Psst God are you listening !!

I  had a conversation (argument) with my three year old god daughter Maddie today over where her grandfather lived,She wanted she said to make him an Easter card  and she was most insistent that he lived in heaven,Oh you mean Daddy's father no she said he is Mummy's father.I said well Mummy's father lives in Queensland, Ugh yes she said silly Auntie Jullie Queensland is in heaven, Hmm i replied some people may think it is but its not in heaven,Lengthy discussion ensued as to the difference between living in Queensland (IE It means you can come visit at Xmas ) and living in heaven (Sorry No visits at Xmas but such a lovely place )
Also at almost four she wanted to know where this heaven actually is (very very far away past the moon near the stars)
This whole conversation reminded me of my boys and their own funny episodes of the Heavenly type.'

Matthew my eldest at almost four was very knowledgeable about babies since i had just given birth to his brother almost a year since,He wanted to know how it happened and so i perfected the many times after used " God helps the Mummy and the Daddy to love each other in a special way and then a baby grows inside the Mummy's tummy"  one day he says to me with the big serious eyes "Mum i understand how god helps the mummy's and the daddy's but there's one thing i don't know " I'm waiting for it "How does he put the toes on ??) hehe i wasn't waiting for that one,My reply " he is just good at that sort of thing "

Timothy aged about four ( that seems to be THE AGE)
we were in a Church awaiting the bride .Outside the Church i had of course threatened my then three sons
telling them they must be good and quiet as this was Gods house,All was quite in the large catholic Cathedral when Timothy whispers loudly "When is God coming" (snigger's from around us)
"He is already here "I whisper back
Huge eyed he looks around the church his eyes conming to rest in an alcove that has a statue of Mary in it,
" I bet he is on her shoulders he exclaims excitedly whereupon 2 rows of  Guests are in stitches,
I guess he thought of God being the size of a fairy !

Joel aged 5 (and perhaps the most scary thought of all)
"Mum what does god look like ?".
"well you don't actually see him but he is everywhere in everything"
"But when you saw him what did he look like "
"I never actually saw him but i know he is there"
Here he rolls his eyes and says " But when god helped you and dad to make the babies
well what did he look like then when he was there ?" (am picturing God standing next to the bed see scary isn't it hehe)
See i knew the making baby story would come back to bite me !

And finally Alexander you guessed it 4 or 5 years old
Matthew and i hear Alex on the front veranda talking to someone then we realize he is talking to God
aww  we think how sweet. Then we realize that talking may not be the right word and that what he is doing is actually demanding something and then threatening god about what will happen if he doesn't pay up.
I quietly go out and Say Threatening God never a good  idea !!
"Why" he says
Um I don't know but isn't he is in charge of thunder and lightning and stuff like that,"
An apology to God ensued assuring him he wasn't being bossy just asking that's all,"

 Also at the same age Alex is in the car seat as im driving he says suddenly "Its happening"
"Well he says Durani my friend is a friend of Gods "Oh i say that's nice as i am wondering where this is leading
"Well Durani  asked God to make me the same color as him " (Durani is the sweetest darkest skinned boy you ever met,Alex is the sweetest palest skinned blonde haired boy you ever met)
Anyway smiles Alex as he surveys his pale pale arm "I think its happening"
I think as they say God always answers prayer but sometimes in his infinite wisdom the answer is no (thank goodness hehe)

We were not a church going family save at Christmas and not always then but in their own way my children all  found a way to talk to and about God.

Newest ATC and tussie pics

Have been on a roll lately with ATC cards
having a 3d bump out spasm.Loving my fake green flower soft too its actually the stuff you use for scenery grass on train set layouts etc Got a bag at the local goodwill for $1 As always i love using dried moss on nature cards
also did a new take on a digital collage i did once that took ages, Captured Fairies

No wonder i love boxes at xmas better than the presents even !

Gotta love packaging- I do !

Tried an altered bottle this is tiny one next i will try a normal size.

This is dried moss and the scenery grass.

Love my latest corset ATC and i know i know the butterfly was rough have fixed it !''
I inked the lace edge to the corset and the card edges using fluid chalks.

Cute isnt it i have another one with the fairy catcher
this is the scenery green,

This cutie is wearing glossy glaze shoes and a twinklets glitter dress.
Still think she is lacking something.

Rainy days are Craft Days

Been busy at my craft desk such a small happy space.I love to sit at my antique oak secretaire which butts up against my bed on one side and my sliding balcony doors on the other.I love my secretaire come computer desk.trouble is since its right against my bed half of what I'm doing ends up on my bed hehe,Anyway i did 10 ATC cards with vintage pansy seed packets on them and used various techniques,Flower soft 3d effect glossy glaze and glitter,gloss pen for the words,I am happy with them.I love pansies.

 I also have had Tussles to make one for my friend  in Queensland (Cheryl ) And also for her daughter little Emily Rose who talks to me to on skype when Cheryl and i are talking .Cheryl's is a vintage Easter tussle and Emily Rose is a princess one.Tonight i will fill them with goodies and treats before posting them  Tomorrow.I also made one for a swap with my friend Jennie who lives up the mountains that i miss so much (also a vintage Easter tussle i used old lace that was saved from a ruined pillow sham.) Thought id take photos this time as i made them its all in the finishing.I don't use a pattern i usually start with an 8x8 or 6x6 piece of scrapping paper backing it before i roll it into a cones shape.If you want a plain flat ice cream cone shape then you start with a 3/4 semi circle.I use a bread and butter plate for that one.

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The terrible tale of a shattered dream.( or lousy lounges )

When i was little crimson was my favourite colour.
Now Raspberry has invaded my White apartment ( and i think i like it ! ) Raspberry is the new colour sweeping the world of decor.(  Is it just me or does Raspberry look a lot like Crimson) Anyway you know how it is- i had been looking on eBay for two new armchairs,Of course  I really would have liked 2 wing back chairs in a delicate shade of blush or a barely there duck egg blue,Alas my budget and the need for them to be close by for delivery meant settling for less than the dream.
I thought i got two nice creamy kind of armchairs UNTIL they were delivered and as the man brought the chair cushions up i screamed inside my head NOOO you see  the colour wasn't cream ,What it was was a mustardy icky baby poo greeny gold colour.You with me ( is the horror hitting you, cause It hit me real fast.I couldn't live with them i just couldn't.,

So off i go sweeping the web for armchair covers and hoping i don't make another mistake..Who knew they were so expensive and yes ugly, No way I want the ones that look like you flung a sheet over them,Then i found some that looked passable the colour choice wasn't great but in the end i chose Raspberry and i love it.What do you think,I bought a new vase and flowers to pick up the colour,Now i just have to redo my cane two seater and add some raspberry cushions, Ahh a woman's decorating is never done.

Has she noticed I'm up here yet ?? wait is that a birdy !

The larger flowers didn't show up too well but they are definitely

a Raspberry Burgandy crimsony colour.

My little PRINCESS

Sophia Rose (the barefoot Princess)

Here she is just two months old my first grandbaby and a PRINCESS to boot,

PURVEYOR OF DREAMS and other fine things !

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.http://www.thefancyfarmgirl.com/my-fancy-farmgirl-studio/ via Pinterest

Ahh readers there is evil out there ,There are those that fear the internet for its lewd sites and its users with evil intent,Lurking beneath its surface though is a hereto unrecognized threat-the dream weaver,the wish spinner-the cause of malcontent with what we have and what we can locally obtain. Im talking google image here and ebay and etsy and all the blogs with houses and bedrooms etc far nicer than yours.They sew the seeds of ideas. Ideas which, when someone is already a dreamer and a decorator and a crafter are dangerous things in the right hands (oh my friend i cannot express or emphasize this enough) ,.The latest of these evil threats (which i took to like a duck out of water) is Pinterest .they say its an online pinboard but its sooo much more its a purveyor of everyone elses dreams and that is a terrible sorry i mean wonderful thing,
..take these examples

 andymcparrotland.blogspot.com via Pinterest

Add caption

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See what i mean lovely but not in the same league !

 see without this dream from Pinterest would i have known that i NEEDED and badly that tulle bed skirt.Or that at the price i would never own one,I did however manage after a world wide search to find a pink $32 one which of course didn't sell to Australia so then i had to join my US get a us address and have them re-send it to me now making it a $60 bed skirt but still i am happy with it ,It is however NOT the gorgeous fluffy zillion dollar one shown here.Nor is my bed outside with the chandelier.It is upstairs in my two bedroom apartment (unit ,flat depending on how tidy it is at the time) Sooo are you getting the danger part here,But don't you just love the dream anyway !

. Would i have known that these drawers i hadn't a hope of fitting anywhere or paying the Ebay $7000 price tag existed, Would my heart have jumped anyway with a yearning i could never fill.Oh but how i could have filled those drawers leaving some open to glimpse the treasures inside,

Ahh I'm convinced heaven must be pink and aqua

Would i have known that i adore and i mean ADORE Pink and aqua together
which sent me into a frenzy of wanting pink and aqua cushions for my bed, Who knew how hard it is to find aqua anything,
i found the most gorgeous shades of it in cushion covers on etsy in brocade i super adore them
\(and im not discussing how much i paid) and then managed to find another in the right aqua shade from ebay in Australia and a pink rose cushion to top it off,And all because i stole someone elses dream and made it my own,

my pink and aqua brocade cushions

.y

iheartshabbychic.blogspot.com via pinterest
And no i cant blame Pinterest for this one i already thought of this one but isn't it lovely

 

see what i mean

Dreams for Sale

courtesy of google images

 Seeing the light Yet !!
Getting the picture (and oh what a dreamy confection it is hehe)

http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=10222

wanna buy the dream
on Pinterest sometimes you can
I clicked on this dream and it took me
to a clever lady on Madeit and you can buy this dream for only $20 and how cheap is that for a dream.
I aim to get these soon.(im so bad im worried i will buy them for my grand daughter and keep them for myself on my dressing table)
so now you know the awful truth and you can be alert to the hazards of stealing other peoples dreams and making them your own,Of picturing that dream in your head and  having to accept the portion of it that can be yours.Of knowing that the $32 tulle bed skirt which however lovely (and really cost $60) was never going to look like the zillion dollar one you fell in love with and will never have.
So now you have been warned and during this whole post i bet you have zipped off to look at a dream or two.No matter= some people will just not be helped.

HELP ME !!! I am a crafter

Love my memory pinboard if its on there I LOVE IT

Ugh Blame the blokes who built the Internet in their cute little old garage ,Yes blame them for I am a crafter a little crazy a tad obsessive and a mite out of craft control. Yes i blame those men for leading me astray (and god alone knows how easily and happily led i am)they led me to EBay and etsy and made it and a zillion craft sites and craft groups ( enablers,addicts all ) who then linked me to other websites and daily craft deals and facebook groups tell me where does it end ,Can one ever have too much stash,too many supplies that you just know one day you will need,Then theres the stuff thats just too good,too sweet too special to use.You know the stuff I'm talking about,that vintage french seam binding in just the most darling shade of duck egg blue, I mean it looks lovely on a card but then someone else would have it and you couldn't look at it and love it as i do. So you know i use one of my other pieces of ribbon of which i have a drawer and a jar and a box hehe.Its all organized oh my goodness yes ! You see i am not just addicted to buying supplies and making things ands swaps,i am addicted to sorting my stash and organizing every little bit,I used to have a whole craft room(sigh oh how i miss it) now i have the space between my bed and my windows a chair and a half wide,
I have found ways to fit things in small spaces,The overload is in 3 Rubbermaid's under the bed,
Okay okay i confess maybe it isn't the fault of those clever men in their blokey shed maybe it was there all along and like most addictions it grew, There were signs when i was small always making puppets out of egg cartons and doll houses out of boxes,But imagine folks what would happen if a drug addict could just pop on line and search thousands of sites for that perfect drug deal.See its not my fault you see My name is Jullie and i am a craft addict. !! Help me before its too late and i am found dead under an avalanche of supplies,Remember she who dies with the biggest stash wins.

Inspiration tag minus a frozen charlotte and a tiny encased chair (now in my printers tray) by far  my favoutite inspiration tag recieved cant bear to pull more off it (from cheryl Jones)
The hanging heart pocket and a delightful fill of trims and treasures rec from Helen Bonnor)

Se who wouldnt love arranging and rearranging my potions of german glass glitter and mica flakes etc
I get the bottles at the local thrift when i see them,the little wallet i keep my address labels and stamps,seals etc in is just a fav of mine (made by christine ) The little watch case was altered by My Alex when we moved here ti cheer me up )

Altered mcroscope slide mailer

Inside the slide mailer (believe in your heart something wonderful is about to happen )

Card from my cousin (yes i know how rude but i like it hehe) also gorgeous altered cigar Box from chrsitopherpines on swapbot filled with treasure loooove it) Vintage cloak room tickets gotta love em (from my darling sister jen)
and lastly a photo sent in a swap ages ago, I  just love it,

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Vintage Valentines and not a man in sight

I love the tassel trim i received in another swap from Helen,The pink background was die cut from a paint chip card,

OK its that time of year again. You know when love is in the air. Yeah right Usually its the time that the men forget it or say its too commercial and their girlfriends and wives spend the day seething. Aah girls they are only men you would think they would work out that a box of chocolates and a kiss and a mushy card would reap them rewards aplenty.My valentines are the gorgeous heart swaps i will soon show you from my two partners in craft crime Helen and Cheryl. I  can show you the two i made them and filled with treats,, I also joined a swap for two vintage Valentine ATC cards on swap bot, And a vintage Valentine diorama, Ooh sounds like i have been busy.What can i say it keeps me off the streets.

Used a vintage marcasite heart on this one.The love letter is only half stuck down
i crinkled it to make it look well treasured.

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These hanging heart pockets are so easy and fun to make out of one sheet of scrapbook paper.

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Other than a Mother in a nest full of empty.

What happens tell me when you turn fifty and you're are no longer any mans wife, when the four little boys who have been your life are all grown up.When there is no longer anyone to yell at in the mornings to brush their teeth and find their shoes,No one to kiss goodbye.  When indeed there is no pressing reason to get up at all.What happens when you have been wife and mummy since you were eighteen years old ,all your adult life . In my case i have been so sad i couldn't bear it,so lost it makes me ill. I still have Alex who needs me but he is no longer a child.Time now for me everyone says and what a weird and lonely thing that seems to be,I have to move on i know that !( i think perhaps i just need a bulldozer to help me along. hmm better make it one of those huge mining ones i never did like change ) Ahh its hard to be something other than a mother when that's the word that defined you and kept you safe and warm. I used to have a lovely nest but now its full of empty.

Kittens too grow up in a blink

Is it really only a year since i introduced you to my secret apartment cat poppy
(she is the cat you have when you are not allowed on the lease to have a cat )
Unfortunately she doesn't get the secret part and climbs on the windowsills and sometimes
bursts  onto the balconies in search of adventure.The tree just off my bedroom balcony hosts birds who tease my little Poppy unmercifully and her tail goes like a boat motor and threatens to make her take off,one morning i awoke to her knocking the sliding screen door off its track and she was free (for all of two minutes till i managed to grab her). Thankfully she spends most of her time asleep in varying poses of upside down planking.If she isn't resting then she is stalking Alex or hopping into my craft bin to be covered in glitter.She has a hobby too -that's eating.Its never too early or too late as far as Poppy is concerned for food.She is an emotional eater (tell me about it ) if she spies me getting my necklaces or jewellery on etc and knows I'm going out its off to the plate to get a nibble. She  hasn't been accidentally locked in the refrigerator for months which although good makes me sad my Poppy is growing up !

I miss Eskimo Kisses

Found this poem i wrote when my son Tim was a teenager, sheesh rough times but now he is a father himself and i bet he already loves little Sophia as much as i love them both.The other day he was giving her kisses all over and it reminded me of the days of eskimo kisses that i used to give all my little ones.

TIM

I  miss
eskimo kisses
and rubbing noses
Small chubby feet
with teeny
tiny toeses !
Your smile
when the fairies
did magical things,
When all along
it was me
who had wings !
I miss
your belief in me
to make
everything right,
Your feet in
the hallway
your voice in
the night !
When imagination
reigned
before truth,
Before fighting
and hurt
before youth !
I miss being
mummy
that much is true,
Mostly the thing
that i miss Tim
is you !
           Jullie 2000

After four sons a grandaughter is born and the angels sang.