Sweet Surprise!

My gift from Tea with Lucy arrived today

Beautifully wrapped

With a lovely personalized card inside to me

With beautiful things that make me go yum!!

Already I am playing with ideas of what to create


This is one of the reasons that blogging has enriched my life.
So many generous people out there ............... Thank you Tea with Lucy.

Now what can I make ???? Receiving surprises is the first best bit, deciding what to make is equally as exciting!!

Cheers
Melanie
xox

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I know people

who really are Artists. I mean besides a lot of you guys.

My friend A'isha is part of this group exhibition and because I can I will boast about knowing an artist who is part of an exhibition. ............................................

Onya A'isha.

I think you're awesome.............................

...........................................I also swear that if I can make it I wont talk like such a bogan OK!
I hope your enjoying the quietness of the roads due to school holidays.
Have a great day!
Cheers!
Melanie

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Freedom

We take it for granted don't we?

I received a call from the area manager who spoke to us like we wanted his kidney when we first expected them to honor their warranty and he was so pleasant, bordering on sickly when he said " We have one fixed Kia Carnival here ready for you to pick up"

As if all the financial, work related, physical, isolation etc etc was merely forgotten because our only car was finally back after battling since MARCH 1 2009

Car-less for 7 of those weeks. Unable to drive far for the rest of the time and constant back and forthing with one of the rudest men on earth.

I need to tell you 2 things that we learned girls. We found out that even though the car was 5 months out of warranty if it is a major component like an engine or transmission that is factory faulty then the manufacturer is still responsible because those parts have not lived up to normal expectation. So
BEFORE an independent mechanic touches your car, call consumer affairs first to see if this applies to you.

Secondly, If people do not honor their warranties, call consumer affairs. It costs you nothing and they will help you.

Anyway
I'm not here
I am out driving!
zoom zoom
and dont forget
do your research then
Stand up for yourself girls

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This week

I found out where my daughter got this mug from

so for all of you lovelies that asked it was Target.

.......................

I stumbled on a dragonfly in my garden


I planted some natives that made me go oooooooooh. Alot of natives make me go "Blerk" so this was a nice surprise.
Speaking of natives, well locals, Mr Midas finally called us to say our car might be ready on Monday. We have been car-less for over a month and would have remained so if consumer affairs didn't get involved. I have enjoyed being driven around by my Dad though. He is 77 and the last time he drove me around when I was an angsty teenager and we both hated one another....
I was also privileged enough to get a lift in Elsie's little Torana the other day and it took me back about 20 odd years. I love the sound and smell of old Holden's, and yes, they do have a sound and smell. Elsie loves her little car to bits and one day she might show everyone on her blog. Hint Hint
........



today I was also greeted by a mass of Echium that just started to flower at The homestead. It was a stunning welcome back.
I also struck a deal with the Horticulturalist that we have on site and she is going to harvest the masses of Lavender plant heads for me if I provide a bag to put them in. If there was no one around I would have done a little victory jig, however it was a bit busy so I did it in my head instead.



And to top it off I received a comment from Tea with Lucy to let me know that I had won her awesome giveaway. Brilliant!!!!!!!!
Now I am about to make a yummy Twinnings Chai black tea and go to one of my sheds and ponder a very arty idea I have that requires a large easel my mum bought me, some engraving tips for my dremel that I imported from the US, a timber cupboard door donated by the woodies(1 of about 40) and some gesso. As a grown up I am always too scared to get in touch with my "artistic" side because , well , I don't really have one but it doesn't make me any less passionate when I get an image in my head of what I want to do. That and I fear people seeing my work - like my daughter did one day to which she responded, "what the hell is that" CRUSHED I will persist though because seriously, the girl painted her room a blue that makes your retinas bleed so she aint no artist either. Love you Jazzy

I hope your weekend is a fabulous one.
Cheers
Melanie
xox

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My creative space

mess mess mess... projects on the go~

................This ones almost ready to bake..um sew

Another one ready to be stuffed with scrummy scents

......... .Bag below is a FAIL. It is finished but I am not happy with it's presentation so hours of pinning with a dodgy finger wasted. We all know how that goes don't we?

More sewing will ensue today. I am still a bit bummed about my ugly bag but I am going to get straight back on the horse( my Jenome).

In between sewing I ll be checking out these other creative spaces at Kootoyoo's place. Last week it took me hours to get through them all. Seriously! I love it.

Cheers!

Melanie

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Sore sausage finger

A while ago I purchased a V-slicer so I could enhance my culinary skills by cutting vegetables into neat uniformly shaped slices because we all know that veggies taste better and are better for you if they re cut perfectly.

The first sign that my skill at using sharp tools didn't extend to the kitchen was when I cut the corner of my thumb on it. Nothing major. Just a grown women almost fainting because whilst the cut turned out to be barely a scratch, I was convinced Id lost a whole limb.

Then yesterday, after I neglected to listen to my know it all husband who told me to throw it away, I found myself once again yelling "Maaaaark" to which he responded with a grunt and displeasure at being interrupted just as his group in Warhammer were about to beat the current objective, which I could totally understand, being a gamer myself BUT.. The moment I poked my head around to snap his name out again he knew with one look at my paler than usual complexion what had happened, leaped from his chair to attend to me and then came the flood of reprimands, concern, more reprimands, scolding, and lastly "I thought I told you to throw that thing away"

He told me it was just little as he pieced it back together and after a day it has finally stopped leaking. So I finally took a look.... Well bugger me. There goes my aspirations of being a sausage fingered hand model. I think I'm going to lose the corner of my finger. We will see. So anyway, I "was" on a roll with my market sewing, website building and general bits of business stuff in general, after a long period of no motivation at all and then I went and cut my bloomin finger.

So I very carefully did stuff that was just for me because my finger just wouldn't stop bleeding on and off and the pins...... too scary for words to have pins nearly my wounded little sausage finger.

I did try though. I will be braver tomorrow.

Here's my bag. I just love hessian and I want to share the hessian love. Its so natural. Love the hessian man..

More home made cotton dish clothes. This time not made from toweling so the kids cannot mistake them for face washers.

So there you have it. I am a big sooky la la and I'm not ashamed to admit that yesterday I nearly passed out from something that the blokes at my wood working club would consider a mosquito bite.

Have I thrown the V- slicer away? Um.......

If you know of a safer utensil that does the same job please tell me.

Cheers and have a good one

Melanie

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Cool things

Cool ceramic cup with silicone lid.

(one of the 5 coffee cups I got for my birthday)

Do my kids know me or what?

Now I can feel like I am having takeaway coffee

even when I'm not

and no paper cups die.

More cool

This will be cool when I make it.

Its going to be a giveaway, any day now, when I finish it.....

other peoples cool things

I stumbled on someone else doing something cool. Tea with Lucy is having a giveaway on her blog..well go on, check her out, you know you like to win stuff!!! Free stuff is always cool, right?

And the coolest thing of all

is Friday!

Have a good weekend

Cheers

Melanie

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My Creative Space

Its been a month of birthdays this month. Mine was last week and today it is my blogs. In my creative space today I took some pictures of things I would like to give away as a thank you for your support. I want to thank you all for making blogging such a rewarding experience and wish you luck in the draw.

This is one of my very handy hot nundes. What is a hot nunde? Its a little teency tote to carry your takeaway coffee in. You can really stick whatever drink you like in it. Pure cotton of course, right down to the thread.

So help me celebrate my birthday and 2 years of sharing my blog with you and comment on this post if you would like a chance to win one.
But wait there's more.
Come back sometime this month to check out the other item I am giving away in September.
All entries close 30th September. Comment as many times as you like for a chance to win. Come on girls, these bags are so cute and make a great Christmas gift.
For more creative spaces go check out Kootoyoo's and you will see why I have gotten so much inspiration from blogging over the last 2 years.
Thank you all
Mwah
Melanie
xox


p.s my daughter made me the birthday cake shown at the top. Isn't she clever and sweet? I devoured most of the Kit Kats that she lined the cake with mmmmm

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I love ....

Paintings done by my dear friend Lynette.

Brilliant rich color and texture.

This one is my favourite because it looks like printed fabric. Gorgeous!

Today is a special day. I have a very special lady coming around to learn how to set up her own blog and I am so excited to share my passion/obsession and lure some one else into blogland.
Cheers
Melanie

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