I think God is watching

How could you look at this sky
and not think God is watching..
Its been a stormy afternoon
nice stormy not scary stormy
and then the clouds parted and Neil took this picture
of Heavens window
and just for a moment I felt so calm.

Me and patience are not good friends

WeLL not normally anyhow
my friend Carmen used to teach quilting and beaded tassel making
Now anyone who knows me will say i am creative and imaginative BUT
when the sewing gene was given out it must have been to those who grew taller than 4 feet 10 cause i can cut and glue and even nail BUT
I CANNOT SEW to save my life,my boys no joke were the only scouts in their troop with
their badges glued on.So when Carmen offered to teach me to make a beaded tassel
and i found out that a needle and a thread were involved i was freaking out,
But guess what i love it-oh okay i almost threw it last night when i had to undo a line
and then it got tangled,today i got the hang and really its quite peacefull
here it is in progress,not perfect but im proud.

Tussie Mussie just for me

Shannon made me this perfect tussie all blue and icy for my guest room. I just love them and dont tell her but im making her a Christmas one. Sshhh its a secret



Also i am just in love with my balls (pardon the pun)
I love them all different sizes all china and i put them in a white heart shaped bowl.
I am still loving this room all crisp and white.The perfect home for shannons Tussie.

Happy Halloween

Well happy Halloween
We pumpkinified our house
us Aussies dont as a rule embrace Halloween
but its starting to creep in and last year we were totally unprepared and lollyless when some trick or treaters came.
This year we decorated we bought skeleton bags and filled them all ready,and Alex and i waited and waited and waited
he ate a bag,i ate a bag the cats just werent interested.
Not a single Halloweenie ahh well maybe next year !
Happy Halloween to all my blogging friends.

Its beginning to look a lot like christmas

Well at least to Neils undiminshing horror its snowing glitter in our office.
Well he likes to call if office but we all KNOW its a craft room. Here are my latest things im working on I do have at least a zillion projects on the boil.

And look at all that glass glitter

the frog prince and the pumpkin coach are

for Fairytale inspired swap im hosting on swapbot

they are hang tags the gingerbread man is for a swap too

the snowmen heads are drying
The huge musical ball Is from Vinnies (the goodwill) and was a huge satiny mess
it plays lovely real musicbox music not todays battery crap.
the lady looked at me like i must be desperate and it cost me $1
here is the before and after

i ended up decoupaging then sealing it then rolling in glass glitter

oooh the mess but now its all done i like it and it will live here forever (which is a very very long time) in my christmas collection,

Lanterns for my Christmas table

Every year i have a theme for christmas. One year it may be stars another brown paper to wrap presents. One year about 20 years ago i had seen in American country living tiny walnut shells painted gold- hinged and with tiny charms inside at each place setting, so that year i did the same and they were so sweet.Another year I did mini chocolate boxes at each place.
Well here is this years theme lanterns

I bought them very brightly coloured ,lime green pink and blue

although i loved the bright colours for me i wanted a posher atmosphere.(you may not know but am a very posh person)

so I am using these as my basis for my christmas settings ,
I saw some in a magazine once (and we wonder why husbands must hate those mags) one at each place setting with its tealight burning and

a tag attatched to the handle indicated place names and i instantly loved them.Ever since i havent seen any small enough or cheap enough (okay im posh and cheap) to buy at least 8 and in the end i bought 10 as they were $2 each and i thought now they are cream ,They could be used anytime i want.

What is life without Fairy bread and Glitter

I got my friend Shannon (paintminepink blog see sidebar)
in a Tussie swap and made her this tussie.She loved it thank goodness
My DH was afraid she or the cats will ingest the glass glitter (of which there is much to my delight and his horror)Me I'm willing to risk it I mean whats life without fairy bread and glitter-Right ?
I mean i dont climb mountains or jump out of planes so if glitter is living dangerously then Im in ,just call me Jullie Dangermouse.
P.S
Thats neils evil nemesis below next to the rabbit in the pretty bottle
Ahhh glass glitter gotta love it

25 cent rabbits and Swapbot visitors welcome

Well he had a broken ear but he looked at me.I knew he wanted to come home
and who wouldnt love that face.I know I know he had a broken ear,but i am not
perfect are you Who are we to judge this little waif.25 cents i thought why not
the Easter mantle next year will welcome him.

Also welcome to my swapbot visitors as i joined a blog love swap to share your blog.
My friends will know i am addicted to swapping (NO not husbands) its fun and i love it.
So welcome Tami,Jennifer,Sue,Joanne and Cassie or as they are know on the bot
Tamiknits, Roseylittlethings (love that name !)Suefitz, Joswaps and Coco8199
me im Shabbyjules who else would i be !Anyway welcome to my swapbot friends.

Help my Gingerbread men are breeding !

Well i suppose there must be gingerwomen as well

cause they live in a huge old bowl on my butchers block island

in the kitchen.

And they are breeding

every time i look theres another one,

they are following me home.

Its quite disconcerting really !

lucky im an addict of collections (and chocolate as im very small and very very round like little Miss Pepperpot)

as i could see me being a drug addict or alcoholic so perhaps childrens old toys

and gingerbread men etc are far far safer as addictions go.
But where will it all end hold on is that cinnamon i can smell and ginger..........

My room moving binge

Well a few weeks ago now (and i am still not over the horror) i moved our home office (well neil calls it the ready room i call it the craft room) with our spare room.These are at opposite ends of the house and caused a huge amount of chaos.You see Neil and i were squashed into a small room while the spare room sat in a big space and was just a mess. It made more sense to me to have more room where we spend the most time and have a small sweet guest room.I am very happy with the results.
I still have a few tweaks but am all in all happy the way they have turned out. By the way the a in scrap has now been secured to the wall could have been worse (like the S missing for instance)

Tussie Mussie

Here is the Tussie i made for sweet Linda of Raspberry Roses blog who was my partner in the swapbot swap i hosted and also a member of prettychic yahoo group my online teaparty at anytime day or night.I had such fun making this and i just knew that resin glove that fell off something an age ago would be used one day.She likes pink roses and Victorian and deserves a treat after what this year has thrown at her.

Busy Busy spring time

Hi everyone in my blogging world,I havent been here for a while
i have been busy spring cleaning,here in Australia after a cold winter spring is already hot and now I'm dreading summer.WE already had a bushfire in the valley next to us on the first day of the bushfire season.Why i wonder is it a wildfire in the U.S but a bushfire in Australia.Anyway whatever i got the cleaning bug which is eating into my fun time but still never stop a cleaning spurt when it finally come upon you.
I just finished the noticeboard insert to my fabulous wall cabinet i got off Sue at shabby transitions.I love the printed toile i used for the insert and thanks Alex for the whiteboard that just happened to be almost the right size when i got the idea.
Not that poor Alex stood a chance when his mother was having a creative flash of brilliance.So here is my noticeboard i wanted it for the sweet little tags that i receive as well as make and my friendship hearts.

More Atc cards

I entered an ATC swap for Wicked ALICE IN WONDERLAND CARDS
i loved doing this,Heres my first one Alice is innocent and i think you may guess the mad Hatter harbours evil intent.Poor Alice is thinking she should have minded what her nanny had said.
Next a lovely little bluebird Fairy since i am partial as you all know to little bluebirds and nests.I surrounded her with blue whispy feathers that i glued behind her 3d body.As well another card for the Things with wings swap,of course these were glitterfied as well to add that magic touch.

ATC cards

here are a few of my Artist trading cards
i prefer to use digital collage and make up a collage of
many pictures to create an original card.
If you look at the post below you can see a little bee paper doll image
i started with this to create the fairy above riding the real bird
i had to add different legs alter his top and put a face on him
I love doing these
The fairy one gives you more of an idea what I start with and the end result
i usually 3d the wings etc and slash on the glitter as im a glitter addict.

I have been tagged

I've been tagged

I have been tagged to play the Name Game by JOYCE.
Here are the rules: you must state the rules before you state the facts. The facts are to name one thing relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you do not have a middle name then you choose the middle name that you wish you had. Then you tag one person for each letter of your middle name and let them know they have been tagged.

So this will be easy for me as my middle name is a short one: JOY

J stands for Joy not just my name but my theme,at our wedding i had little joy pillows tied up the aisle,i make xmas cards with the word Joy on them and i try to find joy and create Joy where i can.

O is for once upon a time because i am and always have been a writer and a reader
and a sometimes dreamer.

Y is for yesterday which im afraid i live too much in yesterday and yesteryear

I now tag
Daisy of Daisys Days
Olivia of My mother peasblossoms bower blog
and Eva of Evas Art

2 years without my Dad

Its a hard week for us September 1st being the day my father died 2 years ago and sept 2nd being fathers day so I made this as i cant make him a card anymore or buy him stupid black socks or hateful slippers anymore either.Made this cause the fight with cancer is still so fresh in my mind that the siren of an ambulance still hurts me.
Made this cause what else can you do,people are born and so they die thats it thats life and although we may not like it we have to accept it.
Still i miss that hello love,miss him calling me Jen (my sisters name)by mistake.
Miss him being there to fix things,my dad was the best fixer upper ever,if it was broken the usually he could fix it or at least modify it.He was a gentleman in an age where they seem scarce,he left school in 6th grade as the family needed his wage,he worked as a tea boy in a logging camp,worked hard walked far and had adventures.Like cutting across the Metho camp (where the men used to drink methylated spirits and be crazy) as a shortcut home.He had tales by the score and they are all in my head and in my heart.He worked is way up in 3M to become 30 years later an industrial chemist.He could memorize formulas and make up new products etc I was so proud of him.
Except of course when i told him it wasnt the done thing to wear the same suit to your daughters second wedding as you wore 20 something years before at her first (and it wasnt real nice back then).So we hired him a suit thats him in it below and he was so proud of himself that day it makes me smile to remember it.Happy fathers day Dad !

click to enlarge card

My cat loves Peas

Not only loves them but is addicted to them
I was emailing Daisy the other day and i had to write
have to go the cats driving me mad Neil must have forgot her peas
after tea and she is my bitch girl emmilou not my sweetie pie Avalon
so my life was pretty much in danger.
We probably own the only cat in the whole of Australia
who goes through a kilo bag of frozen peas a week
every night after tea she must have one cup of peas defrosted in hot water enough to burn your hand
she goes at them like a starving waif
she waits impatiently as you defrost them in her very own pea jug
she hangs over the jug waiting
and there is no forgetting
or she drives you batty
she comes and taps you on the arm or leg 2 taps hard like slaps to let you know
No joke i have sifted through frozen stir fry mix to get her peas when desperate
in an emergency she will accept broccoli or beans but peas are her food of choice
and she has to be made eat her tea or most first like a kid getting icecream
she would rather peas than chicken,now i ask you is that normal cat behaviour .
In our house lets face it , there is no normal !

A bit of fairy dust and some Angel kisses

Daisy's parcel full of friendship arrives

I got my parcel from Daisy in England A totally fabulous Kindred spirit
and now bosom friend (to quote Anne of green gables and heaven knows i have enough bosom to have many friends)
it was the best ever
i love everything every single thing
especially the matchbox drawers (well it was a matchbox swap i met her in thanks Natasha) she made 4 drawers with a birdhouse on top
i started to cry when i read make me (one drawer contains a bear cut out of felt to make
and another angel kisses and fairy dust (tiny glass bottles of glitters and little stars on sheer material)
love the tin heart i do i do
and a wooden bunny that had me going oh oh oh
a tiny shoe soo me
and the lavender
customs opened it and quarantine checked it and i got lavender- from her garden
guest soaps and a little box of handmade chocolate which turned out to be a delicious something called violet creams with really truly crystalised violets on top
what treats what treasures
a little vintage doll i love her so
she reminds me of a Milly Molly Mandy in her dress
the card was so sweet and the tag both with milly molly mandy on them (from our childhood favourite books) who she says im like but really im more like little miss pepperpot
i have probably forgotten something but i love it all
the teeny tiny horse is sooo absolutely special and the frog and the mice
all belonging to fairytales and fitting in a matchbox drawer
and tiny red ballet shoes did i tell you that red shoes was my favourite fairytale when i was young
i obviously told her and the drawers are soo sweet
and the birdhouse on top oh and the scrapping stamp set with the funny de tampon name
oh and i forgot the ice cream cone full of bubbles wow i laughed at that one and i will use it too
it was too too much and just enough and more than enough all at once
it was everything i love from my blog and my life
birds and hearts and bunnys and vintage toys and fairydust and fairytales and craft
and though some may say (and they do quite often) i am a weird little person Daisy soo gets me I love her to bits.Thankyou Daisy for being you.

Shannons gift

When Shannon of Paintminepink made me a Tiara for Hollydoodles Tiara swap
she also made me a pink and vintage heart wall hanging.
She wrote lovely words about making my Tiara the Queen of Hearts cause i have the kindest heart she knows,thanks Shan you know your a doll.
Here is her pink heart confection (well its mine now so here is MY pink heart.)

Hop Hop Jingleboos Bunny swap

This is way way behind so a belated thanks again to heather my Hop Hop Jingleboo bunny partner.A while ago
Something quite wonderful arrived on my doorstep first thing in the morning
my bunny swap parcel arrived from America
wow my partner HEATHER she is just amazing
all tissued and ribboned and tagged
and so so wonderful
the tags for a start have feathers and birds and on a bunny etc on them
the bunny is a ceramic one she dressed herself in red white and blue
there were two American flags
a flag bandanna
bunny socks
a birdhouse tiny on a stand red white and blue of course
tiny feather birds
a tiny hanging bunny
and two American mags
country living and Mary Engelbreits home companion on my want list for an age
and a victorian postcard with a bluebird on it
and and scrapping stuff American and bunny stickers and stars and cut outs
what a woman
it was all the stuff id choose myself
i cant get over how lovely it was of her.




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Nice matters Award

I am very honoured to get the nice matters award from Shannon of Paintmine pink and now
pass it on to a few other deserving ladies out there in blogland i consider very nice indeed.
1) Dionne from Cherubs kisses
2) Daisy from Daisy's Days
3) Eva at Evas Art
4)Jen at Jens world (my sister but Nice as well)
5)Linda at Lilly cottage
Nice does matter and there should be more of it everywhere everyday.

The Great crowning and my addiction grows

Ahh my blogging friends how my swap addiction grows,
I tell you its far worse than my ebay one and far more expensive than my scrapping one as it combines all of that and more.Australia really is downunder when it comes to posting stuff to the rest of the world.I have really had so much fun witn this swapping,i am like a kid at Christmas hell i am a kid at christmas what can i say.
Today i finally got to crown my tiara partner from Holly Doodles Tiara swap.Shannon a good friend i first met on yahoo prettychic and got matched with by accident to make a tiara.I enjoyed it very much and the glittering was out of hand below a few posts is my creation for her along with a Tiara hatbox warning that the contents may Dazzle and sunglasses should as a precaution be warned.Here in all its pinkness is my Queen of hearts Tiara as made by Shannon a vision in pink .vintage tag roses and lace and pearls what more could a girl ask.I will blog tomorrow the lovely heart shaped wall hanging she gave me too.As well as that her wording on the tag was so lovely to Julles the Queen of hearts cause you have the kindest heart I know .Oh Shannon shucks (she blushes)To all of you peasants out there you may call me her Royalness if you like.