an engagement present for my one true love...

i am blessed with wonderful friends. the kind that you want to go 'through life' with. the kind that don't care if you are a little neurotic or your house is messy and the kind that you can imagine going on family holidays with when you decide that you are ready for kids (at the same time of course).

...and on the weekend two of them had an engagement party. i wanted to get them something lovely. something that they could use to go on dates and enjoy the sunshine in their life and their weekends.

after weeks of thinking about this and months of collecting here are some of the goodies that i included in their 'vintage love picnic basket'. a floral tablecloth, napkins, handmade drawstring bag to store all that mismatched cutlery (let me tell you - it is hard to find nice forks!) and a fabulous little vintage thermos flask.

my husband would remind me often throughout this collection process that 'boys don't like stuff like this' - in my defense, i kept the colour scheme fairly manly... not a pink floral in sight :)!!

scenes from the weekend... plus a vintage sheet update

 

a lovely engagement party for one of my favourite people. and early birthday saltwater sandals. heck yes.

**vintage sheet FQs have been sorted and packaged up ready to go flying back to you tomorrow. am just finalising a few things before they go to the post office. please email me with any feedback you may have... i have tried to only send you the best sheets but i can't look through each individual FQ for rips or stains. that is where i am counting on your good swapping ethics - that you would only send sheets to swap that you would be happy receiving!

please shoot me an email or a blog comment if you post about your new FQs over at your space of the world wide web so i can come and visit!

thanks again :) have a most fabulous day!
and pop over here to wish the lovely Bec a happy birthday!!
(p.s - wait til i show you photos of my new naughty shorts dress!!!)

four happy things on friday

finally getting my hands on the latest peppermint, the beginnings of a pair of socks, some baby burp cloths and flowers from my year 9's

Feel free to join in! Just leave a comment and I will pop over to see your happy things this friday...

check out past issues of 'four happy things on friday' over here

some thoughts on taking my life back...

if you know me in real life or read this blog regularly you will know that the word i would use to describe my life is 'busy'. not 'lovely', 'fulfilling' or 'fun' but 'busy'. don't get me wrong, my life is lovely, fulfilling AND fun but more than all of those things it is busy. now i understand that some people thrive on being busy and i guess i am one of those people too, but only to a certain point. i cannot sustain busy for long periods of time without feeling like i am failing... at my relationships, and providing for my family (chris and i count as a family right?) and at living the life that i want to live. i tell myself that i will get it together... one day. it is getting to the point where there is always an excuse and 'one day' is looking further and further away.

so... im taking some steps to slow down and simplify and turn this 'busy' life into a 'lovely' one.

i want to find joy in little things.
i want to make, bake and create.
i want to be present rather than be everywhere.
i want to share rather than spend.
i want to walk on the beach and in the mountains and around our block.
i want to be home in the daylight.

sounds lovely right? but i have said this before. i need to do more. be more practical. take action rather than sending out happy thoughts. with this in mind... i do not have a teaching job lined up for term 4. this is something that i have been thinking and praying about for a long time. i really believe it is a blessing in the disguise of a substantial pay cut. i will still be working. but it will be part-time. and it will not involve 14 hour days. and i will be present and i will be home.

please remind me of this when i blog about the new dress i want. or the shoes. or the holiday. remind me that family is more important. health is more important. 'lovely' is more important.

p.s - it is really through the wonderful blogging community that i have found the inspiration to stop and be still and uncovered the lost skills on how to live a life of 'lovely' rather than 'busy' and that 'busy' can still come in the form of baking and sewing and growing and that kind of 'busy' is one that i can't wait to be a part of!

**photo from here

DIY business cards

in the spirit of procrastination i spent a night last week making up some business cards for my little, yet to be established etsy store instead of cleaning and marking year 9 essays. i was pretty happy with how they turned out! who knew that some manilla tags and vintage fabric scraps could be something so pretty!

I am currently looking at the possibility of a few local crafty type stores stocking some of my softies but if that doesn't work out an etsy shop is on my list of things to do! and the room full of vintage clothes is begging to be sold on ebay! now i just need to find a way to fit more hours in my day... maybe less watching 'friends' and more getting organised!

at the op shop...

 us brisbane folk had a public holiday this week for the 'ekka' - a midweek day off is such a treat and i was determined not to waste mine! my sister and i headed up to the sunny coast for some quality time, op shopping and coffee on the run. It wasn't my most successful op shop roadie to date but it was great to hang with the sister and i did manage to come home with a few goodies :)

a most fabulous (but really small) umbrella, two gorgeous fabric scraps (why is it that i can never find full sheets in the patterns i love), a picnic blanket (blogger insisted on rotating my image so i wasn't able to include it... grr!) and a few plates for a lovely mismatched wedding...

have a most fabulous weekend! I will try to pop back for a 'four happy things' post a bit later!

Kel x

p.s - if you are participating in the Vintage Sheet FQ Swap your lovely FQs should all be in the mail by now!

in this moment

frustrated... by blogger. I have some really fun things to share with you all but blogger keeps rotating my photos which has caused me to abort said 'fun things' and start again. I'll try again tomorrow. any advice would be appreciated :) 

excited... by the knowledge that while i am at work, my husband is at home finally putting up a fence for our yet to be finished chicken coop. chicken countdown is on!

waiting... to hear about a job.

hating... being a contract teacher and having to leave my lovely students every few months

loving... all the vintage fabrics in my living room! if only i could keep them all... ahhhh!

making... am planning on attempting soap and yoghurt on the weekend (not together!)

wondering... why my cherry tomatoes won't ripen

enjoying... the rain

wishing... i could find some time to sew. am feeling really inspired lately (maybe it is all those lovely fabrics in my house) but can't seem to find the time to turn that into something tangible

eating... the most delicious snow peas straight from the garden

knitting... a very wonky pair of socks (i have managed 6 rows in 3 weeks - does that even count?)

(unknown image source)

three happy things on friday... a food edition

snow peas from the garden, chocolate chip cookies and homemade pasta sauce

to brighten your day...

here are some of the sheets that have been arriving in my living room over the past week and will soon be flying their way over to your house if you have signed up to the vintage sheet FQ swap!!!

*each of you who has signed up to the sheet swap should have received an email by now with all the extra details you need! Please leave a comment here or shoot me an email (kellie_fm(at)hotmail(dot)com) if you are still waiting on an email from me!

*please remember that your FQ's need to be posted by NEXT WEDNESDAY (the 17th)! it is really important that everyone is prompt with this so that I can finish the sorting and get them back to you ASAP!

Thanks again :) look forward to seeing what you all create with your stash! Kel x

scenes from the weekend...

bushwalking, op shop goodies and homemade pizza

i also did a lot of marking, rummaged, ate sushi, drank hot chocolates and chatted to laura (check out her rummage post and photos here)

***last few days of the vintage kiddies clothes SALE on facebook! check it out here!

vintage sheets make lovely things

i have a confession to make. i don't really go to spotlight anymore. i used to be there at least once a week - stocking up on wool or fabric in order to satisfy my over-ambitious approach to craft and life...

now i thrift. i mean... i thrift more. I have always op shopped... it started in high school and is something that my husband has slowly had to get used to. and i figure... since i am already there looking for clothes, furniture and homewares i might as well look for items to stock my craft room! and so my love of vintage sheets was born. now when i op shop i head straight to the bedding section and usually the craft section is close by. it is getting harder and harder to find vintage sheets as i know i am not alone in my love... hence the vintage sheet FQ swap - where vintage sheet lovers and crafters can pool their resources and expand their collections!

some crafty inspiration for your friday morning
1. baby bibs (inspired by this)
2. a still unbound quilt
3. owl softie
4. a different section of quilt (my guest bedroom is looking forward to its makeover)
5. more softie making

**you can sign up for the last few places in the vintage sheet FQ swap over here
**last few days of the vintage kiddies clothes sale over here
AND
i will be at the suitcase rummage markets this weekend in brisbane city this weekend selling vintage homewares, clothes and a few of the bibs and softies pictured above! pop by and say hi if you are around the area!

i will...

*remember what is important
*show more love to my family than i do to my job
*use 'green bags' when i go to aldi (to prevent the dropping of groceries while packing the car boot)
*spend money on 'life' rather than 'stuff'
*speak with love
*do things straight away
*remember your name
*do something every day that makes me happy
*plant more zucchini
*make what i can
*play fetch with the puppy
*hang out my washing to dry

what will you do?

*image source unknown