Grateful for ....Friendship

♪ Make new friends, but keep the old ♪ One is silver and the other gold. ♪ Tis this beautiful little song I used to teach my wee preppies that sums up all I feel about friends. Magic!

Old and dear ones who you can share braces, permed hair and spiky fringe, cringe worthy stories of your computer teacher and his "too high" pants where you laugh so much you nearly wee your pants!

Gentle new ones who are as much like kindred spirits as those you've known for years.

Those you share all your Mumma worries and gripes. The ones who you can happily chat away the night fuelled with crême brulée and laughter. Thanks so much lovely K.

Gorgeous creatures you've only ever shared heart to hearts with through email (and a most unexpected and ever so touching phone call on my birthday!) but you feel such a wonderful connection to.

And those lovely souls who generously give so much of themselves without ever asking anything in return. The beautiful Kylie of Mealy and I has become such a friend...and to think we met through our blogs!! She knitted this simply perfect little jacket for poppet's birthday and has offered to crochet a blanket for her big girl bed á la dottie angel. What a treasure! The girl also makes a mean choc chip bikkie!!

Ah friends! They make me smile a crinkly eyed smile!!

What are you grateful for this week? Absolutely oodles I'm sure!!!

My Creative Space

Dr. Bijou rises at a respectable 7 am and wanders into the kitchen for a bowl of porridge, fresh berries and yogurt to sustain her for the gruelling day ahead.

She has a quick top to toe wash, changes out of her jim jams and says toodle-loo to her Mumma. First up, Miss Polly has a dolly who is sick, sick, sick! And she's called for Dr. Bijou to come quick, quick, quick! She grabs her bag and pops on her hat and she's out the door.

Later that morning, entering her surgery she takes a deep breath as she surveys the giant queue of patients waiting for her gentle bed side manner and medical expertise.

Lucky her receptionist has laid out her instruments. First cab off the ranks, one Ms. Rella. "Now what seems to be the problems Cinder?" queries doctor.

"Let's listen to your breathing, shall we?"....mmmmmm. Quizzical look from Cinders and head shaking from Dr. Bijou.

When Bijou began "playing doctors" we couldn't resist this little wooden set made from sustainable timbers. She absolutely loves it!! It came in a cardboard box which lasted all of a second so I'd been meaning to make a little bag for it. When I stumbled across this old calico bank bag in my mammoth clean out I remembered my "make do" motto for this year and promptly set about re-purposing it for Dr. Bijou. Trés simple!!

I'm off to have a lovely potter through all these creative blogs. Dr. Bijou on the other hand has the grim task of informing Ms. Cinder Rella that she indeed will not be going to the ball!!

Our thoughts are with you...

To our gentle neighbours across the sea....our thoughts are with you on this tragic day.
We hope you and your loved ones are safe.

Flea Market Finds - The Bed Head

Wispy tendrils of elegant steel...curls and whirls... curlicues and flowers....

Delicate details to carry my little angel safely and sweetly to the land of nod.

Room for generous piles of vintage Golden Books and warm Milo...billowy sheets to make voluminous mushrooms....

Some day, besties flicking through the pages of Dolly magazine and innocently and wide eyed pondering love and all its many mysteries.

Even in it's most raw state it it still a thing of such beauty to me. Lovingly tended to over many days this bed head will be transformed. Oh how I adore a diamond in the rough! Shine on!!

What delicious things have been re-discovered this week?

Fancy Pants - The Birds!!!!

Many moons ago I chatted to you about my irrational fear of birds....and other wildlifey things! I mentioned a particular incident involving my loving big brother. A memory so vivid and horrendous I hardly feel I can unlock that vault. Who knows what will fly out! ;) Cue eerie music and flapping noises.

Once upon a time a beautiful princess (Ahem...I do have poetic license you know) and her parents set off on a weekend adventure. The princess's evil brother (O.K. a bit over the top but quite fitting for the story...as you soon will see) loved to torment the gentle and caring lass in which ever way he could. And what a conjurer of dark tricks he was!!

Upon reaching their grand destination (Wildlife Currumbin Bird Sanctuary) and handing over their gold to in turn receive small platters of Rainbow Lorikeet food (read: sloppy, honey-ish bread and water) they perched upon a wee log and waited. And waited...and waited. Where were the jaunty feathered friends who were proclaimed to land ever so lightly on ones platter and sup at the delicate nectar? Well, the evil brother overcome with boredom and general evil-ness decided to "bump" the good and kind princess showering her with the sweet smelling sludge.

As the King and Queen tried to mop at the princess's blouse with satiny kerchiefs a flock of lorikeets was spied. Without further ado....they descended, perching merrily upon the most delicious and most abundant feeder (i.e. the princess!!) and nibbled and clawed until their bellies were full and their hearts content. The end.

My skin still crawls with the thought! But believe it or not, this tale of woe was not enough to dampen my love of all things "birdie" in print, on fabric, homewares...the list goes on. Crazy huh!

Harem pants: Dotti

Owl shirt: Kenji

Woven booties: Sportsgirl

Silver bib necklace: Sportsgirl

I'm joining in with this lovely lass today.

Grateful for....Learning

I've always been a reckless kinda crafter. Actually..more like a reckless kinda gal in general. On the positive side this allows for creative juices to flow like sparkly streams and results in crafty adventures of the most delicious kind.

On the other hand... my haphazard approach to sewing often ends with a crumpled heap of fabric in the corner scowling rudely at me as I hurl expletives at it! Oh so many a project has befallen this dreadful fate.

I know the old adage, "measure twice, cut once" but in my land of "what's the worst that could happen?!" I tend to cut before I look. And hence far too many beautiful fabrics have been butchered under my rather unskilled hands. Expletives aplenty!!!

So when it was time on this crafting adventure to give quilting a whirl (actually, the big girl bed is screaming for one!) I simply knew this wasn't one I was going to be able to wing. Enter the most perfect local quilt shop ,their bevvy of brilliant teachers and two and a half hours on a Wednesday night of me time sans the poppet!

So this week joining in with Maxabella Loves, I am ever so grateful for learning! From learning how to use a rotary cutter to cut fabric as opposed to giving myself an impromptu manicure....to learning to sew slower than a grand prix driver in order to actually make seams even (who woulda thought!!!). But most importantly...learning that I am perfectly flawed, just like every other wonderful human being out there. I will stuff things up...I will be useless at others....I will throw fabric...and expletives. But that's who I am! And I'm still learning just who that is.

And you know what I've learned so far? I kinda like me!!

Big Girl Pajamas

Bijou's "Big Girl" bed arrived today! The time has finally come for our little one to embrace life without bars keeping her safe (i.e. trapping her in and therefore unable to roam this abode as she sees fit!) Now everyone told us that she would tell us when she was ready. Apparently she would climb out.....didn't happen, and this girl is one serious climber (we found her at the top of a six foot ladder at about 15 months!! ). Alternatively she would scream the house down at the realisation of her confinement and it's injustice! Well this really didn't befit a snuggle into the pillow kinda gal with her "non night...lub shoo Mumma, lub shoo Daddy" .

So Hubby and I finally had to make the call and kiss ta ta to the wee bubba bed and open the next chapter of this wonderful parenthood adventure. It's a bittersweet moment this one (along with most of the others watching something as precious as your child explore this world). My heart strings are being pulled like a tug-a-war at a school fête! Yay that she's reaching a new milestone but boo-hoo that my baby is growing up :(

Perhaps that's why Hubby and I chose a bed with a particularly long winded preparation. Yes, under our house is the most exquisite antique cast iron bed head and end in dire need of a makeover. Mon petit poppet may well be a teen before the final unveiling!!! So in the mean time two new sets of Mumma made "big girl" pajamas will have to suffice. Heavenly vintage sheets were lovingly snipped and stitched together using some shorts and a t-shirt as a guide to create cool and comfy PJ's for my girl. And little Miss Independence absolutely insists on putting them on herself! I wonder where she gets that stubborness from? Mmmmm!

Must dash, I have a hot date with a wire brush, a tin of Kill Rust and some off white paint. On second thoughts....perhaps I'll go and gaze at my babe sleeping soundly in her cot....capture the moment and remember it....always :)

Grateful for....Generosity

They have come from far and wide over hill and over dale! On planes, on trucks and then on the posties bike. There are the elegant ladies dressed in their finest and adorned with strings of pearls. The tall soldiers looking regal and proud. The sleepy babies in snuggly soft flannel. The babushkas, the gnomes, the geishas and the surfer dude!

And then there's the wonderful menagerie of animals. Baby bunnies with sleepy eyes, cheeky and colourful koalas, a super hero frog complete with cape, cuddly elephants, cats of every shape and size, a birdie or two ...and a pea green dinosaur!

A motley crew of 196 softies (and growing by the day!!!!) so individual, so unique....so special!! All so very different yet sharing one common trait. They are all made with love and meticulous care and given so, so generously for the children affected by the Queensland floods.

And my beautiful bloggy friend Bren sent these handmade tags (she and her special little man put them together...Smiles!!) to attach to them. Ta very muchly gorgeous girl...and wee Jude.

I am proud and honoured to say that box loads have been sent off to the Lockyer Valley for distribution amongst some of the hardest hit areas. My lovely friend Mel of Retro Bird has offered her support not only with 10 of her much loved dolls but by handing out "Hope Softies" to children affected in the Ipswich area. You're an angel! And my divine Momle has after copious hours with her ear glued to the phone made contact with none other than the head of flood donation distribution for the Salvation Army! All those munchkins out there who've lost everything will now receive a piece of handmade love!

My heart just sings with all the generous spirit! For this I am so humbly grateful!!! Thank -you from the bottom of my heart you brilliant human beings!

Find other grateful souls over here.

Let's Play....Buttons!

A basketful of large coloured buttons....soft and squiggly pipe cleaners....




an active and very inquisitive mind.....a wee bit of guidance from Mumma....


such concentration...such persistence and determination....such fun...

A lovely morning of colours, counting, straight, curvy and round.... wrapping and threading....of experimenting and learning....of sheer delight!

Fancy Pants - It's a Dressy Affair

Whoa Nelly! This petit maison has seen its fair share of cleaning out this week. Not one corner has been (or will be) spared...including the back yard! And yes the walk-in-robe (that used to be the back stairs before Hubby extraordinaire converted it) was top of the hit list!

Both Hubby and I have quite serious hoarding diseases a hop, skip and a jump away from requiring psychiatric intervention. Ah but nothing a thorough, cathartic and major clean out can't cure. Carrie Bradshaw I ain't (nor does the contents of my cupboard house the entire 2010 Paris Fashion Week Collections) so it was time to let go of items I was keeping....just in case. Just in case the volumous grey bomber jacket that looked woeful on my twenty something frame would miraculously look fab on my now 34 year old post baby body! In case I started night clubbing again. Mon Dieu! In case I plan on becoming the oldest principal ballerina in the Bolshoi Ballet! Too-da-loo old clothes!

But then there are those items that you're just not sure of. Usually when conducting such an exorcism...ahem, I mean clean out, I would stuff said garments back in the wardrobe only to rediscover them next time we clean out. Not this time. All these things were popped in a box near my dressing table and I have forced myself to wear them this week....and see if they're worth keeping. The dress that can't decide if it's a top.....ta-ta! A hot pink frock too short to be legal....see ya later alligator. But this old Sportsgirl number. Teamed with a leather cuff and funky sandals to add a bit of edge I think I may just have breathed life into this old gal. Saved on death row!!

I'm playing dress ups with this lovely lady today.

Grateful for....My Momle and Falof

When we bought this house I lovingly nicknamed it the "house of sheds" as the entire backyard was a virtual labyrinth of sheds, bird cages and little nooks and caverns. As time wore on the name stayed but the love of the monstrosity that was my backyard waned. Some of the bird cages came down before the poppet came but two sheds and an acre of concrete remained!! That is until today.


Without notice my Mumma Bear and Papa Bear arrived mid morning as Hubby began the arduous and trés hot task of gutting the first shed (oh yes, the previous owner was a toiling fellow who liked to line all of his wee buildings with chipboard using a veritable assortment of screws, nails, bolts etc.) before pulling it down. Falof knew Hubby was in shed demo mode and thought he might need a hand. They have been here more weekends than I can count. From the initial carpet ripping up time the day the house settled to the countless hours of Mum painting and Dad relentlessly chipping off layer upon layer of lino in the kitchen as we swanned around Paris on a European adventure!


They have always shown their unfailing love and support for me regardless of my many loony ideas (including this mammoth task we call house renovating!) and for them I am so very grateful! Love ya to the moon and back Momle and Falof!!!

To see what other love is zooming around the web today pop over to Maxabella loves.