.

I sourced the fabric from Woven Image. It is a Crypton (Barrier) fabric made of 100% Polyolefin, hopefully making cleaning a little easier with the kids who will probably be spending a lot of time at the Diner. In addition to eating I imagine it being the art & craft area of the house and later homework etc.

The design is called Seesaw, colourway 415.

So with that now underway, I need to get a wriggle on with the table. The stone top is sitting on the floor in my sewing room waiting for a base. This sketch is currently with the metal fabricators being costed for manufacture. Hopefully it doesn't break the bank!

Can't wait to have my first coffee at the Diner! All we need now is a mini jukebox on the wall?


Ooh I can almost cross this one off the list.

getting inspired

some flickr faves
Originally uploaded by fede shop

things that make me go ooh

some others are here

15 easter eggs + 1 blob

Yep, 15 eggs finished just in time.

This project did admittedly involve a little trial and error on my behalf - no reflection on Retro Mama's pattern - but I got there in the end. My Nana's egg (version 1 AKA blob) just happened to be first cab off the rank (no preferential treatment I promise) and to say the least it did not in any way resemble an egg. Here's proof. Feel free to laugh..... I did!

After some tweaking & experimenting with the shape and filling mix I finished up with these groovy eggs. Initially the plan was to fill with rice but this was too heavy and distorted the shape. I found a mix of rice and polyester fill more successful and spiced it up with essential oil for the ladies and cardamon spice for the gentlemen.

So I shall merrily do the rounds at the family picnic today (with Easter basket swinging from my arm) and hand out my groovy eggs that were made with Easter love.

alphabet series

A for Awesome - Updated
Originally uploaded by Paul Thurlby

While browsing through Flickr I discovered this series and it's illustrator Paul Thurlby. He is working through the alphabet and releasing each drawing on Flickr as he goes. Nothing like creating a little suspense - it's working for me!

"P is for Pretty" is the latest addition. I really, really hope he releases them as prints for sale at the end.

So far my favourites are "J for Jazz" and "H for Hang". Oh, and "A for Awesome" is also up there. Who am I kidding?? I love them all!

easter project

Better get a move on - it's Good Friday tomorrow and the eggs are still in pieces.

I'm being very responsible this year and watching everyone's waist line - no chocolates from this little bunny, just pretty eggs for keeps. The pattern for these Easter Eggs is courtesy of Retro Mama and can be found here.

My plan is to fill each egg with rice and spices so they smell yummy and feel good to hold.

Much thought has gone into each egg as I've selected the fabrics based on people's personalities. Time consuming yes, but oh so much fun for a fabric junkie like myself. Yay!

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you & your families a wonderful Easter and thank you for dropping by and leaving your messages along the way. You inspire me to be the creative Mum that I aspire to be!

sewing for my slinky boys

I decided at 10pm one evening that I really must make the boys (our 6 year old Whippets) a new bed. It had been at the back of my mind for a few weeks but suddenly became necessary (borderline urgent) right then and there. Why? Not sure exactly myself but nevertheless I bounced off the couch and hit the sewing room with way too much enthusiasm for that time of night!

1:30am rolled around and the cushion was complete. Standing back I admired my handy work and with the new creation under arm, headed off to the bedroom to show the boys their new bed. I got the "yeah...whatever" reaction. Maybe it will take a while for them to appreciate the love that went into crafting this textile masterpiece (lol) ..... waiting..... waiting.....

After a few days I thought maybe this might give them the hint.......

..........but still no Whippet action.

Another few days went by

and then this

Atleast the cat knows a good bed when he sees one!

mud + millipede

We don't get much rain around here but when we do..... woo hoo.... it's a lot of fun!

It was deemed necessary for the new "friend" Mr Millipede, to accompany the children inside after all the fun in the mud. After a shower, it was time to get busy again with more play.



Is that a spare tyre in the car? No no, of course not.... it's Mr Millipede going for a drive!

basket of fun

Picked this lovely basket up at the thrift store a couple of weeks back. It's so bright and cheerie - I can recall my Mum carrying a similar one full of fresh fruit & vegetables at the weekly market (and thinking it was such a grandma thing to carry around ...ok I was young and obviously with no style!!)



Oh and it's popular with my kids too - seems to get packed into the car every second outing with all sorts of favourite things for little people.

This is what happened when I pulled my camera out to take a quick snap.

Please note: kicking of balls inside is generally not encouraged, however, it made some fun photography on the day!!

making a house a home

I've been a busy little beaver and have so many things to post about, but d'oh! they remain in my head. I know, time management is not one of my strengths. I have this plan that one day when I have a block of quiet time I will write up multiple posts and store them for future sharing. This way, in theory, I am more likely to pop in regularly.

Renovation Update.

Progress on the house has been slow since Xmas. We had a Dec 28 deadline as we hosted a surprise 60th birthday party for Dean's Mum. Once we got to that point it was phiew! Time to relax, have a beer and enjoy the holiday fun. So that is what we did.

Then this year rolled around and the momentum slowed down. The inside is 80% there and we're loving it! The outside still represents a building site. Retaining walls, fencing, screening, paving, automatic gate, balustrades, landscaping and planting are all in the pipeline.

Original marble fireplace, exposed brick and built in cabinets

Kriesler Stereophonic (belonged to my grandparents)

the room behind is waiting for full height bookshelves

found this shower curtain here

who's bed? linen from here

a vintage find with some of my favourite things

Off to blog-land now to find a little Easter craft inspiration. I'll be back next to post some of my recent creations, including the Whippet boys new bed and a very colourful snake... woo hoo.... I bet you can't wait!!!