Welcome

to

Where Bloggers Create

2012

I recently made this altered canvas for my sewing/craft room.

I entered it in the local country show and it won first place.

A cut glass compote full of gold shank buttons

Pearl buttons in old avon jars sitting on a silver tray

My best friend brought me this beautiful Killarney Lace from Ireland.

 I thought it too pretty to hide away so I framed it up & it's always on show.

A beautiful shelf trim crocheted by my mother

My friend gave me this doll head, it's too cute to throw out right?

Wrought iron string holder & scissors

it's so heavy could be a paperweight as well as just looking so gorgeous.

A scattered selection of buttons, a vintage buckle, and a fabric panel. 

Trying out colours and embellishments for a new bag.

I love to have The Waltons playing in the background as I sew or create

Some very old buttons, some from as far back as the 1800's.

My most recent creation.

Vintage and antique glass buttons

A beautiful box with a pretty tin

and

a favourite icon of mine, The Eiffel Tower.

A friend brought me this back from Paris last year.

Wrought iron cloche type bird cage vignette

A silky oak day bed for relaxing or even having a quick afternoon kip

Appliqued cushions made by me and the front one by my best friend.

A marvellous way to store fabric collections.

The piano had to stay but that's ok I stacked some interesting things on top.

I store trims in the blue chest of drawers, scrapbooking supplies in the coloured plastic storage drawers and fabric in the white chest of drawers (only some I might add), there are many other plastic tubs on wheels with fabric collections.

Two large work tables

This is a little painted child's play hutch

(that once belonged to my daughter) 

close up with old clocks, dice and tins etc

Some of my buttons and books

I store some of my Spellbinder dies in this old CD holder.

I love the way the individual spines flip forward and back,

it makes them very easy to locate.

A large pincushion made by my best friend

A beautiful new crystal button I bought recently

 and

a crocheted pink heart by my mother

Spool holder painted and decorated by me

Debbie Mumm pin cushion

Thanks so much for visiting.

I'd love you to leave a comment or become my follower.

If you do I'll follow you back.

I look forward to visiting your creative space too.

I'd like to thank Karen Valentine for once again hosting the party

as well as recently re-designing my blog.

I love my new look, thankyou Karen.

I can't wait to visit each blog again this year.

I met so many wonderful like minded bloggers

and hope to do so again this time.

Icy and cold on The Darling Downs...it's winter!

Here's my dear hubby holding the water from the bird bath.

Did you happen to notice it's frozen? LOL

The amazing thing is that this photos were taken today at 1pm.

It's been extra cold here the last week.

It does not snow where I live in Australia,

so when we get massive frost events like this it's a novelty.

Don't get me wrong it's regularly below zero early in the morning in wintertime, and is cold all day, sometimes bitterly so,

but to have such thick ice is rare.

This photo is looking over my neighbour's yard towards the creek at the back. You can see the sun is just starting to rise and there is a mist coming off the creek below. All the white stuff on the ground is ice!

 

The peg bucket hangs on the clothesline, about 6 feet off the ground and was covered in ice.

My wheelbarrow of pansies, all iced up.

Poor little lone pansy...if you look at my post a couple of days ago you'll see this same little pansy looking much more healthy.

I got out of bed before sun-up so I could get plenty of frosty photos.

I donned 2 prs of long pants, 7 layers on torso, one layer being a double lined jacket with hood, 2 prs of socks, a pr of boots and I was pretty right, except I felt like the michelin man...LOL

I let the cats out of the shed (we lock them up at night, in their own 5 star cat motel) and they were determined to help me film my frosty photos but could not understand why they were so cold.

Here you see Edie looking hesitant and suspicious, thinking some intruder must surely be causing her discomfort on this -5 c morning. 

Pre-loved frame with a new lease on life for my sewing room

Click on the photos to enlarge and to enjoy.

Today I decorated this frame that was given to me by a friend

when she had a 'clean out'.

I removed the glass and covered the backing with some open weave linen and an old threadbare and partially torn doiley

that I had sprayed with Memories Mists 'Pale Ale'.

I used Wonder Tape to adhere the background fabric

 and doiley to the backing.

I loved the way I could use the prestamped linen sample fabric as well as the paper sticker that's been sitting on there for so many years.

Seam binding tape used to cover the join.

Here the elements are sitting loosely while I tweak them.

I made the paper roses, and tied the double bow from seam binding tape.

I stamped a Tim Holtz mannequin on heavyweight paper and dressed it with some lace, ribbon and a necklace from some pre-loved beads.

I used Distress Ink and Chalks to give an aged look.

Here is the second mannequin that I diecut from a cereal packet,

then sprayed with Memories Mists 'Whipped Cream',

then stamped with Stazon Ink, using the Tim Holtz sentiment

from the same set as the stamped mannequin.

To finish I sponged with two colour of distress ink.

Thankyou for visiting today.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my altered frame that I thoroughly enjoyed making today.

It's always a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Pansies, lavender, sunsets and two cats

This is my sole pansy flower at the moment.

Hopefully they'll be blooming in profusion within the next few weeks.

Pansies are my favourite flowers.

This collage is the same photo with four different edits

courtesy of PicMonkey

I just love the way this lavender photo

has turned out.

I'm having lots of fun with my new Canon 600D DSLR camera.

The sunsets here at this time of year are spectacular!

These were taken on the shortest day of the year

otherwise known as the winter solstice.

My female manx cat

Her brother Gordon...

They look nothing alike but are from the same litter.

They're just on three years old now.

Thanks for visiting.

Hope you all like my new blog design.

I've had lots of fun this week as

the wonderful Karen Valentine brought my blog design to life.

Thanks Karen

A job well done!

My Great-Grandmother's Vintage Postcards

I recently learnt about a collection of postcards (still in existence) that were sent to my great grandmother in the early 1900's.

My grandmother (who was her daughter) was about to burn them with the rubbish and my aunty saved them from the fire.

She has had them for decades

 and

I had never heard about them until 12 months ago.

I have been trying to scan them so I have them for myself forever.

They have to go back to my aunty as soon as I get this job done

but

I'll admit I like having them close to me.

I have received so much pleasure from reading them and

gaining a little insight into how much my great grandparents

must have loved each other.

Many of them were sent to my Great-Grandmother by her future husband.

They are indeed very lovingly written.

I never knew anyone related to me could be so 'smooth with words'...LOL

I love the way so many of the postcards were addressed...

seemingly so loosely,

as though everyone knew who lived in the district,

which indeed they did.

I'm talking about country folk.

My relatives were not big city people.

Simpler times and simpler lives.

My great-grandmother's name was Anna but this was only discovered when her death certificate was sighted.

All her life she went as Annie.

Annie is also one of my nicknames.

This postcard was from my GG's cousin Rachel in 1911

Rachel was trying to organize meeting up with my GG

and suggested they may meet up at the local country show.

It must have been hard with no phones etc when you lived a good horse ride apart from each other.

Love's Victory...a postcard

from my great grandfather William known as Bill,

 to his future wife, Annie.

I love the address on this postcard

Miss Emma Janke

C/o Mr Janke,

The bootmaker

...love it!...

Don't know how my GG had this one, maybe she never got to post it

or

maybe

she collected her friend's used postcards.

Who could blame her?  

They're so lovely.

To Greet You on Your Birthday

Best wishes for your birthday

Here again not sure why she had this postcard in her collection

maybe she had a friend called Annie, maybe she never posted it

We'll never know now.

Christmas card by Beagle's Postcards

from my GG's friend Mary Jessop

to

Dear Annie

Hope you've enjoyed looking at some of my family history

through

these

beautiful old postcards

that are now mostly just over 100 years old.

I knew my Great grandmother well.

She died when I was 20.

I never knew my Greatgrandfather as he died before I was born.

Thanks for visiting

and

please leave me

a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

Linked to

&

Tuesday's Treasures at Uncommon Ground

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