Sunday, March 2, 2014

Give-away Winner & other bits . . .

Hello to you all dear friends & readers,

I have a winner of my angel giveaway  :-)


I wrote all the names out on pieces of paper (many of them twice) & folded them up 4 times & popped them all in my old vintage enamel teapot ... the Mr got to draw the name out yesterday ...

My beautiful Peace Angel will be flying over to live with Shane at

roseslaceandbrocante.blogspot

Congratulations to you Shane & I shall be emailing you for your address details.




But I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you that entered my little giveaway ... 
I have never had one before but I must say, I really enjoyed it . . .  your lovely comments & all of you stopping by & taking the time to enter ... thanks SO very much & I shall definately be doing this a little more often now  :-)


from Pinterest



Continuing on from my Raggedy Angel last week, I came across another naked raggedy body in my sewing room mess the other day ... I do not know who this pattern belongs to ... I have a doll like this myself, bought for me by my Mum many years ago on a trip to Australia. 
A customer once asked me to make one for her so I made up my own version of the pattern 
(though mine has turned out much fatter I notice)



I particularly love Raggedy Annes & it has taken me a great deal of willpower over the years Not to begin a collection of them





I have had to quickly pop this little sweetie in the Cottage as she was beginning to look right at home on my couch !!!

 When I first began blogging just over 2 years ago I won a giveaway from Louana from here ... I won her gorgeous little bundle of fat quarter vintage sheet fabrics - it honestly made me SO happy - you can read my post about it here



I had great plans for these vintage sheet fabrics  ...  but had never actually done anything with them ...
so yesterday I had my first attempt at making a roundie cushion from this gorgeous book



As it required some mathematics to work out my dimensions, I had been procrastinating for a good long time.  
(My Maths teacher did not sit me down the back of the class for no reason at all you know - maths was never, ever my forte) 
However ... I must say ... I was most chuffed with my first attempt



I just love my new roundie ...  what do you think ???



As I didn't have a round inner (as the pattern stated) ... I simply drew around a large round tray I had & then stuffed the inside with fibre fill (you stuff it from the middle, under the button closure)

I am currently mid way through my next attempt in which I have drawn around a (very) large round enamel basin & am making this one up in darker colourings using some gorgeous vintage sanderson fabrics from my treasured stash ... I shall share it with you next post I promise  :-)

Last week while waiting in town for an appointment, I popped into my local Animal Care Op Shop ... it was my lucky day as I came across these little treasures buried under a pile of old sheets



I must confess ... they didnt quite look like this when I purchased them  (in fact they rather changed colour after a good soak)

Though things are really brown & tired looking here now, I noticed my lillies had opened in the corner of my native garden & snapped these pics last week


click on the collage to enlarge them

The white seems to really stand out against all the green of the natives & I love their fragrance

Well dear friends, I must away as The Mr & I are milking this weekend & I will be late & get a "telling off" again !!!
Thanks again for your visits which mean so very much to me


I just always LOVE this little quote from the film "The Help" ... how very true 
Wishing you a great week ahead - & some creative time would be just that extra special   :-)
with much love & friendship to you all
Julie x0x0


21 comments:

  1. How wonderfully talented you are Julie.
    Amazing how fast you can whip up this dolls that are just full of details.
    I had to laugh, cause I think I am about the worst at Math ever and put off a lot of things due to it.
    I am always quite surprised at myself when projects that I have put off forever over fear of failing come out perfect.
    I think that must have something to do with the bad math teachers I had growing up that had me down on myself.
    Thanks so much for giving me the inspiration to create!
    Now get to them cows, lol
    MOOO
    AMy

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  2. Lucky lucky winner! What a treasure your angel will be to her. Loving the new raggie..........oh I do love your dolls, I could easily have a 'Juile doll collection'!!!
    Awesome vintage sheet cushion, well done. I was won of those down the back of the class in maths too:-)
    I really enjoyed 'The Help' book too, it was much richer than the movie.
    Thanks for the chance at your lovely give awayxxxxoxx

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  3. I must say l do like that cushion....I much prefer the
    round ones, much more comfy....! Love the colours!

    And, the lillies are lovely....Just where they belong....
    In the garden...Not cruel'y cut and put in vases!
    Love'em!

    And Yes! Remember....
    "It's nice to be important....But it's important to be nice".

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  4. Congratulations to your winner, she has won a beautiful keepsake. I love your round cushion, I think it would be too challenging for me - I was a maths failure too at school and still haven't got to grips with it in adult life so do admire you for going ahead and getting stuck in. Lillies are so pretty - hubby brought me two bunches for my birthday and they have not yet come out, I put them in the conservatory which is unheated so they are going to last for ages. I didn't know you milked (cows?) would love to see a picture of you doing that! (I expect you have machinery?) we have cows around the fields here, they are such gentle things. Betty

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  5. Hi dear Julie
    WOW! I'm totally "over the moon" at winning your beautiful Angel - I fell in love with her from the moment I first clapped eyes on her!!!
    I didn't think for a moment that I would be the lucky one, so a big thank you to "the Mr" for pulling my name out of the old teapot!
    She will keep the old boy and I company in the lounge sitting on the couch - and will represent my three little french granddaughters! The next time we skype I'll be able to show them. I can just imagine there will be questions like "is that for me Mina?!!
    But I've already decided to keep her here, now I can't wait for Christmas to put her on the sideboard with my as part of my Christmas mantle.

    Your new Raggedy Anne is beautiful with her bright red hair and blue gingham dress.
    As is your new round cushion – you did so well!
    Maths wasn't my forte either - I was always a day dreamer and never quite got the math concepts... it's like a foreign language to me.
    I think the teacher has a lot to do with it. My daughter was struggling with it and her maths teacher asked me if she could stay behind for extra tuition - it worked. Her maths teacher was Raewyn Henry (wife of the ex All Blacks coach - Graham Henry). To this day we're all still grateful to her!
    Thank you again Julie, I can't wait to meet my Peace Angel in person!

    Hope you weren't too late putting the cups on - LOL!
    Hugs
    Shane

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  6. Hello Julie...well you touched on a common tender spot I see with the maths thing. Clearly hasn't affected anybody's ability to blog...a few years down the track! Great cushion : ) I love how the round shape draws all the contrasting patterns & colours together so well. Ooh I didn't know that you had a Sanderson stash!!! I'll look forward to seeing the next addition for sure now! Golly lilies & lilliums seem to flower at all times of the growing season. Nice time to have yours flowering & yes belladonas have quite a distinct & powerful fragrance. I have just realised this week, that they also come in white & cream shades. I loved the Help...wasn't it wonderful. Hope you don't have to be up at 3.45am or anything ghastly to be the milking assistant. Sending much love & hugs & a little rain if I could! Catherine x0x0x

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  7. Congrats to Shane! This angel looks like her....very sweet and happy! She will love it and treasure it. I love Annie dolls, too and have a little collection of them. Anything handmade is my favorite. Love your round pillow, too! You are so talented! Hugs!

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  8. Oh wow lucky Shane! She also won my lucky draw! The raggedy ann is soooo adorable! Have a lovely week

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    1. Thanks so much Hettienne & thanks for taking part in the giveaway. Hope you have a lovely week also x0x

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  9. Congratulations to Shane!! It sounds like your beautiful angel will be loved and well looked after in her new home. Your Raggedy Ann is beautiful too, and I do love what you have done with your vintage fabrics - the round cushion is gorgeous! Hope you survived the weekend's milking ok - enjoy your 'sleep-in' this morning!

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  10. Congrats Shane you are one very lucky lady enjoy your angel.I will have to try my hand at one for myself now .Julie thank you again for the chance to enter your giveaway isn't Shane so lucky by now I have the fabric out to start an angel for myself your inspiration has not been lost

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    1. Hello Jill ... yes definately do give it a go as she was most enjoyable to make & I am sure you would find it not difficult at all. Do keep checking back as I plan to have more giveaways in the future. Have a great week x0x

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  11. Congratulations Shane I know you are going to love your new doll! We have rain Julie... I hope you are getting some for your garden too!

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  12. crikey so much to comment on BUT it's late and i must go to bed!!!!!! first of all big congrats to shane - i'm sure she will love her angel ...... lovely cushion - i've seen that book before i must have a good look at it - even with my limited maths skills hopefully i could make something!!!! hope you enjoy the milking and that you weren't told off!!!!! xx

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    1. Hello Lynne, thanks for stopping by ... that book has some wonderful projects in it & is a great book to just pick up when you need to inspire or cheer yourself up a little I find. Thanks so much for taking part in my giveaway x0x

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  13. I love your cushion Julie. I look forward to seeing the next one. Sanderson fabrics are great to work with.

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  14. Congrats to Shane for winning such a beautiful angel doll.She will be well loved.Thank you for the opportunity in your lovely giveaway Julie. Raggedy Ann is looking really delightful and will fit into your home beautifully.Love the Lillies etc, truly beautiful. Shirley

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  15. Love Raggedy Ann and the round cushion. Shane is lucky to be the recipient of your giveaway. Jacqui

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    1. Thanks so much Jacqui - & thanks for taking part in the giveaway. I am on to roundie cushions No 2 now but am having a few mathematical errors along the way !!!!! Happy week Jacqui ... Julie x0x

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  16. Congratulations to Shane on winning the beautiful angel. I'm sure she will be watching peacefully over her new home. Always have loved Raggedy Anne! The cushions look amazing. Julie you are such an inspiration and your work is endless……… Don't forget to rest with a cuppa tea when you can.

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  17. Your new Annie doll is gorgeous, I can see why see might become a permanent fixture on your couch :) Love your new cushion too. Hugs Wendy xx

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Hello, & thank you for taking the time to comment on my posts - I read and appreciate each and every one of your comments :-)
I always prefer to reply to your comments by email unless you are a no-reply-blogger in which case I will reply to your comments in this section here. Thanks so much for stopping by to read & comment on my blog x0x