Pretty Jars

how pretty are these jars?
found via Silvia enmiespaciovital.blogspot.com
(raylee).

From the Lake to the Garden.....

 we live close to a lake where a lot of leisure time is spent.

 we go out in an old boat that husband has restored.

 he likes to go fishing, i just like being on the water.

 sometimes he brings home fish or mud crabs.......
but this one time he brought home a chair that he found in the lake almost submerged. being the inquisitive type he had to investigate what was sticking up out of the water!
it was muddy & yukky, but after a good scrubbing & some new cushions made from fabrics that i had unpicked from a couch cover, a piece of floral curtain fabric(found in my art tutor's rag box for cleaning oily paint brushes) much too pretty for that!, & trimmed with some piping i found at the op shop.

 the chair now  looks quite comfortable in the garden.

 i had to save this floral piece from being destroyed by oil paint. it just happened to be the right size for the chair seat cushion.

(raylee).

Garden and storage

we recently had a need to move some old furniture out...

it should go off to a new home at the tip...

but we had an issue with the how?!....

so...

it's become a sculpture in the blank bit of the garden...

anyone for a cuppa and a bit of telly??..

 

only one has noticed with a hiccup of a laugh...

and a - what is that??...

Raylee often asks what's on your work table?...

well she sent me some lovely jars she decorated...

and now they are waiting to be filled with stuff...

on my work table...

and this lot is holding some more stuff...

I cut the tops off the 3 litre milk bottles...

they make lovely containers for little bits and pieces...

and sit nicely in a wire basket...

or the pretty cane one...

on my work table!!...

Red & Green & Blue in the Garden

 we are having the best autumn weather, sunny warm days, mostly blue skies, cooler nights & a few showers which have been regular enough that i only have to water the garden occasionally.

i have not had much time for creating/recycling in the last couple of weeks. gets a bit busy around holiday time. spend more time with kids & visitors.

 but have been taking lots of photos, katie from randomnest has inspired me to take photos around the garden.

growing "kale" in pots experiment.

 this one just appeared a few months ago & last week flowered......i don't know what it is, anyone know it's name?

my herb garden is still going strong.........thyme & sage are my favourites at the moment.
 i have  had to make  a lot of changes to my diet. so food preparation has become something i have to put more thought into........gluten free & lactose free cooking was a challenge to begin with , but i'm getting used to it after four months of trial & error.
 this was my first chocolate free Easter! i didn't miss it much at all. i didn't feel the need to look for an alternative.
so far this year i have made some other positive changes......i started a new art class, have been doing more painting & recently started posting my art on facebook, & made some boards on pinterest. but still have a lot to learn, have not worked out how to link to these yet......all in good time i guess.
(raylee).

Happy Easter

(raylee)

Today Is Fish Day.......

.....at our house.
wishing you all a "good" friday!
(raylee).

What Day Is It Today?......

.....it's our birthday!!
we would like to say thank you to all our followers, & thank you for all the positive comments.
 also thanks to all the people who have a look at what we are doing.
simonne started our blog on the 17/4/2010.......it seems a long time ago now.
sometimes i can't believe we have kept it  going for four years!
i still don't think i am a blogger.......just ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you i am the quiet one.
(raylee).

Wee Jasper Journal Pages - ( pre Creative Awakening)

 collaged & stitched pages for the "wee jasper journal" showing photos of "Nell".

 two "cretonne" hand sewn pot holders made by my great grandmother, "Nell".(they still have the black soot marks on them from the black kettle that hung from a hook over the open fireplace).
"Nell" in her younger days.

 i have been stitching the paper pages onto fabric & making tabs which will be used to secure all the pages when they are completed.

an excerpt from the journal:
 "her name was Ellen Mary but she was known as "Nell".
to me she was nana grace, my great grandmother. she lived in a small house built by the men in her family, from timber cut from the bush. (this was also my first home).
the floors were dirt, the walls were papered with newspaper & magazine pages to keep the draughts out.
no running water, it was carried in kerosene tin buckets from the river.
no electricity. kerosene lamps & candles provided light, we went to bed early!
there was a fuel stove & an open fire in the kitchen, which was the dining, living area, no lounge room.
washing up was done in a dish with boiling water from the black kettle that was always on the fire, & sunlight soap.
her days were filled with work. washing was done in a copper tub with a fire underneath to boil the water. the clothes & linen were moved around with a long stick & when they were clean, lifted out steaming with the stick & had to cool before they could be wrung out by hand & hung on the line with the long prop in the middle to keep the line up.
a blue bag was added the water to make the whites whiter!
she had a vegetable garden, fruit trees, & a flower garden. chooks, turkeys, dogs & cats & cows for milk. she made her own jams, pickles & preserves & still found time to make clothes & furnishings  & she sewed her own aprons from calico with embroidered "crinoline ladies", also tablecloths, doilies & potholders etc.
next to the fireplace there was a small window & hanging at the window were curtains made from a pink floral that nana grace called "cretonne". i have two worn tattered potholders made from those curtains.
her "waste not, want not " ways have stayed with me.
(raylee).

How Do You Like Your Eggs?.........In Cross Stitch???

 in an  old rusty frying pan?

 how about some roses on that old rusty bucket?, or tin?, or that old watering can?

 wow everyone with a daisy door, car door that is!

another library book with lots of arty people & their creations: "the new artisans" by olivier dupon.
always something to catch the eye at the local library.
some links to just a few of the artists included in this book, well worth a look!


marichristophe.com : wire sculpture
clairecolesdesign.co.uk  : wallpaper & stitches
manon -gignoux.com : recycled fabric
suziestanford.com : recycled materials/ chair covers
severija.it  : cross stitch
puddinhead.com.au : printing , cover image on the book.

thanks for stopping by.......have a happy weekend!
(raylee).

On My Work Table Today......

 ......oil paints.......the subject  for this lesson: "trees".

art class is really trying me out,......but it's all good.
(raylee).