Noël Fait à la Main - { Handmade Christmas }

Oh my giddy aunt! The trusty old Jan (Janome that is to those who don't know her intimately) is working up a storm at the mo. She soldiers on without so much as a grunt or a whine and even bears the brunt of my "bobbin running out 2 centimetres from the end" tanties. Now Santa don't try a tell me that your elves behave in a similar fashion because I simply don't believe you.

With this being a handmade Christmas and all in our petit maison I would be quite possibly on my way to the loony bin without her. Pencil rolls coming out of my ears people!

With some op shopped place mats and pillow cases and some leftover fabric from this little ensemble....and nothing up my sleeve...hey presto! (Was I the only child twitty enough to enjoy Rocky and Bullwinkle?!!)

Only a few more to go....I think I'm on a roll!!!

Oh my! Please excuse that terrible pun...I think I need to pencil in a wee lie down to recuperate.

(Cue groans and eyes rolling from lovely blog readers).

Le Calendrier de L'Avent - { Advent Calendar }

♪ On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me (o.k. a bit late I know!)...

♪ vintage sheet fat quarters.... doilies from the op shop... ♪

♪ frayed scraps of linen .....5 blissful hours!!! ♪

♪ yummy vintage buttons... the trusty old Jan...coloured doilies from here ♪

and lace brought home from Paris in my shoes! ♪

Did you sing along? Wishing you the jolliest of Christmas preparations. Ho,ho,ho!!!

(I doubled the bunting pieces and stitched them together to make little pockets/bags which I will fill with choccies, pencils, a christmas biscuit cutter, some crafty goodies, wee little cars and other snippets of festivity for my girl)

Heureux Moi! - { Lucky Me! }

How lucky can one gal be I ask?!! After a thorough spoiling by my beau on mon anniversaire I was delighted and overwhelmed to receive this gorgeous parcel from my very own Melbourne twin.

Bren and I have become blogging besties and to say we have a few things in common is a major understatement. If I wasn't completely certain my Mum only had two kippers I'd swear we share the same d.n.a.! We now have a pen pal thing going on...that is, one of the technological age and dream of one day meeting in person.

All wrapped up in an old paper sewing pattern was a clever fabric roll (this was super useful at my last market to store bits and bobs for sewing in the slow times), a CD of her crafty playlist including a version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" so lovely it made me cry and some magic crocheted goodies. And to think this crafty lovely only started hooking this year....c'est magnifique!

And to top off my heavenly birthday treats this gorgeous personalised journal arrived á la post yesterday from a dear friend in Cairns.

How did she know that I covet an old black singer sewing machine so badly that it often keeps me awake at night! Thanks J for such a beautiful and thoughtful gift. Miss you :(

Such yummy pressies...such yummy friends! Heureux moi!

Handmade Living Blog Tour!

It is the eve of the magnificent and highly sought after book, handmade living finally being launched! Two of my little projects are featured in this divine creation and I'm giddy with anticipation at receiving mine in the mail! Today I am thrilled to be a part of handmade living's blog tour! Pop over to the gorgeous Kristin's divine blog (all the way across the seas in America). Mon petit poppet is even smiling a wee cherubic smile for all to see :)

Son Espace Créatif - { Her Creative Space }

An array of fancies adorned the table. A cornucopia of crafty goodness!


Afternoon nap sleepy dust still lingering on those jet lashes...she set to work.

With such intent she glued, she painted, she drew...she lived!

And me? I drank in every last drop of it and my heart sang!


A rainbow of Christmas cheer to brighten our window...

.....and to make us smile.

I do wonder what other festive magic has been whipped up over here?

Wishing you a glitter filled rest of the week.

Bas doux - { Sweet Stocking }

♪ It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas..... ♪ The first of December typically heralds the beginning of shopping centre mayhem and feisty and delirious "leave it til the last minute" shoppers. But in this little abode we are going one hundred percent handmade (o.k. maybe with the exception of a particularly fussy sibling who I have finally succumbed to buying a gift voucher! Zut alors!)


Some time ago the lovely Selina of Selina's vintage organised a stocking swap. What a grand and merry idea!! Here is the piece of festive loveliness I received in the mail from Bonnie of Fat Chick Design. The fabric is so pretty and I can only imagine the cheeky minx of an elf that would frolic about in such a curly toed boot. Santa would definately have to keep an eye on that one!


In true "me" style I only remembered to photograph the stocking I made as I watched it slip from my fingers into the dark chasm of the mail box. It took a long and perilous journey to Italy and the lovely Blandina has been generous enough to share it.

May your Christmas preparations be magic....and remember....♪ Santa sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good...so be good for goodness sake ♪!

Mon Espace Créateur - { My Creative Space }

I never had the staying power as a wee person to amass a collection of anything enviable. Classmates dug into their tidy boxes to retrieve tin pencil cases filled with pristine rubbers (erasers to those who use "rubbers" in a different light!) of every shape and smell. Ice creams, Christmas trees, teeny tiny pandas....




I dabbled but this fickle lass ended up with a few mangy looking blobs either grey in the corner from use or crumbled into the corners of said tidy box (only to be discarded during that heavenly end of term class activity...the tidy box clean out!... heavenly that is, except the year I left the painted boiled Easter egg in there over the school hols....pee-yoo!!!)

Then there was a brief stint as a stamp collector! Again I lacked certain qualities necessary for such a hobby such as organisation...tidiness....stamps of variety!! I did however have page after page of the Queen's face so that's a collection of sorts I guess.

This collection adorning my hallway wall however, I'm pretty chuffed with. Inspired by the gorgeous Melinda of moose and bird I whipped up these little wall decorations in minutes...and for pittance! Truth be told...Melinda simply would not let me buy one of her doily ones as she believed I could make one myself and wouldn't take my money no matter how hard I tried to thrust it upon her person. Well here's a shout out to her for the grand idea! You simply must check out her stuff...it is delicious!

For a vast collection of crafty folk pop over here.

Les Marchés au Puces - { The Market of the Fleas }

Once upon a time a wee boy set off on a backyard adventure to grasp all that he possibly could of the glorious day and put it to good use. Without a sibling to aid (or hinder) in his merry making and his faithful canine friend Patchy panting excitedly behind his heels, he joyfully began his fossick through the ubiquitous garden shed.

The trusty old Victor mower proved a worthy ladder to hoist this little man up onto the laden workbench. Tin upon tin of nails, bolts and screws of every dimension. A veritable Charlie and the Chocolate factory assortment of handyman lollies!

He delved and dived into each shiny container, his beam growing wider with each discovery until....... a scream so loud and so blood curdling rang through the air. The boy's battle weary Mother (he had already taken the top off his finger in a door and knocked himself out riding a rocking horse a little too "high -ho Silver and away-ish!" in his short life) scaled the stairs in seconds and descended upon the shed to find....

Not blood, nor tears...but hundreds of dollars gripped tightly in the little man's chubby fingers. "Mummy, I found a treasure!" he joyously exclaimed. This little boy's Daddy liked to, and still does, hide money around the house for a rainy day. When the relieved (yet rather peeved....she was a budgeting marvel) Mummy tried to set things right....that's when the tears came. The end.

These vintage Willow tins were a gorgeous bargain I picked up while out fossicking myself last week and I can't wait to come up with treasures to hide in them. Money? I spend it way too fast for that!! I wonder what thrifty fun I'll unearth over here.

Post script: The lovely little boy soon after had a real life treasure in the form of a black haired sister named Stephanie..... who he spent the next 18 or so years of his life teasing mercilessly.

Vieux Tableau de Fenêtre - {Old Window Blackboard}

I have quite the addiction my friends to writing lists. To do lists....shopping lists....renovation lists.....things I want to make lists...present lists.....the list goes on (get it...ha!!). Coupled with a love affair for old casement windows I had a list lovers match made in heaven. This blackboard was easy peasy lemon squeezy.....so easy in fact I thought I'd show you how.

Step 1 : Find yourself an old casement window. It needn't look exactly like mine but something with a large middle panel is best. (I particularly liked this one and it was a bargain but I did have to remove a few pieces of timber from the centre.....an easier version would just have one big central piece of glass)

Step 2: Decide which glass panel you want to turn into a blackboard and which ones you want to leave just cause they're pretty! Turn your window over and using a hammer and chisel chip away the old putty holding the glass in place. Go slowly and please, please, please wear safety glasses. Your peepers can't grow back!

Step 3: Wearing gloves very carefully remove the glass.....old glass like this can really bite! Using your hammer flatten back the little naily things that help hold the glass in place and then measure and cut a thinnish piece of MDF to fit your new space (make sure you measure right to the edges of the space so the MDF can sit on the little rebate all around the sides) . Apply a few good coats of blackboard paint trying to paint in one direction. When dry, lay your blackboard face down into the space.

Step 5: Using a hammer, gently tap weeny nails into the back sides of the window to hold the blackboard in place (hammer the nails on a bit of an angle and only tap them in about half the way). I used one every 15 centimetres or so. Attach a good sturdy picture hook to the back....

Et voila! Your funky shopping list/menu board/Mumma's taxi bookings/lusty date night with your Hubby schedule etc. is complete.

May your shopping list always read like so: 2 bottles of Moët, truffle oil, a slab of triple cream brie, double cream, fresh raspberries, un baguette, portobello mushrooms, white asparagus, fresh tortellini, chocolate of all shapes and sizes.....


To see the list of all lists head over here to see all the creative lovelies and what they've been up to. Mmmmm....I really should make a list of which blogs I have visited over at Kirsty's this week....