Saturday, December 31, 2011

Santa Who?

This was my grandson's first Christmas.  He is too little to know what all the fuss is about.

I took this photo two days after Christmas and every time I look at it my heart melts just a little bit more.


I  was pretty casual about becoming a grandparent, but once he arrived it was like someone threw a tiny hook into my heart and it has changed my life forever.  I absolutely love being a grandparent.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Christmas Wrapping

I have almost wrapped all my presents.  And, as usual, the sticky tape is all used up and I have a few odd strips of paper left that I can't use for anything.

Every year we pick a colour scheme for our gift wrapping  - this year it was metallic.




I had great fun sourcing all the little tags (actually I made some of them) and the bells and ribbons.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Little Golden Books

I have been commissioned to make hand stitched journals out of old Little Golden Books by a lovely person who is going to give them to her friends as presents.

They look really nice all in a pile.  If they were mine I wouldn't want to give them away!



Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Something not Christmassy

A temporary break from Christmas things:


This is a brooch I made using a vintage safety pin and strips of vintage fabric.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Christmas Baubles

When it is impossibly hot outside there is nothing left to do but to set oneself an indoor challenge.  My challenge this weekend was to fill 48 Christmas glass baubles with paper boats and paper stars.



These are for sale at the The Vintage Christmas Pop Up Shop in Mt Lawley (in the arcade next to Grill'd).

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Christmas Twigs

This year we are not having a Christmas tree.  We are having Christmas twigs instead.



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

My Front Door

I was at a winery at pruning time so I collected some of the prunings and twisted them into a wreath while they were still supple.  Then I wound some red cotton around it and added some felt stars.


Now it is on my front door.

Monday, November 28, 2011

A Pop of Summer Colour

I have planted lots of summer colour in the garden this year and it has all come into flower at the same time.




Planting in pots is a great way to keep the snails away!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Paper Christmas Trees

I have been collecting vintage wooden cotton reels for quite a while - not the little ones, which are still quite easy to find, but the large ones, which involve quite a lot of treasure hunting.

This year I have decided to use a few of them as bases for the tiny paper Christmas trees I have been making.

They look good if you wind festive ribbon or ric-rac around the spool to add a bit of colour.


I am bringing them to Unwrapped tomorrow (Sunday) at UWA, along with my paper angels and lanterns.


I hope to see you there!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A Glimpse of Christmas

I have been working on various Christmas design projects but suddenly realised that I needed to give some thought to our decorations at home.

This year I have decided to go with a bunch of natural twigs which I will hang with old fashioned metallic decorations.

I have arranged my twigs and started to add the decorations, so you can have a glimpse.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Jardins de Luxembourg

If there is one thing (apart from fashion) that the Europeans do well it is formal gardens.  

I spent an afternoon in the Jardins de Luxembourg just strolling around.   It was a beautiful autumn day and lots of Parisians were out taking advantage of it.

The great thing about parks and gardens in Europe generally is that lots of people use them.  Children come to play, couples come to picnic, people come to sit on the benches and read or just sit and watch the world go by.



Thursday, November 17, 2011

Christmas Crackers

I have used some pages out of a really old volume of The Girls Own Paper to make Christmas crackers.  The spine had completely disintegrated and the pages were all falling out so it seemed only fitting to use them for something festive.


I will have them at my stall at the Craft Markets at the Claremont Showgrounds tomorrow (Friday 18) and also at Upmarket at UWA on Sunday 27 November.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Even the Ordinary is Wonderful

What I like best about travel is just blending in with the locals and watching the world go by, rather than beating the well worn tourist trail.  That's when you notice the minutiae of life and even the ordinary can be wonderful.

 A local out strolling in Paris

 
The Metro

 A picnic lunch by the Seine

A missed rendezvous?

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Paris

Having planned this trip months ago we had no idea that France would make it to the final of he Rugby World Cup nor that we would actually be in Paris the weekend of the final.

As you can imagine, the city was in full rugby final mode and excitement was running high.  I (along with half of Paris it seemed) braved the cold weather to watch the game on a huge screen which had been erected outside the Hotel de Ville.  Of course I was supporting the French so I joined in with all the audience participation!

Other highlights of Paris were:


The park behind Notre Dame


The Marais District


The beautiful blue sky


The bakeries!


Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Christmas Angel

A quick detour from the travel diary (next stop Paris) to show you the Christmas angels I am making in preparation for the November Craft Market at Claremont Showgrounds next Friday, 18 November.

Monday, November 7, 2011

A Snapshot of Ireland

I grew up in Ireland, so took the landscape very much for granted.  Whilst I go back to visit regularly, this time I tried to see it though the eyes of a stranger and capture some images of the essence of Ireland.







Sunday, November 6, 2011

Karlova Vary

Whist in Prague we took ourselves on an adventure.  We got a bus to the old spa town of Karlova Vary which is  about 200 kilometres west of Prague, near the German border.  The trip took us through the countryside, which is intensively farmed, and through several small villages.

Karlova Vary itself was once a very magnificent spa town and has been wonderfully preserved, including the beautifully landscaped parks and gardens.  Only occasionally you got a glimpse of a slightly faded splendour, but I think it just added to the character.  






Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Doors

I got a little bit carried away with photographing old doors when we were in Prague.  Who could imagine that doors could have such character?