Friday, January 13, 2023

Some Post-Christmas Finishes ..................................

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Although I had the best of intentions, December seemed to go by so very fast & I did not manage to complete all that I had hoped.        But that's okay - that's what these slow after-Christmas-early-New-Year-days are for. 

This cloth doll has sat, unclothed, on my Sewing Room floor for two years now - under a pile of fabric & other unfinished items.  It was high time I dressed the poor girl !!


 She is a Very Old Pattern by Wendy Briggs of Country Friends, who stopped designing several years ago now.  
She is called Christmas Angel & I adore her. πŸ’—

I had purchased a gorgeous Lynette Anderson fabric a couple of years ago so finally I made her skirt. The wings are from a scrap of Sandcastle fabric that I had just enough of. 

I had left some greenery out when I packed away my Christmas decor so I made her a twig wreath & then a garland for her hair.  I embellished her with some wooden buttons from Theodora Cleave

                      Painted shoes & torn strips for bows. 
 Once finished I decided she needed a frame to hang in - like the one in the pattern.  I had the perfect size frame with chicken mesh on it but it was too olive-y green in colour so I painted it with my pale duck egg chalk paint. 

Yes - of course - I had the usual ginger assistant who is currently sporting several smudges of Pale Duck Egg on her ginger fur πŸ˜‰πŸ˜
(I have left my Angel out for awhile longer to enjoy, before I pack her away til next Christmas)


I wanted to make some new cushion covers for the old cane chairs on my back deck area - this is a nice place to sit out in the afternoons with a cuppa & the old chairs are very comfy.  I removed the old covers & found the inners to be still in very good condition.  I wanted something Vintagey looking so I hunted in my stash & found an old table cloth with big blowsy roses on it - just perfect 🌹

I sewed an envelope closure for the back & tied it together with a big red bow, also found in my ribbon stash.  The cushions are wonderful to sit against - especially now the sun has decided to grace us with its presence at long last.  

On my last trip to Mums I took some stitchery work to do but completely forgot to include my embroidery threads.  Luckily I had tossed quite alot of fabric scraps into my bag so I was able to sit in the evenings & make yo yo flowers ... simply cutting a circle of fabric & drawing it up.  I find this quite therapeutic.  On my return home I decided I needed to actually do something with all these yo yo's!!  


I'd purchased a polystyrene cone from the $2 shop prior to Christmas - I painted it Pale duck egg.  Also the red candleholders were a 50 cent bargain from one of my Op Shop trips. I painted one of these too as I wanted to tone down the brightness of the red.


I simply glued all my yo yo's over the cone, slightly overlapping the edges - you will notice the lower ones are a medium size & the top section I have made a bit smaller in size.  No two fabrics are the same & they are all made using Tilda & Liberty scraps.  I hadn't intended to have a red & blue theme but this is how it has turned out.  

I glued the cone to my candlestick base & then tied a snowflake charm to this, & tied a bell & heart to the top.  I love this & would rather like to make more in other colour-ways.  πŸ’™πŸ’—

I thought you might enjoy this little Cat Collage I put together & hopefully it will make you smile .... if I don't smile at these two's antics then dear friends, they will surely drive me bonkers!! 😊

My 3 pots of  Rhodohypoxis were late to flower this year due to our wet spring so they were still looking pretty after Christmas. I found a certain Furry Ginger Fairy curled up asleep in the middle pot just last week.




A glance out the window shortly after & this is what I spy .........



Fat Blackie must've wandered by & thought Oh what a nice comfy spot that looks ........... 


I ran & grabbed my camera ...........  she is trying really hard to look innocent but is not fooling me !!!


Shortly after ......... just like a couple of nesting hens.  I wonder if I look underneath, if there'll be any eggs laid there ??!! πŸ˜‰πŸ˜


Thank you as always dear friends, for your visits here today,

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the naughty furry ones x0x0x

33 comments:

  1. Oh, I like your angel so much--better than the one on the pattern.
    Your wicker cushions are perfect. Amazing what you can find in stash, isn't it?
    I never would have envisioned that tree from a foam cone, some yo-yos, and bits and bobs. It is such a clever creation.
    The furry ones are certainly entertaining. I'm glad you captured these photos to share. Sorry about the flowers . :)

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  2. Gorgeous Angel....I love the frame she is hanging from. Beautiful use of all those yo yos! My Daughter fostered a little tortoiseshell kitty....she seemed delightful. So DD agreed to adopt her. Let's just say her guest manners have disappeared lol! Very cute Kitty collage xx

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  3. Oh what great photos ,the cats made me laugh so much .
    You made a beautiful angel , love the rose pillows and the beautiful trees .
    Enjoy your week hugs June..

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  4. I am not a doll fan but your Christmas angel is too cute not to love! Great use of your yo-yo's. xx

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  5. Oh! My goodness Julie...How could you leave an
    undressed fairy on the floor for two years, still she
    looks nice now with her modesty covered up...! :).
    And..if l were you..l'd leave her out for display, for
    everyone to see, she won't be to happy, being in a
    cupboard for the next 11 months...! :(.

    Love the cushions on the cane chairs...love the cane
    chairs to...old but still very lovely, bit like me really! :).
    And there the right colour of course...! :).

    Bless the furry ones..being a little potty...HeHe! Those
    pics are going in my pussy~cat folder, as l'm on my 2nd
    folder for Miss Pippi and Blackie...Love viewing them
    with a mug of Earl Gray once in a while..! :O).

    Best get on..bit of sunshine after a week of rain..lot's of
    places flooded over here, that's without all the strikes...
    The UK is in a bit of a mess at the mo...I may have to
    put on my best suit and sort it ALL out...HeHe! Bless!x
    πŸ‡ 🐰 πŸ₯š πŸ‡ 🐰 πŸ₯š πŸ‡ 🐰 πŸ₯š πŸ‡ 🐰 πŸ₯š πŸ‡ πŸ°πŸ‡ 🐰 πŸ₯š

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  6. how lovely to see your greenery with a bit of black and ginger! The roses on the cushions look inviting in design and the comfy feel they must have. I'm glad to see you have better weather now. Gets the gardening going easier. Here we have had 2 weeks of rain and I am grateful it was not snow or I'd be under a couple feet. Climate change! The prediction is no real bitter weather for another 7 days, then Feb. will make up for all this. I've seen you use your yo-yo flowers before, but this was certainly creative, a tree! Your new angel would have looked pretty beside this tree. Lynn and Precious

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    1. Thanks so much Lynn & Precious. Yes its not that easy to grow pretty things in pots when "rather large things" park themselves on top of them!!! I hope the snow has not arrived yet Lynn. xx

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    2. I see you are still making pretty things! Have not been dong well but enjoyed looking at tour blog. I love your yoyo tree. My effort to make yoyos did not turn out well....Nancy

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  7. Your adorable cats are totally hilarious. x

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  8. I enjoy your creativity. And your can do attitude. The tree is clever and so pretty. Happy New Year. Dotti in CT

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your sweet comment Dotti. xx

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  9. The doll is gorgeous & i love your yo yo tree. The new covers look snazzy & the cats are so funny.

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  10. No conocΓ­a esas muΓ±ecas y me parece encantadora y el arbolito de yo-yos te ha quedado genial. BESICOS.

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    Replies
    1. Translated into English ...
      I didn't know those dolls and I find them charming and the yo-yo tree has been great on you. KISSES.

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    2. Thank you so much for leaving me your sweet kind comment Arish. xx

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  11. Replies
    1. You are so right Kim!!! Especially a cat with attitude (or two!!) xx

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  12. Oh Julie your angel is just perfect. Love it. That is a great way to use up the yoyo flowers as well. Talented lady that you are.

    The cats are adorable as well (cat lover here).

    God bless.

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  13. Your furry friends provide such amusement, dear Julie. Love all the photos of their antics. Your Christmas fairy is beautiful and the yo-yo tree is perfect. I must say I am in love with your old, red wicker chairs and the beautiful new cushion covers are a dream. I think my feet would always lead me, sometime during the day, to enjoy a cuppa or two, on one of those chairs.

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  14. Your Angel is just perfect Julie,she looks so lovely on the frame. I remember Wendy Briggs from many years ago, I think I have some stitchery designs in an old folder designed by her.Lovely naive, country. You probably if not definitely put me on to her.Well, those cats of yours, forever keeping you on your toes but entertainment ++. Love your big blousy rose cushions on the cane chairs. Gorgeous.

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  15. wonderful Christmas angel in her new clothes and I love those cushions. Any fabric outside here is ruined by the sun - even 'weather proof' seems to perish. Those cats are amusing... not sure how you manage to grow pretty flowers....
    Hugz

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  16. Happy new year. That angel is just beautiful, I love her outfit, you do make such pretty things. The cats just crack me up, have a lovely week. x

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much - Yes I am really pleased with how my Angel turned out in the end. xx

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  17. I think the angel doll thought it was worth the wait for such a pretty skirt Julie, I love your doll, and your yo-yo tree to.
    Oh my! have never seen cats impersonating as chickens before🀣 but they are adorable, you did a great job on your cushions, we had the sun out yesterday, 38 degrees of it, its on a break atm but will return again on Tuesday.

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  18. Love all your handi work as always but those two furry assistants really had me laughing. And yes they do look like sitting hens haha

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    Replies
    1. I thought they did too!!! Especially the rather ample ginger one πŸ˜‰

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  19. Julie, I have those same chairs! My Sophie cat always sleeps on them and covers them in her thick fur, so much so that I cannot sit on them anymore. I have cushions on them to sit on, and I gave up changing the covers and eventually put old towels over them so that I could remove the cat-hair-covered towels when I wanted to sit down on the nice cushions underneath. Due to our constant heat here she moults a lot all the time, and I understand that, but if only she'd stick to the thousand other places she can sleep and leave my comfy cane chairs alone. Ha ha!! Like that will ever happen... xxx
    PS: LOVE the pillow fabric!!

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  20. Your angel is beautiful Julie, great to have her finished. The new cushions look wonderful too. Oh those cats!!! Tira finds a nice clump of plant and sits in the middle of it, must be very comfortable to animals!!

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  21. Cozy Thyme Cottage has left a new comment on your post " Some Post-Christmas Finishes ..................................":

    I see you are still making pretty things! Have not been dong well but enjoyed looking at tour blog. I love your yoyo tree. My effort to make yoyos did not turn out well....Nancy

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  22. Your Christmas angel got a beautiful festive outfit.
    The recycling of your tablecloth is great... yes, we always need nice pillows.
    You can make your cone at any time of the year :-))) with us it would be the spring tree in beautiful, delicate shades of green... best wishes to you.
    The cat photos absolutely make you smile. Hug

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    1. Thank you so much for your sweet kind comment. Yes I agree - the cone tree would be beautiful made up for spring time. xx 😊

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  23. Replies
    1. Thank YOU for leaving me your sweet comment πŸ’—

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