Shabby Chic Blue Kitchen....A Blend Of Old and New

Shabby Chic Blue Kitchen

When I planned our kitchen I was torn between my beloved vintage shabby chic or a more modern style.

One day a new owner will grace our beautiful home. They may love my style or they may prefer clean lines and a modern look. I think we struck a very good compromise. I think the blend of old and new worked out quite nicely.

We decided to stick to a white palette and then colour could be brought in when my heart desired.

At the moment our kitchen is filled with my french blue treasures. Two weeks ago it was bursting with pink.

A fresh bunch of flowers is enough to make me spend the whole day reorganising and cleaning.

I love that we kept the colour scheme so neutral.

A pretty tea towel or tea cloth on my little table brightens everything up in an instant.

I occasionally bring my very shabby and almost way too chippy table into the centre of the kitchen when I have a friend over and I enjoy sitting in the space sipping tea.

It is bright and airy and I love it.  I still haven't decided on curtains but I'm going to keep them white and possibly use an old antique lace tea cloth. 

Old  meets new,

antique meets modern

and somehow it all works !

Trash Becomes A Treasure

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

So very true !

Years ago now a family member was cleaning out their old back shed and this beautiful old shaving cabinet was about to go into the bin.  Luckily my face popped into his mind and he thought that I may like it.  It came to me all shabby and old with the doors hanging off the hinges.  I originally sanded it back roughly and loved the flakey paint look but recently decided to give it an all over coat of white paint. It looks fresh and new and looks great in my boys room displaying their bits and pieces.

Unfortunately the doors could not be saved due to condition but the surprise came when I sanded back the old painted knobs removing a zillion coats of paint and found sweet little porcelain ones. So pretty !

A more recent find was this fantastic drop side table.  I found it on the side of the road and just in the nick of time too as the garbage truck was only a block away.   It was tired and old and looked as if it had been home to spiders for 50 years.

Much to my children's embarrassment I somehow stuffed it into the back of my car and brought it home.  A quick wash, a light sand and a lick of pretty blue paint and it was ready for it's new home.

These little treasures are out there and if you are lucky to find one and prepared to put in the work to restore it, then you can save yourself some money.  This table is such a solid old piece and guaranteed not to fall apart like a lot of modern day tables.

The thing that I most love about it is that it is completely original.

One Window Closes and Another One Opens

One window closes and another one opens.
Life is full of ups and downs
remember to breathe, smile and laugh.

Tomorrow is another day.

and that day will be wonderful.

The Sweetest Little Church Palm Cards

Aren't these just the sweetest little palm cards....

I remember when I was a little girl, our priest giving little palm cards to me as we left the church after a service. 

I was sure it was for being a good girl and sitting still for the whole hour.

I found these little antique palm cards a couple of years ago at an antique store. They brought back many memories and I wondered if some other little girl had been just as good as I had been for sitting still !   Maybe her little brother had tried to make her giggle but she controlled herself and was on her best behaviour........The priest gave these to her to congratulate her on her good manners and patience.

Christmas Feature No. 5........Christmas Dolly Peg Angels

Christmas Feature No. 5

Dolly Peg Angels

When I was a little girl, I used to love sleeping over at my Grandparents house. I would follow my Grandmother around like a little shadow watching her do the chores. When it was time to hang out the washing I would fill my little lap up with a bunch of wooden  pegs and pretend they were little dolls. I would put grass on their heads for hair and a leaf or flower around their middle for a dress. A dandelion flower as a necklace and my creation was complete.

Little did I know, that many little girls and boys around the world had enjoyed doing the same thing. Around war time,  there was little money around and children made their own fun and indeed they did make their own dolls with wooden pegs.

The craft of making dolly pegs can be so much fun.

When my children were preschoolers we would sit down around the table at Christmas time making little dolly peg angels.  Of course back then the angels smiles were decorated in all sorts of coloured textas and pens. They had squiggly mouths and scary eyes and glittery heads instead of dresses ! ......but those angels are still beautiful to me as I look back and remember those precious moments with my little ones.  Innocent days with no cares in the world.

I made these dolly peg angels.....

with scraps from my old antique mosquito net.  Our lovely bunny rabbit had chewed it to bits so chopping it up wasn't an issue !

These dolly pegs have been made with scraps of netting and bits of lace. Small pieces of silver wire created a halo and tiny offcuts of doilies and ribbon were transformed into wings.  Tiny little silver scrap booking stickers formed the eyes and crystals from an old chandelier added extra sparkle.  Use whatever you have lying around. Last year I made lots of Christmas dolly peg angels with one of the children's classes at school and we used scraps of red and green fabric, simply cut a round circle, hole punched the middle and it had turned into a fairy skirt. Easy as pie and took all of 5 minutes to do the whole project.

Dolly pegs are available at craft stores for a few dollars for a packet or if you happen to have some vintage dolly pegs as I do, well then you can use those.  I must admit I love to use vintage ones as I love the worn patina of the wood.  It gives the dolly a unique look rather than a shiny new one.

Use your imagination and create your own spectacular piece !

I was lucky to find these pretty silver angel wings at my local craft store for the dolly on the left (above).  On the right I adore these pretty white ribbon wings that I simply curved into shape and hot glue gunned to her back. A pearl finished the look and tidied up the join. A simple piece of wire wound into shape would look just as effective.

Time Stands Still.....The Period of Uncertainty

I find myself in that really strange place.  You know the one I'm talking about.
It's that place in your life that seems foggy, cloudy, uncertain and you have that feeling of 'Oh please let me make the right decision here'.
It is that period of time where you feel like you are teeter tottering on the edge of a weak, thin branch of a tree.  One part of you wants to jump off and hope that you fall in a soft spongy landing place and the other part wants to climb like crazy back to the trunk of the tree because it seems like the safest place and you know it better than the other option.

One door closes and another one opens is something that I truly believe in BUT the question I have right now is, "How do I know if it's time to open that door".......hmmmmmm  confusion !
Sometimes the answer is so darned simple to see from an outsider and yet so unbelievably hard when you are in the midst of it all.

I guess it's a time of faith that things will somehow work out in the wash. But it's a situation that has resulted in butterflies in my stomach. The butterflies are not so much floating around delicately as they normally do. My butterflies have a soccer ball in my stomach and are having a good old fashioned game of soccer in there ! lol
One person's set of eye's see things in a totally different way. My eye's see a different story with more insight into the truth.  I guess there are no simple answers but my oh my..... a magical fairy wand would come in very handy at the moment. One wave of the magic wand would ideally make everything better again. Alas there is no magical fairy who can do this for me.
I think we as the human race need to reignite the capacity to understand the other side of the picture.  Every single person has their own set of needs and wants and who are we too judge the requirements of others. What suits one person may not necessarily suit the person sitting next to him.
Life throws curve balls sometimes and when it does, it's nice to think that there is a helping hand and a compassionate heart to be there to hold the guiding light.  A guiding light  who will not be judging or trying to make the person into someone other than who they really are.
Each person on this earth has great ability to discover and achieve great things. It is not for us to squash the light in somebody else's eyes and to put a square peg into a round hole.
If we were all the same then the world would be a boring old place wouldn't it ?

Instead we all need to embrace each other and support our differences. A hand outstretched in friendship will win over one that is thrown forth with a closed fist. 
Love duly conquers all and positivity will always encourage goodness from others. Negativity always......ALWAYS brings back the same in return.
Encourage the goodness in others.......coax it out.......tempt it out of it's box.  When the goodness comes out, welcome it with a smile and a warm greeting and then you will find the positive outcome that you desire.

                                            xo

My Baby Is All Grown Up

Once upon a time......

A young woman stood outside the delivery suite.  She knew that when she walked back outside of that door she would be a mother.  She took a deep breath.....heart thumping almost out of her chest and opened the door. She never looked back...even once.

Not twenty minutes later she would hear the first cries of her first born child. It would be a sound that she treasured forever.

The little thing screamed morning, noon and night !
She had a mind of her own and a voice to go with it !
Just when you thought she had nodded off to sleep.....waaaaaa ! came the voice.   It seemed to go on and on and on and on.

Next thing you knew, the big brown eyes would look at you and bore deep into your soul. The little baby girl would win the argument every time.  She had the prettiest of little rosebud lips and the tiniest little ears with a slight pinch mark on the top.  The Mummy loved her baby more than anything in this whole wide world. She dressed her like a little dolly and loved nothing more than showing her off.

Years slowly turned.....her baby began to walk, talk and before you know it, had a personality all of her own. 
She had a gentle disposition and loved playing with her little friends.
The Mummy took her to a local playgroup, her little one loved to play on the little bikes and the swing but would never venture inside to the craft table.
More than anything the mummy longed for a little painting or even a scribble on a piece of paper from her little one.  She wanted to hang it on her fridge for all to see.

This one fine day, the mummy finally encouraged her little girl to the finger painting table.  A bunch of little children were happily dipping their fingers into the gooey paint and dredging big blobs of paint across the big, white sheets of paper.
"Would you like to do one too Ruby?"  asked the mummy
Screwing her face up but curious just the same, little Ruby ever so slightly dipped her finger tip into the red paint............
"AAAHHHHHH"  came the scream
"Yucky Mummy Yucky !"

and the rest is history !    My little Ruby very quickly became a princess. She went to school for the first time, rode her bike all by herself, learned to read and write and much, much more.
She was delicate like a flower and had the grace of a true little lady. She had manners, spoke beautifully and matter of factly.
She was the light of her mummy and daddy's life.  She was their precious little princess.

No longer it seemed that she had started school that it was time to go on to high school.   Where on earth had the years gone ?   Wasn't it just yesterday that the young woman had stood outside the delivery suite ready to bear her firstborn ?  Those days had seemed to have flown by at the speed of sound.  Days of choosing pretty little baby dresses had turned into shopping trips buying lipstick and high heeled shoes.
Where had the days of watching ballet classes and playing in the park  gone to.  Surely Father Time had had stolen the years away.

The mummy wanted to turn back the clock, she wanted to hit the snooze button and stop her baby girl from growing up so fast. She wanted to keep her young for as long as possible. She was slipping through her fingers and she didn't like it one little bit.
Her baby girl had turned from a tiny screaming baby,  to a young beautiful woman who had her own loves and interests.

"Please angels above, I feel like my baby girl is growing up  and away from me. I don't want her to ever forget her mummy is here for her. Please remind her that we love her when we can't be with her. Please keep her safe and happy and healthy".

The mummy wanted all of the best things in life for her gorgeous girl.  She wanted her to follow her hopes and dreams and to always feel love in her heart.  She hoped that she had taught her girl enough of life's ways for her to go out in the world and create her own little life. She knew that her daughter had beautiful qualities and held honesty in her soul. Their relationship had been built on trust and the mummy knew she could rely on her girl to hold on to this value.

Years later a big, grand day had arrived. It was the day of her girl's formal.
The mummy and the daughter went out and picked a pretty dress. They also together chose  drop dead gorgeous, raspberry red suede shoes.  Then there were the accessories.
The daughter had her makeup done and a stunning new hairstyle.
She looked absolutely amazing !!!

The mummy looked on all the while with a little tugging sensation in her heart.  She could feel the slipping sensation all over again.  Her baby had almost grown up.  She had been with her for almost 16 years and she didn't want it to ever end.  With a frown she realised that it was inevitable that soon enough, more years would pass and it would all be over.  This divine child would leave the comfort of the mother's nest and would fly away like a little bird.

                                                       .......................
The mother stood alone in the crowd at the formal. All of the mums and dads were proudly taking photos of their children. Cameras were clicking away and high heel shoes clicked away just as quickly against the pebble concrete.  The gentle swish of floaty fabrics and the scent of French perfume filled the air.  Laughter and happy grins were all around her.
What a glorious occasion she thought to herself.

Her daughter was standing there before her. She was laughing with a group of her friends and had such joy on her face.  She looked over at her Mother and smiled. 

Her mother felt so proud she could almost burst.

Soon enough it was time for the parents to depart and leave these young people to enjoy their special evening on their own.
One by one the crowd slipped away.....
The mother slowly walked towards her car, a touch of sadness in her heart.  Her baby girl had already begun..........begun to fly
and soon enough she would soar......

The mother hopped into her car. She sat quietly and gathered her thoughts.  She wished for her sweet hearted daughter a wonderful night full of lasting memories.  She looked so grown up in her pretty black dress and raspberry red shoes.
Tears were just behind her eyes. "hold it together," she told herself.

and as she drove off.......it came......

a text

"I love you Mum"

her gorgeous girl had never forgotten her mum, even in her time of pleasure. She had said the words that the mother had been longing to hear. The three most precious words in the world......I love you

Tears that had been held in now streamed down the mothers face.
She wore a big wide grin on her face and her heart was beating happily.  She leaned forward and turned on the radio. A happy tune came on and she began to sing.  Life was such a crazy place but the gifts that it gave were worth all of the heartache that came along with it.

The world was turning ever so gently on it's axis. Her daughter was growing up, BUT......no matter where time and circumstance took the pair, they would always share love.
After all she was her mother's baby girl and always would be, no matter how grown up she became.

and so it was

I love you Ruby so very much. You have the sweetest heart and the most gentle soul.  Thank you for choosing me to be your mum
                                               xo

Christmas Feature.....No 4 Tree Decorations

                   Christmas Feature No. 4
                         Tree Decorations

I love to make my own Christmas tree decorations.  They are made from the heart, with pretty antique lace and gorgeous scrap booking papers.  I love embossed scrap booking papers, I prefer white because it can be transformed into anything and blends well with most colours. 
I chose some pretty lace, ribbon, glitter and in this case some very soft tulle netting. 
I colour photo copied some antique greeting cards and  cut out some hearts from some strong cardboard.
I covered layers of pretty paper over the plain cardboard and used my imagination to decorate.
Add whatever trims you like. I had some pretty vintage crystals from an old chandelier and some pretty diamonte buckles from my local craft store to add some bling !
Some tiny diamond bling stickers from
http://www.auntyverascrapandcraft.com.au/  also prettied things up.

I stuck to my favourite colour palette.....french blue and peachy pink !

My best friend.....a hot glue gun, did the rest ! 

A Spring Bouquet

Garden Room.....Simply Divine

Garden Room......

            The pictures speak for themselves......

                             Be Inspired !

Click on the picture to enlarge for better viewing

The lovely owner of this beautiful garden has the gift of making absolutely anything into a picture of beauty. She has left no stone unturned in every inch of this outdoor space.  From the teensy native violets that one walks upon, to the little curtain that separates a simple side passage of a home, there is beauty everywhere.  Box hedge forms the formal element of the space and pretty topiaries in moss covered terracotta pots add subtle interest to the eye. Some white wicker garden chairs and antique lace cushions to cosy up in complete the look. 

This beautiful corner of the world is one of my very favourite places to visit.

I always leave inspired.

Christmas Feature No.3 Vintage Santa Sleigh and Reindeers

Christmas Feature No. 3

Vintage Santa Sleigh and Reindeer

I was originally going to share this gorgeous little set with you all closer to Christmas, BUT  some of you may want to try to recreate a set of of your own. This Sleigh and reindeer decoration has been lovingly hand made and painted. It has been covered in silvery glitter and the paintwork has yellowed a little over many years but that just adds to it's vintage character.
The sleigh is 3 dimensional and as you  can see it has little gifts wrapped up in vintage Christmas paper sitting in the back for Santa to deliver.

I found this sweet set at AMBLESIDE ANTIQUES in Islington,NSW Australia. 
It may or may not be for sale yet.....I think the store owner was debating about whether to keep it or not for herself.
AMBLESIDE ANTIQUES isn't online but you can contact them on (02) 49621532