Ribbon Organization

Last week, when I showed you my lovely braids and things from Linda, I got carried away and reorganized all my braids and laces - so much fun!

I cut acid-free card (from Creative Memories page packs) into strips about 4 inches wide and wrapped the braids and laces around them. It took ages but I was watching Emma (the Kate Beckinsale version) at the time so it didn't seem so bad! I secured them with Scotch tape, also acid-free.

Then I placed them back into the plastic container they had been in, and oh what a difference - before they were squashed into ziploc bags and I never used them.


Now I feel like I have a little haberdashery shop in my craft cupboard - woohoo! I will definitely be using them now I can see exactly what I have.

As for my ribbons, for about the last year I have kept my rolls of ribbons in this old picnic basket I found at council clean-up a few years ago.

They fit perfectly and I love it!

I keep the basket on top of a shelf, or on a little table near my craft desk.

I keep my Christmas ribbons in a lovely box from Jacqui but you'll have to wait till Christmastime to see that!

Busy creating

We are enjoying the first week of the winter school holidays, and have been unusually busy for us. The girls have been going to a Narnia holiday program each morning, which they are loving. While they are gone I am running around like a headless chook tidying the house, practising Irish music, doing the washing (now we are finally having some sun), grocery shopping, and getting ready for a stamping class I'm teaching on Friday. So much to do, and so little time!

Yesterday Emily and I had a fun afternoon while Laura went to see Hannah Montana with friends. Firstly lunch at KFC, where we each tried a Krusher for the first time. We loved them and I highly recommend the Golden Gaytime flavour - that yummy flavour plus crushed ice plus crunchy cookie bits, just too scrummy (I just had deja vu while writing about the Golden Gaytime flavour - so weird!)

Then we headed to a big fabric shop and lost ourselves in quilt fabrics for a while, looking for colours and patterns to coordinate with Emily's new quilt cover for the room make-over we're planning for the girls. This is what we came home with:

aren't they just so pretty?

Then we came home and sewed them into a big bird-shaped cushion for Emily's bed. She did nearly all the sewing and cutting herself, I was so proud. We ran out of stuffing so I'll post a photo when the bird is completely finished. She is doing such a great job with this project.


Today while the girls were busy I felt the urge to create something which was not a card for once, using this cute "home sweet home" stamp (Heidi Grace).


So I went for some paperpiecing and made this to hang on a doorknob.

And finally I couldn't finish this post about creating without showing off Laura's amazing owl cake she made at the Narnia program (they have the most incredible crafts and activities!) I love that they made "feathers" by dipping a fork into molten chocolate and scraping it onto the icing.

Isn't he cute? And yummy too, although Daddy has to eat all the licorice.

Lucky Me!

This is a post I have been meaning to write for months now, I just hadn't gotten around to taking the photos.
A few months ago the lovely Linda, reader of my blog, passed on (via a mutual friend) a bag of sewing notions and braids and all sorts of goodies.

There are metres of luxurious braids as shown above, in gorgeous burgundy and gold. When I look at them my mind turns to costumes, and I feel another Regency/Jane Austen night coming on (stay tuned!)

Then there are these sweet braids which I just love. They remind me somehow of my childhood and yellow has always been one of my favourite colours.

Then there are some gorgeous laces, and all in large quantities!

I love this wide one, especially.

Then a collar or cuff ...

And some pretty laces in different styles ...


... and some pretty motifs to applique onto something ...

So you can see that I have been completely spoiled! (and completely slack in not thanking you properly, Linda!)

Not only were there all sorts of pretty things, but lots of useful notions too - bias binding, elastic, piping cord ... I am feeling all inspired to sew in the very near future!

But in the meantime am trying to sort out things, declutter, and have the house in some sort of order before school holidays begin tomorrow afternoon!

Daisies in Winter

Daisies on my dining table in the form of a thrifted cloth, one of a pair, bought for just 20c each.
Lovely with the pears in a vintage creamy yellow bowl.