Studio peeks I spy white for wednesday !

This week i thought it would be fun to find white things in my little studio.
I love white its freshness picks a room up.Here is my sweet little white heart cupboard that holds many of my ribbon spools.Got it once at the op shop for $5 and added the wallie rose, Can you also spy the miniature luggage pieces on top.Including a tiny white suitcase.


Do you spy the white laces on their cards these are gorgeous and were a gift from my Friend Joan who like my Aunt shares her stash with me often.No you cannot have her she is MY friend.( i knew you were going to ask dont deny it)
Lastly here is a tin bin i also found at the op shop and jazzed it up with some rub on scrapbooking words.I love how it turned out,Do you like the spoon pincushion i made it myself
when i was going through my spoon bending phase (which was quite a few phases ago hehe)

OOh lastly is that a rabbit flying by .This is a secret project im working on for Easter.
Don't ask me why but my Easter decorations sometimes end up on sticks.He makes it into I spy cause he is of course white and German glass glittered white at that,

I love Miniature luggage

Well you know me i love miniature anything but i really adore miniature luggage.
The other day i got a swapbot swap personally delivered as my partner lives in Springwood too .
Jennie gave me the most darling pansy case like a miniature of the ballet bags we had as children.
I adore it and inside were the sweetest things,I am just a child at heart and surprises delight me. Its the lucky dip factor and Forest Gump was right Life is like a box of chocolates you never do know which one your gonna get!

Anticipation the story of a swap/

Long ago (like late last year) I won keke in a swap.Well i got her as a partner but i soon realised i had won as she is lovely.The annual flickr vintage ephemera Home for the holidays swap.,
Excitedly we exchanged addresses and we also chose to name our swaps to each other.
For mine i chose Believe and almost everything on her swap had the word believe on it or a tag attatched to it. Keke named hers Anticipation ahh and i feel therein lay the problem.Keke worked hard on it sent it off in a flurry and a hurry and i waited and waited and anticipated and........ alas it never came.Its caught up in the christmas mail i said and so we waited and waited and anticipated.Finally in mid january even i in my infinite capacity for positive thinking had to say its not coming.So someone out in postland has a lovely swap .Keke had wanted to resend sooner and as soon as i conceded defeat she started to make another swap by this time she added a valentine swap as she felt bad it was late. So anyway where was i ,oh yes anticipating,well finally just after Valentines day it arrived and it was BETTER than i anticipated,I love love love everything especially the christmas shadow box and the valentine apron.Thankyou thankyou thankyou.
You may visit Keke at Cherry Kingdom.

Big Marthas Favorite thankyou

Sorry this is so late but thankyou thankyou thankyou to Martha of Marthas favorite blog fame
I won a giveaway on her blog for Rachel Ashwells Gift of giving and it arrived wrapped in a sumptuous mauve satin bow and clipped with a vintage pin.All of which tells me she has read the book which is very good by the way.Martha also emailed me and asked about Aspergers and wanted to pray for Alex so she asked me what specifically to pray for,my immediate answer was a friend.Aspergers is so socially isolating and more than anything i wanted a friend for Alex to share things with. Believe what you will my friends but two weeks later Alex has a friend.Another boy from his town from his school and also with aspergers.I think Harry and Alex will be friends for a long long time. To walk through this world without a friend is a lonely lonely walk !

Breathing is optional but kinda nice !

Sorry long time no post,Have been on the dreaded asthma wagon, The kind where breathing is optional but kinda nice.It just makes things hard when you dont you know-I mean if you dont long enough you are dead so Alex tells me ! Ahh so anyway been on the cough cough nebulize etc and then after a week of that not helping it was the dreaded Steroids and a real bad case of the roid rage.WE are talking impatient bad tempered off my face roid rage.Alls i can say is how do people who are shitheads do it.Its exhausting to be angry and upset all your life.Im glad im back to me.Im pretty patient as a rule.Living with a son with Aspergers after bringing up 3 other sons you need to be patient. (hmm is that patience or Apathy) Anyway im back thank goodness and im even breathing which is kinda nice....
PS see this grumpy fellow well that face was me last week !

White wednesday- Dresses sewn with dreams

Ahh there is something so lovely about vintage wedding dresses,I guess its all the dreams

that were sewn into them and the hopes caught up in the tiny buttons and the lace edging.

Perhaps its the fairytale effect and the wondering weather the wearer got her happy ending.

Did the prince turn into a frog or did they live happily ever after,

You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore....but let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
- Kahlil Gibran\

Grace and remembrance be to you both.
- William Shakespeare

Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
- Emily Bronte

When you meet someone who can cook and do housework--don't hesitate a minute--marry him.
- Unknown

Believe in yourself

♥

Believe

in yourself,

in love,

in trust,

in magic,

in angels,

in happy endings,

in god,

in promises,

in miracles,

in people,

in fairy tales,

in following your heart,

in peace,

in true happiness,

in never growing up,

in following your passions,

in making your dreams come true,

in helping people,

in making the world a better place,

in changing for the better

♥
(found on facebook)

White wednesday- Fragments from the past

There's just something about black and white or sepia that modern colour cannot even come close to. It captures the moment and creates its own mood.I have a lot of my modern photos converted to black and white.Here are some fragments of time captured on film and wearing white !
(Baby ballerina is modern day from google images)

Okay i confess i break things.You know why i break things (just ask my husband) cause i am a fiddler and a creator and i have too much imagination. Yep i am never happy cause i finish a project and there is that one little bit that is not quite perfect and so i fiddle fiddle until the little imperfection is now a huge one and so then i have to find the right something to stick over the mess and then no i don't like that.So the whole thing goes in the bin and i have to start over.Know what i mean ?
Or i get an idea that if only i can put this (whatever) on another (whatever) it doesn't belong to then i can make something great.Its not meant to go there says hubby,it isnt meant for that,its the wrong size you will break it if you force it.
Well sometimes he is wrong you know and i manage the impossible and i am happy.Mostly i end up breaking the whatevers and or maiming myself. Then he is happy cause he right.So why do i do it ,why cant i leave things alone.But if i left them alone i wouldn't end up with some of the good things i have made.Ahh its a conundrum alright.Life must be so easy for the uncreative surely!

Its not real -so why am I crying !

I am,Have you ever watched UP.I love Disney Pixar I mean they make magical movies that actually mean something, My sons loved them and now Alex and I watch them.All summer long i have been watching guy movies or in the case of a lot of the action shoot em ups that they have been watching i kinda just melt away and hide in here blog hopping.Today it was my movie choice and since it had to appeal to Alex i chose UP.OMG i cried Alex cried .Who knew watching all those cute trailers about a grumpy old man and a floating house that it would be so darn sad.It was happy too and funny but the story line was just sooo sad and i couldnt believe just how sad and touching in a film aimed at little kids.So by all means watch it but grab the tissues and wheres the chocolate i think i need chocolate.

White wednesday- A few Favourites

These are a few of my favourite things
The chair and Amoire were off ebay as was the enamel hanger,The dress is just a picture i love of a flower girls dress it has a pocket that you slip the petals into You change the colour of the petals to suit the wedding.What a lovely little dress fit for a princess.There is something soothing and delicious about vintage white all chippy and still it retains an elegance of times past and dreams of old.

My First White Wednesday

I love white and have decided to do white wednesdays.
With my four sons when they were growing up white was a dream but not a practical colour of choice.Now all but one have flown away and taken their big handprints with them its slowly creeping in and i am glad.So here are three of my forst white wednesday pics all from around my home.

Happy New Year-Welcome 2010

Farewell 2009 No you werent all bad there were flashes of real happiness ,
My mother was diagnosed and went through treatment for breast cancer.My Aspergers son made it through year 10 which i would not have thought possible a few years ago,Two of my sons moved to Canberra and my eldest and his wonderful partner bought their first home.One son got a promotion and we all made it through.The end of a decade is a funny kind of thing,makes you realize what happens in 10 short years,We have lost two fathers which changes you,been to hell and back on the aspergers rollercoaster,
I lost a good friend to cancer,Battled with my own demons of weight and worry and crafted my little heart out.I found the internet and blogging and swapbot all of which changed my life completely and at times saved it too.Ten years one decade is all it took for three of my babies to turn into men and fly away.Ten years is all it took to take my husband from a bachelor to a father and a husband and to family life somewhat resembling malcolm in the middle(but much much better decorated and i am far sweeter than her).Ten years and now they too are gone.What do the next ten hold-a good thing we do not know i think.We step forward into 2010 nay we dance through its doorway and await the wonder.

Radio Flyer wagon ride

When my God daughter and her brother made their Christmas visit it was time to drag out my Red Radio Flyer wagon (a Christmas gift from hubby last year) I had seen an old Christmas movie that involved a Radio flyer wagon and wanted one ever since,So all year long it houses the toys i have for visitors children to play with and at xmas it becomes the bearer of the presents.They had fun being pulled around the yard by Neil and they looked adorable.Ahh childhoods days are short but oh the memories of them are long.I hope this is a good one for them.By the way do you think Maddison liked her dolly stroller.

Crafting at the cottage

Well its been busy here crafting at the cottage and wrapping and fighting the sticky tape and losing the scissors and my patience.I love to sit at my desk and make little Christmas extras.I am working on the Christmas day table favors.This year i am using little back boxes with giant silver snowflakes on them and chocolates inside.
I have also been making a few Cup of tree presents i place tiny trees inside odd sweet teacups and decorate to my friends taste.So sweet also made this tiny tablescape isn't it the sweetest the silver glass glittered word is memories.My photography is not doing anything justice.The little Christmas door i saw in a craft magazine and knew i had to make.

Now surprises is a christmas swap from my partner nic who lives in a barn in western Australia.Thanks for all my treasures nic and the super gorgeous trims and Nicoles daughter Angel made me a darling paper lantern ahh a crafting blogger of the future !


Also a gorgeous pink and white swap with a vintage girly feel is my present from Lisa Hessabi (Lisa Laughs blog)my friend from California.All vintage trims and velvet yoyos and a mini shadowbox no wonder i love Lisa.

Yes Virginia i do believe !

I wanted to make my boys a special Christmas card this year. So i took a vintage photograph of three little boys and cloned another then added my boys heads and Santa hats- I'm liking it. Guess i miss those yearly Santa pics.I always miss them
now that they are mostly grown and have their own lives (and motor bike for one ugh don't get me started and God please protect him !)At Christmas though i miss them most.
I know i know its the way of things and as it should be but try telling that to my mother heart.Christmas morning SHOULD start at 5am and should contain noise and mess and yes even a little disappointment amidst the cavalcade and cacophony.These days however there is only Neil and i and Alex who at 16 does not think its cool to LIKE anything.Thank goodness for my sisters boys whom i love dearly and my little god daughter and her brother.Because you know what, YES VIRGINIA i do believe !

Its a Brambly Cottage Christmas

"Picnik Show"

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Tinsel, Tantrums and a Tall Tree Trauma

Yes dear reader look at that heading and only the end of November.
The horror my friends of the annual Christmas decorating.The mess that i once again liken to Christmas spew.The boxes the bags the tinsel EVERYWHERE.I so love Christmas and i love to make the house look magic BUT....
I am sometimes wont to complain oh why cant i be normal.You know a normal person with one tree in the corner and cards on the blinds,happy to buy my Christmas cards in the bargain shop and not make them all.My craft room looks like Christmas central ( well it is in this house.) But did i have to pick the hottest days in 30 years to do all this ! Ahh tis true i am my own worst enemy.The tree oh the tree that's where the tantrums and the terrible bit comes in.I bought a tree off ebay factory direct in February (which of course one does) when i couldn't sleep as i had such terrible asthma.Bargain $19 7 feet tall.Its huge its bulky it takes up heaps of space and i have always wanted a huge tree. So why do i hate it,why do i know after Xmas it shall be going to my dear sisters house.I shall stick with my tall thin tree next year,By the time i got it up i had yelled and snapped at everyone including the cats.Still its all done and not even December.Now i can enjoy Christmas UNTIL i have to take it all down !
Every year i put little santa hats on my vintage tin pram full of Kewpies.Im sure its the highlight of a boring year for them ! I adore cupies Kewpies however you spell it i do !

Late Spring Garden

Its been hot but you know what My garden is looking almost decent,
Hubby and i are not gardeners,I dream of a cottage garden with foxgloves and lupins
grannys bonnets and forget me nots,You see i know a lot about flowers but thats because im a dreamer and a writer not because i garden.Still my lavenders are spectacular and i have daisies everywhere and roses too so really i could be happy with them and the hydrangeas around the back.

Collapsa Cats

No one knows how to relax like a cat.Its been extremely hot lately and so we have collapsa cats every where.
I think Avalon was saying does my bum look big in this (garden) umm no Avi but your gut is looking pretty big hehe Emmilou is getting older now she has a tent on my computer desk and that where she hides when the sun is high.

First ever Halloween party !

Well at my age there aren't that many firsts (i mean maybe if i were to take up bungy jumping or whitewater rafting but folks that aint likley to happen anytime soon ,i dont like my bits and bobs flapping in the breeze lol)
So it was lovely to go to our family's first ever Halloween party at the home of my friend Cecily and Lee parents to our god daughter the light of my life.The highlight of the night was certainly the appearance of said God daughter Maddison dressed as the cutest pumpkin ever.Forgive her if she looks a little disconcerted to wake up to family and friends not looking as they usually do.My witch nose was definitely upsetting as was Captain flylow (my husband and her god father)whose sunglasses and hat perturbed her.
Captain FlyLow who is a Pilot for Wanker Airlines was definitely a hit .The women were all witches as the men testified was really quite normal.Dracula barbecued and little ghouls jumped on the trampoline after downing finger cakes and eyeballs.Talking of eyeballs there were a number of them in the blood punch.
Maddisons brother Caleb assured us he wouldnt throw up after eating then bouncing but can you really trust a ghoul.Alex who was a zombie (isnt every teenage boy) bashed the witches head off in the pinata game.
I loved her pumpkin lanterns that she got for the bargain price of $9 at aldis.
A very Bootiful Halloween all in all.

We are what we believe we are -CS Lewis

I won her in a Party Hat swap

Thats my friend Lisa I won her once in a vintage party Hat swap.
Then i found out she was pretty darn wonderful so i thought i would keep her.
for maybe forever!Heres the Hat i made her that started it all off

and then well we just kept going,quite a few matchbox swaps and xmas swaps an inchie swap and soon a Christmas Tussie swap.She is the best most sweetest swapper ever and always goes that extra mile to surprise me no matter how many swaps we do.
In our inchie swap she presented them in a bound envelope style book with what looked like a hundred coloured ribbons hanging off the binding.Its everything about her that makes me smile and it always is wrapped or packaged so sweetly that your heart skips a beat.


Lisa lives in America her blog is Lisa Laughs
anyway see what the internet does to you .If i had never signed up for the vintage party hat swap on Flickr vintage ephemera group i would never have got Lisa and my world would have missed a lot of whimsicality and that ,that just doesn't bear thinking about.This world needs more of the whimsical ,Im doing my part are you doing yours !

Friends are gifts you give yourself

I believe that saying.I value my friends and i try not to ever take them for granted.
I think i have the loveliest friends in the world and i have kept most of them a long long time.I am reminded of this very much lately.I have been going through a rough time not rough as in feel sorry for me everybody but rough as in personally hard.
Anyway things are looking up or perhaps its me looking up and what has helped me are my friends.Some friends are online and although i have never met them they keep me company and make me cry and laugh.They live all over the world and have expanded my knowledge a whole lot.Others are friends i have had for a while like my dear friend Chris who was my first married next door neighbour when i was 18 and newly married.Boy have we been through things that would make your hair curl (is that why mine is sooo curly)The other day i had lunch with her and she gave me such a gorgeous book called hope and told me it was ok if i wanted to cut it up,I said never ! (never lasted 4 weeks).She also sent me a book i'm reading called the five languages of love it tells how we all show love differently,some of us (me) are present givers and love sayers,Some (him) are service givers and NOT love sayers.
Anyway what a gem is Chris.Then there are what i call surprise friends,friends that you never expected and the next thing you know there they are in you heart! Jo Chris's mum is one of these.I never expected to feel as i do with Jo she just sorta grew in my heart till hey there she was,Jo calls a spade a spade (i can be like that myself) she is more my mothers age which i have come to know means nothing.Friends come in all ages and sizes and sometimes they are not even people but cats and dogs.
Anyway theres Jo a surprise friend and yesterday i opened an unexpected parcel,and aren't they always the best kind.She had heard i was going through a rough time and sent me the sweetest note saying the gift was from her heart and more true the bottom of her sewing box, Buttons galore teeny tiny buttons and picture buttons,ribbons, shapes, a teeny mouse (my favourite thing of all!)So thankyou Jo you made my week.So anyway after this epic post if you are still here listening to me ramble,here's to friends so lift your cup (tea or coke it matters not)
To my friends-the most precious thing I've got!

Ever the dreamer

Feeling a little low today and made this
wanted another two lines but got stuck
was going to add on the end
"like why the moon
is sometimes sad"
but then couldnt get the next two right perhaps another day....

My BOOtiful mantle

By the way my cats hate hate hate the Halloween cat (maybe its just me but i find him sweet) maybe its the arched back.Perhaps its his sharp sharp fangs but they definitely do not like the mantle visitor and keep swiping him off there hehe !