Meet 'Brambles'

 

Anyone who knows me, knows that sewing is definitely not my strong point.

I've always admired people who seem to be able to whip up some incredible creation using needle and thread and decorate their homes, or gift to friends and family the treasures they've made.

 

I've always been a person who loves creating characters. Whether that be through a pencil sketch, a story I write, or our pet cats that I've taken great pleasure in naming! So when I found myself craving the feel of fabric in my hands and actually wanting to sew something, it was only natural for me to lean towards creating a character.

 

I sat down and sketched out my pattern, then gathered my felts and other materials to begin creating this little character. It took me sooo long! But, I found it relaxing because I made up my mind to just let it take as long as it would take and enjoy the process.

 

I really, really love making characters!

 

So, let me introduce to you, my first ever completed little doll ... sweet little 'Brambles' ... she enjoys long bike rides in the country, reading and hot cups of tea.

 

 

 

I can see a lot of rough bits when I look at her,

but I'm happy with her for my first ever attempt! 

 

This is also my first ever attempt at a satin stitch for the eyes and nose

... not as hard as I thought it would be (thank goodness!).

 

I think the only thing that I would change about her, is making her face more three dimensional. I have no idea how to do that however, so it'll be another skill to learn!

If any of you have tips or tricks to help with this, I'd be so grateful!

 

Using our hands to create things of beauty is such a wonderful gift that God has given us.

I've been looking through my scrap fabrics and I've been inspired by the beautiful colours and hope to make some more bunny dolls soon!

 

What is it that you like to sew? Happy creating friends!


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Linking up with Share your cup

 



A Weekend at Home

I love those weekends that you have where you've got very little on by way of events to leave home for. A weekend with no time constraints, no agendas or to-do lists; just to be and enjoy (rare, I know). This weekend was one of those for myself and my family. 

I spent a leisurely Saturday morning in town birthday present shopping for my youngest daughter (didn't have to be done, but I thought, why not!) and enjoying some fantastic op-shopping. We played board games, sketched together, mowed the grass, cleaned windows, scrubbed old bottles that we dug out like buried treasure from out in one of our paddocks, printed out beautiful inspirational illustrations for a little journal book that I made (another post on that one), cleaned and shined op-shop finds, re-positioned furniture to make way for a beautiful cabinet that belonged to my Great Grand-parents, and just had a lovely time being together and being home.

It was a few weeks ago that we dug out the above mentioned bottles, and I've only just had the time to really try and get them scrubbed and as clean as possible. It took around 6 hours (in two separate time frames) to actually finish this ... felt like mission impossible at times! They went from looking like this ...

To this ...

To finally (and I mean finally) this ...

I think it adds a nice bit of old-fashioned charm to the kitchen. They still aren't spotlessly clean, but if soaking them for one week, putting them through the dishwasher, then filling them with rice (for abrasion), vinegar and bi-carb and attacking them with wire bottle brushes in hot soapy water can't get all of it off ... then who knows what will? I think I'll just be happy with them like this! 

This year I intend to sketch a lot more than I have in the previous couple of years. It's one of my personal goals in my new bullet journal. I find it very relaxing to sit after doing chores or preparing dinner or whatever it may be, to sit and create with pencil in hand. 

This gorgeous fox is a copy from another artist, it is not my original work (only for personal use). I really enjoyed creating the different texture in this piece with the fur of the fox and the grain in the wood. 

This is my original piece that I sketched from a photograph that I took of our lovely little rag doll kitten 'Aslan' ... I just can't resist him and had to capture him in a drawing as well.

Another copied sketch (personal use only) that I just loved. It's actually from a piece titled 'Little House on the Prairie' and I really like how it speaks of such simple, beautiful, wholesome times. 

I hope to be able to carve out more snippets of time here and there to sketch more lovely images, I'd like to have my journal full of them by the end of the year.

My great grandparents were such an amazing Godly influence in my life. I have many fond memories of them and I believe that their character and example is what has helped me form my own in some ways. They're very special to me and so having this piece of furniture (even with the timber veneer strips chipping off) in my home is very important to me (I hope to replace the veneer soon).

While at the op-shop I purchased a beautiful set of four 'Peter Pan' series plates in perfect condition for only $4.00 each, and a gorgeous cat and bunny rabbit one for the same price, along with a lovely butterfly one for only $2.00. I couldn't believe it. I also found a lovely little deer ornament that was only 50c ... it's pretty cute!

Here's my beautiful display cabinet that belonged to my Great-Grandparents ...

Well, I think that's about it. I'm going to tuck myself snuggly into bed giving thanks to my God who I love for all the blessings He gives. 

Life's never perfect, but it's still beautiful.

Good night friends xo

Bullet Journal and New Typewriter!

There's a section in my bullet journal titled 'Personal Goals'. I normally approach writing these things out in intricate detail, but then I find that this stifles my creativity and I actually end up feeling restricted in achieving these goals throughout the year. 

This year I took it from a different angle and briefly wrote out what it is I would like to accomplish or develop for 2016. By going about it this way, I think that it broadens my opportunity to steer the goal in whichever direction I think it should go when it comes time to work on that goal. Make sense? I hope it will work. I think it will work. I'll just have to see I guess! 

That's the great things with bullet journals, I can customise them to suite my needs and my brain; that may look completely different to your bullet journal, but that just it, it's supposed to be individual. I'm hooked. I was driving into town to go to Aldi yesterday and I had this instant compulsion to buy washi tape. I know you've had that before too, so I'm not sharing with people who will see me as being crazy! The urge won, and I found myself somehow parked outside my local scrap booking shop, scavenging through a basket of washi tape in delighted school-girl bliss. I found four perfect for my bullet journal, one with the days of the week on it. 

This is what my 'personal goals' page looks like now ... 

This was a much more relaxed approach for me and I really like that I can look at it from a glance and see that I'm already doing some of the things that are written here! It's nice not having a rigid check-list for these things. 

Also, yesterday before the washi tape expedition, I purchased second hand a new little object that I'm so excited to share with you all! ... 

It's a vintage 'Tippa' typewriter! Apparently the colour is 'Canary' ... beautiful!

I am so ridiculously excited to be using this!!

The photos above and below are just of some random writing that I did to practise using my new little love. I may use them in a story, I may not. It was very enjoyable to be so unrestricted in my writing though, without the distraction of a bright screen and electronics. Besides, anything vintage is just perfect in my books!

I really look forward to using my typewriter and bullet journal throughout the year! I've actually shared with my oldest daughter the tab section of my journal, and she is in the process of setting up a journal for herself too! We are both very excited! 

I hope you're having a beautiful week friends!

P.S. I ended up naming my new room, 'My Cozy Place' ... just in case you were wondering, thanks everyone for your name suggestions!

Christmas Wrap-up

It seems such a shame to have Christmas over in just one day. All that preparation for months, then, quick as a wink, it's all done and dusted. But oh how beautiful it is! It's a truly magical time of the year, wouldn't you agree?

Our Christmas day was lovely. Quiet and peaceful. We had three lots of separate visits from family, and all were absolutely beautiful times. We made lots of memories, shared lots of laughs, and of course ate lots of delicious food! 

As most of us do as home makers, I found a lot of enjoyment in decorating the home, particularly the dinning room table. The hints of shimmering gold, the poinsettia red and that pine green all just makes my heart sing! 

I can't decorate without berries, poinsettia flowers, vintage op-shop treasures and candles!

Our four children loved the table too, my girls especially!

I hope that your Christmas was beautiful, with many new memories made with your loved ones!

I'll be back sometime in the new year, another year of adventure awaits!

Op-Shop Bargains!

Yesterday we had so many incredible scores at the op-shops, I am so pleased with what we purchased. For the last couple of days I've been wanting to change my bedspread, just for something different, but I really don't like spending so much money on these items that aren't really 'necessities' in life. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when I found this beautiful vintage bedspread in perfect condition at our local op-shop store! And, what's even better is that I found a gorgeous knitted blanket to match! I think it's brand new!

When it comes to decorating my home, I really love either making things myself, or finding the perfect treasure at op-shops, garage sales or on line selling sites. I think it's the knowing that I'm not breaking the budget when a spend a few dollars on something beautiful. I think it's safe to say that I'm addicted to beauty and it's not so much the 'things' I love, but the beauty of them. It's part of how I make our house feel like a home for my family.

I love the different patterns in the squares, it gives great texture and an extra feeling of love and warmth!

The bedspread was only $4.00 and the blanket was $5.50! So for a total of $9.50, I have a completely new, beautiful bed that is incredibly comfortable. I felt like I was sleeping in a bed from Little Women last night; daydreaming again!

It really is possible to have a beautiful home from second hand purchases alone. Everything that comes into my home has a clean up and then it's as good as new! I actually find that a lot of vintage treasures are sold second-hand, as not everyone's taste is vintage with decorating, so if you love vintage then maybe you could find yourself some homey touches that don't cost a lot. I enjoy second-hand shopping (or scavenging as some could call it!) much more than retail shopping and ...

... I really enjoy making my bed now!