Mabel Gets A New Dress and 3 HATS !

It all began in a dark little second hand store.

'CLOSING DOWN' said the sign

'For Sale, everything must go'.

Who could resist ?

There were racks of clothes, stacks of doilies, old (smelly) shoes and a tub of old vintage purses and scarves.

and when I walked into the back of the store I saw them !!!!!

A quaint old fireplace stood inside a cavity of a wall and a row of the prettiest vintage hats stood there in all of their glory looking at me !

I swear they were smiling when they saw me (yes the hats !)

It was one of those moments where lightening strikes, cymbals clang and your heart races with excitement.

They may as well have had my name flashing above them.

and of course my dearest 'Mabel' came to my mind.

(Mabel is my old rusty dress form)

I pictured her at home in my studio wearing an old shabby pink vintage tulle skirt with a little tear in it.

I knew that this these new hats would be perfect for her (even though she doesn't have a head !!!!!!  frown )

Next thing I saw an old vintage white tulle skirt on a cheap rack for a couple of dollars.

It was perfect Mabel attire on a shoestring budget.

So out I walked with 3 new hats and a new skirt for her !

When I showed Mabel, her new things she almost squealed with excitement (well she would have if she were a real vintage person !)

PINK, WHITE AND BLUE HATS for her to wear on her.............aaahhhhhhhh..........Uuuuuum   Waist ?......Collar ?

Pretend head ?

Oh well, Mabel and I will have to sort that little problem out for ourselves........

Do you like her parasol ?

It's from the 60's

It does well to protect her rusty old bones from the sun

The more I looked at her dressed up the more something appeared to be missing. She needed just a bit of ooomph !

So out came the pink feather boa

and then Mabel really kicked up her (invisible)feet.

Anyone would think that she was hitting the town she was sooo excited !

                 A pair of dainty pink gloves completed her look

                   As pretty as a picture is my sweet girl Mabel

So that is my story about Mabel and her new dress and three hats.
I hope that you liked it.
Maybe you even giggled.
Maybe you might think I am a little crazy
But I definitely keep myself entertained in my little make believe world.  

I was going to introduce you to Mabel's new friend Ettie tonight but I am honestly tired and ready for bed so she will have to wait until another day.  I can assure you that she will be just as out there and zany as Mabel though..........but one little secret about Ettie.
SHE LOOOOOVES the colour blue.
and you can imagine that I am going to make her as pretty as a picture too !

             HAVE A GLORIOUS FUN FILLED WEEKEND !

A Little Flower Fairy Comes To Tea

On a rainy, cold Winters day a little flower fairy came over to play.

She arrived all dressed in pink, flower in her pretty hair and a big smile on her face. Her proud Mummy looking on with love.

The little flower fairy's name is Laura

and her dream is to be a florist !

So the table was set, flowers were prepared and my little friend Laura began to live her dream.

Flower Fairy Laura smiled the whole afternoon long, snipping and poking her pile of fresh roses into a teacup full of securing foam. I gave her basic instructions on how to create the round shape design and then let her explore all on her own.

My honest thoughts.....she is a natural !

The love and excitement on her little face was glorious and I hoped that this day would be etched into her mind for the whole of her life.

When we are children we should be encouraged to live out our dreams at an early age to encourage us to move forward towards happiness in our desire to succeed. Not success monetary wise but success in being happy and completely in love in our chosen career.

Money is irrelevant compared to desire, happiness and fulfilment

It is highly possible that Miss Laura may change her mind about her future and that is ok.

She will grow and pave her happy little way through her journey of life her own way. Time and wisdom will guide her.

BUT one day I hope that a little spark will trigger in her mind reminding her of the wonderful afternoon she had creating something with her mind and her hands that she was so completely proud of.

and I hope that her passion of flowers will always remain.

She reminded me so much of myself at her age, making little fairy beds in the garden in old matchboxes or terracotta pots.  

Miss Laura the flower flower does exactly the same thing ! 

Her gentle soul and her wonderful love for flowers left a lasting impression on me. 

Children are so incredibly precious that's for certain.

To see her create with passion opened a tiny door to her soul that I could see that her Mummy adored. 

Her Mummy Karen and myself were old school friends.  

Karen sat off to the side and watch her little fairy create. I had to giggle when Karen tried to show Laura where to put a particular flower only Laura telling her that she knew already ! 

(Another snippet of myself ! lol)

Miss Laura the flower fairy has passion in her heart and with that quality she will truly be happy.

Who could resist that sweet little smile....

 

 

             and 'all by herself' she created a little teacup full of love !
She even dared to add a Brussel Sprout to her design.

She did an amazing job !

             and when we had finished it was time for tea and cookies.

 and all by herself she poured herself tea, scooped some little sugar hearts into her cup, added a tad of milk, munched on a cookie and then admired her work !

and then as her Mummy and I were chatting, a sweet little arm reached out to me and handed me a little tin of pretty note cards.

Smile :-)

Thankyou for such a sweet gift little flower fairy xo

Mummy and daughter moment.

They really are 2 little peas in a pod

 Thankyou Miss Laura for being my very delightful guest for the afternoon. May your dream of being a florist continue to inspire you to do something that truly makes your little heart sing.
I look forward to another flower date with you sometime in the future xo

 

Beautiful Old Cross Stitch Samplers

Good morning friends :-)

After not blogging regularly for weeks due to my new business I have such a backlog of things to show you all.

I thought that I would begin with this little pile of French cross stitch samplers.

They are a work of art all by themselves but I have a friend who absolutely loves these samplers and I have been slowly collecting them for her to send her. I don't want to tell you who she is or it will spoil the surprise but I am sure she knows who I am talking about anyway......smile

I am sure that she will love cross stitching these samplers and I think that it's a wonderful thing that they will be brought to life once again.

I used to cross stitch many years ago but with my brood of children it is highly unlikely that I will find time to do one. If the truth be known, I began a cross stitch for my son 14 years ago and it still hasn't been finished and he is now 13 !   I had given myself a year to make it before he came along but apparently this project may end up being his own child's one day......oops !

Well you can't rush these things can you ? 

SO 

I will instead wait to see what my friend will create with these patterns and then I can show you.

A little bit of rosy red brightens up the blue

I particularly love this one. Imagine the rose in a pendant hanging around your neck. GORGEOUS !!

or maybe in a cushion or trim to a pretty dress.

Maybe I could try the rose before I send it off to my friend ?

or maybe not ........

 It is sooooo chilly here in Australia right now. Winter is upon us and school break has begun.
Every week another member of my family celebrates a birthday and almost every weekend the whole family embarks on our home for yet another birthday cake. It is so funny :-)
Each week we discuss what cake we will be having the following week.
Next week it is my turn to blow out the birthday candles so I am thinking of what type of cake I will have.  Any ideas ?
We have had a cheesecake, a sponge, ice cream cake and yesterday we had a chocolate cake for my son.
We are seriously all caked out !  lol

I would love to hear any particularly yummy cakes that you can suggest that I might try. I know that there are many great cooks out there amongst you all.