My Creative Space 'handmade living sneak peek'

Greetings all,

Welcome to my last Creative Space for a few weeks.  In the fabulous build up to the Handmade Living. book submission deadline, i've been busy piecing, sewing, glueing, stitching & cutting all manner of projects, many with instructions.  Here are some sneak peeks - proudly supporting Australian screen print designers like Kristen Doran, Thea & Sami, PippiJoe & Yardage Design.  No guessing, it's all hush hush. 
Had a scheduled day off Shop Handmade today, so it went something like this . . . drop 4 children at school, down to the mechanic & hand stitch in the waiting room, back to school for son’s dancing concert (15 minutes – the WHOLE concert), swing by Shop Handmade to pick up paperwork, off to Tania McCartney’s place to drop off submissions & props for Handmade Living photo shoots, back to school for a parent/ teacher interview.  Relaxing??  

Look at the delightful goodies uber author Tania thoughtfully gave me for my trip, all wrapped up in a gorgeous scarf with a pink velvet ribbon (pink & green are a favourite colour combination!!)  Plus some books to read.  I'm not a reader, at all, but after the novelty of the first few hours of a 27 hour trip wear off, i'll force myself to read!!

So you thought today was full on??  Thursday includes a full day at Shop, a new driver’s license as mine expires while i'm away, pay bills, buy a laptop for my husband (an Apple Mac which are apparently war-friendly) then home to meet Stacey with fabric after school.
Friday: children to school, puppy to kennels (50km in opposite direction), clean & condition lounges, strip beds/ wash sheets/ dry sheets/ sheets back onto beds, attend midday school Talent Quest, count & record WalkAThon money to each child to work out totals & % highest fundraising class & individual winner, shop for new toothpaste/ knickers/ travel shampoo etc, collect children & their term reports, farewell son’s teacher, remind school the children will miss first week of next term due to my jet setting. I still have this fantasy i have time for a hair cut & facial . . . i can hear you laughing!!  
The fridge is almost empty & my children do not accept cheese on toast, anything with eggs or sandwiches as a credible dinner, they ask for vegetables, freaks & don't like McDonalds or pizza!!  I'm collecting all the cables & chargers for all the electronics, the hall looks like a pawn shop or 'electric' garage sale!!
It gets better . . . Saturday: clean, pack, run in circles & chase my tail, load the car, take son to party, pop into Shop Handmade for last minute farewells/ purchases/ hugs/ laughter, collect son from party, head to Bowral to nephew’s party, then Sydney for the night (after a day like that who wouldn't want to drive 300km with 4 tired children??)
ALL FOR THIS MOMENT . . . Sunday: wake up, go to airport, sit on plane & relax, read (thanks Tania) & skip off the plane into my husband’s arms in Italy!!  I CAN NOT WAIT!!  So long, farewell, have a gorgeous month, i'll be back Sunday 25th July - beware the gloating post about my Rome, Venice, Athens, European Summer & 2nd honeymoon to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary.  I don't have to tell you i'll miss the children, goes without saying, but i put 100% into parenting, i know i can leave 4 well adjusted children with my father-in-law & he'll enjoy them too.  Love Posie
PS sorry i've not been visiting blogs & leaving friendly comments lately, the children used up ALL my internet usage, um, 6MB & we're at 1999 net speed, i can barely open blogs & images take days to download, i still love you!!  I won't be blogging or computing while away, my gift to my husband, he gets all my love & my full attention!! 

another hurdle leapt over, the count down begins

Greetings all,
With a very chilly & frosty start to a gorgeous sunny Winter's day, we had another cosy Mathilda's Market in Canberra at the Hyatt Hotel.  My bookcase did it's job, gracefully carried in by Anastasia from Cheeky Textiles (thanks Stacey!!) & considering i rocked up after 8a.m. i was pretty impressed i was ready to go in 40 minutes!!  The benefit of a smaller position, table ready set up for you & it's more a case of positioning your products. 

So i had the book case to the one side & stood behind the table.

Hiding behind the table was my son who was so good for 3.5 of the 4 hours, bless him, at the half way point he really wanted to go home.  The cool dad on the stall next to me offered up his iPhone which took the edge off the last hour!! 

What a gorgeous surprise, from the lovely Jennie from Melei who said she saw a comment on a blog i made somewhere, saying that i loved these fruity note pads & da dah, just like that, she gave me a set as gifts.  How sweet Jen, thanks & not stalkerish at all!!  Her handsome son was also with her today.  Basically we "Jennie's" are just the nicest people you'll ever meet, just ask anyone called Jennie, we'll tell you!!

Sorry for the amateur photography, i realise now i had the flash off, so images are a bit blurry & under done, alas, you can make out that this is a cute owl, which my son named Blue, Hooters, Owly, Big Eyes & finally settled on Hooty by the time we got him home . . . & when i mentioned the band Hooty & the Blow Fish, he just went into a fit of giggles.  It does sound ridiculous out of context doesn't it?? 

Finally, this fabulous cushion from Skye Rocket Sews, Mel said her mother did the crochet & it is so perfect for my 3rd daughter . . . so up her alley by way of textures, colours, mixed crafty mediums & she loves accessorising her bed!!

So thanks to Anne for putting on a lovely market, another event down, 7 days to Europe!!  Love Posie

Posie is having a BIG SALE at the Mathilda's Market in Canberra

Greetings all,
Time for a bit of a Winter Sale at Posie!! 
In just ONE WEEK i'm leaving the brrrr of Canberra Winter & solo parenting life, for a few weeks in the European Summer with my husband!!  I know, that's without the children, WITHOUT them, OMG, first time ever & a husband on war leave, yippee!!  So to share the pure joy & glee i'm feeling, i'm putting all my non-handmade goodies on sale from 25% off at the Mathilda's Market tomorrow!! 
Most of you know my life story - soldier's wife & mother of 4, husband away for 10 months this year (typical for us), i have my businesses split into 4 . . . on line retail/ wholesale/ markets & i work at Shop Handmade 4 days a week where i have a whole wardrobe & cot full of handmade goodness . . . plus family duties like P&C roles, homework, cooking, cleaning, dog walking, i have zero help & that's my life.  Sound like i need a bit of a recharge??  I like my independence & i'm a workaholic as i plan an EARLY retirement.  Something along the lines of when our 4th child starts Uni, i'll be 45 & will escape to a coastal cottage & sew while my husband surfs, tends the garden, feeds the animals, ahhhhhh the dream . . . no wars, no homework, no bake sales, just us!!  

So back to reality & . . . tomorrow, imagine these shelves beautifully set up with all sorts of sale items & deals!!  Lark, Dumpling Dynasty, LadyBird, Rosie Flo, Djeco & more . . .

Also my children (but one, the fella is coming with me) are at friends' places so no babysitting fees (well babysitter cancelled for a Christening, so i had no choice) so i'm already ahead & have quite the skip in my step today.  Call it a sale or holiday fundraiser??  More on the trip later, just be happy & excited for me, OMG, my husband, him, love of my life, i keep getting all teary just thinking about meeting him at the airport (trust me, i won't recognise him, beard & all) so he can find me!!  Love Posie

My Creative Space 'storm in a teacup'

Greetings all,
Well this week is a poor showing for My Creative Space, but i've got a lot going on . . . a weekend Mathilda's market, wholesale orders, book submissions, orders & preparing for a trip.  That's on top of the mechanic, dentist, vet, school & breathing!!  A lot going on = big $ expenses, shame about that!!
So due tomorrow, along with spelling & maths homework, oh & Talent Quest auditions, i have to deliver 4 children & 2 natural disaster assignments to school.  One 3rd grader chose the Calabrian earthquakes in 1783 Italy, the first scientifically recorded earthquakes ever, in a series of 6 quakes with tremors lasting up to 3 years, 50 000 people killed . . . her twin chose Cyclone Ului which is recreated here with fascinating facts about destruction, sugar cane & all the islands it clipped on it's way to Airlie Beach in March this year. 

So i had this vision of a 'storm in a teacup', only it's laminated facts & debris swirling out of a tin!!  Can i pretend it looks better in real life??  The teacher did say be creative & this late in the school term, who has the energy i ask, or care, passion, spirit?? 

Sorry folks, much more excitment next time as i hint more about that trip.  Click over to better Creative Spaces??  Love Posie
UPDATE: Thanks for all the kind comments about my husband & his safety.  Our lives move so quickly, i forget i say one thing on a blog, leave you hanging/ worrying, then move onto the next event.  He has called, he's OK, sad of course, it doesn't get more devestating than losing fellow soldiers.  Thanks so much for thinking of us, it's the harsh reality of war & so few people know soldiers or their families personally, so i hope i provide you a positive insight into our lives.  I couldn't possibly love or support my handsome soldier more.  They really do LOVE what they do  are are willing to risk everything to keep us safe, free & to never know war on our shores!!

on line shopping for classic style

Greetings all,
Are you up for fabulous shopping on line for classic products, styles, colours, fun . . . i have two great finds from you, with awesome blogs to boot!! 
First up, My Poppet - 'wear play give' - who is closing the doors at the 717 Glenhuntly Road Caulfield South VIC premises but is cruising along on line.  Great for people like me who are interstate!!  When i found Cintia had the paper balloons back in stock in ALL varieties of animals, i had to buy more more more.  Shop on line, use the code POSIE & take 10% off your order!!  Thanks Cinti, great deal & i'm thrilled with today's haul.  A special friend is about to get a Panda too!!

Beach Vintage has a gorgeous NEW on line store, with a sweet 20% off 'launch' discount until 28th June.  Check out the blog & follow it, you'll love it, then trot along the links to the Shop. 

I went a bit nuts with some colour themes in mind, loving the oil cloth 2m of each, can you imagine cuter cup cakes wrappers & that lace trimmed bias binding??!!  Also a pretty vintage table cloth & these lanterns which my twins went totally silly with . . .

Speaking of silly, this was my boy after his first attempt at a pom pom on the weekend.  Just brings a smile to my face to think these children are so free, happy, fun & well, MINE!!  I consider them 'easy to love' & sure they have their moments, but gosh i love them!!

My eldest is busy with house captain duties today (no photo or time for being silly) for the annual fundraising WalkAThon, which i coordinated & also ran the fruit/ muffin recess & BBQ lunch.  Yes people, in my spare time i have 3 major roles on the P&C at school.  Doesn't stop other mothers from saying "i work full time, i can't help" & i wonder why i'm the idiot who works 7 days straight to midnight so i can take a day off to you know, cook 300 sausages & skewer a billion pieces of fruit!!  I figure the school has 4 of my children to guide & educate, i like to return the favour!!  Plus i got to bring home some left over fruit & eat it for dinner after a very long day which commenced at 7a.m. for the best fruit selection at the supermarket - i made them go & find me the good rock melon too. 

Phew, busy day & long drive home, returning water eskies to two different McDonalds outlets, i felt rather elated that after a weekend migraine i could pull off an all day P&C event.  Then i walked in the door to the news that we have lost 3 more soldiers.  What a shock, my sympathies to their families.  I'm really looking forward to a chat with my husband whenever he can call.  I can NOT wait to see him again, really, i'm growing quite desperate.  You can not rest your mind until they are in your arms.  Love Posie

a bit of fluff & fun for the whole family . . .

Greetings all,

Do you ever stop your children in their tracks with your handy craft??  I had mine spell bound this evening when i decided to switch from my studio sewing machine, to some cosy lounge craft & making pom poms. 
I had picked up these sweet soft balls of pretty coloured wool mid week with the intention of making pom poms for headbands.  So i pinched some cardboard from a project one of my girls was working on (later found out it was actually important, ooppss) i cut out doughnuts (a champagne flute made a good measure to trace) & i started poking wool round & round & round & round.  As i got to the end of the thread which i cleverly doubled over to do the job in half the time, i tried to remember how i used to make them as a child.  I don't like following instructions & i like making my own patterns & templates, so i winged it!!

Somehow i managed to cut the wool edges & tie it all together without it falling to pieces & da dah, pom poms + a round of applause from my wide eyed children!!  How could i possibly have gone so long in life without this joy??

Of course, there were instant requests for pom pom scarves & toys, giant novelty pom poms & more, clearly i appeared to know what i was doing.  I think in the light of day, i'll try my luck at larger sizes, so i can do triple pom pom headbands (different colour & size pom pom combinations) & see how time saving it is to do quadruple ply.  Personally, i just like saying the word Pom Pom!!  Or Pomme Pomme, oh la la. 
Thanks for all your well wishes about me being unwell yesterday.  As suspected, i was only down for one day with my sore throat, it didn't eventuate into anything & was nothing a giant hot chocolate couldn't soothe today at Shop Handmade, ahhhhhh.  We're very lucky in this household, the children rarely get ill either, they're much more likely to endure a sports injury!!  They have never been runny nose or coughy, vomity bug type of children, yet they run around barefoot in knickers in Winter in freezing CANBERRA!!  It's zero when we head to school each morning, do you think any of them wear their school jackets??  Maybe we all should do that??!!  Brrrr, no thanks.  Have happy weekends everyone.  Love Posie

My Creative Space 'all the ingredients, where is the time'

Greetings all,
Well having a sore-throaty-rainy kind of day off today, eating soup & sipping hot lemon - i haven't lost my voice since high school, this is alarming as i talk, a lot, & i pretty much sound like a transexual on the phone.  My post this Creative Space Thursday is pretty much what i think many crafty types suffer - you have all the ingredients, but can't find the time to 'create'.  After 10 long years in this business, i try to keep ahead with new ideas or do regular products with a bit of a twist. 

So i'm on a journey of finding more time to work in the business as well as on the business, starting off with more unisex options for unborn baby gifts, using these Japanese prints - hmmm, do you see a colour theme here??  Could it be more beige/ yellow/ cream & brown??  I'm afraid lilac, lemon & green don't cut it for unisex anymore. 

To further extend my cookie cutter shape screen printing series, i found these cute shapes to use - i really only wanted the mushroom & pear (of course, in different packets) but i think the strawberry, apple & chillies will lead to really cool patterns too.

Finally, after working with these fabrics on something special for Handmade Living (not a patchwork project i might add) i think i should do a range of quilts & patchwork cushions for the upcoming Mathilda's Market in these prints.  They are very Room Seven/ Oilily - well they are from the Netherlands after all!!  They remind me of the clothes i put my girls in when they were little, i had a bit of an Oilily/ CakeWalk obsession & i think they are so classic, how could they ever date??  Maybe some frou frou patchwork skirts for Summer too??

Now back to sipping soup & hot lemon, ahhhhh.  I rarely get sick, i'm more a headache kind of girl, so sure i'll bounce back tomorrow.  Have lovely days, love Posie

i didn't know i needed one until i saw it . . .

Greetings all,

Well back from Sydney & we're unpacked, floors steamed, dishwasher on, washing machine done, children fed, fresh linen on beds, fridge stocked with left overs from my sister . . . plus a couple of children farmed out at friends' houses, 'twas a busy morning.  Not too busy to bypass Revolve & check out what they might have in the warehouse that came in over the long weekend & i didn't know i needed . . . like this beauty!!  Me thinks it was originally a fancy doll's house inspired bed head with cube storage from each side & the top shelf but for $20 & a strong man tossing it in the back of my Landcruiser with a smile, i took it without blinking.   

So my eldest bashed out the panels which we couldn't unscrew as they had those weird interlocking flat pack bolts holding it in, but we removed them the fun way instead!!  That's her great grandfather's hammer by the way!!

Just like that with a wipe over & rubber to erase the pencil scribbles, a gorgeous book case which isn't too heavy, so i can use it at markets or i might even loan it to Shop Handmade??!!  Pretty confident it will finish life in my twinnies bedroom in our new Qld home come the end of the year when we move interstate.

So this is how we wrapped up our stay with my father-in-law who i think secretly could not believe how low maintenance my children were, they don't like television or snack between meals, they shared a bedroom & well, acted like grateful orphans visiting a real home & were pretty fabulous.  They have been raised on my mantra of "only boring people get bored" & busied themselves with train sets & board games, going through my husband's old wardrobe & playing with his childhood toys!!

So in order of appearance in our lives - here are my children - aged 11 to 6.5 years.

Notice girl child number 3 with that fetching 1980's skinny tie??  She has worn it ALL weekend & quite frankly, rocks the fashion.  It's not leather, but my husband did sport a skinny grey leather tie in his teens which is best left back in the 80's if you ask me!! 
Had a fabulous birthday party in Bowral for my Mum, gorgeous weather, ahhhh, stunning day!!
Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend for those who got one, i should be sewing, hmmmm, should be.  Love Posie

Sydney Quilt & Craft EXPO with Retro Mummy

Greetings all,

So it's a long weekend in most states & territories in Australia & silly me drove up the Hume Highway with all the other weekend makers from Canberra/ Melbourne to Sydney last night.  Smooth trip, we almost did the 3 hours/ 300km without a toilet stop!!  Almost.
Corrie from Retro Mummy asked if i'd join her at the Quilt & Craft Expo, which i get an invitation to each year but never attend (usually living too far away) so i met her on this crispy Saturday morning with hot chocolate at Rosehill RaceCourse for 4 hours of fabric & sewing supply information, buying & sales.  5 bolts of fabric, many charm sets & jelly rolls later, my fingers were struggling to grip the carry bags!!  Plus 18 bolts of Echino & Kokka fabric on order . . . i came back to my patient father-in-law who was watching my children.  Well seems while i was out in the pertty world of fabric, they were being taught how to shoot rifles??!!  Ok??     

Now i'm a huge snob on many levels (ask anyone who knows me) & fabric combined with customer service are close to the top of my list.  I have to ask, WHY let people with no interpersonal skills/ ability to smile/ general friendliness REPRESENT your brand or be any way involved in SALES??!!  My goodness, so many frowns & huffy behaviour from certain fabric companies front line staff i was shocked!!

Corrie & i are 34 & 35 years old respectively, we felt young, VERY young!! We like the fresh, cute & quirky Japanese fabrics, it's Corrie's specialty & we just can't look at some of the oldy woldy country style anymore.  We stuck to what we love.  Here's a quick tour of what was on offer . . . you'll spy Oliver + S, One Red Robbin, Amy Butler, Saffron Craig, Birch, Prints Charming & more.

My instant shopping, the bolts of fabric are still in the car, plus all these trims - up to 10m worth for $5 each!!

I can appreciate the skill in these large traditional patchwork quilts, but they're not my current style or palate.  Finally, this Canberra based company with the huge quilting machine . . . i went over & said hello & that i was up from Canberra too.  Their sour response "why??"  Enough said!!

Alrighty, have a lovely long weekend, i'm off to Bowral on the way back to Canberra for my mummy's birthday, think she's 21 for the 3.5th time & i have an awesome card for her - will blog later. 
Safe driving people, maniacs on the road (not me, i drive slowly with my precious cargo).  Love you Corrie, thanks for the lovely morning, giggles & dent on my Posie Visa Card!!  Love Posie