scintillating stitches and bizzare coincidences

i work a five day fortnight which means that every second wednesday i have a day to MYSELF. yes you read that right, two kids at school, one menacing almost 3 year old at day care and one gorgeous husband at work. after taking my dad to the library and having a cuppa i left his house on a mission to hunt down this new shop i had read about in the local paper. the title of the ad said 'scintillating stitches embroidery workshops, supplies, designs and gifts'. i had been dreaming of this wednesday for a few nights as i knew that i had a date with destiny. i walked into this lovely little place and found four ladies stitching various items, mostly ribbon embroidery. i announced that i had been dreaming of this day and the lovely owner Jackie (not sure how to spell) showed me around explaining all that she has to offer. while she was showing me around another lady entered the shop saying she had seen the ad in the paper and just wanted to check it out. i said i had just done the same. she happened to know two of the other ladies and it turns out that her name was rosemary, just like me! we were laughing about that fact then she mentioned she was a teacher and i said i am too. then the ladies went on to ask if she missed dakabin state school and i yelped that is where my husband teaches. then they mentioned Burnside as one of the ladies husbands had been the deputy there in 1990 and i yelped again saying that was where my husband went to high school and would have been in grade 12 that year. and to top it all off rosemary mentioned her married name was Gordon and i almost fell over as that is my aunty's last name! how bout that for freaky coincidences? during all of this Jackie had sat us down and taught us how to do a ribbon embroidered flower and here is my effort... this was actually very easy to do and i can see it would be addictive.... this shop has a lovely atmosphere and she holds craft'tea which is a crafting afternoon (1st and 3rd sunday of the month) that cost $40 for the kit and instructions to make something and then a devonshire tea at the end. the first is on the 19th of april and now that i have myself down for my first workshop at lilly cottage i think i will have to do this one too. scintillating stitches can be found at 12 Dayboro Rd Petrie 07 3285 8254 www.scintillatingstitches.com.au after all of this i had to buy myself a ticket into this saturdays $20 million lotto, good luck to me!! on the drive home i decided to pop in to put $20 in the pokies (i almost didnt) and i walked away with $90, yes a tidy $70 profit. just enough to pay for my lilly cottage workshop and scintillating stitches workshop :) oh happy days last night lili walked into our study, here where i am sitting, to show me this excuse all the mess in the background, or did i just draw your attention to it? yes a plastic bag tail, she was so happy with her design i just had to take a photo and put it on here. she wants to start her own blog and call the things she makes ~lilipop's designs~ or something like that. i think that would have to be a once a week thing as i know who would have to help her and i barely get time to keep up with all the things i have to do!!!! well i am off to do the school pick up and swimming lessons, aaarrggg does it ever end?????? %*_*% mmmwwwaaahhh rosey p.s. will show you some miniture items we bought the other day.

wordless wednesday

rewind one day

my curly girl turned 5 yesterday!! to be honest i think she actually looks older too... i was too tired to post about this last night because we got home after 8:30 and then we got a lovely phone call from my sister anita who is in london at the moment (has been for the last 4 years). so by the time i went to bed it was after 11 AGAIN. we love parties and even though this wasnt a 'school friends' party we still had a blast with family and close friends (well we call juls aunty and lili is convinced that her girls are our cousins).

it began as all our birthdays do... on our bed for the opening of the presents.

claudia gave her the tinkerbell dvd, we gave her a softies making kit and magic 100 words chart and lili gave her something collectible that mia has had her eye on since early january.

the look of excitement says it all.

it is so pretty, it opens up to hold small treaures.

this close up gives you more of an idea, lili bought it with her own money such a sweet sister.

we also gave her an mp3 player, i know it seems excessive for a 5 year old but it was on sale for $50 and she is very musical and has natural rhythm so we hope to harness that talent.

here is a photo of her presents but of course she was spoiled at the party too, not to mention the cards, money and love from her mama and pa from highfields and my gorgeous friend andrea who never forgets my girls.

we had a relaxing morning of baking and preparing to go over to my fathers for an afternoon tea. well relaxing is not quite the feeling i was experiencing when this happened.

i have a feeling our oven needs recalibrating cause this was 160 degrees for 40mins...

anyhow i turned it over and this is what i had to work with.

i was happy with the end product but i cant change the fact that it will be a very dry cake! it is so easy to make a cake look good with all the little things you can buy these days. (click on it to get a better look)

after all the hard work i found the birthday girl passed out on the couch, still clutching her precious bird. god i love her!!!

well after the little nap we headed over to my fathers house which seems to be party central. he has a wonderful yard, foxtel, air conditioning and a very relaxed atmosphere. the children played...

look at that luscious garden.

cuddled

ate custard tart, mini cupcakes, party food, actually i dont think the youngest two stopped eating the whole time :)

and finally ate that dry but pretty birthday cake!!

we partied on and finished the night with pizza, yummmm. even though he didnt lift a finger the party would not have been the same without grandpa boris and his anything goes policy.

he just loves all his family big and small!!

now if you can bear a bit more.... here are some things i want to tell you mia just in case this stays around long enough to see it.

mia you make me so happy, i miss you now that you are in prep and not by my side. you are so clever, i cant believe that you are trying to read lilis home readers and now have started your own sight words. today you counted to 100! your laugh is infectious. not one day goes by without someone mentioning your beautiful curly hair. i love your crooked teeth but how do i get you to stop sucking your thumb? you are a great dancer. you are a natural comic. you are a loving sister and you give good kisses. you have a determined streak, spunk some would say. everyone that spends time with you says you are delightful. you are going to make a mark on this world!! mia rose i love you now and forever. kisses mummy

happy birthday mia moo and thanks to all that made it so special.

time for me to put that crazy claudia to bed and then my real work begins.

%*_*% rosey

grab a cuppa and get ready some mousey goodness

in 1980 Collins published four gentle enchanting books about the community of mice who live in Brambly Hedge. written by Jill Barklem the stories were intended to teach small children old-fashioned values and self sufficiency. called Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter Story, these books have been translated into thirteen languages and more than a million copies were printed. sadly now they are in danger of running out of print but it may be possible to obtain second-hand copies. four delightful videos were also made.

introducing ~ Wilfrid Toadflax ~ he is a lively young mouse who loves to play with the daughter of Lord and Lady Woodmouse.

yes that is a little sling shot! free standing

introducing ~ Primrose Woodmouse ~ Primrose and Wilfrid have many adventures together.

her little paw is in her pocket. and she is clutching her little bear. puffy bustle! divine!

introducing ~ Mrs Apple ~ she is a wonderful cook and makes delicious pies.

little basket for gathering her eggs.

great dress, amazing detail.

introducing ~ Poppy Eyebright ~ who works at the Dairy and is married to the gorgeous Dusty Dogwood.

speaking of detail check out the embroidery on this dress. look at that bustle and the chioce of fabric is perfection.

and the hat is to die for.

introducing ~ Dusty Dogwood ~ who is the miller and married Poppy on a midsummer's day on a raft floating down the stream.

yes he is in tails!! he looks like he wants to play... so there you have it mousey goodness! the creator is a lovely lady by the name of Jean, she doesnt want me to give out her details as she is so busy. get ready for the next bit.... she only charged me $50 for the set!! and 100% of the money goes to the guide dogs. what a saint, last year she rasied over $600. she is humble and sweet and i just want to hug her, she has no idea how much my girls are going to love these! they are not play things and i guess now i will have to collect the books and videos!!

ok gotta get the girls from school. %*_*% rosey

if you want to check this pouch out head to my other blog.

no time but here is a sneak peek...

i have started a tradition of buying the girls a special, keepsake type easter item each year with the view one day of buying them a real faberje egg (not sure how to spell but i know what i want). well i stumbled across a perfect collectors set at the doll and bear show i recently went to. i will tell you more at another time but they were just dropped off by their creator and i am just about exploding with excitement!!!

i have hidden them but will photograph each one and formally introduce them soon!! sshhhh dont tell the girls :)

wordless wednesday

words from the wise

lili: mum, is easter when jesus died? mum: yes. mia: but he is always in your heart lili. (how wise is that for an almost 5 year old?) the conversation then continued with lili talking about how soldiers were forced to take jesus even though they didnt want to. i love this sort of stuff! we have had a great weekend and the only whinge i have is that there are some stinky people out there that need to invest in a cake of soap and a can of deodorant!! get with the program people, personal hygiene needs to be addressed on a daily basis. have a great week, catch you on wordless wednesday. %*_*% goldsworthy hammy and me doing a self portrait, me still in my elmo pj's! claudia in her preferred state... NAKED :) mia and her tower. my lovely lili or as aunty anita calls her CARE BEAR, she really does look like her toy carebears.