Off to Italy...

Oh, how I wish it was me travelling to Italy but, alas, no. (sobbing loudly)

It's the bag I finished off for Monica on Friday as well as a few other goodies from the website.

I hope they arrive safely. I have heard many stories of people not wanting to send anything to Italy because lots of parcels go "missing".
I sent Monica a bag last year and it arrived safely but she had to pay duty even though I marked it as "gift". We shall see how this little lot goes.....

The bag has an adjustable strap - if anyone would like to know how to do one, Nicole Mallalieu has a great little tutorial here.

If anyone remembers this post I did a while ago about snapping the perfect photo of our two boys for the portrait, I think I have done it!

(Note. they were bribed with chocolate - who says you shouldn't bribe your kids?? Not me- it works - well most of the time. I never take my kids shopping with me unless it is absoloutely unavoidable - I bribe them with Donut King - "you behave or no donut for you!", or, I bribe them with dessert "you behave or no dessert tonight"....you get the picture!)

Anyway, I think this is the photo we shall send off to Joanne - fingers crossed we have chosen the right one.....

Shannon, from "Paint Mine Pink" hosted the Super Sweet Aussie Artists Giveaway recently and her trusty assistant Sam pulled out two winners names!! They are SUSAN @ Suzie Button Creations for prize A, and RUE @ Rues Peanut Butter and Jelly Life. Well done girls. Thanks To Shannon for hosting the swap and for all the girls who participated.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, well done to the "Hawks"!!!

Kathryn. XX

Being creative 6 years ago....

6 Years ago yesterday (the 25th) this little guy arrived on the scene!

He had black hair that soon turned a wierd gingery colour, then blonde....

He was as cute as a button!

- someone stopped me in the street once and said "if that's the way your kids turn out you should have a lot more"-

....Mmmm, no, two is enough for me....

I made the outfit he has on in this photo which was taken on his 1st birthday. Red is still his favourite colour.

He is still as cute as a button regardless of the "skull" T-shirt he had to have for his birthday...

What do you do when you ask a 5 year old,

"What would you like for your birthday?" and he says

"um..a skull T-shirt and a Tamagotchi hee hee"

I picked the "best" one I could find. What is it with boys clothes and skulls?

When I went to find this "skull T-shirt" there was an endless supply of them and most of them were really awful!!

I managed to find one that was a bit like a pirate T-shirt - at least that is what I tell myself!!

And I have been given an award by Tatania of "Little Mysteries", isn't it pretty?

I shall have to do all of my "passing on" of awards in another post - I am making a bag for a lady in Italy today so I had better remove myself from the computer and get cracking!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone, Kathryn. XX

A winner, something strange and more malarkey!!

And the winner is..................... "A Spoonful of Sugar"!!

Well done girls - my trusty assistants helped me out this morning and voila!!! I shall be in contact with you soon.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment - I appreciate all of them!

I hope you all come back and visit me often!

Now, this is the "something strange" can anyone else see what I spotted on my bath mat this morning??
I have kept the image smaller so it is a bit easier to see. Step back from your monitor and you may see it clearer.

Any guesses??

School holiday malarkey - I love that word! It's so much fun..
This is what happens on a rainy day in Ballarat! At least they were in great humour yesterday.
Oh, and yes, I did stay in my PJ's until after 10am!! :)
KathrynXX

A Package from Portugal!! Whoo Hoo!!

A package from Portugal arrived this morning. It turns out that Sandra from "Flores as cores" was my secret swap partner in Linda's bag/bucket swap. Sandra sent me my bag beautifully wrapped in pretty paper and it was not just the bag she sent....

This is the front of the bag....

This is the back.. notice my name beautifully stitched down the bottom. No one else can claim it now that it has my name on it - literally!!

She must have been reading my blog to know that I love pink and green together not to mention roses!! Isn't she clever? Her attention to detail is amazing and every stitch is perfectly done.

As well as the bag she also included, a little zipper purse, a needle case, a scissor keep, a little pin cushion and a selection of beautiful fine Portuguese lace.

I will save those for something special!!

Sandra said, in her note to me, that she was a beginner at stitchery? What...?

I think she is very modest about her abilities don't you??

Sandra has done a wonderful job and created somthing that I will cherish forever.

Make sure you pop over to her blog and tell her what a great job she did.

Thank you so much Sandra.

Kathryn.XX

The bag arrived safe and sound in the USA!!

The bag I made for Linda's bag / bucket swap arrived safe and sound last week to my new friend Pam, aka "The Passionate Purple Quilter". She sent me a lovely email telling me how much she loved it and how I had tied a lot of little bits of her life into the bag. I was so pleased. As this was my first swap I really wanted to do my very best to impress.

Apparently Pam took her new bag to her quilting class on monday night and a few of the ladies were trying to talk her out of taking it back home. They would have gladly taken it off her hands!!

It has been very enjoyable experience and I am waiting in anticipation for my bag/bucket to arrive...

On a differnt note, Noemia, from "a arte dos Trapinhos" has passed on an award to me. It is the blog "Gold Stamp" award. She has been reading my blog for a while now - and I hers - since Linda's swap started. See, joining in swaps is a great way to "meet" new friends!!

Thank you Noemia, I shall have to think of my 15 favourite blogs to pass it on to....In the next post perhaps.

Now, you still have until tomorrow night to be in the draw for my giveaway. You need to leave a comment on my 50th Giveaway post here to be in the draw. My boys will be picking out one name on Tuesday!!

Bye for now, Kathryn. XX

Aussie Artists giveaway!!

Shannon over at "Paint Mine Pink" has organised a few girls to take part in a huge giveaway for everyone out there who loves anything pink, shabby, whimsical and fun.

Participants include:

Moi!!

Bek @ Beksshabbydreams

Kerryanne @shabbyartboutique

Jullie @ whimsicalnotions

Kylie @ abiteofcountrycupcakes

Linda and Laura @ LillyCottage

Shannon @ paintminepink

If you would like to enter the giveaway you must leave a comment on Shannons Blog HERE!

You will be amazed at all of the wonderful goodies on offer and because there is soooo much "stuff" in the giveaway there will be TWO prizes. Whoo Hoo!!

Pop on over and enter!!! Don't be shy!!

Kathryn. XX

Christmas is here!!

The "Cottage Christmas" section of "Our Shabby Cottage" is now open for business!

This is another larger patchwork stocking that I finished off yesterday - yes, I do like to leave things until the last minute!!

My two boys will be on school holidays after today. It's a "Footy" theme for their last day. and it was wondeful to see so many kids dressed up and joining in. I'm so glad the holidays are here. Now, I can stay in my PJ's till after 10am..watch movies...play games...go on outings together....and generally not run around like a headless chicken in the mornings!!

You get the idea!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway in the previous post. You must leave a comment on that post to be in the draw.

You have until Monday night.

I will do the draw with my boys on Tuesday!!

Hope everyone will have a great weekend.

Kathryn XX

50th Post "GIVEAWAY"!

Well, this is my 50th post!

To all of the wonderful bloggers "out there" who have supported me and left lovely comments on my posts I would like say

"Thank you"

by having a giveaway!!

Included in the giveaway will be one of my "Handbag Doorstops"

....and a lovely shabby starter pack of goodies. One full fat quarter of "Sweet Sue" fabric, three different lace trims, clay roses, a rhinestone button and lots of Mother Of Pearl buttons.
Yeah!!
I have really enjoyed "blogging" and have "met" some wonderful ladies.
Bring on the next 50....
To be in the draw just leave a comment on this post up until next Monday. If you spread the word on your blog I'll pop your name in twice - be sure to let me know though.
So, go on, don't be scared.... I don't bite!!!
Good Luck.
KathrynXX

PS. This is open to everyone - international bloggers as well!

More Goodies for the 19th!

As well as all the shabby cottage goodness I have made for the "Cottage Christmas" section of the shop , I have also done a few things with traditional colours and themes.

The Handbag Doorstops..

And a tote set - tote, zipper purse and tissue case.
What a wonderful tote for the Holidays, to take to a Christmas Party or use on Christmas Day?
"Cottage Christmas" opening on the 19th September.

My next post will be my "50th" so please come back for a lovely giveaway!!!
KathrynXX

Photo Malarkey...

For our 10th Wedding Anniversary my Parents and my Grandmother gave us some money to put towards a painting to hang in our new home (once it is built!).

When we had our lovely weekend in Melbourne, a few weeks ago, we went to the Sunday Arts Market at the Arts Centre on Southbank. We discovered the most amazing portrait artist. Her name is Joanne Morris and she specialises in charcoal drawings. You can see how talented she is here and VERY reasonable priced too.

So, we decided that it might be nice to have a portrait done of our two boys.

Well now that is easier said than done. First, you need to take one decent photo of them in order to send, for her to work from....Do you think this would be good??

Mmm, what about this?? Gafaw!! Gafaw!!

Yes, the tooth fairy has been busy at our place!

Oh, this one's nice... "I love you big brother!"
Not too bad, but I really want something angelic - after all we are going to have to look at it for a very long time!
How long do you think it will take me to snap the perfect photo????
I think I had better try again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after....
I'll let you know how I get on!
Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.
Kathryn. XX

Yeah, there is still life on Earth!!

I was so pleased we didn't all get sucked into a blackhole last night. Yeah! Huge sigh of relief the experiement in Geneva didn't blow us all into oblivion!! And so, on with life as we know it...

This new tote set has just been added to the website. (Made with Cath Kidston "Faded Flowers"). It includes the tote, a zipper purse and tissue case.

More of the "Handbag Doorstops" in production!!

Some of you may have visited the website to find that the "Cottage Christmas" section will be open next Friday (19th September ) I have had lots of enquiries about the stockings - large and small- so you may have to be quick!

Lots of custom orders are keeping me busy at the moment, which is good, but I need to finish the Christmas goodies I have started.

So, more sewing and less blogging is needed.
(a polite way to say get off the computer and back to the sewing machine!!!)

Kathryn XX

Why are my jeans too tight???

I put a pair of jeans on this morning and - "OH BOY" they are tight!

Not tight enough not to wear but just that slighlty uncomfortable tight that makes you think "Gee, I better do some excercise". But how can you not put on any weight and still not fit into jeans that fit you last year?

Is it because I have been sitting on my butt too much?

Or, is it just because I have been making too many of these????

Just looking at them puts a few inches on.....

And it's not even Christmas yet...

Where are my sneakers???

Oh, yeah, at the back of the cupboard where they have been all year.

Kathryn XX

Starter packs

These are a few of the little "shabby" starter packs I have put together recently and are available here if any one is interested. They include - a big piece of fabric, laces, trims, roses, buttons, charms and more... Great for making sachets, purses, pillows atec.. Let your imagination flow!

Kathryn. XX

A package in the mail!!!

This package is off to "someone" (hee hee) in the USA!

I took part in Linda's bag / bucket swap and I have enjoyed every minute of it - learning some new skills, getting out of my comfort zone and, of course, "meeting" a lot of new bloggers out there!

One last little peek before I show the bag when it arrives at it's new destination....

Someone is going along for the ride!

Bon Voyage mon ami!

Kathryn. XX

The smell of Spring and lavender

It is the first day of Spring here in Australia - Yippee!

Mind you, it is still freezing cold where I live and any sign of warmer weather is way down the track.

But, the gardens will start to show at their best and I will have to get out into the garden and actually do some gardening. For anyone who doesn't know me well....I hate gardening. My Mum, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother all have/had very green thumbs and I think I missed out. Perhaps when we have built our new home and we have planted our "own" garden I will feel differently?? Let's hope so.

Anyway, some lavender in my cupboard was beckoning. So, I made some sachets for Our Shabby Cottage each one filled with 3 cups of lavender! Yum.

These two (above and below) are made with Mary Rose 13.

(Click on the photos to have better look)

They smell beautiful!

"Faded Flowers" by Cath Kidston. I love the vintage feel of this fabric.
I hope everyone had a great weekend.
KathrynXX