Molly's Maison

An actual renovation post!

2012-01-30T07:08:00.001+11:00

Yes, you read it peeps, hold onto your seats, here's a renovation post!

We have started doing the nightmarish job that is painting the exterior of the house. We will be tackling it one small area at a time.

Above is the first patch. It's at the back of the house. Some of the boards were very worn, but Lyn has sanded, bogged, sanded and wood primed the surface. Most of these weatherboards had to come right back to timber. It appears in it's 101 year life, Molly's Maison has only been painted twice. I somehow don't think we'll be so lucky not to have to paint for aother 50 years!

Paint colours...

well, we are sticking with the current theme which is a cream with Deep Ocean colourbond roof (there's another massive and hideous job - replacing the old roof). It looks like we will go with Wattyl colours Vienna Creme (sounds tasty) with a highlight in Diva White (not sure about that name). We will use Haymes Ultra Premium as we like that it's a family owned Australian business.

(sorry about the terrible pics)

I've been wandering around with this big painted swatch and so far so good.

We even took the small paint chips on a neighbourhood walk so I could compare against other house colours I liked.

It's a serious business.
Boy oh boy was it hot here yesterday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and the week ahead is a dandy one!
Xx

Friday flower - agapanthus

2012-01-27T07:08:00.000+11:00

For today's Friday Flowers I have a beautiful blue agapathus.

I bought these at the local Farmer's Market and they have kept so well. They're almost 2 weeks old and at only 50c a stem, that's great value!

I have photographed them from underneath as I was trying to avoid all the background kitchen clutter.

Wishing you a lovely weekend. I hope you have something fab planned!

Pretty cups + yummy cake

2012-01-25T06:55:00.002+11:00

I was a very lucky winner in a recent giveaway over at A Room for Everyone.

For my prize I was allowed to choose any item from Rachael's newly opened store, Gidgi.

There were so many lovely things to choose from, but I settled on a pretty latte cup.

Isn't it gorgeous?

Being the sweet, generous person that she is, Rachael very generously sent me two cups to enjoy.

Very spoilt!

I have been going to photograph them for ages, but finally got my act together yesterday when I made myself a cuppa to enjoy with a piece of home baked Hummingbird Cake. Yum. It's positively healthy with all that fruit (or so I tell myself). I even used a bit of wholemeal flour to add a bit extra roughage :)

Lovely! I encourage you all to pop over and check out Rachael's store.

Instagram anyone?

2012-01-23T07:04:00.001+11:00

I have slowly starting getting a bit involved with Instagram, both posting photos and following other people. I am really enjoying some of the nice comments from people and the 'likes' I have received.

Are any of you Instagramers?

I have tried looking some of you up but haven't had any luck.

Please, if you are on Instagram, can you please leave me your user name so I can follow you?

I'd love that. FYI my user name is mollysmaison :)

It looks like being a warm one today. We spent the weekend in the garden and while it's looking good, we are both exhausted!
Wishing you a fab week. We Aussies have Thursday off for Australia Day so yippee for that!
xx

ps for those of you wondering, Instagram is an iPhone and iTouch app that 'posts' the photos you take in an ongoing feed. Other people can see and enjoy your images as well.

Friday flower... striking dahlia

2012-01-20T06:54:00.000+11:00

Isn't she a beaut?

No computer image fiddle faddling going on here either. It's all real :)

This is the beautiful dahlia I brought home with me from last Sunday's Farmers Market.

I just love it. Mum has already requested a piece of tuber when it has grown a little.

Doesn't nature create the most amazing things?

Wishing you all a great Friday. Bring on the weekennd I say!

Another visit to Mona Museum

2012-01-18T07:08:00.000+11:00

During my holiday break Lyndon and I popped out to Mona museum for another look.

I still hadn't been into the museum's library, the Keiffer Pavillion and there was also a new exhibition by Belgian conceptual artist Wim Delvoye to see.

The image above is a concrete mixer truck made from cut steel by Wim Delvoye. It was sitting outside in the elements and I thought it was just stunning.

It was nice to see the rooftop gardens were growing nicely too.

Some more shots of the truck sculpture.

The silhouettes are reminicent of cathedral shapes.

Wim Delvoye's work was amazing. Some of it was stunning, whilst other parts of it was more stunning for other reasons (if you get my drift). Really too hard to describe. In one gallery a man named Tim was sitting on a display plinth, his heavily tattooed back to us. It took me a long time to realise that he was in fact breathing! He really must have mastered the practice of meditation. The artist had designed and created his tattoo so he had become a living piece of art.

Above and below is a work by Anselm Keifer. It lives in its own purpose-built space and is made from sheets of metal and glass. It represents books in a bookcase.

In the library area I also discovered a huge twin panel Brett Whitely painting. It was amazing. I couldn't get a good photo though.

And to finish off, a super cheery Takashi Murakami cushion on the floor of the library. I just adore his work.

Going out to Mona is always entertaining, thought provoking and eye opening!

Fellow blogger Kerry posted about her visit to Mona the other day. Check out her post for some great images.

Summer mantel

2012-01-16T07:12:00.000+11:00

After the mammoth task of packing away the Christmas decorations I decided to freshen up the loungeroom with a bit of bright colour.

I love decorating the mantelpiece and try to create different looks each time I do it.

This time I have gone for a fresh blue, yellow and white theme with a collection of bottles, Mozi fruit tea lights and flowers from the garden. Loving the dahlias.

I'm also clearly still loving "the stick".

And of course some iceberg roses.

The garden is in between blooms at the moment so there's not a lot out. I love the yellow with the blues though. Must plant more dahlias :)
Well, did you guys have a lovely weekend? I have to say I did. After some pottering in the garden the lovely Kerry and her partner Richard came to visit. That means Kerry is now privy to all the dodgy, fallen down bits at Molly's Maison. We had a great time! On Sunday I went to the farmers market and came home with some lovely flowers, a plant and some fantastic French pastries. Boy, the pastries didn't last long. Lyndon was lucky I didn't eat his!
Have a great week bloggies. Looks like being a warm one here :)

Friday flowers: a mixed bunch + bloggy friends

2012-01-12T07:00:00.001+11:00

Oh my goodness, it looks like I might survive my first three days back at work!

I'm so glad it's Friday!

Bit of a mixed bunch this week. Above is the very beautiful Angel Face rose. Frilly and mauve, I just adore it. Adore it, I tell you! How beautiful against the old fence.

Now I know this isn't a flower, it's Friday Foliage :)

How lush does this manfern look? SO beautiful.

This pretty rose is called Jubilee Celebration. It's a David Austin and has the most beautiful colouring. I was really taken with this bunch as they were different to the usual blooms. More delicate with soft shading and a very obvious yellow stamen centre.

And to finish off with another bunch of bloomin' flowers, here we are at dinner Wednesday night...

You might have read that myself, Kerry and Jane had a little bloggy get together. We had so much fun!

The poor restaurant staff eventually kicked us out as they had to close, but not until we had our piccies taken.

Jane and I have been 'real life' friends as well as bloggy friends for a while now and it was the first time we both had met Kerry. What a lovely lady. We chatted for hours! Yay for bloggy catch-ups! So much fun!

Well, happy Friday to you all. Have a marvellous weekend.

Hugs, Sar xx

New cushion creations!

2012-01-11T07:23:00.001+11:00

Time for the big cushion reveal!

These were made using fabric designed by Julie Paterson of Cloth fabric.

It's hand screen printed just out of Sydney on a lovely linen\cotton blend fabric which sews so well.

The prints I used are Wattle, Stoney, Rough Rose and Boardwalk.Quite Australiana.

Notice the fancy piping around the edges. That wasn't fun, but looks the part.

You can buy the fabric by the metre from the Cloth people or if you'd like smaller increments you can go to Duckcloth. Great service.

Above is my other cushion. This one is made using a lovely piece of Designers Guild fabric called Ramblas.

I crazily made a box-style cushion (what was I thinking - that's two lots of piping on one cushion!!) with stripey piping and side panels. I'm so pleased with the results.

And yes, those are threads that I haven't cut off yet. I was too excited to do that!

Looksee, on the reverse there's a different colour. I've buddied it up with a cushion from Ada and Darcy.

Above: a before of my good ol' Ikea Ektorp couch with my old cushions...

and below, my new cushions!

(whoops, maybe should have ironed covers???)

While I was sewing I also made a new cover for our little old Laura Ashley poofy/ottoperson/footrest.

I like the blue and cream stripes but wasn't so keen on the stains from Lyn's work boots and Molly's paws.

The new one is a slipcover in Cloth fabric Stoney in turquoise.

Above is another recent project I thought I may as well share whilst I'm banging on about my sewing adventures.

I made these cute pink and blue floral\spotty pillowcases for a friend who had been kind to me recently. I'd quite fancy some for my own bed :)

Well there you go my friends. One of my plans is to get a new set of covers for my couch this year. I'm so stuck on colours. I love white or cream but Molly dirties them too quickly. And no, I cannot keep her off the couch. Maybe a grey, or pale blue or green? Any thoughts? Something with a brown paw print pattern perhaps?

Well, I'm back to work today (booooo) but thankfully have dinner with two other bloggers, Jane and Kerry to look forward to. Very exciting!
Xx

More Snow Queen's Garden

2012-01-09T06:47:00.000+11:00

I had to share my latest acquisitions from Natasha at the Snow Queen's Garden.

Look at his beautiful Matryoshka doll. She (along with the others) is made from felt that is in fact recycled plastic.

A beautiful little bird and below, a snowy owl.

I acquired these at the last Market at the Masonic Temple back in December but didn't post them as they were being sent out as gifts.

Natasha has started a blog and I have heard whispers of an online store. I'll let you guys know when she does.

I just can't believe it's Monday already and I have to go back to work on Wednesday. Not impressed.

It's a blustery old day so I plan on staying inside and doing some sewing (if my pesky machine will behave). I can't wait to show you my newly sewn cushions, I'm so happy with them, but I want to finish the last two before I reveal.

Have a great week bloggies!

Summer sunset

2012-01-05T08:00:00.001+11:00

I had to share a few photos taken of the amazing sunset the other evening.

These pics were taken in our backyard looking up to Mt Wellington.

The colour was so intense, the best sunset I have seen in a long time.
Well, I am really enjoying my time at home. I have just under a week to go until I have to return to work...ughhh. I have made a pathetic attempt at cleaning the pantry (will try to do it properly) and am yet to clean a whole beach worth of sand out of the car following our trip to the dog beach. Molly prefers to wait until she is in the car to shake off the sand caught in her coat.
I've had time to do some sewing which turned out well so I'll post pics soon.
It's just so nice not knowing what day it is!
Keep well and happy bloggies :)

Molly's big bone

2012-01-03T06:26:00.000+11:00

Molly loves bones.

She didn't know what to think when this massive bone was unwrapped at Christmas.

There was a lot of bone carrying initally.

Each one of our guests was shown the bone, often thwacked in the back of the legs as well.

A day or so later she decided to start chewing it and it's now in a couple of more manageable pieces.

"Mumma, I've had enough of posing for the camera with my bone, I'm going inside".

Cute cute cute...
Have a great day :)

Goodbye 2011...hello 2012

2011-12-31T12:36:00.000+11:00

Lyndon has a theory that you need to finish the year doing something good as it sets the scene for the coming year.

So, the three of us went down to the Kingston dog beach this morning.

It's Molly's idea of heaven.

She is more interested in chasing sticks than she is socialising but I just love seeing all the other dogs.

It was so beautiful down there. Calm and the water wasn't too cold either. No, I didn't swim, just had a little paddle.

I've never been a big fan of New Years Eve celebrations but I have to say I will be celebrating the beginning of a new year tonight. 2011 has left a lot to be desired so I'm looking forward to 2012.

Thank you all for dropping by my little blog and leaving such lovely comments. I am so pleased to be a part of this big blogging community.

So, big hugs to you all and I wish you a fantastic 2012.

See you next year!!

Some more Christmas fun

2011-12-29T13:53:00.000+11:00

Christmas seems like a long time ago now, doesn't it?

I am definitely in the swing of holiday mode now and feeling rather lazy despite a long "to do" list.

I wanted to share a few pics of my gingerbread house, created at the last minute in a massive rush.

This year it was mainly white and green. I even had edible glitter which added a nice sparkle.

I just can't help it.

Here's a few more photos of the furry girl.

I was a little late in the pic above, she had been snoozing with her head under the tree, on top of some pressies.

Boy, she loves pressies.

The pressie unwrapping aftermath...

All pooped from all the excitement.

Well, despite my state of laziness I might drag myself to the kitchen to make some raspberry jam...or not.

I've been doing a spot of sewing too. So far I've made a dodgy cover for a footrest, am in the middle of pillowcase making and have plans to make some new loungeroom cushions too.

My super tedious plans are to clean my car (inside and out) and clean out the pantry. I suspect the pantry might take a full day. Oh joy!

Hopefully you are all having a fairly relaxing festive period too :)

Molly's Christmas on video

2011-12-26T12:49:00.000+11:00

I wanted to share a small video of our funny Molly girl opening her Christmas pressies yesterday.

She had such a great time as you will see.

I hope you all had a great day. Ours ended up brilliantly with lots of family time. Just what I wished for.

Back soon with more pics :)

Friday Flowers and a Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T10:06:00.000+11:00

Aren't these beautiful hippeastrums so festive?

They always remind me of Christmas at mum and dads as my father grows the same variety and brings them inside at Christmas.

Lyndon's dad brought this one around for us to enjoy.

I wanted to wish you all a lovely Christmas. I hope it's everything you wish for.

Not long now and it will be 2012. Thank goodness. I haven't been a fan of 2011.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by. Take care

Christmas creatures

2011-12-17T07:56:00.000+11:00

Hello friends, meet my two latest creations, Mrs Snowman and Miss Reindeer.

I was inspired by a tutorial in a magazine gifted to me by Jane. The tutorial was by talented creators The Indigo Twins.

Here is their Etsy store.

The reindeer idea came from a stuffed toy I saw in a shopping catalogue.

Don't they look at home in front of my little Molly's Maison lounge room diorama?

Some closeups... (they're supposed to look a bit rustic)

I was so thrilled to find their little block bases at the Salvos for $3 (for a box of them). Their legs are skewers and their bodies are made from polymer clay over an armature of scrunched foil, skewer and wire.

I think they're rather cute :)
Have a fab weekend!

Bread baking

2011-12-15T06:57:00.001+11:00

I baked bread the other day and have to say I'm rather impressed with my efforts. I used a Laucke packet mix from Coles Supermarket. All I had to do was mix in yeast to the flour mix, add in water, knead like heck, wait patiently, knead a little more and bake!

Look how professional it looks! This is a German Grain bread and I added some sunflower seeds to the top.

Have you had much success with bread? Mine often tastes a little like scones, not that that's a bad thing :)

Yummy!

Solar meerkats and other crazy gift ideas

2011-12-14T06:42:00.000+11:00

For some unknown reason, I was sent a shopping catalogue with the wackiest gift ideas I have ever seen. So, I had to share.

Some people can be so difficult to buy for, so these ideas might help, or at least give you a chuckle :)

Look at that image above. Who wouldn't love a Solar powered meerkat crystal ball light?

Or how about a dog chasing a cat chasing a bird up a tree ensemble?

Solar powered chickens anyone?

I had to laugh when I say this. I doubt it would keep my Molly contained for a moment.

This one is good for Tasmanians who don't get to enjoy seeing koalas climbing trees in their backyard.

What gets me is the fact that someone had to come up with these wacky ideas.

I don't quite understand the thought process that decides that a solar powered crystal ball needs some meerkats to make it just right.

Anyway, I hope I've helped with those 'hard to buy for' family members.

My Christmas wishlist

2011-12-12T07:35:00.000+11:00

I was tagged by Jennie from Posie Patchwork to create a Christmas wishlist.

Warning: this is going to be a bit boring!

Why boring? Well, I have to start by saying that we have been on the tightest budget imaginable this year. It's been interesting discovering that I can actually survive with very little retail therapy.

That's not to say that I don't wish for things.

So, my list...

*well, we all know I have been complaining that I haven't got an DSLR. Do you know what? I have been leaning towards the compact digital cameras pictured above. They have interchangeable, high quality lenses but none of the bulk. This needs more investigating me thinks.

* I would dearly love a new laptop, something that doesn't get so hot it's about to explode (I'm not using that one anymore).

* My silly wishlist item is a Cuisinart Icecream maker.

image from Cuisinart website

I have been obsessing over this for a while. Does anyone have one? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

image from Mulberry website

* I'd quite fancy a new handbag as I've been carrying my old Countrty Road one for quite a few years now. I like relaxed styles and rather like this one from Mulberry. Dream on Sarah...

* if I'm going to get really crazy I'd say I'd wish for a Parisian holiday. Enough said...

BUT, realistically, I really don't care. We never do big gift Christmases. I do love seeing Molly unwrap pressies (sometimes not even for her, but she likes to help other people) with such enthusiasm and my big joy will be getting the family together for a meal.

I invite you all to post about your Christmas wishlists, whatever they might be.
Have a happy week friends and also a very happy birthday today to my lovely little niece who turns 4 today.

Friday flowers - peonies

2011-12-09T06:34:00.001+11:00

I've been slow to post my peony images, so here's just one for Friday Flowers.

Happy weekend to you all.
Must be time for some Christmas posts here at Molly's Maison so I'll get onto it!
Ps. The peonies are not from my garden. I found them at the local farmer's market. I have two bushes but they're too young for blooms :)

still life

2011-12-07T07:16:00.000+11:00

I recently decided to create a nice Victorian-era inspired still life for my glass dome.

I fiddle-faddled with ivy, fir branches, vintage flowers and leaves, butterflies, sticks and oasis.

Boy, was there some fiddle-faddling!

The results were a little squishy but quite pleasing, if I do say so myself :)

But...

...a day or so later the whole thing turned into a terrarium. It became so moist it was impossible to see inside. Darn it! Even propping up the dome to ventilate the display didn't work, so I gave up.

Bit of a pity. Oh well, I took a few photos to share before I dismantled it. Next time I wont use living bits :)

Have any of the Aussie readers been watching the tv show, "who's been sleeping in my house"? What a fascinating show. I was really inspired by last Monday night's show (set in Hobart) to investigate our home a bit more. Maybe over my Christmas break I'll pop onto the Titles Office for a look.

a little pressie pour moi

2011-12-05T16:06:00.000+11:00

Some pretty aqua Mason jars have been on my wish list for ages.

So, I decided to treat myself with some of my recent market stall earnings.

Here they are in my old bathroom with some white hydrangeas from the backyard.

I have to recommend Tanya, the Etsy seller I bought them off, she was so kind. You might like to check her store out - Jestti's Treasures (no more aqua jars there at the moment unfortunately).

I'm just so happy with my jars - they're beautiful!

Have a lovely week my friends!

Friday flowers - moody blue and mauve

2011-12-02T08:46:00.000+11:00

Delphiniums are one of my favourite blooms.

I love the colours, how they have little faces, the delicacy of the petals...

what's not to love?

These beauties came from the local Farmer's Market recently.

I visited with the sole purpose of buying handmade soap but as soon as I saw people wandering around with beautiful blue bunches I was on another mission (the soap lady wasn't there anyway).

This variety is grown in glasshouses and is much taller than the Pacific Giant variety we grow in our gardens. The stems are HUGE!

As you can see I went to town with the camera. Dad lent me his Canon DSLR, so I made the most of it :)

The light was really low (that wall in the background is in fact white) but I think the camera did a nice job.

Oh so gorgeous!!

I might have to pop back this week and see if the flower man is there :)

What's your fave flower? Or are you like me and have many?
It looks like being a chilly weekend here in Tassie. Tomorrow is tree erecting day so that'll be fun as I have some new deccys to display. I'll show the results soon.
Have a good weekend friends.

Today...

2011-11-29T17:48:00.000+11:00

...has been a really warm day, so Molly and I sat out on the back verandah and admired the garden. We also shared an icecream :)

By 'sharing' I should say I ate most of it and left the stick for Molly to lick. It's our bad family habit, but one Molly has trained us well at.

Waiting patiently...

"Thanks mumma!"

If you went into my studio room today you would see a work desk that looks like this...

Utter chaos. Too many ideas and projects on the go at once.

If you turn around you could admire my recent purchase...

It's a little linocut triptych called Windy City (pink) by my artist friend Christine Scott. When I can I will get it properly framed. So nice and bright. I love the idea of enhancing old homes with bright, contemporary art, so this one will be great for doing just that.

I think we are now going to be naughty and have fish and chips for dinner. Being a vego I enjoy the chips, a cornjack and potato cakes (and leave the fish eating to Lyn and Molly). Yuuummm.

Have a lovely evening friends

Friday flowers - pretty blue

2011-11-25T06:28:00.000+11:00

I just adore these pale blue ixias that have been blooming up a storm alongside our driveway.

They are a mass of the palest, icy blue colour.

They're quite an old-fashioned flower and mostly now I see the bulbs in bright pink colours (which I also love).

The bulbs do so well too. I don't remember where I bought these, but it was quite a few years ago now. That little handful of bulbs has mulitplied into a mass of them now.

Just so pretty!
Have a lovely day and even better weekend.

Posies

2011-11-23T06:28:00.000+11:00

With so many pretty roses blooming in the garden at the moment I am enjoying picking blooms for the mantelpiece. Every time I find a broken stem or a windblown bloom in the garden I bring it in and add it to the collection.

The first image shows (left to right) Iceberg and Benjamin Britton, then Lady of Megginch, Iceberg again and then another Lady of Megginch.

Images using Instagram :)
Have a lovely day friends.

My weekend: Sibella Court + getting jiggy with it...

2011-11-21T15:35:00.001+11:00

Despite having to work on Saturday, I had a lovely weekend.

On Sunday Lyn and I went to the Valley Market in Lenah Valley where I picked up a lovely Christmas deccy to add to my collection. I'll show you when it's on the tree.

I also went to a book launch/ author chat at Fullers Bookshop yesterday afternoon where the guest speaker was stylist to the gods, Sibella Court. She chatted about styling, travel, collecting (not hoarding!) and colour. It was a great afternoon. She answered all of our questions and was super nice.

I had a lovely chat to her and she told me her next book, to be released next year, is about collecting. Sign me up!

And looksee, I had her Stylist's Guide to New York book signed for moi :)

One very interesting thing Sibella said about colour was when choosing a colour palette, if you get a bit stuck or confused, look at a bird and all the shades of colour in its feathers. She says that's her fall back. There you go peeps, a hot tip!

I also popped into the farmers market where I bought a bunch of peonies. They're still pretty tight buds but no doubt I'll photograph them a bit more once they open. The man who sold them to me said he'd just filled an order of 500 bunches for the Presidents Gold Cup on the mainland and also a big order for one of President Obama's dinner functions. Fancy.

We started a jigsaw...

We are now very obsessed.

All other Molly's Maison activities (including the things we need to do) have ceased while we work on this beauty.

My poor old neck is really feeling it!

I reckon at this pace we'll be finished tonight or tomorrow morning. So much for a bit of relaxing puzzle making.

Thanks for all of your lovely comments about the garden in my last post. I can assure you all our garden is far from perfect - I just show you the good bits :)

It's nice to get positive feedback though.

Have a great week friends and take care

xx
Edit: jigsaw successfully completed this afternoon :) x

Friday flowers + lawn-a-licious

2011-11-18T09:10:00.000+11:00

The front fence is a mass of Iceberg rose blooms. They're looking amazing at the moment. They've only been growing for 2 years so they're doing well.

Thanks to Lyndon and a dose of top-dressing, our lawn is looking really great too.

With a good dose of "weed and feed" most of the weeds have gone and it's now looking super green and lovely.

I have two standard icebergs and I have to say, they're both looking a bit freakishly good (and top heavy) at the moment too. They almost look a bit fake as they're covered in blooms. I've had to add in a support stick as the weight of it had it listing severely to one side. In all the horrible windy weather this week we almost lost one.

Lots of roses to pick and bring inside :)
Happy Friday and a great weekend to you all. What are you up to this weekend? I have to work tomorrow but hope to get to a market, a book launch and get some crafty action on too.

Model Molly

2011-11-16T19:24:00.000+11:00

It's been a little while since Molly popped up on the blog.

So remiss of me.

She was wearing my scarf the other evening and I thought, "how cute is this pooch?" so out popped the camera.

"Mumma, I'm tired of having my photo taken"

Seriously, how cute can a dog possibly be?

I couldn't love her any more if I tried.

I'm linking this up with Felicity who is celebrating the love we have for our special furry kids.

ps I have started to upload some pretty stationery goodies to my Etsy store. I'm happy to make up packs for anyone who is interested :)

My market fun

2011-11-14T11:59:00.000+11:00

As promised, some pics from the market yesterday.

Here is my little stall.

These goodies were made by Tonia at The Paper Shed. She was my market neighbour.

Other goodies on display...

I had a very fragrant stall on my other side which was handy as we needed some new soap.

My only temptation was some macarons from one of the stall holders. This one is boysenberry flavour. The salted caramel one didn't last long enough to get a pic - it was amazing!

There were so many shoppers and thankfully some of them visited me :)

I did quite okay, I covered my costs and have a bit of spending money. Much of this is thanks to my friends who came along and supported me, as did a number of my bloggy friends. I had nice chats with Jane, Catherine and Hazel (who I met for the first time in person).

It was a fun day and I already have fresh ideas for my next market maybe early next year.

ps I might get a few bits on Esty later, but don't hold your breath!

Ready for the market!

2011-11-11T07:16:00.000+11:00

Yippee! I am ready for the market on Sunday.

Here is a bit of a mock up of my stall. The pics aren't great I'm afraid, but you'll get the idea.

magnets

notebooks and cards

more notebooks

more cards

gift wrap

gift tags

mini garland

It's a little uncharacteristic of me to be organised, but I have been beavering away for a few months now. I'll be sure to take pics to share with you all.

Wish me luck!

Garden update - out the back

2011-11-09T07:57:00.000+11:00

The backyard is looking lovely at the moment. I took these pics a couple of weeks ago but just haven't got around to posting them so unfortunately many of the spring bulbs are coming to an end and many roses are now in bloom.

The pic above is looking down the side fence towards the back boundary.

Ruby red ranunculas are always one of my faves.

This pic is looking back up the side bed. You can see the back verandah of Molly's Maison.

Pink ranuncs, poppies, a pesky white flowering oniony bulb that I suspect is a weed and the roses coming on with fresh new growth (and lots of buds!).

Another shot from the bottom, almost capturing the washing on the line :)

Aquilegia or Granny's Bonnets are all flowering as well.

You can tell I love my cottage flowers.

Gorgeous red anemones!

And lucky last is one of my all time fave roses, Scentimental.

I've got some lovely David Austin roses out at the moment so will have to take some photos to share very soon.

Thanks for dropping by for a visit!

boutique market visit

2011-11-07T09:59:00.000+11:00

Many of you will recognise these lovely goodies. They're made by Ness of Marley and Lockyer blog fame.

Look at that pretty tree.

I can't wait to get mine up soon.

Pretty clay tags...

It's always so lovely to meet another blogger. Ness had a stall at the Boutique Market in Hobart yesterday, so I popped on down for a look and to meet her.

Ness's stall was the prettiest by far, beautifully styled with so many lovely things.

After a nice chat with Ness I adopted some of her sweet tags for this year's Christmas tree.

Less than a week to go until my market debut. Are you sick of hearing about it yet? I think poor Lyndon is :)

Jane came around on the weekend and helped me out with some pricing and so on, so that was great. She's good at building confidence, something I severely lack. Thanks Jane :)

Have a great week lovely people

Visit to the Snow Queen's Garden

2011-11-03T10:52:00.000+11:00

Hello friends, firstly I want to thank you all for your lovely messages after my sad time lately. I really appreciate every single one of them. What a truly compassionate bunch you are. Thank you :)

On more cheery news, I was very lucky to visit Natasha of The Snow Queen's Garden at her home recently. I have blogged about her beautiful work before.

I was after a couple of her gorgeous deccys to give to Mum and Natasha kindly allowed me to drop by her home.

After a tour of her lovely garden I was able to get a peek at all the work she has been creating for the Deloraine Craft Fair (on this weekend). Boy, had she been busy.

I then adopted the above owl and birdy for Mum.

I might have also come home with this little guy for me :)

Aren't they amazing?

Really hard to photograph too when they want to spin in circles and try to fly away.

Mum absolutely adores hers. I knew she would. I'm looking forward to Christmas when mine can hang on the tree.

Natasha was so kind, I left with a bunch of rhubarb and a posy of beautiful roses. Spoilt!

ps, gosh, only a week until my market debut. I'm almost ready so will show you guys some preview pics soon :)

sad news + a funny memory

2011-10-30T13:56:00.000+11:00

Artwork by Katie Daisy

My adored Great Auntie Ila passed away last night, just a week shy of 91 years.

We are all really sad but she wanted to go and so she did, peacefully in her sleep.

I wasn't sure what to post but I was just now browsing and found this gorgeous image, perfect for Ila with it's pretty flowers, lace and fresh colour.

She was such a generous, caring soul. So strong yet very humble.

She never had any children of her own, but had many many 'adopted' children and grandchildren. I considered her to be my extra grandmother. She had a massive, positive impact on so many people's lives.

I have so many great memories of her - I just have to share one funny one...

Mum, Rachael and I were visiting her, gosh, probably 15 or so years ago. She used to have a combustion stove in the kitchen (oh I loved it - we could put our socks in it to warm them up). She'd just received a load of wood and so Rachael and I thought we'd help out by splitting it for her. We worked for hours and both ended up with blistered hands. Ila had just the remedy. She painted Rachael's blisters with metholated spirits. Oh the screams! I declined from Ila's offer to fix my blisters.

Good memories xx

Friday flower + birthday wishes

2011-10-28T16:46:00.000+11:00

Hello friends, thank you so very much for your lovely comments over the past few days.

Auntie Ila is hanging on but for how much longer we just don't know.

Mum and Rachael have popped up there again tonight as Rachael had a work meeting down the coast.

A sad trip for Mum, especially seeing as today is her birthday.

So, these Friday flowers are for her.

Mum gave me these poppies from her garden last night and I thought we could all do with something cheery to look at today.

Happy Birthday Mum and I wish the rest of you a nice Friday and peaceful weekend :)

thank yous and sad bits

2011-10-25T20:56:00.001+11:00

I really wanted to say a big thank you to my bloggy friends who left me lovely birthday messages over the weekend. It really brightened my day. You are such a lovely bunch of people :)

The day after my birthday, Mum, my sister Rachael and I made a quick dash to Smithton (NW Tasmania) to visit with my favourite relative, Great Auntie Ila. You see, she's almost 91 and rather poorly. Last Thursday no-one thought she'd make it through the night.

It was so good to see her, but at the same time I was deeply shocked at seeing her fade away. We all had a good laugh or two, as well as a good cry. I'm good at that. I hated saying goodbye as I doubt I'll get to see her again.

Geez life is hard sometimes :)

ps the rose above is a bud I picked from my garden to take up for Ila. I've talked about this rose a few times on this blog. I first saw it in a bunch given to Ila a few years ago on her birthday. I discovered what it was and planted it in my garden. It is the most beautiful rose called Scentimental. It always reminds me of Ila.

40 years ago today...

2011-10-22T09:09:00.000+11:00

...I came into the world

(please note very impressive lamb chops sideburns on Dad).

Yes, it was the early seventies. Check out those groovy curtains. There's Puddles and Rebecca the poodles with me.

Sorry about the pic quality. Was in a rush this morning.

Wow, who'd have thought I'd ever be 40 years old?

Not me.

When you are a child, 40 seems so ancient. But now that I'm here, I don't feel very old. Strange how that works.

Here I am with one of my bestest buddies Zeta. We were born a day apart (me first), grew up a street apart and went to the same school. It's a long time between drinks for us as Zeta lives in London (currently) but when we do see each other, it's like a day hasn't passed. That's a good friendship if you ask me.

Well, Happy B'day to us!

Tablescape

2011-10-19T07:15:00.000+11:00

I don't think I had heard the word 'tablescape' until I read it recently on Deb's blog.

But it seems tablescaping is something I like to do :)

I gather my bits together in different combos, currently a slightly French theme, though that's a bit of a stretch of the imagination.

My little grocery shopping treat. Beautiful pink buds for only $5. I just couldn't walk past.

Little white animals, geranium and my lovely big dome containing a red tin heart and some beautiful antique French tricoleur ribbon.

A closeup of the buds :)

Do you tablescape at your place?
It looks like being a beautiful day today. Have a lovely one :)

Mystery house

2011-10-17T08:04:00.000+11:00

Is there a house in your street that intrigues you?

This house is it for me.

Down the street from us and on a large, flat corner block with a lawn that never seems to grow.

I've seen a man there once or twice and the only thing that stopped me from interrogating him was that he was on the phone.

It was built in 1920 and I bet it's all original inside. Of course terribly dated and everything would need sprucing up, but what a gem.

See how low that fence is? It even has a tiny, squat gate. I love it!

And just around the corner live these guys. They're great, but if you get stuck behind one on the road, you might as well forget getting to your destination on time. So slow! I could run quicker and that's saying something :)

While it's not the fanciest place to live, there are lots of interesting things to see, gardens to peek into. I say I have "community interest" but Lyn thinks I'm just a sticky beak.
Well, happy Monday to you all. I hope it's a good week. I have very cleverly managed to only have one working day this week :)
It's the last week of my 30's. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. We'll soon see :)
Take care

Late for Friday Flowers - Lily of the Valley

2011-10-15T14:15:00.000+11:00

Look what I discovered in the back yard the other day..

some pretty pink stems of Lily of the Valley.

I had forgotten I had it in the garden, so it was a lovely surprise.

So delicate.

Lyndon asked why I'd bother growing it as it is small and doesn't look like much. Men!

I feel these small, unassuming plants add a little mystery to the garden. I loved stumbling upon it.

Plus, that fragrance!

Have a sweet weekend my friends.

I do have to work, but have 5 or 6 days off coming up on Thursday so I can't wait!

Red

2011-10-11T08:26:00.001+11:00

My little maple in the front yard is getting his new leaves.

The bright colour is incredible.

They will change to green, before they turn autumnal red next year.

Absolutely gorgeous, don't you agree?
Well, I'm a bit unimpressed as over the weekend I came down with a horrible head cold. Blocked ears, scratchy throat, claggy nose, headache, boy oh boy it's fun! Feeling a little brighter today. Thank goodness for aloe vera tissues is all I can say :)

Take care friends

Looking Up at Friday Flowers

2011-10-07T07:15:00.000+11:00

All the pretty ranunculus are starting to bloom out in the garden.

They're one of my absolute favourite flowers.

The apple blossom is looking so pretty too.

I'm impressed by the quantity of it as well :)

Two varieties of apple here, one is Cox's Orange and the other is Lady in the Snow.

I like to take photographs from different angles, whether it be looking up, looking down on a subject, crouching or climbing to take a shot. It's nice to get a different perspective. Of course it would be nicer if one had a DSLR, but I won't whinge again :)

Must be time to borrow the camera from work again though.

Did you notice the nice blue sky? That's what inspired these pics as I was laying on my back staring up and just thought how pretty it was .Any excuse to take a photo! Of course that was the other day, today is all gloomy and grey!

Happy Friday - have a good one friends :)

Things

2011-10-04T19:42:00.001+11:00

Bits and pieces from my studio room.

Some pretty dried rose buds in an equally pretty Limoges teacup.

Yet another Mozi tea towel that is too pretty to use.

My market goodies waiting underneath yet another painted stick.

Yes, rather bright :)

And washi tape offcuts from the making of garlands. Do any of you find it difficult throwing pretty scraps like this in the bin? I do.

On a different note, are any of you watching Junior Masterchef, or Mini Masterchef as I like to call it? Those children are all so talented. So many of their dishes I'd love to try.

Well, cheerio for now :)

Friday flowers ... Early Peonies

2011-09-30T06:49:00.000+10:00

Mum brought over these stunning pink peonies from her garden,

I think the variety is Sarah Bernhart.

I love the colour against the blue and white bits I have displayed on the mantel at the moment. I love my old French street number and Spode china.

What pretty shades of pink.

There's those little juice bottles again. These ones I've decorated with some stickers.

The little bottle above is a recent Etsy treat. It's an antique French perfume bottle. You can't see the details thanks to Hipstamatic, but it has gold text on the front. Lovely.
Have a lovely Friday bloggies. It looks all grey outside here but hopefully that improves. Take care!

Lamingtons and ivy

2011-09-27T20:02:00.000+10:00

Hi friends, the title conjures up images of pretty garden tea parties, does it not? Unfortunately there was no pretty garden party here over the last couple of days.

Yes, I did cook lamingtons for the very first time and they're delicious! A bit sticky but nice and moist inside. Yum. I'm delivering them around the family tomorrow and taking them to work to share.

How about that pretty Mozi plate and tea towel? I'm a bit obsessed by pretty tea towels.

Wow, the ivy, what a monster.

I'm so pleased our helpful neighbour started on his side as it made it a lot easier to rip it out from this side of the fence. Though, in parts I think it's holding up the fence!

The area in question is the back corner where one of my vegie patches is.

The ivy does look pretty but it really has taken over, even growing into my patch which means less room for vegies. We can't have that!

Mollsie is always in the thick of the action.

Here is one side after a bit of work. Yes, that's the roof of our neighbour behind us. There is a retaining wall on the fence line and their house is a few metres below our ground level. Quite handy.

There's poochy again surveying the damage. We still have a way to go. Things slowed down a bit when Lyndon sustained a big, deep cut to his hand. Nurse Sarah fixed it up but it meant no more ivy attacking for him.

Today we took two big loads to the tip and I reckon there's at least one, maybe two more to go.

Look at the poor old fence! The ivy has split palings in parts. We are going to pull some palings off and replace sometime in the future. That will also allow us to cut the big ivy trunks off at the ground.

Well, this has been a not so pretty "before" and almost "after". It certainly looks prettier "before", but not good for the fence or the garden. Oh well.

Well, back to work for me tomorrow. Boo hiss!

Must be time for a cuppa and some more of that lamington...

Take care

This weekend

2011-09-25T18:37:00.001+10:00

It has been another rather nice weekend, despite having to work today for a few hours.

I managed to get a few things done including finishing off my magnets for the stall (photographed here on a drawing by my niece).

I took Molly for a walk up the bush with my sister, my niece and their dog.

We spotted a number of native orchids.

The ones above are called Greenhoods.

These ones are Leopard Orchids (sorry about the blur, my iPod doesn't like closeups)

These ones are Star Orchids. Quite purple in colour but the photo is washed out.

I have no idea what this pretty plant is :)

And for the umpteenth time I flicked through my Mollie Makes mag.

Have you guys read it? I'm already addicted. Jane picked me up a copy after she discovered them in a Hobart newsagency and I have to say it's better than I expected.

I was thinking how nice their Christmas edition will be, but then realised we'll be into next year before it appears in the newsagency here!

It was quite a nice, though bit chilly, weekend in Hobart so I also managed to do some gardening. I planted a couple of ranuncs, some lobelia, pansies and more delphiniums.

Luckily I have Mon and Tues off work so apart from some crafty action I've got a date with the overgrown ivy in the backyard. Our neighbour has attacked his side of the fence, now it's my turn.

Watch out ivy!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend too!

Friday flowers with determination

2011-09-23T07:14:00.000+10:00

I was surprised to see this little hoop petticoat daffodil blooming in a patch of concrete around a flower bed.

That's determination for you. Look at that lovely chunk of concrete at the base of a down-pipe, or as I like to refer to them, our irrigation system. I'm not sure any of our down-pipes actually function as down-pipes as they're so old and rusty. But on the upside, enough water has been provided for this little yellow guy to bloom.

Nice. Have a lovely Friday friends :)

Crazy card crafting chaos

2011-09-20T13:08:00.000+10:00

I successfully completed 50 cards on the weekend.

All that's left to do is to package them and I'm hoping my little baggies come in the mail today so I can do just that.

Some I like more than others, but who knows what customers might like?

Some with washi tape, some without...

It's nice to tick a job off my Craft Market list.

Next up is finishing off some gift wrap.

I have to admit, I sometimes think, "what if no-one buys anything?"

Does that ever happen to novice craft market stall holders?

I'll be happy if I can sell enough bits to cover the cost of having the stall!

Just under 2 months until I find out!

Have a lovely week friends :)

Magnolia

2011-09-16T07:03:00.000+10:00

A stunning magnolia blooming in the front yard for Friday Flowers this week. The wind has just about wrecked it now. Magnolias are one of my all time favourites. My sister is lucky to have about 4 different varieties in her backyard.
Big YAY for Friday as I have the next 4 days off! That means it's going to be craft central here at Molly's Maison. Lots to do!
How about you guys? Do you have some nice plans?
Take care.
Xx

Making notebooks

2011-09-12T09:50:00.000+10:00

The little notebooks have been made and are now waiting with the tags to go to the market!

I know, I keep showing them. I just love seeing pretty colours.

Pink/purple/red notebooks...

and blue notebooks!

Next up is a big bunch of cards.

This crafty caper is hard-core. Whilst stamping the notebooks I managed to give myself blisters on my fingers!

Keep well and have a wonderful week.
Ps if you saw a post from me this morning that disappeared I was trying to post from a phone app. I thought it worked but the image then wouldn't appear. Never mind.

Friday flowers + sharing cuteness

2011-09-09T10:58:00.000+10:00

Hi friends, this lovely orchid was blooming out in the backyard so I've brought it into the loungeroom so I can admire it.

What gorgeousness!!

I believe it's name is Ripe Cherry Dazzle. It certainly is dazzling :)

I also wanted to say hi to Hazel, fellow Tasmanian bloggy friend who is partaking in Friday Flowers today over at her lovely blog. Pop over and say hi!

And just because I can, here is a shot of my super-adorable Molly-poo.

When a pooch is this cute, I feel it's my responsibility as furry mother to share said cuteness with all of blogdom. Don't you agree?

Have a lovely Friday bloggies!

Divine Twine + a nice weekend

2011-09-04T18:58:00.000+10:00

I have a bit of a 'thing' for Divine Twine.

I have been using it as ties for the gift tags I've been making for my upcoming market stall.

One color just wasn't enough.

I admit I am using my gift tags as justification for acquiring more and more colours.

Don't they look lovely?

I've always been very partial to anything that coordinates well. In fact, you can be guaranteed that my undies and socks match whatever I'm wearing on the outside. I'm just not happy otherwise.

So many pretty colours!

Below, my collection of twine.

I've been busy in my studio making lots of goodies. It's been quite a productive and fun weekend.

Yesterday I caught up with Jane from Life at Planet Baby. We chatted non-stop for 3 hours! There's just so much to chat about. I had such a lovely time :)

I hope your weekend was fun too.

ps. this is where my Divine Twine came from :)

Friday flowers... Anemone in my garden

2011-09-02T07:09:00.001+10:00

These gorgeous blue anemone are blooming in my garden.

Yay for spring!

The bloom above is a double variety, whilst the others are single.

Apart from their stunning colour and simplicity, I adore the frilly leaf arrangement around their stems, like a ruffly collar.

I have orange ranuncs in the same bed but they haven't made an appearance yet.

It's always a little odd reading the northern hemisphere blogs to see them moving into autumn. Whilst I do love autumn I am very pleased we've moving into spring here in Aus.

That means summer wont be too far away!

And because they're blooming up a riot all over the backyard (and the colour matches the anemones), here are some beautiful Grape Hyacinths.

I think sometimes I give the impression (through my images) that my garden is always lush, not to mention vast. It's neither really. I just tend to do closeups so I don't have to show you the the unwanted slab of concrete, the dodgy, falling-down lean-to and so on. I think our block is about 750 sq metres with Molly's Maison right in the middle. It's a nice size, not too much garden to maintain and still quite a lot of lawn for Molly.

One day I might be brave and show you guys some of the dodgier bits :)

Well, TGIF. I'm hoping to do a bit of pottering about and get a bit of crafty action happening this weekend.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend too.

Hugs xx

Spring is on its way!

2011-08-28T08:23:00.001+10:00

Hello friends, I had planned on this post being my Friday Flowers post the other day, but got a bit caught up in things and ran out of time.

This is the blossom on my nectarine tree out in the backyard.

It's so pretty and a sure sign that spring is well on its way.

I grew this tree from a pit that came from a friends' tree quite a few years ago. The fruit has the most amazing flavour. Much better than anything you get from the supermarket.

This is apricot blossom. Our tree has been in for two years now and it has really grown into a big tree. It has so much blossom on it this year.

Thanks to everyone for Molly's birthday wishes in my last post. Surprisingly, her birthday ball is still intact, though a little smaller. I'm sure it wont last too much longer. This morning she went to the pantry as usual to request a treat. I handed her one of her regular bones and she spat it back at me! She wanted one of her birthday treats. That dog is waaaayyyy too spoilt for her own good!

To my US bloggy friends, keep safe from Irene.

Our Birthday Girl!

2011-08-25T07:10:00.000+10:00

Hip Hip Hooray!

Molly girl is 7 today!

I took these photos on Sunday, sitting in the sun on the front lawn.

"Throw the ball for me Mum!"

We just had the very exciting pressie opening. The floor is now littered with scraps of ripped paper.

She now has a new ball to destroy and some lovely, smelly dog treats.

We might go for an outing to the pet store later and most definitely a nice walk.

We love our little furry girl just SO MUCH!

Look at that beautiful face. What's not to love?

A pretty table

2011-08-23T19:41:00.000+10:00

I was sitting reading the newspaper at the dining table on the weekend and couldn't help myself, I had to get out the camera and take some snaps of the table setting.

The light was so nice and luckily I had borrowed the DSLR from work again.

Pretty daffodils...

Gorgeously fragrant freesias from my garden...

There's those pretty Dinosaur Designs vases...

I love a pretty mixed up combination of prints with flowers.

I know it was a couple of days ago now, but how disappointing was The Block for all the contestants? All that hard work, blood, sweat and tears and the contestants walked away with little (apart from Polly and Waz).

Didn't they all look gorgeous at the auction? I'm sure they'll all go on to do great things, they were such a likeable bunch. My biggest question is what will I watch on tv now?? It's a disaster.

I'll be back in a couple of days with a very special birthday here at Molly's Maison.

Someone's turning 7 years old!

Friday flowers... for a friend

2011-08-19T09:51:00.000+10:00

Thank goodness it's finally Friday, but it's another sad day for our bloggy friend Jane who's father passed away on Wednesday.

I am lucky to call Jane a friend outside of blogland as well. It's such a sad time for her. I don't have the words really, so these Friday Flowers are for you Jane. We are all thinking of you and your family.

The Snow Queen's Garden goodies

2011-08-17T10:54:00.000+10:00

I ventured out on Sunday to The Market, purely to do some reconnaissance work as this is the market I'm having a stall at in November.

But, I did come home with a few little things...

How cute are these little hand stitched decorations by Natasha of The Snow Queen's Garden?

Remember my Russian inspired felt Matryoshka doll a while ago?

And how sweet is this snowy owl?

I also acquired the doll below for Mum. She says it's too nice just to bring out at Christmas so is on display in her lounge room. Mine are too :)

So beautiful, yes? Absolutely.

I hope you are all having a nice week. I'm super pooped and am really looking forward to the weekend and a few days off.

Take care xx

Friday flowers...pretty violets

2011-08-12T06:53:00.000+10:00

This pretty patch of violets are growing in the garden at work.

Aren't they beautiful?

They're such an old-fashioned flower, but that's what I love about them.

This feather was sitting amongst them.

The feather below was sitting on the ground next to me as I took the photos. I always feel if you discover a single beautiful feather it's a sign of something. I'm just not sure what!

I once helped save some magpies at work and when I went home I found a big magpie feather in my courtyard. I really felt like the birds were saying thank you to me! Or maybe I had just gone to the birds?

Anyway, I digress...

I looked up the meaning and history of violets and it tells me...

The Greek word for violet is io. Io is a character in Greek mythology and the daughter of King Argos. Zeus loved her. However, Zeus was concerned that Hera would discover them and so he turned Io into a heifer and then created the sweet-scented flowers that we now know as violets for her to eat while in her heifer form.

During the Middle Ages, violets were a symbol for humility and modesty not only because of the blooming habits of the flower but also because of their association with the Virgin Mary. Shy people are often referred to as shy violets and the reason is clear when one looks at a blossoming violet. Often the flowers are tucked away beneath the beautiful dark green heart shaped foliage and only peek out from under their hiding spot. The retiring behavior of the flower made it a fitting symbol for Christ’s mother.

Violets also have a unique method of reproduction, known as cleistogamy, which is found in very few flowers. In other words, violets self-pollinate. Naturally, the ability to create seeds without the interference of a bee or another plant reminded believers of the Immaculate Conception.

The violet is also a symbol of immortality, resurrection, and spring. These qualities are found in another story of Greek gods in which the violet plays a role. The god Hades fell in love with the maiden Persephone. One day while Persephone was walking through a field of violets, Hades carried her away to his land of death. The world mourned her death and became barren until Hades relented and agreed that Persephone could walk on the earth from spring through fall.

The scent of violets was the favorite perfume of Josephine Bonaparte. When Napoleon returned from banishment in Elba, Josephine was dead. He picked a bouquet of violets for her grave before then being exiled to St. Helena. When Napoleon died, violets and a lock of Josephine’s hair were found in a locket. Later the violet became a heraldic symbol for Napoleon and those who came after him.

If you send violets to someone you are sending them a message of love, humility, modesty, resurrection, spring, and the immortal soul.

So interesting! All that for such a small, shy flower :)

Anyway, yay for Friday. Have a lovely weekend friends!

Info from here.

Production line + thank yous

2011-08-10T11:22:00.000+10:00

There's been a bit of a production line happening here at Molly's Maison Crafting Central.

I've ordered lovely 100% recycled cards and envelopes to zuzsh up and some notebooks as well. I love waiting for parcels in the mail. I did also use the exercise to acquire a couple more Divine Twine spools and some more washi tape. All in the name of craftiness!

I also wanted to say a big thank you to the two lovely winners of my recentish giveaway who were very sweet and posted about their wins this week.

Kym form Kyandra

and

Deb from Let's go Moerkabout.

Please go and say hi to them.

Uuggh, how is this weather? If it's going to rain then I'd rather it did than have this persistent, damp drizzling caper going on for days.

I am just a bit over it! You lucky people in the northern hemisphere :)

Though I suppose it wont be too long until spring is here and then hopefully the warmer weather.

Oh and on another note, can I say, what's with this "let's make a remake of Dirty Dancing" caper?

Do these people not realise you cannot improve on perfection?

What are they thinking? If it aint broke, don't fix it I say!!

Do you agree? Ok, so I realise not ALL of you will be die hard DD fans like I am, but some of you must be!

Hello?

Bush walk

2011-08-08T08:11:00.000+10:00

Yesterday Mum, my sister, my niece and I took our dogs for a walk in the bush.

It was a fire trail in a local water catchment area.

It drizzled almost the entire time.

Great patterns wherever I looked.

Gus and Molly haven't always been very good friends but they behaved surprisingly well yesterday. Not one argument.

Look at this monster that emerged from the big puddle of water.

My little niece picking flowers. She enjoyed jumping in the puddles too.

Some sort of heath flower. I brought a bit home too.

Wherever there's a picture of Molly there's generally a stick as well.

I had to put this dirty, wet creature in my car and bring her home. Yuck.

So long as Molly has fun, that's the main thing.

It's so grey and miserable outside it looks like a good day for some housework (hmmph) and some craftiness.

How about The Block last night? The girls just missed out. I really liked their kitchen with that fab big table. I love a big kitchen table. Gosh, Josh and Jenna improved their rooms from last week. A good effort. I'm wondering what the heck I'm going to watch when this has all finished?

Have a lovely week friends!

This weekend

2011-08-06T13:40:00.000+10:00

It's cold, drizzly and therefore rather miserable down here in Hobart.

So, we've sat inside and had a cuddle.

Well, not me...Molly and Lyndon. Molly decided she was in need of a nurse and a cuddle, not quite realising she's about 25kg too heavy to be nursed.

Terrible pics I know :)

I did attempt to do Friday Flowers yesterday but it was raining when I took my pics and they were awful.

I just went out and took a few more - they're still awful! Oh well.

My daffodils are out but are getting ruined by the rain.

Above is my white daphne which has decided to flower for the first time this year. What an amazing scent.

My camellia is flowering like nuts! It's so pretty!

Well, I've been crafting away like a crazy woman but I'm about to brush my hair and go catch up with some lovely friends for afternoon tea. Looking forward to it.

In fact, I had better get a rush on!

Have you any exciting plans for the weekend? I hope you all have fun :)

Busy little girl

2011-08-02T12:06:00.000+10:00

Look at the incredibly cute Molly climbing the freshly delivered wood pile looking for good sticks.

There's a great stick!

Got it!

Molly is always running off with pieces of firewood, turning them into mulch for the garden.

She's such a handy little girl!

There's that velcro fur again. I give up on vacuuming most of the time given the amount of shrapnel that Molly brings inside. Life's too short to worry about such things.

I hope you are having a nice week.

ps I'm really not sure why I refer to Molly as little girl - she's 32.5 kgs of furry love!

Friday Flowers on a Saturday

2011-07-30T09:27:00.000+10:00

I'm a bit late this week with my Friday Flowers but after the super busy day at work with not a moment to spare and then topping it off with tripping over at a work function last night and ending up laying amongst a pile of expensive salmon canapes that I was carrying (whoops - thankfully no-one saw me) and then jamming my finger in the gate (hoping finger decides not to drop off), I was a bit too pooped by the time I got home to think about fighting with my computer.

So, today here are my Friday Flowers :)

At the start of this week I pruned my 20 or so Iceberg roses so currently have bunches of blooms around the house. These ones are in our dodgy old bathroom.

They're so pretty and I love the shades of white, cream, blush and green.

Have a great weekend lovely people.

Do yourselves a favour and avoid large platters of salmon canapes at all costs. They're dangerous things!

Vintage bits

2011-07-27T06:31:00.001+10:00

Warning: image overload.

I acquired a few new old vintage pieces lately.

I bought this old chemical bottle from a little store called Rust and Co.

I printed out and attached a vintage label to make it look a little more interesting.

This cute Australian silver plated milk jug was too cute to leave at the tip shop at a mere $3.50.

I know, how could I not bring it home? I like its simplicity and it makes a nice vessel for some pretty iceberg roses.

I think my birdies approve.

My last acquisition was given to me by Mum and Dad. It's a great little old camera, owned and presumably used by one of my relatives many years ago.

I love the detailing.

So, some nice bits to add to the collection.
By the way, thank you for your comments about the market. I will be giving more details soon. I have so much to do!
Keep warm xx

And the winners are...

2011-07-25T08:31:00.000+10:00

Morning friends,

I have to apologise for the seriously dodgy and highly blurry shots but our little furry barrel girl was so excited and enthusiastic I could barely get a shot of her.

Here she is with her head in the bag picking two lucky winners.

Thank you to those of you who entered.

I'm always blown away by your lovely comments!

And the winners are...

Kym from Kyandra

and

Deb from Let's Go Moerkabout

YAY!!

Ladies, please send me an email to sarah_b100(at)hotmail.com with you addresses and I'll get your gift in the mail to you. Let me know if you prefer blue or pink - if you both prefer the same I'll pick it randomly :)

A little bit of news... I have had my application to a local designer's market approved so I have to get busy and make lots of things. It's not until November but I'm quite excited. Woohoo!

Have a lovely week peeps. Such a frost here this morning but looks like a nice day ahead. I finally have two days off work!

Friday flowers - winter or spring?

2011-07-22T07:15:00.000+10:00

It appears I need to have a word with my garden regarding the amount of spring bulbs that are popping up whilst it's still winter.

These eggs and bacon smell so beautiful.

I know I've said it before, but I feel a bit sorry for plants that flower out of season. Maybe it's a good sign that spring is not too far away?

I had to post another image of my blue polyanthus as that white edge is so pretty.

It's terrible but I'm really looking forward for this weekend being done and dusted. That will finally end my mammoth 12 day stint at work and I'll have two days off to catch up on everything.

I hope you are all well.

ps. don't forget my little giveaway. You have until Sunday evening to enter! I'm on my iPod thingy so can't post the link but it's easy to find!

Giveaway time!

2011-07-18T07:10:00.001+10:00

Yes, it's time for a little giveaway!

In fact two little giveaways.

I have two packs of my recent stationary creations for my lovely readers.

There's a blue pack and a pink pack. Each consists of a couple of cards (maybe slightly different to the ones in these pics), a notebook and a set of 6 cute gift tags.

All you have to do is be a follower please and just leave a comment below!

I'll draw the two winners this coming Sunday night 24th July and post on Monday morning.

I hope you like them!

Pesky and predictive (not to mention embarassing!)

2011-07-16T20:13:00.000+10:00

Another scene taken whilst sitting in traffic on the way home the other day

As many of you will be aware, I take most of my blogging photos on an iTouch. It's basically like an iPhone but without the phone. I also use this little device for internet things like email, a touch of shopping, browsing and of course commenting on your blogs.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, it's a very small keypad that I type on and that in conjunction with out of control predictive text I sometimes accidentally post some quirky things.

Case in point: The other night I posted on the very witty and highly entertaining Make Mine Mid Century blog.

Here is my comment...

What a lovely giveaway! I adore the pillowcase and gave been wondering what Pam's soap is like. The moomin doesn't look very impressed that she's portrayed as a purse.

I'm with you on that house - utter gorgeousness!

Stick to your guns re the bad customer service. That's such a gripe of mind too. I thought of you recently when I bought some buts from an online shop calked Larry Post as they had moomin computing in books that looked nice. Their service was good too :)

Whhhaaaattttt?????? How to make me look either insane or like an idiot, or maybe both.

Yes, okay, I should have checked it before I pressed GO but the screen is tiny and it was getting on bedtime. I did laugh when I read it, so did MMMC.

(For the record, I did not go "butt shopping" like I said I did)
On another blog I just caught myself from posting that she had some "lively thongs" rather than "lovely things" and I have also been lucky to catch myself a number of times when the word "what" came up as "shat". Simply charming, don't you think?

Soooo, in addition to a nice new DSLR, can I also put in a request to the universe for an iPad or a laptop that works properly, pretty please?

Do you guys find technology frustrating? Is it getting away from you? I started getting lost when bluetooth started popping up. And no, I am not THAT OLD!

Friday flowers + Molly update

2011-07-15T10:38:00.000+10:00

My first camellia bloom for the season.

Look at those pretty white frilled edges.

Lots of buds coming too!

It's called Volunteer - such a boring name for a beautiful bloom.

Such a nice spot of colour in the winter garden.

The mountain is just covered in snow this morning. It makes winter seem worthwhile when the mountain looks so pretty. I'm sure I'd get grumpier in winter if it wasn't for this sight.

It's so nice and clear today. The sun is shining.

Unfortunately no weekend for me this week, or next for that matter. I'm on day 3 of 12 straight days of work. Hmmpphh...

Molly update: I'm pleased to report the return of decent poops! Not sure I thought I'd ever be reporting on Molly's poops but there you go. I think it's great news. Only one more dose of tablets to go. Phew.

Have a good one bloggies.

Making, making

2011-07-14T07:09:00.000+10:00

It's always good to feel like you are achieving things creatively - or at least I feel that way.

Here is my mannequin Pricilla modelling my latest batch of necklaces for the gallery. She's quite the hussy, isn't she, with all that bling.

Whoopsie, a very blurry shot :)

There's five single lens pendants and one that has two smaller lenses. This particular piece was very pesky, in fact I started it last year and it was just giving me a headache and so sat waiting to be finished for a long while.

It's always good to have them finished and delivered to the gallery so I can get on with something else.

What's that something else? I'd love to make another dress - I have a few ideas forming in my head but need a bit more working out before I'll start on that.

I'm so enjoying making my little line of stationary bits and promise once it's properly (ie clearly) photographed that I'll get my little giveaway happening :)

In my studio + thank you

2011-07-12T10:02:00.000+10:00

Firstly, I wanted to say thank you for your kind words at the passing of little Charlie dog. Charlie lived with Mum and Dad and was an important family member. Your lovely comments were so thoughtful and caring. What a great bunch of people you all are. xx

I wanted to share some images of the work in my studio.

A necessary thing in my workspace is a good cup of tea. I just love this cup and saucer.

I am so enjoying making my stationary but have had an order from Handmark Gallery for jewellery so have had to pull out my thumb.

Vintage optometrist lenses that I've been making into pendants.

Bits of chain that I've made, my thumb vice (for holding wire) and my jeweller's saw.

There's that washi tape again.

My vintage printing letters.

Some mini garland made from washi tape.

Strips of colour for my cards and tags.

Finished gift tags. I rather like these little guys.

A nice little spot in my studio with my lovely new Rob Ryan tile, a special gift from a wonderful friend recently.

I am building myself up to a market stall later in the year (hopefully) but before that I'll be having a mini giveaway of some of my stationary. I'd love some feedback from you guys. More about that soon!

ps. a little update on Molly... I'm not sure if the antibiotics are making her feel a bit off colour, but she had me up to go outside or just for a pat 6 times last night. She's feeling very needy. It would be a lot easier if she could tell me how she feels. Her poops have improved so I'm hoping she's on the mend. Let's hope we get a good night's sleep tonight :)

Goodbye little Charlie - our faithful friend

2011-07-10T10:16:00.000+10:00

Bit of a sad day for our family last Friday when little Charlie went to the big happy doggy play park in the sky.

Charlie had been with us for 17 and a half years. Gosh I love that photo above.

Such a beautiful, smart little guy.

This photo of him was taken up Mt Wellington. A group of Japanese tourists all wanted their photo taken with him as he looked so cute. Gosh it was a funny scene.

Here he is with me on my birthday almost 2 years ago.

There is no beating the companionship and friendship that a dog gives you.

I'll miss him a lot.

ps on the subject of furry kids, I took Molly to the vet yesterday as there was no improvement in her tummy upset. She was not happy with me AT ALL. She now has antibiotics and I'm hoping she improves soon. The irony is not lost on me that a change in menu to see if she likes a slightly more economical food has ended up costing me $100 so far. But, what can you do?

Friday flowers

2011-07-08T14:29:00.000+10:00

For this Friday we have some very cheery polyanthus that I recently planted in the front yard.

I love the thin white edge on the one above.

Some glowing daisies which never stop flowering.

Happy little flowers and I just love the blue colours.

And just because I can, here are a couple of random shots I took last evening whilst sitting in traffic on my way home.

Yay for weekends off. It looks like miserable weather so hopefully I can get some crafting action happening.

Hopefully you all have something nice to do too?

Thanks for all of your cute comments about Molly. She's been under the weather this week with a very upset tummy. She was very excited last night when I made her a dinner of rice and bbq'd chook. She inhaled it!

Anyway, have a good one bloggies!