New holiday workshops

Hi exciting news!!

A new cafe/gallery is opening at Avoca on the corner of The Round Drive & Avoca Drive. LikeMinds is its name & I will be running kids/tweens/teens creative workshops on Tuesday & Wednesdays during January from this exciting new space. I'll be commencing classes on January 7th with Make a Dreamcatcher 

10am-1pm $60. For kids aged 7-12yrs

All materials are included & a drink & snack provided.

January 8th Make a Dreamcatcher ages 10-16yrs. Details as for previous date.

Stay tuned for the program for future weeks.

It is going to be loads of cool, creative fun.

Loving life

Hi, I have been having loads of fun in my veg patch lately. It has been such a long time since it has looked so good & provided so much. It was neglected for at least 12mths while we renovated our house but is now going great guns.

This was last Sundays harvest. Yum.

I have also started a cottage style garden on the bare patch between the kid's trampoline & the veg patch. Very excited to have grown my first ever Delphinium as they were in my Grandma's wedding bouquet.

This baby King Parrot is very tame & a frequent visitor to our back yard. Do you have any little beasties that call upon you at home? Below is a photo I took today showing our sunroom at the front of the house. On the red chair are 2 cushions that I have just added to my etsy shop.

Sunsets, pretty frocks & budgies

I finished stitching up these pretty dresses last night. They look so ready for a hot summer being such a lovely cool, light Japanese lawn.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter brought home a little house guest for the weekend, Rosie the Kindergarten budgie from her classroom at school. You can imagine my excitement when I laid eyes on that great cage protector, what an awesome Eighties style print

Last night was the best sunset I have seen in such a long time. Quite an eery glow of orange, looked a like a fire in the sky. I wondered to myself if this is what the end of the earth looked like but then thought it was just too stunningly beautiful to be anything so sinister.

Just another miracle turned on by Mother Nature.

Trade Fair Yeah!

Focalpoint Home are presenting Sean the Prawn cushions at the Reed Gift Fair over the next four days in Darling Harbour Sydney. I'm looking forward to seeing their stall as it always looks gorgeous & I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to widen our profile.

Dreamy prototype

Today I've been working on my sample to show the kids for the Sew & Sews Make A Dreamcatcher Creative Workshop.

Dreamcatcher Lane

Wed 3rd or Wed 10th of July your kids can take a trip with me down Dreamcatcher Lane as I present a Sew & Sews creative workshop for ages 7-14yrs in which they can design & create their very own Dreamcatcher to take home.
Take a look at the beautiful Dreamcatcher inspiration that follows.
Some by Beci Orpin & Georgia Perry.

Exciting times on the horizon

I've started a new business venture named Sew & Sews! I'll be teaching sewing & crafting from my home studio. I'm launching this enterprise by running school holiday creative workshops for kids aged 7-14yrs.
Eventually I plan to be teaching sewing to small groups during after school hours. I've been thinking about this for a long time now & after visiting the Sydney Quilt & Craft Show last weekend I came home bursting with ideas & renewed energy which was all I needed to ignore the fear of failure & dive right on in.
I've started a new blog for Sew & Sews which you may like to check out from time to time.
www.funsewandsews.blogspot.com

Winter gold

It is so hard to believe that it is winter when this is the view outside my front door. Every June our wattle tree blooms with the most iridescent golden little balls of fluff. Looking at it puts an instant smile on my dial, the bees love it too buzzing like crazy collecting all that nectar.

I had a busy week putting together a whole new collection of cushions.I'm loving all the combinations in such vibrant colours, also some cosy woollen plaids with super cute birds.

I'll be revamping my Etsy shop soon so keep checking for new stock.

We just had a three day weekend here in Australia for the Queens Birthday, it isn't the Queen's actual birthday but hey who's to complain when there is a holiday on offer. The family & I went on a rather lightning trip up to Forster for a couple of days. It was great to get away even though we probably spent as much time travelling there & back as we did at our destination. The weather was warm & sunny, the water the most stunning aqua colour & we even jumped in the rather icy ocean. Very nice.

Coffee fuelled cushions

I spent some time catching up with one of my friends this morning. I always come away feeling inspired & confident about my creative endeavours after talking to her. She made me a very strong coffee which had me buzzing all afternoon. When i reached home I through all that caffeine fuelled energy into designing & making some new cushions for my little label. Just need to insert the zips & I'll be sorted.
Does coffee get you buzzing?

Pineapples & cosy quilts

Today I added a few new items to my Etsy shop. My shop link here.

Stitching up some sunshine

I've been loving stitching up this random patchwork, soon to be a single bed size quilt. Tropical flower print & pineapples bringing a sunshiny feel to my studio today on this cold grey day we are having.

Raggy

My first attempt at a raggy flannelette quilt using upcycled florals.
This photo is prior to machine fluffing, which shall make it even more cosy.
I'm loving experimenting with the new photo app from A Beautiful Mess, very cute graphics indeed.

Aussie cushions and Autumn cricket.

I have been whipping up a few more cushions in my Aussie Fauna series.. but alas I have only one remaining to be sewn up & that is a beautiful lyrebird.
These latest ones all contain that gorgeous blue sky with my favourite being the now extinct Tassie Tiger (although some people claim to see one now & then but can never prove it).
The Autumn days of late have been unseasonably warm but we aren't complaining. It really has been so lovely to get out in the sunshine, just like the afternoon a couple of weeks ago when we took the kids to a great bike park where we finished the daylight hours playing cricket beneath the towering eucalypts.

About thyme.

Gardening isn't an activity that I've been spending much time doing of late, until last weekend that is.
I bought 3 beautiful round glazed terracotta pots from Freedom Furniture last Saturday with the intent to make a little kitchen herb garden out on our new rear deck. It was really enjoyable digging around in the potting mix & planting the herbs with the kids, wow they even put down their "i" devices for a few minutes.
Mint, basil & parsley in one pot, sage, rosemary & oregano in another as well as marjoram & thyme in the third pot.
Tonight my daughter managed to find a few treasures amongst the weeds in our overgrown veggie patch.. a nice surprise.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I love this time of year with warm days & crisp fresh nights.
I love that Easter is a celebration of new life, new beginnings. I find it quite motivating to rearrange & organise our home, to decorate & celebrate what we have.
To me it is a happy time, I hope it is for you too.
I'm loving fresh flowers especially dahlias that are in season, I must grow some of my own again for next year.
Our children had another Easter Hat Parade at their school & loved every minute of it. A lot of hot glue gun action was happening here.
Big excitement was had by me yesterday at our annual local Community Trash & Treasure event when I stumbled upon a set of Enid Blyton Hardcovers, just the type I have been collecting for years now, & hooray only $10 for the lot.
Shalom Passover to my Jewish friends.
Good times!

Front cover joy

The latest Green Magazine has hit the shelves & we are ecstatic about my husband David Boyle Architect scoring the front cover position. Inside is an awesome article titled From Two to One with many photos & great editorial regarding the clever subdivide he designed in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville. Not often are you lucky enough to work with a visionary of a client such as this one. I was commissioned by the client to design & upholster all her built in seats along with many scatter cushions from her amazing collection of fabulous mid century modern printed fabrics. Such great original printed bark cloth & satin jacquards.
I love this house.

Wall hanging

I'm enjoying this Beci Orpin wall hanging that arrived by post this week.
Another little purchase from Urban Outfitters. Such great colours & little embroidered sections. It really jazzes up the entry to our house.

Feathering my nest

I've been boiling up organic beetroots with vinegar, salt & sugar & they taste real good.
I love these little paster men's faces that decorate a recycled brick wall at my local cafe. My neighbour also has one of these teeny menfolk at her back door. I've become quite fascinated by them & googled away to find out they are collected by many folk & were manufactured by an English company named Bossons & there is quite an extensive range of characters to this set.
We are so close to finishing our house renovation & have moved into our new bedroom which is an awesome thing. So now I have an excuse to buy some homey thingy bobs to tart up the joint. I purchased 2 floor rugs from Urban Outfitters designed by the fabulous Beci Orpin. I love the gorgeous colours & graphic design, so super groovy.
I'm also enjoying Grace, A Memoir by Grace Coddington which is a fun read & a birthday gift from my Hubby.
Hope you have been having a fun old time. X

Baking day

When I awoke this morning my hubby already had dough rising in a bowl near the window in the kitchen. He had never baked bread before & today was going to be the day.
The result was great, a yummy crusty wholemeal loaf.
I spied some over ripe bananas in the fruit bowl & since the oven was already on I searched the web for spelt flour, banana & coconut bread recipes.
I found a delicious one that used coconut milk instead of butter & milk.
I'll definitely make this one again, so good.