Back on Board the Blogging Highway

I love holidays, but what I love just as much is coming home. Driving down south to the Snowy Mountains really highlighted the areas in drought. We've been going through drought in many country areas for a long time now and seeing how dry everything is really makes you want to do a rain dance. Even though the landscape was dry and brown, it is still very beautiful. I used to think it was soooo boring as it's quite desolate with very little foliage and mainly big boulders as you get further south, but it's spectacular. Unfortunately we are always in a hurry to get to the snow as our whole family drives 7 hours south and we are super competitive and we constantly message each other to see if one family is beating the other (no speeding allowed, of course) so we didn't stop for any landscape pics which I would have liked to, so all pics are taken out the dirty windscreen on the run. Now on with the crafty business... I'm participating in a gocco note swap through cloth.paper.string have got ideas and I'll post my swap in the next week or so. I'm also participating in a printsy swap run by the printmakers on etsy, I'm super excited about this one as it was the first swap I signed up for and should garner a few good prints for my walls. And just before I left for my holiday I won a giveaway through The Royal Sisters a couple of local sisters making super cute dolls, which I had my eye on for a while. I won Lucie a sleeping doll and she is currently residing on Miss 5's bed. Thanks girls she is lovely!

Edit: Finally a picture of lovely Lucie from The Royal Sisters giveaway reclining on the left on Miss 5's bed. Lovely Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey's babushka is in the middle cosying up with my top knot Lucille Ball inspired doll. Sitting next to her is a pea. Yes, you read that correctly, a big pea. This was made for Miss 5's Book Week parade this Wednesday. She is dressing up as the Princess from "The Princess and The Pea" and this pea, which she helped to make, will be slung under little princess' arm. She drew the face. I think she did a great job.

I'm off - See you in a week!

Here is a pic I took a couple of years ago in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Best snow ever, but as we're not used to powder snow in Australia spent many a time on bum. How cool is this steel snow-covered horse?

The sewer's broke. What's a girl to do? Poor singer sewer (aged 15 years), never had a service, but still went like the clappers till last week when I thought I'd have a look at the inside of the sewer to see why the tension was all whack attack. Do I have qualifications for such mechanics?No, but I'm the type of girl who needs to get down to the nitty gritty. As I was dismantling and trying to remember the order of dismantlement - I heard the snap. The snap as it turns out was a little metal thing that aligned all the tension dials, bummer, yes indeed! So although sewer's broke it's at the best time as I'm off on holiday on Sunday to the snow. So whilst sewer is languishing in the hands of a suitably qualified person I will be languishing in the lovely snowy mountains for a week, yay! I love the snow for many reasons. I love the freedom and exhilaration of flying flat strap down a mountain trying to beat various family members to the bottom. I also love the beautiful scenery and the blissful muted sounds of snow swishing, but most of all I look forward to actually being warm. Strange you may think going to the wintry confines of snow country and being warm, but ,no, our house is an icebox. It is so cold and no matter how we crank the heat of the air conditioner, because of our lack of insulation, which is common in Australia, it's freezing, except for one heated room. In the snow, on the other hand, heating everywhere and appropriate clothing all round.

See you in a week and a bit!

Single Girl Card

So I was watching Sex and the City repeats on Foxtel the other day and thinking of all the single women I know, big total and all on one hand including myself, 3. I blame my friends, of course, that I'm single as they all have dud friend of friends. So I thought I would indulge what seems a dying breed and made a card for all us, the whole 3. I loved drawing these frames, so fancy pants!

Kitchen Decor circa 1975

As a child of the 70's I was exposed to lots of kitchen decor that was just so bad it's now cool. Mission brown and khaki green was my parents decorating palette and still is. Now don't get me wrong, I like brown, but as a survivor of mission brown I have my limits. In our kitchen we had the classics. Firstly we had the 4ft wood carved Malaysian fork and spoon. How I loved this enormous decorating mishap. I was always waiting for Gulliver from Gulliver's Travels to arrive one night for dinner to share our fair spread. And lucky for me it still graces my parents walls, because why redecorate when you got it right the first time. Our kitchen was the height of fashion with a kid fashioned mustard and brown macrame owl, lime and brown heavily patterned lino, woodgrain laminate cupboards, a god awful flourescent light and a rope of clay folk art pots. Oh yes ladies and gentlemen a veritable eye candy of 70's goodness. I amped up the fork and spoon a bit what do you think?

Edit: Oh my I just posted with the fork and spoon going the wrong way. I'm so ashamed - luckily my sister picked it up before it really got out there. Thanks sis, she's got my back. Although she thought it wasn't right that I wasn't making the fork and spoon brown - sorry viewers just couldn't nudge the CMYK sliders in that direction.

Girlybirds

Do you procrastinate? Well this is what I do when I procrastinate - design patterns. Still in progress it's called 'girlybirds'. I knocked off my own cut out mobiles and made it into a pattern. Could turn out real crap, but I'm imagining it cut up for the inclusion into some super happenin' quilts. No nanna quilts here ladies! Sorry about the bird inclusion, but it just had to be done. The old bird on a perch I couldn't avoid. I'm trying hard to get away from birds it is sooooo done to death - I know. And just quietly - I don't particularly like birds. Alfred Hitchcock pretty much did me in with 'The Birds' and then I had some filthy pigeons nesting in the roof of a house I was living in and gave the house lice. So with birds I usually associate mass attacks and lice. Yeah, not so nice now are ya birdy friends!

Winner of the Giveaway!

Miss 5 helped do the draw, but got confused when I told her she had to draw it. Whaddaya mean? What do I have to draw? She had her pencils at the ready. Congratulations Christina Kimberly. Shoot me an email with your address and they will be in the mail jetting their way over to you.

Thanks Katy!!

Oh my goodness, how exciting. I received my swap all the way from the UK today. I couldn't get it out of Mr Postie's hands quick enough. Katy from i'm a ginger monkey has made some very sweet things - all for me. Katy I love them all and can't stop touching everything. I love the large and mini babushka, sewing pouch with little pockets, ribbons and even a button holder with some lovely buttons. Those ribbons on the dolly peg I've already got ideas how to use them. All of my lovely things came in a beautiful black spotty bag with a cute stamped monkey. How lucky am I! They are all in my favourite colours and I recognise some of the prints from other blogs which I've been dying to order. There is a mikodesign on the little babushka and an auntycookie print on the large babushka. Thank you soooo much Katy, be sure to look out for me in future swaps. Although it is only my first swap I'm already hooked!

How much fun is this blogging business? I'm inspired everyday by wonderful people out there in bloggie land. Previous to blogging I was crafting in obscurity and now it has just opened up a whole new avenue to meet people who share the crafty love. Thank you craftsters one and all and especially my new friend Katy.