and to all a good night...

it's late on christmas eve here, the gifts are all wrapped and ready under the tree and the table is laid for a family celebration...

thank-you all for taking the time to tell me about your holiday traditions, i so enjoyed reading your comments, the random number {out of a hat} was #15, the lovely lisa so the parcel of goodies will be on it's way to you in the soon my dear!

and so i bid you goodnight my friends and wish you the merriest of days, i'll see you in the new year xxx

wish...

my little helper and i are having a lovely time preparing for christmas,
today we made bon-bons, filled with treats, bad jokes {i couldn't resist} and candy canes...



and i've just realised that this is my 200th post, fancy that! a little giveaway is in order i think, a surprise parcel of goodies to one randomly selected commenter,

do tell me about your favourite holiday tradition, i'll leave comments open until the end of the week and post out in the new year...

thankful...

what a treat it was to assist miss j at her christmas show, so wonderful to catch up with friends and the work looked beautiful - there is a lovely wrap up from the girl herself here...

i had grand plans of hosting a thanksgiving celebration this weekend, in honour of our family who live in america and well because i like very much the idea of sharing a meal and being thankful. my plans have been scaled back somewhat {the end of the month has come so quickly}but i still hope we three will sit down to share a simple supper over the weekend, at very least i'm planning to make lena's pumpkin cranberry bread because it looks so good.

okay i must fly, i have a busy day of unpacking ahead of me,
happy friday dear friends...

a sneak peek...

These are some little paper boat press stars that will be available at the christmas show, perfect for wrapping up those special treats...







It's been a very wild & wet week in these parts, we had a little bit of flooding at the store last night but it's nothing compared to what others are going through and we are so thankful to all be safe and sound.

I am looking forward to helping miss j at the show on sunday as it's always such a lovely day. I will take some pictures to show you next week, oh for that teleporter...

this sunday...

paper boat press
christmas show

sunday 23rd november 10am – 2pm

st francis theological college
233 milton road, milton, brisbane.
(entrance via baroona road)

fly...

Hello friends,
I wanted to give you some glimpses of my new work corner today...


It feels like forever since I've sat down at my table to write a card to a friend so to do that this morning gave me great delight...



and there's a lightness that's been a long time coming...

and more...

snippets...

edit...

We are in the midst of a serious spring clean in these parts, so far it feels really good to be simplifying and sending things that we no longer need or use to better homes... and of course there's the added incentive of a nice tidy studio space to work in at the end of it all. That being said there are some things I'm just not ready to part with.


He wore this shirt when I fell in love with him
and of course,
it's staying,
i'm sentimental at heart...

more softies...

It was such a thrill to see Blossom Bunny in Softies, so I was just as excited to be asked to contribute to More Softies which has just been released by Penguin Books.


I had been wanting to make Miss A her own Princess and the Pea playset, so developing a simplified pattern for the book provided the perfect opportunity to actually get one made... you know there is nothing like a deadline to get things moving along!


More Softies has lots of wonderful patterns designed by some very talented crafters. There is also a dedicated Softies website with bonus patterns, wallpapers and an album to upload picures of toys made from the books.

Do pop over and take a look, and please let me know if you happen to make your own Princess & the Pea...

lazy days...

It's true! You really can make these before dinner, the lovely pattern from oliver + s is perfect for twirling, an activity that also happens around dinner time in these parts.


The first is made with a fabric that I can't remember the name of {from Patchwork on Central Park} and a striped grosgrain ribbon.


And one in red gingham with a super cute Shinzi Katoh trim {also from Patchwork on Central Park}

Have a happy weekend, see you next week...

scenes from a spring afternoon...

We love to escape to the nearby mountain every now and then. On our last visit I was amazed to see the garden transformed, new growth all around.

I'm constantly inspired by my dear friends, one of them, Momo has opened a lovely little store on etsy...

I've lots of small projects in hand, taking each slowly and enjoying each moment. I look forward to sharing them with you in the coming weeks, thanks for stopping by.

bloom: day 5

bloom: day 4

bloom: day 3, another spring...

bloom: day 2

bloom: day 1

bloom...

As much as I love the wonders that the internet brings to our daily lives I have to say that nothing beats sitting down with a book and finding inspiration in it's pages. Green Crafts for Children by Emma Hardy is our latest...


Miss A and I have had a lovely time choosing projects from this book to make for family and friends, marking the relevent pages with our new Poppies for Grace sticky notes. It came as no surprise that topping the list are the cardboard sandals {apparently we are making the purpley ones}


So far we have made some little peg dolls to join our wonderful ones made by Momo and this morning we had a lovely time picking spring flowers from the garden for pressing. Didn't you love pressing flowers when you were little, I did, especially pansys... my Gran always had them in her garden, pansys and snapdragons.



Of course, now I'm being asked every five minutes if the flowers are ready?

It really is far too beautiful a day to be inside, we are heading back outside to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine. Spring is here in this part of the world and next week I think we might celebrate with beautiful blooms all week...
I'll see you then, have a happy weekend!

village...

the winter show {held just over a week ago now} was a lovely day. it's always so inspiring to spend time with my sweet and talented friends
kia, erin and kylie j,

here's a little peep at the girls' beautiful work...





i've put together a flickr set with photos of the day, so do pop over and have a look, thank-you to everyone who came along and helped to make the day so special...

inspiration & glimpses...

winter...

just popping in to let you know about this lovely little show taking place next

sunday 13 july 2008
11am until 3pm
at

st francis theological college
233 milton road, milton
(entrance on baroona road)

i'm working on a few bits and pieces

and my dear friends kylie, erin, and kia will be showing their wonderful work

do stop by for a visit and a cup of tea...

a rainy day...

and i'm home with a cold, curled up on the couch with my crochet,

i've got lots on the go at the moment {which is probably how i ended up with the cold in the first place}

so this little guy will have to wait a bit longer to be completed...


miss a loves looking at sock and glove and requested the rabbit {you know it's impossible to resist when they ask you to make them something} but for now i'm heading back to the couch,

happy weekend friends...

really...

i would be totally happy just crocheting little flowers all day... to tie on presents, this is for my sister, happy birthday sweet girl, you're the best xxx

flower pattern from lacy crochet

delicious...

Lemon that is...

I made my first on Friday night and I can't believe it took me so long.

I've really no excuse, although I must confess to tending to avoid things that require whisked egg whites, I've no idea why.

I used the recipe from this book which I've been using a lot lately, it really is so good. I'm working my way through many things that I've always wanted to perfect {baked cheesecake} or try for the first time {would you believe roast chicken?}

I know I have my gran's recipe for lemon delicious tucked away somewhere. She worked as a cook in nursing homes for many years so I know her recipe will be perfect for when I need to make lemon delicious for 40 people instead of 4. It's because of her that I still use my trusty old electric hand beater, the kitchen tool she always used... the one that always fills me with nostalgia everytime I fish it out of the cupboard.

That's the thing I love about being in the kitchen, that feeling of connection with my gran, with my mum and my sister as we share a recipes and advice, and with my daughter who stands beside me on the stool to help.

So the lemon delicious was really good,

perfect in fact for a cool autumn night.

I'll certainly be making it again

soon,

maybe to serve after a dinner that's been made in this...


Thank-you all for your advice,

I'm a lucky girl...

random...

hello there, this is me {apparently}

some other things you might not have known,

i'm not this colourful in real life {i tend to wear a lot of black}

i'd forgotten how easy it is to post to the blog {obviously, given the length of time since i last wrote}

the truth is i'm not quite sure about this blogging caper at the moment.

and i think i'm a better person when i'm not spending so much time on the computer.

but i still like pottering about on flickr {it just seems easier somehow}

i haven't read a book {not counting cookbooks} for a long time, the last one was "the history of love" {which i loved}

i really need to change that, any suggestions?

would you believe that i went to ikea on friday and came home without buying anything!!!

we are thinking about renovating our kitchen, friends refer to our current one as "classic"

i dream of owning a piece of le creuset {cream i think} but i'm not sure about what size to get... again, any recomendations would be appreciated.

is that seven things? actually its ten, not sure if they are random enough but there you go, thanks to ellie {originally, ages ago} and nicole {more recently} for the tag, i got there...

{eventually}