Craft Group Christmas Break Up (Catch Up Post #2)

Greetings dear friends & readers & Happy Weekend to you all.

In the second week of December our little craft group got together for our end-of-year break up.

We all met up out at Liz's beautiful home, about 20 minutes out in the country -  we all bought along a plate for 
a shared lunch

(Sometimes I substitute the grapes for strawberries, sometimes just dried apricots will do)

 This is my standard "go to dish" when I am asked to bring a plate.
You can find the recipe for my Gingernut Bites here & for my chocolate fudge slice here
It's simple to put together as you can make the uncooked recipes a day or two beforehand & keep in fridge.

Our challenge for last month was to make a dream catcher.
Though I was not especially inspired by this challenge, I must admit I really enjoyed making my dream catcher 
(above & below) & just used up craft items already in my stash.

I remembered to click some pics of the ladies work

Liz's Dream catcher

Joyce's Dreamcatcher ...... Joyce even crocheted her own doiley for the centre!

Gails Dreamcatcher

I really loved Sharlaine's one above ... she had handcrafted the feathers herself using cord!

After morning tea the ladies made felt mice ... I taught this as I had some kitsets left over from 
when I taught the class in this Post

Then we stopped for lunch ... if nothing else, we sure do know how to get the food right!!  Our lunch was delicious!!

We had all been asked to bring a Christmas themed craft or decoration along, wrapped up ... then we each chose one out of the basket lucky dip style 😉

I was delighted upon opening mine to receive this repurposed wooden platter upcycled by Sharlaine.
Though my photo is not showing it, the whole picture has been lacquered with a fine glitter & just sparkles away ... 
so beautiful!

I wrapped up one of my primitive pocket ornies which I had liberally scented with Clove Oil.

Joyce received my mystery parcel & was thrilled ... she rang me days later to tell me her whole house smelt 
just gorgeous!!

I think this dainty sparkly ornament was made by Gail ... squares of fabric folded & pinned into a polystyrene ball ... 
so very effective!

After lunch Gail was keen to try a craft she had seen on You tube ... 

Gail had watched the video clip above & decided to try this method on some soft toys purchased from the Op Shop ... she had bought out a bucket of the cement mix required & we all had to have a go at dunking a soft toy

Though the whole process seemed a bit "drastic" it was a messy but fun creative time with lots of laughs.  

A couple of the end results ... these take several days to dry & can then be used outdoors as garden ornaments.

The day after our craft break up my neighbour Jenny came for the morning.
She was keen to learn how to make potpourri & I had been promising her a lesson since last winter!

  Jenny had been gathering & drying lots of bits from her garden & her walks, & had a lovely selection to work with.
I had picked oranges from her fruit trees & dehydrated them for her.
Together we made the 3 bowls full above ... Jenny was so delighted at her first attempt & planned to keep some & gift some for Christmas.

The next day she returned my enamel bowls to me with the goodies pictured above inside them as a Thank You 💗

Finally dear friends, before I close this photo-heavy post, these two vintage Holly Hobbie needlework pictures were a gift from my dear friend Sally ... I was speechless when I opened them!
They are now hanging in pride-of-place above my sewing machine so I can enjoy & admire them all the time that 
I spend there.

Thank You All So Very Much for staying with me thru' this lengthy post.
I shall be back in a few more days with Catch Up # 3 😉
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0

Happy New Year !!! Catch Up Post #1 (Pre Christmas Orders)

Greetings dear friends & readers 
Happy bright shiny New Year to you all!!

It is taking me awhile to get back to blogging again & I did consider perhaps closing the door on my blog.

However I do enjoy blogging & connecting with other like-minded bloggers a great deal .  .  .  . so have decided to continue for now.

As I feel I am so far behind I have scheduled a series of four Catch Up Posts over the coming week or so.

Today I would love to share with you the Orders I finished in the lead-up to Christmas when I was absent from here, but sewing my little cotton-pickin' tail off  😉

Desiree ordered a cream Angel from me, the same as the one I made in this post

The pattern is Charlotte Angel by Rosalie Quinlan Designs.

I had a beautiful vintage looking Christmas decoration from the Christmas Heirloom Shop which I stitched to her hands
Her apron is made from a vintage lace table runner.

She is a large size Angel measuring 85 cms long.

Desiree also requested some Christmas Buntings from me . . . 6 lengths at 4 metres each . . . unfortunately I had some unwanted help of the 4-legged variety while selecting & tracing out my flags

Miss Pippi made sure I selected nicely contrasting fabrics & didn't choose any that might have clashed 😉

This is what my dining room looked like (above) when I had them all laid out, ready to attach the bias binding

I loved all the different fabrics I used but these two in the top right hand photo are my favourites .  .  . olde world Santa's

After I sold the two Tilda Reindeer that I made in this post I received Orders for 4 more -  so ended up making 6 altogether this Christmas
They look very plain until you attach their antlers & they really come to life.

I was lucky our old Plum tree has lots of mossy gnarly branches ...... the Mr helped me choose just the right shapes 
for my reindeer

Next Christmas I hope to make a pair of reindeer for myself ...... to decorate my own walls.

I made 10 lavender/lace covered coathangers for my elderly friend Margaret who lives in a resthome . . . then I made another 2 for my dear friend Shirley, to gift to her daughter in law.

Early in December, a friend I have not seen in 10 years called for lunch on her way travelling North.
She claimed she had no idea of my tastes but gifted me this gorgeous tin vase, which I soon filled with seafoam roses from my garden.
I just LoVe it 💗

Well dear friends, thanks so much for stopping by today,
I shall be back in a day or two with Catch Up Post # 2,
Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

And Just Like That ...............................................

Christmas Greetings dear friends & readers💝

And just like that ........ another Christmas has rolled around again!

Goodness ... where did the month go to I wonder!

An electrical storm took out a power line outside our property & once it was repaired we found it had blown our internet, our phone line & our Garage Alarm system.
A week later when our new modem arrived & internet was restored again, I found I had somehow lost my 
blogging mojo

While I was without internet I managed to put the Christmas Tree up & decorate it

Blackie helped me sort out which decorations to hang where 😉

The presents were wrapped, the lights were put up & the 4 legged Fairy was put underneath the tree!

Some Christmas decorating took place in a few areas of the house

But not to the extent I usually go to by any means

Some Christmas Baking has been made & packaged up ready for gifting

Beautiful Baking from my friends Sandy & Joyce

There are only 3 local friends that I exchange Christmas Baking with now ... the list has dwindled as friends have
 moved away.

Early tomorrow I drive to meet my brother to collect Mum who is coming up to spend Christmas with us.
As I have much to share with you, I hope to schedule some more Catch Up Posts for after Christmas.
But today I really just wanted to Thank You All So Very Much for your visits to my blog, the lovely emails & comments you always take the time to leave me
Your kindness means a great deal to me & I enjoy my blog & our interactions so much!

May you & your families have a wonderful festive season & may 2019 bring only good things to us all.
With much love & friendship to you ALL!
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0

P.s ........  I have left the last word to Miss Pippi ......

Flowers, Orders & Treats!

Good Sunday Greetings dear friends & readers

 I have been picking my rose petals every few days to dry for potpourri, & was so pleased I picked myself a vase of beautifully perfumed roses last week as my garden has been buffeted by rain & strong winds all weekend

The white roses are Iceberg  -  I do not know the name of the pink one but it has such a gorgeous old fashioned perfume

This wrought iron chair has sat in my sleepout for a few years now.
I pulled it out a couple of months ago & removed the wooden "seat" part & then it sat untouched until just last week.

A good scrub then a paint with my Resene Amulet bought it up good as new.
I purchased a new coconut fibre basket liner as I had the old wire basket from another project ... I potted up some succulents from the garden & am hopeful as they grow they will spread & cascade nicely down the sides

While I was out on my deck giving everything a good freshen up, I planted up my tatty old suitcase again 

 I usually plant busy lizzies in this but as the girls in the Garden Centre informed me the entire crops nationwide were wiped out with mildew, I decided to try some petunias & lobelia this year

Though I won't get as long a flowering as I do with the busy lizzies, I am sure they will give me a nice show of colour

Ange & Judy both requested two Pinkeeps in Country Colours please. 
These are made from cut down wooden coffee mug trees, with a round baking tin screwed through the centre.

The paint colour is a Resene testpot Persian Red ... this deep plum colour goes nicely with the muted tones 
of wool felt
I embellished with some rusty tin accents.

Still continuing to work my way through my Orders ... a lovely customer who is rather fond of anything in the vintage linen line ordered 6 covered coathangers

I made 5 of these from vintage linen pillowcases & the sixth one (bottom lower right) was made from a vintage linen table runner.

I attach a small lavender bag to the hanger which I fill with my own homegrown dried lavender.

I bagged up & posted off a large Order of both my Citrus & my Cottage Garden Potpourri's ... these are destined for The Farm Shop at Gordonton where they are sold on behalf

While waiting on a car repair last week I wandered along to the Hospice Shop ... this sweet little silver tray came home with me ... a good buff up with Silvo & it totally transformed it

Click on the pic to enlarge it if you would like a closer look!

I have potted up some succulents & baby's tears in some small glass jugs & sat them on my new/old tray

My other treat last week was this dainty Latte Mug which I purchased from The Hummingbird.  It is just the perfect size to fit under my coffee machine & keeps my coffee piping hot ... just how I like it 💙
It was a bit of an added bonus when I turned the mug over to see that it is in fact, Green Gate 💚! 

On a not-so-positive-note my naughty feral cat Blackie went awol for one night & two days last week.
He turned up home as if butter wouldn't melt & then proceeded to sleep for an entire day.  I informed him that my hair didn't need any more reason to go grey & that I was seriously considering fitting a hidden camera on him!!!
He did not take a scrap of notice of One Single Thing I Said !! 😞

Thanks So Much for your visits today dear friends,
Be good & kind to yourselves & to each other this coming week,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the feral furry ones x0x0x0