Gardening fun

I thought it was time for a garden update. I have been quite busy and still have a lot of work to do, but it's good, rewarding work. Some parts of the garden are still going strong but others need a little help.

The icebergs out the front are still lovely, as is the stunning blue salvia. I'm hoping that both will keep going for a while yet.

I discovered a number of flower spikes on my orchids so they'll be lovely to bring inside soon.

My little blue ageratum are doing quite well and I planted blue anemones and orange ranunculus around them the other day.

I finally planted up all my herbs into a few nice blue pots for the sunny spot out the front. I think they might like a feed along with the rest of the yard.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't daunted by the amount of spring bulbs I have yet to plant. I managed to get in a few hundred blue ixias but still have a few hundred ranunculus, daffodills, irises, anemones, grape hyacinths and freesias to go!
I hope the hard work is worth it!

Looks like being a busy Easter in the garden :-)

A fresh look

There hasn't been much renovating going on at Molly's Maison lately so I thought I would freshen up the mantelpiece. Above is another of my paperweights - this one is a contemporary weight by Peter Raos of Aukland, New Zealand, inspired by the artwork of Georgia O'Keefe.

The little vase is by Tasmanian ceramicist Sara Wright and the silver vase is Tord Boontje.

At the other end is another Reter Raos paperweight, this one inspried by Monet's garden. The tiny one is  from the 1980's by a company called Perthshire in Crieff, Scotland. They are no longer producing but I was lucky enough to go there in 1997. The very large green weight hidden by the candle is a Victoria era weight often called a 'dump'. They were made in glass factories producing domestic goods such as bottles and at the end of the week the left over glass was used to make paperweights - just for fun.

The iceberg flowers came from the garden. They are still doing really well. The clock was Lyndon's grandfather's and it's amazing how after a while you don't even hear the loud chime on the hour, even during the night.

Have a great week!

A French treat pour moi

J'adore Etsy! This is one of my latest treats to come in the mail recently - some beautiful old ribbon, all the way from France. It was wrapped so beautifully as well! Love it!!

It has such a Parisian feel I had to snap it with my old postcards...

Now, what to do with it. I don't have any plans as yet but maybe a bit here and there on a cushion or a wearable art piece?

Fuschias for Friday

The other day my sister and I took a few fuschia cuttings for the garden out in my back yard. They were growing over her side fences (or maybe we were leaning over her side fences at the time....??).
I never did get many bulbs planted last week but did get these cuttings in and potted up my herbs finally so they look nice and neat out the front. I might aim to do some bulbs next week!
Here's to a good weekend to you all :)

Bloggy awards!

Hello friendly readers, I received 4 bloggy awards over the last couple of days!! The first came from my Danish bloggy friend Mals from the blog Malsen - a super friendly blogger with an amazing taste in handbags and a finger on the fashion pulse! My second came from a new bloggy friend Hilary from a girl and her dog who is also having fun renovating her house. The next was a lovely Sunshine Award from Louise from Illume Design and the last from Janette from My Sweet Prints!  Both of these a new lovely blogs I have discovered.
Yay, how special am I??!!

Well, I'm going to blend the awards and make it one quirky post. Hope that's ok!
Right, so 7 facts and 6 things I am a master in... ok, so we'll see what comes up......

1. I have a strange ability to spin plates like they do in the circus. I had no idea I could do this until I tried at a circus workshop we were holding at work. At one point I had about 5 plates on the go. Not the most useful talent.
2. I recently discovered I am able to cut hair in a not too unstylish manner. Lyn was my brave guinea pig but we have decided that it could be an ongoing thing.
3. Despite being quite girly, I am rather handy on the power tools. I even have my own tool bag.
4. I am a master at coordinating my socks and undies with my outfit so I feel "balanced".
5. I am quite good at applying eye-liner. Any sort really and am also a dab hand at eyeshadow. Maybe I should have been a make-up artist, what fun that would be!
6. I mimic. I do it without realising it. I mimic adverts, sounds, music - you name it, if I hear it I find myself copying it.
7. I have a good 'nose'. Well, my nose is ok looking but it works really well. I can pick out fragrances and smells really well. Not quite as well as the cooky guy in the book "Perfume", but better than average.

Well, the rules are that I invite some other bloggers to take part.  I think I might ask a few bloggers who I have recently discovered and you might not discovered yet...
Deb from Chantilly Cottage
Jess from the beat my heart skips
Kerry from A Tranquil Townhouse
Sarah from Flourish Design + Style
Samantha fom The Nest
You guys don't have to play along - totally up to you!

PS - Thank you all so SO much for your wonderful comments about my jewellery! I have felt overwhelmed by the positive response! You've made me feel quite inspired :) xx

Paris pendants and a new idea

Well, so much for my weekend of gardening. The weather has been a bit pesky and I have felt cosy and productive inside. I have been trying to get these pendants finished for weeks now and yesterday I made quite a bit of progress. Just the chains to polish and attach to the pendants.

For those who haven't seen them in a previous post, they're made fom vintage optometrist test lenses, images from vintage Pairisan postcards and steel chain.

The Lace pendant below is one I made quite a while ago but am thinking of making a batch. I cannot decide whether to use the chain necklace or attach a satin or velvet ribbon....

Below is the velvet ribbon version...

...and this is the satin ribbon version...

What to you think? I'd love your opinions!

Flowers for a Friday

I took these pics the other day - how pretty is the colour of these roses?

YAY for Friday!!!! It has been a  busy working week and I am looking forward to getting out in the garden to plant some bulbs (and doing a good spot of relaxing). I have quite a lot of bulbs to go in and I am still deciding whether to plant in a formal or informal manner. By that I don't mean should I wear a ball gown whilst planting (there's an interesting picture), I mean do I plant certain colours in neat beds or scatter all over the place for a natural effect? Hmmm..decisions, decisions...

Have a great Friday and even better weekend, friendly readers!

Sunflowers and ferns

The sunflowers out the front are finally in bloom. I thought they were going to be the big ones but they're not. They still look great against the blue fence. Very cheery.

We've also been planting out the back and sowing some lawn.

Here's my little fernery with a range of different species including Tasmanian Manferns (that we've named Fergus and Fanny), a Victorian slender manfern (of which there are only a few hundred left growing wild), chicken and hen fern, maiden hair fern and a couple of others. We still have to do the brick edging.

Above and below are the 'after' and 'before' photos. It was a bit of a dump from when we renovated the lounge room. The rubble, old pavers and tree stumps have gone and we are both very happy with the results. It has been a lovely sunny day for being outside in the garden.

Belated Birthday

Yesterday was Lyndon's birthday. We had a pretty busy day with family dropping in and then dinner with his parents. In lieu of a cake I made Brownies but they took so long to cook and cool that I didn't get them cut up until this morning. Oh well, I like the idea of dragging birthdays out a little. I'm looking forward to morning tea :)
Happy Birthday Lyn! xx

Rooftop fun

Well, there's a nice view.

Oh...did you think I was talking about Lyndon??...no, I'm talking about the brand new bit of heater flue and Chinaman's cap that will make out fire burn better this year and stop rain running in through it!

Lyn went up this morning to replace what was a very old and only semi-functional flue. It now looks very nice and fresh compared to the awful state of the roof! There's another job to add to the list.

Oh well, baby steps....

We've done some more work on my shelving which is looking great so I'll post an update of that again soon.

Have a lovely weekend!

More vintage bits

Here are my latest vintage finds. The gorgeous old paste buckle came from etsy (only about $10), the old wooden thread spools came from the Hobart Tip Shop (only 50c each) and the glass jelly mould came from Willow Court Antiques in New Norfolk ($14).

That's another one of my paperweights below, it's a small Italian latticino paperweight in very pretty colour.

Thanks for your comments about my paperwerights, I will definitely show more from different places around the world in the near future.

Pretty paperweights

I mentioned in my List of 7 (or 8) that I collect paperweights. I have done so since I was a teenager I think when my next door neighbour gave me a lovely Italian Murano paperweight. Since then my knowledge of these beautiful things has increased and my collection has grown dramatically.

As mentioned I have examples from all over the world but my absolute favourites are from a French factory called Clichy which is no longer in existence.

I have 4 Clichy paperweights which I have sourced from England (via ebay), USA (also ebay), a local antique store (thanks Dad) and an auction in Launceston (stressful!!). They all date from around 1850.

The colours of the glass are sooo pretty, like candy canes. Clichy paperweights are known for the Clichy 'rose', a special cane depicting a pink or white rose. It does come in other colours but they are much rarer. If you look in the two larger weights you'll see a pink rose in the centre of one and a white rose at the outer edge of the other.
The two smaller weights here are often refered to as "End of Day" weights or "Scramble" weights as they are a mix of lots of little bits and pieces collected at the end of the day in the glass factory and are mushed together into a weight. I love the character of them.

I just think they're so pretty - they appeal to my love of flowers, glass and my sweet tooth!

Have a loveky weekend!

Divine Delphine Groult creations

What I wouldn't do for a piece of furniture by Dephine Groult.

Total gorgeousness.

I'd happily have any piece in any room. Solid timber and gold leaf - I don't even want to know what the price is, I just wish one would magically turn up on my front doostep.

Sigh........

Birds of a feather

I went outside today to discover a flock of galahs in the tree next door.

What a noise they made!

Poor Molly didn't know what to make of it.

.

ps. thanks for all the lovely comments lately :-)

Edit: you're right Kaite, they're sulphur crested cockaoos. Whoops...

Seven things...or maybe eight

Amanda from Homely One tagged me to post seven things about myself... here goes...

1. I love flowers. Any sort of flowers really but roses would have to be my favourite, especially old style David Austin or Guillot.
2. I eat a lot of cheese. Lyndon teases me about being Wallace from Wallace and Gromit as I love cheese so much. Tasmanian Heidi Farm Cheese would be one of my favourites. Cheese Gromit!
3. I collect glass paperweights. I have around 60 or so (most still packed away at the moment) and they come from all over the world. I have examples from France, America, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia. My c1850 French ones by a factory called Clichy are my favourite.
4. I love animals. I was lucky enough to grow up with a lot of pets and a father who breeds Welsh Mountain Ponies - every little girl's dream. I am a keen supporter of the rights for animals and my favourite charities are those for animals such as RSPCA and Animals Asia.
5. I am a hoarder. I find it very difficult throwing anything out and use my artistsic bent as an excuse to keep everything in case I can make it into a piece of art! I figure if it wasn't for hoarders in the past we wouldn't have access to interesting and lovely vintage and antique bits and pieces. So really I am a keeper of history!
6. I am a typical Libran. I love beautiful things and am so indecisive! I can see both sides of any given situation and dislike arguments. Though I'm not sure I'm always balanced :)
7. I love books. Looovvvee books (and magazines for that matter). I always have a pile next to the bed and read anything. Love Harry Potter, Twilight and so on but also heavier things like Perfume - what a great book that was. One of my favourites is The Time Travellers Wife.

    and because I have a thing about uneven numbers...
    8.   I like patterns in things. I like to see patterns in cars on the road eg just red and white cars, or a row of parked cars all the same colour. Strange I know....

Well, I'm going out to work in the garden today. Hope yours is a good one :)

Big, bold and beautiful

This is my new dahlia, Thelma Maude. She's a beauty and huge at almost 20cms in diameter. Gorgeous!