Missie Krissie

SO I guess it’s been a while…

2011-06-06T22:36:00.001+10:00

Sorry about that. It’s my usual excuse: time. One moment it’s there, the next it’s just a memory. But lately they’ve all been good memories!

Anyways, I thought I’d just show you guys my fave shots from the photo shoots I’ve been doing lately:

This is the beautiful little Chloe, my first baby shoot!

And these two little men were sooo cute, and eyelashes to die for!

Kids are so much fun and such a challenge to capture!

If you want to see more please visit our facebook page

Life’s gilded

2011-05-26T11:23:00.001+10:00

I’ve been playing with gold leaf on the latest jewellery trees…

What do you think? I don’t know if people really like gold and silver together but when they are in the sun the gold really sparkles!

Good Morning... Not so much!

2011-05-04T19:32:00.003+10:00

Here's a fun printable, this is what I feel like every morning when my sons happily wake me up and ask for breakfast!

Hope you like it and hope your children take notice! :)

Click the image you want, wait for it to load and then right click to save to your computer. Then print at your leisure!

Happy Easter! And a Printable

2011-04-24T08:29:00.004+10:00

Happy Easter to One and All! I hope the Easter Bunny has found you safe and sound and left you a giant pile of kilojoules! :)

I have a new printable for you, and I hope it will be applicable today!

Click the image you want, wait for it to load and then right click to save to your computer. Then print at your leisure!

Hello Lover ::Sewing Machine:: Printable

2011-04-14T08:51:00.001+10:00

Click the image you want, wait for it to load and then right click to save to your computer. Then print at your leisure!

Hello Lover ::Glue Gun:: Printable

2011-04-13T19:05:00.003+10:00

Click the image you want, wait for it to load and then right click to save to your computer. Then print at your leisure!

Hello Lover Printable

2011-04-12T15:49:00.000+10:00

Click the image you want, wait for it to load and then right click to save to your computer. Then print at your leisure!

Well Excuse Me

2011-04-11T20:16:00.000+10:00

Oh dear.
I'm very Naughty!
So long between blog updates, I fear I may need a tap on the wrist!

Well the story is this:

I've started a new business with my sister called K & R Photography

We are enjoying it so much so far and are so flat out! Please head over to our new blog and have a squizz, we also have a Facebook page where you can get up to date info. We do travel throughout Victoria so don't be shy in inquiring!

I'm so flat out with photography, jewellery trees and my jewellery that I hardly have time to think these days! This (sadly) does mean that I will be scaling back this blog *sniff*.
I will pop in from time to time for share a new printable or tutorial though so keep checking back! Especially over the next few days, got some very cool wall art for crafters coming up!

No more 3 yr olds in our house

2011-02-25T13:12:00.001+11:00

This is our big 4 year old boy!

After presents this morning he was off to kinder where Mummy made a surprise appearance with a birthday cake!

He also got to choose who he wanted to have sit on his birthday table with him and walked around to each child offering his cake.

Happy birthday my beautiful baby boy. It seems like just yesterday you were born and now you’re so grown up! I’m amazingly proud of you and love you to bits, always.

xxxxx

You had me at... craft room {random freebie}

2011-02-23T00:19:00.002+11:00

Another random printable already! I got the bug a little bit :)

Just click the image, right click to save and print at own leisure!

Random Freebie

2011-02-21T11:56:00.000+11:00

'Tuesday Freebies' has now morphed into 'Random Freebies'... you know just to keep you on your toes.
Or because I can't keep up with every Tuesday.
Either one...

Anyways, this, I love. A printable featuring Mr. Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth... *dreamy eyes*

Peek-a-boo

2011-02-20T16:14:00.001+11:00

Just checking in, there’s been some goings on behind the scenes and new things are emerging.

Soon I’ll be able to share with you, but until then I’ll leave you with a little hint:

Mum, avert your eyes

2011-02-17T15:30:00.001+11:00

Seriously, if you go past this point you will ruin your birthday surprise!

The rest of you please carry on!

……

This is my new invention…

Can it be called an invention if it doesn’t actually ‘do’ anything? Well, I’m calling it that anyway. I’ve been looking at this Etsy shop for ages, wishing I could have one of the beautiful little terrariums, sadly they’re from the US and shipping costs an arm and a leg to Australia.

So I decided to make my own (actually this one is for my Darling Mother for her birthday coming up). I ordered the little globe from a wedding supply company (they’re meant for tea candles) and soldered together a fork, a spoon and a plate stand left over from a jewellery tree.

The cute little air plant came from this ebay store they have a huge range of air plants- some beautiful colours! You can buy a clump and break it up into smaller sections if you want more plants. They were also really helpful on how to look after them.

I’m so pleased with how this little idea turned out! Hopefully my Mum likes her birthday present too!

Cack

2011-02-16T13:55:00.001+11:00

Please excuse the little blogger hiatus, for the last 2 days I have been this colour:

And I can assure you I certainly wasn’t smiling.

The dreaded gastro completely levelled me and I still feel strangely weak in my arms and legs. Happily though, I seem to possess the super power of ‘keeping your germs to yourself’ because no one else has come down with it *yet*.

But I’m bouncing back quickly and ready to show you another little invention tomorrow!

Until then!

Big blue eyes

2011-02-13T22:07:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I had a little photo shoot with a good friend and her 2 little boys. It went really well, considering how hard it is to gets kids to do what you want. Basically I followed the older one around while he played with his mum, and got down on my tummy to get some shots of the baby. I think I got some really cute pictures out of it, this is just some…

This photography thing is just a hobby (like I don’t have enough hobbies!), but I like giving my friends nice photos of their kids!

Please excuse me

2011-02-10T18:18:00.001+11:00

My Hubby has taken the kids to swim and stay at the lake tonight.

So I’m on my own…

Currently to be found swanning around the house in my undies (thanks to the putrid muggy weather) and contemplating how far I will have to walk tomorrow if I eat this:

See you tomorrow, 10kg heavier and hopefully fully dressed!

He he, I love my Husband!

Gumboots

2011-02-09T17:40:00.001+11:00

More fun to wear if you wear nothing else!

Look at this!!

2011-02-08T10:36:00.000+11:00

Oh the adorableness is sickening!

It’s a birds house doll house! All the work of this lovely talented lady!

Ohhhhhhh… the detail!

You should definitely go and have a look at Amanda’s blog Bijourgirl etc…

She also has a facebook page where you can see her beautiful jewellery like this:

And this:

I’m in Lurve!

Just something I whipped up

2011-02-07T20:20:00.001+11:00

With Christmas and then everything that took place after, I never got a chance to post about these designs

This one is a fave, the little copper ring hooks on to the heart to act as the clasp. It has little balls hanging on the bottom that jingle very lightly as you walk

And this has gone to Denmark with a dear friend who came back to Australia for a visit and got caught up in the floods. She still had a great time and got to see Australia like not many do - sandbagging and desperately trying to save houses.

More tiny little balls that jingle when you walk, this time in ring form. It’s so simple yet so much fun to play with.

And this is so delightful and vintage{esque}

I’ll admit that it took a little while to make and solder all those teeny tiny bits together (without melting other bits). But I really live how it turned out!

Anyone who has any thoughts on these designs, please share, they are very welcome!

Don’t eat the paint

2011-02-06T14:21:00.001+11:00

Sunday afternoon, we’ve walked, we’ve brunched, we’ve milkshaked and now we’ve painted:

It was always going to happen…

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem…

2011-02-05T19:52:00.001+11:00

So here goes…

Hi, my name is Kris and I have an addiction to *Stationary*.

What’s in these photos is not even a pimple on the ginormous behind that is my addiction…

I know I have an addiction, I have all the symptoms:

- Every nook and cranny in my house has some form of writing/drawing implements stashed for easy access.

- I can’t walk past the stationary isle in the supermarket, I have to stand there and stare lovingly at every pen/pencil/texta until I decide which will come home with me {this time}

- I almost need to wear a bib in Smiggle to soak up all my drool.

- Stationary gets me more excited than going to any form of party/wedding.

It’s an addiction, I know, I should kick the habit.

But I kinda wanna stick to it, seeing as how it makes me deliriously happy!

Empty frame wall art eye candy

2011-02-04T15:12:00.001+11:00

I had a look around to see what other people have created with empty painted frames

First up this is mine

This one is from Classically Amber the frames are beautiful and ornate

This one is from Two Girls… Being Crafty, I like the way they have frames inside frames

And another one from I am Momma hear me roar, this has a hidden window, how cute!

And lastly how cute is this? Bulletin board frames! From Shannon Makes Stuff

Ahhh… Eye Candy!

If you’ve done something cute with empty frames let me know, I’d love to see!

How long is too long?

2011-02-03T15:40:00.001+11:00

The age old question… how long is too long for a boy’s hair?

At the moment Aus has nice, neat, close cropped hair. It suits him and his eyes look gorgeous when he doesn’t have long hair falling in them!

And this is Noah now. I think this look kinda suits him too… but evidently the day care girls think otherwise. When he came back to care from holidays all they could say was ‘Oh look at his hair!’

I suppose it has become a bit wooly or mullet-ish if you will… especially when it actually goes curly when wet. I know little girls with less hair than this (though not through their parents choosing!)

He is booked in to the hair dresser tomorrow but I just don’t know if I should get it really short or just a little bit shorter.

Maybe I’ll get her to do a progressive cut and I’ll just stand there and say woo when I think it’s short enough. Pictures of my cropped little lamb tomorrow!

What else could possibly go wrong?

2011-02-02T17:06:00.001+11:00

Buckle down Queensland, hopefully this is the last disaster you have to endure for a few years!

While we’re on the subject

2011-02-01T09:51:00.000+11:00

I have been meaning to blog this since before Christmas. Remember this box I got at a garage sale? I was going to do it up for my brother’s 21st birthday…

Here it is all done up to the nines’.

I painted it a slate grey and attached new handles.

The outlines of the letters were lightly printed on to old pages of Shakespeare plays, then I cut them out and modge-podged them on to the box. I did several layers over top of the letters to make sure they wont come off.

I managed to get it to him only 6 months late… a record for me!

Who knows what he will put in it, boy stuff no doubt.

The Keys found a home

2011-01-31T18:00:00.001+11:00

I loved all your suggestions for my little set of keys! I think I may have to go back to the antique store and grab a few more for jewellery purposes.

But this is what became of these:

Old frames from the op shop- $5

Old keys and brass fittings from the local antique shop- $10

Print from here- $10

White enamel paint – $20

$45 is pretty darn cheap for this fun wall art methinks!

What think you guys?

What should one do with these?

2011-01-30T17:17:00.001+11:00

You’ll see what I’m doing soon, but I want to know what YOU would do with them?

Op shops strike again!

2011-01-28T18:38:00.001+11:00

Look what ‘chose me’ in an op shop in Bateman’s Bay!

This is white gold with 2 sapphires and 2 diamonds! It was pretty beat up and dirty so I whipped it back into shape and gave it a good clean. Now it looks brilliant!

If only it were my size!

When you can’t just sit

2011-01-27T13:21:00.001+11:00

Even when I watch TV I need something to be working on. Since I was away from my metal working over Christmas, I took my sketch book to do some designs. These first few are hair combs, the type one could use for a wedding or ball.

And then I did a lot of pendants. The last one is my fave and the one I will be working on first, when my supplies arrive!

In the absence of a pool

2011-01-26T10:40:00.001+11:00

Use a garbage bin and sprinkler instead… like so

He he he.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!

Thanks for all the lovely messages of support, it’s really touching that so many people care! So far everyone is safe and dry and I really hope it stays that way.

Actually what I really want is for everything to go back to normal. The strain of worrying for over 2 weeks, not knowing if you’ve made the right decision to protect your family, really gets to you after a while!

Sandbags are heavy

2011-01-24T21:29:00.001+11:00

These are our sandbagging efforts last week. This is at Lake Charm, in front of our friends’ holiday house- they were busy defending their home near Kerang from the rising flood waters. So we stepped in for them.

My Sister and Parents are still at Lake Charm and are staying to defend our house there. They say the water is pouring into the lake now with no chance of slowing down and the flooding is going to be pretty horrific. I am just hoping they will be ok. If the power goes off I’m pretty sure they will evacuate… or I hope!

Its times like these one needs a sense of humour…

2011-01-23T21:26:00.001+11:00

He he he

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

2011-01-22T09:59:00.001+11:00

Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you might already have guessed why there has been no blogging activity of late…currently my home town of Kerang is cut off from the rest of the world by flood water.

We did evacuate from Kerang earlier this week to my family’s holiday house at Lake Charm (15 mins North of Kerang) to escape the water. Then Jem was called in from leave to work in the Disaster Relief Centre at the High School in Kerang. So the kids and I stayed at the lake without him, thinking it was safer.

Apparently it wasn’t. All the water is coming from 2 separate rivers which join up at the North end of Kerang and heading towards Swan Hill, which is now on high alert for a major flood. Lake Charm lies directly in between Kerang and Swan Hill. After talking with the SES and CFA, no one could give us an expected flood level- all they could say was ‘It’s going to be bigger than anything ever seen here’.

Then a family friend who was sent out this morning by our Shire to estimate the flood level, came by to warn us that it really didn’t look good for houses directly on the low side of Lake Charm.

So we evacuated again, this time back into Kerang. So now we are home again, completely isolated and waiting for the flood waters to subside.

While we were on the ‘outside’ I did manage to snap a few pics of rising flood waters and I’ll do my best to explain for you where they were taken.

This is a smaller levee bank about 200m past the twin bridges on the west side of Kerang, on the highway to Swan hill. The line of trees at the back of the photo is Kerang. The tractor in this pic was running a pump that was trying to empty this side of the levee back into the other side. As you can see, it was a losing battle. The next morning, all this was under water, including the road.

This is the road in to the picnic area on the south-east side of Reedy Lake (5 mins North of Kerang) The next morning there was no bridge and everything was half a meter under water.

Some sand bags that apparently couldn’t be used quick enough before the water came.

This was some hay on the Boort rd. on the west side of Kerang.

This was the North side of Reedy Lake yesterday. The outlet of the lake couldn’t be opened any more than it already was and the lake was about to burst its banks. So the farmers who lived right beside it took it upon themselves to make another outlet.

This is the Ibis rookery, on the south side of Reedy Lake.

Residents mailboxes who live on the ibis rookery road.

And this is the flood waters we drove through on the Murrabit rd. to the North of Kerang.

A poor farmer’s house, engulfed by flood water.

And this is coming back into the North end of Kerang, where they are building another levee on the actual road. This is to hold out the Pyramid Creek which is now coming from the east side.

All these machines belong to some very good family friends. They live out of town but decided to help the town by bringing their own equipment in to build the levee, also donating their countless hours of driving.

There are so many people helping out and doing their bit. Those who cant sand bag are feeding everyone else. The community spirit is really something to behold!

Ok I’m off to sandbag! I’ll show you some of our efforts tomorrow!

Phew

2011-01-11T12:15:00.001+11:00

We’re back from a long long journey to the NSW coast, where we spent a week with Jem’s family and attended his Brother’s beach wedding.

It was such a whirlwind holiday and the drive up and back each took approx. 11 hours each. That’s 22 hours with a 3 yr old and 1 yr old in the car. Were they screaming, unbearable or irritating? Not at all!! They were so well behaved I couldn’t believe it! We sang, watched movies, played games and of course visited many a playground in order to keep ourselves sane.

So when I recover I’ll be back to share more and do a bit of blog reading too!

Where to start?

2010-12-28T12:50:00.001+11:00

Christmas was happy and hectic and fun and exhausting!

Here’s some pics of Christmas eve out on the lake…

The boat captain/driver and his Nanny

The smallest boat passenger refusing to go to sleep!

The Captain getting to stand on the back of the boat under supervision

Then after the Kidlets finally went to bed it was assembly and Santa sack stuffing time!

Aus’s Santa sack… I think Santa went slightly overboard!

Noah’s Santa sack (I’ll do another post on the making of the Santa sacks soon)

And lastly Santa (aka Daddy) enjoyed his beer and cookie while the reindeer (aka Mummy) polished off the carrot.

Daddy also had an idea to convince Aus that the reindeer had actually been to visit… he took his torch and wandered up the road a bit to a paddock, collected some sheep poo and brought it back to sprinkle on the lawn as ‘reindeer poo’.

It worked and Aus was utterly convinced… the flies enjoyed it too!

‘Mum, please don’t tell Santa I was naughty!’

2010-12-23T17:49:00.001+11:00

He actually said that to me on the way to meet Santa last night. 5 mins before he had been in the shower and covered the plug hole to make a little bath for himself… which spilled out all over the bathroom floor and into the hallway.

When we actually got to Santa this is as close as he would go.

Santa was asking him if he had been a good boy, he nodded and just stared. Actually he started to creep backwards and I had to give him a little nudge so Santa could reach him to give him some lollies!

His bestest Bud Brylie had no such qualms!

Both thought the balloons were pretty cool too!

2 more sleeps!

Jingle Bells

2010-12-21T13:47:00.001+11:00

Please excuse the lack of recent posts! We have moved out to the holiday house at Lake Charm and are desperately hoping it may warm up enough to actually go for a swim :( There’s also no internet so posts could be a bit sparse until we move home again.

I do have something un to post about though… last week was our Mother’s Group Christmas get together. We’ve been together or 3 years now, since our 3 yr olds (almost 4 yr olds) were born and they have grown up playing together.

This is last years’ Christmas party at a park:

And this is last week at Lake Charm:

(We made the mistake of giving them their presents and then saying ‘Stop! Look up for a photo guys, smile! Smile! Smile! Hey! Up here!’… this is the best photo we got of them all together!)

‘Ok open your presents!’

Rip, tear… ‘Look what I got!!!’ And after all that present opening excitement and considerable amounts of junk food, a quick nap on the sun lounges…

Or a fight over the swing, whichever! Now we’re just counting down til the big guy comes and there’s more presents to rip and tear and yell ‘Look what I got!!’.

Not long now!!

Wordless Wednesday… at it again

2010-12-15T10:07:00.001+11:00

Wordless Wednesday

Treat time

2010-12-13T13:54:00.001+11:00

Sometimes you just gotta get out of the house and treat yourself and your babies…

Babychinos and little men bickies!

And for Mummy… Mmm… that hits the spot!

Free Printable. Present list

2010-12-11T09:13:00.004+11:00

Something useful. I always have great ideas for presents but when it comes time to buy I've already forgotten my ideas! This will be a huge help.
Also if you are a super organised person who bought all your presents in the mid year sales, this will help you remember what you bought for who!
AND they can be printed out as many times as you like, just fill in the year.

Click the images, wait for them to load- right click and save to your computer. Print using 'fit to page' for best results.

When I kick the bucket…

2010-12-10T19:52:00.001+11:00

Not that I’ll be kicking any buckets soon I hope. It just occurred to me that if I should happen to up and die, my husband doesn’t really know what goes on in our house to keep everything running. So I’m making this list of things he should know.

(This is still in progress and maybe you guys have suggestions for additions?)

My list starts with:

- My internet banking passwords. Along with a list of all the accounts we have, fortnightly payments, etc.

- My blog and facebook usernames and passwords… you know, so he can make the announcement and let you guys know I wont be posting much :)

- Details on how and where I store all our digital photos. (If left to him I know he would never even think about these again)

Then come the smaller details:

- A small reminder that the dog is a living creature, thus she needs to eat or she may not be living much longer. Remember to feed her every day!

- Aus doesn’t like yoghurt (a fact Daddy forgets often)

- Bin night is Tuesday night

- The rates come quarterly

- I switched power companies and we are now locked in to a contract so tell any door to door salesmen to bugger off.

- Remember to take Austin to the toilet before he goes to bed.

Then there are the things I know he will do- that if I was around, wouldn’t even be contemplated…

- Aus is not to get a motorbike before age 7!

- Don’t let the boys go outside to wee on the grass, when there is a perfectly good toilet present!

- Don’t be fooled by the old ‘I can’t go to sleep because… there’s a spider/moth/ant/mozzie in my room’ act.

And lastly…

- Remind the boys how much I loved them and how happy we all were together, and that I want them to find peace and happiness in their lives.

What am I missing?!

Look out! Run for the Hills!

2010-12-09T12:26:00.001+11:00

The town I live in is right on the Loddon river, or Loddon lake should I say…

In all the time I’ve lived here, I have never seen the water so high that it touches the bottom of the bridges! We are apparently on high flood alert as of last night and it’s looking like there will be water over the bridges soon! Eeep!

That red line is where the bank of the river usually is!

I don’t think our house is really in danger, we are at the higher end of town so there will need to be a lot of flooding before it gets to us :)

***

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on my market disappointment post. You guys seem to understand markets a lot more than me! It definitely was the wrong audience I think. So I’ll research some of your awesome suggestions and see if I can find one that suits my craft!

Thanks again everyone who made me feel less of a failure!

Wordless Wednesday… studio with a view

2010-12-08T12:33:00.001+11:00

Wordless Wednesday

Disappointment

2010-12-06T20:06:00.001+11:00

I didn’t sell one single piece of jewellery at the market. Sad face :(

A few people came and had a good look and some took cards, but no buyers unfortunately.

I did sell a couple of headbands though, which was nice.

I’m not quite sure why people didn’t buy. Perhaps the price was too much (though I don’t know how cheap people think sterling silver should be!). Or maybe people just weren’t looking for that sort of thing.

I dunno.

I’m not going again anyway, it was absolutely stinking hot and the site I had wasn’t big enough to set up my shade tent. Actually I couldn’t have swung a cat in that tiny box! :)

Yesterday, deflated, I sent all the jewellery I had down to Melbourne with a friend, she’s hawking it to all her friends for me :) She was amazed that none sold at the market and declared that she could sell it in the blink of an eye!

I’m pretty sure she’ll be a much better saleswoman than I am. I’m happy to make things but selling them makes me squirm with embarrassment! What I love is making and just giving away… but that doesn’t allow for more buying of silver and my darling Hubby may kick up a fuss :)

I need to get up some guts and bravado and ‘represent’!

Anyone else out there a *maker* and not a *seller*?

And Summer arrives… finally

2010-12-05T16:31:00.001+11:00

Yipee! Summer has caught up finally! Even though we may be flooded out any day now, the weather has turned fine an we’re making the most of it before more rain this week.

Nothing better than being allowed to run around in your nappy/jocks and play with water and bubbles.

Yay for summer!

Headbands galore…

2010-12-02T12:14:00.000+11:00

I gave in. Having all these flowers sit around idly just got to me :)

To market to market!!

Tuesday Freebies! Snakes and Ladders

2010-12-01T20:41:00.004+11:00

Here's a fun games from way back. Everything you need is on this page!
Have fun...

Click the image, wait for it to load, right click to save to your computer and print at your leisure :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-01T15:05:00.001+11:00

Wordless Wednesday

You gotta be in on this…

2010-11-29T23:41:00.001+11:00

Everyone loves a good secret.

If you’re intrigued, visit Little Miss Momma to find out!

Super Organised! Or Super Bored?!

2010-11-28T17:09:00.001+11:00

More wind and rain has started to drive us slightly stir-crazy. In need of something to do, we decided to be a little bit early with the Christmas cheer this year…

Yes those are already wrapped presents you see there! Like I said… super bored.

Merry (slightly early) Christmas!

And the heavens opened…

2010-11-27T09:33:00.001+11:00

And completely drenched everything in sight!

Though the day started out hot and muggy yesterday, it ended like this.

When it was all over (hail and all!) I still had 2 kidlets snoring so I ran outside to snap some great shots.

Oh yeah, love my new camera!!

I heart Flowers… literally

2010-11-26T15:02:00.001+11:00

I made all these pretty flowers to scatter around my market stall next Saturday. I think they will up the ‘chic’ factor :)

Then I got to thinking… what if I put them all on stretchy headbands and actually had them there to sell? Hmmm…

Should I make that extra effort or am I just confusing my customers as to what I actually want to be known for selling? (my jewellery and jewellery trees)

Please help, oh wise bloggers out there!

Yeah so I learned how to set pearls… can you tell?

2010-11-25T11:50:00.001+11:00

Little bit of pearl overload there, but I’m loving them all the same!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-24T09:29:00.001+11:00

Wordless Wednesday

Taking stock

2010-11-23T12:54:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I listened to Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio. The story he was reporting mostly was about a little girl named Mikayla who is 6 and terminally ill. Her family has been advised to bring Christmas forward to this weekend (which is also her 7th birthday).

See the story here

Isn’t she beautiful?

Her Father said something that really pulled at my heart. When she was in hospital Mikayla’s Dad had to tell her she wasn’t going to live much longer. The poor little girl was worried that she would be forgotten once she was gone.

Neil Mitchell has asked for people to send her a birthday card to let her know that she wont be forgotten. So today I got a Tinkerbell card (she loves fairies) and I sent a little present with it.

I attached the butterfly in this pic to a little necklace for the birthday girl. I really hope she likes it and that it takes her mind off things for a little while.

So if you live in Australia or even if you don’t and you want to let Mikayla know she will not be forgotten you can send a card to:

Mikayla Francis

Care of Menzies Creek Primary School

12 School Road,

Menzies Creek 3159

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

My thoughts are with Mikayla’s family.

Cherish these precious moments with your special little girl. Thinking of you.

Turning an old book case into chic market shelving

2010-11-22T12:45:00.000+11:00

This book case has been around since forever, it was in my brother’s room when we were kids. When my Mum asked me if I wanted it, I said yes thinking I’d give it a quick paint and it can live in one of the boy’s rooms.

But then I needed some shelves for my market stall and came up with a quick solution…

Chop chop and a quick sand

An awesome paint colour And tada! Some VERY cute shelves!

I couldn’t resist scuffing them up and making them look slightly worn. Here’s some of my necklace displays, made from wire, blue fabric and stretchy lace… I can’t wait to put my stall together and wow some customers!

More jewellery trees off to market

2010-11-21T10:00:00.001+11:00

I’m hoping they will be well received. Instead of people walking past thinking ‘Urgh! What are those things?!’, I’d like them to think ‘Oooo… they’re interesting!’.

They still need cleaning up and sealing but I’m getting really quick at making them now. I can usually get a whole one built and start on the next one in a night. That don’t include the cleaning… the only annoying part of making them.

I’m taking them to a big market we have in the North of Victoria called the Murrabit Market. Murrabit is only a tiny town but it becomes completely packed with people on the first Saturday of every month when the market is on. And summer is the best time to go when there are more stall holders, so if you are a keen market goer it is worth the trip on the first Saturday in December! I’ll see you there!

In other news Our Husband and Daddy will now be a permanent fixture in our house!

He has finished his training and is posted near home. Which means, after 9 months, I am no longer a single Mum most of the time! Oh the relief! Aus can ask Daddy millions of questions instead of Mummy. And Noah can be firmly attached to Daddy’s leg instead of Mummy’s!

In short, Mummy can swan around in relative freedom… sometimes. But sometimes is better than ‘notimes’ :)

My fave bit of jewellery ever

2010-11-19T21:49:00.001+11:00

*That I’ve made*

Sterling silver and fresh water pearl.

Can’t wait to get my new chains to try this on!

2010-11-18T20:18:00.001+11:00

No this post has nothing to do with Twitter. It irks me that they try to claim the word ‘tweet’ so I am using it in it’s original meaning… the noise a bird makes.

Because I have a slight thing for tiny birds lately:

‘Tweet tweet’

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T10:23:00.000+11:00

Another grad

Wordless Wednesday

Grandparents

2010-11-15T23:36:00.001+11:00

This photo, in my opinion is the definition of Grandparents.

(taken of my parents and my children today)

Fishing and shoulder rides… and everything in between.

Lucky kids.

Best Buds

2010-11-11T17:47:00.001+11:00

Thought I’d do a quick update on my cherubs today…

They really have become best buds and spend most of their time at home playing together. They love to ‘wrestle’, which mainly consists of Noah jumping on Aus’s back and then both of them rolling around on the floor.

They’ve worked out a system for eating sandwiches together- Aus doesn’t eat his crusts so after he eats the bread, he hands off the crust to Noah. They sit side by side and eat lunch together :)

Noah has also started talking, saying names and a few single words like ‘ball’ and ‘puppy’. He calls Aus ‘Odah’ and when Aus is visiting friends or at Kinda he wanders around the house yelling ‘Odah?’ ‘Odah?’ I don’t know how he will take it when his big brother goes off to school in a couple of years.

Aus is more switched on than ever and still asks about a hundred questions a day. Today at 11:00 I told him we had to sit quietly for a minute because it was Remembrance Day. That prompted a barrage of questions about why we had to sit quietly, which of course meant we weren’t sitting quietly at all. :)

Ah, they grow too quickly. I no longer have a baby and I can’t decide if it’s a good or sad thing. I don’t want to have another baby but I like having a baby around! Hmm… I guess I’ll just have to wait for some new nieces and nephews!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T19:18:00.001+11:00

Vegemite boy.

More wordless Wednesday here

Tuesday Freebies! I think you're special- Christmas!

2010-11-09T21:34:00.002+11:00

I like being told I'm special, perhaps your loved ones will too when they find these attached to their gifts...

Click the image, wait for it to download and right click to save to your computer. Print on A4.

Merry (early) Christmas!

Who doesn’t love Paddington?

2010-11-08T20:58:00.001+11:00

Thanks to Cat from Raspberry Rainbow he’s now living at my house! I won her giveaway a couple of weeks ago and received this handmade Paddington Bear Rattle. He’s vintage :)

I was going to save him as an awesome pressie for my cousin’s baby coming in March… But someone else had other ideas…

Here is the thief:

And there goes the thief:

He’s become quite attached to Paddington and takes him to bed now, so I guess they’ve chosen each other.

The Awesome Cat also sent me some treasures for jewellery making…

And the prettiest yoyo hair clips…

AND these 2 adorable little note books which I think are sooo cute!

You’re a gem Cat! Thanks so much!

Pop over and visit Cat and follow her family’s big adventure moving to Hong Kong!

Too sick to post so new jewellery it is…

2010-11-07T20:55:00.000+11:00

As the heading suggests, once again I’ve been the recipient of the kids germs and am now full up with flu. So while I wallow in my own misery you can look at these:

I’m doing my best to build up my stocks to go to the next market around these parts, it’s always huge this time of year. I’ll be taking some jewellery trees as well, though I’m not sure how they will go down.

Hope your weekend was fabulous and non-sickly!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-03T15:07:00.001+11:00

More Wordless Wednesdays here

Tuesday Freebies! Teenager's Phone Msg Cards

2010-11-02T21:03:00.003+11:00

So it seems I may have shot myself in the foot for my little guessing game in the last post... Thanks all those who pointed that out, and yes you were all right, they are earring stands. Keep an eye out for what I'm making next and you might guess where I'm taking them ;P

So anyway on to this week's Tuesday Freebies! This one is a little bit tongue in cheek... they are message cards for teenagers to leave their parents when someone calls for them. Of course, since they are to be used by teenagers, they need to be in 'teenager speak' :)

Rough translation for parents:

Hi! While you were gone___
called and left you this message____.
I told them_____
You can call them on this number if it suits____

:)

Click the image, wait for it to load, right click to save to your computer. Then print on standard A4 paper.

Hope your teenagers have fun with these!

What are they anyway?

2010-11-01T16:00:00.001+11:00

Have a guess!

A factory where fun is made

2010-10-29T13:00:00.000+11:00

Last week while in Bendigo we made a trip to the ‘Fun Factory’. Aus and Noah had a brilliant time riding in cars, swimming in balls, riding bikes, climbing and jumping on the jumping castle.

As a Mummy I’m very partial the idea of sipping a latte while my children run amuck in a place that it’s not just accepted, but encouraged!

Finally I can blog about this

2010-10-28T15:56:00.001+11:00

I’ve been holding on to this until the recipient received her surprise package…

It’s an Australian 2c coin set with sterling silver and a sapphire. We no longer use 2c coins so they have become rather rare.

I thought it might remind Cat of her home while she is off on her big adventure!

Good luck Cat and please keep blogging so we can see what you get up to over there!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T11:33:00.001+11:00

This is my first time playing along… more wordless wednsedays here

Tuesday Freebies! It's back! Iris printable notes

2010-10-26T22:05:00.002+11:00

Just click the image, wait for it to load and right click to save to your computer. Print at your leisure and leave someone a pretty note :)

A first

2010-10-25T22:23:00.001+11:00

Do you know what inlay looks like?

Here are some examples-

Perhaps I shouldn’t have picked such nice examples but in my defence, this is my first go!

It still needs a good polish, but hopefully you can see the copper across the bottom?

What do you think… as a first try? :)

Husbands…

2010-10-24T19:53:00.001+11:00

Oh dear, that man is the father of my children… he he he.

Isn’t this what everyone does with an SLR?

2010-10-22T15:48:00.001+11:00

If you have the ability to take beautiful photos, why not take them of the most beautiful things you can see? These were growing just across the road from my sister’s house & I hurriedly ran over to take some snaps yesterday. How beautiful and vibrant are those colours?!

The colours of spring :)

Sorry, busy swanning…

2010-10-21T16:51:00.001+11:00

Yep, that’s me, busy swanning around Bendigo ON MY OWN! I’ve left the kids with the Hubby and zoomed down the highway at a million miles an hour :)

While I’m relaxing at my sister’s house (and sleeping past 9am! Yes!) I thought I’d show you some photos that Jem took of me at work in the studio- just don’t look at the mess:

This is what I was soldering

A spotty, curly pendant.

I’m really liking free-flowing designs just now, here are a few more examples:

A heart ring and this pendant which was me first try at making my drawn design (the green one)…

It was going to be a ring but I decided that it wouldn’t survive well and would bend. So it became a pendant…

Are you a fan of free-flowing designs, or are conformed shapes more appealing do you think?

This is what romance looks like… husbands take note

2010-10-18T18:12:00.001+11:00

These flowers are a special gift for a lovely wife. A nice man from the US asked me to make them for her. That’s just nice in itself, but wait there’s more…

Every year for their anniversary this nice man gets his wife flowers made from the old traditional anniversary guide. So this means he has had made (or made himself) flowers from: paper, cotton, leather, linen, wood, iron, copper, bronze, pottery, tin, steel, silk and now lace.

I’m dying to see flowers made from rubies and sapphires and of course gold and diamonds! Perhaps that’s a few years down the track though.

I am told that the ladies she works with look forward to her anniversary more than their own!

So my husband has been told to take note. This is romance… saying ‘oh, did you want me to get you something?’ on the actual day of the anniversary isn’t. :)

If you want to make the flowers, you can use this tutorial

And the vase is also lace that I wrapped around a jar and coated several times with modge podge so it would stand up alone. If you do this remember to wrap cling film around the jar first… otherwise your attempts to remove it when dry wont end happily :) (yes I found that out the hard way)

So now that you’ve had a little romance, I hope you have a little smile too!

On the jewellery side of things

2010-10-17T13:46:00.001+11:00

Still catching up so I thought I’d show you some of the ideas I’ve had for jewellery lately:

These are two I really want to make, especially the green one.

And here’s one I prepared earlier as they say. It features a moonstone, rubilite and garnet.

It was for my cousins' 21st birthday present, but there was a small hitch in that it was too small. So back to the drawing board to make another one…

The Artist

2010-10-16T14:27:00.001+11:00

Yesterday Aus and I had a play with some cool metallic paints.

His paintings have changed so much recently. Before he would just get the paint and smoosh it all together and make a big multi-coloured puddle. But now he uses colours separately and makes individual puddles, which of course represent something… usually the dog. :)

I had a little play too, who can resist shiny paint? Not me…

This was all in aid of trying to teach a certain someone that drawing/painting is for paper only. Not for arms, legs or any other body part, and most definitely not for the lovely white walls!

Did anyone have a problem with kids drawing on walls repeatedly?

The promised finished photos

2010-10-14T23:29:00.001+11:00

I’m very proud that we managed this!

Aus was actually a great helper… Noah not so much. He sat on the boards while I was trying to lift them and slot them in, he ran and crawled on the underlay while I was trying to lay it because he liked the feel of it and he kept stealing my tools. But who could get mad when he was always giving me big cheesy grins like this:

Aus always brought my tools back so I could continue working and he stood on the end of each board to hold it down as I whacked the other end in to place. Then he would say ‘want me to get you another board Mum?’. He also did such a great job of keeping the secret, on the phone to Dad he would say ‘Daddy we have a big surprise for you, but I can’t tell you what it is!’… just to torture poor Jem :) When we finished we stood at the end surveying our handwork and he said ‘Cool floor Mum, can I get my cars to race on it now?’

These photos were taken today with the new camera (yes still in love).

We did have one slight hiccup… the morning after we finished the floor I came out in the morning to find a lovely picture drawn in pencil all over the new floor. Gah!!

When asked why he drew all over the precious floor, Aus replied that he was measuring where it had to be cut, like he had seen me do around the doorways. Monkey see I guess, well at least he’ll be good at carpentry when he’s older :)

More pictures of the goings on to come!

Where to start?

2010-10-13T22:35:00.001+11:00

Well it’s all been happening here, and I mean ALL.

The dreaded gastro struck our house last week. Noah was first up and had a relatively light dose, then Jem went down with it the next night (as well as my Mum). And lastly Aus ended up throwing up all over my Mum at a 21st birthday party on Friday night. Happily though, I didn’t catch it and could look after my poor boys.

We have also celebrated Jem’s birthday, my birthday and our wedding anniversary in the last couple of weeks. For Jem’s present I had big ideas for a suprise…

While he was away I ripped up the carpet in the hallway and laid down floating floor. It took the kids and I 3 days, testimony that a Mummy and a 3 yr old and 1 yr old can do amazing things :)

Jem thought it was a great surprise and was suitably impressed, not only with the awesomeness of the new floor, but our ability to keep it a secret until he came home!

Finished photo to come!

We’ve also had a new addition to the family:

It’s gorgeous in every way and so worth the pain of forking out for it! Look forward to some great shots from now on! I have to resist sleeping with it on the pillow next to me, I’m so in love :)

There’s been lots more going on so hopefully the next few posts will catch up. Now I’d better get back to stalking my usual blogs so I know what’s going on!

Returning to our normal programming soon…

2010-09-29T18:32:00.001+10:00

I’m officially having a bloggy break, sickness, no voice, birthdays and general crazy busy times have made blogging entirely impossible right now. I’m hoping by early next week I will have found both my camera and bloggy mojo again.

Until then! xx

Sunshine glorious sunshine…

2010-09-23T23:38:00.001+10:00

Outside we go to bask!

Big brother has been learning that worms don’t fair so well when you pull them in half…

And frisbees don’t return from roofs all by themselves… And little brother can only just walk on his own but he’s already learning to play totem tennis… It all begins with figuring out which end of the racket to hold… There we go!

And Mummy finally got to start a project long on hold!

More to come!

Hope you’re basking too

Tuesday Freebies! Cut and Paste Dressups

2010-09-22T00:08:00.002+10:00

Here's some fun dressups to go with the funny faces for kids!

Click the image, right click to save it and then print at your leisure!
Remember to come back next Tuesday!

Headband frenzy

2010-09-19T07:10:00.000+10:00

Is it possible to have too many headbands? I think it might be…

Erm, perhaps I should cool off with the glue gun for a bit :) (pun intended)

I guess I’ll be wearing a different head band every day from now on!

And I’m pretty sure my sister will be more than happy to take some off my hands.

Yesterday I had a little helper while doing this headband photo shoot. He laid on the floor to make sure they were all lined up properly-

For a while anyway, until he heard the dishwasher open again!

It’s like a moth to the flame

Child labour?

2010-09-18T06:45:00.001+10:00

Not if he doesn’t think it is!

The term is ‘Helping Daddy’

Doily flowers and something extra ::Tutorial::

2010-09-17T09:45:00.002+10:00

Lets make some flowers first!

Supplies:

Now make lots more with different types of doilies

They look fab on a headband!

On to the next quick project!

Or if you don’t want to make anything with doilies, you should buy one of Cam’s amazing brooches, ingeniously made from doilies!

Have a lovely day!

Tuesday Freebies! Funny faces for kids

2010-09-14T23:52:00.002+10:00

This will keep them entertained! There are 4 of each facial feature so imagine the possibilities!

Click the image, wait for it to load, right click and save, print at your leisure!

Disappeared for a while there

2010-09-13T22:42:00.002+10:00

But I’m back now. Things have been… intense around here. Jem is now gone for longer periods and I’m starting to get a little bit frayed around the edges. He couldn’t come home this weekend because he’s had night shift 6 nights in a row. So we went to him. While he was trying to sleep during the day, I took the kids to a fun adventure playground.

Obviously the slides were a big hit for Aus.

And I took a deep breath and let Noah have no shoes on in the sand pit… I couldn’t bring myself to take his socks off though- the thought of trying to brush off between his chubby toes before putting him in the car was not appealing.

Then he found his own car anyway :)

That last pic makes me smile every time I see it! :)

We’re pushing on through and doing our best until Daddy can come home and be with us full time. Our family is really helping out so we’ll make it.

(Thanks so much guys!xxx)

Little Swimmers

2010-09-10T17:19:00.001+10:00

Water babies

Tuesday Freebies! Colour and Learn flower for kids

2010-09-07T22:53:00.003+10:00

You can print this to any size you like. Just click the image, wait for it to load and right click to save to your computer.
Remember to become a follower so you can come back for next week's freebie!

Missie Krissie

SO I guess it’s been a while…

Life’s gilded

Good Morning... Not so much!

Happy Easter! And a Printable

Hello Lover ::Sewing Machine:: *Printable*

Hello Lover ::Glue Gun:: *Printable*

Hello Lover *Printable*

Well Excuse Me

No more 3 yr olds in our house

You had me at... craft room {random freebie}

Random Freebie

Peek-a-boo

Mum, avert your eyes

Cack

Big blue eyes

Please excuse me

Gumboots

Look at this!!

Just something I whipped up

Don’t eat the paint

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem…

Empty frame wall art *eye candy*

How long is too long?

What else could possibly go wrong?

While we’re on the subject

The Keys found a home

What should one do with these?

Op shops strike again!

When you can’t just sit

In the absence of a pool

Sandbags are heavy

Its times like these one needs a sense of humour…

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

Phew

Where to start?

‘Mum, please don’t tell Santa I was naughty!’

Jingle Bells

Wordless Wednesday… at it again

Treat time

Free Printable. Present list

When I kick the bucket…

Look out! Run for the Hills!

Wordless Wednesday… studio with a view

Disappointment

And Summer arrives… finally

Headbands galore…

Tuesday Freebies! Snakes and Ladders

Wordless Wednesday

You gotta be in on this…

Super Organised! Or Super Bored?!

And the heavens opened…

I heart Flowers… literally

Yeah so I learned how to set pearls… can you tell?

Wordless Wednesday

Taking stock

Turning an old book case into chic market shelving

More jewellery trees off to market

My fave bit of jewellery ever

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday

Grandparents

Best Buds

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Freebies! I think you're special- Christmas!

Who doesn’t love Paddington?

Too sick to post so new jewellery it is…

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Freebies! Teenager's Phone Msg Cards

What are they anyway?

A factory where fun is made

Finally I can blog about this

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Freebies! It's back! Iris printable notes

A first

Husbands…

Isn’t this what everyone does with an SLR?

Sorry, busy swanning…

This is what romance looks like… husbands take note

On the jewellery side of things

Hello Lover ::Sewing Machine:: Printable

Hello Lover ::Glue Gun:: Printable

Hello Lover Printable

Empty frame wall art eye candy