Remorse.....

"We are sorry Mummy".

"Thank you boys"

We did not go to the party, they tidied the lounge, their bedroom, dried the dishes, set the table, packed their school bags and are going without a treat after dinner for a week.

Enough said.

Kathryn. XX

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

A very quiet house!

Look at these Monkeys!

I had a quick trip to my parents yesterday and left my munchkins in their care for 3 days!

Wow, they have never been gone this long before and it does feel very weird. The peace and quiet is blissful but I am constantly aware of it.

It's worse at night when you go to give them a kiss good night and tuck them in...and they are not there to tell you face to face that they love you. A phone call is just not enough is it?

Oh well, regardless of that I am going to thoroughly enjoy the next few days - no arguments, no fighting over which movie to watch, no yelling and "dobbing" on one another....

Can they stay longer????

As promised in an earlier post I would show you the finished zipper pouches...

The ones above have a gusset.

These do not...
They will be added to Our Shabby Cottage and to my Etsy shop.

Whilst at my parents yesterday I searched for this frog. It was given,to me, as a gift when my family spent the Christmas of '89 in England with our relatives.
It is a "softie" from the very famous London store - "Liberty". The fabric is called "Stockton".
When we brought this little guy home my Mum and I made quite a few to keep him company...
I thought I would make a few more to give a way as gifts and also put in the shop...
I have seen these little guys in a few places after searching the net for them. We took our own pattern from him to use.

Here he is with his "mates" all made from different "Liberty" fabrics. The one on the very left is a limited edition print made with Australian wildflowers. I have not seen this anywhere since my Mum purchased it about 20 years ago. If anyone has it, or has seen it, please let me know if you want to part with it!!!

I thought I'd show you a couple of wonderful things my Dad has made. He is a capenter by trade and was a woodwork teacher for over 30 years. Now, he potters around in his shed and makes wonderful objects for the house and to give away. At the moment he is working on a wooden merry-go-round! (complete with carved horses mind you) as well as Noah's Ark and lots more!!!
The Russian church above was inspired by a trip my parents took to Russia and Scandinavia. (The lighthouse at the back does light up - if you were wondering!!)



And these are some Kokeshi dolls he has made. He paints everything himself and, as you can imagine, has infinite patience!!
My Mum is just as talented and I will show you some of her creations at some point. I was lucky to growup in a household of crafty and imaginative people!!
Kathryn XX