A Catch-Up Post (Part 2) .......... (A Waffle-y Post)

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

After hitting Publish on my last post, I was unable to get it to actually Publish.   I did not know how to resolve this as contacting Blogger seems to be a mission impossible, but finally I found a Community Help Forum & a lovely Polish man named Arek very kindly assisted me.  I was So immensely grateful as I had been wondering if I may have to give up blogging if I couldn't reach you all with my posts.  It made me realise how much I would miss this chatty, friendly place called blogland.  

Anyway - all that just to say ... I am very happy to be back here again 😊 This is a bit of a waffle-y post filled with all sorts of things I wanted to share here.

During our first Lockdown in 2020, my friend Gail dug out an entire garden of Clivias down one side of her house.  Unable to visit the Dump she filled 2 black rubbish bags & The Mr picked them up from her gateway to dispose of in the farm burning hole. When I saw them on the back of his Ute I grabbed them as I thought I might have somewhere to plant them.  The greenery was all cut off & it was mainly just the root system left.  We have a large area of native trees between our house section & our rented depot yard - nothing much grows here as the tree roots have sucked all the goodness out of the soil underneath.

I carefully planted all the clivia's root systems & slowly they grew - I was delighted this spring that most of them are putting on such a lovely show of colour.  When I saw One Clivia Plant in my local Garden Centre for $25 I realised what a treasure trove I had planted here.  

Some of you may remember this table & chairs that I revamped for Juno late last year in * this post *.  On my last trip to Mums I saw the little chair (below) in the local Hospice Shop for $6.  I walked back to my car without buying it .... but then I sat & had a think & I remembered that Juno is going to be a big sister any day now.  

I thought an extra chair might be handy once Juno's new little sister can use the table too ... so I went back & paid my $6.  I gave it 3 coats of chalk paint in the colour Rosie.  It was actually a horrid thing to paint - I am not sure why but I didn't enjoy it & it took 3 coats to get a decent coverage.

I still had some of the rabbit themed transfers left over so I was able to keep the same look going.  Juno is rabbit-obsessed so I am sure she will love this pink chair & will no doubt be the bossy older sister who gets to decide who-sits-where !!

I gave the chair 4 new rubber feet that I already had on hand - as well as 2 coats of matt finish spray varnish.  I find this makes the furniture wipeable which is handy when it gets used by children. 

I saw these wooden slabs last month when I visited the Daffodil farm & purchased 4 (they were $5 each).  I had always wanted to make some stepping stones from our driveway to the corner of the deck which is where I take a short-cut every time I go to check the mail box.  The Mr made me stain them well with several coats of Oil before I set them in the ground because he is annoying, fussy thorough like that. 

I love how they turned out & now I can even pop across in my slippers 😉

I have had to make an elevation in the "hospital corner" of my lounge, where I grow all my cuttings & seedlings.  I needed somewhere to put some seedling trays so this old wooden pew made the perfect second storey addition.

Sometimes my "hospital corner" even gets the odd visitor  ............

This dinosaur is one of Sid's most favourite toys, however it looked nothing like this when his little dog Darcy had finished with it.  She had bitten the back seam right open & much of the stuffing was missing as well as several holes in the arms & legs.  I was able to sit & stitch it all up & fill it with some new stuffing - Sid was delighted.

To thank me he drew me this card ... it says "from Sid to Granny" but his G is back to front.  He also made the iceblock-stick/string toy for Pippi to play with 😉  These are the things I will treasure always. 

 

Alec has just returned from a 10 day holiday to Tasmania, Australia.  He flew with his Mum & stayed at his Aunt's rural property - off grid, way out in the Tasmanian wilderness - no power or running water!  He enjoyed every moment of it.  I love this photo above, he reminds me so much of his Dad in this photo. 

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,

(Hopefully I can get this post to actually Publish!)

With much love & friendship to you all, 💗

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x 

A Catch-Up Post (part 1)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Some days/weeks it feels like I achieve very little but once I look back through my photos, I see this is not always the case.

The last of the Freesias picked before the thunderstorm came

 I have been in hospital for some surgery & I came home with a long list of things I was not allowed to do .... fortunately crafting was Not one of them.

My neighbor gifted me this set of vintage scales back in January for pet feeding duties.  She no longer wanted them but they were always missing their tray.  I kept an eye out on my Op-Shop travels & found this expandable cake tin for just 50 cents in the bargain bin.

I painted it with 2 coats of matt black paint & then 2 coats of clear acrylic spray varnish.

It could do to be a little larger but in the meantime it does the job wonderfully & I'm thrilled with my 50c purchase.

My youngest son cut me out these house shapes from a piece of custom-wood that I had lying around.  This design is from an old pattern identical to this one * Here *.   Yes I had "assistance" from Blackie with this project 😉 - he very kindly helped me select which buttons to use. 

I spray painted 5 of the tags with some matt black & then added Christmas fabrics to the roof.  I glued on some wooden buttons from Theodora Cleave that I already had in my stash.  The tags can be written on with chalk, then rubbed off & re-used.  These were such a fun project. 🎄

These are photographed beside my adorable new tin sign from my dear friends Jane & Sally

One of my favorite things to do is watch YouTube videos - I find them very inspiring.  At present it seems everyone else is decorating for autumn & there are pumpkins Everywhere!  I found this simple free pattern on the internet & decided to try knitting some myself - I just love how these turned out & am now knitting some in paler colours.  Though I don't consider myself a very good knitter, these were simple & fun to create.

I had a packet of wooden coathangers in my stash like these ones * here *.  I had painted two of them ages ago but never done anything with them.  I wanted to make gifts for two friends so I decoupaged them with a gorgeous Rice Paper & then stitched my friends initials onto some linen offcuts.  These initials are a pattern from Jenny of elefantz designs - I stitched them using Cottage Garden thread Pink Lavender & tied them onto the hooks. Just before gifting I'll add a generous drop of lavender oil to them. 💜

Last year I purchased two Tilda Mystery Boxes from Craft with Fee.  I have been slowly finishing off all the projects in them & this needlecase was the last one.  Everything is included in the kitset - you just have to sit & make it all up, which is lovely & relaxing.  This particular Tilda fabric was one of my favourites from an older range.  

Just prior to my hospital admission it was my eldest sons birthday.  Nobody could visit as they all had colds & I could not afford to catch anything, so there was no celebration.  

As soon as I was home & able to, I baked him his favourites - Lasagne, & a Raspberry & White Chocolate Shortcake presented with a bowl of whipped cream! He was delighted.

(Just some of the woolly mammoths that I managed to get a pic of)

I have had Sid a couple of days last week as its school holidays here in New Zealand.  We went along to our local Library as their school holiday programme was Dinosaur Themed.  We made woolly mammoths.  Now let me tell you dear friends ... this was by far the most exciting thing that I've done for ages!! Which probably tells you something about my life of late.  (in fact I am pretty sure I enjoyed it way more than Sid did - I am writing this small as if I am whispering to you)

Thank you so very much for your visits here today dear friends,

I shall be back in a few days with Part 2 as I have lots to catch up on here,

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

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

A Snippet Roll ...... 🖤 " Things I Love "

Greetings lovely friends & readers

A fresh new length of oilcloth arrived to start the week off - ordered online from * Here *.  I also picked the first vase of freesia's from my garden - I just adore their fragrance 💛

When I placed the Oilcloth on my dining table I just loved it ... I asked The Mr what he thought of it & his reply was 

"it just looks like something you dragged out of Grandma's attic".

Little does he realise that to me ...... this is The Perfect compliment!

It was my dear friend Shirley who first introduced me to " Snippet Rolls " - I had never heard of them before.

  Then I saw them on the lovely Michelle's blog & drooled all over my computer screen when I saw her exquisite work.

  I emailed & asked Michelle about them & she very kindly shared some tips to get me started.  Out of the blue a package arrived from her filled with some bits & bobs from her own collection - how special & wonderful. 

Though I had very little idea of what I was doing, I cut a metre length of linen & began embellishing.  I decided my Roll would be themed on "Things I Love"  💗

It must be well over a year ago that I first started this - I got as far as Friends & Family ... then kind of ran out of puff with it, tossed it all in a basket & shoved it under the spare bed. 

There were two things that happened to re-inspire me, & help me to complete it.

The first thing was (in July) when my friend Sally gifted me this beautiful book above for my birthday.  I drooled over the pages, took it to Mums with me & read it from cover to cover. Upon my return home I pulled the Snippet Roll basket out again.

 I decided I needed to set up a special table to work on, & not have to clear everything away all the time which was hindering my progress.  I dragged in the drop leaf table that I revamped in * this post * along with a sturdy chair & set up a small corner of my lounge where I had good lighting & it didn't matter if I made a mess (which I did!!) 😉

This was a great decision & this mess table stayed like this until I finished my Snippet roll.

And Yes ... in case you were wondering ... I had the usual "help & assistance of the furry variety" 😐

A couple of weeks ago, I put the final stitch in my Snippet Roll ... would you like to see inside it?? 

I started the first section with "Friends & Family" ... you can just see the word family embroidered in pale blue, where the arrow is pointing (bottom right)

My next section in Things I Love was crafting & creativity.  I've forgotten to move my charms to the side before taking a pic, but the heart reads "Love to Sew"  💕

You can click on the photos to enlarge them if you wish

The next section was my Garden ... once again I've forgotten to arrange the charms nicely.  These are off a broken pair of earings that I had years ago ... a tiny trowel & fork. 

The next section is Home.  I really love my Home & being at Home - it is one of the places I feel safest.  I could hardly do Home without adding Cats now could I??  Remember these are all the things I love.

I happened to find a wooden black cat button in my stash & on further investigation, a pottery ginger cat button.  Miss Pippi is Not impressed with this - she feels she should be Fine Bone China & not just old pottery !!!

My final section was Christmas.  I was going to do Tilda but I think that might take an entire Snippet Roll all on its own.  So I found some lovely Christmas buttons from Theodora Cleave - remember when I won the giveaway in * this post *. I ended it with a piece of treasured Liberty Christmas fabric.  It's all looking like it needs a good iron in my pics, but that is just from rolling it up tightly.  

I backed the entire piece using this lovely cotton print that I had in my stash - I wanted something subtle & pretty.

  I hand stitched this on ... like Michelle does in her work, I didn't want any raw edges that might fray.

And how did I display my Snippet Roll ?  I just unwound a section of it & sat it on my mantle piece so I can look at it & enjoy it as I walk past.  

This gorgeous tag was included in Michelle's parcel & I have this leaning against the wound-up bobbin.

I'm really pleased with my Snippet Roll & would love to make another one sometime. I should add here that apart from Michelle's gifted trims, I just used items entirely from my stash & purchased nothing.  I should also add that my embroidery & applique skills are entirely self taught & probably Not that wonderful to be honest 😉

As I type this rain is setting in again ... the furry two are on my sweatshirt, on my bed, curled up together. I can hear Blackie snoring rather loudly. 

Thank you dear friends, for staying with me through this marathon post,

I hope the week is treating you well - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Love Julie & the furry two x0x0x

Hydrangea Love 💙💙

Greetings lovely friends & readers

My friend Gail gifted me this beautiful Hydrangea transfer for my birthday in June ... I absolutely LoVed it & wanted to use it on something special.   I especially love Hydrangeas & just adored the pastel colours in this.

                     Seeing the black decorated lampshade on the packet gave me an idea . . . . . .

I have this large plain table lamp in a corner of my Lounge.  The Lady that owns the Farm gifted it to me many years ago & I use it as I really love lamplight, but always wanted to give it a bit of a lift or an injection of colour.

 

I carefully dismantled the lamp & then painted the base with 2 coats of chalk paint in the colour Old Linen. I dried it by the fire ... Miss Pippi takes her "watching-paint-dry duties" very seriously but after all - a girl does get tired !! 😉

I also painted the lamp shade in chalk paint "Antique White" as it was showing some age spots & discoloration - it came up great!

  Next it was time to affix the transfers to the shade. This was tricky (to put it mildly) as I had to pack thick bath towels inside the frame of the shade, to stop it cracking while I applied the transfers. I carefully worked my way around managing to cover nearly all the circumference of the shade. I was really happy with how the lamp turned out & found some old faded hydrangea heads that I spray painted with some colours I had on hand - just a quick whiff across the flower head to bring them to life.

The frame had a price sticker on it from when I thrifted it ... $8.00

I still had some transfers left over so I found this oval frame in my sleep-out.  It was actually pressed flowers inside glass - very old & faded so I decided to just paint right over the glass as it was secure inside the frame.  Once again - two coats of Old Linen chalk paint & a light sanding/distressing of the frame.

While I was working out the placement for my hydrangeas I felt I needed some wording in the background.  Like my fabric scraps, I keep every single offcut of my transfers & I was able to find some vintage French wording in my offcuts envelope.  I love how this turned out 💙

I hung it over the Gothic Mirror that I have in my lounge & just love my new Hydrangea corner so much. 💙

Incidentally the cabinet that I dragged in had a brightly coloured transfer on the door which looked so gaudy.  I was able to wet this & scrape it off, & then give it a quick coat of the same chalk paint (Old Linen).  I love it much more with the door left blank.

A string of fairy lights & it all looks complete. 💙 Each evening when I turn the lamp on it just makes me feel so happy with my little refreshed corner.

After a couple of really nice spring days it has turned wet & icy cold here today - typical Waikato Spring weather.  I baked this morning ... a Weetbix Slice for The Mr, & a Raspberry & White Chocolate Shortcake as I have eldest son & family coming tomorrow.  

I have some freshly dehydrated orange slices by the fire as I have more potpourri orders to fill.

A certain ginger Miss has curled up on my sewing chair dreaming happily with her little tongue poking out. 

Yesterday * this special book * arrived in the post ... a treat (to me from me) using the last of my birthday money.  I have many jobs awaiting but for now I am going to sit down with a cuppa & maybe probably a slice of that Raspberry Shortcake & drool my way through my new book.  Wishing you a wonderful weekend dearest friends.

Thank you as always for your welcome visits here today,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0