Picture presents

Complimentary freebies - oriental antique postcards from ..... mescrap.blogspot.com/2008/11/freebies - antique - postcards.html.........thank you to Lay Hoon.

Iused these to make a Christmas present, with some old book pages & paper doilies glued to small canvas boards. the present was a surprise, & put a smile on her face. (raylee).

fish and celebrations

12 months ago we welcomed a new baby....while we were waiting I fiddled with some copper wire pulled out of an old bit of cable....added shapes...beads...buttons and ended up with a mobile type thing to amuse baby...she cant play with it but its still going....

and then there is a fish...with the river rising fast I wonder how many people have fish in their yards....not ours yet!!!....maybe some will even have fish in their homes.....a lot going under and the river hasn't peaked yet....

Merry Christmas

We would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, hope all your wishes come true, happiness to all . thank you from both of us for taking the time to read our blog. (raylee & simonne).

Christmas paper

In between all the other preparations i have been helping the kids to make some wrapping paper. it kept them busy for a rainy afternoon. we used a kitchen sponge to make the star shapes, & the printing blocks for the rest. the first photo is a printed tablecloth from a few years ago, & some gift tags made by the kids . they stuck bits of fabric & ribbon onto old business cards. (raylee).

Red & Green

I know, i know!!!!, its only four sleeps to go, well three for me, we start our celebration with Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. No i havent wrapped a present, no i havent even finished the shopping , no i havent finished the decorations........ yes visitors will be arriving soon, yes i have cleaned the bathroom & yes there are clean towels! yes the sun is shining today!! (raylee).

Nudges - 10.11, & 12, (Hub Bub)

10 words,-- my words are listed on the left hand page. i used pens, watercolour, crayons, stencils , acrylic & words & pictures from magazines. weaving, -- i cut slits into a "5minute glue ripped pictures onto a page nudge", threaded strips cut from shopping lists & magazines through the slits & added some collage , crayon & stencilled pen. also wrote a short poem.

rip it,-- for this one i ripped up an old watercolour painting, some pages of an old book, glued them in, did a candle resist, added watercolour, defined some leaves from the old painting with a black pen , stuck the bird stamp on & used a plastic container with a ridged pattern to make the lines in acrylic. (raylee).

Eloise

She has taken her time getting dressed, but she made it. Eloise is a calico doll with raggy strips for hair, & green ribbons for her pigtails. her face is hand painted & she has freckles across her nose. her dress is made from a green satin blouse with odd gold buttons down the left side front. her pants are made from two embroidered table napkins..........

.....now she has her makeup on, & her tag to say where she came from, she is ready to leave for her new home. Eloise is on her way to" The Mirabel Foundation", in Melbourne. i hope she makes some special person as happy as i was to make her! (raylee).

Gift tags via Meet Me At Mikes

If you have'nt already seen this free offer, go have a look! There are lots to choose from, thanks to Pip. "Printable Tags for Your Christmas Gifts.......! , posted by Pip on Sunday Dec., 12, 2010. (raylee).

Tears - Smiles

"No-one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else." - Charles Dickens.

How good is it when tears dry & turn into smiles? "Smile & the world smiles............." (raylee).

and it's twelve days to Christmas

see....I do use paper!!!....bits of cardboard I found at work and bits hanging around are now an angel string...sewn on the machine....weird but it worked!!!..the first Christmas decorations....

something new from something old

I've been a bit quiet lately with all the other dramas, still thinking pink but for different reasons....
chopping up old snugglys used for babies to make a raggy quilt for a big girl....mum's memories

Cupcake doll

I have'nt finished the dolls i had cut out a couple of days ago........so i thought you might like to see this one. She is made from tea stained calico, she is wearing a skirt from a table napkin with the centre from the crochet doily top stitched onto it. Her brooch is a cherry button, & the cupcake icing head from a dress . (raylee).

New dolls

Simonne gave me this old pattern book , it looks to be late sixties or seventys, there is no date on it. i have cut out one doll from it to see how it goes. i painted the face as i didnt like the eyes in the pattern.

This one is from my original pattern, i have painted her face too. also a pirate in the making. hope to get one finished today. (raylee).

"Chooks number 2"

I dont really like chooks.........i like chook pictures, must be the connection to childhood. .....eggs are ok, but not boiled eggs...... smell disgusting, mum made me egg sandwiches when i first started school.......just once, never had one since!.........dont like turkeys either, but thats another story........(raylee).

Christmas shopping

How clever of my wire birds to make this nest...... & lay painted wooden eggs! ..... i printed the tablecloth with a cut orange & painted the leaves roughly. it is about 10 years old, has had many washes & still going, the colour hasnt faded. (calico fabric, acrylic paint with fabric medium). I found some really great presents at our local community arts & crafts centre, all very well priced too. i also caught up with some friends there that i havent seen for quite a while, a most enjoyable morning indeed! ....... do you have such a place where you live? if so , check it out.... you may be surprised by the variety, quality, & the prices. (raylee).

Red geranium

"Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find" - William Wordsworth. ....... I think there is a very pleased caterpillar after finding this meal! (raylee).

"Chooks number 1"

Lots of paper tearing & glueing onto a canvas i bought at the "tip shop" for $3.00. (raylee).

Two baby toys

A couple of baby friendly toys......not sure what they are........but they are soft & cuddly. they are made from cotton t-shirts , some felt, a bit of gingham & embroidery thread. (raylee).

Cutesy collage

Front cover......handmade note book from an assortment of bits & pieces. the heart shape, flower & letter beads are new, the other materials include: a cardboard cat food box, old book pages, picture & lined paper from a magazine, pattern paper, bits of fabric , ribbon , string, & crochet doily, a bird shape cut from an old watercolour painting & paint stencilled shapes.......... ......continued in the next post. (raylee).

Cutesy collage

Everything new i tried making last week was a disaster. one project ended up in the bin after i dismembered it with the scissors! the other two avoided that fate...... a few days later i felt sorry for them , a couple of changes & they look a whole lot better. So i decided to complete something that i started earlier........my first handmade book, from "cutesy collage" -25th october. front page.....above...... a quote page........

the middle pages......

the back page......

the back cover. i followed the instructions from "cloth paper scissors" march/april 2010, *books with a repurpose by jeannine stein *. (raylee).

"The Painter "- mary st. brisbane (detail)

Advice to self......."To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong" - Joseph Chilton Pearce." You may have a fresh start any moment you choose" - Mary Pickford. (raylee).

Stitched collage

Pictures from a magazine, a bit of hand printed fabric, bits of scrap fabric, some beetroot dyed cotton, ribbons, buttons & beads stitched onto some pages of an old book to make a stitched collage.......... i like to look at the words that are still visible to see if they have any relevance to the image that has been created. i found the word "twins"........there are 2 birds, & 2 figures. ( raylee ).

Baby present

Mixed some old & new for this baby present...... appliqued singlet & t-shirt, & a summer weight patchwork blanket. ( raylee ).

Garage sale find

Just had to buy this.......knew it would love to live at my place!

Yes...... the tablecloth fabric is retro.......70s. ( raylee ).

and there's more pink

time for a change..... to celebrate the homecoming ....thanks for all the good wishes .....we're battling on and going well at the moment....

here is another softie...he's supposed to be a sheep....but looks more like a sheep dog to me ...
what do you think???...



while I was mucking around with this post I thought this guy reminds me of the Loony Tunes cartoon dog Sam....the one who clocks on for his shift along with Ralph the wolf...it's just something about his shape....I have now been told there are others who thought the same thing... what the...!!!... just thought I'd share...

Beginning ----- End

This tight yellow bud appeared about 5pm......... i took the following photos next morning, starting around 5am, the bud took less than 1hour to open..........

.....by 5pm it was spent.......beautiful to the end...... (raylee).

Just beautiful

Thought someone might like to see this amazing process.......i think its amazing & even more amazing that i captured it. ( raylee ).

Just beautiful