our creative space . . . 'Spring cleaning & sticky hook magic'

Greetings all,

In my huge effort to Spring clean the house, declutter & get-things-up-off-the-floor . . . i've been busy with those sticky hooks.  We live in a rented Army house, we have to leave the walls unmarked (ha, our children would have to wear straight-jackets not to mark the walls) but those 3M hooks allow us to hang things, then remove them without a trace.  I wish this was a sponsored post, they're expensive but so good!! 

 Our study nook consists of 2 cheap IKEA desks; Flash Trash old trunks as seats; cheap finds from TYPO;  bird cage from The Reject Shop; Provincial lanterns; & cork board decorated with sports ribbons.  Everything but a power point, which would be handy, so we have a fantastic tripping hazard of an extension lead across the hallway.  Perfect - child trips & drags laptop off desk, both crash onto tiles together!!

 For authenticity - school holiday child in jammies at midday with unbrushed hair.  Child: stylist's own.

I found this TOWELS hook contraption at Bed, Bath & Table, $25.  Stick up a couple of hooks, hang rack & da dah, 4 towels for 4 children & they have each discovered the ability to hang their towels, all week.  Their arms aren't painted on after all.  It's meant to sit on screws/ bolt to the wall, but the hooks are holding nicely.  One day i'll hammer & bolt as many things i want to MY walls.
For more crafty creative spaces (not just peeling & glueing hooks to walls) visit Our Creative Space today, i'm just offering a public service of how to get things up off the ground to free up more time to be creative!!  Love Posie  

some more Handmade market eye candy . . .

Greetings all,

So you wanted more Handmade Market eye candy . . . how about some incredible origami/ paper folding/ cleverness (images by Rosalind at Grace Designs).  This is exactly the kind of special something something i'd have under a glass cloche in my homestead, a show stopping unique handmade object which i would gaze at daily with wonder & heart flutters.

 Those Mookah sisters know how to style a stall.  There is something just-so-spot-on about their taste, quality & design.  Leisa said "we don't do pretty like you".  My personal choice isn't pretty either, some soft vintage in the girls' bedrooms but our homestead will be all about texture & linens, bold screen printed pattern & 'durable', like our leather King Furniture Jasper lounge.

 Props & signage is a great addition to your stall.  I love vintage lettering - on a wooden block - yes please.  I really want to cut back on my range/ variety so i have more space for props & merchandising than just baskets of products.  I've been trying to do this for a while, less is more & all that.

 The truth about child labour & the Posie production line was revealed . . . my girls were hand sewing behind the stall (& softie bombing my accessories tree.)  The customers loved it, commenting they wished their children could sew/ crochet/ knit/ embroider - i'm just raising them the way i was brought up . . . when you're not playing in the garden, swimming, walking the dog or on a bike, you're doing something crafty with your hands. 

 I came home to a freshly baked chocolate on chocolate cake on Sunday afternoon. I couldn't eat it, i had a shower & a lie down . . . each child lifted the ice pack off my eyes & asked if they could have my slice.  Look at these faces, do they look like the kind of girls who would take food from their sick mother??  You betcha!!  Thanks for the photo Rosalind.

What's on the cards for me today - turning out the garage, urgh.  My husband will read this & cheer.  Bring on the garbage bags, i feel SO good after Spring cleaning, love Posie
PS on my super go slow internet connection i can only add a few images per post, frustrating to say the least + on going comment issues, come on Blogger!!

Spring cleaning in Winter

Greetings all,

Hands up who does the psycho clean in the school holidays??  Not sure why i wait until the break & always kick myself that anything gets out of control, but each quarter i do a traditional Spring clean. 

On Sunday it was the pantry & under the sink which were my target areas.  While i was doing the pantry, i rediscovered my beautiful Nigella Lawson mixing bowls . . . why don't i use them daily?? 

Of course when you have a big cleaning job ahead, you need at least one distraction/ procrastination . . . da dah, i'll make those DIY Donna Hay Macarons/ Macaroons - whatever you want to call them, they are easy & delicious. 

 I was fine with the macaron part but i'm well known for burning chocolate so i tasked my husband to make the chocolate ganache filling.  Look what he left me, ahhhh . . .

 Yes, he's home & he cleaned the stove!!  Soldiers get an A+ for scrubbing, cleaning & polishing shiney things.  The macarons were delicious, i quickly took these snaps (poorly) before calling the children.  I think i'll give Donna's from-scratch recipe a go, i can bake a mean meringue & pavlova, macarons are nothing to be scared of.

 Now with a belly filled with sugary delight, i tackled the pantry.  I'm talking . . . disinfect every single Tupperware lid . . . sort all those things i never use to the very top (frying pans, coffee plunger, hand mixer) & sigh, the Nigella glass dome cake stand to the bottom . . . i may or may not have lit a fresh smelling candle in there afterwards??

 There was a heated discussion on tossing all baby-related Tupperware.  Handsome soldier actually said these words "can we hand it down to Posh Spice" - the fact he even knows who Victoria Beckham is was surprising & he was simply using the fact he just found out she was pregnant, 9 months buddy (& i'm pretty sure i made a fuss about how fabulous she looked at the Royal Wedding!!)  Ok, we did toss the chewn baby sippy cup lids & all the drink bottles from under the sink & a few old tea towels + broken containers = 2 garbage bags.  I have such a strict policy on junk not coming into the house, what/ how/ why/ when 16+ extra drink bottles (those free ones you get from your bank/ health insurance/ fairs)??  Argh!!

We did have a superior conversation about our new home - only using homemade cleaning products as the way to go.  Why not, with 4 tweens/ teenagers & their enthusiastic, healthy attitude to helping around the house, it's just a no brainer punishment chore.  As i made my own baby wipes, when i had babies to wipe, i never knew the cleaning power the commercial ones had.  We use them at Shop Handmade, they are magic, i forgot i even bought a packet earlier this year, but used a couple on the weekend, pretty handy for dirty-finger-mark-removal-on-walls.
Any green cleaning secrets??  Do you wait for a break to psycho clean too??  Love Posie