Waiting.........

Today was one of the hardest days I think Mia has lived though. Big sister Sarah has been away on camp this week and has been sorely missed by Mia. (She has never been an only child before).  Each morning Mia would ask if Sarah was coming home today and when the answer this morning was 'yes', I don't think I have ever seen a smile as big.
The only problem was, Mia found it very hard to understand that she had to wait until 3pm for Sarah to come home.
To try and take her mind of it, she tried chalk drawing on the kitchen concrete step while I belted the living daylights out of many, many spoons.
This lasted for only one rainbow, but it was a beautiful one.....

Then  we headed off to Bunnings to return my original vice and come home with one with a bigger, deeper grippy bit ( love the technical speak!). I am hoping that the woodworking vice I bought will work wonders for evenly bending the spoons (and maybe forks?). Mia loves going to Bunnings because they have the little kids trolleys and she feels very proud pushing our purchases around like a grown up
While there, we had to have a hot chocolate , to fill in a little more time, but the waiting was getting harder.....

Finally, it was time to go to school and collect Sarah. Mia spotted her first and became a limpit on her sister while Sarah struggled to gather her bags etc.
Mia was so happy to have her Sarah home, there was no wiping the smile from her face  - even from under Sarah's somewhat smelly camp hat....

But alas....., although Sarah swore she wasn't tired, half and hour after getting home and having a shower, this is what Mia found.....

More waiting. This didn't worry Mia though as she knew Sarah would wake up soon and then she would play with her. At least she was home.

My Creative Space

My creative space today finds me creating new spoon ideas for the upcoming Christmas shopping markets.
Here is cook book holder idea #1

This one will be mine as I was a little distracted by a 3 yr old this morning when stamping the 'H', hence its wrong alignment. I can't believe I had stamped all the other words, spelling backwards, as I went without incident and I stuff up on a simple H , two words from the end. Arghhhhhh!!!

~~~~~

I also spent the day remaking  2 of my toddler drums that I thought were winging their way to my lovely madeit shoppers. Australia Post contacted me today to advise me that they had been involved in an 'accident' and were destroyed. They will reimburse me the cost of the goods and the original postage but when I said the replacements should be sent express post, I was politely told that that would cost Australia Post too much. Really???

~~~~~

While trawling the net the other day I came across a small brooch with the 'unknown Beatrix Potter tea drinking rabbit' on it and now I have located a copy of the picture for myself, I am trying to decide what to do, make with it etc.... (the original 10cm x 12cm painting sold for 15, 600 brittish pounds 2 years ago, I wrote this out as I couldn't find the pound symbol,).

Hmmmm, decisions, decisions.
If I think about this some more I am sure I can put off other proper work for a bit longer.

How has your 'space' been? Play along here at Lou's

Wordless Wednesday

Play along here.

@my house

The week started early at my house today with Sarah heading off on a 5 day camp to a wilderness village. Last night she was counting down the hours and was up by 6am this morning, ready and rearing to go. Going back to being a single child household is very quiet and easy.
The rest of the day was spent finsishing off this little guy ( why a red cat with pink spots is a boy I don't know but it is). He was made from a pattern by Wee Wonderfuls and you can download it here.

Mia has named him 'Cat'

When I had Mia, a lovely lady by the name of Jenny, would sew my baby slings for me as there was no way I would have been able to keep up the supply for shops, markets and internet sales with a new baby.
When  I was back in the swing of things I bit the bullet and outsourced a lot of my sewing to a commercial sewing company, which just left the finishing touches - ie 50 studs per sling for the adjustable version and the final sewing that could only be completed after all the studs were done.
With time on her hands and now back in the swing of sewing Jenny came up with these gorgeous heirloom dolls. They have painted feet, tea stained socks for the vintage look, designer heirloom fabric for their bloomers and dresses and high quality wool for their hair. Each of their faces are hand stiched and as every one is different they all have their own unique personality.
Anyway, Jenny attended a few markets and received a huge order for the dolls only to find out when they were all finished ,that the person renegged on the deal and only took half the initial number ordered.  I hate these people, and may Karma come and bite them in the bum!
Anyway, unsure on how to list things on madeit and also how to get good photos of her stock, I agreed to set up her shop and get a few of the dolls listed. If sales take off then I will pass it back to her to manage. To check out these dolls and prehaps have them join your family check out her shop, 'The Dolls House'  here.

The lovely weather today provided the perfect opportunity for photographing the dolls and Mia loved posing with them and introducing them to 'Cat'

 What's happeining at your house? Play along with here with Buttons by Lou Lou

My Creative Space

My Creative space finds me a lot more creative and happy than last week. It has however, not been a very crafty creative week so far. Instead, it has been creative in the sense of completing the company website and getting it live, finding a venue, and then creating the invitations, for the company Christmas lunch. I did finish and post my softie for the softie swap I am taking part in, so there was a bit of crafty goodness.

Now my 'real' work, as hubby calls it, is over for the week it is time to get all the 'playwork' (spoon, drum and baby sling) orders finished and posted out tomorrow. For once I wish it was going to rain so I would want to stay inside instead of being a beautiful 29'C that I will want to spend every minute outside soaking up the wonderful warmth.

Mia has made up for my lack of crafting this week as every morning as I am getting breakfasts and lunches ready, she sits at her table making wonderful creatures out of playdough and then today had an absolute ball at playgroup when the outside craft activity was messing around with shaving cream. - Oh such simple tactile pleasures.

Happy creating. Play along at Kootoyoo.

Wordless Wednesday

Play along with Faith Hope & a whole lotta Love here

@my house

At my house today - the creativity is back - but in a tidy way and we have been busy, busy, busy - in the good way.
After a Saturday that was filled with a  nail biting Basketball final with 2 extra time periods, ....
  

and then the breakup/presentation party at night ,

a slightly slower paced Sunday morning saw both girls painting many a masterpiece that now adorn the noticeboards followed by playdough creations. I have only ever made cooked playdough, but when I came across this post by Danielle on Hello Owl, I thought it was worth a try. Although it was successful, and incredibly quick to make, I think I like the feel of the cooked version better.

It was then off for a ride on the local tourist Steam train, aka Thomas the Tank Engine, for our train obsessed Mia, but unfortunately the steam engine was in for repair, so, as Mia phrased it, a Dirty Diesel, (this is meant as a term of endearment for a diesel engine), was pulling the train.

Brett, Mia and Sarah all piled on; Mia loving it because it was a train, Sarah loving it because the carriage was just like the Hogwarts Express with everyone in their separate compartments and Brett loving it because it was only a one way trip.

When I met them at the end of the line, there was just time to race home for a quick bite of lunch before heading off to Casey Fields (aka the coldest and windiest place on earth) for 2 hrs of Sarah's HPV training.

Today, saw me trying to get rid of , I mean hide from view, some of the clutter in our house.
My craft area has been a sore point for a long time as eveything was stored on an open bookcase, so eveyone who visited always saw everything.
Well now it is all hidden away behind closed doors. After a bit of wardrobe renovation, I have removed several shelves from Mia's semi built in wardrobe and created a hanging space. I was very proud to throw out much of the 'stuff' I had stored on those shelves and have bags out by the bins as proof of my de-cluttering efforts.
Mia's old wardrobe then made it out into the top living room and is now my craft cupboard to hold all the equipment and sundries that I accumulate. I have decided to take a photo now, when it looks nice, before the rest of the stuff in squeezed in and the lovely neat look totally disappears.

Now you see it....

now you dont .......

No doubt wihtin a couple of days the inside will be a total clutter like the bookshelves used to be, but at least it started off well.

What's happening at your place? Play along here.

My Creative Space

My Creative Space this week, finds me hoping a little normality might return to life soon. The last few weeks have been so full of sickness, death and then other major family stresses that anything creative has been totally gone. I cannot believe that it has been a week and a half since I last sat down and wrote a post ( the wordless wednesday's were scheduled well ahead of time). The only good thing to come from the last week has been the 3kgs that has managed to fall off my body from stress as the eating better bit wasn't getting anywhere. I also came to realise that I need my creative space to remain me. Although the house has been clean with everything in it place, and  the washing has been done, folded, ironed and put away all in the one day, I have not been happy in my life. I know this has a lot to do with what has been going on in our family, but also because a part of me (and a rather large part) was turned off and ignored for the sake of household order and peace. Tonight, I have produced a hula costume for a louau that Sarah is going to tomorrow night (and of course one for Mia too - her's was the test run) and I am feeling so much better with just the little bit of creativity creeping back in, that I know I must find a way to keep the house tidy etc  as it has been this week or so, and still let the new ideas and creativity have their outlet too. ( If only the creativity didn't have to be done on the dining room table).
 I will finish with a picture of my 2 hula girls (Sarah's complete skirt but not much else) as every post needs at least one photo, and an apology for the gumbling/rambling I have done here tonight, but sometimes one needs to vent in order to move forward. Let the creativity begin - onward and upward!

I promise that my posts from now on will be far happier, and creative. :)

Here's hoping your creative space is overflowing with ideas. Play along at Lou's here.

Wordless Wednesday

Play along with your Wordless Wednesday here.

Wordless Wednesday

Play along here

@my house

 @ my house today finds me greatly saddened, even with a clean house to start the new school term. Precious little house work was done around here last week while we were all sick and the place looked worse than I think it ever has. I don't think I have ever gone a week without doing anything  - nor will I again, no matter how sick. The marathon task to get it back to normal is too great.
The house had to be tidied this morning as I hate coming home from a trip, late at night, to a messy house, and this brings me to the sad bit. Tonight Brett and I are leaving the girls at my parents place and jumping on a plane to Brisbane. No kids, and a trip to Brisbane, should have us leaping for joy but we are in fact flying up for a close friends funeral. Craig and his wife were a tremendous support for me when I was pregnant with Sarah as Brett was working overseas from when I was 12 weeks pregnant to 33weeks pregnant - 1 week before Sarah was born -  and they were my surrogate family with Craig often saying he had more claim to Sarah than Brett as he was there for the boring first bit and helped me through all the classes just in case Brett didn't make it home in time.
For the past 10 years, our families have maintained as close a friendship that living 2 states away can allow. We would always catchup when their son was in Victoria for Tennis tournaments  or when we went anywhere near Qld for a holiday.
For such a wonderfully generous man it was a shock for us to learn last year that he had a very aggressive cancer that by the time it was diagnosed, had passed the point of being successfully treated. He tried every treatment/procedure there is but 8mths after diagnosis Craig lost his battle last Thursday night. Rest in Peace my dear friend and may your family have your strength to get through this horrid time.

Craig's sudden passing has really made me appreciate how wonderful life is and to see the beauty in the everyday things that are often overlooked. Find some beauty and play along  with Buttons by Lou Lou