four

Matilda turned 4 during the week

I’m sure everyone with January birthdays faces the same dilemma … party with a few friends or wait until school starts…

We had a bbq pool party on a very hot day with family, amounting to a healthy 19 people including the birthday girl – and she’ll have a party for little people when  kinder starts in Feb!

Matilda chose an ice-cream cake (but wants a proper cake for her party)

Enjoying dinner with some of her cousins.

Happy birthday Matilda!

 

odd jobs

I picked up this necklace from an op-shop whilst on holidays.  I was taken with both the powder blue colour and the shape of the small bead.

It’s now two bracelets.  One for me and one for a friend.

Last year I bought this old farmhouse dresser on ebay.  It’s working really hard for our family at the base of the stairs, storing kids shoes in the cupboards and clean clothes to be taken upstairs on the open shelf.

Sorry about the side angle of the picture.  Light bouncing off everything was making this shot difficult.

Over 2 months ago I bought some paper to line the back of the glass shelves.

Just a bit of double sided tape finished off this job.

With the new year I’m starting a new list of projects…but first I need to clear a path to my sewing room!

Lx

 

bathers

We’ve just come back from our beach holiday.  The sun and warm weather were noticeably absent, but we still had a fun time in a small coastal town.

I made the girls some bather pants to go with their rashies rather than wearing one-piece bathers underneath.  They only managed 4 wears over the holiday.

The hats are adult sized to get a larger brim.  There’s a piece of grosgrain ribbon inside the hat that I sewed down to make a casing for some elastic.  They stayed firmly on the girls heads – until out on a boat when in a really strong gust of wind Amelia’s blew off!  I’ll get her another this week and am looking for a red hat for Lachlan – made it so easy to spot the girls on the beach!

I doubt there’ll be any more of these bathers.  After cutting up a pair of undies, tidying them up as a paper pattern then messing about with how much elastic to use….. but I would like to make some old fashioned cotton bathers with elastic casings like this

Townmouse

If we get some more warm weather I might even be motivated to finish a sundress for me.

Lx

 

 

 

rug.3

I’m very excited to say that my rug is now finished.

It may become a prototype for something I do again . mmmmmm maybe!

The front edge has been down for a good two months now and vacuums with ease and sits really well – even with 3 kids and their friends giving it a lot of attention

Hope the New Year is a good one for you!

Lynda x

 

turquoise is the new white

You may have noticed a slight deviation from the usual dm colour palette of green, white and neutrals to include turquoise.  Well now I’ve embraced several shades of this delicious colour and have found myself surprised by just how uplifting this colour can be.

Last week I showed you the new turquoise additions to the backroom

and this week I have new cushions

I’ve been following the blog of a designer who has just released her first range of fabrics.  I’ve previously posted about her here, and you can buy fabrics here

So as it turns out it was actually this fabric that inspired the changes in the backroom

I used a plain fabric on the back (linen from Ikea) and check out the colour match!  Like Caitlin I chose a simple cushion without any extra trim, frills, cord or braids – the fabric just doesn’t need it.

I’ve also trimmed my new lamps with ric-rac.  It mightn’t be to everyone’s taste, but I love a bit of kitsch

now back to making xmas presents!

 

ballet concert, Matilda aged 3

 

 

 

 

familyroom makeover

First a bit of history

We’ve been in our house for 4 years and our youngest will turn 4 next month.  We’ve been making changes little by little over time, using that time honoured principal of living somewhere and getting to know a house before jumping in.

And then there’s the simple matter of me being me and moving the furniture just because I can.

Our back family dining area is a large L shape of what could be 3 4×4 rooms.  Initially we complied with the floorplan of the previous owners with a tv/lounge area back to back with a dining table and off to the side (where they had a pool table to the right of this image) we had a playroom.

After a great many changes including painting, floorboards and bifold doors we looked like this

The rug is nearly finished and it now looks like this

and this

You can read about the changes to this space here

We use the room as a large lounge and dining off to the side now most of the kids toys are upstairs.  I’m finally starting to feel like this space is coming together, although I’m still struggling with so many windows and so little wallspace

The space above this sideboard was not working for me.  It needed something larger, something to dominate the room and take that mantle from the big screen tv

Inspired by the

Moroccan fabric on the telephone table I’ve just finished working on this artwork

This photo was taken just before sunset

I went shopping for a canvas after measuring this space and came home with some $$$ quotes to have one custom made.  Being the hoarder I am I pulled 4 narrow canvases out of my attic (1 painted bright red) and screwed them together before giving them all an undercoat

and painted the sideboard in black gloss.  I actually enjoyed working in oil, something I haven’t done for a long time

I have new lamps that I’m planning to trim with something black

The yellow will become more apparent in a future post

I’ll have more to show you next week

 

 

hard rubbish makeover.1

I considered myself pretty fortunate when I saw this out on someone’s hard rubbish pile.  The front left leg was broken, but only at the dowel joints, and being without a seat was a job I could easily fix.

I’m not claiming to have any  woodworking skills, but I have done enough to ensure the safety of anyone who sits on this seat.  Just to be extra sure I’ve added a metal corner brace I had at home (no idea where it came from!) that is like a little bandaid reminding me how it was saved from the crusher.

Work here has been fairly limited to a quick sand and a spray paint.  When time permits I’d like to go back with black gloss to improve the finish but it’ll do for now.

I had a piece of mdf cut to size and then I covered foam with wadding, calico and then this Moroccan inspired fabric to make a comfy seat.

I’ve put it at the end of our family room as another spot for a drink, but mainly to distract the eye from the gap we have to have behind the couch for the blinds to close.

The blue bowl is a taste of things to come.  I was even at my sewing machine today and am still knitting the border for the rug.

Welcome to our home little table

 

Shoe makeover

There has only been one time when I’ve bought 4 pairs of shoes at once.  (I’m not counting shopping for the kids)

1. I was travelling (in New York)

2. They were beautiful (in my eyes)

3. They were as comfortable as Nana shoes.  We were living in London at the time, so good walking shoes made a difference, even if I did let my feet suffer for fashion most of the time

More than 10 years on, 2 pairs are still in my wardrobe, and despite years of wear have the potential for more to come.  From here if you’re interested

This wedge, black with a cream upper has hardly any wear to the sole.  The strap over the toes has however worn badly and cuts across the foot at just the wrong place for my wider than average foot, giving me an unattractive bulge out the side (like a Nana corn, without the corn – thanks years of ballet)

So with nothing to lose I decided to see what I could do with a few supplies I had on hand.

The legacy of my mother Molly will continue to be the rose.  She taught me to make ribbon roses and they are still my embellishment of choice.  (thanks mum! )

I have a second pair of these wedges in solid black and am thinking of a grosgrain ribbon makeover

Hope you had a good weekend

Lynda

 

growing