a Happy Day !!

My niece (and god-daughter) Stephanie turns 10 today!
what a wonderful day!
10!!! double digits!! Wow...cant believe how fast the years have gone..

I made this card for her special day! Its actually an A4 size so a jumbo sized card...I might add some ribbon so she can hang it up in her room.

Whilst crafting the other night, we had 'Babel' on DVD...oh my! I cried and cried some more...what a depressing movie! cant stop thinking about it...

Anyway here is a pic of me with baby Stephanie on her christening day...almost 10years ago!!!
what a sweet baby she was! I was so excited to be an auntie for the first time!
...here she was leaning back trying to see the church's ornate ceiling! I almost dropped her!!

Just Fabulous!

Domino mag used to have a great challenge in their monthly mag...'Turn this outfit into a room'
so when Decor8 and fabulous stationery joined forces and hosted a cool competition to
turn a stationery card into a room I thought it would be fun to enter....

The first entry I did was with their 'Pod' card design.
I loved the colour combination and although its modern I still went for a classic interior, i guess Im just drawn to this kind of look.

I just couldnt resist
doing a girly spread too ...what can I say...
I love pink!
The inspiration here was their Zsa Zsa card design.
Click here to see all the entries

Illustration Friday -Missing (you)

A fun topic but I got stuck on what to draw...I thought of keys because they always seem to be missing when I need them ..or socks because it seems my washing machine really does eat them up...

but what I miss the most are my grandparents.

They retired and moved to Cyprus 17 years ago and so every Wednesday night I call them up and we chat....they fight over who will get the phone and lately they're more keen to talk to my boys than me haha....they are always on my mind...

so a quick sketch this week

I think I need a new scanner...I dont know what that shadow is all about?

Here is a pic of my grandfather Kosta with my boys

and my sister's girls

taken last year when we were all over there holidaying.

He is partially blind now but still manages quite well...

The sun is out today and I just want to be outdoors to feel that warmth …im really looking forward to spring and that constant sunny freshness …

Here’s a spring birdy that came from Moline, a flickr friend….she’s now got a blog and an Etsy store with such cute stuff!

Ive been busy adding the finishing touches to my kitchen for crustation’s home project then I have to get my printed for the 13 participants. Im way past the due date – almost there now!

I also completed some more Winter ATCs for an Australian ATC swap – the deal is if you receive one then you have to send one back…ive received 11 so far and we have a month to go!!
lucky that I really enjoy making them!

And i finally won

this book on Ebay 'Foof- A- Life '….I kept getting outbidded but hooray I now have a copy…cant wait to try some of the projects

Veronica of Petunia blog has nominated me for a Rockin girl blogger – Im honoured!…im so glad she likes to come by and visit my blog!!
I love her blog too, she is such a creative girl and if we lived close by, I’m sure we’d be hanging out having tea and a girly chit chats

Here are my 5 Rockin girl bloggers…I have so many favourite blogs it was hard to chose just 5!

Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist – love this chick!! not only is she super talented, her posts are so warm and honest, she makes me smile and laugh with her fun adventrues

Lisa-Gabrielle of Jungle Dream Pagoda – Such a stylish mumma who sings , acts and shares her love of vintage goodness – her style rocks!

Paula of Simple Me – a great blogging friend who ponders about life, shares her love of ceramics and sewing, nature and her beautiful surroundings.

Pip of Meet me at mikes – each visit is a fun filled trip down memory lane - Holly Hobbie, Laverne & Shirley, vintage books and illustrations!! Fun fun! Cant wait to visit her store...one day soon!

Cherry of Tales of Pixie Wood – another girl who would be FAB to hang around with! Her posts are always full of enthusiasm. I love how houseproud she is and she's planning a wedding so I cant wait to read more!!

So, if you were nominated, this is what you have to do: -place the badge on your blog-give credit to Robe rta (She started the rockin' blogger awards)-check out the latest list she has on her site-

then pick 5 Rockin' girls of your choice and tag them

Illustration Friday - Moon

Had to sneak this one in, its late but Ive been so busy!

Gosh I havent done a Illustration friday challenge for weeks now...i feel so rusty!

This week's topic 'Missing' is another good one!

Well Operation Challenge was fantastic - I had such a great time!! Even with the 6.30am wake up calls and walking around with 10 layers of clothing all day - Im so glad I went.

It was freezing though....driving on a dirt track from our cabins to the site in thick thick fog it felt like I was in some whacky horror movie but we all knew Irene would have hot steaming porridge waiting for us - a great way to start the day! It was tough on the body but a great challenge for me as I sometimes avoid getting out of my comfort zone, our team of 13 bonded so much and I left feeling strong and positive!

now Im off to face my dentist...a couple of fillings and then I can finally get my braces on!! about time!!

Im off!!!

Im in a mad rush today...Ive packed my bags as Im off in 3hours time

Eeek!! no computer with internet,

no email, no TV for 4days! Just fresh air and lots of activity both physically and mentaly - wish me luck!

Im going to miss my boys (even the big boy) so much!!

I really wanted to do my illustration Friday drawing, this weeks topic is 'Moon' - a good one!!oh well will have to wait until I get back home!

I'll leave you with some of my favourite silhouette illustrations - so sweet!

Found on flickr and in vintage books!

Have a fun week!!

HomeGrown....

A couple of months ago my mother decided to turn a section of her back garden into a vegetable patch so off she went along with my dad - digging and digging, then Sydney had some heavy rain for days and the garden ended up a huge muddy mess but its all been restored to a neat and organised area now.
There is still plenty of grass area for playing ball and running around and we're all looking forward to fresh home grown vegies! They've even sectioned a small area for my Peter to have his own vegie garden which he is very excited about! He always wants to visit his grandparents to see the progress.
There's fresh corriander, lettuce, radishes and lots of other herbs too!
My mum also had lots of pumpkin growing so on Sunday I went around and we made pumpkin pasties....cubed pumpkin, raisins, cracked wheat, cinnamon, pepper and sugar - a beautiful spicy filling!

The finished pies! I love them hot or cold! - they are delicious!

Yesterday my neighbours bought round a bag full of homegrown oranges and lemons. Their trees are currently full so it was nice of them to share them with us. The oranges are quite small compared to the monstrous ones in supermarkets but they sure taste good!

Baby Its Cold Outside.....

its been freezing lately!! probably not as cold as it would get in the northern hemisphere but its definetely cold for us Aussies. Last week Sydney had the coldest morning in 20years!

I dont think we know how to manage Winter....we certainly dont plan for it and always assume we have a short mild winter season but then suddenly its here and everyone is complaining about how cold it is! Brrrr....

Today I went shopping for warm casual clothes as next Sunday im off to Kangaroo Valley for 4 days on a Personal Effectiveness program with work. Its all outdoor activites, bushwalking, sleeping in cabins - basically stuff I dont normally do.

I am so Not an outdoor kinda gal...this should be an experience! Can I take my blowdrier?

My pics seem kind of blury but here are some Winter ATCs I made for an Australian ATC club swap....

Big Happy Birthday cheer to my good friend Melissa for tommorow - have a FAB day sweet!!

Love of Books....


Yeahh Im home today!!....back to my normal 3 day a week schedule at work after a busy few weeks...phew!
i havent sat down to draw anything in ages! I miss it!!
i love my days off - treasure them!!
and being very cold at the moment my boys love their morning sleep so we all had a well deserved sleep in today...its so good being under warm woollen blankies when you arent rushed to get out the door!

On Sunday I went to a book fair held by the Bookdealers Guild of NSW.
Some beautiful vintage books, lots of ephemera and vintage postcards but no bargain prices, still, I did manage to buy 2 vintage children books...couldnt resist!
There was one book that I kept going back to, I couldnt see a price so I knew it would be expensive but when the seller said $750 I just had to walk away...I think he wants to keep it for himself!
their next sale if there are any sydney- siders interested
will be held sometime in August at
The Rex Centre. 1st Floor, 50-58 Macleay St, Kings Cross. Beside Fitzroy Gardens & The El Alamein Fountain. You can call the KingsCross art guild on (02) 9357 2164 for exact dates.
I think its back to the flea market and St Vinnie's for me!



* Top two illustrations included in 'The Red Book of Coloured Pictures'
Cecily and The Goblins by Mabel Lucie Attwell

* Bottom two illustrations by Susan B Pearse from 'Ameliaranne and the Green Umbrella'

Happy Mail.....
happy happy mail!

Some lovely things came in the mail recently.
My 'Bits & Pieces' swap partner Carol made this for me - Thanks Carol, I love it!
The Queen Mother square made me laugh...when I was little my cousins used to tease me and call me Queen as being the baby in the family, id get my own way all the time!

I also ordered some of Vanessa's beautiful cards from her etsy shop - love her whimsical illustrations! I still love writing to friends and can never have enough notecards!
Vanessa was kind enough to include this bag of goodies with a cute sticker 'Stuff to Make Stuff'
Awesome!! Thanks so much darling girl....you are too sweet!

I also got this fantastic ATC and Mail Art envelope from Marilyn....mine is on the way!!



I cant seem to leave comments on typepad blogs - weird! is it just me or is anyone else having probs?
anyway here's to a great start to the week everyone!!

Nice and Relaxing....


We had such a wonderful break - it rained a lot but we played cards, read and just enjoyed the time indoors. On the clear days we drove to little nearby towns and did lots of walking. The night sky was amazing....i have never seen stars so bright, just like twinkling diamonds on a thick and black velvet curtain - beautiful!

here are some pics
we visited the Hunter Valley, a region famous for its wineries and purple mountain range.
Some cabbage flowers - arent they stunning!!!??
The Hunter Valley Gardens had a Storybook garden and we happened to find ourselves in the middle of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party! what fun!








Books, Books - we love books!!

We ventured to the Historic town of Morpeth - lots of great eateries, handmade arts & craft stores, shabby chic boutiques, a wonderful antique bookstore where I scored a great 60's kids book - such sweet illustrations!
We ate delicious home made pies from the local bakery and we even bought two loaves of sourdough bread from the famous Morpeth
sourdough Arnotts bakery.

This is for Ellia who loves Betty Boop - she's a cutie!!

it feels good to be home, we're recharged and refreshed, ready to get back to our routine -
first, unpacking and a few loads of washing!

Ohhh forgot to mention, the magazine Australian Papercrafts wants to publish some of my ATCs and they will be paying me to have them in their magazine - Wow! Im thrilled!!

If you can organise your kitchen, you can organise your life

I like that quote and hope it applies to me haha

Im really excited about Crustation’s House project.
The room Ive been assigned to design and draw is the kitchen – awesome!!
The kitchen Im planning is more playful and colourful than these kitchens but I thought Id share some of my favourite kitchen images that I have saved on my computer.

I always regard the kitchen the heart of the home – a place to prepare food and nurture loved ones, a place to gather, entertain or to chat after a weary day at work (my life right now), a meeting point for the whole family.
Open plan kitchens are even better as it brings the family even closer!
Im not a fan of sleek modern kitchens. The Australian interior magazines really emphasise these so
I guess they are popular but not with me - I want warm and wholesome! I want a kitchen to smell like cinnamon and comfort!
I love buying American magazines like Romantic Homes and Country Homes for great kitchen inspiration. The british also do great kitchens!!
I need solid cabinets, thick benches, cute appliances and a huge clock on the wall – a necessity when you are in a morning rush!

I hope to have a dream kitchen one day – any of these would be just perfect! these ones too!!!

We are going away tomorrow, we’re off to a beach town Nelson Bay which is a 3hour drive north of Sydney
5days of relaxation! Bliss!!!
See you next week!!

Just wanted to wish my American blogging friends

Happy 4th July!!!

One thing I really admire about Americans is that they are so patriotic!!!

have a fun day!

* image from Victoria magazine 7/2002

Show and Tell Time

If I have a spare hour or so on a Saturday, the thing I love to do most is visit Rozelle Flea markets. I get a takeaway Cappucino and slowly work my way through each stall

Sadly its been raining quite a bit the last month and the flea market being an outdoor location has been closed so when I had to find a vintage tea cup for MaryAnne’s Vintage Tea Room swap I went to my local ‘Old wares” shop

I found this beauty for my partner Valerie – I love the oyster look pearly lustre finish and heart detail on the saucer ….pretty pretty!
I also made her a TeaPot card ( with the crazy polka dot teabags) and included some scottish shortbread biscuits and Twinings tea...
You can see all the beautiful teacups in the swap here

There are lots of people in my area who would never be caught dead in a second hand/thrift store…whenever I go to the Old Wares shop I see them all hanging outside, curious, peeping through the front window…I have to smile as Im sure they are dying to have a poke
Oh well all the better for all us junk lovers!!

Look what came in the mail the other day – wonderful goodies all the way from Portugal from Paula! Awesome vintage buttons – she sent so many, im so lucky!!! they are gorgeous!!
Vintage style paperdolls which I just adore!!! vintage school books with the sweetest illustrations on the cover, I also got some soap, vintage style tissues, lots of Vichy skincare samples – Ohhh lovely! We don’t stock that brand in Australia – thanks so much Paula!!!
Paula also introduced me to this cool French blog which shares daily some great vintage images for any collage/vintage addict!!