my creative space . . .'the art of giving'

Greetings all,

I'm really desperate to get back into the art of handmade, making gifts from the heart with fabrics i know the recipient will love.  As Christmas looms, so does my deadline to think up new ideas & use up my ever increasing fabric stash.  Just because i haven't been sewing for a year because of wrist pain & surgery, doesn't mean i haven't been purchasing glorious fabrics for future use!!  Gone are the days when handmade = a purple crochet toilet roll cover from Great Auntie Merle . . . something created from your own two hands is hip, with incredible fabric prints available & people happy to pay for it.  I should know, i was in a handmade craft business for over 12 years, it's very acceptable to make your gifts, ensure you execute them beautifully.

I love giving, being generous is one of my favourite personality traits.  When i met up with Tania McCartney to go to the theatre, i couldn't possibly arrive empty handed, so bundled up some freshly laid eggs in a mock carton with a tissue ball on top, just like a rooster's comb.  She cherished them & dreamed up googy egg breakfast ideas, something money can't buy - true friendship.  

Had the cutest trip out to the Christmas Barn with my twins a weekend ago, hints that the silly season is approaching.  We drove way down south to Bredbo, with a visit to the Bredbo Village Fair, then chatted about our purchases in the slow snow traffic home.  I think this year we might go silver & white, i'm loving the huge silver glitter sequin ball we picked up.

If you're in Canberra today, i'm doing a little market stall (rain & wind permitting) at Brindabella Business Park near the airport, 11a.m. to 2p.m. come along & check out the goodies on sale.  If you're on line, check out the creativity at Village Voices.  Love Posie

fa la la la la, la la la la, our Christmas tree

Greetings all,

Saturday we headed to the Santa's Shaped Christmas Tree farm in Gundaroo - not to be confused with 'Santa Shaped Christmas Trees' . . . they are NOT shaped like Santa Claus.  Anyway, we're repeat customers & they never disappoint.  You walk from the driveway to the latest crop of trees . . .

 inspect the trees

 up & down the hillside

 tie a ribbon on your favourite tree

 out comes the chain saw

 toss in the trailer & bring home to decorate

 a special decoration for my soldier

 lots of birds, hearts, angels & bells

 voila, our beautiful angel on top of the 9' tree

Hello to my Northern Hemisphere readers - you might notice our pine trees in Australia are 'upsidedown' - this used to make my English Grandparents laugh so much!!
The children decorated the tree, i love it, there are clumps of decorations then big bare patches, now it's time to get wrapping gifts & ticking all the relatives off the list (including our 19 nieces & nephews!!)  My darling children have not asked for a single thing for Christmas, they're happy with our decision to get them each a new bike.  Our children have actually never really asked for anything, they are so happy swimming in the Summer holidays & playing with each other.  They're just happy to have their papa home.  So we'll toss in a few books & handmade goodies so they have little things to open, we're set & racing off on our bikes!!
I refuse to stress into Christmas or attempt a car park with maniacs on the loose, so i start early & enjoy the silly season.  I mean, i'm still sewing!!  We're having Christmas at home, ahhhh, lovely, just the 6 of us.  12 days to go, Merry Christmas!!  Tomorrow all the teachers can have their gifts.  Love Posie

i finally have a Christmas theme

Greetings all,
Well after being berated by many a Christmas decoration sales person & Christmas decorating enthusiasts (Tania!!) for NOT having a theme thought out for Christmas . . . it appears i finally have one.  Birds.  I've been scouring Myer, David Jones, Bed Bath Table, Typo & The Bredbo Christmas Barn for decorations, before i realised . . . i did have a theme after all.  I'm liking silver, white, red.

 With a good hint of aqua blue.

 I still love the hearts which are everywhere right now, giant jingle bells & a few angels for good measure.

There are more Babushkas to be added too. 

Christmas theme or not, these are the things i have found i'm naturally drawn to for our tree.  Tonight i'm working on more handmade items to add to the collection from Shop Handmade, yes, more birds, hearts, angels & fun things, like GingerBreadMen & jolly Santas!!  I bought 3m of felt today.  Then add the lot to the decorations we have stored in the linen cupboard, we'll have a beautiful tree.
  Off to chomp out some die cut paper garlands too.  I'm loving twine, washi tape, folk printed stickers . . . love this time of year, the preparation is as much fun as the giving, joy, Summer & smiles on Christmas Day.  Getting the children involved makes it even more beautiful.  Love Posie

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . decoration shopping time!!

Greetings all,

Our Saturday pared out well, athletics in glorious sunshine, then quick shower of the children & dressed into various themed party ensembles & started delivering them around Canberra.  The last drop off & first pick up was in Jerrabomberra (NSW side of the bottom tip of the ACT) so after Shop Girl's tip to check out the Christmas Barn in Bredbo, we were off down the Monaro Highway towards the Snowy Mountains.  Bredbo is a tiny town north of Cooma & EVERYONE was at the Christmas Barn.  Husbands with arms folded & rolling their eyes, wives squealing with delight at decoration mania.  Judging from the ELF plated Audi out the front, the Christmas decoration business is very good indeed.

Super friendly service & so much variety, glitter & sequins, we had to do a lap before we picked up a single item.  My husband was overwhelmed, arms folded & rolling his eyes.  We were offered a basket & i started filling it with jingle bells & turtle doves.  Yes, i jingled all the way.  We were asked if we needed assistance . . . "what is your colour theme darling??"  Um, i looked at handsome soldier who was already covered in glitter & said "oh, we don't have a colour theme, a guess multicolour for fun".  So underprepared for this was i!! 

The Army tends to relocate you at Christmas time so we've had maybe 3 Christmas trees in the past 10 years, often using a hotel room fern as our tinsel & star encrusted attempt at a make shift Christmas tree to stand over the children's gifts.  So often my husband is away in a war zone on Christmas, we make other family celebrations a big deal, to take the pressure off a daddyless Christmas period.  This year my husband is home & wants a decent Christmas tree. 

Now i grew up with a plastic European Christmas tree.  I remember it well as it was strapped to me . . . aged 4 in 1979 it was my duty to drag it through the airport on the trip home from London to Sydney.  The box still has "Jennie QF2" all over it.  My husband is a genuine-pine-needle-dropping-real-tree enthusiast.  I grew up with an angel on top of the tree . . . um, acquired from a Policeman's Christmas Ball/ Dinner/ Dance in the mid 70's, my mum just really wanted it & held up my sister to reach it & the commissioner smiled - that's my mother's story (we just refer to it as the 'stolen angel' behind her back).  My husband's family Christmas Tree was real, with a star on top, purchased legally.  So this year it's a real pine tree with an angel on top (& proof of purchase)!!

Finding the angel was difficult but gave my husband something to do while i kept gasping at the Babushka decorations & wondering how an owl could fit into Christmas booty.  He found a beauty!!    

Voila, our contained collection of decorations for this year.  Love the folksy style & simple silver, all a tax deduction too as they are used as props & merchandising at my market stall, yippee!!
Have fabulous weeks everyone, love Posie
PS nice little plug for my new range of boys' fashion range METRIC over at the Handmade blog in Shop Handmade now, not far from the GingerBreadHouses of course!!  Thanks Tania!!